Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Technical and Economic Assessment of Battery Storage and Vehicle-to-Grid Systems in Building Microgrids

In an electrical microgrid, distributed renewable generation is one of the main tools used to achieve energy sustainability, cost efficiency and autonomy from the grid. However, reliance on intermittent power sources will lead to a mismatch between generation and demand, causing problems for microgrid management. Flexibility is key to reducing the mismatch and providing a stable operation. In such a context, demand response and energy storage systems are the main factors that contribute to flexibility in a microgrid. This paper provides an assessment of the technical and economic impacts of a microgrid at the building level, considering photovoltaic generation, battery energy storage and the use of electric vehicles in a vehicle-to-building system. The main novel contributions of this work are the quantification of system efficiencies and the provision of insights into the design and implementation of microgrids using real on-site data. Several tests were conducted using real on-site data to calculate the overall efficiencies of the different assets during their operation. An economic assessment was carried out to evaluate the potential benefits of coordinating battery storage with a vehicle-to-building system regarding the flexibility and cost-efficient operation of the microgrid. The results show that these two systems effectively increase the levels of self-consumption and available flexibility, but the usefulness of private electric vehicles in public buildings is constrained by the schedules and parking times of the users. Furthermore, economic benefits are highly dependent on the variability of tariffs and the costs of energy storage systems and their degradation, as well as the efficiency of the equipment used in the conversion chain.
Radiomics of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging parametric maps and apparent diffusion coefficient maps to predict Ki-67 status in breast cancer

Purpose This study was aimed at evaluating whether a radiomics model based on the entire tumor region from breast dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) parametric maps and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps could indicate the Ki-67 status of patients with breast cancer. Materials and methods This retrospective study enrolled 205 women with breast cancer who underwent clinicopathological examination. Among them, 93 (45%) had a low Ki-67 amplification index (Ki-67 positivity< 14%), and 112 (55%) had a high Ki-67 amplification index (Ki-67 positivity ≥ 14%). Radiomics features were extracted from three DCE-MRI parametric maps and ADC maps calculated from two different b values of diffusion-weighted imaging sequences. The patients were randomly divided into a training set (70% of patients) and a validation set (30% of patients). After feature selection, we trained six support vector machine classifiers by combining different parameter maps and used 10-fold cross-validation to predict the expression level of Ki-67. The performance of six classifiers was evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, sensitivity, and specificity in both cohorts. Results Among the six classifiers constructed, a radiomics feature set combining three DCE-MRI parametric maps and ADC maps yielded an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.839 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.768−0.895) within the training set and 0.795 (95% CI, 0.674−0.887) within the independent validation set. Additionally, the AUC value, compared with that for a single parameter map, was moderately increased by combining features from the three parametric maps. Conclusions Radiomics features derived from the DCE-MRI parametric maps and ADC maps have the potential to serve as imaging biomarkers to determine Ki-67 status in patients with breast cancer.
Research on value co-creation mechanism of platform enterprises in digital innovation ecosystem: A case study on Haier HOPE platform in China

Digital technology has given the innovation subject a new way of value creation, expanded the existing innovation ecosystem theory, and triggered scholars’ in-depth thinking on the digital innovation ecosystem. Based on the event system theory and taking Haier’s hope platform as a vertical case study, this paper deeply explores the research mechanism of value creation of platform enterprises in the digital innovation ecosystem, and reveals the role and impact of digital innovation ability, openness, and business innovation model on the process of co-creation. The research results show that: in the open connection stage, the platform solves the problem of weakening the advantages of the platform, and improves the innovation efficiency of enterprises by continuously improving the digital innovation ability; in the interactive and iterative stage, the platform carries out open innovation, breaks through the difficulties of platform expansion, and realizes the benign expansion of the platform. In the co-creation stage, the user experience is blocked, and the platform adopts the platform community business model to connect the user relationship and improve the user experience. In the digital innovation ecosystem, platform enterprises gradually form self-organization and self-circulation value co-creation through internal self-construction and external cooperation, and form a data-driven co-creation model.
Improving beam spectral and spatial quality by double-foil target in laser ion acceleration for ion-driven fast ignition

Mid-Z ion driven fast ignition inertial fusion requires ion beams of 100s of MeV energy and < 10% energy spread. An overdense run-scale foil target driven by a high intensity laser pulse can produce an ion beam that has attractive properties for this application. The Break Out Afterburner (BOA) is one laser-ion acceleration mechanism proposed to generate such beams, however the late stages of the BOA tend to produce too large of an energy spread. The spectral and spatial qualities of the beam quickly evolve as the ion beam and co-moving electrons continue to interact with the laser. Here we show how use of a second target foil placed behind a nm-scale foil can substantially reduce the temperature of the co-moving electrons and improve the ion beam energy spread. Particle-In-Cell simulations reveal the dynamics of the ion beam under control. Optimal conditions for improving the spectral and spatial spread of the ion beam is explored for current laser and target parameters, leading to generation of ion beams of energy 100s of MeV and 6% energy spread, a vital step for realizing ion-driven fast ignition.
Hexavalent Chromium Removal from Industrial Wastewater by Adsorption and Reduction onto Cationic Cellulose Nanocrystals

Cationic cellulose nanocrystals (CCNC) are lignocellulosic bio-nanomaterials that present large, specific areas rich with active surface cationic groups. This study shows the adsorption removal of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) from industrial wastewaters by the CCNC. The CCNC were synthetized through periodate oxidation and Girard’s reagent-T cationization. The high value of CCNCs cationic groups and anionic demand reveal probable nanocrystal-Cr(VI) attraction. Adsorption was performed with synthetic Cr(VI) water at different pH, dosage, Cr(VI) concentration and temperature. Fast removal of Cr(VI) was found while operating at pH 3 and 100 mg·L−1 of dosage. Nevertheless, a first slower complete removal of chromium was achieved by a lower CCNC dosage (40 mg·L−1). Cr(VI) was fully converted by CCNC into less-toxic trivalent species, kept mainly attached to the material surface. The maximum adsorption capacity was 44 mg·g−1. Two mechanisms were found for low chromium concentrations (Pseudo-first and pseudo-second kinetic models and continuous growth multi-step intraparticle) and for high concentrations (Elovich model and sequential fast growth-plateau-slow growth intraparticle steps). The Sips model was the best-fitting isotherm. Isotherm thermodynamic analysis indicated a dominant physical sorption. The Arrhenius equation revealed an activation energy between physical and chemical adsorption. CCNC application at selected conditions in industrial wastewater achieved a legal discharge limit of 40 min.
A Simple Method to Design a Compact Triple-passband Filter Using Novel Coupling Scheme and Multi-Layered Substrate

In this paper, a simple method to design a compact triplepassband filter is presented. The proposed filter structure is mainly composed of two half-wavelength input/output (I/O) terminated microstrip lines and three open-loop uniform impedance resonators (UIRs), which are designed for three different passbands. By properly selecting the coupling position between I/O open-ended microstrip lines and each desired resonator, three passbands can be integrated, and the insertion loss can be improved. In order to achieve compact size, the three UIRs are placed on different layers of the substrate. A filter example operated at 1.575 GHz, 1.8 GHz, and 2.4 GHz for GPS, GSM, and WLAN applications is designed using the proposed concept and then fabricated. Experiment results show a good agreement with the simulated performances.
An efficient method for capturing free boundaries in multi‐fluid simulations

An easy‐to‐use front capturing method is devised by directly solving the transport equation for a volume of fluid (VOF) function. The key to this method is a semi‐Lagrangian conservative scheme, namely CIP_CSL3, recently proposed by the author. In the CIP_CSL3 scheme, the first‐order derivative of the interpolation polynomial at each cell centre is used to control the shape of the reconstructed profile. We show in the present paper that the first‐order derivative, which plays a crucial role in reconstructing the interpolation profile, can also be used to eliminate numerical diffusion. The resulting algorithm can be directly used to compute the VOF‐like function and retain the compact thickness of the moving interface in multi‐fluid simulations. No surface reconstruction based on the value of VOF function is required in the method, which makes it quite economical and easy to use. The presented method has been tested with various interfacial flows including pure rotation, vortex shearing, multi‐vortex deformation and the moving boundaries in real fluid as well. The method gives promising results to all computed problems. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Causal Relationships Model for Total Quality Management, Supply Chain Management, and Organizational Performance: the Automotive and Automotive Parts Industries in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), Thailand

Fluctuations in the global economy in the early 21st century due to financial collapses and unexpected circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have greatly affected the competitiveness and viability of many industries around the world including Automotive and Automotive Parts in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), Thailand. Effective management strategies including total quality management (TQM) and supply chain management (SCM) will guide the better performance of businesses. Additionally, the previous published studies in Automotive and Automotive Parts industries in these issues are limited. Hence, the objective of this study is to investigate the causal relationships model which focuses on total quality management (TQM), supply chain management (SCM) and organizational performance (OP) of the Automotive and Automotive Parts Industries in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). Data were collected from 212 companies operating in the Automotive and Automotive Parts Industries in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). The data comprised answers from a self-administered survey, and these were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the structural equations modeling (SEM) method. The findings suggest that together, TQM and SCM generate positive outcomes for organizational performance. Furthermore, supply chain management mediates the relationship between TQM and organizational performance. Hence, effective total quality management and supply chain management can be integrated into businesses’ management and operational strategies to improve the financial and non-financial aspects of their performance.
Journey of Immunohistochemistry in General and Oral Pathology: A Review on its Applications and Updates

: Immunohistochemistry is a technique with an interesting journey. It is one of the well-established and reliable technique in modern pathology and it is extremely useful in diagnosis of sinister pathologies with perplexing histopathology. Not only does it enhance the diagnostic abilities of a pathologist, but it also has a huge prognostic potential, a great aid in establishing stage of malignancies, determines phenotypic expressions of lymphoid neoplasms and monitors treatment progress and response to therapy. By employing and integrating the basics of varied branches like immunology, histology, microscopy and hematology, it has emerged as a magnificent tool over last few decades, saving pathologists and patients from the impact of serious diseases inflicting the human body. Furthermore, it has contributed immensely to all aspects of diseases related to oral cavity as well. This review has been thus taken to highlight the wide applications of this technique in General and Oral Pathology with an update.
Vertical Motion Characteristics of Tropical Cyclones Determined with Airborne Doppler Radial Velocities

Abstract Vertical motions in seven Atlantic hurricanes are determined from data recorded by Doppler radars on research aircraft. The database consists of Doppler velocities and reflectivities from vertically pointing radar rays collected along radial flight legs through the hurricane centers. The vertical motions are estimated throughout the depth of the troposphere from the Doppler velocities and bulk estimates of particle fallspeeds. Portions of the flight tracks are subjectively divided into eyewall, rainband, stratiform, and “other” regions. Characteristics of the vertical velocity and radar structure are described as a function of altitude for the entire dataset and each of the four regions. In all of the regions, more than 70% of the vertical velocities range from −2 to 2 m s−1. The broadest distribution of vertical motion is in the eyewall region where ∼5% of the vertical motions are >5 m s−1. Averaged over the entire dataset, the mean vertical velocity is upward at all altitudes. Mean downward mot.
Isolation and Characterization of Bio-surfactant Producing Bacteria

Oil spillages are so common in many fields which lead to contaminated soil. Soil polluted land filling contains bacteria that produce a broad spectrum of bio-surfactants. Bio-surfactant as an efficient biological surfaceactive agent may provide an alternative solution for the removal of heavy metals from industrial wastes. The biosurfactant has more potential efficiency in the process of remedying natural resources. Surfactin, Iturin and Fengycin are widely studied bio-surfactants. The present study was aimed to isolate and characterize the biosurfactant producing bacteria from the soil samples collected from the petrol bunk. Two isolates obtained were used for the further analysis. Catalase, Lactose fermentation, Citrate utilization tests were positive for isolate 1 and identified as Staphylococcus sp. Starch hydrolysis, Methyl red test, Catalase, Lactose fermentation, Citrate utilization tests and Nitrate reduction were positive for isolate 2 and identified as Bacillus sp. The samples were anlayzed for the Bio-surfactant property using Haemolytic activity, oil drop assay, oil collapse activity and emulsification test. The functional group was detected using the FTIR analysis. Bacillus sp. strains have more potent biosurfactant property than Staphylococcus sp. and they act as bio-surfactants in removing the stains. Biochemical characterization of isolated samples, determination of bio-surfactant producing organism by oil spreading activity, drop collapse assay, oil spreading activity and biofilm formation were confirmed by Bacillus species bacteria
Axisymmetric deformation and stability of a viscous drop in a steady electric field

We consider a neutrally buoyant and initially uncharged drop in a second liquid subjected to a uniform electric field. Both liquids are taken to be leaky dielectrics. The jump in electrical properties creates an electric stress balanced by hydrodynamic and capillary stresses. Assuming creeping flow conditions and axisymmetry of the problem, the electric and flow fields are solved numerically withboundary integral techniques. The system is characterized by the physical property ratios R (resistivities), Q (permitivities) and λ (dynamic viscosities). Depending on these parameters, the drop deforms into a prolate or an oblate spheroid. The relative importance of the electric stress and of the drop/medium interfacial tension is measured by the dimensionless electric capillary number, Cae. For λ = 1, we present a survey of the various behaviours obtained for a wide range of R and Q. We delineate regions in the (R,Q)-plane in which the drop either attains a steady shape under any field strength or reaches a fold-point instability past a critical Cae. We identify the latter with linear instability of the steady shape to axisymmetric disturbances. Various break-up modes are identified, as well as more complex behaviours such as bifurcations and transition from unstable to stable solution branches. We also show how the viscosity contrast can stabilize the drop or advance break-up in the different situations encountered for λ = 1.
A compact triple band-notched quasi-self-complementary UWB MIMO antenna decoupled by SRRs

Abstract In this paper, a compact four-element quasi-self-complementary (QSC) ultra-wideband (UWB) multiple-input multiple-output antenna with triple band-notched characteristics is proposed. Coplanar waveguides fed QSC structure is designed as radiation element to achieve wideband and small size. Besides, regular hexagonal split-ring resonators with single negative properties are designed and added on the back of the substrate to obtain high isolation in the whole operating band. Moreover, a double-fork-shaped slit is etched in each radiating element to generate three notched bands covering 3.63–4.24, 5.15–5.98, and 7.17–8 GHz. The experiment results indicate that the isolation of the proposed antenna is higher than 22 dB and the peak gain varies from 2.5 to 6.7 dB in the entire band of 3–18 GHz, which demonstrates that it is suitable for UWB applications.
Gone in a Flash: COVID-19 and Social Sustainability Impacts at Melaka World Heritage City

In recent years, there have been intense debates about the impacts of overtourism and unsustainable tourism development at tourism hotspots such as World Heritage Sites (WHS). However, the COVID-19 pandemic has upturned the debates surrounding overtourism to no-tourism. The economic impacts of the global pandemic have been devastating. Whilst there has been heavy emphasis on the impacts of the economic fallout on global tourism, there is limited attention on the social sustainability implications of the crisis. This paper argues that successful recovery from crisis events such as COVID-19 requires a grassroot-led strategy, wherein destination stakeholders’ stories and voices are given priority, to achieve socially sustainable tourism development in a WHS. Applying a qualitative methodology with a case-study approach, this paper adopts a destination-supply perspective to investigate social sustainability implications on destination stakeholders, in the UNESCO World Heritage Historic City of Melaka. Narratives from semi-structured interviews with destination stakeholders are analysed and a proposed approach for social sustainability at WHSs is presented.
Local oscillator development for focal plane array and supra-THz astronomy receivers

Ultra-sensitive superconducting tunnel junction heterodyne receivers used for astronomy research require relatively low levels of local oscillator (LO) power. When configured as an imaging array, however, the LO power required substantially increases and the provision and distribution of a harmonically generated LO signal to multiple pixel elements becomes a technically challenging task. Furthermore, the difficulty of generating LO power is compounded as the operational frequency is increased into the supra-THz region (<1 THz). We will present our programme of research directed towards the provision of future THz astronomy receivers, in which we have been pursuing the development of enhanced harmonic up-conversion LO technology.
Quantifying errors due to the Hertzian contact model in multi-sphere Discrete Element Modelling simulations

In Discrete Element Modelling (DEM), non-spherical particles are often emulated using clusters of rigidly connected spheres that can be either overlapping or not. Within this multi-spherical approach, two sources of error directly aﬀecting the normal contact forces present can be identiﬁed. One is due to the diﬀerence between the true particle shape and the multi-spherical approximation; the other arises from the contact model used in the DEM simulations. The potential for inaccuracy in multi-sphere DEM simulations is well known. However, for a DEM simulator it remains unclear what error might be expected when multi-sphere particles are adopted. This contribution focuses on the role of the contact model as a source of error for the special case of two-sphere particles. Considering a single multi-spherical rod consisting of two identical spheres and quasi-statically compressing it until a total of 5% strain has been applied, the force response obtained through Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was compared against the Hertzian contact model. The process was repeated for spheres with varying degrees of overlap, ranging from 0 to 100%, and the relative errors of the FEA models against the Hertzian contact model were calculated. Up to a 60% sphere overlap, Hertz underpredicts the normal contact forces beyond 0.5% strain, where the disparity between the FEA model and Hertz forces is increasing monotonically with strain. However, beyond an overlap of 70%, Hertz overpredicts the normal contact forces with the sphere overlap being the main driver of this deviation. Future research will involve comparing these errors with the ‘shape’ source of error by compressing perfect spherocylinders, considering rods composed of more spheres, and investigating how the error is aﬀected by the relative orientation of two contacting particles
The Theory of Polarization Diversity Systems

A pole shifting technique on the Poincare sphere is used to develop a theory of the polarization diversity system for any polarization basis. Referred to the appropriate frame of reference, formulas for backscatter coefficients and null locations are found to be universal. The procedure leads to an independent derivation of the conditions for maximum and minimum power return and for the polarization "fork" for reciprocal targets. Also included is a brief discussion of the theory of non-reciprocal backscatter measurements.
The Wolf number and total solar irradiance variations during 21–23 solar cycles

In this work, the numerical sequences of the total solar irradiance data and the corresponding values of the international sunspot index, both for the same time interval (about 25 years), are compared. The data are analysed by means of two methods: continuous wavelet transformation and Fourier spectrum decomposition. Special attention is given to short periods of approximately 27 days. It is shown that the 27 day periodicity, caused by rotation of the active regions, is demonstrated well in the Wolf number spectrum, while in the total solar irradiance spectrum a time interval of about 15–60 days is displayed. The peaks at about 1 year and the weaker quasibiennial peaks (2–2.5 years) are noticeable in both spectra.