Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rapid RCLK modeling of on‐chip passives and interconnects with efficient K reduction and passivity enforcement

An RCLK modeling technique has been proposed for intended and parasitic inductance in silicon ICs, providing rapid extraction times. To tackle netlist size and passivity issues, passivity enforcement techniques are presented in this article based on eigenvalue decomposition and bandwidth reduction of the inductance matrix. Runtime performance of the RCLK modeling method is reported for the first time, applied to realistic 65 nm CMOS circuits, while the computational overhead of passivity enforcement is given. The proposed techniques can reduce netlists between 41% and 96% in the cases presented, while runtimes for passivity enforcement can be improved by 85% or better, compared with eigenvalue decomposition of a full inductance matrix. These results indicate that full inductance modeling of silicon circuitry becomes practical, resolving the bottleneck facing other known electromagnetic simulation methods. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2012.
Practical aspects of using passive UHF RFID technology for vehicle tracking

This paper investigates the deployment of passive UHF RFID technology for vehicle tracking. The paper identifies the related technical issues for vehicle tracking applications from current literature. A prototype system has been designed and developed for the application in tracking vehicles. Extensive experiments are conducted to investigate the performance consequences of applying different configurations of the proposed system. In the middleware development phase, the paper addresses two important challenges: 1) handling the stream of identification data; 2) determining the direction of the vehicle. Experiments are also conducted to demonstrate the performance of the system operated in various conditions including: 1) indoor vs. outdoor; 2) different height of tags.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools for Data Acquisition and Probability Risk Analysis of Nuclear Piping Failure Databases

Over the last thirty years, much research has been done on the development and application of in-service inspection (ISI) and failure event databases for pressure vessels and piping, as reported in two recent symposia: (1) ASME 2007 PVP Symposium (in honor of the late Dr. Spencer Bush), San Antonio, Texas, on “Engineering Safety, Applied Mechanics, and Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE). ” (2) ASME 2008 PVP Symposium, Chicago, Illinois, on “Failure Prevention via Robust Design and Continuous NDE Monitoring. ” The two symposia concluded that those databases, if properly documented and maintained on a worldwide basis, could hold the key to the continued safe and profitable operation of numerous aging nuclear power or petro-chemical processing plants. During the 2008 symposium, four uncertainty categories associated with causing uncertainty in fatigue life estimates were identified, namely, (1) Uncertainty-1 in failure event databases, (2) Uncertainty-2 in NDE databases, (3) Uncertainty-3 in material property databases, and (4) Uncertainty-M in crack-growth and damage modeling. In this paper, which is one of a series of four to address all those four uncertainty categories, we introduce an automatic natural language abstracting and processing (ANLAP) tool to address Uncertainty-1. Three examples are presented and discussed.
Surface acoustic wave enhanced electroanalytical sensors

In the last decade, miniaturised “lab-on-a-chip” (LOC) devices have attracted significant interest in academia and industry. LOC sensors for electrochemical analysis now commonly reach picomolar in sensitivities, using only microliter-sized samples. One of the major drawbacks of this platform is the diffusion layer that appears as a limiting factor for the sensitivity level. In this thesis, a new technique was developed to enhance the sensitivity of electroanalytical sensors by increasing the mass transfer in the medium. The final device design was to be used for early detection of cancer diseases which causes bleeding in the digestive system. The diagnostic device was proposed to give reliable and repeatable results by additional modifications on its design. The sensitivity enhanced-sensor model was achieved by combining the surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology with the electroanalytical sensing platform. The technique was practically tested on a diagnostic device model and a biosensing platform. A novel, substrate (TMB) based label-free Hb sensing method is developed and tested. Moreover, the technique was further developed by changing the sensing process. Instead of forming the sensitive layer on the electrodes it was localised on polystyrene wells by a rapid one-step process. Results showed that the use of acoustic streaming, generated by SAW, increases the current flow and improves the sensitivity of amperometric sensors by a factor of 6 while only requiring microliter scale sample volumes. The heating and streaming induced by the SAW removes the small random contributions made by the natural convection and temperature variation which complicate the measurements. Therefore, the method offers stabilised conditions for more reliable and repeatable measurements. The label-free detection technique proved to be giving relevant data, according to the hemoglobin concentration. It has fewer steps than ELISA and has only one antibody. Therefore, it is quick and the cross-reactivity of the second antibody is eliminated from the system. The additional modifications made on the technique decreased the time to prepare the sensing platform because the passivation steps (i.e., pegylation), prior to structuring a sensitive layer were ignored. This avoidance also increased the reliability and repeatability of the measurements.
Description of a New Hamatipeda Species, with an 18S Molecular Phylogeny (Crustacea: Tanaidacea: Typhlotanaidae)

We describe a new typhlotanaid species, Hamatipeda kohtsukai sp. nov., collected from between 167 and 488 m depth in the Sagami Sea, Japan. This is the first record of Hamatipeda from the northern hemisphere. Hamatipeda kohtsukai resembles Hamatipeda trapezoida from the Subantarctic region in having pereonites 1–3 widest anteriorly (not rectangular), but differs from it in the length ratio of antennal articles 4/5; the number of setae on the dactyli of pereopods 1–3, ischia of pereopods 4–6, and carpi of pereopods 4–6; the shape of the unguis of pereopods 4–6; and the shape of the uropodal endopod. We determined partial sequences for the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI; cox1) and 18S rRNA (18S) genes in H. kohtsukai. A phylogenetic reconstruction based on the 18S sequences recovered a highly supported Typhlotanaidae clade containing H. kohtsukai and Typhlotanais mixtus, with Paranarthrura sp. (Agathotanaidae) as the sister taxon. A key to species of Hamatipeda is presented.
Antioxidant Assessment of Prenylated Stilbenoid-Rich Extracts from Elicited Hairy Root Cultures of Three Cultivars of Peanut (Arachis hypogaea)

Peanut produces prenylated stilbenoids upon biotic stress. However, the role of these compounds against oxidative stress have not been thoroughly elucidated. To this end, the antioxidant capacity of extracts enriched in prenylated stilbenoids and derivatives was studied. To produce these extracts, hairy root cultures of peanut cultivars Hull, Tifrunner, and Georgia Green were co-treated with methyl jasmonate, cyclodextrin, hydrogen peroxide, and magnesium chloride and then the stilbenoids were extracted from the culture medium. Among the three cultivars, higher levels of the stilbenoid derivatives arachidin-1 and arachidin-6 were detected in cultivar Tifrunner. Upon reaction with 2,2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl, extracts from cultivar Tifrunner showed the highest antioxidant capacity with an IC50 of 6.004 µg/mL. Furthermore, these extracts had significantly higher antioxidant capacity at 6.25 µg/mL and 3.125 µg/mL when compared to extracts from cultivars Hull and Georgia Green. The stilbenoid-rich extracts from peanut hairy roots show high antioxidant capacity and merit further study as potential nutraceuticals to promote human health.
GACM: A Graph Attention Capsule Model for the Registration of TLS Point Clouds in the Urban Scene

Point cloud registration is the foundation and key step for many vital applications, such as digital city, autonomous driving, passive positioning, and navigation. The difference of spatial objects and the structure complexity of object surfaces are the main challenges for the registration problem. In this paper, we propose a graph attention capsule model (named as GACM) for the efficient registration of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) point cloud in the urban scene, which fuses graph attention convolution and a three-dimensional (3D) capsule network to extract local point cloud features and obtain 3D feature descriptors. These descriptors can take into account the differences of spatial structure and point density in objects and make the spatial features of ground objects more prominent. During the training progress, we used both matched points and non-matched points to train the model. In the test process of the registration, the points in the neighborhood of each keypoint were sent to the trained network, in order to obtain feature descriptors and calculate the rotation and translation matrix after constructing a K-dimensional (KD) tree and random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm. Experiments show that the proposed method achieves more efficient registration results and higher robustness than other frontier registration methods in the pairwise registration of point clouds.
Creation of high definition map for autonomous driving within specific scene

The high-definition map (HD Map) is one of the essential components for autonomous driving (AV) systems, which is also helpful to realize the intelligent transportation system. For autonomous vehicles, the HD Map is closely connected with the modules of high-precision localization, environment perception, and decision-making control in the AV systems. Although many mapping companies have launched HD Map products, such as HERE, Tomtom, Civil Maps, Baidu and NavInfo, there is currently no globally unified standard for HD Map. And these map companies are almost aimed at large areas such as regions and cities, and few of them are aimed at specific scenes. In addition, the mapping and maintenance costs of these HD Maps are also very expensive. In this paper, we develop a HD Map in a specific scene, which can not only better serve the AV application in the scene, but also reduce the cost of mapping, maintenance and updating. First, we give the definition classification of specific scenes. Next, we put forward a novel multi-client and multi-layer HD Map architecture for specific scenes. Finally, we introduce the key technologies for mapping of each layer, and verify the accuracy of the positioning layer by comparative experiment of relative accuracy.
Beneficiation of printed wiring boards with gravity concentration

With the ever-increasing problem of addressing end-of-life electronics, more emphasis is being placed on recycling and reuse. Between the years 1997 and 2007, experts estimate that we will have more than 500 million obsolete computers in the United States. Companies are seeking new ways to make recycling of electronic scrap more profitable while reducing environmental impacts. Scrap printed wiring boards (PWBs) found in electronic components contain a significant amount of high-value metals and alloys. However, the complexity of PWB material, chemically and physically, creates a significant challenge in the recycling and asset recovery of the different metals and materials. One popular method used to recover the copper (Cu) and precious metals is primary smelting. Demanufacturers and recyclers who send PWB material to Cu smelters will sometimes perform bulk separation and concentration of PWB material in order to reduce shipment volume and make the smelting process more economical. However, concentrated PWB material still typically contains 70-75 percent nonmetals. In primary metal production, the concentration of metals and metal compounds that are found naturally in ore bodies are typically too low to make their recovery and refining cost-effective. As a result, ores are typically mined and the metal compounds are liberated and separated from nonmetals before metal recovery and refining. The ability to economically liberate and separate the metals from the nonmetals found in PWB material before smelting has the potential to make smelting more economical and reduce environmental impacts associated with smelting nonmetals. As part of an electronics scrap recycling study, ground PWB material was processed on concentrating tables to separate metals from nonmetals. The tables exploit the differences in specific gravity and particle size to achieve separation. Results indicate that concentrating tables have the ability to effectively separate the metals from the nonmetals within a specified size distribution. In support of the concentration tables, additional separation equipment testing has begun to determine their ability to produce purer metallic and nonmetallic fractions.
Rapid MR‐ARFI method for focal spot localization during focused ultrasound treatments

In MRgFUS, visualization of the focal spot has relied on “test spots” of a small temperature rise. MR acoustic radiation force imaging (MR‐ARFI) could be used instead for visualization, without the need to a temperature rise. The goal of this study was to develop a method for rapid focal spot localization method, based on MR‐ARFI. In addition, a temperature sensitive alteration of the sequence was proposed to measure any potential temperature rise during MR‐ARFI sonications. An EPI pulse sequence was modified to incorporate displacement encoding repeated bipolar gradients. The pulse sequence triggered the FUS system to emit 23 ms ultrasound pulses during the encoding gradients. This imaging method was tested in a gel phantom and porcine tissue on a 3T GE MRI scanner equipped with an InSightec FUS transducer. The results of the study showed that the focal spot can be well depicted in the displacement maps obtained with the new rapid MR‐ARFI method. The temperature measurements made during ARFI sonications .
ACE and the Future of Antenna Research in Europe

ACE, the Antenna Centre of Excellence, is a Network of Excellence funded by the European Commission. Its purpose is to restructure the scattered European antenna research. Starting 1 January 2004, it has a duration of 4 years and 51 participants from 17 European countries. 323 researchers and 130 PhD students are involved. (8 pages)
Nesting behaviour of Canthon unicolor and C. histrio: a new subsocial nesting variation in dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Deltochilini)

ABSTRACT Ball-roller dung beetles of the subfamily Scarabaeinae exhibit two nesting patterns ranging from simple nests (nesting pattern IV) to highly complex nests with parental care (nesting pattern V). Most species of the genus Canthon build a simple nest formed by a single brood ball that is abandoned after oviposition. We studied the nesting behaviour and brood ball architecture of two dung beetle species from South America. Canthon unicolor (Blanchard, 1846) and C. histrio (Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau & Audinet-and Serville, 1828) construct a shallow nest containing a single brood ball. This brood ball is unique in that it is covered with a thick shield layer made of soil. The shield layer provides to the final brood ball an amorphous external aspect, never described in roller dung beetles. It is less dense than the brood ball layer, and provides, an additional post-ovipositional care. Our results suggest that the nesting behaviour observed in C. unicolor and C. histrio can be considered a new variation of the nesting pattern IV in dung beetles, in which post-ovipositional care through the outer shield layer could increase survival chance of the offspring by protecting them from potential predators, desiccation and a variety of other environmental hazards.
Active suspension system of one-wheel car models using the sliding mode control with VSS observer

This paper is concerned with the design of an active suspension system for one-wheel car models using the sliding mode control. The active control is derived as a sum of the LQ control and the nonlinear switching control where the LQ control is obtained by taking the acceleration of the car body seriously in the performance index. The active control force is obtained by using a pneumatic actuator, and the road profile is estimated by using the proposed simplified VSS observer. The experimental result indicates that the proposed active suspension system is more effective in the vibration isolation of the car body than the active suspension systems based on the LQ control and the skyhook damper control.
When NOMA Multiplexing Meets Symbiotic Ambient Backscatter Communication: Outage Analysis

Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and ambient backscatter communication (AmBC) have gained a lot of interest as key enabling technologies in wireless communications systems. NOMA is a key player for enhancing spectrum utilization either by multiplexing multiple messages for the same user or allowing multi-users access, while AmBC shows great potential for enhancing both spectrum and energy efficiency for battery-limited devices. In this paper, the performance of a downlink NOMA multiplexing based symbiotic-radio ($SR$) AmBC system is analyzed over Nakagami-\textit{m} fading channels. New closed-form expressions for the exact and asymptotic outage probabilities are derived. Moreover, we analyze the diversity order and the influence of the system parameters on the outage performances. Besides, we proposed a power allocation optimization technique to achieve an outage-optimal performance. Through representative Monte-Carlo simulations, we have verified the analytical results. Finally, we compared the performance of the proposed system against a benchmark OMA-based system.
Fabrication of a wearable fabric tactile sensor produced by artificial hollow fiber

An artificial-hollow-fiber structure as a new material for MEMS was developed and applied to a novel type of fabric tactile sensor. The artificial hollow fiber was fabricated by uniformly deposited metal and insulation layers on the surface of an elastic tube. A special rotating mechanism for uniformly depositing a metal layer on the tube surface during sputtering was developed. A rectangular-shaped fabric tactile sensor was produced by combining artificial hollow fibers and typical cotton yarns, like a cloth. The sensor can detect a contact force by measuring changes in capacitance at all intersection points of the artificial hollow fibers. Two different types of wearable-tactile-sensor glove, a patched type and a direct knit type, were also fabricated, and it was confirmed that both types can detect a normal load by measuring the capacitance change.
A PARAMETRIC STUDY OF EDDY CURRENT RESPONSE FOR PROBABILITY OF DETECTION ESTIMATION

In the study reported here, historical Probability of Detection (POD) data for eddy current inspections were analyzed using an extension of the “a‐hat versus a” model in order to better account for known crack variables and thereby better separate system and crack factors influencing the POD parameters. Intriguing insights have been gained in the process suggesting a simple model for POD estimation. The parametric model will be presented including results of the study and suggestions for further research.
A methodology for mining material properties with unsupervised learning

Studying material properties from a data mining perspective can be beneficial for manufacturing and other industrial engineering applications. We present new ways to utilise data mining and machine learning in analysing material properties with experimental study. This work employs an effective feature reduction technique with clustering and classification to extract the most significant properties of the materials which can benefit various manufacturing industries. We conducted the experiments on five material datasets. The evaluation results proved that: 1) The feature reduction technique is quite effective in reducing the features to 20 or ten by removing all non-significant and redundant features. Thus, this model represents an effective way of extracting the most significant features for each class of materials. 2) The material databases and properties can be easily and feasibly analysed and examined in data mining and the outcomes can be very useful for the manufacturing industries and other industrial engineering applications.
A Kinematics analysis of the pole vault take-off

The critical phase, in jumping events in track and field, appears to be between touch down and take-off since it is during this phase that the required vertical velocity is generated. Many 2D and 3D kinematic studies have looked at the take off phase in, triple, high and, in particular long jump (Graham-Smith and Lees 2005). Obvious similarities exist between the take off phase in both long jump and pole vault; however, currently there are few detailed kinematics data on the pole vault take-off phase in the scientific literature (Morlier and Cid 1996). The aim of this study was therefore to characterise kinematics variables during the take-off phase to provide a better understanding of this phase in pole vaulting and its role in performance outcome.
Characteristics of Integrated Antenna on Si for On-Chip Wireless Interconnect

We have performed the detailed characterization of small size integrated dipole antenna on Si for use in on-chip wireless interconnection and compared the measured characteristics with results obtained by 3-D finite element simulation. Basic characteristics such as the effects of antenna length, distance and rotation angle on the transmission gain of the integrated antenna are examined. The measured transmission gain of approximately -54 dB at a distance of 1 cm for a 0.02 mm2 dipole antenna at 20 GHz showed the feasibility of using the integrated dipole antenna for wireless clock distribution in future ultra LSI (ULSI) chips at frequencies of ∼20 GHz or higher. We have also shown that it is possible to minimize any reduction in transmission gain due to the interference from the local interconnect metal lines by choosing the proper layout.
Thiourea dioxide-mediated surface functionalization: A novel strategy for anti-felting and dyeability improvement of wool

Abstract Wool, mainly composed of keratin, is a relatively high-grade textile material. Its inherent disadvantage such as high shrinkage and poor dyeability caused by the complex scale structure has puzzled people for a long time. Removing or breaking the surface scales of wool fibers in a simple, effective, and environmentally friendly way has attracted growing attention in recent years. Herein we proposed a thiourea dioxide (TD)-based method that could effectively remove the surface scale of wool fiber with minor damage to its internal structure. This was verified using Allwörden reaction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), XPS, FT-Raman spectroscopy and Ellman's test. Furthermore, the dimensional stability and dyeability were significantly improved. The machine-washable effect can be achieved with the strength loss of merely 5.16% when the TD concentration was 10%. Fluorescence microscopy images further showed that low concentrations of TD could damage the surface scale layer of wool without severe strength loss. This approach is facile, environmentally friendly, and economical, providing a new direction for the surface modification of varied keratin-rich fibers.