Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Monitoring ride quality on roads with existing sensors in passenger cars

In this paper, a cost-effective method for monitoring and evaluating the ride quality of roads based on probe vehicle data is presented. Running vehicles experience a broad spectrum of vibrations that occur in response to excitation inputs such as the pavement, tires and the engine. In this work, ride quality is expressed in terms of pavement condition including evenness, potholes and other surface irregularities. Data from built-in sensors such as accelerometers and wheel speed sensors are processed by a support vector machine (SVM) and are coupled with local and global positioning using GNSS data to identify sections with poor ride quality. Results are promising and demonstrate that poor ride quality can be accurately localised in a road network. The proposed method enables infrastructure monitoring done by conventional passenger cars, which can be seen as a supplement to prevalent road measurements with cost-intensive mobile devices.
Health impacts extend from the life of a mine to the life of a community – knowledge gaps

The planning, design and operation of mines must include the development of positive environmental, community and land-use benefits if it is to achieve good corporate social responsibility and minimise detrimental impacts throughout the life of the mine. Life-of-mine (LOM) planning should, therefore, consider conducting mining activities in the best socially, environmentally and economically acceptable manner, from the commencement of exploration to post-closure of the mine. Current knowledge of LOM activities in relation to public health (life-of-community, or LOC) impacts neither fully captures the full suite of human health and well-being impacts, nor comprehensively informs society on these issues. This knowledge gap is becoming more apparent as public antipathy is increasing towards mining activities within Australia, Canada and globally. The purpose of this paper is to present preliminary and informative results of a literature review to gain insight into the extent of available public health and well-being knowledge associated with mining development. LOM development must also benefit the LOC, in that it must aim to minimise detrimental impacts, and maximise beneficial (including health) impacts on all associated communities. Health planning and programing for mitigation of potential adverse health impacts of mining should extend beyond the scope of work-related injury and illness (resulting from chronic exposure to harmful substances, infectious and lifestyle illnesses), to the health and well-being of workers’ families and extended associated communities. By mapping the available but rather scarce literature on LOC areas to recognised LOM stages, this review found shortcomings and imbalances regarding research reporting on mining and its health-related impacts in the worker-to-community continuum.
Seabasing Innovation Cell Transfer of Goods at Sea

Abstract : The Center for Innovation in Ship Design (CISD) at the Naval Surface Warfare Center - Carderock Division (NSWC-CD) was tasked by the Chief of Naval Research to investigate Seabasing as it relates to Seapower 21 and the United States Navy Transformation. At Carderock, a multi-disciplinary team formed in late February 2003 and reported on 30 May 2003; a period of 14 weeks. The team was led by Mark Selfridge, a Naval Architect from the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense (MoD) currently on a 2-year exchange at NSWC-CD. Specifically, the CISD team was tasked to investigate the naval architectural implications of transferring cargo and personnel in a seabase environment. Emphasis was placed on rough water operations. The team developed four advanced concepts to enhance transfer of goods at sea and completed preliminary assessments of their performance within a seabase. The four concepts are an Intermediate Transfer Station (ITS), a Deep Water Stable Craneship, a Seabase Hub, and an Advanced Logistics Delivery System (ALDS). In addition, a number of seabase enabling technologies (i.e., selective offload, reconfigurable spaces, seakeeping, materiel management systems, a cargo dispenser concept, an air pallet cargo stowage concept, and spiral ramp concepts) were investigated to enhance the understanding of key design drivers and to highlight naval architectural issues.
Advances in Decision Analysis: Choosing a Tritium Supply Technology for Nuclear Weapons: Reflections on a Controversial Decision Analysis

Nuclear weapons require the periodic replacement of tritium, a radioactive gas that decays at approximately 5.5 percent per year. Since 1989 the United States had no tritium supply facility, and, due to the decay of tritium, its inventory was expected to fall below the required reserve level in 2011. To decide how to fill this projected gap, the Department of Energy assessed several tritium supply alternatives, including several types of new reactors, an accelerator, and the use of commercial reactors. This paper describes the decision analysis process, conducted in the mid 90s, to support the decision by the Secretary of Energy to choose among the options. This process involved two rounds of analysis, several surprises and many adjustments. In the end the decision analysis was successful in shaping both the intermediate decision by then Secretary O’Leary and the final decision by Secretary Richardson. Advances: Tritium Production Page 2 of 43 Ch 25 060520 V09 CONTENTS The Problem Getting Started The Multiattribute Utility Analysis Interlude about the Politics of Decision Making The Risk Analysis Production Assurance Analysis Schedule Risk Analysis Capacity Analysis Availability Analysis Production Assurance Simulation Cost Risk Analysis Environmental Analysis The Decision The Aftermath and Some Thoughts about the Role of Decision Analysis References Advances: Tritium Production Page 3 of 43 Ch 25 060520 V09
Fixing broken windows: Restoring order and reducing crime in

Based on a groundbreaking theory of crime prevention, this practical and empowering book shows how citizens, business owners, and police can work together to ensure the safety of their communities. George Kelling, one of America s leading criminologists, has proven the success of his method across the country, from the New York City subways to the public parks of Seattle. Here, Kelling and urban anthropologist and lawyer Catherine Coles demonstrate that by controlling disorderly behavior in public spaces, we can create an environment where serious crime cannot flourish, and they explain how to adapt these effective methods for use in our own homes and communities. "
Equivalent Network Approach for the Simulation of MEMS Devices

In this paper a numerical approach for the analysis of the behaviour of micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) is presented. The method is applied to the simulation of movable plate MEMS variable capacitors that are of common use in the CMOS voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs). An accurate study of MEMS devices requires a coupled electro-mechanical analysis. The mechanical analysis has to take into account the deformation of the plates of the capacitor and the electromagnetic one has to consider the distribution of charges and currents and the presence of dielectric materials. We first perform a coupled elastic-electrostatic analysis in order to obtain the tuning characteristic of the system; subsequently, once the positions of the plates have been determined, an electromagnetic analysis of the system is performed via an integral formulation based on an electric equivalent circuit. The proposed method has been validated by analysing two and three plate tuneable parallel-plate capacitors.
Getting the economics and the incentives right: Instrument choices in rebuilding fisheries

It is now generally agreed that all natural resources, including marine capture fishery resources, are properly regarded as "natural" capital. From this it follows that, when one talks about rebuilding capture fishery resources, one is talking in terms of a "natural" capital investment program. After discussing the basic economics underlying an optimal fisheries capital investment program, the chapter will go on the discuss the incentive structures that are to be in place, at both an intra-EEZ level, and at an international level, if the resource investment program is to be successful. This chapter will draw heavily upon work that the author has been doing for the FAO, in conjunction with The World Bank and FAO study: The Sunken Billions: The Economic Justification for Fisheries Reform.
MagMAR. Collaborative, Mobile Augmented Reality supported game with player generated content.

Playing games in the museums enabled teachers to engage young museum visitors in the museum experience more deeply and made the place seem more fun. Aim of these games is to encourage the young visitors to investigate the museum on their own and learn some new information in more informal way. However these games usually have predefined content and are played using pen and paper, both becoming less appealing to the younger generation. This work aims at investigating how todays technologies can make these games more appealing to the younger generation while still providing some level of educational content. In particular the main goal is to study if removing the predefined content from a collaborative game and allowing the players to create their own game content will provide sufficient levels of motivation and engagement for the intended end users. Secondary goal is to study if Mobile Augmented Reality is accepted and useful technology to create a link between real and digital worlds in a museum setting. The outcome of this work is an analysis of a game that allows the players to create their own game content, connected to the particular museum the game is played in and an implementation of such a game that uses Augmented Reality as a link between digital and real world. Followed by analysis of a Web Interface that allows the supervisor of the game to control some of the content and monitor the players game progress in real time. A detailed implementation documentation of the prototype is provided that supports the provided storyboard. A usability study was performed to reveal limitation of the prototype and the design of the game itself. The game prototype as well as the prototype of the Web interface were used in a field experiment with intended end users at the Museo Del 900 in Milan. The results of the field experiment were the basis for the project evaluation. A workshop paper based on the work done in this thesis has been submitted at the MasIE workshop in collaboration with my supervisor Monica Divitini, my co-advisor Ines Di Loreto and Micaela Mander. The conclusions of the work might be of use to researchers working on a similar problems or might serve as a base for longitudinal research to assess academical gains of such an application.
RAPID SPACE TRAJECTORY GENERATION USING A FOURIER SERIES SHAPE-BASED APPROACH

With the insatiable curiosity of human beings to explore the universe and our solar system, it is essential to benefit from larger propulsion capabilities to execute efficient transfers and carry more scientific equipments. In the field of space trajectory optimization the fundamental advances in using low-thrust propulsion and exploiting the multi-body dynamics has played pivotal role in designing efficient space mission trajectories. The former provides larger cumulative momentum change in comparison with the conventional chemical propulsion whereas the latter results in almost ballistic trajectories with negligible amount of propellant. However, the problem of space trajectory design translates into an optimal control problem which is, in general, time-consuming and very difficult to solve. Therefore, the goal of the thesis is to address the above problem by developing a methodology to simplify and facilitate the process of finding initial low-thrust trajectories in both two-body and multi-body environments. This initial solution will not only provide mission designers with a better understanding of the problem and solution but also serves as a good initial guess for high-fidelity optimal control solvers and increases their convergence rate. Almost all of the high-fidelity solvers enjoy the existence of an initial guess that already satisfies the equations of motion and some of the most important constraints. Despite the nonlinear nature of the problem, it is sought to find a robust technique for a wide range of typical low-thrust transfers with reduced computational intensity. xxi Another important aspect of our developed methodology is the representation of low-thrust trajectories by Fourier series with which the number of design variables reduces significantly. Emphasis is given on simplifying the equations of motion to the possible extent and avoid approximating the controls. These facts contribute to speeding up the solution finding procedure. Several example applications of two and three-dimensional two-body low-thrust transfers are considered. In addition, in the multi-body dynamic, and in particular the restricted-three-body dynamic, several Earth-to-Moon low-thrust transfers are investigated.
Traffic-aware channel allocation and routing in multichannel, multi-radio wireless networks

Abstract : Modern day wireless network applications exhibit varying service demands to satisfy user requirements, while differing in the nature of traffic they generate. Future wireless networks should, therefore, be capable of adapting to the heterogeneous traffic characteristics, by e efficiently utilizing the expensive radio resources. In this dissertation, we concentrate on three important problems in existing wireless networks and propose algorithms for addressing them. As the first problem, we focus on the effect of rate-independent MAC overheads in random access protocols such as carrier sensing, backoff , and fixed rate header transmissions. These overheads become prominent in short packets that are transmitted at high data rates. We address this problem by partitioning the transmission spectrum into a narrow channel and a wide channel. The narrow channel is used for transmitting the short packets and the wide channel is used for transmitting the longer packets. We propose a protocol called WiSP (channel Width Selection based on Packet size) to estimate the appropriate channel widths depending on the relative traffic load involving short and long packets in the network. Next, we address the problem of channel switching delay in multichannel, multihop wireless networks. Future networks can benefit from using multiple channels simultaneously within a network. However, to maintain connectivity between various wireless nodes, the wireless radios may have to switch between channels. Due to both software and hardware restrictions switching channels incur significant delay, which can be detrimental to many delay-sensitive, real-time applications, such as VoIP and interactive gaming. To address this, we propose SHORT (Static-Hybrid approach for rOuting Real Time applications), a joint channel allocation and routing algorithm for finding delay efficient routes for real-time applications without significantly a affecting the performance of non-real time applications.
Software Environment for Assembly, Modeling and Online-Simulation of Redundant Light-Weight Manipulators

Currently, DLR is developing its 3 rd generation of light-weight robots. It is a modular system with new optimized drives, carbon fiber links and novel wrist units. The robots are dedicated for applications on ground as well as for future space missions. The information of the new robotic components is stored in a database that can be accessed via a user interface inside a simulation environment. The software tool enables a system engineer to rapidly design a fully operating concept of a robotic system for testing and verification. One of the design tasks is the definition of the robot kinematics, respectively the number of joints and the sequence of joint axis orientations. For space applications redundant kinematics with at least 7 joints are preferred due to their increased skill performance and flexibility. Thus, a generic method for solving the particular inverse kinematics problem must be part of the assembly environment. Currently a Lagrange constraint optimization and a method using a differential equation system are provided. In this paper the novel software environment for rapid assembly, modeling and online simulation will be described in detail.
Influence of dietary tryptophan to large neutral amino acids ratios on performance and well-being of broiler chickens subjected to stressful conditions

Chickens in modern intensive production systems may suffer from multiple stress factors such as heat, handling, and transportation. These stressors are known to be negatively affecting welfare and well-being status of chickens. In search for a practical approach to alleviate the adverse effects attributed to such stressors, two experiments were conducted. The experiments were aimed to use conventional parameters together with novel and advance physiological and biotechnological measurements. In experiment 1, the influence of dietary tryptophan to large neutral amino acids ratios (TRP/LNAA) on performance, serotonin (5-HT), corticosterone (CORT), thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) of broiler chickens raised under high environmental temperature from 28-42 d were investigated. A total of 576 day-old male chicks were assigned to two controlled environments. Chicks in half of the chambers were challenged to cyclic high ambient temperature (35±1°C, 8h daily; heated), and the other half were kept at thermoneutral temperature (25±1°C; unheated). Birds were fed using six diets with ascending levels of dietary TRP/LNAA (0.025, 0.030, 0.035, 0.040, 0.045, and 0.050). Performance parameters were measured on a weekly basis. Blood samples were collected at the end of the experiment (42 d). The 5-HT, CORT, T3 and T4 were measured in the serum. The results revealed that irrespective of environmental condition, dietary TRP/LNAA had no influence on performance. However, dietary TRP/LNAA level has markedly affected the physiological responses of the birds. Evidently, elevation of TRP/LNAA coincided with reduction in CORT and increase in 5-HT, T3 and T4 (P<0.05). Increased 5-HT and reduced CORT are clearly indicating a superior welfare and well-being in TRP supplemented birds. In the follow up experiment, the effects of much higher dietary TRP/LNAA (0.050, 0.100, and 0.150%) was tested in broiler chickens receiving different types of pre-slaughter handling followed by transportation. A total of 180 d-old broiler chickens was fed using three dietary TRP/LNAA levels (0.050, 0.100, and 0.150). On day 42, birds were subjected to catching and handling in either short distance (25 meters) or long distance (100 meters) through the house. Blood, breast muscle and cecal samples were collected after 2 h of road transportation from all the birds. The results showed that increasing dietary TRP/LNAA improved FI and meat quality (drip loss and shear force) in broiler chickens and shifted the balance of pathogenic/non-pathogenic bacteria to a favorable state. Chickens fed higher levels of TRP/LNAA showed superior welfare condition as measured by lower HSP70 and higher 5-HT. Pre-slaughter long handling had minimal adverse effects on broiler chicken welfare condition and meat quality. Putting the data together, elevation of dietary TRP/LNAA is recommended as a practical measure to alleviate the adverse effects of stress on well-being of broiler chickens under stressful conditions.
Potential Energy Savings Due to Phase Change Material in a Building Wall Assembly: An Examination of Two Climates

Phase change material (PCM), placed in an exterior wall, alters the temperature profile within the wall and thus influences the heat transport through the wall. This may reduce the net energy transport through the wall via interactions with diurnal temperature swings in the external environment or reduce the electricity needed to meet the net load through the wall by shifting the time of the peak load to a time when the cooling system operates more efficiently. This study covers a broad range of parameters that can influence the effectiveness of such a merged thermal storage-thermal insulation system. These parameters included climate, PCM location within the wall, amount of PCM, midpoint of the PCM melting and freezing range relative to the indoor setpoint temperature, temperature range over which phase change occurs, and the wall orientation. Two climates are investigated using finite difference and optimization analyses: Phoenix and Baltimore, with two utility rate schedules. Although potential savings for a PCM with optimized properties were greater when the PCM was concentrated near the inside wall surface, other considerations described here lead to a recommendation for a full-thickness application. An examination of the temperature distribution within the walls also revealed the potential for thismore » system to reduce the amount of energy transported through the wall framing. Finally, economic benefits can exceed energy savings when time-of-day utility rates are in effect, reflecting the value of peak load reductions for the utility grid. « less
Labor market in Serbia: The problem of undeclared work

The focus of our research is the problem of undeclared work in the labor market in Serbia. We have investigated how frequent it is and what are the main reasons for it. Likewise, we have tested differences between different groups of employees and their level of undeclared work and their reasons for accepting it. The research is done based on the survey conducted in the Republic of Serbia in 2020. The obtained data from the survey was analysed by descriptive statistics, t-tests, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).