Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
3D numerical modelling of concrete structural element reinforced with ribbed flat steel rebars

Construction company MATIERE has developed a new type of reinforcement based on ribbed flat steel in recent years. The objective of the present work is to obtain information about the bending behaviour of RC structural elements reinforced with these ribbed flat steel bars and also about the cracking process they induce (number of cracks and crack opening), especially at the serviceability limit state. The structural element chosen for this work is a small slab‐beam (330 × 15 × 80 cm) subjected to three‐point central bending. Concurrent with this experimental study, a 3D finite element model was developed at IFSTTAR to consolidate the experimental results. It appears that the numerical modelling strategy chosen in this work is relevant for analysing both the bending behaviour of an RC structural element and its cracking process.
Transient temperature performance of an integrated micro-thermal system

A novel integrated thermal microsystem was designed and fabricated with a heater, microchannels and distributed temperature sensors. This device allows, for the first time, an experimental study of the transient behavior of a thermal microsystem. The transient temperature behavior of the device was studied for a variety of heater power levels and forced convection flow rates, where DI water was used as the working fluid. Both heating-up rise time and cooling-down fall time due to a step current input were determined for natural and forced convection heat transfer. The transient temperature response to a sinusoidal power input was also investigated. The resulting temperature distribution was measured as a function of the input signal and the flow rate. The step response under natural convection is exponential for both heating and cooling processes. However, under forced convection, the heating-up time response exhibits a clear overshoot. The response time for both heating and cooling process is about four times faster than that for the natural convection case. Furthermore, under certain conditions, the periodic temperature response can exhibit a large peak-peak temperature without the occurrence of dry-out phenomenon.
Exact Quantification of System Reliability Indexes in Probabilistic Contingency Analysis

Probabilistic contingency analyses (PCAs) can provide complementary information to existing deterministic analyses for tackling the increasing uncertainties introduced by deployment of renewable generation. The PCA built into existing software calculates probabilistic indices of system problems based on a rare event (RE) approximation. When the probabilities of outage events are relatively large, the RE approximation is no longer applicable, and the calculated probabilities may deviate significantly from the real values, or even be larger than 1.0. To overcome this issue, this paper introduces two quantification methods, namely, a minimal cutset upper bound (MCUB) and a binary decision diagram (BDD). These two methods are capable of better approximating and calculating the exact system problem probabilities, respectively. Additional investigation includes the calculation of system problem frequencies and durations using both the MCUB and BDD methods. A Python implementation was integrated into an enhanced PCA (ePCA) tool. A comparison study was performed to demonstrate the feasibility and performance of the proposed methods.
A Design and Implementation of Circuit for Efficient Power LED Dimming Control

The conventional dimming control methods of LED (Light-emitting dioades) include Analog, PWM (Pulse Width Modulation), and FM (Frequency Modulation) Control. Analog dimming is controlled by adjusting forward current of Power LED. Although Analog dimming is possible to control linearly the brightness levels on a whole range (0%~100%), it comes into existence a variation of wavelength by changing the Power LED's forward current. PWM dimming has achieved by varying in duty of full current flowing to the Power LED. Generally, PWM dimming doesn't make variation of wavelength but have difficulty with adjusting the linear brightness level between 0% and 10%. FM dimming method is on the same wavelength as PWM dimming, however, it has problem of flickering at low level of dimming. This paper propose a efficient dimming control method of Power LED in order to overcome the disadvantages of the above mentioned methods. We apply to Analog method in low level of dimming control and use PWM method in dimming range from 10% to 100%. For the experiment, we design and implement a circuit and test the proposed method. Consequently, we can control the linear brightness of Power LED across the whole range and get the constant wave at different dimming level. The experimental results show the benefits of the proposed method.
Preservation of Hopkins Street Bridge via externally bonded prestressed CFRP laminates

Several fascia beams of an existing prestressed concrete box-girder bridge, located in the City of Defiance, Ohio, USA were severely deteriorated due to the influence of de-icing salt applied during wintertime. An in-depth visual inspection and subsequent full-scale load tests were conducted to identify the extent of deterioration. A strengthening strategy was devised involving advanced carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite strips, post-tensioned via the Stress Head system that was developed and patented in Switzerland. The technique, the first of its type in the USA, offers numerous advantages over conventional repair and rehabilitation methods. The inherent attributes of this innovative approach include lighter weight for easy handling, lower loss of prestress due to higher initial tensile strain, corrosion resistance laminates, optimal use of high tensile strength of CFRP plates, optimal cost/performance ratio, and increased durability with reduction of crack width and tensile steel strain.
The application of camera based traffic monitoring systems

A combined CCTV and Automatic Incident Detection (AID) system was installed for the Yorkshire Link Design Build Finance and Operate (DBFO) motorway scheme. Using video image processing to detect slow moving and stopped vehicles, the system provides an early warning of potentially hazardous traffic conditions. Design criteria such as camera placement, user interface and the impact on normal use of the CCTV system are discussed.
Development and Validation of a Lifestyle Behavior Tool in Overweight and Obese Women through Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

There is a paucity of effective intervention tools for overweight/obese women to assess, guide and monitor their eating behavior. This study aimed to develop a lifestyle intervention tool, assess its acceptability and usefulness, and verify its construct validity in overweight/obese women. The 6P tool (Portion, Proportion, Pleasure, Phase, Physicality, Psychology) was developed and 15 women with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2 were interviewed to assess its perceived acceptability and usefulness. Subsequently, the revised 6P tool was tested in 46 women with a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short (IPAQ), and weight were measured at baseline and one-month. Most participants were satisfied with the presentation of the 6P tool (86.8%), and agreed it was useful in guiding healthy eating (81.6%) and raising awareness of eating behavior (97.4%). There were significant improvements in cognitive restraint (p = 0.010) and disinhibition (p = 0.030) (TFEQ), portion size (P1), pleasure behaviors (P3), and total composite 6P score (p < 0.001). However, there was no significant reduction in weight or increase in physical activity. The 6P tool is acceptable and presents with good validity for assessing lifestyle behaviors.
SIMULATION OF PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION FOR INVESTMENTS ON STOCK MARKET

This work reports simulations performed using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) as applied to investments on the stock market. About 480 stocks belonging to the S&P500 index have been taken into account. A naive approach has been developed in which one simulation step corresponded to one trading period. As a second ingredient of the investment strategy, the relative strength of an asset has been employed. The results are analyzed with respect to the parameters of PSO.
Expanding our students' brainpower: idea generation and critical thinking skills

How do we teach our students to think? This is not a skill that they can pick up by doing "X" number of homework problems; it is the product of good habits that must be practiced and honed on a daily basis. It is a state of mind that continually questions "Who? What? Where? When? How? Why? " In light of this reality, we developed this segment for the "Introduction to Literature Review and Proposal Writing" graduate course this past summer. Our goals during this three-day class period were: /spl middot/ To define the creative process /spl middot/ To identify techniques that enhance creativity /spl middot/ To practice idea generation and critical thinking skills in controlled settings This segment helps smooth the transition between the undergraduate mentality of "teach me" to the desired graduate-student mentality of "enable me. " It attempts to demystify the creative process, which most people associate with inspired moments and geniuses, so that students can deliberately foster an atmosphere that will help them generate new research ideas.
Magnetic field analysis and inductances of brushless DC machines with surface-mounted magnets and non-overlapping stator windings

A 2D analytical model is developed for calculating the self- and mutual-winding inductances of brushless DC machines having surface-mounted permanent magnets and non-overlapping stator windings. The model is validated against both finite element analyses and measurements, and used to predict the influence of machine design parameters. >
A construction of the minimum volume ellipsoid containing a set of points using BRKGA metaheuristic

The problem of obtaining a Minimum Volume Enclosing Ellipsoid (MVEE) of a given point set C = { x 1 , . , x n } ⊆ R n is found in several practical applications. This paper proposes an alternative methodology to build these ellipsoids of minimum volume through a metaheuristic based on the Biased Random-Keys Genetic Algorithm (BRKGA) in order to reduce the computational cost in solving n -dimensional MVEE problems. The formulation was implemented in Python and compared with the CVX package implemented in MATLAB for 10 two-dimensional instances. The results showed that BRKGA generated solutions with a high level of accuracy and low computational cost.
Electrical resistance tomography for process applications

Measurement of electrical resistivity via four probes is widely used in a variety of applications ranging from geophysical prospecting to silicon wafer manufacture. Electrical resistivity tomography is an extension of this approach and is performed via an array of equi-spaced electrodes mounted into the periphery of a process vessel to map non-intrusively the spatial distribution of resistivities within. The digitized boundary data are 'inverted' by an image reconstruction algorithm to produce a map of the internal resistivity distribution. This paper focuses on the design and operation of flexible electrical resistivity tomography instrumentation for use on laboratory- and plant-scale process equipment.
Improved Techniques for Acquiring Pressure and Fluid Data in a Challenging Offshore Carbonate Environment

The combination of low permeability, oil base mud and near saturated oils presents one of the most challenging environments for fluid sampling with formation testers. Low permeability indicates that the drawdown while sampling will be high but this is contraindicated for oils that are close to saturation pressure. A logical response is to therefore reduce the flow rate but in wells drilled with OBM an unacceptably long clean-up time would result. The Pinda formation in Block 2 offshore Angola presents just such a challenge. Formation mobilities are in the low double or singledigits, saturation pressure is usually within a few hundred psi of formation pressure and borehole stability indicates that the wells must be drilled with oil base mud. In the course of several penetrations of the Pinda formation a number of attempts were made to acquire representative formation samples but were stymied due to either excessive drawdowns that corrupted the fluid or by excessive contamination levels that rendered the samples unsuitable for laboratory analysis. Clearly a more flexible solution was required. In this paper we review the results from previous attempts in the Pinda. We show the pre-job modeling that was done to predict the required flow rates and the anticipated drawdowns. Ultimately a two-step solution was used. We first ran a high efficiency pretestonly WFT in order to quickly gather formation pressure data and mobility data. This data was then used to design the sampling string which was a combination of an inflatable dual packer with focused probe. We discuss the decision process that governed the choice of pump, displacement unit, probe and packer. We pay particular attention to the unique pump configurations that were required to effectively manage the drawdowns when using the probe and also to allow sufficient flow rate when using the dual packer.
A Novel Imidazolinone Derivative with 5‐Arylidene and 2‐Substituted Mercapto Group as Potent Anti‐Hepatitis C Virus Compound

Here six novel imidazolinone derivatives have been synthesized and the compound 4b containing 5‐para‐methoxy‐phenylidene and 2‐thioalkylation terminal substitution with 3’‐cyano‐2’,6’‐dimethylphenyl showed the best anti‐HCV activity and the lowest cytotoxicity. Selectivity index (SI=CC50/IC50) for the 4b was determined as 36, indicating that compound 4b was highly selective towards HCV.
Lung Cancer Attracts Greater Stigma than Other Cancer Types in Aotearoa New Zealand

Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Aotearoa New Zealand, killing over 1,700 people each year. Despite the burden of lung cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand, the popular press has referred to it as the cancer type that no one talks about. Here, we investigate one factor that may contribute to this state of affairs: lung cancer stigma. Methods Participants were university students and members of the general public. University students were recruited via an online experiment participation system in 2021. Members of the public were recruited via social media. All participants completed the Cancer Stigma Scale (CSS) for one of five cancer types (lung, cervical, breast, skin, or bowel). The CSS is a 25-item scale with six subscales: awkwardness, avoidance, severity, policy opposition, personal responsibility, and financial discrimination. Results The mean age of participants was 24.3 (Standard Deviation = 10.4). Data from each subscale were submitted to an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with cancer type as a between-participant factor (5: lung, cervical, breast, skin, or bowel) and stigma as the dependent variable. Relative to most other cancer types, people were more likely to avoid someone with lung cancer, view interacting with someone with lung cancer as more awkward, and view people with lung cancer as being responsible for their condition. Conclusion The Health Research Council of New Zealand recently funded the very first trial of lung cancer screening in Aotearoa New Zealand. The current study suggests that addressing stigma will be essential for the success of such programs, with stigma likely influencing those who engage in such trials.
Three Dimensions of Process Improvement Part I: Process Maturity

February 1998 The first issue to be addressed in any improvement program is “Why should we improve? ” Regardless of how logical the improvement is and regardless of growing evidence of its benefits, organizations do not launch successful process improvement programs until they have a compelling business reason. One of the most effective improvement motivators is customer pressure. In the case of the CMM, the U.S. Air Force asked the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) to devise an improved method to select software vendors. When we responded with the CMM, the defense industry then had a compelling business reason to improve their software processes. As the CMM became more widely used, the business logic for improvement also evolved. Now, many software organizations desire to establish and maintain a strong competitive position as quality suppliers of software-intensive systems. Once the “why” question is answered, the next immediate question is “What must we do to achieve a superior software capability? ” This is the principal question addressed by the CMM. The maturity-level framework and related evaluation system help organizations understand their capabilities. They can then compare their current practices with the CMM model and see what activities they need to add or improve. Once an organization knows what to do to improve, the next question is “How do we make these improvements? ” This question involves several organizational levels. At the management level, a software engineering process group (SEPG) helps establish the definition, control, and improvement tasks needed to launch an improvement program. At the next level, the TSP guides project teams and their management in applying process principles to meet project objectives. Finally, the PSP addresses the way engineers develop products. For the organization to meet its objectives, the engineers and managers at all these levels must perform their tasks with skill and competence. In the last analysis, to do superior software work, organizations must have high-performance software engineers working on well-managed and high-performing project teams. Figure 1 shows the relationships among these management, team, and engineering layers. Organizational capability is built from the inside out while project support and engineering motivation are provided from the outside in. Effective work in all three layers is required for a fully productive software organization. The balance of this article describes why we developed the CMM, PSP, and TSP, and how they work.
INDIVIDUALISM, COLLECTIVISM, AND GOAL ORIENTATION FOR ATHLETES FROM INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM SPORTS

In the last years, the issue concerning individualism and collectivism in sport has increasingly attracted researchers’ attention. The relation between individualism-collectivism and performance has been surveyed (Cox et al., 1991, Mann, 1980, Wagner, 1995), the stability of teamwork (Kiffin-Petersen & Cordey, 2003, Kirkman, 1996, Kirkman & Shapiro, 2001), team performance (Karsh, 1984, Smith, 1984). This study aimed to examine individualism and collectivism and their relation to goal orientation among athletes with different levels of qualification practicing six different kinds of sport. The research was done among 160 athletes practicing six sports – three (3) team sports and three (3) individual sports. To fulfill the aim of the research, we used: 1. Scale for measuring the horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism INDCOL of Singelis, Triandism Bhawuk, & Gelfand, 1995; 2. Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire – TEOSQ, Duda & Nicholls, adapted for Bulgarian conditions by Domuschieva-Rogleva, 2003. 3. Psychological Collectivism Measure – Jackson et аl. , 2006. We established significant differences among competitors practicing individual and team sports and differences depending on the qualification, club affiliation, gender. The influence of individualism and collectivism on goal orientation in sport was revealed.
Effect of Phase Transformations on Scanning Strategy in WAAM Fabrication

Due to its high production rates and low cost as compared to other metal additive manufacturing processes, wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) has become an emerging technology in the manufacturing industry. However, the residual stress generation and part distortion hinder its widespread adoption because of the complex thermal build-histories of WAAM parts. One of the ways to alleviate this problem is to consider the effects of scan strategies as it directly influences the thermal history of the built part. Since WAAM itself is an evolved welding process and even though it is evident from welding studies that phase transformations directly affect the residual stresses in welded parts, it remains unclear how the consideration of phase transformations for different scan strategies will affect the residual stresses and distortions in the WAAMed parts. A FEM study has been performed to elucidate the effects of phase transformations on residual stresses and the distortion for different deposition patterns. The current findings highlight that for the fabrication of low-carbon martensitic steels: The consideration of phase transformations for line-type discontinuous patterns (alternate and raster) do not significantly affect the residual stresses. Consideration of phase transformations significantly affects residual stresses for continuous patterns (zigzag, in–out and out–in). To accurately simulate complex patterns, phase transformations should be considered because the patterns directly influence the temperature history of the built part and will thus affect the phase transformations, the residual stresses and the warpage. During the fabrication of WAAM parts, whenever possible, discontinuous line scanning patterns should be considered as they provide the part with uniform residual stress and distortion. The alternate line pattern has been found to be the most consistent overall pattern.
DECADAL VARIATIONS IN TRANSLATIONAL SPEED OF CYCLONIC DISTURBANCES OVER NORTH INDIAN OCEAN

1. Tropical Cyclones (TCs) are devastating weather events that cause extensive damages over coastal areas of the world. Even though TC dynamics are highly complex, forecasting TC movement, intensity & time and location of landfall based on climatology and persistence have been in vogue for long which served as crucial inputs for civil administrators and disaster managers. For forecasting TC intensity, the roles of two dominant factors that determine the extent of intensification, viz., vertical wind shear and TC translational speed need to be understood clearly. Several studies relating shear and speed of movement to intensification of TCs have been reported for various oceanic basins worldwide. It has been shown that TC translational speed influences asymmetry in TC structure and rainfall distribution (Chen et al., 2006). Regarding the role of translational speed on TC intensification, generally, it is understood that if TC movement is too slow, oceanic cooling due to turbulent mixing generated by whirling winds would disrupt the intensification process while on the other hand, if the TC movement is fast, the resulting asymmetric structure will also inhibit intensification.