Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Laser-Induced Graphene as Electrode Material in Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

: The preparation of graphene foams via laser pyrolysis of polyimides has gained success due to its ease and speed of processing. Established applications of Laser-Induced Graphene (LIG) involve micro-supercapacitors, batteries, sensors, and water treatment. However, to the best of our knowledge, only a few studies have focused on potential applications of LIG in Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEM-FCs). In this study, we demonstrate that LIG obtained from SPEEK films (LIG-S) presents all the key features required of a PEM-FC electrode. Moreover, electrochemical tests in rotating disk and half-cell setups highlight an intrinsic catalytic activity of LIG towards the Oxygen Reduction Reaction. This activity is attributed to structural defects in the LIG lattice and to sulfur doping incorporated from the SPEEK precursor; and it may lower the catalyst loading required to reach competitive cell performance.
Heat loads on poloidal and toroidal edges of castellated plasma-facing components in COMPASS

Dedicated experiments have been performed in the COMPASS tokamak to thoroughly study the power deposition processes occurring on poloidal and toroidal edges of castellated plasma-facing components in tokamaks during steady-state L-mode conditions. Surface temperatures measured by a high resolution infra-red camera are compared with reconstructed synthetic data from a 2D thermal model using heat flux profiles derived from both the optical approximation and 2D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. In the case of poloidal leading edges, when the contribution from local radiation is taken into account, the parallel heat flux deduced from unperturbed, upstream measurements is fully consistent with the observed temperature increase at the leading edges of various heights, respecting power balance assuming simple projection of the parallel flux density. Smoothing of the heat flux deposition profile due to finite ion Larmor radius predicted by the PIC simulations is found to be weak and the power deposition on misaligned poloidal edges is better described by the optical approximation. This is consistent with an electron-dominated regime associated with a non-ambipolar parallel current flow. In the case of toroidal gap edges, the different contributions of the total incoming flux along the gap have been observed experimentally for the first time. They confirm the results of recent numerical studies performed for ITER showing that in specific cases the heat deposition does not necessarily follow the optical approximation. Indeed, ions can spiral onto the magnetically shadowed toroidal edge. Particle-in-cell simulations emphasize again the role played by local non-ambipolarity in the deposition pattern.
On the dynamics in planetary systems, globular clusters and galactic nuclei

N-body simulations are used to investigate the dynamics of planetary systems based on the observed period-radius distribution by Kepler. The stability of the distri- bution is tested using integrations of 2,000 systems and with the addition of a Jupiter-like perturber in an aligned and inclined configuration sufficient for Lidov- Kozai (LK) oscillations. ∼ 67% of planetary systems are found stable, falling to ∼ 62% and ∼ 48% with an aligned or inclined giant perturber. Planet ejections are rare. Instability timescales of systems are predicted by spacing and multiplicity of planets, but exceptions are common. Evolution of select individual systems are investigated and classified. The dynamics of stellar binaries on eccentric orbits around a massive black hole (MBH) in the empty loss cone (LC) are also explored. The LK mechanism is sup- pressed by two-body relaxation from stars in galactic nuclei whilst tidal perturba- tions from the MBH excite the eccentricity of the binary to produce mergers in ∼ 75% of simulations. Stellar tides circularise the binaries and produce low velocity mergers. Enhanced magnetic fields in merger products could explain relativistic jet formation in tidal disruption events (TDEs). A method is presented for rapidly calculating the stellar evolution of stars with masses \[m=8.0-300. 0M_\odot\] and metallicities \[-4.0\leq [Z/H]\leq 0.5\] that can be incorporated into future n-body simulations.
High-efficiency and high-accuracy digital speckle correlation for full-field image deformation measurement

Abstract. Many works around the digital speckle correlation (DSC) are to improve the computational efficiency and measurement accuracy in recent years. This work aims to improve the efficiency and accuracy of DSC for both single-point and full-field points used in mechanical properties test of materials. For this purpose, first, a subpixel initial guess for the inverse compositional Gauss–Newton algorithm (IC-GN) with the first-order shape function is introduced for single-point image registration. Then, with the aid of strategy of subset image edge extend interpolation (SIEEI), the efficiency and accuracy of full-field displacement and deformation measurement are improved simultaneously. The SIEEI is employed to reduce mean squared difference errors caused by traditional bicubic interpolation algorithm. Comparative studies between the traditional IC-GN algorithm and the proposed algorithms are presented using simulated speckle images and CCD images. The proposed method achieves more executive efficiency and more accuracy for single-point and full-field points image registration. The computational efficiency of the proposed algorithms increases 7.5% for full-field registration using CCD images. The mean of squared difference errors of the SIEEI method is less than the traditional bicubic interpolation algorithm. The presented approach shows great potentials for challenging application, such as mechanical properties test of materials.
Neutral pion and $\eta$ meson production at mid-rapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV

Neutral pion and $\eta$ meson production in the transverse momentum range 1<$p_{T}$<20 GeV/$c$ have been measured at mid-rapidity by the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in central and semi-central Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV. These results were obtained using the photon conversion method as well as the PHOS and EMCal detectors. The results extend the upper $p_{T}$ reach of the previous ALICE $\pi^{0}$ measurements from 12 GeV/$c$ to 20 GeV/$c$ and present the first measurement of $\eta$ meson production in heavy-ion collisions at the LHC. The $\eta/\pi^{0}$ ratio is similar for the two centralities and reaches at high $p_{T}$ a plateau value of 0.457 $\pm$ 0.013$^{stat}$ $\pm$ 0.018$^{syst}$. A suppression of similar magnitude for $\pi^{0}$ and $\eta$ meson production is observed in Pb-Pb collisions with respect to their production in pp collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. We discuss the results in terms of NLO pQCD predictions and hydrodynamic models. The measurements show a stronger suppression with respect to what was observed at lower center-of-mass energies in the $p_{T}$ range 6<$p_{T}$<10 GeV/$c$. At $p_{T}$<3 GeV/$c$, hadronization models describe the $\pi^{0}$ results while for the $\eta$ some tension is observed.
Binomial-exponential 2 Distribution: Different Estimation Methods and Weather Applications

In this paper, we have considered different estimation methods of the unknown parameters of a binomial-exponential 2 distribution. First, we briefly describe different frequentist approaches such as the method of moments, modified moments, ordinary least-squares estimation, weighted least-squares estimation, percentile, maximum product of spacings, Cramer-von Mises type minimum distance, Anderson-Darling and Right-tail Anderson-Darling, and compare them using extensive numerical simulations. We apply our proposed methodology to three real data sets related to the total monthly rainfall during April, May and September at Sao Carlos, Brazil.
Decoupled UL/DL User Association in Wireless-Powered HetNets With Full-Duplex Small Cells

In this article, we propose two downlink (DL)-uplink (UL) decoupled (DUDe) user association schemes in wireless-powered full-duplex (FD) heterogeneous networks (HetNets). We consider a two-tier HetNet comprising of half-duplex (HD) massive multi-antenna macrocell base stations (MBSs) and dual-antenna FD small cell base stations (SBSs) to support UL and DL transmissions of FD user equipments (UEs). Each FD UE is first associated to one MBS/SBS, based on the mean maximum received power (MMP) scheme or maximum received power (MRP) to harvest energy. During the consecutive data transmission phase, UEs choose to receive DL traffic from the same MBSs/SBSs as that associated with during energy harvesting phase, and send UL traffic through the same/another SBS. Leveraging tools from the stochastic geometry, we develop an analytical framework to analyze the average harvested energy and derive expressions for the UL and DL coverage probabilities of the proposed DUDe user association schemes. Our results show that there is an optimal value for the SBS density in the wireless-powered FD HetNets, at which both DL and UL coverage probabilities are maximized. Moreover, by applying MMPA and MRPA scheme, wireless-powered FD HetNets with DUDe achieves up to 138.78% and 83.37% energy efficiency gain over the FD HetNets with DL/UL coupled user association scheme and without wireless power transfer, respectively.
Slope tunable Fano resonances in asymmetric embedded microring resonators

An asymmetric embedded microring resonant system is proposed and fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) to achieve slope tunable Fano resonances. The Fano resonances originate from the nonlinear phase shift produced by adding an inner ring coupling with the outer ring. The slope of the Fano resonance can be well tuned to be ultra-high by controlling the microheaters to adjust the phase condition. Experimentally, we observe Fano resonance with a maximum extinction ratio of about 40 dB, and the slope can be tuned from −35 dB nm−1 to −93 dB nm−1, which shows good agreement with the theoretical analysis. This device could find potential applications in ultra-high sensitivity sensing systems.
Request modifications by Malay speakers of English in the workplace: A contrastive pragmatic analysis

A request is one of the most frequently used speech acts in a person’s daily life. Many studies have been conducted on the act of request and several researchers have developed strategies and modifications that are used in delivering requests to mitigate the imposition of the FTA. Thus, this study aims to investigate the internal and external modifications applied in requests by Malay speakers of English and Malay to specific requestees in the workplace context following Blum-Kulka et al.’s (1989) Request Modification framework. To achieve the purpose of this study, a qualitative approach was employed. A number of 30 Malay workers were asked to complete a Written Discourse Completion Task (WDCT) which involves eliciting requests. The findings revealed that the respondents used more internal modifications in their requests with people of equal relative power compared to high and low relative power, and used more external modifications in requests with a higher degree of imposition in certain contexts. This implies the act of request from the viewpoint of the Malaysian workplace context. It offers meaningful insight into the preferences of working Malay speakers of English in modifying their requests, and shows the level of pragmatic competence of Malay speakers of English and Malay in the workplace environment.
An Exploratory Study of Halal Awareness Among Japanese People for Identifying Gamification Contents

By the end of this century, it is expected that Muslims could become the world's largest religion. This could be a reason why Muslim populations in Japan keep increasing year by year since 1900s. Due to this situation, the needs for Japanese people to understand more about Muslim needs such as Halal terms for making them live in harmony with Muslim community is crucial. That is why the objective of this paper is to study the level of Halal awareness among Japanese people for Gamification contents. A survey is used as to get response among Japanese people. The survey was performed on eighty-five Japanese people who selected randomly from online survey. The findings show that the level of understanding of Halal terms among Japanese still low and need to be enhanced. Most of the Japanese people heard about the words Halal but majority of them still do not heard about the words Haram (Non-Halal). Most of respondents associate Halal with only the food product but actually Halal also was associated with other products such as food ingredients, meat product and also product from animal. Majority of the respondents aware of the Halal terms which their related it to the food without pork or alcohol but still not familiar with the concept of Halal slaughtering method. Besides that, majority of the respondents agreed that the new Gamification need to be introduced for understanding about Halal terms. The results from this study revealed that to increase the level of awareness about Halal terms among Japanese people, the contents about Halal foods, Halal ingredients and Halal meats needs to be focused for developing this new Gamification.
BEAMS ON ELASTIC FOUNDATION USING ELEMENT FREE GALERKIN METHOD

In this study, the Element-Free Galerkin (EFG) method has been used for the analysis of beams on elastic foundation problems. The elastic support can be provided in the form of a load-bearing medium such as soil, distributed continuously along the length of the beam. This type of supports can be found in a variety of engineering problems, for example in the case of actual foundations or in the case of railroad track. The main difficulty in the analysis of the soil foundation interaction lies in the determination of the contact pressure. A computer program has been developed by using FORTRAN language. The moving least squares (MLS) approximation has been used in generating shape functions. The results obtained by the EFG method have been compared with analytical solution.
Study of Influence of Varies Stress Sources on Our Performances in Different Memory Tasks

We focused on the influence of stress on daily tasks like story detail remembering and word remembering based on two types of stress sources: 1. Under stressful music, 2. Experiencing a disappearance of the materials. We separate participants into three groups: 1. control group with no stress, 2. stress group-1 with stressful music, 3. stress group-2 with both stressor present. The results show there is no significant difference under different stress levels for story-remembering tasks, while in word-remembering tasks, our participants' performance dropped a lot when all stress sources were put on our participants.
Search for neutrinos from annihilation of dark matter in the galactic center with IceCube-79

The search for a comprehensive theory of dark matter is one of the major fields of activity in particle astrophysics, cosmology and particle physics. After more than 80 years of research since the first evidence for its existence, much has been learned, yet the nature of dark matter is unknown. It is clear, that a non-baryonic, non-radiating kind of matter makes up more than 25% of the energy density of the Universe. The gravitational interaction of dark matter with the visible Universe allows for a spatial mapping of the dark matter distribution on different scales, ranging from galaxies to clusters and large-scale filaments. However, dark matter has so far eluded a detection beyond inference from gravitational interaction. Indirect searches for dark matter attempt to detect a flux of messenger particles from dark matter annihilation or decay, originating from regions of increased dark matter density. This thesis describes the search for a flux of neutrinos from dark matter annihilation in the Galactic center with IceCube–79. The dark matter density is expected to peak in the Galactic center region, thus yielding the highest expected flux of final state particles. However, for IceCube the Galactic center is located in the Southern Hemisphere, thus the background of atmospheric muons from that direction provides a major challenge for this analysis. Dedicated techniques to veto this background are developed and discussed. Finally, a likelihood analysis is performed, that exploits the spatial shape of the expected flux. The result is compatible with the null hypothesis, and limits are set on the self-annihilation cross-section, 〈σAv〉, for a mass range from 100GeV to 10TeV, and several benchmark annihilation channels. The most constraining limit for direct annihilation to neutrinos reaches down to 〈σAv〉 ≃ 10−23cm3s−1 at a mass of 100GeV. Finally, the limits are compared to other experimental results, and possible improvements to this analysis are discussed.
Non-perturbative treatment of the solid effect of dynamic nuclear polarization

Abstract In the solid effect of dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), the concerted flips of the electronic and nuclear spins, which are needed for polarization transfer, are induced by the microwaves. Commonly, the effect of the microwaves is modeled by a rate process whose rate constant is determined perturbatively. According to quantum mechanics, however, the coherent microwave excitation leads to Rabi nutation, which corresponds to a rotation rather than a rate process. Here we reconcile the coherent effect of the microwaves with the description by rate equations by focusing only on the steady state of the spin dynamics. We show that the phenomenological rate constants describing the synchronous excitation of the electronic and nuclear spins can be selected such that the description by rate equations yields the same steady state as the exact quantum-mechanical treatment. The resulting non-perturbative rates differ from the classical, perturbative ones and remain valid also at the high microwave powers used in modern-day DNP. Our treatment of the solid effect highlights the role of the coherences in the mechanistic steps of polarization transfer and reveals the importance of the dispersive (i.e., out-of-phase) component of the EPR line. Interestingly, the multiplicative dependence of the DNP enhancement on the dispersive EPR component was intuited in the very first report of the solid effect in liquids . The time-domain description of the solid effect developed here is extendable to liquids, where the dipolar interaction changes randomly in time due to molecular diffusion.
Sub-regional phase calibration of LC-SLM for holographic display

The liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM) is able to provide flexible wave front control, whereas its phase response distortions will influence the modulation accuracy. In this paper, we will provide a novel sub-regional phase response calibration method for minimizing these distortions. In our calibration method, the entire panel is divided into several local regions based on the similarity of phase response characteristic. Liquid crystal cells in one sub-region show the same phase response. The calibration method is theoretical analyzed and experimentally verified. For the entire Jasper 4K SLM panel, when three local regions are built, the root mean error of linear phase shifts is reduced to approximate 0.1 rad. The calibrated SLM is applied for holographic display and the structural similarity index of the assessment shows the improvement ratios reach 30.6%, 62.5%, and 43.6% for R, G, and B reconstructed components respectively. It also could be used for the calibration of various SLMs in the future.
AN APPROXIMATE BARRIER OPTION MODEL FOR VALUING EXECUTIVE STOCK OPTIONS

A continuous-time barrier option model is developed for valuing executive stock options (ESOs), in which early exercise takes place whenever the underlying stock price reaches a certain upper barrier after vesting. We analyze the ESO value and the ESO exercise time to obtain their solutions in simple forms, which are consistent with principal features of early exercise, delayed vesting and random exit. For the perpetual case, these solutions are given in explicit forms and shown to be exact in the Black-ScholesMerton formulation. Using an endogenous approximation for the barrier level, we numerically compare our approximation for the ESO value with a benchmark result generated by a binomial-tree model and the quadratic approximation previously established. From numerical comparisons for some particular cases, we see that our approximations always underestimate the benchmark results and the absolute values of the relative percentage errors are less than 1% for all cases, whereas the quadratic approximations overestimate the benchmarks and the relative percentage errors are less than about 2%.
Image Mosaic Algorithm of Sequential Images Based on Voronoi

The image sequence of Vehicle panorama camera platform has the characteristics of serious distortion, large parallax and large amount of data, which can lead to invalid montage for the image sequence by adopting the common image mosaicking method based on features. In this paper, Voronoi algorithm is introduced according to the actual characteristics of vehicle camera platform. A steady and fast image mosaic method for image sequence is proposed. Firstly, the relative positions between images are structured by utilizing GPS information of images. The splicing region of images are classified through Voronoi algorithm and the confidence is introduced to select the best candidate image; then SIFT feature of image is extracted and image registration is carried out by adopting Moving DLT algorithm, what follows is global alignment for stitching images by using improved Bundle Adjustment algorithm. Finally, the stitching images are integrated by using Multi-Band method. Contrasted with experimental results, the proposed method not only realizes the image mosaic under the condition of large scale, multi parallax and distortion images which can make up for the shortcomings of traditional image mosaicking methods, but also reaches good stitching effect and high mosaicking efficiency. Keywords-component; image mosaicking; moving DLT; bundle adjustment;multi-band blending
Robust metric aligned quad-dominant meshing using Lp centroidal Voronoi tessellation

We introduce a meshing algorithm that can be used to both generate and adapt meshes for bounded domains in an anisotropic manner. This is particularly beneficial when anisotropic flow features like shock waves or contact discontinuities are present in the computational domain. The algorithm presented in this paper is based upon meshing under the imposed Riemannian metric tensor, which controls the orientation and size of the mesh elements. In this way there is no need for user intervention to recognize these features. We demonstrate that the method indeed aligns the elements with the underlying metric and produces rightangled simplices that can be recombined into quadrilateral elements. The aim is to eventually incorporate this meshing strategy in the monolithic high-order spectral element solver that is currently being developed at NASA Ames. This paper has two main contributions: First, we demonstrate that we can generate quad-dominant metric-aligned meshes for bounded domains using a generalized form of L p -Centroidal Voronoi Tessellation (L p -CVT). Unlike previous works, we do not rely on a background mesh and discretize the bounded domain in a hierarchical way by first discretizing the boundaries and then the volume using the underlying metric. Second, we present an alternative for clipping the Voronoi cells on the boundary, which