Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Aerobic degradation 2,4-dinitrotoluene: effect of raw organic wastes and nitrogen amendment

2,4-Dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), a major by-product of the synthesis of 2,4,6- trinitrotoluene, is widely used as a waterproofing, plasticizing and gelatinizing agent in propellants and explosives. Due to its toxicity, the compound is treated as a priority pollutant. Therefore, its removal from contaminated systems is a major focus of research and attention. Contaminated sites in Ibadan, Nigeria were screened for the presence of 2,4,-DNT degrading organisms. The technique of continual enrichment on NACs yielded bacterial isolates able to utilize 2,4-DNT as growth substrate. Based on phenotypic characteristics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing one of the isolates selected for further study was identified as Proteus sp. strain OSES2. Growth of the strain on 2,4-DNT resulted in exponential increase in biomass and complete substrate utilization within 72 h accompanied with NO 3 - elimination. Degradation competence enhanced in the presence of Corn steep liquor, molasses and Tween 80 compared to incubation without amendment. Conversely, amendment with nitrogen sources yielded no significant improvement in degradation. Use of this organism organic wastes as candidates in bioremediation strategy should be exploited. This would provide a cheaper organic source supplement for cleanup purposes with the ultimate aim of reducing the cost of bioremediation while reducing wastes intended for landfill.
Discovery of Potential Biomarkers Related to Aggressive Progression and Vascular Invasion of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background Aggressive progression together with vascular invasion limit the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we aim to identify novel candidate targets related to aggressive stage progression and vascular invasion in HCC and explore the underlying molecular mechanism.Results We first found that high expression of VCX3A was significantly associated with aggressive progression and vascular invasion in HCC, and indicated poor prognosis. Subsequently, hsa-miR-664a-3p and TUBA3C was found to be the most potential upstream miRNA and downstream targets of VCX3A, respectively.Conclusions Our research demonstrates that hsa-miR-664a-3p-VCX3A-TUBA3C axis may be a novel pathway linked to stage progression and vascular invasion of HCC, which provides promising prognostic biomarkers and effective therapeutic approaches for HCC.Methods Firstly, RNA sequencing data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Differentially expressed genes with consistency in three comparison sets (normal VS stage I/II; stage I/II VS stage III/IV; none invasion VS invasion) were identified, after which survival analysis was performed. Next, hub gene expression was validated using clinical samples. Then, upstream miRNA was found according to miRNA predication, clinical pathological bioinformatic analysis and expression analysis. Besides, downstream molecular was found in terms of co-expressed analysis, survival analysis and expression analysis.
Energy Efficient Load Latency Tolerance: Single-Thread Performance for the Multi-Core Era

Around 2003, newly activated power constraints caused single-thread performance growth to slow dramatically. The multi-core era was born with an emphasis on explicitly parallel software. Continuing to grow single-thread performance is still important in the multi-core context, but it must be done in an energy efficient way. One significant impediment to performance growth in both out-of-order and in-order processors is the long latency of last-level cache misses. Prior work introduced the idea of load latency tolerance---the ability to dynamically remove miss-dependent instructions from critical execution structures, continue execution under the miss, and re-execute miss-dependent instructions after the miss returns. However, previously proposed designs were unable to improve performance in an energy-efficient way---they introduced too many new large, complex structures and re-executed too many instructions. This dissertation describes a new load latency tolerant design that is both energy-efficient, and applicable to both in-order and out-of-order cores. Key novel features include formulation of slice re-execution as an alternative use of multi-threading support, efficient schemes for register and memory state management, and new pruning mechanisms for drastically reducing load latency tolerance's dynamic execution overheads. Area analysis shows that energy-efficient load latency tolerance increases the footprint of an out-of-order core by a few percent, while cycle-level simulation shows that it significantly improves the performance of memory-bound programs. Energy-efficient load latency tolerance is more energy-efficient than---and synergistic with---existing performance technique like dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS). Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Computer and Information Science First Advisor Amir Roth
Navigating Mobile Robots: Systems and Techniques

This is a survey of the state-of-the-art in sensors, systems, methods and technologies utilized by a mobile robot to determine its position in the environment. The many potential "solutions" are roughly categorized into two groups: relative and absolute position measurements. The first includes odometry and inertial navigation; the second comprises active beacons, artificial and natural landmark recognition and model matching. The authors compare and analyze these different methods based on technical publications and on commercial product and patent information. Comparison is centred around the following criteria: accuracy of position and orientation measurements; equipment needed; cost; sampling rate; effective range; computational power required; processing needs; and other special features.
SHEFEX The Vehicle and Sub-Systems for a Hypersonic Re-entry Flight Experiment

The purpose of the Sharp Edge Flight Experiment (SHEFEX) is to investigate the aerodynamic behaviour and thermal problems of an unconventional shape for re-entry vehicles, comprising multi-facetted surfaces with sharp edges. The main object of this experiment is the correlation of numerical analysis with real flight data in terms of the aerodynamic effects and structural concept for the thermal protection system (TPS). The Mobile Rocket Base of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is responsible for the test flight of SHEFEX on a two stage unguided solid propellant sounding rocket which is required to provide a velocity of the order of Mach 7 for more than 30 seconds during atmospheric re-entry. This paper discusses the problems associated with the mission requirements and the solutions developed for the vehicle and sub-systems.
Design and evaluation of mobile games to support active and reflective learning outdoors

This thesis explores the use of situated, location-based mobile games for supporting learning in the field, to determine how these types of activity can support learners with reference to specific curricular aims, beyond just providing highly engaging and motivating activities. A software toolkit was developed to support the design and deployment of situated mobile learning activities. This was used to design and deploy mobile learning activities for two field studies. The first study used the critical incident technique to identify specific benefits and problems arising from outdoor mobile learning. We found that whilst learners were highly engaged by an outdoor learning activity facilitated by mobile devices, they were engaged only in the surface level of the activity and did not reflect on what they were doing. The second study comprised a grounded theory analysis of learner behaviour in the context of a location-based, enquiry-led learning game designed to overcome the problems found in Study 1 and in other projects. We present an analysis of learner interactions with the environment during an enquiry-led learning activity. Compared to an equivalent paper-based activity, the game helped to coordinate the learners’ activities and unexpected results from game actions prompted learners to reflect on their actions and what they observed. The physical environment also prompted discussion and reflection, but we saw specific problems arising from learners becoming distracted by their previous experience of the environment and by the proximity of environmental features. We discuss these findings and present implications for the design of future mobile learning games.
Service-Dominant Logic and Value in Tourism Management: A Qualitative Study within Spanish Hotels Managers

With the award-winning article of Vargo and Lusch (2004), a new concept was introduced, called Service-Dominant logic (S-D logic). This paper aims to apply S-D logic to the tourism sector by determining if this new approach, by means of the importance of value co-creation, can affect the perceptions of value in the mind of the consumer and, thus, be used as a source of competitive advantage if adopted by tourism service providers. In this paper a conceptual framework is established through a literature review on both S-D logic and value in tourism. After a review of both topics, links between them are conceptually explored. With empirical research methods this study analyzed the applicability of the ten foundational premises of S-D logic in the tourist experience. Through exploratory research, we conducted in-depth interviews with hotel directors in the tourism sector in order to generate qualitative data and provide valuable knowledge to make conclusions on the managerial implications that the practical use of this new mindset would entail. Tourism managers should consider these new ideas in practice as a way to enhance value co-creation and differentiate themselves from the competition.
Conversion of waste meat to resources by enzymatic reaction under high pressure carbon dioxide conditions

ABSTRACT Every year, a tremendous amount of meat is wasted, which may have adverse effects on the environment. Therefore, waste meat should be recycled. Building a recycling system for waste meat to reduce financial loss and careful treatment of life-based resources is essential. As meat contains abundant amino acids, it can be used as an immense source of amino acids for other industries following enzymatic hydrolysis. However, during the enzymatic hydrolysis process, the waste meat can easily get contaminated by microbes and therefore needs high temperature. In the present study, we applied high pressure carbon dioxide (HPCD) technology to prevent the contamination of meat by microbes during enzymatic hydrolysis process. According to our research, HPCD has a great potential to be adopted as a novel decontamination technology in the industrial enzymatic hydrolysis process at relatively lower temperature.
An investigation into the effectiveness of agile software development with a highly distributed workforce

An Investigation into the Effectiveness of Agile Software Development in a Highly Distributed Environment by James F. Kile Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Professional Studies in Computing May 2007 The use of iterative and incremental software development techniques accelerated during the latter half of the 1990s [91]. At the same time, new software development methodologies began to exploit these techniques, espouse flexible rules of project behavior, and focus on human interactions. By early 2001, the word agile was selected to describe software development methodologies adhering to these joint principles [45]. Agile methodologies approach software development from a social perspective and advocates collaboration over strict processes. By removing the process boundaries erected by traditional software development methodologies and by maintaining the discipline needed to produce quality software, it strikes a balance between software development as an engineering discipline and software development as a creative endeavor. It advocates the collocation of individuals working on a software development team from the customer all the way to the programmer in order to remove the communication and social barriers that can cause projects to fail even if they are following a rigorous and well-defined process. Agile software development has the potential to change the way we create software. Nevertheless, large organizations face several impediments that limit their ability to take advantage of the perceived benefits of agile: size, the prevalence and use of collaboration technology, and current outsourcing trends. Indeed, the recent corporate emphasis on outsourcing commodity development roles (such as general programming) to lower cost countries increases the likelihood that designers, programming staff, and the customer will not be collocated. This dispersion of personnel is a barrier to the adoption of agile software development by large organizations since they cannot easily accommodate the collocation requirement. To date, there is no empirical evidence from an industry setting to challenge the paradigm that successful agile software development projects necessitate people working in the same location. This dissertation investigates the practice of agile software development in a highly distributed (non-collocated) environment to understand its efficacy. Ascertaining which practices work well—with or without modification or accommodation—and those that do not work well provides necessary insight into whether an organization can overcome the collocation barrier while maintaining the real and perceived benefits of the practice.
A Comparison of 2 Current-Issue Army Boots, 5 Prototype Military Boots, and 5 Commercial Hiking Boots: Performance, Efficiency, Biomechanics, Comfort and Injury

Abstract : The experiment evaluated the physiological, biomechanical, and maximal performance responses of 14 male soldiers wearing 2 current Army boots, 5 prototype Army boots, and 5 commercial hiking boots. Physiological evaluation determined the rate of oxygen consumption for carrying a 60-Ib backpack load while walking in each type of boot. Biomechanical analysis quantified gait, posture, and lower-extremity joint forces and torque. Maximal-speed runs with and without a 60-lb backpack were timed on both straight and zigzag 400 m grass courses. Comfort and functionality questionnaires were administered to the volunteers after they walked 6 miles at 3 mph over pavement and wooded trail in each boot-type; blisters and other foot trauma were assessed post-march. Based on their overall performance, the boots were ranked from best to worst as follows: (1) Salomon Adventure 9 Ultralight, (2) Raichle Highline,- (Tie for 3,4,5) Prototype 3, Prototype 4, Asolo Meridian, (6) Asolo AFX 535, (7) Prototype 1, (8)Prototype 2(9) Montrail Moraine, (10) current-issue Army combat boot, (11) current-issue Army jungle boot, and (12) Prototype 5. The performance of all the boots is summarized in a table, and a list is provided of the best performer for each major evaluation variable.
Ship Effects Before and After Deepening of Sabine-Neches Waterway, Port Arthur, Texas

Abstract : The Sabine-Neches Waterway is a confined navigation channel with a shallow berm adjacent to the navigation channel whose berm width varies from near zero to more than 800 ft in the Sabine-Neches Canal. Ship effects that attack the bank and possibly lead to bank erosion were compared in the before and after enlargement of the channel. Ship speed is the most critical and most difficult parameter to define in such a comparison. At ship speeds typically found in the SNWW, the shallow berm results in a large breaking wave forming adjacent to the shoreline. This wave, referred to herein as the transverse stem wave (TSW), moves at the ship speed and has a magnitude of up to 5.5 ft based on measurements reported herein and is calculated to be up to 8.4 ft for extremely fast ships in the proposed channel. The TSW is used herein to quantify and compare ship effects on the shoreline. HIVEL2D is a two-dimensional numerical model that was used herein to compare ship effects at SNWW. The model was validated using data from one of the ships measured during the field data collection portion of this study. Two scenarios were evaluated that have the potential for increased bank attack in the proposed channel. The first scenario is that ships currently using the SNWW will be able to travel faster in the larger proposed channel resulting in an increase in bank attack. The second scenario is that future ships will be larger than those using the existing SNWW and will cause larger bank attack. The two bank attack scenarios were evaluated using a range of speeds for ships in the existing and proposed channels.
Three-Dimensional Load-Deformation Relationships of Arbitrarily Loaded Coiled Springs

This paper reports the development of a computer based tool that can be used to predict the three-dimensional load-deformation relationships of arbitrarily loaded coiled springs. The non-linear deformation of the spring is calculated by dividing the spring into small elements for which the load-deformation relationships can be considered to be linear. The load and deformation of each element are calculated recursively from one end to the other, and the total deformation of the spring is obtained as the sum of the contributions of all the elements. A linear, locally constant stiffness matrix is then established at the pre-loaded equilibrium point. This matrix is obtained by adding small increments to the initial load, calculating the corresponding changes in deformation and solving the linear system of equations in load increments and changes of deformation. An extended model for the linear stiffness of a short section of a coiled spring is developed in order to improve the accuracy of the calculations. This model calculates the deformation of the curved spring wire and includes the effects of pitch, curvature of the wire and distortion due to normal and transverse forces in the wire. The model shows some additional three-dimensional properties of the spring, e.g., rotational asymmetry. A three-dimensional static measurement of the load and deformation of a laterally loaded spring is performed and shows good agreement with the calculation of the non-linear deformation. Further, the natural frequencies of a mechanical system consisting of a rigid body and a laterally loaded spring are measured and compared with calculated results. This comparison verifies the merits of the linearized stiffness matrix. Both the static and dynamic experiments show that the accuracy of the calculations is improved when the extended stiffness model is used.
E-learning Environments: Generation C - The Missing Link

Consideration of the creative industries as a cohesive sector is a relatively recent and contentious construct. The newly coined label "Generation C" is used as a lens to frame relevant literature that describes knowledge workers who use information and communication technologies (ICT) to create and share content. To support learners in becoming effective creative industries practitioners, a reconsideration of learning designs is proposed that leverages Generation C learners’ natural communication practices and digital skill sets. Curriculum projects from the Creative Industries Faculty (CIF) at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) are presented as illustrations of approaches being employed. Challenges for academic managers include understanding the potential shift and strategically supporting new learning designs.
Multichannel Inverse Filtering of Multiexciter Distributed Mode Loudspeakers for Wave Field Synthesis

A new filter design method to synthesize the wave field of a given virtual source in a horizontal plane is presented. The reproduction of the wave field is performed by a novel “multi-exciter” distributed mode loudspeaker, which contains a special array of transducers, attached on a single panel. Below the spatial aliasing frequency, the diffuse behaviour of the panel as well as the individual directional characteristics of the transducers are taken into account accurately. Above that corner frequency, a modified design procedure is proposed, which employs energy considerations and spatial averaging. A number of such modules can be cascaded to a system, which allows true spatial audio reproduction over a large listening area.
Sensor interceptor operational policy optimization for maritime interdiction missions

Abstract : Maritime Interdiction Missions (MIM) are of great interest and high operational importance to the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and allied forces. The MIM scenario discussed in this thesis includes an area of interest with multiple neutral and hostile vessels moving through this area, and an interdiction force consisting of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and an intercepting vessel, whose objectives are to search, identify, and intercept hostile vessels within a given time frame. In this thesis we develop Stochastic Dynamic Programming models, which represent the MIM scenario. While a theoretical method of producing an optimal decision policy for the interdiction force is presented in this thesis, it is shown that such computation is intractable. The models developed in this study are used to analyze and evaluate the performance of a heuristic decision policy that we recommend to be applied by the interdiction force. Based on a numerical case study, which includes several representative MIM scenarios, we show that the number of intercepted hostile vessels following the heuristic decision policy is at least 60% of the number of hostile vessels intercepted following the optimal decision policy. Based on the results of the heuristic performance in the numerical case studies, we recommend the implementation of our suggested heuristic in an operational decision aid for Maritime Interdiction Missions.
Development of a Human Performance Model of a UAV Sensor Operator: Lessons Learned

Abstract : This report consists of five parts. Part one introduces the concepts of human-in-the-loop (HITL) virtual simulation, modeling and constructive simulation, and the human as an information processor. Part two introduces the constructive modeling tool used in the current study, the Combat Automation Requirements Testbed (CART), and briefly reviews two recent case studies where it was applied. Part three describes the effort to develop an in-house constructive simulation capability. Part four documents the development of a human performance model (HPM) for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) sensor operator (SO). HPM development activities included the creation of a mission scenario, identification of functions and tasks performed by a UAV SO on a typical mission, and model development (e.g., function and task decomposition, workload and response time estimation, and modeling). Part five summarizes lessons learned and proposes potential future activities.