Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low-Cost One-Step Fabrication of Highly Conductive ZnO:Cl Transparent Thin Films with Tunable Photocatalytic Properties via Aerosol-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition

Low-cost, high-efficiency, and high quality Cl-doped ZnO (ZnO:Cl) thin films that can simultaneously function as transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) and photocatalysts are described. The films have been fabricated by a facile and inexpensive solution-source aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition technique using NH4Cl as an effective, cheap, and abundant source of Cl. Successful ClO substitutional doping in the ZnO films was evident from powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry results, while scanning electron microscopy reveals the impact of Cl doping on the ZnO thin film morphology. All ZnO:Cl films deposited were transparent and uncolored; optical transmittance in the visible region (400–700 nm) exceeded 80% for depositions using 5–20 mol % Cl. Optimal electrical properties were achieved when using 5 mol % Cl with a minimum measured resistivity of (2.72 ± 0.04) × 10–3 Ω·cm, in which the charge carrier concentration and mobility were measured at (8.58 ± 0.16) × 1019 cm–3 and 26.7 ± 0.1 cm2 V–1 s–1 respectively, corresponding to a sheet resistance (Rsh) of 41.9 Ω□–1 at a thickness of 650 nm. In addition to transparent conducting properties, photocatalytic behavior of stearic acid degradation in the ZnO:Cl films was also observed with an optimal Cl concentration of 7 mol % Cl, with the highest formal quantum efficiency (ξ) measured at (1.63 ± 0.03) × 10–4 molecule/photon, while retaining a visible transparency of 80% and resistivity ρ = (9.23 ± 0.13) × 10–3 Ω·cm. The dual functionality of ZnO:Cl as both a transparent conductor and an efficient photocatalyst is a unique combination of properties making this a particularly unusual material.
Parametric Proportional Hazard Models with Applications in Survival Analysis

Proportional hazard (PH) models can be formulated with or without assuming a probability distribution for survival times. The former assumption leads to parametric models, whereas the latter leads to the semi-parametric Cox model which is by far the most popular in survival analysis. However, a parametric model may lead to more efficient estimates than the Cox’s model under certain conditions. Only a few parametric models are closed under PH assumption, the most common of which is the Weibull that accommodates only monotone hazard functions. The main objective of this thesis is to develop flexible and parsimonious parametric models which are capable of adequately describing different shapes of hazard function. In particular, we propose a generalization of the log-logistic distribution that belongs to the PH family. It has properties similar to those of log-logistic, and approaches the Weibull in the limit. These features enable it to handle both monotone and unimodal (inverse U-shape) hazard functions. Applications to four data sets and a simulation study revealed that the model could potentially be very useful in adequately describing different types of time-to-event data. The generalized log-logistic PH model naturally accommodates monotone decreasing and unimodal hazard functions, and has the ability to model increasing hazard shapes satisfactorily. However, it is not flexible enough to deal with bathtub-shaped hazard functions. This type of shape is widely used to describe data in medical research and reliability engineering. Motivated by this, we propose a more general parametric proportional hazards model by modifying the Kumaraswamy Weibull (KumW) distribution. The model is parsimonious and flexible in the sense that it accommodates all four standard shapes of the hazard function at the small cost of estimating only three distributional parameters. We also consider two commonly encountered problems in survival analysis which require further extension of the standard PH models. More specifically, we propose methods for recurrent event data analysis and joint modeling as described below. In biomedical studies and clinical trials, the individuals under study may experience multiple
Video Processing for Human Perception Oriented Coding

This paper presents human perception-based video coding method using an online learning framework. In this work, we analyze the relationship between human attention regions and video quality, and also consider human memory. We classify the motion patterns based on the analysis. Then, we devise a motion pattern classification method using Hedge algorithm. Along with the motion patterns, we smooth out the specific regions or sharpen details of the regions using the regional priorities. The preprocessed sequences are applied to the video codec. The performance is excellent on the overall quality as well as the regional quality.
FITtogether: an 'average' activity tracker

In this paper we discuss an app we have implemented for iOS and Android called FITtogether. The app counts users’ steps and enables them to compare these with the average steps of all other users. We have trialed the app over a two week period in the wild on users’ own devices. Our findings suggest that comparison with an average leads to users feeling that they are successful if they are above average, and that by making a personal step count available to others only as part of an average does not lead to anonymity and identity concerns
Concordance of goals and meaning in the intrapersonal life domain: associations with demographic variables and well-being

The aim of this study was to explore the patterns of alignment of valued goals and meaningful things on an intrapersonal level, and how these different patterns are associated with demographic variables and indicators of well-being. A mixed methods convergent parallel design was used with simultaneous cross-sectional collection of quantitative and qualitative data. Descriptive statistics showed that the intrapersonal domain featured strongly as the reason for goals or for meaningful things. Findings of oneand two-way ANOVAs indicated some significant interactions among patterns of alignment, demographic variables (such as age, level of education, and standard of living), and selected indices of well-being. Only qualified support for the self-concordance model was found. Implications for practice are indicated.
Heptane and Dodecane as surrogates of diesel fuel, a comparison with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

En este trabajo se ha efectuado un estudio comparativo entre dos combustibles de referencia como el n-heptano y el n-dodecano, ambos ampliamente utilizados como sustitutos del combustible diesel, en diversos estudios sobre inyeccion combustion y formacion de emisiones contaminantes en motores diesel. Para ello se ha simulado la inyeccion evaporacion y auto ignicion de los combustibles mencionados utilizando un paquete de Fluido-Dinamica Computacional (CFD). Los resultados se han validado con informacion experimental proporcionada por los laboratorios SANDIA, llevados a cabo a diferentes condiciones operativas y con diferentes combustibles. La comparacion se ha hecho en terminos de parametros tipicos como la longitud de penetracion, el lift-off de la llama y el retraso a la ignicion. Los resultados indican que hay una buena concordancia entre la simulacion CFD y los datos experimentales, al comparar cada combustible sustituto. Sin embargo, al hacer la comparacion con el diesel, el n-heptano fue el combustible sustituto que presento un comportamiento mas cercano al diesel, en terminos del lift-Off y del retraso a la ignicion.
Extreme Precipitation in China in Response to Emission Reductions under the Paris Agreement

To avoid more severe impacts from climate change, countries worldwide pledged to implement intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) for emission reductions (as part of the Paris Agreement). However, it remains unclear what the resulting precipitation change in terms of regional extremes would be in response to the INDC scenarios. Here, we analyzed China’s extreme precipitation response of the next few decades to the updated INDC scenarios within the framework of the Paris Agreement. Our results indicate increases in the intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation (compared with the current level) in most regions in China. The maximum consecutive five-day precipitation over China is projected to increase ~16%, and the number of heavy precipitation days will increase as much as ~20% in some areas. The probability distributions of extreme precipitation events become wider, resulting in the occurrence of more record-breaking heavy precipitation in the future. We further considered the impacts of precipitation-related extremes and found that the projected population exposure to heavy precipitation events will significantly increase in almost all Chinese regions. For example, for heavy precipitation events that exceed the 20 year baseline return value, the population exposure over China increases from 5.7% (5.1–6.0%) to 15.9% (14.2–16.4%) in the INDC-pledge scenario compared with the present-day level. Limiting the warming to lower levels (e.g., 1.5 °C or 2.0 °C) would reduce the population exposure to heavy precipitation, thereby avoiding impacts associated with more intense precipitation events. These results contribute to an improved understanding of the future risk of climate extremes, which is paramount for the design of mitigation and adaptation policies in China.
Experimental Investigation Decentralized IaaS Cloud Architecture Open Stack with CDT

2 ABSTRACT: Investigating decentralized advanced the virtualization technology in data centres lead to the development of features as High availability, Disaster recovery and Fault tolerance. By using the Amazon Elastic compute cloud (EC2) and tools, IaaS- Infrastructure as a service computing clouds that span across distributed areas require more advanced mechanism. The reSsearch will be done in decentralized IaaS cloud architecture using the concept of open stack pioneered latency. Additional features also providing to safeguard the Infrastructure and our data by introducing Continuous Disaster Tolerance (CDT).
Intrusive and repetitive thoughts: Investigating the construct of rumination.

Previous research has shown that ruminative thoughts are associated with impairments in well-being. However, the direction of this relationship is unclear. There are findings indicating both unidirectional and bidirectional (i.e., reciprocal) relationships. The question therefore arises how rumination and well-being are related. Furthermore, previous findings on the relationship between rumination and problem solving are heterogeneous. However, since ruminative thinking involves an increased use of resources to solve a problem, it is assumed that these resources (i.e., attention and effort) can positively mediate the relationship between rumination and problem solving. On the other hand, it is also assumed that the negative effects of rumination on well-being negatively mediate the relation between rumination and problem solving. In Study 1 and 2 of the present dissertation, therefore, the relationship between rumination, well-being, resources (i.e., attention and effort), and problem solving was examined in a longitudinal way. The assumption that rumination also has a functional side is further supported by the hypothesis that ruminative thoughts can also lead to more constructive and deliberative thoughts about a problem, which in turn can foster the positive reappraisal of an event and ultimately personal growth. Study 3 of the present dissertation therefore examined to what extent ruminative thoughts can also lead to more constructive coping strategies. Furthermore, it was analysed to what extent the appraisal of an event as threatening and uncontrollable can cause the occurrence of ruminative thoughts. In summary, this work focuses on the functional and dysfunctional aspects of ruminative thoughts related to human well-being and problem solving.
PHRASEOLOGY: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS IN LEARNING AND TEACHING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES

This article aims to address the domain of phraseology and figurative language as there has been a growing interest in their study and the approaches are generally distinct and exclusive (seeing metaphors from mere figures of speech to matters of thought). We use and understand language effortlessly, however sometimes it seems difficult to explain why certain words or expressions mean what they mean, especially if they are metaphorical. Phrases such as, "kick the bucket", "spill the beans", "bark up in the wrong tree", "rain cats and dogs", etc. are just some examples of the highly metaphorical trait of the language. That is why, in order to decode the message one should be able to master well the language. The accent is placed on developing a permanent incitement by identifying the symbolic values of language, which can be passed on to the students that we work with, for a better understanding and mastering of ESP in particular and the language in general.
‘Power to empower’: conceptions of teaching and learning in a pedagogical co-design partnership

ABSTRACT This study is an autoethnographic reflection on power and expertise in an evolving student/staff partnership. The partnership was initiated as pedagogical co-design in the development and implementation of a peer-assisted learning programme. Through a process of critical reflection that linked our partnership experience with themes from relevant literature, we (the staff and student authors) became co-researchers of our practice. The evolution of the partnership provided a unique perspective from which to compare our experiences of power and expertise across both contexts. We characterised our pedagogical co-design partnership as a shift from the more traditional ‘power over’ model of delivery towards ‘power to empower’ where both student and staff partners had agency and voice. Key to this important transition was a shared philosophy of student-centred teaching. As the partnership transformed from co-teaching to co-researching we needed to re-negotiate power dynamics; while our different pathways had converged on a common view of student-centred learning, our research expertise remained disparate. We were able to negotiate this challenge by drawing on our existing relationship based on respect, reciprocity and responsibility, reinforcing views of partnership that value equality of opportunity and a focus on learning and process, rather than equality of contributions and outcomes.
Borderline reconstruction of absorbing and scattering inhomogeneity in biological tissue using time-resolved diffuse optical tomography

A borderline reconstruction algorithm of optical structure disturbances of biomedical objects is described. The key features of it: (I) determination of the coordinates of the centers and effective size of each absorbing and scattering inhomogeneity in an investigated biological tissue, (II) refinement of the convex and concave parts of the boundary of each spherical inhomogeneity which is followed by smoothing the resulting structural image. The refinement of the parts of the boundary of a spherical inhomogeneity was made by adding or subtracting additional spheres. Centers of additional spheres were determined stochastically in the neighborhood of the boundary of the spherical inhomogeneity. Radii of additional spheres were calculated as one quarter of the length of the distance from the center of the additional sphere to the center of the spherical inhomogeneity.
How did Americans Really Think About the Apple/FBI Dispute? A Mixed-method Study

ABSTRACT Second-level agenda-setting suggests that news media influence how we think. As a case study examining the nature and effects of mainstream news media’s coverage of the 2015 Apple/FBI dispute about data privacy versus national security, this study found via content analysis that a majority of articles covering the dispute (73.7%) made the same potentially misleading claim about how the American public feels about the dispute. Nearly half (45.6%) of those articles made public opinion claims without offering empirical evidence, and almost all articles (97.4%) that cited the Pew survey appeared to have inadvertently created an unsubstantiated social reality. Then, this study found in a subsequent experiment that, consistent with impersonal influence, the above-mentioned news portrayals significantly affected the participants’ view on Americans’ collective opinion towards the Apple/FBI dispute. The long-term effect of this journalistic oversight is notable. Theoretical implications and practical recommendations for future science communication in the news are discussed.
Estimation in partial linear model with spline modal function

Abstract Semiparametric partial linear models are often used in real data analysis for their flexibility and parsimony. A well-known example of semiparametric partial linear models is the partially linear varying coefficient model. Statistical inference of this model is restricted to a condition that the components of varying and constant coefficients are known in advance. However, in practice, this is not known which subset of variables have constant or varying effect on the response. Therefore, it is of great interest to develop some efficient methods to distinguish constant components from varying ones. In this article, we propose a robust method for simultaneously structure identification and variable selection in varying coefficient models based on modal regression, which is robust with respect to non-normal errors and outliers in the response. The proposed procedure can achieve robustness and efficiency by using a bandwidth parameter. The performance of the proposed method is examined by a simulation study and real data analysis to show its capabilities when the error distribution is varied.
Numerical simulation of the effect of using nanofluid in phase change process of cooling fluid

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to numerically simulate the nanofluid boiling inside a tube in turbulent flow regime and to investigate the effect of adding volume faction of CuO nanoparticles on the boiling process. Design/methodology/approach To make sure the accuracy of the obtained numerical results, the results of this paper have been compared with the experimental results and an acceptable coincidence has been achieved. In the current paper, by Euler–Euler method, the phase change of boiling phenomenon has been modeled. The presented results are the local Nusselt number distribution, temperature distribution of wall, the distribution of volume fraction of vapor phase and fluid temperature at the center of the tube. Findings The obtained results indicate that using nanofluid is very effective in the postponement of the boiling process. Hence, by change the amount of volume fraction of nanoparticles in base fluid, the location of phase change and bubble creation are changed. Also, at the Reynolds numbers of 50,000, 100,000 and 150,000 with the volume fraction of 2 per cent, the beginning locations of phase change process are, respectively, 2D, 10D and 13D, and for the volume fraction of 4 per cent, the beginning locations of phase change are 4D, 18D and 19D, respectively. These results indicate that, as the volume fraction of nanoparticles increases, the location of the start of the phase change process is postponed that this issue causes the increment of heat transfer from wall to fluid and the reduction of wall temperature. In general, it can be stated that, in boiling flows, using nanofluid because of the delay in boiling phenomenon has a good effect on heat transfer enhancement of heated walls. Also, the obtained results show that, by increasing Reynolds number, the created vapor phase reduces that leads to increase of the Nusselt number. Originality/value The paper investigates the effect of using nanofluid in phase change process of cooling fluid.
Random Walks & Scale-Free Networks

Real world systems as diverse as biological networks or the World Wide Web are best described as networks with complex topology. The accurate modeling of how these networks evolve has significant implications for many areas of every day life. In this project, the study of a portion of the World Wide Web enable us to better understand the concept of a scale-free network. The main purpose of this project is to examine different models of network growth. Beginning with the verification of the Barabasi-Albert model as a model that generates scale-free networks through numerical simulations and theoretical results the study continues to consider algorithms proposed by the literature as well as an algorithm proposed here as suitable for describing network growth by using random walks for selecting vertices for attachment. The study’s results demonstrate that simulations of these algorithms of up to one million nodes generate scale-free networks. However, the numerical results will not be confirmed theoretically. Suggestions for further research will therefore be made.
Design of Low-Voltage and Low-Distortion CMOS RF Integrated Circuits Using Volterra Analysis

Analog circuits that operate with low voltage supply headroom generally suffer from poor linearity performance, poor noise performance, etc. However, with the aggressive scaling of the supply voltage in Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology and the advent of System-On-Chip (SOC) technologies, it is inevitable that these circuits are to be operated with low voltage supply headroom. In this thesis, three low-voltage Integrated Circuits (IC) for Radio Frequency (RF) communication systems are presented. They are all designed and fabricated with 0.13um CMOS technology. Their experimental verifications are performed on die with Coplanar Waveguide (CPW) probes. The first circuit is an ultra-low-voltage low-power single-balanced ×2 subharmonic down-conversion mixer. A linearity analysis for the inductive source degenerated transconductor of the mixer is provided using Volterra series. This analysis provides a guideline for designing the inductive source degenerated transconductor with high linearity at the RF frequency of 8.6 GHz. The circuit achieves a conversion gain of 6.0 dB and an IIP3 of -8.0 dBm at the RF frequency of 8.6 GHz while consuming 0.6 mW of DC power with the supply voltage of 0.6 V. The second circuit is a low-voltage low-noise wideband down-conversion mixing frontend that consists of a Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA) and a passive mixer. The linearity analysis for the LNA, which is used as a transconductor, is analyzed using Volterra series. Through this analysis, the trade-off between noise cancellation and distortion cancellation is discussed. A simple distortion cancellation scheme that