Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Network of networks: Uncovering the secrets of entrepreneurs' networks

This dissertation provides a novel methodology to study entrepreneurship and online social networks. We suggest that online social network data can be used as behavioural data to study entrepreneurial processes. Furthermore, our simulation model can be used as an additional approach to predict the growth of new ventures in a fixed network structure. Using the simulation model we can also explore the dynamics and impact of online social networks on the entrepreneurial process over time. This study demonstrates that the online social network can be used to study various aspects of entrepreneurship, and it is thus worthy of further investigation in future research.
The contribution of socio-technical decision analysis to strategy development processes : an effective study

Approaches to assessing the effectiveness of decision analyses in strategy development contexts have yet to be widely covered in the academic literature. In particular, there are two major gaps: first, a lack of conceptual links between socio-technical decision analysis and strategy development processes, and, second, a limited number of approaches that assess empirically the process effectiveness of decision analyses. This PhD research contributes to filling these gaps. The first part of this study analyses the contribution of socio-technical decision analysis to the effective development of strategies. I introduce a simplified taxonomy of strategy development that classifies socio-technical decision analysis as contributing both to enhanced information exchange ('socio' side) and improved information processing (technical side). The second part of the study assesses the effect of socio-technical decision analysis. I develop two measures to test the process effectiveness as well as the group alignment effects of the approach. An application to six case studies shows that socio-technical decision analysis is perceived as consistently more effective than existing decision processes on eight 'socio', technical and result-oriented dimensions. In addition, it has helped to create group alignment. The study also indicates that a group of relatively inexperienced decision analysts can apply socio-technical decision analysis successfully. The empirical studies, however, revealed several weaknesses in the approach, in particular on the information exchange side. The third part of the study addresses these weaknesses by introducing 'Strategy Conferencing'. The approach aims to enhance the effectiveness of socio-technical decision analysis in strategy development contexts by adding outside expertise to the process-based socio-technical decision analysis.
The influence of honing process parameters on surface quality, productivity, cutting angle and coefficients of friction

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of tool kinematics parameters on surface roughness, productivity and cutting angle for grey cast iron cylinder liners machined by normal honing.Design/methodology/approach – For experimental investigation, a long stroke honing system was used. Diamond and SiC tools were used, for pre‐ and finishing, respectively. The values of cutting parameters were varied within the following limits: cutting speed vs=0.931‐1.11 m/s; specific pressure of pre‐honing process pd=1.0‐1.4 N/mm2 and specific pressure of finishing honing process pz=0.2‐0.5 N/mm2. The analysis of dispersion was conducted for determining the mathematical model for cutting parameter influence on surface roughness and productivity.Findings – Dispersion analysis proved that the most influential parameters on maximum roughness depth are cutting speed for D181 tool and specific pressure of finishing honing for D151 tool. The most influential parameter on productivity in the honing process.
The Effects on the Red Meats Prices of Feed Price: The Case of Turkey

 Abstract - In this study, using Granger causality test and ARDL bounds testing method, we analyzed the price transmission mechanism between wholesale and retail red meat prices and the impact of some variables on red meat prices in Turkey. In the analysis, the prices of wholesale beef, retail beef prices, fattening feed, milk feed, wholesale milk, corn, retail chicken prices and exchange rate data were used. According to the results of the analysis, two-way causality relationship between wholesale and retail meat prices was observed. According to the ARDL short-term models, the retail price impact factor of the wholesale prices was 0.44 and the retail prices' wholesale price-affecting coefficient was 0.45. Therefore, these prices affect each other equally in the short term. According to the ARDL long-term models, the retail price impact factor for wholesale prices was 0.54, while the wholesale price of retail prices was estimated to be 0.87. In summary, there is a bi-directional interaction between wholesale beef prices and retail beef prices. Retail prices are more likely to influence wholesale prices. Therefore, there is an asymmetric price mechanism between wholesale and retail meat prices. This indicates the existence of incomplete competition conditions in the meat market.
Parameters of Twisted Pairs Assessment for Frequency Band up to 1 GHz

The paper describes the measuring and modeling of attenuation and near-end crosstalk for a specific metallic cable in a frequency band up to 1 GHz. The paper also includes primary transmission parameters of this cable, which consists of four twisted pairs and is designed for telecommunication infrastructures in buildings. The aim of this paper is to compare measurements and simulations obtained from appropriate models and to determine the parameters of analytic models for modelling the transmission performance of advanced transmisssion systems.
Preparation for Higher Education: A study of collaborative partnerships in easing the transition to HE

This paper reports the second stage of a longitudinal study examining a successful collaborative project delivered through a p artnership between institutions. The study e valuates a Level 4 module for FE students delivered jointly by Teesside University and a number of partner Colleges of Further Education as a 'spiky profile'. The first phase of the study concentrated on 2006/07 and 2007/08. The research reported here continued the evaluation of the module looking at staff, students and curriculum content for 2008/09. It followed the progression of students from previous cohorts and also examined the scheme's expansion across the region resulting from the success of the original programme.
Transcriptional regulation and combinatorial genetic logic in synthetic bacterial circuits.

We engineered several synthetic regulatory circuits to study transcriptional regulation in bacteria. We developed a new technique for DNA construction, built and characterized in vivo a library of genetic logic gates, examined the role of genetic noise transcriptional regulation using a fluorescent multi-reporter system, and characterized a synthetic circuit for the control of population density. We used synthetic duplex DNA fragments and very short cohesive overhangs to direct ordered assemblies of diverse combinatorial libraries. Multiple DNA fragments were simultaneously ligated in a single step to produce random concatemers, without the need for amplification or product purification. We characterized the assembly process to identify optimal cohesive overhangs. We showed that the method was 97% efficient for assembling 100 base-pair concatemers from three duplex fragments. We constructed a library of 10,000 prokaryotic promoters, containing over 1,000 unique 100 base-pair sequences. These promoters responded to up to three inputs, and contained diverse architectural arrangements of regulatory sequences. We characterized the logical input functions of 288 promoters in Escherichia coli, and analyzed the relationship between promoter function and architecture. We defined promoter function in terms of regulatory range, logic type, and input symmetry; and identified general rules for combinatorial programming of gene expression. We built a synthetic three-color fluorescent reporter framework. This construct was non-toxic and extensible for synthetic and systems biology applications. Three spectrally distinct and genetically isolated reporter proteins allowed independent monitoring of genetic signals at the single-cell level. We showed that the simultaneous measurement of multiple genes can exploit genetic noise to sensitively detect transcriptional co-regulation.
Error-free all-optical demultiplexing at 336 Gb/s with a hybrid-integrated symmetric-Mach-Zehnder switch

Error-free all-optical demultiplexing at 336 Gb/s has been achieved by using a hybrid-integrated symmetric-Mach-Zehnder switch incorporating semiconductor optical amplifiers. A 3.0-ps switching window is opened by 1.5-ps control pulses, which keep the rising and falling edges of the steep switching window while minimizing the effect of intraband carrier dynamics in semiconductor optical amplifiers.
Estimation of arrival directions using MUSIC algorithm with a planar array

As one of the technologies used to overcome multipath fading in land mobile communications, adaptive array antennas and adaptive equalizers have been investigated. To put adaptive array antennas to practical use, the multipath signal propagation characteristics, such as the time delay and arrival direction, must be clarified. This can be accomplished via the antenna design and by developing an adaptive algorithm. The author has already proposed methods for measuring complex delay profiles with a virtual planar array. This involved scanning a linear array antenna and estimating the time delays and arrival directions of multipath signals by a two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform. This time, the author applied MUSIC algorithm to the virtual planar array to precisely estimate the arrival directions of multipath signals. In this paper, the performance and features of the MUSIC algorithm in estimating the arrival directions of multipath signals via computer simulation are clarified.
An all SU-8 microfluidic chip with built-in 3D fine microstructures

This paper describes the fabrication method of an all SU-8 microfluidic device with built-in 3D fine micromesh structures. 3D micromesh structures were seamlessly integrated into the SU-8 sealed microchannel. To eliminate gap formation and filling of the microchannel, the built-in micromeshes in the microchannel were formed by photolithography after bonding the SU-8 top-cover layer and the SU-8 bottom substrate. The lift-off method, using lift-off resist as a sacrificial layer, was utilized to release the all SU-8 microfluidic chips. Monolithic SU-8 structures realize uniform physical and chemical surface properties required in microfluidic devices for practical use. As an application, fragmentation of a water droplet in an organic carrier formed by a two-phase flow was demonstrated.
Exergy analysis of a gas turbine trigeneration system using the Brayton refrigeration cycle for inlet air cooling

Abstract Trigeneration with gas turbines as prime mover can improve energy utilization efficiency significantly because of their potential of high economic and energy saving characteristic. In this article, a novel method for compressor inlet air cooling in gas turbine trigeneration is achieved by the Brayton refrigeration cycle driven by the gas turbine and air is used as a working fluid. Introducing the air refrigeration cycle for inlet air cooling provides the advantage of quite low temperatures close to 0 °C and even lower, and enhances the performance significantly. The performance was evaluated by both energy and exergy efficiencies, with the latter providing good guidance for system improvement. The influences of key parameters, which include extraction pressure ratio, extraction mass rate, turbine inlet temperature (TIT), process heat pressure, and ambient relative humidity on the cycle performance parameters, have been investigated. It is found that the inlet air-cooled gas turbine trigeneration cycle has a good thermal performance, with first and second law efficiencies of 91 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively, for the base case studied (having a maximum cycle temperature of 1327 °C). For a minimum process heat pressure of 4 bar, the energy and exergy efficiencies were obtained as 89 per cent and 51 per cent, respectively. Gas turbine trigeneration plants with and without inlet air cooled by the Brayton refrigeration cycle are compared with each other, and the effect of inlet air cooling on energy and exergy efficiencies is clarified. Inlet air cooling increases the energy and exergy efficiencies and decreases the electrical to thermal energy ratio significantly. Exergy analysis indicates that maximum exergy is destroyed during combustion and steam generation, which represents around 65 per cent of the total exergy destruction in the overall system. The exergy destruction in major components of trigeneration varies significantly with TIT and process heat pressure. The present analysis provides further information on the role of inlet air cooling through extracted mass rate influence on the performance of a gas turbine-based trigeneration system.
Artificial hair cell and artificial lateral line

We report the development and application of an artificial hair cell (AHC) flow sensor inspired by biological systems. With optimized design and fabrication process, the AHC is characterized in terms of sensitivity, calibration, and robustness. Especially, an AHC can discern variations of water flow down to 0.1mm/s and survive 55o deflections. The sensor has been applied to flow field measurements, matching perfectly with analytical and previous experimental results. By employing arrays of such AHC sensors, an artificial lateral line is constructed for biomimetic studies on localizing and tracking hydrodynamic events.
Static response of miniature capacitive pressure sensors with square or rectangular silicon diaphragm

The static response of capacitive pressure sensors with a thin rectangular or square diaphragm is studied, assuming small deflections. Lagrange's equation is solved from the virtual displacement theorem and an approximated polynomial solution. It is shown that response can be expressed under a normalized form dependent only on the value of the diaphragm dimension ratio. For a given silicon surface, square sensors exhibit the highest sensitivity whereas rectangular sensors have a more linear behaviour. Finally, the proposed formulation equally allows easy and rapid determination of the four geometric parameters defining this type of sensor Etude de la reponse en regime statique du capteur, dans l'hypothese des deformations faibles
Coordination of directional overcurrent relay timing using linear programming

A successive linear programming methodology is presented to treat more effectively those applications where a local structure change is performed to a power system already in operation, and where the modification of the settings of already existent relays is not desirable. The dimension of the optimization problems to be solved is substantially reduced, and a sequence of small linear programming problems is stated and solved in terms of the time dial settings, until a feasible solution is reached. With the proposed technique, the number of relays of the original system to be reset is reduced substantially. It is found that there is a trade-off between the number of relays to be reset and the optimality of the settings of the relays.
The influence of structure in supply and demand on the performance characteristics of road traffic networks: an exploration of how methodological approaches from network science can be implemented for a transportation research problem

Recently, researchers in the field of Network Science have begun to study how the structural properties of road traffic networks affect their performance characteristics. An understanding of how different structures of network infrastructure and travel demand combine to yield different performance characteristics would be useful because it could help identify how existing road traffic networks could be used more effectively or how structural features, which yield desirable performance characteristics, could be built into the construction of new road traffic networks. Thus far, however, these studies have been restricted to numerical experiments with synthetic networks that do not provide plausible representations of real road traffic networks. Furthermore, these studies have used a disparate range of parameter settings for supply and demand structure, making it difficult to generalise their findings, and have provided no explanations for their conclusions. To address these deficiencies, this thesis proposes an investigative framework for studying the effects of structure on the performance characteristics of road traffic networks. This framework comprises an experimental part, which describes how to design and conduct numerical experiments so as to provide useful insights into how performance varies with respect to specific aspects of network structure; and an analytical part, which focuses on developing explanations for patterns uncovered numerically. This thesis then demonstrates the application of this framework to an investigation of how two performance indicators; the average link Volume-to-Capacity ratio and the Price of Anarchy, vary with respect to four aspects of road traffic network structure. As part of this investigation, a simple model of road network generation is presented that produces spectrums of plausible, synthetic road traffic network ensembles, which vary with respect to specific aspects of structure. Focussing on the variation of the Price of Anarchy with travel demand, this thesis then establishes theory that explains several features of the variation shown numerically.
Improving the Efficiency of the Vilnius City Transport System in the Context of Sustainable Mobility and Multimodality

Vilnius is one of the most dynamic cities in Eastern Europe experiencing a continuous increase in the number of vehicles and the development of road transport networks associated with a wide range of environmental impacts, greenhouse gas emissions, depletion of raw materials, energy and fuel consumption and also a social impact, expressed in the quality of life of people, human health, traffic jam and economic impact because of generated losses of economic efficiency. Different strategies have been adopted by the city of Vilnius to tackle the increasing traffic flows with a modest impact and without a long-term effect. This article aims at analysing the measures taken to improve the transport system of Vilnius city and presenting different types of solution, which could improve interconnectivity of passenger transport as ways to solve the problems of the urban transport system.
Probabilistic Materials Engineering and Certification

The high cost of certification as well as the extended length of time required to certify a new weapons system is limiting the Air Force’s ability to develop new systems. The extended times between major DOD procurements, the small quantities purchased, and the low production rates of these systems make it difficult to affordably achieve high reliability and performance through traditional R&D-based materials engineering. In addition, the time required for new material development and validation often extends beyond the decision point for incorporation of such materials in new weapons systems. The timeliness and cost-effectiveness of materials engineering processes for new designs and design changes can be radically improved by replacing today’s experimentally-based materials qualification process with modeling and probabilistically-based materials engineering.
Research on the effect of car’s roll motion on the aerodynamic characteristics of high-speed car

The main purpose of this study is to study the aerodynamic mechanism of periodic roll motion of car body and provide engineering reference for car design and safety evaluation. A simplified roll motion model is established based on a real car model. The two-wheel centerline of the left-wheel symmetrical section is considered as the roll axis, and the overset mesh method was used to model the sinusoidal roll motion of the car. According to the experimental data, the frequency and maximum roll angle were set to be 10 Hz and 2.2°, respectively. A transient numerical solver based on the detached-eddy simulation method is employed. The accuracy of the numerical method is validated by means of the wind tunnel test. Due to the asymmetry of the movement, the aerodynamic change of the roll motion was obvious. It is found that the roll motion is closely related to the aerodynamic characteristics of the car. Because of the hysteresis effect, the phase of aerodynamic force on the car shifts and the most dangerous position of the car is obtained. In addition, the aerodynamic differences of the car parts are found, and the wake is analyzed in detail.
Location Optimization Problem with Multi Refineries and Multi Stations

In this paper, the contest problem C of 2010 Contemporary Undergraduate Mathematical Contest in Modeling is extended to location optimization problem with multi refineries and multi stations, and the solution procedure is divided into two main phases. In the first stage, the objective function of construction cost is established under the distribution of multi refineries and the unit cost of pipeline, and then the extremal solution is obtained by differential evolution in view of the connection status of some refineries. In the second stage, the exhaust algorithm, which has high complexity, is discussed to provide the exact solution. After that an improved clustering algorithm is proposed to directly define the category of multi refineries. The experimental results show that, the proposed approach can greatly improve computation efficiency without severely sacrificing the accuracy of the results, which especially meets the objective requirement of engineering practice.
Predicting adverse events in patients who are anxious about dental procedures

Background Dental extractions can cause significant anxiety making patients feel sick. In serious cases, extractions can cause unconsciousness and even death. Therefore, systemic adverse events must be completely avoided. We herein developed a method to predict dental extraction-related adverse events in patients. Methods The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAIY-1) was administered before calculus removal and extraction, and STAIY-2 was administered before calculus removal in 93 patients (men, 44; women, 49). These patients were at a dental clinic for outpatient treatment. The vital signs like blood pressure, pulse rate, and arterial oxygen saturation and salivary amylase activity were measured at 2- and 4-min intervals before calculus removal as well as before extraction. Results Of the 93 patients, one man and one woman suffered from an adverse event. Maximum points for raw STAIY-1 scores were measured before extraction for both men and women, suggesting that performing the STAIY-1 survey prior to extraction is effective in predicting extraction-related adverse events. We also investigated rate changes (rate change = mean value during extraction − mean value during calculus removal/mean value during calculus removal) and mean pre-extraction pulse rates in patients who suffered from an adverse event. Adverse events occurred in men when there was a rate change of ≥ 0.225 and mean pre-extraction pulse rate was ≥ 90.0 bpm and in women when there was a rate change of ≥ 0.200 and the mean pre-extraction pulse rate was ≥ 95.0 bpm. We used these pulse rates as cutoff values. Conclusions Thus, the combined use of pre-extraction STAIY-1 results and pulse rate cutoff values could increase the success of predicting adverse events in such patients.