Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
INSTRUMENTAL AND MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN MANAGEMENT PROCESSES Polarisation-optical model of a controlled random number generator

T he subject of the paper is an original model of a tunable optical random number generator. The purpose of the article is to analyse the possibilities of using the proposed model to ensure the protection of the control signals in the projected telecommunication management system of the robotised agro-industrial complex of the Republic of South Ossetia. The research was carried out by methods of mathematical and information-logical modeling. The main results of the study are the information-logical model of the hardware implementation prototype, the descriptive mathematical model of its functioning and the obtained dependences of the quantitative characteristics of the generated random numbers statistical distributions on the main control parameter of the experimental setup. These results can be used in the design and the operation of the remote production facilities monitoring and management telecommunication systems’ components. The possibilities of prototype creating and functioning were demonstrated by visualising the schematic chart of the experimental equipment and by the quantitative estimates of “one” and “zero” signals observation probabilities under the different polarisation rotator orientations relative to the plane of the optical signals detecting system.
Review on Automatic Detection of Tuberculosis on Sputum Smear Images

— Tuberculosis (TB) is n infectious disease contagious caused by the Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, which typically affects the lungs. There are various techniques to diagnose TB, of which conventional microscopic sputum smear examination is considered to be the gold standard. Many developing countries follow the manual method for diagnosing TB, which causes false alarms in the detection of TB positive or negative. So, automatic classification is very much useful for developing countries that are struggling to reduce the fatality rate of the persons suffering from TB as it is a top standing infectious disease. In this paper, we provide a review of automatic methods of TB detection based on several image processing techniques. The review shows that the accuracy of algorithms for the automatic detection of TB increased significantly over the years. This review could be useful to researchers and practitioners working in the field of TB automation.
Price-Based Demand Response Program Design in Constrained Electricity Systems

Renewable energies require new approaches to the operation of power systems. In this work, we present a novel Demand Response (DR) program to mitigate grid congestion. The program stands out by adjusting electricity prices online and solely based on observed aggregate electricity consumption. It thereby avoids privacy concerns and expensive information system infrastructure investments. Additionally, it can cope with non-elastic and time-interdependent demand—which is typical for storage devices and industrial processes. Beyond the DR program, this paper contributes to research on flexible load modeling. Specifically, we model four flexible load types and provide a unified framework of load modeling under uncertainty and with time-interdependencies. Numerical experiments show that our DR programachieves considerable and stable cost savings of 40% to 60% in comparison to conventional DR programs. Moreover, the solution approach based on Deep Reinforcement Learning reaches these savings after a short learning period corresponding to only 25 simulation days. Regarding load flexibility, we find that the responses of the four load types strongly differ depending on prices and the lag between the announcement and the application of price changes (‘notification interval’) which is an important design parameter. Our results imply that system operators should flexibilize their DR programs with the help of learning algorithms and tailor their program to the local load composition, congestion frequency, and forecasting quality. For researchers, our solution approach and our unified framework can help to solve pricing problems with unknown and heterogeneous demand, which occur on online platforms and in other environments.
A Model for Measuring the Difficulty of a Maze and a System for Generating Mazes of a Custom Difficulty using a Neural Network and Modified Prim’s Algorithm

Mazes as a problem domain have wide applications, from art and games to testing decision algorithms. While there has been focus on the topology of mazes, recent work on generating specific levels of difficulty of maze is more scant. Additionally, existing models for analyzing a maze’s difficulty may not accurately reflect difficulty for both humans and computers, with some mazes classified as more difficult appearing easier to a human solving the maze. I propose research exploring different methods for analyzing and classifying the difficulty of mazes, producing a unified model that reflects similar difficulty for humans and computers, followed by designing a neural network that guides maze generation to produce mazes of a specified difficulty rating.
RADIOMETRIC AERIAL TRIANGULATION APPROACH. A CASE STUDY FOR THE Z/I DMC

An important feature passing from the lm to digital imaging is their high radiometric potential. Previous studies show limitations in the quantitative use of the image radiometry and the accurate radiometry is nowadays a new issue in photogrammetric processes. It is a well-stablished issue in remote sensing systems but can not be automatically implemented in photogrammetric processing lines due to the special features of photogrammetric data acquisition. An accurate radiometric calibration takes into account factors related to the system (sensor and data post-processing), photogrammetric network, the conditions of the acquisition (system settings, atmosphere, illumination and observation) and the target (anisotropy, topography, adjacent objects,.). This work is about the study and improvement of the thecniques used for the atmospheric and anisotropy correction of aerial images. For this purpose the atmospheric correction agorithms used in remote sensing have been adapted for an inight calibration of the camera with eld spectral measurements during the 2009 year. The coef cients were obtained trough a least square minimization using the location of the spectral eld points within the overlapping image areas. The method can be called as radiometric aerial triangulation similar to a geometric aerial triangulation. The radiative transfer equation was inverted to provide the image re ectance at eld level over the 2006 dataset in Albacete (Spain). In a parallel way a semi-emprical kernel-driven model was applied to the image digital numbers in order to homogeneize the anisotropy in the BRDF over large observing angles. Atmospheric correction show at eld image re ectance values within the range of typical measured values due to favorable and stable atmospheric conditions. The BRDF correction introduces an evident homogeneization of the image DN, providing the best results the geometric kernel Lidense without distinguishing between cover types.
Why the European Parliament lost the Spitzenkandidaten-process

ABSTRACT Research has demonstrated how the European Parliament has expanded its powers vis-à-vis other EU institutions by strategically exploiting powers it already holds and appealing to its contribution to democratic legitimacy. However, established theories are challenged by the failure of the EP to secure the election of a so-called Spitzenkandidat to the post of European Commission President in 2019. Was this failure an incidental set-back or does it point to a structural limit to the EP’s ability to expand its powers? Exploring the latter option, this article proposes that the 2019 events warrant the revision of the EP-centred parliamentarisation thesis that dominates our understanding of EU inter-institutional politics. Instead, it develops an alternative theory that departs from the conception of the EU as a demoi-cracy. Using the events in 2014 and 2019, the article constructs analytical narratives for both theoretical positions. Reading the 2019 case through the demoi-cratic perspective suggests that national leaders are unlikely to allow the EP to reclaim the Spitzenkandidaten-process. More generally, it follows from this perspective that the EP can only successfully get the member states to share powers, not to cede them.
LoCa – Towards a Context-aware Infrastructure for eHealth Applications

New sensor technologies, powerful mobile devices andwearable computers in conjunction with wireless communicationstandards have opened new possibilities in providingcustomized software solutions for medical professionalsand patients. Today, medical professionals are usuallyequipped with much more powerful hardware and softwarethan some years before. The same is true for patientswhich, by making use of smart sensors and mobile devicesfor gathering, processing and analyzing data, can live independentlyin their home environment while receiving thedegree of monitoring they would get in stationary care. Allthese environments are highly dynamic, due to the inherentmobility of users. Therefore, it is of utmost importance toautomatically adapt the underlying IT environment to thecurrent needs of their users – which might change over timewhen user context evolves. In a digital home environment,this requires the automatic customization of user interfacesand the context-aware adaptation of monitoring workflowsfor mobile patients. This paper introduces the LoCa projectwhich will provide a generic software infrastructure, able todynamically adapt user interfaces and services-based distributedapplications (workflows) to the actual context of auser (physician, caregiver, patient). In this paper, we focuson the application of LoCa to monitoring the health state ofmobile patients in a digital home environment.
A heuristic model to assist the Chinese students studying in Australia

Since the 1970s, many Chinese students have taken the advantage of the available opportunities to undertake their tertiary studies in English speaking countries. Although the People’s Republic of China, their students and the host countries have enjoyed the mutual benefits, there have been challenges for all concerned too. This paper aims to address the research question of what these challenges are and how they be addressed. In order to address the identified research questions, an investigation utilizing the data collected from different cases was carried out. These cases dealt with issues and challenges facing the Chinese students studying at the Australian Universities. The case interviews were conducted separately and then the commonalities in issues were identified. These factors were grouped in six different categories of language skills, adjustment capabilities, effort, social pressure, financial situation and teaching support. Various scenarios relating to each group were provided and discussed. A heuristics model to measure an index value for the potential academic performances of the Chinese students was explained and presented. The heuristic model was applied to example cases and the users verified the results to be valid and compatible with their expectations. This model can also be utilized for the purposes of monitoring one’s academic performance levels, in a manner, which allows carrying out a what-if analysis or a comparison with other similar scenarios.
Criteria definition and approaches in green supplier selection – a case study for raw material and packaging of food industry

This paper formulates an integrated framework for deciding about the green supplier selection criteria in food supply chain and also proposes different methods that account for single and multiple sourcing of supplier selection. Green supplier selection relies on green criteria, so determination of suitable set of criteria will affect decision-maker results directly. In this research, an operational model including combination of general and environmental criteria is introduced for green supplier selection criteria in raw material and packaging of food industry. This model reviewed a literature on general and environmental criteria that help us to know and make a set of common green criteria. Afterward, weighting criteria and collecting of sub-criteria are done by an expert team using the Analytic Hierarchy Process and Delphi method. The expert team tried to propose important and practical sub-criteria which are well fitted to food industry. Finally, in the section of supplier selection, two kinds of qualitative and quantitative data are discussed when single and multiple sourcing are required, respectively. Fuzzy Grey Relational Analysis is proposed to ranking suppliers in presence of qualitative and imprecise data. Also linear programming is used to present a model which can select the best suppliers and allocate the orders among them optimally.
Validity and Reliability of the Portuguese Version of the Healthy Lifestyle Questionnaire—EVS III

The main objective of this study was to validate the Healthy Lifestyle Questionnaire—EVS III, using confirmatory factor analysis of the measurement model. A total of 822 Portuguese individuals of both genders, aged between 18 and 66 years old (M = 28.43 SD = 12.07), participated in this study, of which 382 were male (46.5%) and 440 were female (53.5%). The main results obtained revealed that the psychometric qualities prove the adequacy of the factor structure of the Healthy Lifestyles Questionnaire—EVS III (7 factors/32 items) and that it has acceptable validity indices: χ2 = 644.6828, p = 0.000, df = 168, χ2/df = 3.84, NFI = 0.901, TLI = 0.902, CFI = 0.921, IFI = 0.922, MFI = 0.900, GFI = 0.909, AGFI = 0.901, RMR = 0.073, SRMR = 0.059 and RMSEA = 0.059, enabling the assessment of factors related to a balanced diet, respect for mealtimes, tobacco consumption, alcohol consumption, consumption of other drugs, resting habits and physical activity habits. The Portuguese version of the Healthy Lifestyles Questionnaire—EVS III can be used with reasonable confidence for the assessment of healthy lifestyles.
Overview of Current Thermal Management of Automotive Power Electronics for Traction Purposes and Future Directions

The design of the thermal management solution has a significant impact on the reliability and power density of power electronics. As the electric vehicle industry moves towards increasing the efficiency and output power, the cooling system must effectively remove the excess heat dissipated in power electronics. The main heat-generating components are the semiconductor switches, but other components, such as bus bars and power capacitors also dissipate heat and require cooling. Currently, indirect, direct, and double-sided cooling methods are the most common in electric vehicles and account for 14-33% of the total volume of traction inverters. However, power electronic packaging sizes are expected to decrease, while the heat dissipation continues to increase, hence advanced cooling technologies are being investigated. This paper aims to review the thermal management strategies for major power electronics components in electric vehicles as well as their failure modes since high temperatures can be detrimental to the performance of power electronics. Cooling designs that are currently implemented in electric vehicles and future cooling trends for the next generation of power electronics are reviewed as well.
Tingkat Adopsi Teknologi Pengelolaan Tanaman Terpadu (PTT) di Kabupaten Seluma

Integrated Plant Management Technology (IPMT) is currently applied by farmers in the village of Rimbo Kedui Seluma District. In the context of agricultural technology adoption, farmers' perception of innovation characteristics becomes very important because it becomes the basis of decision making to accept or reject an innovation. The purposes of this research were to analyze the perception of farmers on innovation, the level of adoption of innovation in farmers in understanding the.technology. component contained in Integrated Plant Management, analyzing what variables affect the level of Technology adoption on rice farmers in Seluma district. The method used in this study was the method of analysis of SEM (Structural Equation Model). Variables used were the characteristics of internal farmers, the perception and level.of. adoption.of integrated plant management technology. The respondents.used in this study were 140 people. The results of the research showed that farmers' perception of integrated plant management technology was.in. medium.category,. farmer adoption rate was in medium category, and variable that affects farmers adopt plant management technology was integrated characteristics of the farmer's internal at 0.44 and the perception of farmers at -0.11, internal characteristics of farmers through the perception of farmers that is equal to 0.00.
A review on HVDC circuit breakers

The increasing interest in development, operation and integration of large amount of renewable energy resources like offshore wind farms and photovoltaic generation in deserts leads to an emerging demand on development of multi-terminal high voltage direct current (MTDC) systems. Due to preformed studies, voltage source converter based HVDC (VSC-HVDC) system is the best option for realising future multi-terminal HVDC system to integrate bulk amount of energy over long distances to the AC grid. The most important drawback of VSC-HVDC systems is their need for fast HVDC circuit breakers. This paper aims at summarizing HVDC circuit breakers technologies including recent significant attempts in development of modern HVDC circuit breaker. A brief functional analysis of each technology is presented. Additionally, different technologies based on derived information from literatures are compared. Finally, recommendations for improvement of circuit breakers are presented.
Prototyping policy: Visualizing impact for better regulation

A stark divide often exists between a policy’s goals and its implementation. This policy “implementation gap,” signals a failure to take into consideration the complexity of a system or issue. Failure often results in policy that is a misfit for the issue of concern and is lacking in the hoped for remedial or preventative impacts. This study explores policy prototyping as a remedy for policy failures in bills aimed at privacy protection. After selecting three privacy-related bills, we created prototypes that represented one of many ways that privacy policy could be translated into features in online platforms. Using the prototypes, we conducted 41 semi-structured interviews to gather feedback and insights on the challenges with the laws. Our findings illustrate how different roles emphasize protections, harms, and word choice when communicating levers of change like civil rights protections in law to privacy design elements. This solidified the opportunities to better bridge policy and practice by outlining common and distinct bill themes.
To Be Seen or Not to Be Seen: Examination of Camera Sharing in Online Learning Environments in Terms of Interaction

Along with the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns experienced, educational institutions of every level conveyed their learning environments to digital environments mostly utilizing online video conference technology. These environments, which were basically designed as communication technologies, were used intensively in online classes in this process where the learner and the instructor were at a distance. This study aimed to examine camera sharing in online learning environments where online video conference applications were used during the Covid–19 pandemic in terms of interaction. This study used a mixed-method and explanatory sequential design model. Whether learners, the participants of this study, shared their camera during online classes and what they thought about learner-learner and learner–instructor interaction was structured through data collection processes using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings of the research reveal that the learners in online classes are hesitant about sharing their cameras (for reasons of privacy, distraction, concern, etc.). On the other hand, the learners expressed their opinions that especially the camera sharing made by the instructor (for reasons such as contributing to focus, providing feedback, feeling valued, etc.) increases the interaction.
Tank-based experiment and audio-video set-up to assess the impact ofboat noise pollution on the common prawn (Palaemon serratus)

In the present technical report, we described the experimental protocol including the audio-video setting-up adopted in order to assess the behavioural changes of the common prawn (Palaemon serratus, Pennant 1777) after the short-term exposure to boat noises. Prawn specimens, in control tank-based experimental condition, were exposed to a random sequence of boat noises such as recreational boats, hydrofoil, fishing boat and ferry boat and, their locomotor patterns were studied.
Task-Based Language Teaching; Potential Benefits and Possible Criticisms in Indonesian Contexts

The primary aim of English language teaching in Indonesia is to equip Indonesian students with communicative competence in English. However, due to the prevalent utilisation of traditional student-centered approaches that accentuates linguistic structural properties as well as the lack of exposure to and usage of the target language in the classroom, research has found that Indonesian school graduates’ English communicative skills are still low. Very few students can deliver ideas, thoughts, and feelings through English as a medium of communication. This conceptual review article aims to promote the viabilities of task-based language teaching (TBLT) method to accelerate students’ communicative skills in Indonesia. Drawing on a wide range of theories and research findings, it critically explores some potential benefits as well as addresses some possible criticisms of employing TBLT in Indonesia. It argues that TBLT promotes natural learning, generates students’ intrinsic motivation, and develops language skill development that can lead the students to accelerate their communicative competence.
Designing a tablet storage case for elementary schools

This bachelor assignment report describes the design process of a tablet storage case. The company, Hulshof business cases, has manufactured a tablet storage case but it struggles to provide a correct fitting due to the great variety of tablets available. The goal of this assignment was to design a universal case that fits all the devices found in an elementary classroom. After researching the topic it was decided that the case has to store up to 24 tablets or 16 laptops. The final design comes in three variations. The exterior is always the same but the internal storing system has three variants. The first one can store up to 12 tablets with some extra storage room for peripheral devices . The second one can store up to 24 tablets. The third one can store up to 16 laptops. The case can be transported between classrooms. It can be chained to another object to prevent theft. The case can also charge the devices.
An FR4-Based Self-Packaged Full Ka-Band Low-Loss 1:4 Power Divider Using SISL to Air-Filled SIW T-Junction

An FR4-based full Ka-band 1:4 passive power divider using substrate integrated suspended line (SISL) technology is presented in this letter and it achieves a relatively low insertion loss. A SISL to air-filled substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) T-junction with an iris structure is proposed as the first stage of the divider to obtain wideband matching, and a bandwidth of 61.7% is achieved. The power-handling capability of the power divider is studied. A back-to-back 1:4 power divider was fabricated, and the measured results agree well with the simulated ones. From 25.2 to 40 GHz, i.e., a 45.5% fractional bandwidth, the measured return loss is better than 15 dB, and the measured insertion loss is less than 1.2 dB. Moreover, the isolation performance is improved from 2.5 to 15 dB by adding three ports connected with the load resistor.