Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Frequency and impedance reconfigurable antenna using magnetically-actuated low-loss Ferrofluid loads

ABSTRACT With space and spectrum at a premium, antennas must be capable of operating well across a variety of frequencies and environments. This work presents a novel method of frequency and impedance reconfiguration through the actuation of a ferrofluid load with a permanent magnetic bias field, while still achieving up to 85% efficiency. Under a sufficiently strong bias field, the ferrofluid load behaves as a low-loss movable dielectric load, and the actuation method avoids the complexity associated with microfluidic pumps and DC bias networks. This work opens a new field of reconfiguration mechanisms for antennas through magnetic repositioning of low-loss ferrofluid loads.
Study of rare b-baryon decays and test of lepton universality at LHCb

Flavor-changing neutral-current b ->sl⁺l⁻ transitions are forbidden at tree level in the Standard Model (SM), and can only occur at loop level. Therefore, they are sensitive to possible New Physics (NP) effects beyond the SM. In the SM, the transitions b ->se⁺e⁻ and b -> sμ⁺μ⁻ have the same probability to happen, this property is called lepton universality (LU). Probing LU in b-hadron decays has been recently a promising area for NP searches. Tensions with respect to the SM predictions at the level of about 2.5 standard deviations have been observed in rare B -> K(*)l⁺l ⁻ decays. To date, tests of LU have been performed only in decays of b-mesons.This thesis presents a first test of the LU in rare b-baryon decays Lambdab -> pK l⁺l⁻ using the data collected by the LHCb experiment at CERN, during 2011, 2012 and 2016 data-taking periods. The expected statistical sensitivity is about 15%, while the central value remains blind at the moment. The first measurement of the branching fraction of the decay Lambdab -> pKμ⁺μ⁻ is performed with the statistical precision of 5.3%. In addition, this thesis presents the first observation of the Lambdab -> pKe⁺e ⁻ decay, and the measurement of its branching fraction.Finally, a suppressed decay Xib0 -> pKJ/ψ is observed and studied for the first time.
The Effect of Social Support during Labour on Postpartum Depression

A prospective, randomized, controlled intervention trial was conducted to determine the effect of a supportive labour companion (doula) on postpartum depression. Women in an experimental group were attended by a doula during labour and delivery whereas women in the control group received no intervention. It was predicted that intervention at childbirth would be associated with significantly lower measures of postpartum depression. The hypothesis was supported by the data at three months postpartum. This suggests that labour support has a considerable impact on the mother which persists into the postpartum period. This has important implications for primary prevention.
Effective K-nearest neighbor classifications for Wisconsin breast cancer data sets

ABSTRACT Using machine learning algorithms for early prediction of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer is in demand nowadays. One of these algorithms is the K-nearest neighbor (KNN), which uses a technique for measuring the distance among data. The performance of KNN depends on the number of neighboring elements known as the K value. This study involves the exploration of KNN performance by using various distance functions and K values to find an effective KNN. Wisconsin breast cancer (WBC) and Wisconsin diagnostic breast cancer (WDBC) datasets from the UC Irvine machine learning repository were used as our main data sources. Experiments with each dataset were composed of three iterations. The first iteration of the experiment was without feature selection. The second one was the L1-norm based selection from the model, which used the linear support vector classifier feature selection, and the third iteration was with Chi-square-based feature selection. Numerous evaluation metrics like accuracy, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve with the area under curve (AUC) and sensitivity, etc., were used for the assessment of the implemented techniques. The results indicated that the technique involving the Chi-square-based feature selection achieved the highest accuracy with the Canberra or Manhattan distance functions for both datasets. The optimal K values for these distance functions ranged from 1 to 9. This study indicated that with the appropriate selection of the K value and a distance function in KNN, the Chi-square-based feature selection for the WBC datasets gives the highest accuracy rate as compared with the existing models. Abbreviations: KNN: K-nearest neighbor; Chi2: Chi-square; WBC: Wisconsin breast cancer
A Semi-Discretized Method for Optimal Reparametrization of Curves

In this thesis, we develop a new method for solving the optimal reparametrization problem within the square root velocity framework. The method is based on a dynamic programming approach, but with a more accurate update equation than previous methods. While previous methods are fully discretized, the new method is only semi-discretized. This is utilized to give both a better convergence rate and a lower computational complexity compared to similar methods. To construct the method, we introduce new auxiliary variables, and establish differential equations characterizing the optimal reparametrizers. The resulting method is linear in the reparametrizers and quadratic in the distance estimate. In certain situations, these convergence rates can be improved to quadratic and super-quadratic, respectively, by the use of extrapolation. This is supported by numerical experiments.
Bi-estabilidade óptica & condensação de Bose-Einstein de polaritons

Efeitos da Bi-estabilidade Optica (OB) estao intrinsecamente ligados a nao-linearidade do meio de ganho. Em microcavidades, a presenca deste comportamento e proporcionada pelo efeito Kerr provocado nao pela densidade de fotons confinados na cavidade, mas devido a densidade de polaritons gerados ressonantemente sob regime de acoplamento forte. A amostra em analise e esfriada a 10K por um criostato a "dedo frio" e corresponde a uma microcavidade formada por espelhos DBR (AlAs/Al0,2Ga0.8As) separadas por uma camada espacadora (Al0.3Ga0,7As) contendo um poco quântico de GaAs como de 100A como meio de ganho. Nossos resultados experimentais mostram um cruzamento das curvas de OB (contendo um ou dois pontos de interseccao) sob certas condicoes de excitacao. Apresentamos um modelo no qual descrevemos este comportamento, onde os calculos mostram uma competicao entre o efeito Kerr proporcionado pela populacao de polaritons e efeitos termicos proporcionados pelo processo de excitacao. Este comportamento se deve ao fato de que a variacao do indice de refracao possui sinais opostos para cada caso. Foram registradas regioes de instabilidade com a formacao de oscilacoes espontâneas da cavidade (auto-oscilacoes), mesmo quando excitada em modo continuo "cw". As oscilacoes apresentam-se na forma de trem de pulsos que podem durar desde alguns poucos a centenas de milisegundos. Estas oscilacoes apresentam variacoes na sua forma de onda indicando transicoes para o caos. O comportamento periodico dos pulsos que compoem o pacote possui um periodo medio de aproximadamente 80ms. Apresentamos um modelo baseado nos dados experimentais que indica a coexistencia de um estado laser nao-linear de auto-modulacao de fase. Dessa forma, as auto-oscilacoes resultariam da superposicao destes estados formando um padrao de interferencia do campo total emitido pela cavidade. Isto evidenciaria a existencia de um condensado de polaritons na microcavidade.
Performance of the NCMRWF convection‐permitting model during contrasting monsoon phases of the 2016 INCOMPASS field campaign

This study uses INCOMPASS aircraft, radiosonde and satellite observations for verifying hydrometeors and associated state variables predicted by the regional model of the NCMRWF (NCUM‐R) for contrasting phases of the 2016 monsoon. INCOMPASS flights B957 and B975 took place between Lucknow in northern India and Bhubaneswar near the east coast, and represent a contrast between dry pre‐monsoon and active monsoon conditions, respectively. A moist profile above 4 km in Bhubaneswar measured on B957 showed a dry‐air intrusion being eroded by mid‐level clouds, whereas the Lucknow profile showed a drier, pre‐monsoon profile. Aerosol extinction coefficient and cloud‐top height measured using lidar showed an influx of continental aerosol, and intermittent multiple clouds below the aircraft in the mid‐troposphere and boundary layer. Measurements from B975 match well with cyclonic wind patterns estimated from satellite observations and the convective tendency represented in radiosonde profiles. Extensive clouds were detected below 5 km during the active monsoon. Two model formulations for cloud representation (prognostic cloud and prognostic condensate, PC2, and diagnostic schemes, Diag) are compared with observations during the campaign. Vertical structures of state variables from both schemes are generally in agreement along the flight tracks. Surface energy budget and cloud diagnoses indicate higher cloud cover in Diag consistent with lower surface temperatures through reduced surface downwelling short‐wave flux than in PC2, while the latent‐heat flux is found to be insensitive to cloud scheme chosen. In‐cloud water content is larger in PC2 for lower cloud fraction, and the autoconversion process is faster with respect to Diag. Higher total condensed‐water content in the model with respect to aircraft measurements and an enhanced light precipitation bias with respect to satellite data is common to both cloud schemes. Further work to improve the representation of clouds and precipitation for the tropical implementation of the model is clearly warranted.
Earth observation tools and services to increase the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance

ABSTRACT Humanitarian action has rapidly adopted Earth observation (EO) and geospatial technologies shaping them according to their needs. Protracted crises and large-scale population displacements require up-to-date information in many facets of humanitarian action support, from mission planning, resource deployment and monitoring, to nutrition and vaccination campaigns, camp plotting, damage assessment, etc. Even though nearly all assets of remote sensing apply in such demanding scenarios, it remains a challenge to fully implement and sustain a trustful and reliable information service. This paper discusses achievements and open issues in the use and uptake of EO technology, from a technical and organisational point of view, motivated by an information service for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and its extension to other NGO’s information needs in the humanitarian sector. With a focus on EO-based population estimation based on (semi-)automated dwelling counting from very high-resolution optical satellite imagery as well as the exploitation of data integration (including radar sensors), the paper also covers potential service elements with respect to environmental and ground- or surface water monitoring. It investigates workflow elements in relation to information extraction and delivery by illustrating a broad range of application scenarios, and discusses first operational solutions of a customized service portfolio.
Development of quality indicators for appropriate antibiotic use in daily hospital practice

Worldwide, antibiotic consumption and antibiotic resistance are still on the rise, which, together with the steady decline in the discovery of new antibiotics, creates one of the greatest current threats to human health. To help curbing antibiotic resistance in hospitals, better use of current agents is warranted and a decrease of inappropriate antibiotic use is imperative. Quality indicators (QIs) are measurable elements of practice performance for which there is evidence or consensus that they can be used to assess and change the quality of antibiotic care provided. We developed a set of generic evidence-based QIs to measure appropriate antibiotic use in hospitalized adult patients with a suspected bacterial infection, using a RAND modified Delphi method. Hereafter we validated these generic QIs by performing a point prevalence measurement at 4 university and 18 non-university hospitals located throughout the Netherlands, including 1890 patients using antibiotics for a suspected bacterial infection. This resulted in a reliable set of generic QIs which can be used to measure and improve the various steps in the process of antibiotic use in the hospital, by identifying for which step along the antibiotic pathway there is room for improvement. In particular adherence to a combination of generic process QIs, rather than just one QI, seems to decrease the duration of hospital stay. Prospective studies are needed to determine whether interventions that improve compliance with these validated generic QIs, could improve patient outcome and reduces length of stay.
Uporaba dronov v odložljivih omrežjih za prenos podatkov interneta stvari

Velikokrat se pojavi potreba po prenosu podatkov z oddaljenih ali nedostopnih lokacij, ali v primeru izrednih razmer, kot so požari, potresi, poplave, ko so sicer zanesljive komunikacije prekinjene. V teh primerih bi lahko uporabljali drone, ki bi se obnasali kakor prehodi za prenasanje podatkov. V ta namen smo v sklopu magistrskega dela postavili model sistema, ki s pomocjo dronov zagotavlja komunikacijsko povezljivost napravam interneta stvari, ki se nahajajo na obmocju brez komunikacijske infrastrukture. Zasnovali smo komunikacijski protokol za usmerjanje in izmenjavo paketov med droni, ki prispeva k boljsi povezljivosti v odložljivih omrežjih. Predlagali smo dva nacina premikanja dronov in dva nacina usmerjanja paketov. Zasnovali smo dvofazno premikanje dronov za namen optimizacije premikanja v staticnih okoljih. Za dokaz izvedljivosti modela smo razvili simulacijsko okolje, ki omogoca vizualizacijo sistema in testiranje delovanja.
African Easterly Wave Dynamics in Convection‐Permitting Simulations: Rotational Stratiform Instability as a Conceptual Model

We examine the upscale effect of moist convection on African easterly waves (AEWs) by limiting condensational heating and initial ambient moisture in convection‐permitting simulations. Moist convection is fundamental in maintaining and destabilizing AEWs. The contribution from barotropic‐baroclinic instability, albeit important, is relatively smaller. Mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) are initiated downstream of the AEW troughs and are associated with extensive trailing stratiform cloud regions. Using a potential vorticity (PV) budget, we show that the attendant diabatic heating profile reinforces the AEW. A model for destabilization is proposed that relies on the phasing of stratiform heating and the PV anomaly of the AEW. It qualitatively resembles stratiform instability and stretched building blocks hypotheses introduced in previous studies. The generation of PV by deep moist convection in the vicinity of the trough counters the shearing effect of the background flow. This helps maintain an upright PV column, which is conducive for formation of tropical cyclones. AEW propagation is dominated by advective processes and intermittently modified by moist convection when large MCSs move ahead of the AEW.
Proper orthogonal decomposition analysis and modelling of large-scale flow reorientations in a cubic Rayleigh–Bénard cell

This paper investigates the large-scale flow reorientations of Rayleigh–Bénard convection in a cubic cell using proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) analysis and modelling. A direct numerical simulation is performed for air at a Rayleigh number of $10^{7}$ and shows that the flow is characterized by four quasi-stable states, corresponding to a large-scale circulation lying in one of the two diagonal planes of the cube with a clockwise or anticlockwise motion, with occasional brief reorientations. Proper orthogonal decomposition is applied to the joint velocity and temperature fields of an enriched database which captures the statistical symmetries of the flow. We found that each quasi-stable state consists of a superposition of four spatial modes representing three types of structures: (i) a mean-flow mode consisting of two stacked counter-rotating torus-like structures; (ii) two large-scale two-dimensional rolls (pair of degenerated modes) which form large-scale diagonal rolls when combined together; and (iii) an eight-roll mode that transports fluid from one corner to the other and strengthens the circulation along the diagonal. In addition, we identified three other modes that play a role in the reorientation process: two boundary-layer modes (pair of degenerated modes) that connect the core region with the horizontal boundary layers and one mode associated with corner rolls. The symmetries of the different POD modes are discussed, as well as their temporal dynamics. A description of the reorientation process in terms of POD modes is provided and compared with other modal approaches available in the literature. Finally, Galerkin projection is used to derive a POD-based reduced-order model. Unresolved modes are accounted for in the model by an extra dissipation term and the addition of noise. A seven-mode model is able to reproduce the low-frequency dynamics of the large-scale reorientations as well as the high-frequency dynamics associated with the large-scale circulation rotation. Linear stability analysis and sensitivity analysis confirm the role of the boundary-layer modes and the corner-rolls mode in the reorientation process.
Asymptotic distribution theory on pseudo semiparametric maximum likelihood estimator with covariates missing not at random

Abstract Recently, Cook et al. proposed a semiparametric likelihood estimator to improve study efficiency for a kind of survival data with covariate entries missing not at random (MNAR). Readily available supplementary information on the covariate is utilized in the estimation. They assume that the conditional distributions of the covariate X that having missing entry given the completely observed covariate Z, is known. Guo et al. suggested to replace with its consistent estimator in the likelihood equation when is unknown. However, they did not derive the asymptotic theory of the resulted estimator in this case. This paper fills the gap. The theoretical development makes use of the theory of modern empirical process.
Association of Tumor Necrosis Factor Gene Promoter Polymorphism with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Objective:To study whether gene polymorphism of tumor necrosis factor promoter is associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods:Polymerase chain reaction-based sequence analysis was applied to determine the frequencies of genotypes and allele of TNF-308 and TNF-238 in 66 COPD patients, 42 smoker control and 43 population-based healthy controls. Results:The frequencies of three genotypes (GG,GA and AA) of TNF-308 and TNF-238 gene were not significantly different between COPD patients, smoker control subjects and healthy controls. (P0.05). There were also no significant differences in the distribution of the TNF-α3082 and TNF-α2382 alleles between COPD patients, smoker control, and healthy controls, respectively (3.4% vs.6.1% and 5.1% vs.2.4%) (P0.05). Within the COPD group, the frequency of TNF-308 and TNF-238 gene allele was similar in the severe and non-severe subgroups(2.2% vs. 4.2% and 4.3% vs. 5.6%) ( P0.05) and was present only in the heterozygous state (TNF1/2); However, the blood concentration of the TNF-α in the COPD patients was significantly increased compared to smoker control and population healthy controls. ( P0.01). Conclusion:Although there is no association of TNF-α3081/2 and TNF-α2381/2 alleles with susceptibility to smoking-related COPD and severity of COPD, the elevation of the TNF-αin COPD patients indicated that TNF-α might have a causal relationship with COPD and polymorphism in others gene regions of TNF-α may exist and need to be further demonstrated.
A resampling approach to estimation of the linking variance in the Fay–Herriot model

ABSTRACT In the Fay–Herriot model, we consider estimators of the linking variance obtained using different types of resampling schemes. The usefulness of this approach is that even when the estimator from the original data falls below zero or any other specified threshold, several of the resamples can potentially yield values above the threshold. We establish asymptotic consistency of the resampling-based estimator of the linking variance for a wide variety of resampling schemes and show the efficacy of using the proposed approach in numeric examples.
Iterative Methods for Finding Solutions of a Class of Split Feasibility Problems over Fixed Point Sets in Hilbert Spaces

We consider the split feasibility problem in Hilbert spaces when the hard constraint is common solutions of zeros of the sum of monotone operators and fixed point sets of a finite family of nonexpansive mappings, while the soft constraint is the inverse image of a fixed point set of a nonexpansive mapping. We introduce iterative algorithms for the weak and strong convergence theorems of the constructed sequences. Some numerical experiments of the introduced algorithm are also discussed.
An Integrated Service Model for Community Care: Designing a Healthy Life for the Elderly in Taiwan

DOI: 10.5963/PHF0102001 Abstract- Objective of this study is to investigate the acceptance of proposed Integrated Service Model for community care. In this study, we implemented an actual community healthcare system, which integrates resources of district hospital and community development associations (CDAs), and applied this system with the integrated service model to the elderly in a community for almost a year. Results showed that community elderly were encouraged to attend regular activities at the Neighbourhood Activity Centre, which were hosted by two major units, i.e., the CDA and the district hospital. During these activities, volunteers for community service regularly checked the vital signs of the community residents, including blood pressure, oxygen saturation of blood, heartbeat, and body temperature. The system served as a mediated tool for storage of vital signs and help the elderly communicate with medical staff easily. The statistic results showed that the behavioural intention of the community elderly in using this integrated service model is extremely related with such critical dimensions as "system accessibility" and "perceived usefulness" (p < 0.01). In addition, the novel concept of integrated service model integrating local CDA, the district hospital and volunteers for community healthcare service has a high degree of acceptance. Hence, constructing such an integrated service model can help the elderly in Taiwan achieve the ultimate targets of "aging in place" and "successful aging. "