Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Compact Clock-Shaped Broadband Circularly Polarized Antenna Based on Characteristic Mode Analysis

This paper presents the design process of a clock-shaped broadband circular polarized (CP) antenna based on Characteristic Mode Analysis (CMA). It is composed of a circular ring, two microstrip lines approximately perpendicular to each other, and 50-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Omega $ </tex-math></inline-formula> improved coplanar waveguide (CPW). The two microstrip lines are introduced in the X and Y directions, respectively, to break the symmetry for CP operation. Different from the conventional method in which the operation is verified by the simulated surface current distribution, CMA provides physical insight into different modes of the antenna and reveals the mechanism of radiating CP wave. Mode currents and characteristic fields of the selected modes are studied for AR bandwidth enhancement. An improved double-sided printed CPW is introduced to excite the desired modes and achieve wideband impedance matching. To validate the proposed concept, a prototype with a compact size of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.29\lambda _{\mathrm {L}}\times 0.29\lambda _{\mathrm {L}}\times 0.013\lambda _{\mathrm {L}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\lambda _{\mathrm {L}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> corresponding to the maximum operation frequency) is fabricated and measured. The measured −10 dB impedance bandwidth and 3 dB AR bandwidth are 84.6% from 2.38 GHz to 5.8 GHz and 43.4% from 2.4 GHz to 3.73 GHz, respectively. The overlapping operating bandwidth can cover the ISM band, the TD-LTE band, and the WiMAX band. Besides, the proposed antenna has a stable radiation pattern over the operating band.
F-PAD: Private Attribute Disclosure Risk Estimation in Online Social Networks

In online social networks, users always expect to share some information for benefits (e.g., personalized services) while hiding the others for privacy. Unfortunately, the hidden information is likely to be predicted by various powerful inference attacks with the rapid advances in machine learning. Then, what is the risk that a user's private information could be disclosed? What countermeasures can be taken to fight against the privacy violation for the user? To tackle these issues, this article proposes a general Framework for Private Attribute Disclosure estimation (F-PAD) including three steps: 1) private attribute prediction; 2) disclosure model training; 3) disclosure risk estimation. Not like most prior risk estimation studies focusing on one specific attack model and private attribute, F-PAD can estimate disclosure risk for individual users in terms of disclosure probability and risk level within a high confidence given a basket of potential inference attack models; furthermore, F-PAD can adapt to various attributes (e.g., gender, age) and offer countermeasures to help users lower the risk. Extensive experiment studies on two real social network datasets, Facebook and Book-Crossing, have verified the effectiveness of F-PAD in ‘current city’, ‘gender’ and ‘age’ disclosure risk estimation.
Smart Mobility: a modern approach to automotive product development for vehicle electrification

The will to reduce vehicular traffic in cities, to improve its regulation and to reduce the relevant environmental pollution, have made Smart Mobility an increasingly important topic during the last years. As a consequence, automotive companies have begun to develop electric vehicles and related components. In this context, Brembo S.p.A‥, well known Italian company operating in automotive field, is giving its important contribution working on many research projects concerning vehicle electrification. One of them regards the development of “Brake by Wire” (BBW) braking systems, where braking action is performed by means of electric actuators placed both on front and on rear part of the vehicle. Inside a wide project funded by Lombardy Region called INPROVES, Brembo S.p.A. in cooperation also with the University of Bergamo is developing the synergic design of such actuators' electric motors and the relevant production process. The present paper is mainly the report of the activities concerning the design of the production process, along with the development of the FMEA.
Graphene–Metal Nanoparticles for Enhancing Thermoelectric Power Factor

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) grown graphene has been reported for a myriad of nanoelectronics and nanophotonics applications. However, CVD grown graphene suffers from low electrical conductivity due to the presence of multiple grain boundaries and intragranular defects. In order to improve its performance, graphene is often functionalized with other materials. In this work, graphene was hybridized with metallic nanoparticles (Au, Ag and Pt). Metal-containing inorganic compound solution was drop casted onto patterned graphene and was subsequently reduced by ultraviolet light. The hybridized graphene systems were explored as possible thermoelectric generators. It was shown that nanoparticles hybridized graphene displayed a significant decrease in sheet resistance. Amongst them, Au-graphene revealed an 80% decrease in sheet resistance. Ag- and Pt-graphene did not show any enhancement in the Seebeck effect while Au-graphene observed a 25% decline due to the thermal cooling effect. Overall, thermoelectric power factor was shown to increase by a factor of 2.96, 1.72 and 1.25 times for Au-graphene, Ag-graphene, and Pt-graphene, respectively.
SLA Driven Operation - optimizing telecom operation based on SLA -

Network Function Virtualization (NFV)/ Software Defined Network (SDN) technologies are introduced by content providers in advance, furthermore telecom carriers are also starting examining. However, it is necessary to examine the operation policy considering the difference characteristics telecom carriers and content providers. Specifically, it is the historical background which emphasizes the geographical dispersion and high reliability of the facilities. This paper clarifies that the conversion to the operation style which focus on the quality required for each service is necessary, after analyzing the present state of telecom network operation. Also, this paper proposes a concept “Service Level Agreement (SLA) Driven Operation” aiming to make decisions automatically for assurance work based on service quality (SLA) to be satisfied by operation.
Fractal Analysis of Porous Structures Using a Fuzzy Logic System

In this work, the new greyscale image processing technique based on the fuzzy inference system is proposed for defining the optimal threshold of the binarization. The developed approach involves fuzzy two-class clustering with the help of c-means algorithm and adjustment of the obtained threshold in accordance with the integral brightness of the initial image by the fuzzy if–then rules. On the basis analysis of the binary images by means of the box-counting method, the fractal dimension of porous structures has been calculated and their porosity has been estimated. It is shown that fractal analysis can be a simple and reliable method for defining the porosity.
Fractional order PID Controller design for Load Frequency Control in Parallel Control Structure

Background and objective. In this paper, fractional order proportional-integral-derivative (FOPID) controller has been designed in parallel control structure (PCS) to regulate the frequency deviation in power system.Methodology. The parameters of the FOPID controller have been obtained by minimizing the integral time absolute error (ITAE) of the frequency deviation using particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique. PCS decouple set-point tracking and load disturbance rejection. Hence it is an effective solution for LFC problem.Results and achievement: Simulation studies have been carried out for single area thermal power system with reheat and non-reheat turbines and for two area power system. It is observed from the simulation results that the proposed scheme show better performance than recently reported literatures.
Economic Benefits of Energy Storage and Price-aware Demand Response for Future Smart Cities

As new goals were set in terms of reliability and sustainability in urban power grids, demand response (DR) programs have gained remarkable attention for their benefits offered to both grid and customers. However, given the limited possibilities of implementing these services, the energy storage systems (ESSs) can be important tools for increasing the flexibility of electrical systems, allowing also the high penetration of renewable sources. The scope of this work is to analyze the impact of optimal operation of ESS together with the deployment of different types of demand side management (DSM) in Smart City context, considering the presence of local renewable energy sources (RESs). In this paper, a scheduling optimization scheme for an urban distribution network is presented, aiming to reduce the total operation cost. In this regard, a bi-objective model has been developed, that determines the balance between the global operational cost and the total load curtailment provided by the DR programs, while satisfying the technological constraints of the ESS and the power grid.
Temporal-Spatial Distribution of Chlorophyll-a and Impacts of Environmental Factors in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea

Better understanding of the temporal-spatial distribution of chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) is crucial in controlling harmful water blooms. In this study, the dynamical change of Chl-a over the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea from 2003–2017 were analyzed by using the MODIS/Aqua satellite data, and the effects of sea surface temperature (SST), wind and wave were investigated. The typical distribution modes of long-term surface Chl-a were extracted by using the Self-organizing Mapping (SOM), neural network model. The results showed distinct seasonal variations of the Chl-a along with a gradual increase in the study period. The total Chl-a of the whole area reached the lowest value of 2.41mg/m3 in July, and the highest value 3.43mg/m3 in April; though in Laizhou Bay, the Chl-a concentration was significantly higher than other regions and the value reached at the peak in September. The spatial distribution showed that Chl-a decreased from inshore to offshore. Meanwhile, from clear mode to low, medium, and high concentration modes, the Chl-a gradually increased in coverage and concentration, and modes extracted by the SOM neural network have effectively elucidated the trend of Chl-a in spatial, seasonal, and interannual variability. The Generalized Additive Model (GAM) was used to evaluate the effect of SST, wind, and wave on the changing patterns of Chl-a. It was found that there is a significant nonlinear correlation between Chl-a and SST, wind speed, mean wave direction and significant height of the wave. These influencing factors accounted for 47.9% of the change of Chl-a, which had significant effects on Chl-a change. Compared with wind speed, mean wave direction and significant height of wave, SST can better explain the change of Chl-a. Besides, wind direction and increased human activity (e.g., river discharge) played a significant role in changing the Chl-a distribution in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea.
A Chipless Humidity Sensor for Wearable Applications

This paper presents a fully-textile chipless tag to be used as a humidity sensor. The proposed tag consists of $a50 \Omega$ microstrip line loaded by multiple resonators. The basic idea is to exploit the hygroscopic properties of textile materials, and in particular the variation of the relative permittivity of the textile substrate due to variation of the environmental moisture. The sensed data are encapsulated in the amplitude of the S21 parameter of the microstrip line. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed sensor is sensitive to variations of the relative humidity comprised in the range 65%-95%.
A Survey of State-of-the-Art on Microgrids: Application in Real Time Simulation Environment

In this review paper, CIGRÉ’s definition of microgrids was adopted. Their main relevant technologies are discussed (distributed generators, energy storage systems and others). Some points in architecture are also briefly considered. In order to provide the reader with a clear picture, five representative microgrids were selected and described. Finally, the topic of microgrid HIL simulation is addressed. A comprehensive review of the literature was used in this work.
Energy Price Prediction on the Romanian Market using Long Short-Term Memory Networks

Transition to a market-based economy has reached, eventually, the production of electrical energy in Romania. Historically considered a never-ending resource, the producers did not have to interact with the consumer and more specific with the demands of the consumers. This paper proposes a neural algorithm based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) architecture able to assess the price of energy as a time sequence application and predict trends based on the interaction between resources availability and demand.
Robust Passivity of Coupled Cohen-Grossberg Neural Networks with Reaction-Diffusion Terms

In this paper, we deal with the robust passivity problem for coupled reaction-diffusion Cohen-Grossberg neural networks (CRDCGNNs) with spatial diffusion coupling and state coupling. First, we present the network model for CRDCGNNs with state coupling and establish some robust passivity conditions for this kind of CRDCGNNs. Then, the investigation on robust passivity for CRDCGNNs with spatial diffusion coupling is carried out similarly. At last, the feasibility of the obtained theoretical results is demonstrated by one example with simulation results.
Method and system for reading RFID tags embedded into tires on conveyors

RFID technology is nowadays largely applied to several industrial fields, especially for logistic purposes such as labeling, tracking and tracing of products and assets. Automotive industry is also progressively adopting the technology, with particular interest from the tire sector wherein the ambitious aim is optimizing the production/transformation lines, from the manufacturing of the single parts up to the final integration into the vehicle. This paper describes a system for univocally identifying and localizing tires embedding RFID tags that move along a conveyor line. Both hardware components and algorithms are described, together with the results of the experimental campaign.
Prototype of Local Positioning System

A prototype of the system of local navigation, based on a simple mathematical model, was developed. The coordinates of an object are determined by solving a quadratic equation or fourth degree equation, which makes this approach very efficient. Input data for calculations are the time of receipt of the signal from the object to three or four reception stations. An object whose position we determine periodically emits an ultrasound signal. The system was built on the basis of the Cypress PSoC 4. Testing showed a high accuracy of the determination of the fixed object coordinates. The scope of the system after its improvement can be, in our opinion, the control of robotic systems.
Battery Energy Storage System Allocation in Distribution Systems for Power Loss and Operational Costs Reduction

The insertion of generators in distribution systems modifies the network’s historical passive characteristic, allowing the implementation of new operation modes. However, energy storage systems allocation is required to explore every feature provided by the decentralized generators entirely. In this sense, battery energy storage systems provide greater flexibility in the operation of distribution systems. Nevertheless, the battery’s power injection/absorption may cause active power loss increase and voltage profile variation if there is not proper planning of its allocation. In this context, this article proposes two allocation strategies, one aiming at the active power losses and the other at the costs of these losses. Both approaches also include indications of voltage variations and violations of the operational limits. Finally, the energy arbitrage is calculated for every possible battery allocation point to verify the possibility of obtaining economic advantages by buying and selling energy in a dynamic tariff system. The allocation strategies are tested in the widely used 33-bus system with demand and tariff of a real system. The results indicate different but feasible allocations for each approach due to demand and tariff volatility.
Active-Passive Combined Control System in Crane Type for Heave Compensation

For the purpose of researching the displacement control system of heave compensation for offshore drilling platform, a set of crane type active and passive combined heave compensation device are designed on the basis of the similarity principle. As it known that platform heaving will be caused by the wind, sea wave and ocean current when conducting the drilling operations on the offshore drilling platform, which then will disturb the drilling operation. Therefore, the compensation device must be adopted to keep the vertical relative motion between the drill string system and the drilling platform to zero during the operation. Meanwhile, to improve the real-time performance of the heave compensation, the control system is optimized by establishing the simulation model of the active-passive combined crane, and LS-SVM(Least Squares Support Vector Machine) is improved by the artificial immune algorithm to predict the motion trend of offshore platforms. Eventually, in order to acquire the best control scheme, the Proportion Integration Differentiation (PID), fuzzy PID, BP neural network PID control method are utilized to carry out the simulation analysis, and the BP neural network PID control is found to be the optimum. Experiments showed that after using the BP neural network PID control algorithm, the displacement compensation rate of hook for active-passive combined crane device is more than 90%, the performance of the heave compensation is better, and the control is in time.
Prevalence and Accuracy Measures of Diagnostic Tests for Metabolic Syndrome in Multi-ethnic Groups

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a collection of several risk factors like elevated blood pressure, sugar, excessive body fat and abnormal triglyceride or cholesterol levels which collectively enhances one's risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Due to its complex and heterogeneous nature, the prevalence rate of this disease is highly variable across the globe. Additionally, ethnic and regional variations affect this disparity. This paper investigates these demographic trends in MetS's diagnostic tests based on four widely used definitions, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the European Group for the study of Insulin Resistance (EGIR) and the National Cholesterol Education Programs Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATPIII). The study included 3581 patients (48% men and 52% women) from USA aged 12 or more. Several ethnic groups were included in the population: Mexican American, Hispanic, Non-Hispanic White and Black. Statistical measures like Student's t test, Likelihood Ratios, Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves and Youden's index were used to assess the accuracy of diagnostic tests within each ethnic group. WHO presented higher sensitivity, whereas IDF was found to exhibit least specificity. WHO was found to be a better measure for non-Hispanic black men and Mexican American women. Alternatively, NCEP-ATPIII was a better accuracy measure for Hispanic men and non-Hispanic white Americans. These results were quite stable for both genders. Results indicate that accuracy of diagnosis of MetS can be compromised by using a single consistent definition criterion over a population without considering the multi-ethnic differences.
Operationalising Ambidexterity: The Role of "Better" Management Practices in High-Variety, Low-Volume Manufacturing

Innovation and change are fundamental to the long-term sustainability of any organisation. Whilst it is important to improve operating efficiency in the bid to become more cost competitive, there is still an underlying need to venture out of the norm and explore new opportunities. Though a great deal of research has emerged regarding the achievement of ambidexterity, there remains a gap in understanding how this is actually operationalised in organisations. This paper takes aim at this problem in the context of SME manufacturers that produce a high variety of customised products at low volumes (HVLV). Under such circumstances, ambidexterity appears intuitively easier to achieve given the manufacturer is designed to be as flexible as possible in the first place — though, it would seem this may be to their detriment. Based on a literature review and drawing from ambidexterity and organisational theory, our contribution is geared towards investigating the underlying mechanisms that make HVLV manufacturers ambidextrous in the first place. In particular, we concern ourselves with exploring how ambidexterity is enacted through what are deemed "better" management practices that result in innovative organisations. By better understanding the more latent characteristics of HVLV manufacturers, we shed some light on the interactions between external and internal influences affecting the impact of ambidexterity under such an environment. Further theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Self-modifiable image processing library for model-based design on FPGAs

This paper describes highly configurable hardware modules, included in XIL XSGImgLib library, capable of speed up the hardware implementation of video and image processing systems using the model-based design flow provided by Xilinx System Generator. As part of this work, generic architectures were developed to exploit specific characteristics of some processing blocks, which can be self-modified using a novel software procedure developed for MATLAB®. This procedure, along with the generic architecture and the configuration options, allows the abstraction about the specific details of the hardware implementation, as well as the adjustment of the resources consumption of the high-speed image and video processing application for embedded systems with weight, volume and power consumption constrains like smart cameras, video surveillance and autonomous vehicles. The use of this video and image processing library is illustrated by the development of a segmentation application on a Spartan-6 LX45 FPGA although any Xilinx’s FPGA is supported.
Effect of Polarization on the SAR Homogeneity in Cells Across Multiple Petri Dishes for mmWave in Vitro 3D Culture

This paper presents the polarization effect on the specific absorption rate (SAR) homogeneity over different cells for in vitro millimeter-wave (mmWave) exposure experiments. For numerical modeling of a novel three dimensional (3D) culture cell experiment, an Insert model containing a skin cell layer was adopted along with a conventional 35 mm Petri dish. Various exposure scenarios including different polarization angles were considered and the simulations were performed based on the finite element method (FEM). The SAR results reveal that the polarization has a significant effect on the cell SARs across multiple Petri dishes.