Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study on Parameters Optimization Method of Fuzzy Neural Network PID Controller

In allusion to the insufficient of the traditional parameters optimization of the traditional fuzzy neural network PID controller, the parallel search characteristics of the ant colony algorithm in the whole parameter space is used. A parameters optimization method of the PID controller based combining the ant colony algorithm and fuzzy theory and neural network is proposed in this paper. The method used the ant colony algorithm to comprehensively optimize the parameters and structure of fuzzy neural network, which to be used to train and determine the parameters of the PID controller in order to get the fuzzy neural network PID controller. This method is used in the practical application of nonlinear coupled system, the experimental results show that the optimized fuzzy neural network PID controller takes the faster approximation control objectives, the shorter response time, the smaller overshoot and higher control accuracy. Consequently, the research has the theoretical significance and practical application value.
Probabilistic modelling of a rotational energy harvester

Relatively recently, many researchers in the field of energy harvesting have focused on the concept of harvesting electrical energy from relatively large-amplitude, low-frequency vibrations (such as the movement caused by walking motion or ocean waves). This has led to the development of ‘rotational energy harvesters’ which, through the use of a rack-and-pinion or a ball-screw, are able to convert low-frequency translational motion into high-frequency rotational motion. A disadvantage of many rotational energy harvesters is that, as a result of friction effects in the motion transfer mechanism, they can exhibit large parasitic losses. This results in nonlinear behaviour, which can be difficult to predict using physical-law-based models. In the current article a rotational energy harvester is built and, through using experimental data in combination with a Bayesian approach to system identification, is modelled in a probabilistic manner. It is then shown that the model can be used to make predictions which are both accurate and robust against modelling uncertainties.
Nano-on-micro approach for fabricating ternary metal oxy-hydroxide–based flexible supercapacitors

In the present work, we unveil a facile and effective method to directly grow Ni–Mo–Co oxy-hydroxide–based 3-dimensional hierarchical nanostructures on carbon microfibers (nano-on-micro) by using a facile hydrothermal synthesis route. Further, the electrochemical activity for directly grown fiber electrode as well as electrode formed by slurry coating of active material formed after hydrothermal reaction has been investigated. In this study, the metal ratios (nickel and cobalt) were selected to cover the wide spectrum of the concentration in order to obtain the optimum concentration for the best electrochemical performance. Electrochemical analysis of these ternary metal oxy-hydroxide–based active materials on the carbon microfiber shows significantly high electrochemical activity with a specific capacitance of 519 Fg−1 in hydrothermally activated sample and 890 Fg−1 in a slurry coated sample (at 1 Ag−1). This simple technique provides a novel method to fabricate high energy-storage devices with the advantage of being lighter and flexible and can be easily integrated for various flexible electronic applications potential applications including e-textiles, personal electronics, military apparel devices, and antimicrobial and biomedical textiles.
Extracellular Vesicles Released by Leishmania: Impact on Disease Development and Immune System Cells

Leishmania spp. release extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing parasite molecules, including several antigens and virulence factors. These EVs can interact with the host cells, such as immune cells, contributing to the parasite–host relationship. Studies have demonstrated that Leishmania-EVs can promote infection in experimental models and modulate the immune response. Although the immunomodulatory effect has been demonstrated, Leishmania-EVs can deliver parasite antigens and therefore have the potential for use as a new diagnostic tool and development of new therapeutic and vaccine approaches. This review aims to bring significant advances in the field of extracellular vesicles and Leishmania, focusing on their role in the cells of the immune system.
Pre‐ and postzygotic mechanisms preventing hybridization in co‐occurring species of the Impatiens purpureoviolacea complex

Abstract In the species‐rich genus Impatiens, few natural hybrids are known, even though closely related species often occur sympatrically. In this study, we aim to bridge the gap between micro‐ and macro‐evolution to disentangle pre‐ and postzygotic mechanisms that may prevent hybridization in the Impatiens purpureoviolacea complex from Central Africa. We analyzed habitat types, species distribution, pollination syndromes, pollinator dependency, genome sizes, and chromosome numbers of seven out of the ten species of the complex as well as of one natural hybrid and reconstructed the ancestral chromosome numbers of the complex. Several species of the complex occur in sympatry or geographically very close to each other. All of them are characterized by pre‐ and/or postzygotic mechanisms potentially preventing hybridization. We found four independent polyploidization events within the complex. The only known natural hybrid always appears as single individual and is self‐fertile. But the plants resulting from self‐pollinated seeds often die shortly after first flowering. These results indicate that the investigated mechanisms in combination may effectively but not absolutely prevent hybridization in Impatiens and probably occur in other genera with sympatric species as well.
Modulated pulse LIDAR system for shallow underwater target detection

This paper concerns the merging of the lightwave and microwave technologies in remote sensing and its application to airborne light detecting and ranging (LIDAR). By modulating an optical pulse at microwave frequencies, a coherent, underwater detection scheme is produced which provides orders of magnitude improvement over the presently-existing LIDAR system. Laboratory measurements show an unprecedented 17 dB optical (34 dB electrical) suppression of the backscatter clutter and a corresponding enhancement in shallow underwater target contrast. In this paper, the implementation of the modulated pulse LIDAR system is discussed and experimental results supporting the predicted improvements in detection sensitivity will be analyzed. <<ETX>>
Transaction costs incurred by construction owners

Purpose – Transaction costs arise from economic exchange rather than production activities. However, the term “transaction cost” is not consistently defined in the construction industry because the concept of transaction cost is not universally accepted by all stakeholders in construction projects. As a result, empirical studies are few and conflicting because accessing data on transaction costs is problematic, and the interpretation of the data is difficult. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the transaction costs borne by the owner in a construction project from the perspective of transaction cost economics and construction project characteristics. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was administered to construction owners. The factors that impact transaction costs were analyzed in the context of human-related issues (the owner's and the contractor's positions in the transaction), and environment-related issues (the transaction environment, and project management efficiency). Stati.
Towards a historical precipitation database for West Africa: Overview, quality control and harmonization

Reliable long‐term observations from precipitation stations are often required for climatological studies but are strongly limited in many regions of the world. To improve this limitation for West Africa, we compiled daily and monthly observations from more than 20 national, continental and global databases, to establish a historical precipitation archive with a focus on four countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin and Togo). The new archive contains long‐term daily and monthly precipitation measurements from 1819 to 2013 for more than 1,000 sites. It is, therefore, the most comprehensive historical dataset with daily and monthly precipitation observations for this region. To produce a quality‐controlled and harmonized precipitation dataset for the focal region, various statistical algorithms have been implemented. These algorithms rely on straightforward geostatistical approaches (e.g., spatial correlograms) and corresponding statistical tests for identification and elimination of unreliable time series, in addition to various standard approaches used by global data centers. Although the quality control revealed various data errors and uncertainties for measurements and meta‐information (e.g., unit conversion errors, temporal offsets, frequent and long data gaps), a spatial interpolation using the quality‐controlled and harmonized dataset produced relatively reliable precipitation patterns for different target variables (e.g., monthly precipitation amount and daily precipitation probability). A major remaining challenge is providing free access to this database for research and other noncommercial purposes, due to national data protection regulations. However, several further tasks have been initiated and implemented (e.g., free provision of gridded precipitation datasets and point statistics) to improve the access and availability of station‐based precipitation observations and related data products for this climatologically challenging region.
Traffic and Highway Engineering for Developments

Most development proposals of any size require planning permission, and highway matters are an important factor in determining planning applications. This book examines the principles adopted by traffic and highway engineers when devising or reviewing proposals for access and other traffic matters. It brings together data from a wide variety of source documents, and provides practical guidance. The book is aimed at the non-specialist, such as architects, surveyors and town planners, and student highway and traffic engineers. Chapters are headed: site access strategy; the planning system; traffic impact assessment; traffic flow; highway link design; priority junctions; roundabouts; traffic signals; road safety; public transport; traffic management; parking; service vehicles; and statutory procedures: traffic management measures.
Prediabetes in Adolescents: Prevalence, Management and Diabetes Prevention Strategies

Abstract The ongoing obesity epidemic in children and adolescents has greatly increased the prevalence of related comorbidities. Prediabetes is defined based on levels of fasting glucose, oral glucose tolerance tests or hemoglobin A1c, that are intermediate between normal levels and thresholds that define type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). As such, prediabetes represents a sign of early pathophysiology preceding T2DM development. Recent analyses of data from US adolescents estimate prediabetes to be present in 4–23% of adolescents, depending on criteria used, with other studies finding an 8% risk of progression from prediabetes to T2DM over a 3-year period. These data support the importance of intervention to avoid long-term sequelae, focusing on reducing degree of obesity and insulin resistance. Lifestyle modification, with increases in physical activity and dietary improvements, remains the first-line approach. Other interventions are based on additional long-term risks and range from metformin treatment for more moderate cases of prediabetes to bariatric surgery for adolescents with severe obesity and comorbidities. As data accumulate regarding sequelae of T2DM in adolescents, there remains a critical need for prevention of obesity and T2DM throughout childhood, and prediabetes should be a trigger for improving this risk profile.
An Approach for Generating Weights Using the Pairwise Comparison Matrix

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been used for obtaining weights for the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), an approach known as DEAHP. This method sometimes identifies more than one decision criterion or alternative as DEAHP-efficient. To overcome this problem, this paper proposes a new approach that not only generates appropriate weights for the decision criteria or alternatives, but also differentiates between DEAHP-efficient decision criteria or alternatives. To this end, we propose a DEA model with an assurance region and a cross-weight model that prioritizes decision criteria or alternatives by considering their most unfavorable weights. Two numerical examples are also provided to illustrate the advantages and potential applications of the proposed model.
Passive acoustic monitoring complements traditional methods for assessing marine habitat enhancement outcomes

Habitat enhancement, often accomplished through the introduction of arti ﬁ cial structures, is a common strategy used by marine resource managers to provide habitat subsidies, protect sensitive habitat, and create new ﬁ shing opportunities. Traditional monitoring methods for assessing habitat enhancement outcomes face numerous limitations, including dependence on environmental conditions and trade-offs between sampling frequency and duration. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is not subject to these same limitations and offers many advantages as a complement to traditional monitoring methods. Our team opportunistically monitored the soundscape and community development of a newly deployed arti ﬁ cial reef and compared it to that of a nearby established arti ﬁ cial reef using PAM and underwater time-lapse videos. Speci ﬁ cally, we compared the sound pressure level (SPL) timeseries, dusk peak in SPL, and dusk power spectrum between the two arti ﬁ cial reefs to evaluate whether and on what timescale the sound-scapes converged. Additionally, we tracked temporal patterns in species-speci ﬁ c vocalizations to identify the trajectory of community development on the new reef. Lastly, we compared the qualitative conclusions drawn from PAM to previously published results from video monitoring of the same two arti ﬁ cial reefs. PAM identi ﬁ ed minimal difference in mean low-frequency SPL between the two reefs at the onset of monitoring. Though the timeseries correlation, dusk SPL, and dusk power spectra all varied across sampling periods, there were periods of low-frequency soundscape alignment at four and eleven months following arti ﬁ cial reef deployment, associated with the presence of ﬁ sh chorusing. The high-frequency timeseries on each reef were well correlated during all sampling periods, despite an initial SPL difference of 17 dB. Throughout monitoring, high-frequency sound levels became more similar between the reefs but did not converge. While video monitoring suggested that demersal species did not colonize the reef until ﬁ ve months post-deployment, patterns in species-speci ﬁ c vocalizations suggested that toad ﬁ sh ( Opsanus sp.) a cryptic, demersal species may have colonized the new reef within two weeks. Our ﬁ ndings demonstrate that passive acoustic monitoring is a useful complement to traditional methodologies and can provide a more holistic view of community development than visual monitoring alone.
Energy-efficien tReliabl eBroadcas ti nUnderwater Acoustic Networks ∗

Underwater acoustic networks have the potential to support a large variety of applications, such as environmental and equipment monitoring. However, underwater protocol design is in its infancy. Although there has been some work in routing and MAC layer protocols, they only address some of the challenges. A fundamental primitive that has not yet been researched for underwater networks is reliable broadcast. Reliable broadcast is required by many different applications, such as in-network node reprogramming. In this paper, we present three reliable broadcasting protocols (SBRB, FSBRB, and DBRB) that address the specific challenges of the underwater channel. We also compare our approach to two standard reliable broadcast protocols through extensive simulation, and show that our protocols provide significant gains in terms of both energy consumption and time to complete the broadcast. Moreover, our results demonstrate the importance of addressing the peculiar relationship between bandwidth and distance exhibited by an underwater acoustic channel.
Aids to Determining Fuel Models for Estimating Fire Behavior

This file was created by scanning the printed publication. Errors identified by the software have been corrected; however, some errors may remain. This report presents photographic examples, tabulations , and a similarity chart to assist fire behavior officers , fuel management specialists, and other field personnel in selecting a fuel model appropriate for a specific field situation. Proper selection of a fuel model is a critical step in the mathematical modeling of fire behavior and fire danger rating. This guide will facilitate the selection of the proper fire behavior fuel model and will allow comparison with fire danger rating fuel models. The 13 fire behavior fuel models are presented in 4 fuel groups: grasslands, shrublands, timber, and slash. Each group comprises three or more fuel models; two or more photographs illustrate field situations relevant to each fuel model. The 13 fire behavior fuel models are cross-referenced to the 20 fuel models of the National Fire Danger Rating System by means of a similarity chart. Fire behavior fuel models and fire danger rating fuel models, along with the fire-carrying features of the model and its physical characteristics, are described in detail.
d-Alanine Metabolism via d-Ala Aminotransferase by a Marine Gammaproteobacterium, Pseudoalteromonas sp. Strain CF6-2

As the most abundant d-amino acid in the ocean, d-Ala is a component of marine DON (dissolved organic nitrogen) pool. However, the underlying mechanism of bacterial metabolization of d-Ala to drive the recycling and mineralization of d-Ala in the ocean is still largely unknown. ABSTRACT As the most abundant d-amino acid (DAA) in the ocean, d-alanine (d-Ala) is a key component of peptidoglycan in the bacterial cell wall. However, the underlying mechanisms of bacterial metabolization of d-Ala through the microbial food web remain largely unknown. In this study, the metabolism of d-Ala by marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas sp. strain CF6-2 was investigated. Based on genomic, transcriptional, and biochemical analyses combined with gene knockout, d-Ala aminotransferase was found to be indispensable for the catabolism of d-Ala in strain CF6-2. Investigation on other marine bacteria also showed that d-Ala aminotransferase gene is a reliable indicator for their ability to utilize d-Ala. Bioinformatic investigation revealed that d-Ala aminotransferase sequences are prevalent in genomes of marine bacteria and metagenomes, especially in seawater samples, and Gammaproteobacteria represents the predominant group containing d-Ala aminotransferase. Thus, Gammaproteobacteria is likely the dominant group to utilize d-Ala via d-Ala aminotransferase to drive the recycling and mineralization of d-Ala in the ocean. IMPORTANCE As the most abundant d-amino acid in the ocean, d-Ala is a component of the marine DON (dissolved organic nitrogen) pool. However, the underlying mechanism of bacterial metabolization of d-Ala to drive the recycling and mineralization of d-Ala in the ocean is still largely unknown. The results in this study showed that d-Ala aminotransferase is specific and indispensable for d-Ala catabolism in marine bacteria and that marine bacteria containing d-Ala aminotransferase genes are predominantly Gammaproteobacteria widely distributed in global oceans. This study reveals marine d-Ala-utilizing bacteria and the mechanism of their metabolization of d-Ala. The results shed light on the mechanisms of recycling and mineralization of d-Ala driven by bacteria in the ocean, which are helpful in understanding oceanic microbial-mediated nitrogen cycle.
Earthquake proof efficacy of Velocity and Displacement Dependent Hydraulic Damper (VDHD) for R.C. structures

The objective of this research is to study whether a Velocity and Displacement Dependent Hydraulic Damper (VDHD) will provide effective damping without increasing the acceleration response of a reinforced concrete structure during an earthquake before the yield strength is reached. The study also includes whether this device will provide hysteretic energy after the yield strength is reached to effectively lower the structural displacement reaction. The efficiency of VDHD is confirmed using a nonlinear numerical model developed by the authors for carrying out numerical analyses of three dampers, i.e. Viscous Damper (VD), Bulking Resistant Bracing (BRB) and VDHD, to study the response of structures excited by earthquake and to compare model parameters based on their seismic performance. The results indicate that when a reinforced concrete structure is subject to near‐fault earthquake for various durations, VDHD has a better structural displacement response capability than either VD or BRB with a medium efficiency to suppress the acceleration response between VD and BRB. These observations conform to the theoretical predications thus verifying the capability of VDHD to lower the displacement and acceleration responses of a reinforced concrete structure during earthquake. The results presented in this paper illustrate the earthquake resistant capacity of VDHD to protect reinforced concrete structures. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
SiGe process integrated full-360° microelectromechanical systems-based active phase shifter for W-band automotive radar

This study presents the implementation of a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based active phase shifter (APS) by using vector sum method. The proposed phase shifter comprises of two variable gain amplifiers (VGAs), a Wilkinson power divider with 90° phase shift lines, a Wilkinson power combiner and two 1-bit (0°/180°) MEMS phase shifters. First, all the components were designed and fabricated individually to check for their proper functionality, then they were brought together in a novel vector sum topology to work as a full-360° span phase shifter. Fabricated VGAs function properly at designed frequency (77 GHz) with gain variation from 0 to 14 dB with the tuned base voltages from 1.8 to 2.3 V. The VGAs not only serve for providing the weighted amplitudes but also compensate 4.3 dB loss from 1-bit MEMS phase shifter and 0.8 dB loss from each power divider and combiner. Active/passive components and MEMS switches are all integrated at one single chip of 3.74 mm2 and manufactured with IHP 0.25 µm SiGe BiCMOS technology. As to the author's knowledge, this is the first demonstration of an APS using integrated active components and MEMS technology. Presented phase shifting mechanism can be used at automotive radar system for beam steering purpose.
Hydraulics of Minimum Energy Culverts and Bridge Waterways

The design of culverts and bridge waterways according to the approach described variously as "minimum energy" and as "constant energy" is summarised. The hydraulics of the flow in such waterways is discussed. Even though the flow occurring can be quite complex, the waterways can be designed with simple calculations within certain limitations. Some of these limitations are discussed. Some results concerning energy losses in the expanding part of the flow are presented.