Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electronic transport properties of strained graphene nanostructures

In this thesis we theoretically investigate the influence of mechanical deformations on the electronic transport properties of graphene structures, such as nanoribbons, bilayer graphene, and graphene on hexagonal boron nitrite substrates. We find that homogeneous mechanical deformations can induce the formation of zero-conductance plateaus and conductance resonances in nanoribbons, and outline their robustness in the presence of 'double atom' edge disorders. Furthermore we emphasize that even small percentages of 'single atom' edge defects are strong enough to determine the smearing or even suppression of the observed resonant structure. For the case of inhomogeneous deformations we find that the inhomogeneity developed near the contacts aids the resonant transmission of charge carriers through a mode mixing mechanism or via the sublattice-polarized n = 0 pseudo-magnetic Landau level. We also show that in homogeneously strained bilayer graphene the linear response conductance of an n-p-n junction has a non-monotonic dependence on doping and temperature, which varies in size and form as a function of the crys-tallographic orientation of the principal strain axis. We find that uniaxial strain changes the chirality of the electronic plane-wave states in the vicinity of the Lifshitz transition in the low-energy electron spectrum of this crystal, which results in the observed non-monotonicity of the linear response conductance. Finally, we show that mechanical deformations alter the beating of the lattice mismatch in graphene and hexagonal boron nitride heterostructures, which leads to the formation of strained moire superlattices. We observe that in some cases this determines the opening of minigaps in the second generation mini Dirac cones and finalize our study by identifying an extreme parametric regime where the moire patterns become quasi-1D and the dispersion acquires additional Dirac cones.
Bases for the homology groups of the Hilbert scheme of points in the plane

Let Hilb d P 2 =Hilb d P 2 C denote the Hilbert scheme parametrizing 0-dimensional, length-d subschemes of the plane. The authors determine an additive basis for the Chow group A. (Hilb d P 2 ) consisting of classes of closures of locally closed subschemes of P 2 . A key feature of this basis is that it consists of cycle classes whose generic points correspond to reduced length-d subschemes, making it convenient for use in enumerative problems. This is in contrast to the basis given by G. Ellingsrud and S. A. Stromme that arises from a cell decomposition [Invent Math. 91 (1988), no. 2, 365–370]. The authors' method of proof involves showing that their basis specializes (via an intermediate basis) to that of Ellingsrud and Stromme. As applications of their main results and methods, the authors employ a G m -action on P 2 and the Ellingsrud-Stromme basis for A. (Hilb d P 2 ) to give a basis for the Chow group of the variety W ∗ of Schubert triangles. Their results agree with work of J. Roberts and R. Speiser [Comm. Algebra 15 (1987), no. 9, 1929–1966] and A. Collino and W. Fulton [Mem. Soc. Math. France (N.S.) No. 38 (1989), 75–117]. The paper concludes with enumerative applications using the authors' basis for A. (Hilb d P 2 ) to verify formulas conjectured by Schubert for the number of bitangent contacts between members of two families of moving plane curves.
Twisted limit formula for torsion and cyclic base change

Let $G$ be the group of complex points of a real semi-simple Lie group whose fundamental rank is equal to 1, e.g. $G= \SL_2 (\C) \times \SL_2 (\C)$ or $\SL_3 (\C)$. Then the fundamental rank of $G$ is $2,$ and according to the conjecture made in \cite{BV}, lattices in $G$ should have 'little' --- in the very weak sense of 'subexponential in the co-volume' --- torsion homology. Using base change, we exhibit sequences of lattices where the torsion homology grows exponentially with the \emph{square root} of the volume. This is deduced from a general theorem that compares twisted and untwisted $L^2$-torsions in the general base-change situation. This also makes uses of a precise equivariant 'Cheeger-M\"uller Theorem' proved by the second author \cite{Lip1}.
Safe Transitions to Manual Driving From Faulty Automated Driving System

This thesis presents a method to assess the safety of transitions from automated to manual driving when vehicle automation fails. The method is based on contributions to the understanding of human driving behavior, also presented in this thesis. Interviews with drivers and driving simulator studies of driving with automation, and particularly analyzes of situations where automation failed provided the base for the proposed method. Among the results of the studies, it was found that drivers were more likely to control an automation failure if automation was only replacing the driver in longitudinal control of the vehicle, i.e., steering still managed by the driver. Moreover, the studies found that drivers responded to the failures with varying success. For the most critical failures, almost half of the drivers collided, while for a less critical failure, about two thirds of the drivers managed to control the situation and avoid a collision. Individual differences between drivers were considered to have contributed to the varying success to control automation failures. The proposed method for assessing the safety of transitions therefore adapts online to the individual driver. While the vehicle is driven manually, the driver's capability to control the vehicle is estimated and described as a subset of the vehicle's state-space. In the event of an automation failure, the proposed method assesses whether vehicle states are within this subset or not. If vehicle states are within the subset, the driver is deemed capable of taking over, and the transition to manual control is classified as safe. The method has been evaluated on data from real vehicles, with human drivers, to demonstrate its performance. Results indicate that the proposed method correctly classifies transitions as safe or unsafe.
Educational Robot for Principles of Electrical Engineering

An educational robot is described, which is designed and constructed for use in the laboratory of Principles of Electrical Engineering. The discrete nature of design, conforming to a simple block strategy, allows fairly easy introduction of basic and fundamental concepts of Electrical Engineering to the freshman students, including control, actuation, wireless signal transmission, and analogue/digital conversions. Each block or module represents one or few engineering ideas, and helps the students to understand the interplay and connection between system divisions, and enhance their creative thinking. Circuits are designed and implemented that both the structure and functionality of each module are clearly presented. Inputs and outputs as well as major signals can be traced and measured through several test points
Event Size Distribution of Shallow Tectonic Tremor in the Nankai Trough

Slow earthquake size distributions have been found to follow either a power law or an exponential law, depending on the data set. We investigated the size distribution of shallow tectonic tremor events along the Nankai trough, southwestern Japan, observed in 2009, 2015, 2016, and 2018 and estimated the seismic energy radiated during the events as a measure of event size. The obtained size distributions mostly followed a power law with a b value of about 1, but an exponential law also fits well the data of the largest events; this result indicates that the size distribution follows the Gutenberg‐Richter law with an exponential taper. If only the largest events were observed, an exponential size distribution would be obtained. This exponential taper could be attributed to a source fault limitation. Because the maximum event size differed among activity periods, the source fault size varied among them, although the source areas largely overlap.
INVESTIGATING THE POTENTIAL OF DEEP NEURAL NETWORKS FOR LARGE-SCALE CLASSIFICATION OF VERY HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE IMAGES

Abstract. Semantic classification is a core remote sensing task as it provides the fundamental input for land-cover map generation. The very recent literature has shown the superior performance of deep convolutional neural networks (DCNN) for many classification tasks including the automatic analysis of Very High Spatial Resolution (VHR) geospatial images. Most of the recent initiatives have focused on very high discrimination capacity combined with accurate object boundary retrieval. Therefore, current architectures are perfectly tailored for urban areas over restricted areas but not designed for large-scale purposes. This paper presents an end-to-end automatic processing chain, based on DCNNs, that aims at performing large-scale classification of VHR satellite images (here SPOT 6/7). Since this work assesses, through various experiments, the potential of DCNNs for country-scale VHR land-cover map generation, a simple yet effective architecture is proposed, efficiently discriminating the main classes of interest (namely buildings, roads, water, crops, vegetated areas) by exploiting existing VHR land-cover maps for training.
The impact of continuous training in small and medium enterprises: Lessons from an industrial case analysis

AbstractIn the current competitive environment, great emphasis is placed on the knowl- edge and skills of the workforce as important elements in achieving organizational goals. As this focus on employee skills has increased, so have organizational programs and initiatives to ensure that the training in place to develop those skills is not sporadic, but rather part of a continuous effort toward keeping employee skills up to date. It becomes fundamental, in this context, to understand such programs and evaluate their impact, both within companies and externally, in terms of their decision making and business results. This paper aims to do that, through a study of the work-related training practices of in- dustrial firms in the Northern-Spanish region of Asturias. In addition, it develops a new variable – training intensity – and examines its impact on the planning, execution and evaluation of training programs in these firms. Among other findings, our study confirms that training-intensive firms have a more.
Putting Behavior in Household Travel Behavior Data: An Interactive GIS-Based Survey via the Internet

This two-year project focused on obtaining travel behavior data that more truly reflected underlying behavior. In the first year of the project a prototype of REACT! , a web-based, self-administered survey instrument for collecting household travel/activity data was produced. REACT! documents not only the resultant behavior but also the scheduling process that produces that behavior by having each respondent record activities as they are initially planned, updated, and executed. In the second year, following a beta test of REACT! and final program modification, a formal REACT! field study was completed for 47 households who used REACT! to provide 24 hours of travel/activity data over a 7 day period. Ensuing analyses focused on the activity scheduling process.
Structured controller design with evolutionary optimization

A set of standard evolution strategies is implemented in order to find the optimal tuning of a structured controller. The structured controller design problem is a non-convex optimization problem. The usual solution technique involves the use of branch and bound global search algorithm. Standard evolution strategies are able to find the global optimum with comparable solution quality, less overhead and considerable gain in computation time.
Convergence of spherical averages for actions of Fuchsian groups

Pointwise convergence of spherical averages is proved for a measure-preserving action of a Fuchsian group. The proof is based on a new variant of the Bowen-Series symbolic coding for Fuchsian groups that, developing a method introduced by Wroten, simultaneously encodes all possible shortest paths representing a given group element. The resulting coding is self-inverse, giving a reversible Markov chain to which methods previously introduced by the first author for the case of free groups may be applied.
Water, heat and salt transport through the Strait of Otranto

The water, heat and salt transports through the Strait of Otranto are estimated applying direct method to historical current and hydrographical data (from December 94 through November 95). A variational inverse method based on a variational principle and a finite element solver is used to reconstruct the current, temperature and salinity fields across the Strait section from sparse measurements. The mean annual inflow and outflow water transport rates are estimated as 0.901±0.039 Sv and -0.939±0.315 Sv, respectively, and the net transport for the period of study is equal to -0.032±0.208 Sv. Thus, on a yearly time interval, the inflow and the outflow are practically compensated. The heat and salt transports due to advection process are estimated for five monthly periods, namely December 1994, February, May, August and November 1995. Considering these five periods representative of the seasonal cycle during the year, their average values show that there is a net heat advection into the Adriatic Sea on a yearly basis. The estimated value of advected heat and the corresponding error are 2.408±0.490 TW, which is equivalent to a heat gain of 17.37±3.53 W m for the whole basin. This value is compared to the heat loss of -36±152 (std) W m through the air-sea interface calculated by means of bulk formulas over the Adriatic Sea. The two values are expected to be balance each other in order to close the heat budget of the basin. The possible reasons for this difference to occur are discussed. On a yearly basis, the salt transport is estimated as an input of salt equal to 0.05×10 Kg s. The average annual fresh water budget is estimated as -0.002 Sv, equivalent to the mass of fresh water of 2.00×10 Kg s or to the level of 0.45 m yr for the entire Adriatic Sea. The import of salt that is less than the gain of fresh water is in agreement with the fact that the Adriatic Sea is a dilution basin.
A Decision Support System for PredictingStudent Performance

In recent years data mining has been successfully implemented in the business world. Evaluating students' academic success is becoming increasingly challenging, its use is intended for identification and extraction of new and potentially valuable knowledge from the data. Predicting educational outcome is a practical alternative heterogeneous environment. Performance prediction models can be built by applying data mining techniques to enrolment data. In this paper we present an Naive Bayes algorithm (NB) approach to predict graduating cumulative Grade Point Average based on applicant data collected from the surveys conducted during the summer semester at the University of Tuzla, the Faculty of Economics, academic year 2010-2011, among first year students and the data taken during the enrolment. The Naive Bayes algorithm is used to discover the most suited way to predict student's success.
Spatial epidemiology of Plasmodium knowlesi in Sabah, Malaysia.

Since identification of a large number of human infections in 2004, the zoonotic malaria species Plasmodium knowlesi is currently the main cause of human malaria in Malaysian Borneo. Carried by long and pig-tailed macaques, deforestation and associated environmental and population changes have been hypothesised to be the main drivers of this emergence. This thesis aims to describe the epidemiology of P. knowlesi in Northern Sabah, Malaysia at a range of spatial scales and evaluate how environmental change and behaviour affect human infection risks. Satellite-based and aerial remote sensing technologies were utilised with GPS tracking and field surveys to characterise dynamic interactions between the environment, human, macaque and mosquito populations (Chapter 4). A retrospective analysis of reported P. knowlesi cases found marked spatial heterogeneity in village-level P. knowlesi incidence, with village-level numbers of cases positively associated with both forest cover and forest loss in surrounding areas (Chapter 5). To explore how these people used these environments, mobility patterns and resource utilisation were mapped using GPS tracking devices; these data were integrated with predictions of mosquito biting rates to estimate individual and location-specific exposure risks (Chapter 6). Additional surveys were conducted in households and villages of symptomatic cases and within case study communities to evaluate levels of infection and exposure within the wider population. These identified a substantial proportion of asymptomatic infections not detected by hospital-based surveillance systems (Chapter 7) and found positive associations between knowlesi sero-positivity and environmental factors at a fine spatial scale (Chapter 8). Results from these studies were used to design an ecologically-stratified cross-sectional survey across four districts in Northern Sabah; this study was used to identify individual and environmental variables associated with exposure and infection risk across a wider geographical area (Chapter 9). Together, these studies indicate a wide distribution of P. knowlesi infection and exposure in demographic groups underrepresented in clinical reports and highlight the role of local environmental change in P. knowlesi risk. Further research is needed to refine diagnostic methods and understand the longer-term impacts of ecological changes on disease dynamics.
Porous Bioceramics Produced by Impregnation of 3D‐Printed Wax Mold: Ceramic Architectural Control and Process Limitations  

Current architectural and production limitations prevent the manufacturing standardization and design of bioceramics. Such limitations have hindered advances in bone tissue engineering and regeneration. In this context, we propose a bioceramic manufacturing process based on the impregnation of wax molds produced by additive manufacturing. Hydroxyapatite bioceramics with custom architectures were fabricated to evaluate the reliability, robustness, and limitations of this process. Results indicate that this process preserves phase biocompatibility, permits homogeneous shrinkage of the biomaterial during heat treatment, and allows reproducible and precise manufacturing of custom architectures.
Performance of Combined Water Turbine Darrieus- Savonius with Two Stage Savonius Buckets and Single Deflector

The objective of this study is to show the effect of single deflector plate on the performance of combined Darrieus-Savonius water turbine. In order to overcome the disadvantages of low torque of solo Darrieus turbine, a plate deflector mounted in front of returning Savonius bucket of combined water turbine composing of Darrieus and Savonius rotor has been proposed in this study. Some configurations of combined turbines with two stage Savonius rotors were experimentally tested in a river of constant velocity 0.8 m/s. The angle of deflector with respect to current flow influences the turbine perfomanace characteristics. The torque and the power coefficient of combined turbine with deflector increase for Savonius rotor mounted on the outside of Darrieus rotor. The optimum deflector angle of 30 o gives a better performance of combined turbine.
A Novel Fuzzy Data Association Approach for Visual Multi-object Tracking

Multiple object tracking (MOT) is one of the most important research areas in visual surveillance. However, some practical challenges remain to be overcome for implementing this technology, such as occlusion, missed detection, false detection, and abrupt camera motion. In this paper, to the visual multi-object tracking, a novel fuzzy data association algorithm is proposed. In order to incorporate expert experience into the proposed algorithm, a fuzzy inference system based on knowledge is designed, and the fuzzy membership degrees are used to substitute the association probabilities between the objects and observations. The experiment results on several public data sets show that the proposed algorithm has advantages over other state-of-the-art tracking algorithms in terms of efficiency.
The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Health and Human Development RISK AND PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS: THE ROLE OF FAMILISM VALUES AND BIRTH ORDER A Thesis in Human Development and Family Studies

This study investigated associations between sibling relationship qualities and positive and negative adjustment among African American adolescents (after controlling for family characteristics), and tested familism values and birth order as potential moderators of sibling relationship-adjustment linkages. Participants were mothers, fathers, and 2 siblings (M = 16.22 and M = 12.58 years of age) from 179 working and middle class 2-parent families. Two-level random intercept models revealed that familism values moderated links between sibling relationship qualities and adjustment, generally suggesting that youth who reported both a strong orientation to family and harmonious sibling relationships showed the most positive outcomes. Moderator effects were more consistent for older than for younger siblings. Findings highlight the role of cultural values and birth order in shaping family dynamics.
Postural Dual Task Performance during Anti-Saccades in Healthy Children

Purpose: It is known from literature that postural stability in children is affected by a secondary task. In the present study we explored the effect of anti-saccades on postural sway in healthy children. Methods: 43 healthy children from 8 to 15 years old participated to the study. Postural stability was measured by Techno Concept platform and simultaneously eye movements were recorded by an eye tracker (Mobile T2). Children performed anti-saccades task (saccades away from the target), pro-saccades task (saccades toward the target) and a fixation task. Results: The surface area, the length and the mean velocity of the center of pressure were significantly reduced in similar way by anti-saccades and pro-saccades task in comparison with a simple fixation task. The performance of anti-saccades influenced postural control given that the increase of the error rate was correlated with the increase of all postural parameters measured. Conclusion: These results suggested an interaction between oculomotor and postural control during dual task. Most likely, in order to perform a correct anti-saccade, child could shift attention to inhibitory processes and working memory away from postural control leading to a better automatic postural performance.
3D GEOSPATIAL INDOOR NAVIGATION FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND RESPONSE IN URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Abstract. Disaster management for urban environments with complex structures requires 3D extensions of indoor applications to support better risk reduction and response strategies. The paper highlights the need for assessment and explores the role of 3D geospatial information and modeling regarding the indoor structure and navigational routes which can be utilized as disaster risk reduction and response strategy. The reviewed models or methods are analysed testing parameters in the context of indoor risk and disaster management. These parameters are level of detail, connection to outdoor, spatial model and network, handling constraints. 3D reconstruction of indoors requires the structural data to be collected in a feasible manner with sufficient details. Defining the indoor space along with obstacles is important for navigation. Readily available technologies embedded in smartphones allow development of mobile applications for data collection, visualization and navigation enabling access by masses at low cost. The paper concludes with recommendations for 3D modeling, navigation and visualization of data using readily available smartphone technologies, drones as well as advanced robotics for Disaster Management.