Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optical Properties and Upconversion Luminescence of BaTiO3 Xerogel Structures Doped with Erbium and Ytterbium

Erbium upconversion (UC) photoluminescence (PL) from sol-gel derived barium titanate (BaTiO3:Er) xerogel structures fabricated on silicon, glass or fused silica substrates has been studied. Under continuous-wave excitation at 980 nm and nanosecond pulsed excitation at 980 and 1540 nm, the fabricated structures demonstrate room temperature PL with several bands at 410, 523, 546, 658, 800 and 830 nm, corresponding to the 2H9/2 → 4I15/2, 2H11/2 → 4I15/2, 4S3/2 → 4I15/2, 4F9/2→ 4I15/2 and 4I9/2→ 4I15/2 transitions of Er3+ ions. The intensity of erbium UC PL increases when an additional macroporous layer of strontium titanate is used beneath the BaTiO3 xerogel layer. It is also enhanced in BaTiO3 xerogel films codoped with erbium and ytterbium (BaTiO3:(Er,Yb)). For the latter, a redistribution of the intensity of the PL bands is observed depending on the excitation conditions. A multilayer BaTiO3:(Er,Yb)/SiO2 microcavity structure was formed on a fused silica substrate with a cavity mode in the range of 650–680 nm corresponding to one of the UC PL bands of Er3+ ions. The obtained cavity structure annealed at 450 °C provides tuning of the cavity mode by 10 nm in the temperature range from 20 °C to 130 °C. Photonic application of BaTiO3 xerogel structures doped with lanthanides is discussed.
ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING IN THE WORK OF PROJECT LEADERS – WHY ETHICS GAINS IN IMPORTANCE IN FUTURE PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The paper is a call for project practitioners of the future to educate their ethical perception, and for organiza-tions to provide an appropriate environment which enables formation of ethical sensitivity. This theoretical study uses as method the systematic literature review to show that digital transformation impacts the ethical decision-making of project leaders of the future in the same way it contributes to the transformation of their profiles, the methods applied in their daily performance and the manner they conduct their projects. Teaching digital ethics, building digital skills, exercising practical application of ethical decision-making should be prioritized in future project management cur-ricula by business and educational organizations.
Congestion and non-congestion areas: identify and measure congestion in DEA

Detecting the weak and strong congestion statuses of decision-making units (DMUs) and measuring them via data envelopment analysis (DEA) is an important issue that has been discussed in several studies and with different views. The efficiency frontier is a concept derived from the underlying production possibility set (PPS), and the congestion concept is related to them. Still, researchers have defined congestion for each DMU in many previous studies and ignored that congestion is linked with the underlying production technology. In the congestion measurement matter, this paper presents two new insights into a congestion area (CA) and non-congestion area (NCA) for production technology and two new mathematical definitions of congestion based on the PPS properties and detecting the weak and strong congestion status of DMUs (CSOD). We prove our definitions are equal to the original definition of congestion. First, we describe the CA and NC based on the PPS; then provide full details of how to measure congestion built on these new insights. Our approaches are very accurate and fast to calculate; it is theoretically elementary and efficient in terms of performance. Our proposed methods can deal with both non-negative and negative data. Finally, an empirical example is provided to illustrate our approaches.
Estimation and Optimization of Leakage Power in the Presence of Process Variations

With the increasing importance of run-time leakage power di ssipation (around 55% of total power), it has become necessary to accurately estimate it not only as a func tion of input vectors, but also as a function of process parameters. In this work, the importance of conside ring the effects of process parameter variations for the accurate estimation of leakage power is emphasized a nd supported by experimental results. Leakage power corresponding to the maximum vector presents itself as a higher bound for run-time leakage and is a measure of reliability. This problem is addressed an d a heuristic is developed and implemented to accurately estimate the probabilistic distribution of the maximum run-time leakage power in the presence of variations in process parameters such as threshold volta ge, critical dimensions and doping concentration. Both sub-threshold and gate leakage current have been consi dered. A heuristic approach is proposed to determine the vector that causes the maximum leakage power u nd the influence of random process variations. This vector is then used to estimate the lognormal di stribution of the total leakage current of the circuit by summing up the lognormal leakage current distrib u ions of the individual standard cells at their respective input levels. The proposed method has been effec tive in accurately estimating the leakage mean, standard deviation and probability density function of ISC AS-85 benchmark circuits. Run-time leakage power is becoming a dominant component of t he total power consumption of a CMOS circuit. A fast and accurate method for the estimation of ave r g run-time leakage power using input signal probabilities is implemented. The proposed method conside rs signal correlations due to re-convergent fanout nodes and process variations to improve the accuracy. Th e heuristic developed, estimates the average leakage power distribution by computing the mean and standa rd eviation. This heuristic was tested on ISCAS-85 benchmark circuits and was verified for accuracy. An optimization technique to minimize the average run-time leakage power using a dual threshold voltage approach is implemented. The low leakage variability of hig h threshold devices helps reduce the high variability of nominal threshold devices and makes leakage reduction possible to a large extent. A significant improvement was seen for mean and standard deviation when te sted on ISCAS-85 benchmark circuits.
Service quality evaluation by service quality performance matrix

Excellent service quality and high customer satisfaction is the key issue and challenge for today's service industry. Customer perception (satisfaction) and customer expectation (importance) determines the service quality performance. Questionnaires help service providers to realize their service quality performance, and the weighted average of customer satisfaction and the associated variance are commonly used indices reflecting customer expectation and customer percep tion. To evaluate, effectively and efficiently, service quality performance, this paper aims to portray customer expectation and customer satisfaction by assuming that the evaluation scales for expectation and satisfaction are between 0 and 1. This paper defines a customer satisfaction index and a customer expectation index based on the two parameters of a beta distribution, and the unbiased estimators for these two indices are provided. A standardized Service Quality Performance Matrix helps managers realize the service quality performance for important service elements with respect to the locations of the satisfaction index and the expectation index on the Service Quality Performance Matrix to propose adequate service quality improvement plans and strategies.
Concurrent Validity Between the AM-PAC “6-Clicks” Basic Mobility Short Form and the WeeFIM in the Pediatric Acute Care Population

Purpose: To evaluate concurrent validity between the Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care (AM-PAC) “6-clicks” basic mobility short form (BMSF) and the Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM) and the interrater reliability for the AM-PAC BMSF for pediatric patients in the acute care setting. Methods: In this prospective, cross-sectional study, study participants completed the AM-PAC BMSF and the mobility domains of the WeeFIM. One therapist recorded scores for each of the outcome measures, while a second blinded therapist recorded scores for the AM-PAC BMSF. Spearman correlation coefficients (rs) were used to describe the relationships between measures, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess interrater reliability. Results: n = 30 children (4-17 years of age) participated in this study. A significant, strong, and positive correlation was found between the AM-PAC BMSF and WeeFIM total scores (rs = 0.95, P < .001) as well as between the transfer scores (rs = 0.93, P < .001). Excellent agreement was found between raters for the AM-PAC BMSF (ICC = 0.97). Conclusions: The AM-PAC BMSF demonstrates strong concurrent validity compared with the WeeFIM and has an excellent interrater agreement, suggesting that it may be a valid and reliable measure to objectively quantify functional mobility for pediatric patients in the acute care setting.
Diagnosis and management of Lynch syndrome

Lynch syndrome (LS) is a dominantly inherited cancer susceptibility syndrome defined by presence of pathogenic variants in DNA mismatch repair genes MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2, or in deletions of the EPCAM gene. Although LS is present in about 1 in 400 people in the UK, it estimated that only 5% of people with this condition are aware of the diagnosis. Therefore, testing for LS in all new diagnoses of colorectal or endometrial cancers is now recommended in the UK, and gastroenterologists can offer ‘mainstreamed’ genetic testing for LS to patients with cancer. Because LS results in a high lifetime risk of colorectal, endometrial, gastric, ovarian, hepatobiliary, brain and other cancers, the lifelong care of affected individuals and their families requires a coordinated multidisciplinary approach. Interventions such as high-quality 2-yearly colonoscopy, prophylactic gynaecological surgery, and aspirin are proven to prevent and facilitate early diagnosis and prevention of cancers in this population, and improve patient outcomes. Recently, an appreciation of the mechanism of carcinogenesis in LS-associated cancers has contributed to the development of novel therapeutic and diagnostic approaches, with a gene-specific approach to disease management, with potential cancer-preventing vaccines in development. An adaptive approach to surgical or oncological management of LS-related cancers may be considered, including an important role for novel checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy in locally advanced or metastatic disease. Therefore, a personalised approach to lifelong gene-specific management for people with LS provides many opportunities for cancer prevention and treatment which we outline in this review.
Relationship Between Antibiotic Resistance, Biofilm Formation, and Biofilm-Specific Resistance in Escherichia coli Isolates from Ningbo, China

Purpose Several Escherichia coli pathotypes still constitute an important public health concern owing to its pathogenicity and antimicrobial resistance. Moreover, biofilm formation of E. coli can allow the strains to interfere with host and antimicrobial eradication, thus conferring additional resistance. The association between the formation of biofilm and antimicrobial resistance determinants has been extensively exploited; nevertheless, there is still no definite conclusion. The purpose of this study was to provide additional data to augment the present knowledge about the subject. Methods Antibiotic resistance/susceptibility profiles of 81 isolates from pediatric individuals in China between 2011 and 2014 against 20 antibiotics were assessed using the VITEK 2 system. Biofilm-forming capacities were evaluated using the crystal violet staining method, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Biofilm compositions inside the biofilm formed by representative strains were assessed using CLSM. The effects of antibiotics on biofilms generated by E. coli strains of different biofilm-forming ability were examined using CLSM in combination with gatifloxacin. The relationships between antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation, and biofilm-specific resistance in E. coli isolates were investigated. Results The results showed that 23 isolates were classified as multidrug-resistant, and 57 isolates were classified as extensively drug-resistant (XDR). Among the 69 isolates with the ability to form biofilms, 46 isolates were stronger biofilm formers. Correlation analysis demonstrated that strain populations exhibiting more robust biofilm formation likely contained larger proportions of XDR isolates. Conclusion Together, our study implies that there was an association between biofilm-formation and resistance to several antibiotics for XDR-E. coli isolates, and would provide novel insights regarding the prevention and treatment against E. coli-related infections.
The Intelligibility of the Reversed-Stethoscope Technique in Age-Related Hearing Loss

Background This study evaluated the effectiveness of the reverse stethoscope technique in improving speech intelligibility. In this technique, a clinician places the earpieces of their stethoscope into the ears of a hearing-impaired patient and speaks into the chest piece. Methods The International Speech Test Signal was presented to four Littman® stethoscope models and a Pocketalker® personal voice amplifier using an Audioscan® hearing instrument test box. The acoustic outputs of the stethoscopes and voice amplifier were measured across the frequency spectrum of speech. The Speech Intelligibility Index of the resulting speech was calculated for natural speech and for each device in relation to 10 standardized hearing losses representing the population of older adults. Results For each of the 10 hearing losses, the speech signal emitted by the stethoscopes was quieter and yielded lower speech intelligibility scores than regular speech. In contrast, the voice amplifier provided mid- and high-frequency amplification and improved speech intelligibility scores for all but the mildest hearing losses. Conclusions The reverse stethoscope technique worsens the clarity of speech and should not be used with older, hearing-impaired patients. Instead, clinicians should use regular speech or, preferably, personal voice amplifiers.
Slip Velocity Parameterization for Broadband Ground Motion Simulation

Slip velocity functions commonly used in kinematic inversions and forward simulations have a number of problems that affect the computation of high frequency ground motion. These problems include an imposed greater than omega square high frequency spectral decay rate, introduction of spectral holes from the use of temporally sharp functions such as boxcar and triangle functions, and the use of functions that are inconsistent with dynamic rupture models. We introduce a new analytic slip velocity function parameterization that has the favorable attributes of a smooth spectrum with an adjustable high frequency decay rate. This function has two parameters. One describes the rise time and corner frequency, and the other defines the sharpness of the onset of the time function and the high frequency decay rate. This function convolved with the finite rupture process yields a net source spectrum with an omega squared high frequency decay rate consistent with observations, and does not suffer from spectral holes that can bias frequency or period dependent ground motion parameters. We apply this function to published kinematic slip models for the 1979 Imperial Valley, 1989 Loma Prieta, 1992 Landers, 1994 Northridge, 1995 Kobe, and the 1999 Izmit earthquakes to document the range controlling parameters to fit the broadband (0.05 to 20 Hz) data. Observed and simulated spectral acceleration from 0.05 to 20 seconds period as well as time histories are compared. Finally, using a finite-difference method to solve the elastodynamic equations of motion given a kinematic slip model as a boundary condition, we relate the defining slip velocity function parameterization to the traction evolution on the fault and dynamic rupture parameters following the method of Tinti et al. (2005).
Elastic adaptive prefetching for non-volatile cache in IoT terminals

STT-RAM with high storage density, near-zero leakage energy and CMOS compatibility is regarded as a replacement for SRAM to build large-sized cache, which can effectively alleviate the “memory wall” and improve computing power of IoT terminals. The state-of-the-art Near-Side Prefetch Throttling (NST) oriented to SRAM cache can effectively hide the access latency of off-chip memory. However, it also shows some inadaptability to the long write latency and high write energy of STT-RAM cache. The NST algorithm can not timely alleviate the cache congestion caused by STT-RAM long write latency, moreover, if the STT-RAM cache is congested, adjusting the prefetch distance is invalid to improve the prefetch timeliness. In response to the above problems, this paper novelly proposes a periodic and real-time complementary prefetch algorithm called ENCP for STT-RAM cache. Experiments show that, compared to the best-performed STREAM prefetcher, ENCP can reduce the write energy of STT-RAM cache by 8.3% on average and 23% the most and improve the CPU IPC performance by 0.46% on average and 3.1% the most. And the ENCP has better performance and lower dynamic energy compared with NST with almost the same hardware overhead.
Relative errors in derived multi-wavelength intensive aerosol optical properties using cavity attenuated phase shift single-scattering albedo monitors, a nephelometer, and tricolour absorption photometer measurements

Abstract. Aerosol intensive optical properties, including Ångström exponents for aerosol light extinction (EAEs), scattering (SAEs) and absorption (AAEs) as well as and the single-scattering albedo (SSA), are indicators for aerosol size, chemical composition, radiative behaviour and particle sources. Derivation of these parameters requires the measurement of aerosol optical properties at multiple wavelengths, which usually involves the use of several instruments. Our study aims to quantify the uncertainties in the determination of these intensive properties using an optical closure approach. In our laboratory closure study, we measured the full set of optical properties for a range of light-absorbing particles with different properties externally mixed with ammonium sulfate to generate aerosols with controlled SSA values. The investigated absorbing particle types were fresh combustion soot emitted by an inverted flame soot generator (SOOT; fractal agglomerates), Aquadag (AQ; compact aggregates), Cabot black (BC; compact agglomerates) and an acrylic paint (magic black, shape unknown). The instruments used in this study were two cavity attenuated phase shift particle monitors for single-scattering albedo (CAPS PMSSA's; λ=450, 630 nm) for measuring light-extinction and light-scattering coefficients, one integrating nephelometer (λ=450, 550, 700 nm) for light-scattering coefficients, and one tricolour absorption photometer (TAP; λ=467, 528, 652 nm) for filter-based light-absorption coefficients. One key finding is that the coefficients of light absorption, scattering and extinction derived from combing the measurements of two independent instruments agree with measurements from single instruments; the slopes of regression lines are equal within reported uncertainties (i.e. closure is observed). Despite closure for measured absorption coefficients, we caution that the estimated uncertainties for absorption coefficients, propagated for the differential method (DM; absorption = extinction minus scattering), can exceed 100 % for atmospherically relevant SSA values (>0.9). This increasing estimated uncertainty with increasing SSA yields AAE values that may be too uncertain for measurements in the range of atmospheric aerosol loadings. We recommend using the DM for measuring AAE values when the SSA < 0.9. EAE- and SAE-derived values achieved closure during this study within stated uncertainties for extinction coefficients greater than 15 Mm−1. SSA values for 450 and 630 nm wavelengths internally agreed with each other within 10 % uncertainty for all instrument combinations and sampled aerosol types, which fulfils the defined goals for measurement uncertainty of 10 % proposed by Laj et al. (2020) for GCOS (Global Climate Observing System) applications.
Target Aware Optimal Visual Navigation for UAVs

In this paper we propose an effective visionbased navigation method that allows a multirotor vehicle to simultaneously reach a desired goal pose in the environment while constantly facing a target object or landmark. Standard techniques such as Position-Based Visual Servoing (PBVS) and Image-Based Visual Servoing (IBVS) in some cases (e.g., while the multirotor is performing fast maneuvers) do not allow to constantly maintain the line of sight with a target of interest. Instead, we compute the optimal trajectory by solving a non-linear optimization problem that minimizes the target re-projection error while meeting the UAV’s dynamic constraints. The desired trajectory is then tracked by means of a real-time Non-linear Model Predictive Controller (MPC): This implicitly allows the multirotor to satisfy both the required constraints. We successfully evaluate the proposed approach in simulated and real experiments. We also present a performance comparison against a typical PBVS approach and a recent Hybrid visual servoing technique.
Organic/polymeric antibiofilm coatings for surface modification of medical devices

Abstract Infections arising from implanted medical devices cause considerable challenges for medicinal specialists and patients. These infections usually arise from the accumulation of biofilm on the device, which is difficult to eliminate and typically needs antibiotic treatment and removal of the device. In this regard, efforts have been made to design the devices or functional polymer coatings that have anti-fouling or antimicrobial properties to limit the formation of biofilm and following infection by preventing or killing bacteria near the device surface or by restricting the initial binding of proteins and bacteria. Herein, the extent of device-related infections, the biofilm formation mechanism, the role of biofilm construction in human pathogenesis, and the key strategies for the progress of antibiofilm coatings are discussed. The most promising antibiofilm coating approaches, comprising the surface topography modifications as well as the PEG, hydrogel, polyzwitterion, Benign bacterial biofilm, enzyme, cationic polymer, PTFE, and smart coatings, etc., were also summarized to avoid the biofilm formation and bacteria proliferation via controlling the antibiofilm mechanisms. Graphical Abstract
Efficient user pairing for minimization of capacity loss and outage probability in downlink non‐orthogonal multiple access systems

Non‐orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is a potential technology for the fifth‐generation (5G) cellular systems. The main task of the user pairing (UP) in NOMA is the selection of the paired users according to their channel gains. In this paper, an efficient UP algorithm is proposed to enhance the performance metrics of NOMA systems such as capacity, fairness, and outage probability. Firstly, the impact of the paired users' channel gains on the performance of NOMA systems is investigated and discussed. The proposed UP is based on the minimization of the capacity loss to maximize the NOMA network capacity. Also, the proposed UP targets to reduce the divergence between paired users' channel gains to avoid capacity loss and the degradation of the user fairness and the user data rate. Performance evaluation results have revealed that the proposed UP significantly outperforms the existing UP algorithms in maximizing the capacity and improving the fairness and the outage probability. Also, it achieves very small values of the outage probability which range from 1% to 10% of the achieved values by the other UP algorithms.