Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Truncated Dempster-Shafer optimization and benchmarking

The Dempster-Shafer (DS) evidential scheme is notoriously CPU-intensive and requires a truncation mechanism for real- time operation within a realistic Multi-Sensor Data Fusion (MSDF) system. A truncation scheme consisting of at least 4 parameters has previously been proposed and shown to work well in a limited set of naval and airborne scenarios. The present study considerably expands the realism of the generated airborne scenarios (by using a simulator with ground truth), expands the related platform and emitter databases, benchmarks the CPU loading, optimizes the values of the parameters by requiring faster convergence to a single correct platform identification, and computes relevant Measures of Performance. It also compares the truncated DS scheme's method of ordering the propositions for the MSDF operator to other schemes such as possibility theory, plausibility decision rules, and the Expected Utility Interval approach. Most parameters are found to vary the database size and independence of sensor reports. In particular the need to keep more propositions than previously reported is quantified and schemes to dynamically adjust this number are proposed. The relevant thresholds also have to be simultaneously decreased as the database size increases. Furthermore the minimum amount of ignorance has to be kept at an appropriate level to recover from countermeasures included in some scenarios, or from badly trained ship classifiers.
Influence of Fulcrum Position on Springboard Response and Takeoff Performance in the Running Approach

The running forward springboard approaches of 20 divers on the U.S. senior national diving team were analyzed using planar video analysis and accelerometer output; the purpose was to investigate kinematic responses of the springboard tip and divers' lower extremities to alterations in fulcrum setting. Divers executed jump takeoffs from a 1-m springboard with the fulcrum at their preferred setting as well as 0.144 m (two fulcrum numbers) forward and 0.144 m back from that location. Potential advantages of setting the fulcrum back further from the tip (as opposed to closer) included greater downward board tip vertical velocity at the beginning of takeoff, more time to generate angular momentum, and increased vertical velocity going into flight. However, setting the fulcrum further back required the diver to achieve longer hurdle flight durations and to reverse downward motion from a more flexed knee position. Accelerometer output in the absence of video was not beneficial as a means of providing immediate p.
A switched quasi Z-source three-port (SqZSTP) DC-DC converter for a photovoltaic power generation system

In this paper, a modified wide-input switched quasi Z-source three-port (SqZSTP) DC-DC converter is proposed to interface a photovoltaic inverter with a distributed power generation system. The proposed SqZSTP DC-DC converter constructed with a quasi Z-source impedance network and a three-winding high-frequency transformer offers high voltage gain over a wide input voltage range. In the proposed topology, the input port is divided into two ports, to reduce the power rating and voltage stress across each component. The design and operating principles of the SqZSTP DC-DC converter are presented. The steady state and dynamic performance of the proposed SqZSTP DC-DC converter are compared to other converters that have an impedance network in front. The fuzzy logic controller used in the voltage loop avoids variation in the output voltage when a wide variation in the input voltage happens. In order to test the proposed topology, a scaled-down model with a voltage and power rating of 400 V/1400 W was developed. AT conversion efficiency of 94.5% is achieved.
A remote, on‐line 3‐D human measurement and reconstruction approach for virtual wearer trials in global retailing

A powerful 3‐D system has been developed for on‐line 3‐D human measurement and reconstruction that interferes with a SQL Server database for virtual wearer trials in global retailing. In this research, 3‐D body profiles have been captured and analysed using an on‐line image measurement and processing system developed in this research and then stored in the database system. A parametric geometric human model has been devised with an effective search algorithm that utilises body measurements obtained on‐line or retrieved from the database. A SQL server database system has been constructed with user friendly interfaces which enables users to collect, manage and analyse all related information including human body images.
MOBP rs616147 Polymorphism and Risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in a Greek Population: A Case-Control Study

Background and Objectives: To date, only one study has investigated the association between the rs616147 polymorphism of the Myelin-associated Oligodendrocyte Basic Protein (MOBP) locus and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Materials and Methods: A case-control study was performed. Patients with definite sporadic ALS were prospectively and consecutively recruited from the inpatient and outpatient clinics of the Neurology Department of the General University Hospital of Larissa, Central Greece. Community based, age and sex matched healthy individuals with a free personal and family history constituted the control group. Results: A total of 155 patients with definite sporadic ALS and an equal number of healthy controls were genotyped. The power of our sample size was slightly above 80% and MOBP rs616147 was determined to be in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium among healthy participants (p = 1.00). According to the univariate analysis, there was no significant relationship between rs616147 and ALS [log-additive OR = 0.85 (0.61, 1.19), over-dominant OR = 0.73 (0.46, 1.15), recessive OR = 1.02 (0.50, 2.09), dominant OR = 0.74 (0.47, 1.16), co-dominant OR1 = 0.71 (0.44, 1.14) and co-dominant OR2 = 0.88 (0.42, 1.84). Additionally, the effect of rs616147 on the age of ALS onset was determined insignificant using both unadjusted and adjusted (sex, site of onset) cox-proportional models. Finally, rs616147 was not related to the site of ALS onset. Conclusions: Our study is the first to report the absence of an association between MOBP rs616147 and ALS among individuals of Greek ancestry. Additional, larger nationwide and multi-ethnic studies are warranted to shed light on the connection between rs616147 and ALS.
Compact InP-based HBT VCOs with a wide tuning range at W- and D-band

Compact monolithic integrated differential voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) operating in W-band were realized using InP-based heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). The oscillators, with a total chip size of 0.6 by 0.35 mm/sup 2/, are based on a balanced Colpitts-type topology with a coplanar transmission-line resonator. By varying the voltage across the base-collector junction of the HBT in the current mirror and by changing the current in the VCO, the oscillation frequency can be tuned between 84 and 106 GHz. At 100 GHz, a differential voltage swing of 400 mV is obtained, which should be sufficient to drive 100 Gb/s digital logic. By combining the balanced outputs of a similar differential VCO in a push-push configuration, a compact source with close to -10 dBm output power and a tuning range between 138 and 150 GHz is obtained.
Postmenopausal women’s adherence to pelvic floor muscle exercises over 2 years

Abstract Objective This study aimed to investigate women’s adherence patterns to pelvic floor muscle exercises (PFME), their associated factors and within-pattern changes. Methods This was a secondary analysis using data collected from 647 women aged 55 years and older in the USA. Women were randomly assigned to either a 2-h class group or an equivalent content 20-min DVD group to receive PFME complemented with adherence enhancement strategies. Adherence was assessed at 3, 12 and 24 months using three self-reported items matching PFME parameters. The k-mean clustering and multinomial logistic regression were used to investigate adherence patterns and their associated factors, respectively. Descriptive statistics were used for within-pattern changes over time. Results Four adherence patterns, A, B, C and D, were identified. Women who displayed optimal adherence to all three aforementioned items, i.e. adherence pattern A, constituted 49.1%, 38.2% and 37.2% of women at 3, 12 and 24 months, respectively. Women with income > US$100,000 were more likely to display adherence pattern A within 12 months. Of women who had adherence pattern A at 3 months, 63.9% and 49.2% continued in this pattern at 12 and 24 months. Conclusions Fewer than half of women displayed adherence pattern A for 2 years. Early optimal adherence predicted women’s subsequent optimal adherence.
Solid Third Body Analysis Using a Discrete Approach: Influence of Adhesion and Particle Size on Macroscopic Properties

The dynamics of solid third bodies sheared between two rubbing bodies is far from being understood. Yet, this interface plays a prominent role in the velocity accommodation and in the load transmission. In the present paper, a simple model, which uses the Distinct Element Method, is operated in order to understand phenomena occurring in dry contact. In this model, the solid third body is considered as an aggregate of discrete interacting particles. Inter-particle forces are determined by force-displacement law and trajectories are calculated using the Newtons second law. The global behavior of the simulated contact can be analyzed through the evolution versus time of characteristic parameters calculated by averaging over all the particles. The model is used to study the effect of particle size and inter-particle forces. The influence of particle size is studied in presence of repulsive force (based on Hertz contact model), and in presence of adhesive force (based on JKR contact model). Some promising results are highlighted. In particular, with the boundary conditions chosen in this paper, it is shown that the particle size has a weak influence when inter-particle forces are repulsive but has a dramatic influence when inter-particle adhesion is considered: solid third body goes from a quasi-fluid to a quasisolid behavior.
Financial Analysis of a Large-Scale Photovoltaic System and Its Impact on Distribution Feeders

To promote the photovoltaic (PV) installation, a large-scale PV system installed in the Main Stadium of the 2009 World Games has been investigated for the design of selling price of PV power generation. The PV power generation is simulated according to the hourly solar irradiation and temperature provided by the weather bureau. The cash flow of annual power generation, the O&M cost, and the capital investment cost of the PV system is then used to derive the payback years and the internal rate of return for the PV system under different selling price of PV power generation. The voltage variation and the power system loss of the distribution feeder, which serves the Main Stadium, are also performed by executing the 3-φ load flow analysis for the impact analysis of the PV system. The results indicate that the reduction of voltage drop and power system loss can be obtained with the PV system installed to provide the dispersed generation for the local loads. However, the PV system penetration is limited due to the violation of voltage variation introduced by the large intermittent PV power generation. The selling price of PV generation has to be designed according to the conditions of solar irradiation and temperature so that sufficient incentives can be provided to encourage more customers to participate the PV program.
New Turbine Impellers for Viscous Mixing

New open impellers developed for viscous mixing applications were characterized experimentally in terms of power consumption and mixing times, and their performance was compared to that of standard turbines. Their design is based on a nonsymmetry of revolution principle contrary to standard impellers. A color-discoloration technique based on a fast acid-base indicator reaction and image analysis were used to evaluate the mixing efficiency. Experimental results show that the segregated, torus-shaped regions, always observed above and below standard turbine impellers, can be significantly reduced using the new turbine designs generating a well-balanced axial-radial flow field.
A Brief Review of Path Loss Models for mmWave Channels

It is planned to use millimeter wave (mm-wave) communication in 5th Generation (5G) communication systems, as it allows high bandwidth and accordingly high speed data communication. Path loss is one of the most important factors affecting system performance in mm-wave communication. Therefore, path loss must be taken into account in order to create an efficient and reliable mm-wave communication system and to obtain high data rates. It is very important for 5G systems to accurately determine the propagation characteristics and path loss models of the mm-wave communication channel. Many methods have been proposed in the literature to predict path loss with high accuracy and precision in 5G systems. In this review, it is aimed to provide researchers a clear knowledge about path loss in 5G mm-wave communication systems. Papers published between 2018-2021 which based on machine learning, deep learning, neural networks and propagation measurement approach were presented, and the main results of researches related to main path loss models Close-in (CI), and Alpha, Beta, Gamma (ABG) or Floating Intercept (FI) and papers that discussed 3-D ray tracing method were summarized in clear and precise manner.
The gradual erosion of NPI-hood with need verbs in Germanic

This talk addresses the puzzle why there are different ˋneed' verbs in Germanic languages, which all are lexically polysemous and which all display some extent of negative polar behaviour. Whereas all the uses of Dutch ˋhoeven' are negative polar, Modern Swedish ˋbehöva' is mostly distributionally unrestricted and only in its epistemic uses negative polar. Data suggest that this is a result of a gradual erosion of NPI-hood. The diverging behaviour of ˋneed'-verbs in Germanic languages can be most accurately managed assuming that lexical polysemy involves type hierarchy in which the different uses inherit from an abstract entry that defines semantics all these uses share. Moreover, it is concluded that if there is an NPI feature it is mandatorily inherited to all to its descendants. In languages such as Dutch this feature has scope over all uses, in languages such as Modern Swedish. it only bears scope over the epistemic uses.
Qualitative insights into the palliative care experience of a hospice-based sensory room

ABSTRACT Background The use of multi-sensory rooms as a form of engagement with art in Palliative Care is largely unexplored. Method This practice-based report discusses a qualitative study exploring the experiences of hospice-based inpatients receiving end-of-life care and their carers who immersed themselves into a multi-sensory room. Results Findings demonstrate that the room provided a safe space for reflection and reconnection that counteracted challenging times during their end of life. It fostered healing and wellbeing by alleviated suffering through respite and sharing of treasured memories with loved ones. Key considerations for future iterations are also discussed.
Thundercloud Electrostatic Field Measurements during the Inflight EXAEDRE Campaign and during Lightning Strike to the Aircraft

The AMPERA (Atmospheric Measurement of Potential and ElectRic field on Aircraft) electric field network was integrated on the Falcon 20 (F20) of SAFIRE (the French facility for airborne research) in the framework of EXAEDRE (EXploiting new Atmospheric Electricity Data for Research and the Environment) project. From September 2018, an in-flight campaign was performed over Corsica (France) to investigate the electrical activity in thunderstorms. During this campaign, eight scientific flights were done inside or in the vicinity of a thunderstorm. The purpose of this paper is to present the AMPERA system and the atmospheric electrostatic field recorded during the flights, and particularly during the pass inside electrified clouds, in which the aircraft was struck by lightning. The highest value of atmospheric electrostatic field recorded during these flights was around 79 kV·m−1 at 8400 m of altitude. A normalization of these fields is done by computing the reduced atmospheric electrostatic field to take into account the altitude effect (ratio between the atmospheric electrostatic field and the air density). Most of the significant values of reduced atmospheric electrostatic field magnitude retrieved during this campaign occur between around 5.5 and 9.5 km and are included between 50 and 100 kV·m−1. The highest value measured of the reduced atmospheric electrostatic field is 194 kV·m−1 during the lightning strike of the F20. The merging of these results with data from former campaigns suggests that there is a threshold (depending of the aircraft size) for the striking of an aircraft.
Alternative Approach toward the Aging of Asphalt Binder

Awareness that natural, financial, and energy resources are scarce goods has increased. Thus demand is growing for infrastructure that is not only of high quality but also efficient. Efficiency, in this case, aims to optimize cost and energy consumption over the complete life cycle of a structure. The objective is to build long-lasting infrastructure with low maintenance demands and with high recycling potential after it has reached the end of its service life. For bituminous bound materials, the aging of asphalt binder has a crucial impact on durability and recyclability. Because asphalt binder is organic by nature, the thermal and oxidative aging processes affected by chemical and structural changes occur when asphalt mixes first are produced and applied and continue over the course of their service life. Increasing stiffness and brittleness of the binder make pavement more prone to thermal and fatigue cracking. The interdisciplinary research project reported here worked toward a better understanding of the physicochemical fundamentals of asphalt binder aging, as well as of the impact of binder aging on the mechanical properties of asphalt binder and asphalt mixes. Through extensive chemical and mechanical analyses, a new model was developed to explain the aging process comprehensively (i.e., on the physicochemical and mechanical levels). Aging can be determined mathematically by micromechanical modeling. With the model presented in this paper, changes in asphalt binder as a result of aging (i.e., increasing brittleness and stiffness) can be explained.
Performance of Valveless Diffuser Micropumps Under Harmonic Piezoelectric Actuation

Valveless piezoelectric micropumps are in wide practical use due to their ability to conduct particles with absence of interior moving mechanical parts. The objective of this paper is to obtain the fluid flow response to actuation frequency of a passive diffuser valve under harmonic pressures. In this regards a 2D model of a micropump valves and chambers is analyzed. The analysis is performed for 10Kpa back pressure on micropump chamber and actuation frequencies within the range of 1Hz to 10 KHz. Results show the highest velocity in the direction of diffuser axis occurs at the narrow diffuser neck while flow direction reverses every half period. For low frequencies, a parabolic velocity profile is observed at the valve midway while, instabilities with the tendency of transition to boundary layer dominant profile is observed for high actuation frequencies. Oscillating flow in diffuser indicates existence of high shear stress regions near the wall along with the flow reversal in the center at high frequencies. Both valve and pump net flow rate decrease drastically as the frequency approaches a certain value. From electrical analogy viewpoint, nozzle/diffuser passive valves can be modeled as Low Pass Filters (LPF). The results are in good agreement with the relevant analytical findings. Similar to analytical results, flow rate is approximately in phase with actuation at low frequencies but phase shift ascends as actuation frequency is increased. The main head loss of flow occurs at the diffuser valves while sudden contraction and expansion of streamlines at the diffuser entrance and exit involve only 22% of the total energy. The results are in agreement with the previous experiments of micropump flow at high frequencies.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
The The Impact of the Exchange Rate Volatility on Stock Markets Dynamics in Tunisia and Turkey: An Artificial Neural Network Analysis

The present research provides an overview of links between exchange rate volatility and the dynamics of stock market returns in order to identify the influence of several macroeconomic variables on the volatility of stock markets, useful for political decision makers as well as investors to better control the portfolio risk level. More precisely, this research aims to identify the impact of exchange rate volatility on the fluctuations of stock market returns, considering two countries that belong to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) zone: Tunisia and Turkey. Previous works in the literature used very specified and short periods of study, many important variables were neglected, and most of the earlier research was concentrated on the developed countries. In this research, we integrate several control variables of stock market returns that have not been simultaneously studied before. In addition, we spread out our research period up to 15 years including many events and dynamics. Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) and multiple regression models are first employed. Then, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is used and compared with the results of the multiple regression. Hence, the results show that for both Tunisia and Turkey, exchange rate volatility has a significant effect on stock market fluctuations.
Selective outcome reporting in paediatric dentistry restorative treatment randomised clinical trials—A meta‐research

Abstract Background Selective outcome reporting (SOR) is a bias that occurs when the primary outcome of a randomised clinical trial (RCT) is omitted or changed. Aim To evaluate the prevalence of SOR in RCTs on restorative treatment in primary teeth. Design We conducted an electronic search on ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization platform (International Clinical Trials Registry Platform) on 1st of April 2021, with no registry time or language restrictions. We included RCT protocols that evaluated restorative treatments in primary teeth and excluded trials that did not have a complete publication in a scientific journal. The chi‐squared test was used to identify the association between SOR and variables as a discrepancy in the follow‐up period, the timing of registration, the type of sponsorship and the type of study design (α = 5%). Results Of the 294 identified protocols, 30 were included in the study. 83.3% of trials were registered retrospectively. SOR was observed in 53.3% (n = 16) of the published trials and was significantly associated with a discrepancy in the follow‐up period (p = .017). Conclusions The high prevalence of SOR in RCTs on restorative treatment proves that this is a prominent threat. A proper preregistered protocol, declaration of any protocol deviation and allowance of stakeholders to compare the protocol with that of the submitted papers will achieve transparency.