Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phased array antenna element for automotive radar application

In this thesis work, a design of reliable antenna front-end for W band automotive radar is studied and the problems and considerations associated with phased array antenna design at W-band are addressed. Proposed phased array antenna consists of on chip patch antenna which has the advantages of being integrated by the active circuitry. A sample of patch antenna and patch array are designed and fabricated to be tested for their functionality. Printing antenna on Silicon substrate is a compact and cost-effective approach. However, antenna on Silicon will have poor gain and will also suffer from surface wave (SW) excitation. The reason for this is Silicon high dielectric constant and loss. Surface wave can be easily excited on high dielectric constant substrate which results in gain drop and distortion in radiation pattern. To avoid substrate loss, available back etching in foundry process is used to remove the silicon under the radiating antenna and improve the gain. To kill the surface wave, a type of engineered material- called Electromagnetic Band-Gap (EBG)- is designed to filter the SW around the antenna's frequency of operation. To test the fabricated antenna, a measurement setup is implemented to do refection coefficient and radiation pattern measurement. Measured S parameters show that there is frequency shift in response of measured antenna with respect to the simulated one. This shift can be attributed to uncertainty about the dielectric constant of Silicon at W-band. To find the exact value of Silicon dielectric constant, a measurement setup based on free space method is devised to determine the exact value of the silicon dielectric constant at W-Band frequency range.
The Efficacy of High-Intensity Preoperative Physiotherapy Training on Postoperative Outcomes in Greek Patients Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Purpose: Several studies have shown that patients with severe osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee can reduce their knee pain, improve their quadriceps strength, and improve their functional ability through regular exercise training. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a six-week supervised high-intensity preoperative training program on muscle strength, functional performance, and patient-reported outcomes in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods: Ninety-eight patients scheduled for unilateral TKA for severe OA were allocated to an intervention group (N = 49) who completed a six-week preoperative training program, five days per week prior to surgery, and a control group (N=49) who did not follow any preoperative training program. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), the Physical Functioning Scale of the Short Form-36 questionnaire (SF-36), Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), quadriceps strength, 20-meter walk test, and 30-second chair stand test were assessed at six weeks before surgery (T0), just before surgery (T1), four weeks (T2) and finally 12 weeks (T3) after TKA. Results: Of 98 patients included in our study, 10 individuals withdrew from the study at different stages. Finally, 44 patients were allocated to the intervention group and 44 patients to the control group. When comparing the changes from baseline to the primary test points at T1, T2, and T3, we found a significant group difference in favor of the intervention group for quadriceps strength (<0.001, 0.001, 0.009), 20-meter walk test (<0.001, 0.023, 0.032), 30-second chair stand test (0.001, <0.001, <0.001) and all patient-reported outcomes WOMAC (<0.001, 0.001, 0.007) except from KOOS that showed significant difference only at T1 (<0.001) at T2 (0.048) but not at T3 (0.087). Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that a six-week preoperative physiotherapy training program supervised by a physiotherapist before TKA is efficacious for decreasing knee pain, improving knee function, and enhancing daily living activities.
Relationship Between Muscle Cramps and Diabetic Retinopathy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Aim Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) often suffer from muscle cramps of varying severity. Studies have shown that muscle cramp is closely related to local microcirculation perfusion disorders. Diabetic retinopathy can not only reflect the microcirculation perfusion in the eye but also the systemic microcirculation in patients with diabetes. The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between muscle cramps and diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods A total of 150 adult patients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled and administered a questionnaire on muscle cramping, along with a visual analogue scale for pain. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) was determined by using fundus photography and graded as non-proliferative DR (NPDR) and proliferative DR (PDR). To assess whether there was an association between the muscle cramps and diabetic retinopathy, we conducted binomial logistic regression analysis. Results Our study revealed that 48% of patients with T2DM experienced muscle cramps in the past three months. Patients self-reported suffering from muscle cramps exhibited a higher prevalence of DR (61% vs 38%, P < 0.05) and PDR (22% vs 4%, P < 0.05) compared with patients without muscle cramps. Serum 25-(OH) vitamin D, calcium, and magnesium levels were not significantly different between patients with and without muscle cramps. After adjusting for age, duration of diabetes, HbA1c, vitamin D, potassium, calcium, and magnesium, we demonstrated that diabetic retinopathy (OR, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.01–4.69; P< 0.05) and albumin (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82–1.00; P< 0.05) were highly associated with muscle cramps. Binomial logistic regression analysis also indicated that severity of DR is associated with muscle cramps. In addition, DR and PDR were found to be associated with muscle cramp frequency (P for trend < 0.05), duration (P for trend < 0.05), and pain severity (P for trend < 0.05). Conclusion Muscle cramps occur frequently in diabetes and are correlated with diabetic retinopathy and albumin. Patients with PDR exhibited a higher frequency, severity, and longer duration relative to those with NPDR or without DR. Our findings suggested that muscle cramps in individuals with T2DM might be a result of microvascular dysfunction. Modulation of microvascular perfusion might thus provide a therapeutic target for alleviating muscle cramps.
Energy Estimation of Distributed Phase-shift Beamforming

Ad-hoc and sensor networks are composed of small, low-power devices, which can connect between themselves without the help of an infrastructure. Research in this area has been both extensive and intensive and is still very far from exhaustion. Our work in this area is aimed at developing a new type of communication between groups of modules capable of connecting clusters (groups) of devices which are separated by distances greater than the maximum transmission range of the devices themselves, without the help of relays or signal repeaters. In this paper we study the energy requirements for bidirectional communication between two clusters separated by a distance greater than the maximum transmission range of the modules, in the classic way (with the use of repeaters or relays) and by applying distributed phase-shift beamforming.
WISP2/CCN5 Suppresses Vasculogenic Mimicry through Inhibition of YAP/TAZ Signaling in Breast Cancer Cells

Simple Summary Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy in women worldwide. Advanced breast cancer with distant organ metastases is considered incurable with currently available therapies. The vasculogenic mimicry (VM) process is associated with an invasive and metastatic cancer phenotype and a poor prognosis for human breast cancer patients. Our aim was to study the effect of WISP2, a matricellular protein, on VM. We found that WISP2 inhibits VM through inhibition of CYR61 protein expression and YAP-TAZ signaling. Our finding may open promising candidates for blocking VM in breast cancer. Abstract Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formed by aggressive tumor cells to create vascular networks connected with the endothelial cells, plays an important role in breast cancer progression. WISP2 has been considered as a tumor suppressor protein; however, the relationship between WISP2 and VM formation remains unclear. We used the in vitro tube formation assay and in vivo immunohistochemical analysis in a mouse model, and human breast tumors were used to evaluate the effect of WISP2 on VM formation. Here we report that WISP2 acts as a potent inhibitor of VM formation in breast cancer. Enforced expression of WISP2 decreased network formation while knockdown of WISP2 increased VM. Mechanistically, WISP2 increased retention of oncogenic activators YAP/TAZ in cytoplasm, leading to decreased expression of the angiogenic factor CYR61. Studies using an in vivo mouse model and human breast tumors confirmed the in vitro cell lines data. In conclusion, our results indicate that WISP2 may play a critical role in VM and highlight the critical role of WISP2 as a tumor suppressor.
Sr‐O‐C isotope signatures reveal herbivore niche‐partitioning in a Cretaceous ecosystem

Stable and radiogenic isotopes represent powerful tools for reconstructing ecological and environmental patterns in ancient ecosystems. The Cretaceous of North America preserves a diverse record of fossil vertebrates well‐suited to analysis using these proxies, contained within many well‐sampled and stratigraphically well‐characterized intervals. Multiple hypotheses have been offered to explain the diverse assemblages of megaherbivores that co‐occurred in the relatively restricted available landmass here, including various forms of niche‐partitioning related to habitat preference, dietary specialization and feeding height stratification. Here we analyse the 87Sr/86Sr, δ13C and δ18O of bioapatite samples obtained from a range of herbivores, faunivores and endemic taxa, from a spatiotemporally‐constrained and intensively‐sampled site in the upper Oldman Formation, to test if megaherbivores partitioned their niches based on spatial patterns of occupation and resource‐use. We also compare measured strontium values to regional 87Sr/86Sr data to assess biogeographical range sizes, habitat breadth and migration potential. We find that hadrosaurs had broad ranges, whereas ankylosaurs and ceratopsids were more spatially restricted. The 87Sr/86Sr ranges of hadrosaurs are much wider and do not overlap with those of other ornithischians, potentially related to dietary differences driven by a combination of feeding height‐stratification and habitat breadth differences. Ankylosaurs and ceratopsids overlapped extensively in 87Sr/86Sr, δ13C and δ18O, indicating overlap in the same habitats and intake of similar resources, and suggesting more complex spatiotemporal variation in resource‐use patterns, fine‐scale dietary differences, and/or sufficient resource‐availability to reduce the degree of competition given this theoretical niche overlap. Additional analyses integrating ecomorphological proxies may elucidate these patterns further.
Graph analysis and clustering of proteins linked with COVID-19

A remarkable number of scientific initiatives are in practice to encounter the new coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19). One of the biggest challenges faced by the COVID-19 researchers in the therapeutic field is the knowledge about the biological functions in disease-human interacting proteins. The detection of COVID-19 protein complexes, a group of proteins that possess the same biological functions, helps in better understanding of the biological processes in our body. The main contribution of this work is to cluster proteins that perform the same biological functions to increase the knowledge about the COVID-19 disease-human interacting proteins. The authors investigated proteins linked with COVID-19 disease by creating a disease-human protein-protein interaction graph. Topological means of graph analysis and graph clustering have been employed to group proteins that possess the same biological functions. These clusters will be the protein complexes that work together to carry out a specific biological function in a human cell. Moreover, through the cluster analysis, we can uncover previously unknown COVID-19 disease-human protein links that are beneficial for promising knowledge discovery. Also, the authors evaluated how the Markov Cluster algorithm, a graph-based algorithm finds interesting patterns of similar features from COVID-19 disease-human protein-protein interaction graph. The Markov Cluster algorithm results in six statistically significant protein clusters, including cluster (A): keratinization (3.50E-71), (B): regulation of cellular process (6.62E-05), (C): regulation of cell cycle (1.31E-27), (D): mitotic cell cycle (1.66E-06), (E): regulation of phosphoprotein phosphatase activity (1.15E-09), and (G): G2/M transition of mitotic cell cycle (3.03E-07).
Gaussian Mixture Model for Multivariate Wind Power Based on Kernel Density Estimation and Component Number Reduction

The Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is a powerful tool to establish the probability distributions of random variables in power system analyses. GMM can model arbitrary probability distributions by increasing the number of its Gaussian components, but the commonly used expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm fails to obtain accurate GMM for large component numbers, which limits the application of GMM to multivariate wind power modeling. In this letter, a parameter estimation method for GMM with large component numbers is proposed based on kernel density estimation (KDE) and the improved density-preserving hierarchical EM algorithm. Then, the closed-form solution to probabilistic power flow (PPF) calculation is derived based on piecewise linearization and GMM, which validates the importance of large component numbers. Finally, the proposed uncertainty modeling method is compared with EM-based GMM, Copula functions, KDE, k-nearest neighbors and block neural autoregressive flow on actual wind speed data to validate its superiority in describing the details of probability densities of wind power. PPF calculation is performed to show the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed uncertainty analysis method.
Sparse point-plane odometry in structured environments

Abstract In this paper, we propose a sparse point-plane odometry used in structured environments. Compared to a point-based odometry, we add additional planar constraints into the process of optimization, making the results more reliable. A novel grid-based plane detection algorithm is proposed to cluster sparse points in the same planes. Then, the planes are parameterized by inverse normal and take part in the windowed optimization. By reducing the size of Hessian Matrix, the process of optimization converges faster. Compared to the original point-based odometry, the proposed method performs better on both robustness and efficiency in structured environments.
Application of Wearable Sensors in Actuation and Control of Powered Ankle Exoskeletons: A Comprehensive Review

Powered ankle exoskeletons (PAEs) are robotic devices developed for gait assistance, rehabilitation, and augmentation. To fulfil their purposes, PAEs vastly rely heavily on their sensor systems. Human–machine interface sensors collect the biomechanical signals from the human user to inform the higher level of the control hierarchy about the user’s locomotion intention and requirement, whereas machine–machine interface sensors monitor the output of the actuation unit to ensure precise tracking of the high-level control commands via the low-level control scheme. The current article aims to provide a comprehensive review of how wearable sensor technology has contributed to the actuation and control of the PAEs developed over the past two decades. The control schemes and actuation principles employed in the reviewed PAEs, as well as their interaction with the integrated sensor systems, are investigated in this review. Further, the role of wearable sensors in overcoming the main challenges in developing fully autonomous portable PAEs is discussed. Finally, a brief discussion on how the recent technology advancements in wearable sensors, including environment—machine interface sensors, could promote the future generation of fully autonomous portable PAEs is provided.
Hardware Modularization and Software Configuration Design Method for Power Supply Systems

The interchange degree of different ground power supply systems(PSS) is still low.By using hardware modularization and software configuration design method,the hardware application and software life of PSS can be improved,and the actual effect in some spacecraft is satisfactory.The hardware modularization and software configuration design method is a useful attempt for the generalization of PSS.
A Study on Optimizing a Supply Chain Network for Yacht Service

This study is on optimizing a supply chain network for yacht service which can maximize values for service users / customers, and profits for service providers. The supply chain network proposed by this study is aimed to satisfy both customers and providers by effectively designing and utilizing yacht service. As a way of invigorating the yacht service industry, this study will suggest a method for effectively creating and improving the values of yacht service, by establishing an optimal yacht service supply chain network inclusive of design, research, manufacture, and leisure service.
A Comparison Study of Fiscal Policy in Different Countries Regarding Plastic Waste Management in Supporting the Achievement of Sustainable Plastic Production and Consumption Patterns in Indonesia

Nowadays, plastic waste management has become an international issue. Plastic waste that is not managed will end up in the ocean and cause dangerous pollution. Environmental issues were agreed to be one of the SDGs goals proclaimed in 2015 by all countries members of the United Nations. All countries, including Indonesia, have implemented various pro-environment policies. One of them is through fiscal policy. How to determine the right fiscal policy so that the management of plastic waste to realize a sustainable pattern of plastic production and consumption to be optimal is important. One of them is by conducting comparative studies on the fiscal policy of plastic waste management in various countries as a policy benchmark. It is what the author did. This research uses a qualitative approach with a comparative study method regarding the form of fiscal policy in various countries used to manage plastic waste. This research data was obtained through literature studies from various journals, articles, and reports on fiscal policy of plastic waste management in various countries and then concluded various similarities and differences. It is hoped that studying various forms of fiscal policy in various countries can provide input to the Indonesian government on the right form of fiscal policy to create a sustainable pattern of plastic production and consumption in accordance with the SDGs goals to be achieved by the Indonesian government.
Eliciting Joint Truthful Answers and Profiles From Strategic Workers in Mobile Crowdsourcing Systems

Mobile crowdsourcing has emerged as a promising paradigm that applies the principle of crowdsourcing to perform tasks of mobility requirement. Due to the openness of mobile crowdsourcing, workers may yield low-quality task answers. To alleviate this problem, substantial efforts have been devoted to elicit truthful data from workers. On the other hand, to facilitate task assignment, workers are required to upload the platform their profiles, such as locations and expertise. Therefore, task assignment outcomes and thus mobile crowdsourcing service accuracy is subject to the quality of workers’ self-reported profiles. In this paper, we leverage incentive design to motivate workers to honestly reveal both task answers and their profiles. The challenge is to design one incentive payment for truth elicitation in two kinds of submissions. For this, we first derive the sufficient and necessary conditions for answer truthfulness and profile truthfulness separately. We then construct an incentive optimization problem that incorporates these conditions as constraints. Its optimal solution lists the payment to each worker that elicits answers and profiles jointly. Our proposed mechanism, with a formally proved bounded approximation ratio, ensures that truth-telling is a Bayesian Nash equilibrium. We prototype the mechanism and conduct a series of experiments that involve 30 volunteers to validate the efficacy and efficiency of the proposed mechanism.
Research on Analytic Method about Reliability Data of Ammunition

The generation and collection methods of ammunition reliability data were analyzed.It is pointed that the reliability database of each component in the ammunition system should be established.Then,some key points of the ammunition's reliability data analysis were put forward.Based on practical application,a method using the primary and secondary diagram to make failure analysis of the ammunition's reliability data was introduced,which can find the key components influencing on the function reliability.
Removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution by biochar derived from rice husk

In this research, rice husk-derived biochar (BC) was evaluated to determine the suitable conditions for the methylene blue (MB) solution adsorption. The characterization of BC was identified by the methods of FT-IR, Raman, and point of zero charges (PZC). The adsorption studies were carried out with BC at different activation conditions (raw BC, HNO3 25% for 4 hours, NaOH 25% for 4 hours, H2O at 90°C for 2 hours and 4 hours, HNO3 25% at 90°C for 2 hours and 4 hours). The activated material then went through an adsorption assessment. Activated BC with NaOH 25% showed its preeminence compared to the other six conditions when reaching the maximum efficiency after the first hour of adsorption. The investigation revealed that the adsorption capacity of the material depends on the activation methods, including pH, activation agent, temperature, and time. The adsorption of BC was consistent with the pseudo-first-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm model, with high correlation coefficients (R2: 0.9838 and 0.9975, respectively). Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of rice husk is feasible for the removal of MB from aqueous solutions.
Validation of the Evaluation Model of the Quality of Combined Education in Higher Education Based on the CIPP Evaluation Approach

Validation of the Evaluation Model of the Quality of Combined Education in Higher Education Based on the CIPP Evaluation Approach Azam Paripour, Faezeh Nategi2, Mohamad Reza Sarmadi, Mozhgan Naeeni 1. PhD Student, Department of Planning, Islamic Azad University, Arak Branch, Arak, Iran. 2. Associate Professor of Curriculum Planning, Islamic Azad University, Arak Branch, Arak, Iran. 3. Associate Professor of Philosophy of Education, Islamic Azad University, Arak Branch, Arak, Iran. 4. Assistant Professor of Curriculum Planning, Islamic Azad University, Arak Branch, Arak, Iran.