Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wireless Sensor Networks in Agriculture: Insights from Bibliometric Analysis

This study investigates how wireless sensor network (WSN) applications in agriculture are discussed in the current academic literature. On the basis of bibliometric techniques, 2444 publications were extracted from the Scopus database and analyzed to identify the temporal distribution of WSN research, the most productive journals, the most cited authors, the most influential studies, and the most relevant keywords. The computer program VOSviewer was used to generate the keyword co-occurrence network and partition the pertinent literature. Findings show the remarkable growth of WSN research in recent years. The most relevant journals, cited countries, and influential studies were also identified. The main results from the keyword co-occurrence clustering and the detailed analysis illustrate that WSN is a key enabler for precision agriculture. WSN research also focuses on the role of other technologies such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and unmanned aerial vehicles in supporting several agriculture activities, including smart irrigation and soil management. This study illuminates researchers’ and practitioners’ views of what has been researched and identifies possible opportunities for future studies. To the authors’ best knowledge, this bibliometric study represents the first attempt to map global WSN research using a comprehensive sample of documents published over nearly three decades.
Fast Reduced Graphene-Based Membranes with High Desalination Performance

Graphene-oxide (GO) membrane with notable ions sieving properties has attracted significant attention for many applications. However, because of the water swelling of GO membrane, the rejection of monovalent metal cations is generally low. In this work, we developed a fast and facile method to fabricate a kind of reduced GO membranes using the thermal treatment method at 160 °C for only one minute, which denoted as fast reduced GO membrane (FRGO). Surprising, the FRGO membrane represents high ion sieving ability and ultrahigh water/ions selectivity, compared with other reduced GO membranes with similar average interlayer spacings, and even superior to most of GO-based membranes reported in literature. Building on these findings, we provide a new light on fabricating of energy- and environment-related high desalination performance of GO-based membranes as well as a new insight into the transport mechanism within 2D laminar nanochannels.
A High Bandwidth Non-Destructive Method for Characterizing Simple Media

Abstract : The relative complex permittivity can be extracted with time domain data from a perfect electrical conductor (PEC) backed sample of a low-loss, non-dispersive dielectric using dual ridged waveguide aperture probes with attached PEC flange plates of the same geometry and different dimensions. The temporal domain measurement of interest is the ability to detect the reflection from the edge of the flange plate in the parallel region created by the flange plate and the PEC backing on the dielectric sample. Signal processing windows are applied to the data in order to exploit this edge reflection. The types of signal processing methods used and the geometry and size of the flange plate help identify the edge reflection. Measurements are taken using square and circular flange plates of different dimensions. Measured data is then processing using Kaiser and Blackman-Harris windows to show the edge reflection. A simple extraction technique for the permittivity is used and compared with industry standard values.
Environmental Messages in Boating Magazines: A Content Analysis of Recreational Power Boating Articles

This paper presents the results of a study analyzing the editorial content of consumer power boating magazines for messages of environmental responsibility. It presents evidence of a cause and effect relationship between recreational power boating and damage to the marine environment, and cites arguments that power boating in its currently popular form, involving high speeds and heavy fuel consumption, is inherently "unfriendly" to the environment. The paper describes a "chain of influence" through which boat manufacturers, in their role as advertisers, influence the editorial content of consumer boating magazines through the tactics of marketing public relations. A hypothesis is developed which states that publishers' commercial interests behoove them to publish editorial material generally supportive of their advertisers, hence promoting consumer behaviors that damage the environment through profligacy of fuel consumption leading to excessive engine emissions. Three magazines are selected for analysis, based on their high levels of influence and visibility within the consumer boating market: Boating, Motor Boating & Sailing, and Power & Motoryacht. These magazines maintain the largest circulation figures of all North American consumer power boating magazines, with a combined monthly circulation totaling more than one half million issues and a substantial "pass-along" readership. The hypothesis is tested using methods of content analysis. Separate tests are employed to analyze five different types of editorial content: textual content of boat test feature articles; photographic content of boat test feature articles; topical content of "howto" articles on two specific subjects (boat handling, and maintenance); topical content and "slant" of opinion columns; and topical content of feature articles explicitly addressing environmental issues. Test results fail to support the hypothesis, suggesting that special-
Travel Time Observation in Privacy Ensured Connected Vehicle Environment Using Partial Vehicle Trajectories and Extended Tardity

Connected vehicle technology is quickly developing as a substantial technology for future traffic monitoring and data collection. Unlike data provided by the traditional resources and traffic sensors, vehicle trajectories collected from connected vehicles include detailed spatial, temporal and operational characteristic. Once this data is available, a more complete understanding of traffic flow will be observable and performance based applications will positively impact the transportation system. Privacy concerns require that personal information be protected and connected vehicle applications operate without misuse of the available information. In this paper, a methodology is developed to both avoid violating the privacy of the road users and provide travel time estimation of the vehicles even when the vehicle IDs are changed. To accomplish this, an Extended Tardity (ET) function is proposed that utilizes trajectory fragments of the ID-changing vehicles. The methodology is tested using Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) simulation data built based on the Arizona Connected Vehicle Test Bed in Anthem, AZ. Case studies are conducted at three different levels including Link-level, Intersection-level, and Section-level under various traffic conditions and market penetration rates. The results show that the model is not sensitive to the penetration rate of the vehicles. The proposed method can be applied under low penetration rate situations while protecting the privacy of road users.
THE INTERACTION BETWEEN EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH – A CONDITION SINE QUA NON FOR ENGINEERS

In current times of innovation, the interaction between education and scientific research is a conditio sine qua non, also for (marine) engineers [1]. In general, the significance of scientific research for education is a topic that for years has been increasingly gaining attention by academics. In this paper we discuss the notion ‘nexus education-research’, its relevance for student learning, and its ultimate significance for the engineering world. As an example, the benefit of scientific research for the education of engineers resulting in the graduate degree of ‘professional bachelor in marine engineering’ will be discussed. How is this linking of research and education to be understood in terms of ‘learning’ in the minds of the students? Boyer (1990), Glassick (1997) and later also Griffiths (2004) and Healey (2005) discuss several types of student learning, ranging from research-led over research-oriented toward researchbased and research-tutored learning [2]. The latter two of these are obviously fed by scientific research. For engineers, the interaction between education and research is of utmost importance. At Antwerp Maritime Academy (AMA) this can be illustrated by the benefit of scientific research on projects like ‘condition monitoring and preventive maintenance of (ship) engines’. More specifically, the project is focused on the importance of joining the efforts between (rigorous) scientific research, valid (marine) industrial solutions and the education of future (marine) engineers. This coexistence is not common because the in-depth study of specific aspects from a scientific point of view does not always meet with the industrial objectives, which use to seek a direct and rapid solution of daily problems. On the other hand the development of the students’ understanding and students’ abilities are increased by carrying out (practically-based) research in cooperation with the industry. The interrelationship between education and research and its specific application to engineering are an interesting example for conference participants, especially for those who want to obtain a deeper understanding of how innovation can be nurtured by education that is in itself supported, cultivated and strengthened by (practically-based) scientific research.
Program Documentation and User's Guide: PCDDF89, Primary Consolidation and Desiccation of Dredged Fill.

Abstract : The US Army Corps of Engineers has developed a computer program to model consolidation and desiccation that occurs in confined dredged material placement sites; the program is entitled Primary Consolidation and Desiccation of Dredged Fill (PCDDF). The program is equally applicable to other soft, fine grained deposits. Although originally written for operation on a mainframe computer, the program has been modified to run on an IBM (or compatible) microcomputer with a math coprocessor. It has recently been extensively revised and modified into a more user friendly version that is referred to as PCDDF89. This report contains a brief description of the mathematical model used in PCDDF89 and an extensive user's guide. PCDDF89 simulates the consolidation and desiccation processes in fine grained soils using the finite strain theory of consolidation and an empirical desiccation model. Settlement is calculated for each compressible layer within the area, and a cumulative settlement for all dredged fill and compressible foundation layers is determined. Additional layers of dredged fill can be added at any time. A total of 25 types of dredged fill and 25 foundation layers can be analyzed in one simulation.
Energy Efficient Uplink Transmission in Cooperative mmWave NOMA Networks With Wireless Power Transfer

In 5G wireless networks, cooperative non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and wireless power transfer (WPT) are efficient ways to improve the spectral efficiency (SE) and energy efficiency (EE). In this paper, a new cooperative NOMA scheme with WPT is proposed, where EE optimization with a constrained maximum transmit power and minimum required SE is considered for the user grouping and transmit power allocation of users. We obtain a sub-optimal solution by decoupling the original problem in two sub-problems: an iterative algorithm is considered for the user grouping, while, in addition, we utilize the Bat Algorithm (BA) for solving the power allocation problem, where BA was proved to be able to achieve a higher accuracy and efficiency with respect to other meta-heuristic algorithms. Furthermore, to validate the performance of the proposed system, analytical expressions for the energy outage probability and outage probability of users are derived, confirming the effectiveness of the simulation results. It is demonstrated that the proposed cooperative NOMA with WPT offers a considerable improvement in terms of SE and EE of the network compared to other methods. Finally, the effectiveness of BA in solving the EE optimization problem is demonstrated through a high convergence speed by comparing it with other methods.
The role of learning organization in enhancing the implementation of National Dual Training System (NDTS) in Malaysia

The establishment of Learning Organisation (LO) practices in the Department of Skills Development (DSD) is significant in term of providing the necessary impetus for the implementation of National Dual Training System (NDTS). Within DSD the initiative will greatly foster its Enculturation of learning, procedure of learning, strengthen leadership capabilities for learning, enforce good policy for learning, establish the learning processes and ICT utilization for learning. Thus the purpose of this study is to investigate the significant variables that contribute to the level of LO practice (organizational performance in NDTS), to measure the relationships between the variables, to identify the level of LO practice in DSD and to propose improved method for the enhancement of NDTS implementation. This research design is categorised under the descriptive quantitative research, using survey, interview and structured questionnaires. Questionnaire forms were distributed to 111 out of the total of 250 DSD officers and 3 subject matter experts were interviewed. Frequency test, mean test, ANOVA test, Spearman‟s rho test, Multiple Linear Regression, G-Power test and factor analysis test were used to measure the inter-relationships between the variables and the level of LO practice in DSD. This research found that only 52.3% of the respondents perceived that LO practices level that enhance NDTS practice, is fairly satisfactory. This implies that the practice of LO in DSD needs to be further intensified. The research also confirmed that the level of LO practices are related with Enculturation of learning, Procedure of learning, Leadership capabilities development, Policy enforcement, Work processes, and ICT utilization. Apart from that, Enculturation of learning and, Procedure of learning and knowledge management are found to the two (2) significant predictors of the LO practices (organizational performance in NDTS). Consequently the level of LO practice in DSD could potentially enhance its functions through its active role in the enculturation and, procedure of learning and knowledge management. The value of Adjusted R Square of 0.427 indicates that Enculturation and procedure of learning and knowledge management contribute 42.7% variance in the level of LO practices that enhance NDTS. Finally the Model of the Roadmap for the Development of LO in DSD is developed to enhance NDTS implementation so that DSD can transform itself into an agile Learning Organization to meet the demands of the twenty-first century.
Breakthrough performance : accelerating the transformation of health care organizations

Tables, Figures, and Exhibits. Preface. The Authors. Health Care's New Sense of Urgency. The Relationship Between Business Excellence and Breakthrough Performance. Creating a Climate for Breakthrough Performance. The Characteristics of Breakthrough Performance. How Health Care Leaders Create Breakthrough Performance. Sharpening Your Customer Focus. Aligning the Organization for Action. Team Culture for Breakthrough Performance. Involving the Individual. Seven Indispensable Tools for Breakthrough. The Baldrige Criteria: Your Secret Weapon. Conclusion. Appendix A. A CompAndium of Questions for Breakthrough. Appendix B. Actions to Achieve Breakthrough. References. Index.
Using Multiple Level Fusion for Improving Performance of Speaker Recognition

In this paper, a multiple level fusion framework to apply into the automatic speaker recognition system in order to improve its performance is presented. Based on the framework, different multiple level fusion methods, such as a strong multiple level fusion and three weak multiple level fusions, are defined in this paper. To examine the effectiveness of the proposed framework, two-feature combination scheme would be considered. After investigating the availability of strong and weak multiple level fusions for this scheme, the framework adopts a weak multiple level fusion method which combines two level fusions, ie matching-score fusion and decisionmaking fusion. In the matching-score level, a commonly used method called the score vector fusion is adopted. In the decision-making level, the kernel combination, also known as Multiple Kernel Learning is chosen. These two techniques can be embedded into many automatic speaker recognition systems. Throughout the evaluation by NIST 2001 corpus, two sets of experiments were conducted that the results of the two-feature combination scheme by the multiple level fusions are better than the traditional matching-score level fusion and unimodal methods. It is demonstrated that the multiple level fusion framework is an effective method to fuse the features for speaker recognition applications.
X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry and Related Techniques: An Introduction

X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) is a well-established analytical technique for qualitative and quantitative elemental analysis of a wide variety of materials. It is known for its rapid speed and ease of use. All levels of professionals in materials science, analytic chemistry, and physics will benefit from the review of basic and newly developed technologies presented in this book. Highlights include: A basic introduction to XRF, including background on X-ray physics. Coverage of qualitative and quantitative analysis using XRF. Coverage of the design of low-power micro-focus tubes and novel X-ray optics and detectors. Benchtop and portable instrumentation that offer extreme simplicity of operation in a low-cost design. Extensive bibliographic references. Buyers Guide.
Parent Perspectives on Educational Needs of Students with Sex Chromosome Aneuploidies

Students with sex chromosome aneuploidies (SCAs) are at increased risk for learning disabilities and often require individualized supports in the school setting. This international survey study used qualitative methods and a bioecological systems framework to inductively capture parent perspectives on the challenges that occur in students with SCAs leading to the need for educational supports, how schools serve children with SCAs, and the types of educational supports that are most helpful. Analysis of parent responses emphasized that challenges with reading, executive function, reduced stamina, social skills deficits, and emotional dysregulation act as barriers to learning, and are frequently triggered by busy or noisy classroom environments led by educators unfamiliar with needs of students with SCAs. Further, skills hovering in the borderline range are common to the SCA phenotype, and are not often well served special education systems challenged by limited resources and strict cut-offs for qualification. Parents report the need to strongly advocate for their child to receive adequate school support services. We recommend developing robust family-school partnerships, increased collaboration between the school and the child’s medical team, and acknowledgement of the significant role the genetic condition plays in the educational experiences of students with SCAs. Specific suggestions for school support plans for students with SCAs are provided.
Preparing general technology teachers in China for new roles and responsibilities

This paper discusses the conceptualization, implementation and initial findings of a professional learning program (PLP) which used LEGO® robotics as one of the tools for teaching general technology (GT)in China’s secondary schools. The program encouraged teachers to design learning environments that can be realistic, authentic, engaging and fun. 100 general technology teachers from high schools in 30 provinces of China participated. The program aimed to transform teacher classroom practice, change their beliefs and attitudes, allow teachers to reflect deeply on what they do and in turn to provide their students with meaningful learning. Preliminary findings indicate that these teachers had a huge capacity for change. They were open-minded and absorbed new ways of learning and teaching. They became designers who developed innovative models of learning which incorporated learning processes that effectively used LEGO® robotics as one of the more creative tools for teaching GT.
SMALL MULTI-BAND PLANAR INVERTED-F ANTENNA FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS AND WLAN/WPAN APPLICATIONS

A small multi-band microstrip Planar Inverted-F Antenna (PIFA) is presented. It is intended to be used in small handsets for mobile communication systems, Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) and Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN) applications. The research effort as been focused in miniaturisation and adequate multi-band behaviour at the GSM1800, UMTS and IEEE 802.11b/Bluetooth frequency bands. A prototype has been designed, fabricated and tested. Good agreement has been obtained between numerical simulations and experimental results.
Exploitation of Self Organization in UAV Swarms for Optimization in Combat Environments

Abstract : This investigation focuses primarily on the development of effective target engagement for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms using autonomous self-organized cooperative control. This development required the design of a new abstract UAV swarm control model which flows from an abstract Markov structure, a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process. Self-organization features, bio-inspired attack concepts, evolutionary computation (multi-objective genetic algorithms, differential evolution), and feedback from environmental awareness are instantiated within this model. The associated decomposition technique focuses on the iterative deconstruction of the problem domain state and dynamically building-up of self organizational rules as related to the problem domain environment. Resulting emergent behaviors provide the appropriate but different dynamic activity of each UAV agent for statistically accomplishing the required multi-agent temporal attack task. The current application implementing this architecture involves both UAV flight formation behaviors and UAVs attacking targets in hostile environments. This temporal application has been quite successful in computational simulation (animation) with supporting statistical analysis. The effort reflects a considerable increase in effectiveness of UAV attacks related to a previous work with increased damage and decreased causalities. In the process of developing this capability an innovative paradigm shift in autonomous agent system design evolved. Heretofore, large dimensional agent systems were developed with an a priori fixed structure, usually with emphasis on top-down or bottom-up management, control, and sensor communication. Because of the fixed structure, extension to very large dimensional systems is generally impractical.