Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Short-term trend prediction of bearing based on SGWT and MLE method

Bearings are widely used in rotating machines, and the bearing abnormities have significant effects on the operation of machines. Short-term trend prediction of the bearing is very important for the maintenance decision making. In this paper, a novel bearing short-term prediction method based on SGWT and MLE method is developed. The original data is denoised using SGWT, and the maximum Lyapunov exponent which contains bearing fault characteristic information are calculated, and these characteristic parameters are used to predict the short-term trend of bearing. The effectiveness of this methodology is demonstrated using experimental data.
Identifying Ranid urostyle, ilial and anomolous bones from a 15th century London well

The accurate identification of bones from archaeological excavations is critical for the understanding of past faunas. In the United Kingdom, remains from East Anglian fens suggest that more anuran species existed in Saxon times than is the case today. Here, novel methods have been devised to determine the identity of anuran ilia and urostyle bones. These methods were used on remains from a 15th century archaeological site 200 metres north of St Paul's Cathedral, London, originally assumed to be common frog (Rana temporaria) with one possible water frog (Pelophylax sp.) imported as human food. The results suggest that the majority of the ca. 500 year old urostyle remains can be attributed to (in order of likelihood) P. lessonae, R. arvalis or R. dalmatina. The approaches described here complement existing methods and allow for more robust future identifications from zooarchaeological remains. A method is also suggested for taking the effect of growth on different parts of the same bone into account, thereby making bones of various sizes more comparable.
A Review of Heuristic Optimization Methods in Econometrics

Estimation and modelling problems as they arise in many fields often turn out to be intractable by standard numerical methods. One way to deal with such a situation consists in simplifying models and procedures. However, the solutions to these simplified problems might not be satisfying. A different approach consists in applying optimization heuristics such as evolutionary algorithms (Simulated Annealing, Threshold Accepting), Neural Networks, Genetic Algorithms, Tabu Search, hybrid methods and many others, which have been developed over the last two decades. Although the use of these methods became more standard in several fields of sciences, their use in estimation and modelling in econometrics appears to be still limited. We present an introduction to heuristic optimization methods and provide some examples for which these methods are found to work efficiently.
A numerical and experimental study through laser thermography for defect detection on metal additive manufactured parts

Additive manufacturing has been recently employed in industrial sectors with the fundamental requirement for zero defect parts. Technological developments in additive manufacturing notwithstanding, there continues to be a scarcity of non-destructive inspection techniques to be exploited during the manufacturing process itself, thus limiting industrial advancements and extensive applications. Therefore, being able to integrate the defect inspection phase within the additive manufacturing process would open the way to enabling corrective actions on the component in itinere, that is, before reaching the final product. For this reason, new methods of in-process monitoring are gaining more and more attention nowadays. In this work, a remote laser thermographic methodology is employed as a mean to detect micrometric defects in additive manufactured samples. Beforehand, a preliminary Finite Element Analysis was carried out in order to optimize the sensitivity of the technique to the micrometric defects. Our results indicate that the technique is proved to be quite successful in detecting flaws, with the added plus of being suitable for integration in the additive manufacturing equipment, thus allowing a continuous in-line inspection.
The numerical study of roll‐waves in inclined open channels and solitary wave run‐up

In this paper, we introduce a finite‐volume kinetic BGK scheme and its applications to the study of roll and solitary waves. The current scheme is based on the numerical solution of the gas‐kinetic Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook model in the flux evaluation across each cell interface. An intrinsic connection between the BGK model and time‐dependent, non‐linear, non‐homogeneous shallow‐water equations enables us to solve shallow‐water equations automatically with our kinetic scheme. The analytical solution, experimental measurements, and numerical calculations for problems associated with roll‐waves down an inclined open channel and solitary waves incident on a sloped beach are also presented. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A New HRRP Reconstruction Method based on Joint Sparse Model

At present, most of the high resolution range profile reconstruction methods are based on a single echo signal, without considering the relationship between all the echo signals. In this paper, we consider the sparse feature of echo signal, and propose a method of high resolution range profile reconstruction based on joint sparse model. The method can not only improve the accuracy of the reconstruction, but also reduce the number of the reconstructed volume, and have strong anti-noise performance. Finally, the advantages of the proposed method in this paper are demonstrated by simulation and analysis.
The Influence of Parenting Styles and Parents′ Perfectionism onChildrens′ Sense of Entitlement in the City of Bandarabbas, Iran

This study examines the influence of parenting style and parents’ perfectionism on children’s sense of entitlement in the city of Bandarabbas, Iran. A total of 414 respondents, of whom 207 were parents and 207 were children, filled in the study's questionnaire, which had been designed to assess the primary variables of parenting style (authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive), parents’ perfectionism (self-oriented, other-oriented, and sociallyprescribed), and levels of children’s sense of entitlement. The results revealed that the parent-participants perceived their use of an authoritative parenting style as high and, in terms of their sense of perfectionism; they perceived themselves as high in both other-oriented perfectionism and socially-prescribed perfectionism. Also the childrenparticipants did not seem to possess a high sense of entitlement. The result of the hypothesis testing shows that the more the parent-participants subscribed to a sense of self-oriented perfectionism, the lower the sense of entitlement expressed by their children.
Title Group-based approach to predictive delay model based on incremental queue accumulations for adaptive traffic control systems

In this study, we develop a mathematical framework to estimate lane-based incremental queue accumulations with group-based variables and a predictive model of lane-based control delay. Our objective is to establish the rolling horizon approach to lane-based control delay for group-based optimization of signal timings in adaptive traffic control systems. The challenges involved in this task include identification of the most appropriate incremental queue accumulations based on group-based variables for individual lanes to the queueing formation patterns and establishment of the rolling horizon procedure for predicting the future components of lane-based incremental queue accumulations in the time windows. For lane-based estimation of incremental queue accumulations, temporal and spatial information were collected on the basis of estimated lane-based queue lengths from our previous research to estimate lane-based incremental queue accumulations. We interpret the given signal plan as group-based variables, including the start and duration of the effective green time and the cycle time. Adjustment factors are defined to identify the characteristics of the control delay in a specific cycle and to clarify the relationship between group-based variables and the temporal information of queue lengths in the proposed estimation method. We construct the rolling horizon procedure based on Kalman filters with appropriate time windows. Lane-based queue lengths at an inflection point and adjustment factors in the previous cycle are used to estimate the adjustment factors, arrival rates, and discharge rates in the next cycle, in which the predictive computation is performed in the current cycle. In the simulations sets and the case study, the proposed model is robust and accurate for estimation of lane-based control delay under a wide range of traffic conditions. Adjustment factors play a significant role in increasing the accuracy of the proposed model and in classifying queueing patterns in a specific cycle. The Kalman filters enhance the accuracy of the predictions by minimizing the error terms caused by the fluctuation in traffic flow.
Domestic Cooking Effects of Bambara Groundnuts and Common Beans in the Antioxidant Properties and Polyphenol Profiles

Processing of legumes before consumption has several effects on micronutrients, macronutrients and phytonutrients. This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of domestic processing on antioxidant activities and phenolic phytochemicals of the red bambara groundnuts and red beans. The study employed in vitro antioxidant assays (DPPH and FRAP) to screen for antioxidant properties, HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS and Folin Ciocalteu assay to screen for phenolic phytochemical profiles. Domestic cooking displayed positive effects on the antioxidant activity and phenolic phytochemical profiles of the two legumes. The free radical scavenging speed increased 10-fold in the methanolic extract from cooked red bambara groundnuts compared to uncooked. By contrast, the free radical scavenging speed increased 20-fold in the methanolic extract from cooked red beans compared to uncooked. HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS profiles of the cooked red bambara groundnuts and red beans revealed a number of emergent phenolic compounds, mainly flavonoids. These data indicate that cooking appear to enhance the nutraceutical profiles of the legumes investigated.
Evaluation of Antidiabetic Potential of Pinus roxburghii Bark Extract in Alloxan Induced Diabetic Rats

In the present study we investigated the possible anti-diabetic potential of Pinus roxburghii Sarg. in alloxan induced diabetic rat. Diabetes was induced in rats by injecting them with alloxan (120 mg/kg body weight). Control rats were either healthy untreated, or diabetes induced untreated rats which only received distilled water. The acute effect of ethanol extract was evaluated by administering 100, 300, 500 mg/kg body weight p.o. to normoglycemic rats. In the chronic model, the ethanol extract was administered to normal and alloxan-induced-diabetic rats at dose of 100, 300, 500 mg/kg body weight p.o. per day for 21 days. Blood glucose levels and body weights were monitored at specific intervals and different biochemical parameters were also carried out. The statistical data indicated the significant (p<0.01) increase in the body weight and decrease in the blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin levels, total cholesterol and serum triglycerides. HDL cholesterol level was significantly (p<0.01) increased when treated with the extract. Quercetin isolated from the bark of plant showed α-amylase inhibitory activity . Hence, it can be concluded that antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic activities of ethanol extract of Pinus roxburghii Sarg. Bark may be due to the presence of phytoconstituents like flavanoids.
Virtual Reality Practice, Computer Games, and Improvement of Cerebral Palsy Balance: A Single Subject Study

Introduction: Virtual reality is a novel technology which creates attractive environment using computer hardware and software. In these virtual realities people can actively participate and use their motor and cognitive abilities. Current study aimed at investigating effect of virtual reality on the balance of children with cerebral palsy. Material and Methods: This research is a single subject study with ABA design conducted on three children with cerebral palsy (GMFCSΙ level). Basic phase and intervention phase of investigation lasted for 2 and 4 weeks, respectively. Intervention sessions were repeated 3 times per week like base line phase. In each intervention session, children performed different computer games for 21 minutes. These games require center of pressure displacement in the frontal and sagittal planes. Follow-up phase was implemented 2 to 3 months after completion of intervention phase. Changes were measured using following measurement tools: pediatric reach test (PRT), Timed Up and Go (TUG), 10-meter walking (10MW) and subtest of balance and lower limb strength test, including Bruininks-Oseretsky of Motor Proficiency (BOMP). Finally results were investigated using visual analysis and C Statistics. Results: Comparison of PRT tests and subtest of balance and lower limb strength test, including BOMP suggested significant improvement in static balance (P=0.000), jumping ability, and dynamic balance of children participating in the research and durability of this improvement in follow-up phase, though investigation of TUG and 10MW test results showed no significant improvement. Conclusion: Results in this research showed that using virtual reality can improve balance in children with cerebral palsy.
Modeling a CRM system with an EAI* framework

Some Enterprise Architectures and Information Systems frameworks can be used to model different aspects of Enterprise Application Integration (EAI). Considering several of these frameworks and in particular the approaches proposed by the Brown’s Conceptual Model of Integration and the Integration Views of Sandoe, we have defined an EAI Framework (EAIF), expressed as a standard UML model. Its main contributions are on one hand, to unify concepts and terminology related to integration aspects and on the other hand to model the main features related with processes, services, mechanisms and people involved in business integration. Moreover, EAIF can be used within the enterprise to help integration project managers. The main goals of this work are: - present the EAIF specification, which complements the standard UML model, and - experiment the modeling of the processes, services, mechanisms and people of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system using the specification to illustrate the EAIF instantiation process. The application to the case study allowed the detection of inconsistencies in the definition of some of the CRM integration processes and the corresponding services suggesting changes in business strategies.
Green synthesis of zirconium-MOFs

The synthesis of Zr-MOFs under green, industrially feasible conditions was investigated. Two new compounds with bcu-topology and the fluorinated analogue of UiO-66 exhibiting fcu-topology were obtained and characterised. All products exhibit permanent porosity. In the bcu-frameworks the interaction with sulfate anions apparently induces an unusual eightfold connectivity of the Zr cluster.
Supervised Unsupervised Learning in Spark MSc Reseach Project Data Analytics

Clustering is the unsupervised classification of patterns into groups and is one of the most popular techniques applied to explore and discover naturally occurring patterns within hitherto unlabelled data. The quality of the clusters resulting from a clustering algorithm can be verified using clustering validity indices, which take into account the intra cluster similarity and inter cluster separation of the clusters. However in a distributed setting the computation of pairwise distances between data points of a large data set distributed across the cluster can be computationally very expensive. This research proposes to evaluate a sampling based approach to computing the cluster validity indices for distributed datasets and embed this methodology into a model selection pipeline that evaluates distributed machine learning jobs in selecting an optimal clustering algorithm. The results suggest the sampling error of the internal validation index so computed is statistically significant.
Contesting Genetic Knowledge-Practices in Livestock Breeding: Biopower, Biosocial Collectivities, and Heterogeneous Resistances

Cattle and sheep breeders in the UK and elsewhere increasingly draw on genetic techniques in order to make breeding decisions. Many breeders support such techniques, while others argue against them for a variety of reasons, including their preference for the ‘traditions’ of visual-based and pedigree-based selections. Meanwhile, even for those institutions and breeders who promote genetic techniques, the outcomes are not always as predicted. We build on our recent use of Foucault's discussions of biopower to examine the effects of the introduction of genetic techniques in UK livestock breeding in order to begin to explore the diffuse and capillary nature of resistance within relations of biopower. We focus specifically on how resistance and contestation can be understood through the joint lenses of biopower and an understanding of livestock breeding as knowledge-practices enacted within heterogeneous biosocial collectivities. In some instances these collectivities coalesce around shared endeavour, such as increasing the valency of genetic evaluation within livestock breeding. Yet such mixed collectivities also open up opportunities for counter-conduct: heterogeneous resistances to and contestations of genetic evaluation as something represented as progressive and inevitable. We focus on exploring such modes of resistance using detailed empirical research with livestock breeders and breeding institutions. We demonstrate how in different and specific ways geneticisation becomes problematised, and is contested and made more complex, through the knowledge-practices of breeders, the bodies of animals, and the complex relationships between different institutions in livestock breeding and rearing.
Influence of strategic organizational components on the performance of deposit taking Savings and Credit Cooperatives in Kenya

A cooperative business as an organization is composed of at least four key strategic components namely: the organizational purpose, key resources, key processes and enterprise performance. The four organizational components are the building blocks of any enterprise performance and their power lies in their complex interdependencies. This makes the strategic components ideal concepts of analyzing firm performance, as it ensures no important factors are overlooked. Since inception, Cooperative enterprises have devised a stable system in which the components bond to one another in consistent and complementary way, resulting to sustainable performance and better response to economic crises than investor-owned firms. However, current trend in Kenya indicate that majority of SACCOs are moving away from the cooperative business model towards investor-owned enterprise model through re-branding.Thus, this study intends to investigate the extent to which the Cooperative strategic organizational components influence the performance of Deposit taking SACCOs in Kenya. The research will be cross-sectional survey targeting all the 215 deposit taking Saccos licensed by the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) as at 31 st December 2013. Stratified random sampling technique will be used to select a sample of 115 Saccos. Data will then be collected using questionnaires, document analysis as well as interviews, then analyzed using correlational and regression analysis. The results of the study are expected to show a significant positive influence of strategic organizational purpose, key resources on performance of deposit taking Saccos as moderated by key business processes.
FLEEING PREDATION: THE EFFECT OF COPPER EXPOSURE ON INDUCIBLE ANTIPREDATOR DEFENSES IN DAPHNIA PULICARIA CLONES FROM A HISTORICALLY METAL CONTAMINATED LAKE

iii Co-Authorship . iv Acknowledgements . v Chapter 1 General Introduction . 1 Chapter 2 Literature Review . 2 2.1 Antipredator defenses and chemosensation . 2 2.2 Predator regime and inducible defenses. 3 2.3 Costs and benefits of inducible defenses . 4 2.4 Chemosensation and metal stress . 7 2.5 Tolerance to metal stress . 9 2.6 Thesis objectives . 13 Chapter 3 Fleeing predation: the effect of copper on inducible antipredator defenses in Daphnia pulicaria clones from a historically metal contaminated lake . 15 Abstract.16 Introduction.17 Materials and Methods.19 Results.23 Discussion.26 Chapter 4 General Discussion and Implications of Research . 49 References.55 Appendix A Supplementary Experimental Data . 62
A PIV STUDY OF FLUID FLOW THROUGH PARALLEL COMMUNICATING LAYERS OF POROUS MEDIA

The paper reports results of a particle image velocimetry (PIV) study of the flow of water through layers of model parallel, communicating porous media when the layers have the same porosity and when the porosities of the layers differ. The model porous media is constructed of a square array of acrylic rods designed such that porosities of 0.99, 0.975, 0.95, 0.80, 0.78 and 0.51 are achieved. It is shown that flow in a free channel closely matches the expected, parabolic profile. For systems when a free zone is above a porous layer, it is shown that, even for modest values of porosity, the vast majority of the fluid flows through the free zone. If the system consists of only two porous layers (no free zone) of the same porosity, a very symmetrical flow pattern results. For systems consisting of a free zone between two porous zones of the same porosity, the free zone again carries most of the flow. If the two porous zones have different porosities, complicated flow patterns can result. However, for even modest porosity contrasts, the higher porosity zone carries the bulk of the flow. These results have direct application in engineering systems such as tube-in-shell heat exchangers. However, they also provide essential insights into reservoir processes such as flow in fractured reservoirs, and flow in parallel zones which communicate. The results demonstrate that, for even these simple systems, single phase flow patterns can become very complex.
Reproductive biology of the musky octopus Eledone moschata (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) in the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt

The current study was designed to address the lack of information regarding the reproduction biology of the musky octopus, Eledone moschata, in the Mediterranean Sea. The work presents the first detailed study of seasonal variation in sexual maturity and age determination using length-frequency analysis. The lengthfrequency analysis in both male and female samples revealed 2 modes that are assumed to be 2 years classes. Eggs number per ovary weight (g) showed a significant differences among seasons (P = 0.001), with peak fecundity occurring during the winter followed by a progressive decline in spring through fall. The GSI values also showed similar results where the index value was higher in winter and then declined in the following seasons. This indicates that the spawning season of the musky octopus may occur in the summer and may extend to the fall of the same year. The musky octopus is dioecious. The male were found to reach sexual maturity earlier than the female tissues. The 50% sexual maturity level was reached at 7.2 cm CL for males and 7.4 cm CL mm for females.