Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Li-Ion Battery Pack Charging Process and Monitoring in Electric Vehicle

This paper presents the charging process procedure of Li-ion Battery pack for electric vehicle, which is implemented based on constant current and constant voltage (CC-CV) mode. All the informations regarding battery voltage level, state of charge (SOC) during charging and discharging processes, and battery temperature, is displayed on computer via battery management system (BMS). During the charging process, the BMS monitors the voltage balancing in Li-ion battery pack, as well as the cells voltage in each modules. The voltage difference between the highest voltage cell and the lowest voltage cell is very small, which validates the voltage stability and balance in battery pack during the charging and discharging processes.
Language and auditory processing changes following Fast ForWord

This study examined changes in performance of 8 Australian children with language impairments of varying severity and presentation and/or auditory processing difficulties on standardised measures of language and auditory processing pre- and post-Fast ForWord (FFWD) training. In addition, performance changes on four measures of auditory processing were tracked using a single-subject ABA design. Increases in receptive and expressive language scores were observed. All participants showed at least one area of improvement on standardised tests of auditory discrimination for speech. Of those who produced interpretable results on standardised tests of shortterm auditory memory, 1 participant in 6 improved on Digit Span and 3 in 7 showed variable improvement on Memory for Sentences. Over half of the auditory processing gains remained evident after four weeks. One third of these gains were evident after 12 months. Characteristics of individual participants partially contributed to the identification of patterns of performance in the area of language. The findings are discussed in light of extraneous influences and recommendations for future research are offered.
UNDERSTANDING HOW CHATBOTS WORK: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF MENTAL MODELS IN CUSTOMER SERVICE CHATBOTS

Chatbots are changing customer service interactions, enabling higher reliance on self-serving behavior. There seems to be an emphasis on designing these chatbots to be as humanlike as possible. One drawback is that such humanlike design might lead users to apply the same mental models when interacting with chatbots as they do when interacting with human customer service personnel. Arguably, this may cause issues in the chatbot interaction because the technology may not be capable of handling interactions at the same level of sophistication as human personnel. Thus, the mental models that users apply are important for successful system interactions, but little research have been dedicated towards understanding these mental models. To close this research gap, we asked 16 users to interact with two customer service chatbots to explore the mental models guiding their interactions. Based on qualitative interviews and screen-captured videos of the participants’ dialogues, an exploratory analysis indicated that the participants drew on two types of mental models to understand, predict, and interact with chatbots: a human-oriented model and a technology-oriented model. We discuss our findings and their theoretical and practical implications.
Novel Saturated Flow Boiling Correlations for R600a and R717 Refrigerants

Abstract This research study provides a detailed analysis of the two-phase flow boiling heat transfer coefficients of R600a and R717. In addition, it proposes novel saturated flow boiling heat transfer correlations for these two refrigerants. In this context, 1306 experimental data points for R600a and 885 data samples for R717 are extracted from the literature works to develop new flow boiling models. Two different correlations are constructed under different forms of baseline frameworks for each refrigerant. The proposed flow boiling model for R600a utilizes the dimensionless numbers and operational parameters of the best performing literature correlations for this refrigerant while the model developed for R717 takes the advantage of piecewise continuous correlation form which successfully trace the tendencies of heat transfer coefficient with varying vapor qualities. It is found that the new model for R600a has a mean absolute error of 12.4% and mean relative error of 0.1, predicting 78.5% of the entire database within ±20.0% error band whereas the proposed correlation for R717 has an absolute error value of 17.3% having 65.3% of the data within ±20.0% error band, which are much better and accurate estimations compared to those obtained by the existing flow boiling models for R717 refrigerant.
Isolation and identification of bacteria with cellulose-degrading potential from soil and optimization of cellulase production

Soil is one of the most promising sources for the presence of a variety of microorganisms which produce different hydrolytic enzymes. Such microorganisms include bacteria, fungi, etc. The ability to produce hydrolytic enzymes makes them potential candidates for hydrolysis of complex polymeric substrates. The present study aims at screening, isolating, and characterizing cellulolytic bacteria isolated from soil samples. Nine different soil samples were collected from different locations near Raigad district, Maharashtra, India. Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) was used as a sole source of carbon for screening of cellulase-producing isolates. Forty-five different cellulase-producing bacteria were isolated based on their ability to decolorize Congo red and iodine. The morphological and molecular characterization of seven best isolates was carried out for their identification. All seven isolates were identified to be Bacillus species using 16s rRNA gene-based sequencing. The optimization of cellulase enzyme production of these seven isolates was carried out by using different parameters such as pH, temperature, and carbon sources. Majority of the cellulase producers identified in the present research work were found to be mesophiles. pH ranging from 6 to 8 was found to be most suitable to produce cellulase enzyme by the isolates. The data suggest that polymeric substances such as starch and CMC act as inducers for cellulase production.
Genetically engineered foodstuffs: school students’ views

Genetically engineered foodstuffs are now becoming commercially available. A closed‐form questionnaire to explore how such foods might be received was completed by 416 school students in English National Curriculum Years 7 (age 11–12 years), 9 (age 13–14) and 11 (age 15–16). The most commonly perceived benefits of genetically engineered foodstuffs were improved productivity and extended storage; few students thought they would be cheaper, healthier to eat or taste better. About a third thought that genetic engineering of foodstuffs would present health or environmental risks. Approximately half thought genetic engineering was unnatural, and a similar proportion felt that mankind had no right to produce such organisms for food; few of these objections were based on religious views. About a quarter thought that genetic engineering was needed to produce enough food for the world, but about half thought it unnecessary. About half of the group felt that genetic engineering for foodstuffs would increase the cha.
Geographical identification of Italian extra virgin olive oil by the combination of near infrared and Raman spectroscopy: A feasibility study

The potential of the combination of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy to differentiate Italian and Greek extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) by geographical origin was evaluated. Near infrared spectroscopy and Raman fingerprints of both study groups (extra virgin olive oil from the two countries) were pre-processed, merged by low-level and mid-level data fusion strategies and submitted to partial least-squares discriminant analysis. The classification models were cross-validated. After low-level data fusion, the partial least-squares discriminant analysis correctly predicted the geographical origins of extra virgin olive oils in cross-validation with 93.9% accuracy, while sensitivity and specificity were 77.8% and 100%, respectively. After mid-level data fusion, the partial least-squares discriminant analysis correctly predicted the geographical origins of extra virgin olive oils in cross-validation with 97.0% accuracy, while sensitivity and specificity were 88.9% and 100%, respectively. In this preliminary study, improved discrimination of Italian extra virgin olive oils was achieved by the synergism of near infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy as compared to the discrimination obtained by the separate laboratory techniques. This pilot study shows encouraging results that could open a new avenue for the authentication of Italian extra virgin olive oil.
Improvement of livebearer fish reproductive performance using Oocyte Developer (OODEV)

Livebearer fish have a unique reproduction by internal fertilization without supplied nutrition from parents. However, increasing the frequency of spawning remains unknown. Therefore, the study aimed to improve reproductive performance by expanding the spawning frequency in three livebearer fish species: guppy, black molly, and platy. Four sets of 10 fish (6 females and 4 males) aged 80 days after birth were maintained in controlled media at 25-28 °C in the separated tank sized 20x20x15 cm. All the fish were fed commercially and mixed with oocyte developer (OODEV) for 14 days at satiation. By using the same fish, spawning and rematuration were observed for 30 and 45 days respectively. The reproductive performance was evaluated for 45 days. The OODEVtreated broodstock showed birthing the larvae in all tanks on the 7th day after treatment, while control fish displayed on the 14th day. The percentage of pregnant broodstock was 66.6-100% in each tank, indicating the OODEV-supplemented diet can be used to increase oocyte growth in the gonad. In the rematuration experiment, the fish spawned a 3-fold increase in frequencies of spawning. These data suggested that OODEV can stimulate oocyte growth and increase the birthing frequency in livebearers.
Relationship between herbicide concentration in percolate, percolate breakthrough time, and number of active macropores

Identification of the major factors affecting herbicide transport through macropores improves our understanding of preferential flow and aids in the development and use of macropore-flow models, such as the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM). Recent research suggests that macropore-flow breakthrough time (bt) and the number of percolate-producing macropores (nmacro) affect herbicide concentration in percolate (hc). Therefore, we investigated the effect of bt and nmacro on hc during the first storm after herbicide application using multiple regression and partial correlation. Observed data were from five different leaching experiments that included five soil series and two tillage types (no-till and moldboard plow). Multiple regression was used to develop a model to predict herbicide concentration (hc) in preferential flow at 30 cm during the first rainfall after application using data from the five studies. The ln(hc) in macropore flow at 30 cm was related to bt (min) at 30 cm, ln(nmacro) at 30 cm, herbicide type (alachlor or atrazine), and herbicide application rate (R2 = 0.96). Partial correlation confirmed the relationship between ln(hc) and bt (P < 0.0001; r = -0.77) and ln(nmacro) (P < 0.0001; r = -0.46). A single-variable sensitivity analysis on the regression equation suggested that the observed range of bt (1.4 to 25 min) results in an eight-fold change in atrazine concentration (4.0 to 0.48 mg L-1). Clearly, breakthrough time during the first storm after application affects herbicide transport.
A learning approach to enhancing machine reconfiguration decision-making games in a heterarchical manufacturing environment

Business process management (BPM) emerges as a promising guiding principle and technology for integrating existing assets and future deployments. BPM provides mechanisms to transform the behaviours of disparate and heterogeneous systems into standard and interoperable business processes, aimed at effectively facilitating the conduct of factory system integration. On the shop floor, BPM requires machine-level controllers to be architected in a heterarchical fashion. Past work by the authors introduced a heuristic non-cooperative game theoretic planning technique for an autonomous machine controller to frame a decision about an impending reconfiguration (i.e. setup change) in a heterarchical manufacturing environment. The work described in this paper extends the authors’ previous work by employing a reinforcement learning approach for specifying the payoffs in reconfiguration games through capturing the effects of a sequence of reconfiguration decisions. Consequently, the controller can autonomously learn the long-term implications of decisions, and ultimately improve its decision-making process in manufacturing.
Eye Tracking Device for the Measurement of Flight Performance in Simulators

Abstract : This paper describes the use of an eye position monitor as a research tool for evaluating the field-of-view (FOV) requirements for simulator visual systems. Traditional evaluation methods rely on the use of pilot opinion and/or objective pilot performance measures. Neither provides a direct index of the pilot's visual behavior under alternative FOV conditions. Without a direct measure, interpretation of data is often problematic. The use of an eye position monitor provides a useful adjunct to these traditional methods. The present paper describes the system architecture, initial implementation, advantages and limitations, and future application. Keywords: Attention allocation; Flight simulators; Visual behavior; Data collection methodology; Eye tracking; Head tracking; Field of view; Performance measures.
Design and experiment study of a semi-active energy-regenerative suspension system

A new kind of semi-active energy-regenerative suspension system is proposed to recover suspension vibration energy, as well as to reduce the suspension cost and demands for the motor-rated capacity. The system consists of an energy-regenerative damper and a DC-DC converter-based energy-regenerative circuit. The energy-regenerative damper is composed of an electromagnetic linear motor and an adjustable shock absorber with three regulating levels. The linear motor just works as the generator to harvest the suspension vibration energy. The circuit can be used to improve the system’s energy-regenerative performance and to continuously regulate the motor’s electromagnetic damping force. Therefore, although the motor works as a generator and damps the isolation without an external power source, the motor damping force is controllable. The damping characteristics of the system are studied based on a two degrees of freedom vehicle vibration model. By further analyzing the circuit operation characteristics under different working modes, the double-loop controller is designed to track the desired damping force. The external-loop is a fuzzy controller that offers the desired equivalent damping. The inner-loop controller, on one hand, is used to generate the pulse number and the frequency to control the angle and the rotational speed of the step motor; on the other hand, the inner-loop is used to offer the duty cycle of the energy-regenerative circuit. Simulations and experiments are conducted to validate such a new suspension system. The results show that the semi-active energy-regenerative suspension can improve vehicle ride comfort with the controllable damping characteristics of the linear motor. Meanwhile, it also ensures energy regeneration.
An experimental study in forming a long synthetic aperture at sea

The testing of a synthetic aperture technique, the ETAM algorithm, is extended and its performance for CW pseudorandom signals and broadband ship noise is examined. The results show the limitations of the technique and are of special interest for operational systems development. In the CW experiments, the transmitted signal was generated with high temporal coherence, and loss of the spatial and temporal coherence of the received signal was introduced only by the medium and the stability of the towed array. In the experiments that included the pseudorandom signal and the ship noise, the temporal coherence of the transmitted signals was deliberately chosen to be poor in order to study the effects and the performance of this algorithm with broadband signals. The related experimental results show that for received signals, which have their segments over the synthesizing period highly cross-correlated, a synthetic aperture array gain was achieved that corresponds to the length of an equivalent fully populated array. >
Compact substrate integrated waveguide six‐port directional coupler for X‐band applications

A substrate integrated waveguide six‐port directional coupler is designed and characterized. The circuit exploits a very compact size and good reflection and transmission characteristics, as it exhibits both return loss and isolation higher than 15 dB over a 13% bandwidth. The device is made by connecting all ports to a single junction which mixes all signals. Some prototypes have been built and experimental results show a very good agreement with simulations. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:2589–2592, 2015
The effect of maximum aggregate size on the shear strength of geometrically scaled reinforced concrete beams

The effect of maximum aggregate size on the shear strength of geometrically scaled reinforced concrete beams" (2015). Open Access Theses. 534. This is to certify that the thesis/dissertation prepared By Entitled For the degree of Is approved by the final examining committee: To the best of my knowledge and as understood by the student in the Thesis/Dissertation Agreement, Publication Delay, and Certification Disclaimer (Graduate School Form 32), this thesis/dissertation adheres to the provisions of Purdue University's " Policy of Integrity in Research " and the use of copyright material.
Design of a weekly hybrid power market in China facilitating connection of large‐scale renewable generation

Summary In February 2002, the State Council of China published ‘Notice on Power Industry Reform’, which set out a clear road map for liberalising electricity industry in China. With the rapid development of large-scale renewable power and emergent surplus of generation capacity in major regional power systems, further market reform in China is necessary. This paper presents a weekly hybrid power market. The role of the administrative on-grid tariff system could be reduced and eventually withdrawn as the market matures and develops over time. This would eventually lead to a fully fledged power market. The competitive element of the hybrid market will initially be confined to coal-fired thermal units as they are by far the dominant generating source in China. The market is divided into two parts, block and hourly bidding. The block bidding is utilised in base load to reduce shutdown, and the hourly bidding is aimed at peak load to enhance flexibility. A linkage mechanism of settlement indirectly introduces grid companies and customers into the market. The simulation validates the well application of this hybrid power market to an actual large-scale power system. Rational results indicate the feasibility of this proposed market design. This design will provide some reference for other developing countries. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Randomly connected neural networks for self-supervised monocular depth estimation

ABSTRACT A plethora of deep learning-based methods have been proposed for self-supervised monocular depth estimation. The majority of these models utilise a U-Net-based architecture for disparity estimation. However, this architecture may not be optimal, and as shown in self-supervised approaches, replacing standard U-Net encoder with more complex architectures like the ResNet encoder achieves superior performance. In monocular depth estimation, the success of the method is attributed to the model architecture design capable of extracting high order features from a single image and the loss function for enforcing a strong feature distribution. In this work, a novel randomly connected encoder-decoder architecture has been designed for self-supervised monocular depth estimation. To enable efficient search in the connection space, the ‘cascaded random search’ approach is introduced for the generation of random network architectures. We introduce a new U-Net topology capable of utilising the semantic information of feature maps. For high quality image reconstructions, a loss function has been proposed, which efficiently extends perceptual and adversarial loss to multiple scales. We conduct performance evaluation on two surgical datasets, including comparisons to state-of-the-art self-supervised depth estimation methods. The performance evaluation analysis verifies the superiority of our randomly connected network architecture.
Age-related Changes in Computed Tomography Density of Thyroid Gland in Children: A Single-Center Retrospective Study in Northern China

Objective The thyroid gland normally presents as a hyperdense organ on noncontrast computed tomography (CT) in adults. The correlation between thyroid gland CT density and its functional status has been studied; however, little is known regarding its density in children with normal thyroid functions. We aimed to assess the correlation between thyroid gland CT density and age in children with normal thyroid functions. Methods From April 2017 to March 2021, we enrolled 74 patients who had normal thyroid functions within 1 month before or after undergoing neck or cervical spine CT for trauma, neck masses, congenital diseases, and airway stenosis. Their CT images were retrospectively analyzed by 2 independent radiologists. Based on age, patients were divided into 4 groups: infant, preschool-aged, school-aged, and adolescence groups. Results Patients with thyroid gland hypodensity in the infant group (70%, 14 of 20) were significantly more numerous than those in preschool-aged (25%, 4 of 16), school-aged (20%, 5 of 25), and adolescence (15.4%, 2 of 13) groups (P = 0.007, 0.001, and 0.002, respectively, Fisher exact test). The mean CT density of the thyroid gland was also lower in the infant group compared with the densities in other age groups. There was a weak positive correlation between thyroid CT density and age (r = 0.264, P = 0.023, linear regression analysis). Conclusions Thyroid CT density is related to age in children. The thyroid gland normally has a low density on noncontrast CT in most infants with normal thyroid function.
On the Use of Wearable Computing in Aircraft Maintenance: First Results From WearIT@work

Currently wearable computing is still a technology of niches and in a laboratory stage. With wearIT@work a project dedicated to applications was launched by the European Commission. The first 18 months of the project are over and the first demonstrators and results were achieved. As the project strongly follows a cyclic and user centred design approach much effort was put on investigations with end users in the four application domains of aircraft maintenance, production, healthcare and emergency response. Demonstrators of wearable computing solutions were achieved and evaluations with end users performed. In this paper the research concept of the project is introduced and results from the wearable computing aircraft maintenance show case are presented.Copyright © 2006 by ASME