Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A microstrip three-port and four-channel multiplexer for WLAN and UWB coexistence

This paper proposes a microstrip three-port four-channel multiplexer for wireless systems where wireless local area network (WLAN) and ultra-wideband (UWB) coexist. The proposed multiplexer has two channels, from 2.15 to 2.89 GHz and from 5.13 to 5.84 GHz, for WLAN and two channels, from 3.22 to 4.83 GHz and from 6.07 to 8.22 GHz, for UWB. The measured scattering parameters agree well with the simulations. To determine a proper circuit topology and overcome the interference problems between ports, the genetic algorithm (GA) technique is exploited. The GA search takes approximately 3 min on a personal computer with a 2.4-GHz microprocessor. Additionally, the analysis of the circuit behaviors, the problem on the size of the multiplexer, and the isolation issues between WLAN and UWB ports are discussed.
From Income Inequalities to Social Exclusion: The Impact of the Great Recession on Self-Rated Health in Spain During the Onset of the Economic Crisis

The impact of the Great Recession on health stands out due to its implications for the wellbeing of the population. The available empirical evidence suggests that macrosocial inequalities can be a central element in explaining differences in the impact of the crisis on the health of the population during its early years (2008–2011). Specifically, it is necessary to analyze the role played by the processes constituting a model of inequalities based on social exclusion. This study addresses the topic by using longitudinal data taken from the European Union statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) survey (n = 5.924), with a hierarchical structure of four measurement moments nested in 5,924 individuals nested in 17 regions. Variables from two levels of analysis are considered: individual and ecological (regional) variables. The findings show that personal socioeconomic status (income and education) are significantly associated with changes in self-rated health during the onset of the crisis. The findings for ecological variables show that the variables measuring exclusion (material deprivation and low work intensity) play a significant role in the explanation of inequalities in health and how they changed during the crisis. Both indicators are negatively associated with self-rated health, while the Gini index and the proportion of the population in long-term unemployment do not have a consistent significant effect. These findings support the hypothesis that there are higher risks to wellbeing in more unequal societies compared with more equal societies.
Microbe-Assisted Alleviation of Heavy Metal Toxicity in Plants: A Review

Abstract Heavy metals contaminations in soil adversely affect the growth and survibality of the plants. Alternatively, plants have evolved complex physiological processes to withstand such environmental cues. Myraids of plant varieties with improved tolerance to metal toxicity has been developed through molecular breeding and transgenic approaches. However, such methods are laborious, expensive and not 100% effective. Recent evidences indicate that several microbes can tolerate metal toxicity and can acclimatize to adverse environmental conditions. The association of plants and such metal-tolerant microbes could be one of the promising strategies to enhance plant performance under metal toxicity. In this review, we focus on the association between plant and microbes in alleviating metal toxicity. We have also presented the different physiological processes of achieving metal toxicity in plants. Furthermore, different strategies to improve plant resilience through microbial applications have been discussed.
Evaluation of the sensitivity and fatigue performance of embedded piezopolymer sensor systems in sandwich composite laminates

It has been claimed that embedding piezoceramic devices as structural diagnostic systems in advanced composite structures may introduce mechanical impedance mismatches that favor the formation of intralaminar defects. This and other factors, such as cost and their high strain sensitivity, have motivated the use of thin-film piezopolymer sensors. In this paper, we examine the performance of sandwich composite panels fitted with embedded piezopolymer sensors. Our experiments examine both how such thin-film sensors perform within a structure and how the inclusion of sensor films affects structural performance. Strain-controlled tests on sandwich panels subjected to three-point bending under wide-ranging static and dynamic strains lead us to conclude that embedding thin piezopolymer films has no marked reduction on the tensile strength for a wide range of strain loading paths and magnitudes, and that the resilience of the embedded sensor is itself satisfactory, even up to the point of structural failure. Comparing baseline data obtained from standard surface-mounted sensors and foil gauges, we note that whereas it is possible to match experimental and theoretical strain sensitivities, key properties—especially the pronounced orthotropic electromechanical factor of such films—must be duly considered before an effective calibration can take place.
Assessing Visual Science Literacy Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy with an Artificial Neural Network

The primary barrier to understanding visual and abstract information in STEM fields is representational competence the ability to generate, transform, analyze and explain representations. The relationship is known between the foundational visual literacy and the domain specific science literacy, however how science literacy is a function of science learning is still not well understood despite investigation across many fields. To support the improvement of students’ representational competence and promote learning in science, identification of visualization skills is necessary. This project details the development of an artificial neural network (ANN) capable of measuring and modeling visual science literacy (VSL) via neurological measurements using functional near infrared spectrometry (fNIRS). The developed model has the capacity to classify levels of scientific visual literacy allowing educators and curriculum designers the ability to create more targeted and immersive classroom resources such as virtual reality, to enhance the fundamental visual tools in science.
Households’ Electrical Energy Conservation and Management: An Ecological Break-Through, or the Same Old Consumption-Growth Path?

We examine the motivations behind the electrical energy conservation and smart management at households to verify whether we are observing an ecological breakthrough, or a mere continuation of the well-trodden consumption-growth path. We conducted an online survey in France, Spain, Italy, and Denmark (n = 3200) on the subject of electricity use and generation. We utilized a generalized structural equation model to simultaneously test the direct reasons behind different energy-use behaviors and intentions, as well as their motivating factors. Measures to conserve electrical energy and install renewable energy equipment are not solely driven by ecological concerns; a crucial role is played by openness to new technologies, which correlates with high financial status. Saving electrical energy and new-tech eagerness go hand-in-hand with attachment to consumption and comfort. Social environment is relevant, as it allows users to converse about electricity saving with friends, and to observe their habits. Individuals may aim not to consume less energy, but to enhance their standards of living by economizing energy to fund other purchases, which limits the reduction in carbon footprint. Increasing the popularity of energy-saving solutions, therefore, might prove insufficient in the face of environmental threats and the challenges of transforming the energy market.
Prevalence of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in India: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

The emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has increased and become a serious concern worldwide, including India. Additionally, MRSA isolates are showing resistance to other chemotherapeutic agents. Isolated and valuable reports on the prevalence of MRSA are available in India. There is no systematic review on the prevalence of MRSA in one place; hence, this study was planned. The overall prevalence of MRSA in humans in India was evaluated state-wise, zone-wise, and year-wise. A systematic search from PubMed, Indian journals, Google Scholar, and J-Gate Plus was carried out and retrieved 98 eligible articles published from 2015 to 2020 in India. The statistical analysis of data was conducted using R software. The overall prevalence of MRSA was 37% (95% CI: 32–41) from 2015 to 2019. The pooled prevalence of MRSA zone-wise was 41% (95% CI: 33–50), 43% (95% CI: 20–68), 33% (95% CI: 24–43), 34% (95% CI: 26–42), 36% (95% CI: 25–47), and 40% (95% CI: 23–58) for north, east, west, south, central, and northeast region-zones, respectively. The state-wise stratified results showed a predominance of MRSA in Jammu and Kashmir with 55% (95% CI: 42–67) prevalence, and the lowest was 21% (95% CI: 11–34) in Maharashtra. The study indicated that the prevalence data would help in formulating and strict implementation of control measures in hospital areas to prevent the outbreak of MRSA infection and management of antibiotic usage.
Noise-assisted propagation over a nonlinear line of threshold elements

The propagation of a periodic wave over a nonlinear line of two-state threshold elements is considered. A theoretical model and an experimental realisation confirm that the propagation of a low-amplitude wave can be improved by the addition of noise. This represents a new instance of the nonlinear phenomenon of stochastic resonance for signal enhancement by noise.
Comments on "Noise source modeling for cyclostationary noise analysis in large-signal device operation"

We want to comment on a recent paper by Bonani et al. [see ibid., vol. 49, p. 1640-7, 2002] on the noise source modeling in devices driven in large-signal conditions. First, we would like to remind the readers that pioneering work was previously carried out based on Monte Carlo analysis together with a study of the impact of a large RF signal on the GR noise modulation. This work was published in two important scientific journals. More recently, two communications were presented on this problem at the 16th International Conference on Noise in Physical Systems and 1/f Noise by others research teams. Second, we would like to discuss the "system model" applied to homogeneous devices, presented in the discussed paper by Bonani et al., which was constituted by a white noise source driving a lowpass filter followed by a HF modulator. Third, the results obtained by all the teams were worthy of being carefully considered since they gave a different view on the noise factor stemming from a linear electrical two-port, which was classically viewed as a simple degradation of the signal-to-noise ratio introduced by the circuit.
Intelligent autonomous mobile robot control through the Internet

With rapid growth of computer technology, Internet-based teleoperation of robotic systems has created new opportunities in resources sharing, long-distance learning, and remote experimentation. This paper presents a basic architecture and its functional components for remote control of robotic systems. A variety of control modes for existing robotic systems were surveyed and the Internet transmission latency was discussed. An illustrative application was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed architecture and the control scheme. Experimental results clearly indicate that the proposed behavior control mode is superior to direct control mode in terms of efficiency, operating environment, complex task handling, and control capability.
Does hedonic hunger predict eating behavior and body mass in adolescents with overweight or obesity?

ABSTRACT Our study examined the association between hedonic hunger and body mass and whether caloric intake mediated the association between these constructs in adolescents. One hundred adolescents with overweight or obesity completed measures of hedonic food reward, dietary intake, and height and weight. Exaggerated hedonic food responses were associated with higher body mass. For 16% of participants who had high hedonic hunger, and high body mass, caloric intake mediated the association between hedonic hunger and zBMI. These results suggest that hedonic hunger may override the homeostatic need for energy and may be associated with increased caloric intake, potentiating weight gain.
Uncooled pyroelectric detector arrays using ferroelectric ceramics and thin films

Pyroelectric infrared detectors have been of interest for many years because of their wide wavelength response, good sensitivity and lack of need for cooling. They have achieved a wide market acceptance for such applications as people sensing, IR spectrometry (especially for environmental protection) and flame/fire protection. Arrays of such detectors, comprising a pyroelectric material interfaced to an application specific integrated circuit for signal amplification and read out, provide an attractive solution to the problem of collecting spatial information on the IR distribution in a scene. Over the past 15 years, this has been particularly explored for uncooled thermal imaging. However, pyroelectric arrays have the property that they are only sensitive to changes in the IR flux. This means that they are particularly-well suited to the monitoring of movements of people in applications such as retail outlets and in safety and healthcare applications. The applications of low cost arrays with limited (few hundred elements) for people sensing and imaging radiometry will be illustrated. The performances and costs of uncooled pyroelectric arrays are ultimately driven by the materials used. For this reason, continuous improvements in materials technology are important. In the area of bulk ceramics, it is possible to obtain significant improvements in both production costs and performance though the use of tape-cast, functionally-gradient materials. The use of directly-deposited ferroelectric thin films on silicon ASIC's is offering considerable potential for low cost high performance pyroelectric arrays. The challenges involved in developing such materials will be discussed, especially from the aspect of low temperature deposition and other fabrication issues, such as patterning. Sol gel deposition provides an excellent technique for thin film growth and will be illustrated with an example of a Mn-doped PZT film that can be grown at 560°C with a FoM FD exceeding that of many bulk materials. The ability to grow such high-performance thin films onto silicon brings with it the ability to fabricate novel MEMS-based pyroelectric device structures. A new concept that will be presented here is the use of arrays of thin film pyroelectric detector elements with integrated radiation collectors designed to greatly enhance the intensity of the radiation falling on the element. The collectors' design is based on the Compound Parabolic Concentrator. These are non-imaging collectors, originally developed for solar cells technology in the 1960's, that yield a concentration ratio near to the thermodynamic maximum. The CPC structure is etched in a silicon wafer, upon which has been defined a pyroelectric IR sensor with low thermal conductance (spiral leg structure) fabricated in a high sensitivity PZT thin film. To our knowledge, this is the first time that CPCs have been applied to microfabricated IR sensors. First experimental assessment of the performance of these structures will be presented. (11 pages)
Local Food Marketing As a Growth Opportunity for Small Producers in Tennessee

Various food programs present opportunities for marketing local food in Tennessee. Healthconscious consumers prefer the health benefits of local food over processed foods. To satisfy consumer demand, local restaurants are utilizing the services of local food vendors. Conventional grocery stores are broadening their food aisles to accommodate locally produced foods. Using data collected from an online survey of 250 producers, this research update reports on opportunities for marketing local foods in Tennessee.
Optimal Design of DC to DC Boost Converter with Closed Loop Control PID Mechanism for High Voltage Photovoltaic Application

This paper proposes a new dc to dc boost converter using closed loop control proportional Integral and Derivative mechanism for photovoltaic (PV) standalone high voltage applications. The boost converter is composed of MOSFETs which are driven by closed loop PWM control. Many advantages including high efficiency, minimum number of switch, high voltage and power, low cost. This converter is attractive for high voltage and high power applications. The analysis and design considerations of the converter are presented. A prototype was implemented for an application requiring a 410W output power, input voltage range from 17.1-V, and a 317-V output voltage. The proposed system efficiency is about 90%. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.11591/ijpeds.v2i4. 2126
Multiagent Interval Consensus With Flocking Dynamics

In this article, we investigate the interval consensus for a network of agents with flocking dynamics, i.e., second-order multiagent systems, where each agent imposes an interval constraint on its preferred consensus values, with the aim of driving the agent into a favorable interval. Specifically, we work on two different frameworks of interval constraints, viz., the first one that the node states are constrained in their own constraint intervals and the second one that the node states are constrained in their neighbors’ constraint intervals. For both of the frameworks, we provide a complete solution to the equilibrium seeking problem by resolving a system of nonlinear equations. It is proved that if the underlying graph is strongly connected and the intersection of constraint intervals is empty, then there exists a unique equilibrium point; and if the intersection is nonempty, then there exist multiple equilibrium points, all of which lead to state consensus. We also establish several conditions for the local stability of the unique equilibrium point (corresponding to the case with empty intersection of constraint intervals) or local constraint consensus (corresponding to the case with nonempty intersection of constraint intervals) by invoking Lyapunov’s indirect method. Characterization of the global behavior of such a second-order multiagent system is technically rather challenging at this stage. As a first step toward this end, we show in two special cases that global convergence to the unique equilibrium point or state consensus can be guaranteed by employing Lyapunov stability theory and robust analysis techniques. Finally, some numerical examples are provided to illustrate the theoretical findings.
Evaluation of Hearing Loss and Changes in Blood Pressure of Welders in a 4 Year Period

Improvements in science and technology and the use of modern machinery in manufacture have led to increase in the number of workers exposed to hazardous agents including noise. This study evaluated the effects of occupational noise on hearing loss and blood pressure in welders after 4 years.In this cohort study, all of the welders working at one of Neyshabur's water heater producing factories were studied. A questionnaire including demographic data, history of diseases and certain drug use was completed for each worker. Moreover the workers audiometry results and blood pressure measurements from 4 years ago were compared with recent results. Data analysis was performed using SPSS18software.The average age of the welders was of 35.6 ± 6.25 and the mean years of employment was 7.66 ± 2.18 years. The equivalent noise exposure of workers on one business day was 97.8 dB and varied between 90-110 dB. After 4 years, there was a significant increase in hearing loss (6.04 dB) in the right ear of workers at 8000 Hz ( p =0.0001) and in the left ear at 1000 (1.77 dB)( p =0.04), 4000 (2.29 dB)( p =0.02)and 8000 Hz (4.89 dB)( p =0.0001). During this time blood pressure also increased but was not significant. There was no significant relation between age, years of employment, smoking and education with individual hearing loss during these four years. Many neglected job groups such as welders are prone to hearing loss and possibly chronic increases in blood pressure due to noise exposure in their workplace and should use protective hearing equipment.
Hybrid SAR-ISAR Image Formation via Joint FrFT-WVD Processing for BFSAR Ship Target High-Resolution Imaging

Bistatic forward-looking synthetic aperture radar (BFSAR) is a kind of bistatic SAR system that can image forward-looking terrain in the flight direction of the receiver. Current literature and reports about BFSAR mainly concentrate on the stationary scene and ground-moving target imaging. Unlike stationary and ground-moving targets, the translational and rotational movements of ship targets usually lead to complicated range cell migration (RCM) and Doppler frequency migration (DFM). Moreover, the characteristics of RCM and DFM for different scattering points of the ship target are significantly different, i.e., the characteristics of the RCM and DFM are 2-D spatial variation, ultimately leading to severe defocusing of ship target in the SAR image. To solve these problems, a kind of hybrid SAR-ISAR imaging formation is proposed for BFSAR ship target imaging. First, to solve the problem of the Doppler ambiguity caused by the forward-looking mode of the receiver, an efficient ambiguity estimation method based on the minimum entropy criterion is presented. Then, keystone transform and range alignment processing can be applied to correct the spatial variant range walk and higher order RCM, respectively. Moreover, in order to obtain a high-resolution and well-focused image after translational compensation, a new method based on the fractional Fourier transform (FrFT) and the Wigner–Ville distribution (WVD) is proposed, where FrFT is applied to separate the multiple main scattering points in each range cell, and WVD is applied to obtain the high-resolution time–frequency distribution of each scattering point. Compared with the conventional ISAR range-Doppler (RD) algorithm and time–frequency estimation-based imaging methods, this method not only has no cross terms but also has high processing accuracy and better antinoise performance.
A Data-centric Model Transformation Approach using Model2GraphFrame Transformations

Data­-centric (Dc) approaches are being used for data processing in several application domains, such as distributed systems, natural language processing, and others. There are different data processing frameworks that ease the task of parallel and distributed data processing. However, there are few research approaches studying on how to execute model manipulation operations, as model transformations models on such frameworks. In addition, it is often necessary to provide extraction of XMI­-based formats into possibly distributed models. In this paper, we present a Model2GraphFrame operation to extract a model in a modeling technical space into the Apache Spark framework and its GraphFrame supported format. It generates GraphFrame from the input models, which can be used for partitioning and processing model operations. We used two model partitioning strategies: based on sub­graphs, and clustering. The approach allows to perform model analysis applying operations on the generated graphs, as well as Model Transformations (MT). The proof of concept results such as model2GraphFrame, GraphFrame partitioning, GraphFrame connectivity, and GraphFrame model transformations indicate that our Model Extraction can be used in various application domains, since it enables the specification of analytical expressions on graphs. Furthermore, its model graph elements are used in model transformations on a scalable platform.