Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design and Implementation of Microfluidic Systems for Bacterial Biofilm Monitoring and Manipulation

Title of Dissertation: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF MICROFLUIDIC SYSTEMS FOR BACTERIAL BIOFILM MONITORING AND MANIPULATION Mariana Tsacoumis Meyer, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Directed By: Professor Reza Ghodssi, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute for Systems Research Bacterial biofilms – pathogenic matrices formed through bacterial communication and subsequent extracellular matrix secretion – characterize the majority of clinical bacterial infections. Biofilms exhibit increased resistance to conventional antibiotics, necessitating development of alternative treatments. Standard microbiological methods for studying biofilms often rely on in vitro systems with involved instrumentation for biofilm quantification, or destroy the biofilm in the process of characterization. Additionally, biofilm formation is sensitive to many growth parameters, and can exhibit a large degree of variability between repeated experiments. This dissertation presents the development of systems designed to address these challenges through integration of continuous biofilm monitoring in a microfluidic platform, and through creation of a microfluidic platform for multiple assays performed on one biofilm formed in a single channel. The microsystems developed in this work provide building blocks for developing controlled, high throughput testbeds for development and evaluation of drugs targeting bacterial biofilms. The first platform developed relied on optical density monitoring as a means for evaluating biofilm formation. This method was noninvasive, as it used an external light source and array of photodiodes to evaluate biofilms by the amount of light transmitted through the microfluidic channel where they were grown. The optical density biofilm measurement method and microfluidic platform were used to evaluate the dependence of biofilm formation on quorum sensing, an autoinducer-mediated intercellular communication process. This system was also used in the first demonstration of biofilm inhibition and reduction by two different autoinducer-2 analogs. The second microfluidic system developed addressed the challenge of variability in biofilm formation. Biofilms formed in a single microfluidic channel were partitioned by hydraulically actuated valves into three separate segments, which were then treated as representatives of the original biofilm in further experiments. A novel photoresist passivation process was developed in order to create the multi-depth channels needed to accommodate both valve actuation and biofilm formation. Biofilms grown in the device were uniform throughout, providing reliable experimental controls within the system. Biofilm partitioning was demonstrated by exposing three segments of one biofilm to varying detergent concentrations. DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF MICROFLUIDIC SYSTEMS FOR BACTERIAL BIOFILM MONITORING AND MANIPULATION
A conceptual model for Multihazard assessment of the vulnerability of historic buildings

It is difficult t o predict the vulnerability of historic building s in relation to d e- structive natural events due to their structural complexities and the condition of the built mate- rials. Physical damage to such buildings not only causes material loss but also results in loss of cultural significance. This paper presents a methodology, MHAV(historic buildings), to assess the effects of earthquakes, windstorms, floods and lightening. The model adopted a 3 tiered as- sessment approach: Tier 1 involves the hazard screening of the highlighted natural perils to identify the relative damageability of a given historic building; tier 2 takes those hazards that exceed a given threshold, and through a process of building disassembly, the expected losses under a given disaster are predicted. Tier 3 is reserved for an analytical study of highlighted elements which warrant a more in-depth evaluation of the potential damage state. It is consid- ered that this model is robust and simple in its operation and provides a cost-effective means of evaluating the vulnerability of historic buildings to natural disasters. The results derived from the model can enable intervention priorities and mitigation strategies to be developed. An Eng- lish parish churches is used to demonstrate the application of key sections of the model.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SPEED MONITORING PROGRAM FOR INDIANA. SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT

From the passage of the National Maximum Speed Limit (NMSL) of 55 mph in 1974, through its repeal in 1995, speed monitoring programs have been mandated by the federal government. The speed-monitoring program was primarily intended to provide reliable data to be included as a part of the State's annual certification in order to be approved for Federal Aid highway projects. The repeal of the NMSL in 1995 not only authorized states to set their own speed limits, it also allowed states to develop their own speed monitoring programs. The goal of this research is to provide the framework for a speed-monitoring program to meet the needs of agencies and organizations that use speed-monitoring data in the State of Indiana. A proposed speed monitoring plan is developed which distributes speed monitoring stations to highway classes according to three primary criteria: spatial distribution, crash distribution, and distribution of daily vehicle miles traveled. The proposed speed-monitoring program will utilize 38 existing speed, weigh-in-motion (WIM), and automated traffic recording (ATR) stations. The stations will be monitored four times a year for a 24-hour period. Furthermore, the proposed program will monitor speeds based on vehicle length. It is the recommendation of this research that Indiana phase in the proposed speed-monitoring plan developed in the present research, during the 1999 calendar year. The implementation should include a visual inspection of all the WIM, ATR, and speed monitoring stations listed in Appendix A to ensure they are still capable of monitoring speeds by vehicle class and travel direction. If any problems should arise with the existing stations, that station should be substituted for another station within that district and highway class. This report is a supplemental report to the main report of the study, FHWA/IN/JTRP-99/14, which will be published in December 1999.
Hydro-Thermal Modeling for Geothermal Energy Extraction from Soultz-Sous-forêts, France

The deep geothermal industrial project at Soultz-sous-Forêts is located in the Upper Rhine Graben, France. As part of the MEET project, this study aims to evaluate the possibility of extracting higher amounts of energy from the existing industrial infrastructure. To achieve this objective, the effect of reinjecting fluid at lower temperature than the current fluid injection temperature of 70 ℃ was modelled and the drop in the production wellhead temperature for 100 years of operation was quantified. Two injection-production rate scenarios were considered and compared for their effect on overall production wellhead temperature. For each scenario, reinjection temperatures of 40 ℃, 50 ℃ and 60 ℃ were chosen and compared with the 70 ℃ injection case. For the lower production rate scenario, the results show that the production wellhead temperature is approximately 1-1.5 ℃ higher than for the higher production rate scenario after 100 years of operation. In conclusion, no significant thermal breakthrough has been observed with the applied flow rates and lowered injection temperatures even after 100 years of operation.
The Impact of Product Contamination in a Multi-Stage Food Supply Chain

The Impact of Product Contamination in a Multi-Stage Food Supply Chain. (May 2012) Vijaya B. Chebolu-Subramanian, B.S.; M.S., Osmania University; M.S., University of Maryland, College Park Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Gary M. Gaukler Food product contamination leading to a food borne illness is real and has potentially devastating impact on supply chain operations and cost. However, it is not well understood from the quantitative perspective. This research seeks to fill this gap by providing a generic model of a multi-stage food supply chain consisting of a supplier/grower, processing center and retailer(s) and analyzing the impact of food product contamination in this model. The supplier corresponds to the farm/grower of the raw material such as fruits and vegetables, the processing center processes the raw material into a final food product and the retailer corresponds to the supermarkets and grocery stores selling the food product to a customer. A situation where a contamination occurs at the supplier or processing center potentially resulting in a food borne illness to the customer is considered. The contamination is discovered through periodic sampling tests conducted by the grower, processing center or through the outbreak of a food borne illness. The supply chain is modeled utilizing a G/G/1 queuing system at the processing center and an orderup to policy at the retailer(s).
Reliability Analysis and Prediction of Wind Turbine Gearboxes

This paper presents a reliability analysis model of wind turbine gearboxes by developing a generic gearbox configuration and modular structure. It encapsulates all the reliability critical components within the gearbox subsystem in a wind turbine. Reliability block diagrams of gearbox modules and components have been established by using Relex Reliability Analysis software. Failure rates of the critical components are estimated by applying existing industrial standards and datasheets for general mechanical applications. Results of failure rates and reliability of three generic gearbox configurations have been obtained. To improve the reliability prediction of wind turbine gearbox, an advanced prediction model based on failure modes and load carrying capability of individual components under operational conditions has been discussed. This research has highlighted the importance of validation of the reliability prediction models using available field failure data, which could be only possible through collaborations of wind farm owners, WT manufacturers, gearbox manufacturers, and bearing manufacturers.
Learning from California’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Program

The Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program was initiated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in 1990 with a directive at achieving significant new emission reductions from the state's passenger vehicle fleet. It essentially set a sales mandate in place for battery-electric vehicles. In this essay, the authors relate that there have not been cost and performance improvements of battery-electric vehicles, and as such, a different program should be pursued. The authors first look at the relationship between the ZEV program and technology development. This is followed by an examination of the environmental outcomes of theZEV program. Finally, the authors look at what lessons can be be learned from the ZEV program. They conclude that a technology-neutral program may be more appropriate, such as one in which incremental yet signifincant advances are supported in conventional internal combusion engine vehicles.
Variable screening in multivariate linear regression with high-dimensional covariates

We propose two variable selection methods in multivariate linear regression with high-dimensional covariates. The first method uses a multiple correlation coefficient to fast reduce the dimension of the relevant predictors to a moderate or low level. The second method extends the univariate forward regression of Wang [(2009). Forward regression for ultra-high dimensional variable screening. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 104(488), 1512–1524. https://doi.org/10.1198/jasa.2008. tm08516] in a unified way such that the variable selection and model estimation can be obtained simultaneously. We establish the sure screening property for both methods. Simulation and real data applications are presented to show the finite sample performance of the proposed methods in comparison with some naive method.
Essential Virtual Reality Fast: How to Understand the Techniques and Potential of Virtual Reality

From the Publisher: Essential Virtual Reality fast tells you what is and isn't VR! John Vince provides a potted history of Virtual Reality and explains in easy-to-understand terms what computer graphics are and how they are integral to VR systems. You'll see how important it is to understand the part human factors have to play in creating a good VR system (sound, sight, touch and balance) and take a look at a working VR system. You'll get the answers to questions like: What hardware and software is used? How does multi-user VR work? Can you network VR? What are the applications? What is the future for VR? And you'll have a far better understanding of the impact these exciting techniques will have on our everyday lives.
Modeling of ambient O3: a comparative study

Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental concerns. Besides passive monitoring, the recent trend is shifting towards prediction of pollutants levels for near and far future. Since the pollution sources are constantly changing the need for adaptive modeling and prediction rises. This results in usage of variety of different machine learning algorithms for modeling. Recently, support vector machines (SVMs) and fuzzy identification are becoming very popular tools for modeling environmental systems. Both methods have short learning and execution time. The aim of this study is to examine the performances of the models built with these two methods. The modeling techniques are applied to real data for summer and winter 2005.
Contribution à l'étude expérimentale du transport dans les transistors de dimensions déca-nanométriques des technologies CMOS sub 45nm

La miniaturisation des composants electroniques qui permet aujourd'hui une integration a grande echelle a ete possible grâce aux innovations des procedes de fabrication. Ces modifications affectent profondement le comportement electrique des transistors MOS lorsque la longueur de grille devient inferieure a 100nm, alterant notre comprehension physique de ce dispositif. Ce travail de these se situe dans le domaine de l'etude des performances des transistors fabriques dans les filieres avancees (technologies sub-45nm) et l'analyse de leur reponse electrique. Il propose d'ameliorer les methodologies existantes et apporte de nouvelles techniques d'extraction qui permettent une analyse des parametres electriques valide dans un environnement industriel, sur des transistors courts. L'utilisation des ces nouvelles techniques permet une comprehension physique plus juste, utile pour predire les performances des technologies futures.
Hydrodynamic Analysis of C-start in Crucian Carp

The kinematics of turning maneuvers of startled Crucian Carp (Carassius auratus) are presented. All escape responses observed are C-type fast-starts. The position of the center of mass and the moment of inertia of the fish are calculated.The results show that the position of the center of mass is always at 35 % of the length of the fish from the head and the position of the center of mass and moment of inertia can be considered unchanged during C-start of Crucian Carp. Hydrodynamic analysis of the C-start is given based on the kinematics data from our experiments. The C-start consists of three stages. In stage 1, the tail fin of fish rapidly flaps in one direction, and a large moment acts on the fish's body, which rotates around the center of mass with an angular acceleration. In stage 2, the tail fin flaps more slowly in the opposite direction at slower speed, the fish's body rotates around the center of mass with angular deceleration and the center of mass of the fish moves along an arc. In stage 3, the moment approximately equals zero, the fish's body stops rotating and the center of mass the moves along a straight line.
Association Analysis Between Different Diabetic Family History and Gender with Diagnosed Age of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cross-Sectional Study in Tianjin, China

Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was previously considered a common disease in middle-aged and older people, but the age of diagnosis of T2DM is advancing every year, and the trend toward a younger age is obvious. Early-onset T2DM is a clinical syndrome caused by genetic and environmental factors. This study aimed to investigate the association between diabetic family history and gender with the diagnosed age of T2DM. Methods The newly diagnosed T2DM patients admitted to the diabetes identification center of Tianjin 4th Central Hospital (TJ4thch) from October 2017 to June 2020 were registered. According to whether the diagnosis age is over 40 years old, patients were divided into 2 groups (early-onset T2DM group and late-onset T2DM group). In the study, the T2DM family history was divided into 5 types: (a) Father T2DM: father with T2DM, but not the mother; (b) Mother T2DM: mother with T2DM, but not the father; (c) Both parents with T2DM; (d) Another relative(s) (other than the parents) with a history of T2DM; and (e) Without a family history of T2DM. The diagnosed age with different genders and diabetic family history was compared. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association factors of early-onset T2DM. Results A total of 3725 patients completed the survey. There were 589 patients (15.8%) with early-onset T2DM, and 2469 patients (66.3%) had a diabetic family history. The T2DM-diagnosed age in males was lower than in females (51.7 ± 11.2 vs 54.0 ± 10.2, P = .000). The result was also reflected in the different T2DM family histories (with Both parents T2DM, 46.7 ± 11.1 vs 48.5 ± 10.3, P = .271; with Father T2DM, 46.8 ± 10.8 vs 49.8 ± 11.3, P = .005; with Mother T2DM, 50.4 ± 10.6 vs 52.3 ± 10.2, P = .019; with Other T2DM family history, 54.0 ± 10.8 vs 55.7 ± 9.5, P = .008; with no T2DM family history, 53.0 ± 11.0 vs 55.9 ± 9.3, P = .000). The order of the T2DM-diagnosed age in the different groups was Both parents T2DM (47.5 ± 11.0) and Father T2DM (47.9 ± 11.1) family history < that with Mother T2DM family history (51.1 ± 10.5) < that with Other T2DM family history (54.7 ± 10.3) and no T2DM family history (54.1 ± 10.5). Logistic regression analysis indicated that gender (OR, 1.733; P = .000), Father T2DM history (OR, 2.738; P = .000), Mother T2DM history (OR, 1.536; P = .001), Both parents T2DM (OR, 2.866; P = .000) and body mass index (OR, 1.108, P = .000) were correlated with early-onset T2DM. Conclusion Patients with early-onset T2DM tend to have a more obvious T2DM family history in China. This survey shows that when a parent has a T2DM family history, especially the father with T2DM, male patients are diagnosed with T2DM earlier. We need more intensive screening for diabetes in children with a family history of diabetes, especially in male children.
US Army Health Service Support in 2025

Abstract : The US Army Medical Department (AMEDD) is in the process of developing new concepts to support the Army's transformation. Its current mission is to conserve the fighting strength of US Army forces, providing force health protection to forces in a theater of operations; however, what about the future? What are the changes required to support the Army Future Force of 2025? The purpose of this monograph is to conduct a holistical examination of the US Army's medical functional areas starting with the Vietnam War and includes a current medical analysis of the US Army Future Force. The monograph considers not only historical trends from past reports, but also examination of a Future Force scenario by applying systematic analysis of Level 1 through 3 health care. The result is the capture of critical medical issues associated with medical support to support the Future Force in a contemporary environment.
Ground-Based Wireless Positioning

Ground Based Wireless Positioning provides an in-depth treatment of non-GPS based wireless positioning techniques, with a balance between theory and engineering practice. The book presents the architecture, design and testing of a variety of wireless positioning systems based on the time-of-arrival, signal strength, and angle-of-arrival measurements. These techniques are essential for developing accurate wireless positioning systems which can operate reliably in both indoor and outdoor environments where the Global Positioning System (GPS) proves to be inadequate. The book covers a wide range of issues including radio propagation, parameter identification, statistical signal processing, optimization, and localization in large and multi-hop networks. A comprehensive study on the state-of-the-art techniques and methodologies in wireless positioning and tracking is provided, including anchor-based and anchor-free localisation in wireless sensor networks (WSN). The authors address real world issues such as multipath, non-line-of-sight (NLOS) propagation, accuracy limitations and measurement errors. Presenting the latest advances in the field, Ground Based Wireless Positioning is one of the first books to cover non-GPS based technologies for wireless positioning. It serves as an indispensable reference for researchers and engineers specialising in the fields of localization and tracking, and wireless sensor networks. Provides a comprehensive treatment of methodologies and algorithms for positioning and tracking Includes practical issues and case studies in designing real wireless positioning systems Explains non-line-of-sight (NLOS) radio propagation and NLOS mitigation techniques Balances solid theory with engineering practice of non-GPS wireless systems
Emergent geometric organization and informative dimensions in coevolutionary algorithms

Coevolutionary algorithms vary entities which can play two or more distinct, interacting roles, with the hope of producing raw material from which a highly-capable composition can be constructed. Ranging in complexity from autodidactic checkers-learning systems to the evolution of competing agents in 3-d simulated physics, applications of these algorithms have proved both motivating and perplexing. Successful applications inspire further application, supporting the belief that a correctly implemented form of evolution by natural selection can produce highly-capable entities with minimal human input or intervention. However, the successes to date have generated limited insight into how to transfer success to other domains. On the other hand, failed applications leave behind a frustratingly opaque trace of misbehavior. In either case, the question of what worked or what went wrong is often left open. One impediment to understanding the dynamics of coevolutionary algorithms is that the interactive domains explored by these algorithms typically lack an explicit objective function. Such a function is a clear guide for judging the progress or regress of an algorithm. However, in the absence of an explicit yardstick to judge the value of coevolving entities, how should they be measured? To begin addressing this question, we start with the observation that in any interaction, an entity is not only performing a task, it is also informing about the capabilities of its interactants. In other words, an interaction can provide a measurement. Entities themselves can therefore be treated as measuring rods, here dubbed informative dimensions, against which other entities are incented to improve. It is argued that when entities are only incented to perform well, and adaptation of the function of measurement is neglected, algorithms tend not to keep informative dimensions and thus fail to produce high-performing entities. It is demonstrated empirically that algorithms which are sensitized to these yardsticks through an informativeness mechanism have better dynamic behavior; in particular, known pathologies such as overspecialization, cycling, or relative overgeneralization are mitigated. We argue that in these cases an emergent geometric organization of the population implicitly maintains informative dimensions, providing a direction to the evolving population and so permitting continued improvement.