Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An ant colony optimization-based classifier system for bacterial growth

Motivation. In predictive microbiology, identification of different combination of environmental factors (such as temperature, water activity, pH), which lead to growth/ no–growth of microorganism, is a problem of potential importance. Ant colony optimization (ACO) is one of the most recently developed nature–inspired metaheuristic techniques, based on the foraging behavior of real life ants and has already exhibited superior performance in solving combinatorial optimization problems. This work explores the search capabilities of this metaheuristic for learning classification rules in bacterial growth/no growth data pertaining to pathogenic Escherichia coli R31 as affected by temperature and water activity. The discovered rules thus can be used to verify whether any combination of temperature and water activity belong to either growth or no–growth of the microorganism. Method. The ant algorithm for classification works iteratively as follows: At any iteration level, software ants construct rules using available heuristic information and dynamically evolved pheromone trails. A rule that has highest prediction quality is said to be a discovered rule, which represents information extracted from the database. Examples correctly covered by the discovered rule are removed from the training set, and another iteration is started. Guided by the modified pheromone matrix, the agents build improved rules and the process is repeated for as many iterations as necessary to find rules covering almost all cases in the training set. Results. The developed ACO classifier system is utilized on several datasets and its performance is compared with the performance of other well known algorithms in terms of the average accuracy attained in 10–fold cross validation. The results obtained by this algorithm compare very favorably with other classifiers. Additionally, for discovery of classification rules in the dataset pertaining to bacterial growth/no–growth, the performance of the ACO classifier is compared with the C4.5 system with respect to the predictive accuracy and the simplicity of discovered rules. In both these performance indices the ACO classifier compares very well with the C4.5. Conclusions. The results obtained on several data sets indicate that the algorithm is competitive and can be considered a very useful tool for knowledge discovery in a given database.
Language Maintenance at a Distance: The Daily Russian "Vitamin"

Abstract : This two-week pilot study addressed one of the Department of Defense's (DoD) most difficult training problems: how to maintain "use or lose" language skills among its linguists. The study, which involved over 300 linguists at 61 installations worldwide, was designed to support the Air Force strategy of Global Engagement by regularly providing pedagogically sound language maintenance materials in small doses, and encouraging linguists to maintain skills by building an interactive, supportive community of professionals. Participants were enrolled in two e-mail distribution lists: an Announce list, which pushed a Russian "vitamin" lesson to linguists each day for 10 consecutive business days, and the Discuss list, where linguists were encouraged to comment on lessons, discuss relevant issues, and build on-going relationships with other participants. Using existing technology, the study demonstrated the feasibility of the lesson delivery system and the potential of networking linguists into an online community via a listserv. Initial recruitment of participants was problematic due to the lack of an Air Force-wide database of linguists. Those that did participate were highly enthusiastic throughout the project. The all-inclusive, concise lesson format was found to be user-friendly and extremely useful for language maintenance. The Discuss list proved to be a useful forum for community building as linguists took advantage of the opportunity to express views and opinions on issues relevant to the group and to receive feedback. Of those subjects that completed the end of study survey, 96% indicated they agreed or strongly agreed this was an effective method of language maintenance. The article closes with recommendations on developing and conducting distance-learning courses of this type for military audiences.
Fingerfoods: a clustered-randomized feasibility study to enhance fruit and vegetable consumption in Dutch patients with dementia in a nursing home

Background Eating problems are highly prevalent in older patients with dementia and as a consequence, patients are at greater risk of becoming malnourished. Fingerfoods, snacks that can be picked with thumb and forefinger, could be used to counteract malnutrition in patients with dementia. The aim of this feasibility study was to evaluate whether providing fingerfoods as snacks was feasible for both patients with dementia and caregivers. Secondary objectives were to explore the effects of fingerfoods on total fruit and vegetable consumption, nutritional status and quality of life. MethodsInstitutionalised patients with dementia ( N = 22, 86% female, mean age = 85 years) were included in this clustered randomized controlled feasibility trial in the Netherlands. The intervention group ( N = 15) received their regular diet supplemented with fingerfoods, comprising quiches and cakes rich in fruit or vegetables, for 6 weeks. The control group ( N = 7) received their regular diet. Daily fingerfood consumption of patients and attitude of caregivers towards the fingerfoods were recorded to measure feasibility of the intervention. Fruit and vegetable consumption (3-day food records), nutritional status (body mass index (BMI) and SNAQ rc scores) and quality of life (QoL) (QUALIDEM) were measured in the first and last intervention week. The effects of fingerfoods on these outcomes were analysed with paired t-tests, Chi-square tests and ANCOVA. Results Patients consumed on average 70 grams of fingerfoods daily, containing 41 grams of fruit/vegetables. The intervention was rated as positive by 58% of the caregivers. Changes in fruit and vegetable consumption, malnutrition risk and QoL scores during the study period did not significantly change in the intervention group compared to the control group. Conclusion This feasibility study showed that providing fingerfoods to patients with dementia seems feasible for both patients and caregivers and could provide a pragmatic approach to enhance fruit and vegetable consumption in institutionalized elderly. In future research, long-term effects of fingerfoods should be studied on larger scale to confirm these findings. Trial Registration: Requested.
Wire rope safety barriers and the Pacific Highway program: RTA research and investigations

This paper discusses the decision process used by the Roads and Traffic Authority NSW to determine the type of median safety barrier that is most appropriate for reducing the risk of accident trauma on two-lane sections of the Pacific Highway. It shows the method used to quantify the predicted risk reduction after implementation of the proposed upgrade program, and compares the predicted results with those of 5 years’ experience with median wire rope safety barriers in Sweden. It also shows the process used to determine the minimum median width for installation of median wire rope safety barriers. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E211985.
Development of an all-fibre source of heralded single photons

The preparation of single photons in a pure quantum state is a subject of great interest in physics, enabling the control of light at an unprecedented level. The ease with which certain degrees of freedom of photon states, such as polarisation, can be manipulated, along with the inherent resilience of photons to decoherence, makes them well suited for use as qubits. Recent rapid developments in the transmission and processing of quantum information, as well as the likely technological impact of potential real-world applications such as quantum cryptography and quantum computation, mean that the demand for high performance single photon sources is likely to increase in the near future. One approach to producing single photon states, which are known to be in a well-defined spatio-temporal mode without destructively measuring them, is to take advantage of nonlinear optics. Nonlinear processes can be used to realise frequency conversion by generating a single, correlated pair of photons from an intense pump laser source. The detection of one of the photons from a pair can then be used to indicate the presence of the other photon in the pair, a procedure known as heralding. This thesis describes the development of a source of heralded single photons at 1550 nm, generated directly in the core of a photonic crystal fibre (PCF). By taking advantage of low loss fibre components for the required spectral filtering of the generated photon state, a heralding fidelity of 52% was achieved. The source was designed to be used with a picosecond pulsed fibre laser, making it relatively low cost and maintenance free. With 148 mW of average pump power a heralded output photon rate of 6.4 × 104 s-1 was observed, demonstrating the brightness of the source. The purity of the generated single photons was established by measuring non-classical interference, with a visibility of 70%, between the photons output from this source and a source based on a PPLN waveguide. The fabrication of a series of birefringent PCFs for the generation of spectrally pure state photons at 1550 nm is also discussed. These PCFs will be useful for incorporation in the next generation of high performance, fibre-based photon sources.
Export Barriers and the Steel Industry

A healthy world steel industry depends on the free trade of the raw materials used to make steel. At present, trade in these raw materials is not free, as major producing countries impose a variety of restrictions on exports. These measures distort international competition by providing domestic companies with an advantage. In this way, export restrictions distort not only the world markets for these raw materials, but the broader world markets for steel and products made from steel. This chapter describes the export restrictions that a number of producing countries have imposed on raw materials which are used to produce steel. It aims to identify the impact such restrictions have had on international prices and on the availability of raw materials. Three raw materials are used as the basis for this analysis: iron ore, coke and steel scrap.
Examination of Human Factors in Networked Sensors in Live and Virtual Environments

Abstract : A demonstration was held with Soldiers operating robotic networked sensors in an actual mock-up of a reconnaissance and surveillance vehicle (HMMWV [high mobility, multipurpose wheeled vehicle]) in the field and in virtual reality simulators. The crew in the live re-supply vehicle (RSV) and the two crews in the virtual simulators consisted of three Soldiers each. The allocation of personnel in both environments was the same: (a) one Soldier served as the vehicle commander and operated the unmanned ground sensors (UGS); (b) one Soldier operated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and (c) one Soldier operated an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). Data from surveys and interviews revealed insights into the interface design, sensor and software capabilities, workload, and skills and abilities required of robotic operators. The interface (maneuver command and control [MC2]) was judged as very good for mission planning, but re-tasking sensors to different routes was difficult and time consuming, which resulted in the inability to identify previously detected targets. The imagery on the infrared (IR) UAV sensor, unlike the daylight camera, was not good enough for target identification. The imagery and interface in the virtual simulators was not as those on the live vehicle, resulting in higher workload and stress in the virtual simulators. Situational awareness was equal but low in both the live and virtual environments, probably because of technical difficulties, especially in the live RSV. Skills needed in both environments tended to be those necessary to receive information from and send information to higher (communication), identify and solve problems concerning sensor coverage (conceptual), and recognize targets quickly (speed loaded). Visual skills were also needed to interpret sensor feeds and track the sensor on the MC2, especially on the virtual simulators.
Transferência de tecnologia entre a universidade e a indústria Technology transfer between university and industry

Conceptual approach of tecnology, inovation, and technology transfer between university and industry as the transfer of knowledge (tacit and codified), as a theoretical base to include information services as a relevant component for the success of technology transfer. Analyse of technology transfer process, as well as both mechanisms and actors involved in this process and the complexity of its implementation.
Mobilize Your Enterprise: Achieving Competitive Advantage Through Wireless Technology

". an insightful-and essential-guidebook to the wireless transformation of the enterprise, a 'must-read' for any business or IT manager. "-Barry Zellen, Editorial Director and CEO, WirelessReport.netCompanies can gain an enormous advantage by mastering mobile technology. A wireless workforce allows information to flow immediately and freely between off-site employees and the home office, leading to what mobile business strategy expert Patrick Brans calls friction-free sales and service. In Mobilize Your Enterprise, Brans explains precisely what you need to know about this emerging technology, where it's heading, and how it can benefit your organization. You'll discover how to profitably apply the technology to your particular situation and how reengineer your processes around mobility, all without delving into unnecessary technical detail.Coverage includes: Wireless technology-how, when, and why to deploy it, and anticipating what's next Wireless solutions you can apply to your company Methods to reengineer business processes and claim huge competitive advantages from mobility Portable solutions presented in detail, from computing devices, wireless network technologies and application gateways to enterprise applications and security Real-life applications-you'll learn a great deal about wireless technology without being swamped in needless details Vendor profiles-software, infrastructure, hardware, hosting, and integrationManagers, planners, and anyone else looking to improve their business using wireless technology will find Mobilize Your Enterprise an excellent resource. Brans' enthusiasm animates this complex topic-you'll grasp the big picture and understand how to apply the technology to your particular situation.
Systematic anti windup design for control systems with saturating actuators

Input signal saturation can have a noxious influence on the closed loop transients, like long lasting and badly damped overshoots or even limit cycles. These effects are well known, and since they are very distinct during major set point changes in control loops where the compensator contains integral action, they have been named integral wind-up, reset windup, or simply windup. It is the purpose of this paper to show that windup is not only related to the unstable compensator dynamics like integrators or more complex signal models, but that there are two distinctively different windup effects to be investigated, namely the controller windup and the plant windup. For controller windup prevention, various methods exist. Best known are two methods, the conditioning technique and the observer technique. These two methods will be compared and existing drawbacks are discussed. Controller windup prevention does not remove plant windup effects. Plant windup can clearly be separated from the controller wind-up, provided the latter is systematically removed. Since plant windup is related to the closed loop dynamics, it can either be prevented by a a reduction of these dynamics or by a suitable modification of the reference signal during saturation. Both approaches can be taylored using a simple phase criterion for the linear part of the loop. The presented controller and plant windup prevention measures can be applied to stable and unstable SISO and MIMO systems alike.
Characterization and Application of Angled Fluorescence Laminar Optical Tomography

Title of dissertation: Characterization and Application of Angled Fluorescence Laminar Optical Tomography Chao-Wei Chen, Doctor of Philosophy, 2013 Directed By: Professor Yu Chen, Fischell Department of Bioengineering Angled fluorescence laminar optical tomography (aFLOT) is a modified fluorescence tomographic imaging technique that targets the mesoscopic scale (millimeter penetration with resolution in the tens of microns). Traditional FLOT uses multiple detectors to measure a range of scattered fluorescence signals to perform 3D reconstructions. This technology however inherently assumes the sample to be scattering. To extend the capability of FLOT to cover the low scattering regime, the oblique illumination and detection was introduced. The angular degree of freedom for the illumination and detection was theoretically and experimentally investigated. It was concluded that aFLOT enhanced resolution 2.5 times and depth selectivity compared to traditional FLOT, and that it enabled the stacking representation, a process that skips the computationally-intensive reconstruction usually needed to render the tomogram. Because stacking is enabled, the necessity of a reconstruction process is retrospectively discussed. aFLOT systems were constructed and applied in tissue engineering. Phantoms and engineered tissue models were successfully imaged. The aFLOT was shown to perform non-invasive in situ imaging in biologically relevant samples with 1mm penetration and 9-400 micron resolution, depending on the scattering of samples. aFLOT illustrates its potential for studying cell-cell or cellmaterial interactions. Characterization and Application of Angled Fluorescence Laminar Optical Tomography By Chao-Wei Chen Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2013 Advisory Committee: Professor Yu Chen, Chair Professor Chi H. Lee Professor Christopher Davis Professor Pamela Abshire Professor John Fisher Professor Julius Goldhar © Copyright by Chao-Wei Chen 2013
Ultrasonic characterisation of defects in rails

Knowledge of the echo dynamics of both zero-degree longitudinal and refracted shear waves interacting with rail defects (both vertical and transverse) is important in optimising ultrasonic rail inspection. In this work, we studied the echo response for 70° refracted shear waves in two rail specimens having Electrical Discharge Machined (EDM) notches to model transverse defects with different sizes and orientations to the transverse plane. In addition, we examined echoes of longitudinal and refracted shear waves in five specimens with Vertical Split Heads (VSHs). The data were acquired using a flaw detector (USN 60L), a GAGE 12100 digitizer, and a UT 340 Pulser/Receiver (UTEX). The results show that the detection of the EDM notches depended on the profile of the worn rail head, the lateral position of the transducers, and the size and orientation of the EDM notches. The results from the five VSH specimens show that these specimens had jagged surfaces that Were non-coplanar in the vertical plane and nonlinear along the length of the rails. The results from the VSH specimens further demonstrated the need for electronic scanning across the width of the rail and continuous beam steering along the rail in order to inspect irregular surfaces in the vertical (X-Z) plane (Figure 1). Alternatives to the electrical scanning and continuous beam steering are to use either phased array technology or laser ultrasonics.
Use of SCADA and CMS signals for failure detection and diagnosis of a wind turbine gearbox

This paper has summarised the typical principal failure modes of WT gearbox and relevant SCADA & CMS measurements for health monitoring. Starting with the basics of heat and temperature, it derives the relationship between temperature, efficiency, and power output or rotational speed based on the first law of thermodynamics. This then leads to a new algorithm based on SCADA oil and bearing temperature measurements to detect gearbox failures. The second case study focuses on extracting diagnostic information from both the enveloped amplitude and oil debris particle count against energy generated of WT. The results show that the analysis of SCADA signals using simple algorithms can give early warning of failures in gearboxes and that analysis of CMS signals can locate and diagnose failures with detailed information. It is suggested that in future WT monitoring systems both SCADA and CMS signals should be used to detect faults and schedule maintenance.
Don't Sleep and Drive - VW's Fatigue Detection Technology

This paper takes an in-depth look at an innovative driver state monitoring system, which VW has developed to assist drivers. The system is designed to help drivers manage their physical and mental resources properly when they are behind the wheel. The article begins by explaining the motivation that led to the development of the system and then goes on to discuss the characteristics of the physical and cognitive states under observation as well as the system hardware and software components. The reader is given an insight into the empirical derivation of the prediction algorithm. The article also presents the results of the initial customer survey.
Development of a Solar House Design Methodology and its Implementation into a Design Tool

Buildings consume on the order of 40% of energy in Canada and the developed world. It has been demonstrated that buildings can supplement a large fraction (or all) of their energy use by collecting solar energy. In order to design such buildings, an integrated design process should be used, in which they are designed as a system rather than as discrete subsystems. Otherwise, opportunities for cost-savings are missed. Energy-conserving and energy-collecting upgrades should be considered early in the design process when costs can be minimized and disruptions to construction avoided. The optimal solution to solar buildings typically balances energy efficiency measures and energy generation, since they both have diminishing returns. Houses that offset their energy use with solar energy generation cannot justify the formality of the use of multiple designers because of the associated costs and potential cost savings. Therefore there is a need for a design methodology for solar houses and a corresponding design tool that can be used to support the process. It should enable the energy modeling of all relevant subsystems and provide guidance towards the near-optimal design space. The tool – called Ecos - will focus on early stage design and should enable the design of a near-optimal house within about an hour. This thesis covers both a solar house design tool and the prerequisite work. There are four major interconnected parts of the work, including; a detailed energy model of a solar house; innovative ways of graphically representing performance data, a detailed design methodology, and finally the design tool itself. Ecos provides two main types of graphical feedback: 1) visualization of the design space and 2) visualization of key performance metrics during solar design days. One of the methods to support efficient design is to provide quasi real-time feedback to the user. In order to provide real-time feedback to support an efficient design process, a combination of shortened simulation periods and regression models are used. The final part of this thesis discusses recently built solar house and applies the current model in a re-design study to examine potential further reductions in energy use.