Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unit commitment by parallel simulated annealing

The paper investigates the application of parallel simulated annealing for unit commitment problems. Two parallel simulated annealing concepts, speculative computation and serial subset, are applied to a unit commitment problem of ten thermal generators. The authors also propose a combined scheme where speculative computation is used in the initial phase and the serial subset is used in the final phase. The parallel simulated annealing schemes are tested with an example problem and the results show that the parallel schemes can considerably speed up the computation of simulated annealing.
Interrupción voluntaria del embarazo en Latinoamérica, superando barreras

Introducción: el embarazo no planeado o no intencional y el aborto son situaciones que afectan la vida de mujeres a nivel mundial, sin distinción de etnia, edad, riqueza, o ubicación geográfica, sin embargo, tiene una mayor posibilidad de presentarse y generar consecuencias negativas en mujeres con ciertas determinantes sociales. Objetivo: mostrar el estado actual de la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo en países de Latinoamérica y del Caribe con énfasis en el reciente avance de la legislación argentina sucedido durante diciembre del 2020. Metodología: se realizó una búsqueda no estructurada de información sobre la legislación del aborto en países de Latinoamérica y del Caribe y se hizo una revisión de tema sobre aspectos actuales y relevantes de la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo. Conclusiones: es necesario que prestadores de servicios de salud y sociedad latinoamericana repasen las lecciones aprendidas de diferentes países sobre las consecuencias negativas para la salud de las mujeres y sus familias debido a las restricciones para acceder al aborto seguro. El mejoramiento de la calidad y las capacidades de los sistemas de salud en los países de bajos y medianos recursos, con mayor inversión e investigación en temas de salud sexual y reproductiva, resultará en la eliminación de barreras e inequidades en la prestación de atención médica a las mujeres, respetando sus derechos y autonomía.
Design of a PZN-PT piezoelectric linear motor

The focus of this paper is to design a small incremental linear motor that could have the potential performance for light load applications. Due to its superior piezoelectric coefficients, PZN-PT (Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO) is considered as a fungible material to conventional PZT. For the design of a lightweight linear motor, PZN-PT piezoelectric actuator was utilized to drive the motor due to its fast resopnse time and high piezoelectric coefficient. Furthermore, this paper presents the design and expected performances of a PZN-PT inchworm linear motor. We propose a new method of inchworm motion based on a novel electrode design using a single rectangular rod of PZN-PT single crystal piezoelectric material. The size of the monolithic PZN-PT linear motor can be very small (a length less than 5mm). The motor has a high-resolution positioning capability.
P‐21: n‐type Organic Thin Film Transistors with High Operational Stability

n-type organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) with high operational stability was demonstrated. The operational stability of N,N`-ditridecylperylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI-C13)-based OTFTs was improved by engineering organic semiconductor-gate insulator interface with hydrophobic polymers. Under high gate bias stress (equivalent to the electric field of 3MV/cm) for two hours, OTFTs with hydrophobic polymers showed small threshold voltage shift around 2 V. Moreover, the electron mobility was improved from 0.038 to 0.14–0.15 cm 2 /Vs with hydrophobic polymers.
Compact Neural Architecture Search for Local Climate Zones Classification

State-of-the-art Computer Vision models achieve impressive performance but with an increasing complexity. Great advances have been made towards automatic model design, but accounting for model performance and low complexity is still an open challenge. In this study, we propose a neural architecture search strategy for high performance low complexity classiﬁcation models, that combines an eﬃcient search algo-rithm with mechanisms for reducing complexity. We tested our proposal on a real World remote sensing problem, the Local Climate Zone clas-siﬁcation. The results show that our proposal achieves state-of-the-art performance, while being at least 91.8% more compact in terms of size and FLOPs.
With, Not for, Money: Ranch Management Trajectories of the Super-Rich in Greater Yellowstone

Despite the increasing concentration of wealth among high net worth (HNW) individuals and their rising influence as proprietors of natural resources worldwide, the discipline of geography has only recently begun to consider the interactions between the contemporary global super-rich and systems of environmental management. This article addresses a gap in the literature related to the social and ecological implications of ranches owned by the very wealthy. Drawing from a life course perspective, we complicate static representations of landowners and examine HNW ranchland ownership dynamics in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, an iconic conservation area in the U.S. West. Four stories about HNW ranches, compiled through a composite narrative approach, describe how ranch management practices and strategies play out over time and space. The result is a set of management trajectories linked to broader geographies of the super-rich where social–ecological outcomes related to an ability to ranch with, as opposed to for, money reinforces the connections between systems of wealth, elite interests, and land control. Our findings underscore a need for future scholarly efforts attuned to HNW ranch management trajectories as consequential drivers of change in rural areas and critical conservation areas.
Point-of-Care Testing and N-Acetylcysteine for Acute Acetaminophen Overdose

Evidence on the clinical utility and cost-effectiveness of point-of-care devices could not be identified. Two evidence-based guidelines recommend a 2-bag regimen of N-acetylcysteine, consisting of both a loading dose and maintenance dose, administered by IV for patients with acute acetaminophen overdose.
Traveling-wave tube devices with nonlinear dielectric elements

The performance of traveling-wave tube (TWT) amplifiers incorporating nonlinear dielectric elements is studied via computer simulation. Two different situations are investigated: (1) the use of nonlinear dielectric elements to reduce intermodulation distortion and (2) the use of voltage-controlled dielectrics to provide rapid modification of the dispersion characteristics of the slow-wave structure. In the first case, the use of dielectrics with negative second-order susceptibilities is studied as a means of reducing phase and intermodulation distortion. Use of these dielectrics along with dynamic velocity taper to reduce amplitude modulation distortion results in marked reduction of predicted intermodulation distortion. In the second case, the goal is to design an amplifying structure whose gain as a function of frequency can be varied electrically. Preliminary design studies show that relatively large changes in the center frequency of the amplification band can be achieved with relatively modest changes in the dielectric constant of helix support structure.
An Improved Interface Simulation Architecture

Changes made to system requirements late in development are more costly than revisions made early in development. There is, therefore, significant motivation to reduce the number of changes to a proposed system as development proceeds. Simulating a system allows developers to clarify and iteratively refine requirements specifications early in development. NASA has requested that a simulation architecture be developed that will allow developers to demonstrate the functionality of proposed systems and to evaluate the effectiveness of the user interface during the requirements phase of development. The process, which will be applied to on-board displays for Space Station Freedom [Moore, 1992], will allow developers to iteratively refine and clarify requirements before full-scale development (i.e. flight-code development) begins. Moore [1993a] has described a simulation architecture which allows for design of the displays, building of a low fidelity simulation of the system, establishment of a realtime connection between the interface and the simulator, and integration of an interface evaluation tool. Later, the interface that has been developed will be connected to a high fidelity simulator and finally to the actual on-board flight software. Minimizing the number of changes that need to be made during flight-code development will significantly reduce development costs.
Effects of Task-Irrelevant Cars on Judgments of Deceleration and Time-to-Contact During Car-Following

Rear-end collisions represent over 25% of crashes with other moving vehicles (NHTSA, 2005). Factors that potentially contribute to such accidents include a driver’s ability to respond to a lead car’s deceleration and to estimate how much time remains until a collision would occur (DeLucia & Tharanathan, 2009). Prior research (Oberfeld & Hecht, 2008) showed that time-to-contact (TTC) judgments of approaching objects were influenced by task-irrelevant distractor objects. This finding has implications for rear-end collisions when drivers must detect a lead car’s deceleration amidst surrounding cars. However, Oberfeld and Hecht simulated a stationary observer rather than a moving observer which is more representative of driving. We measured effects of task-irrelevant distractor cars on judgments of a lead car’s deceleration during simulations of self motion. Observers viewed car-following scenarios in which only a lead car was present or a lead car and two distractor cars were present in adjacent lanes. The lead car decelerated 10 s or 15 s after the scene’s onset, at either 4 ft/s2 (slow) or 10 ft/s2 (fast). The distractor cars decelerated earlier, later, or at the same time as the lead car, or never decelerated. Brake lights were disabled. Observers were instructed to maintain 40 mph and to press a button as soon as the lead car decelerated. Mean response time was significantly longer in the presence of distractor cars when the lead car decelerated 15 s after the scene’s onset, at 4 ft/s2. In a separate study of a TTC (prediction-motion) task used by Oberfeld and Hecht, car-following speed was pre-set to 40 mph, and the lead car decelerated for 3 s and then disappeared. Observers pressed a button when they thought a collision would occur. Distractor cars affected TTC judgments only when deceleration was concurrent with the lead car. In contrast to deceleration detection, TTC judgments were significantly shorter when distractor cars were present compared with absent, suggesting that effects of distractor cars are task-dependent. In summary, task-irrelevant distractor cars can affect deceleration detection and TTC judgments. The implication is that drivers cannot always ignore task-irrelevant cars on the road. Cars on lanes that do not have immediate consequences for a rear-end collision nevertheless may affect a driver’s response to a lead car’s deceleration. Warning systems designed to prevent rear-end collisions may be needed more in relatively dense traffic when drivers are potentially distracted by task-irrelevant cars.
An energy efficiency index for elastic actuators during resonant motion

Abstract The energetic advantages of series and parallel elastic actuators have been characterized in the literature considering different elastic systems and different tasks. These characterizations usually determine the energy consumption of a specific system during a specific task and generalize poorly. This paper proposes an energetic characterization of elastic actuators, following an analytical approach, rather than a data-driven one. In particular, this work analyzes the energy consumption of elastic actuators during resonant motion and introduces a novel efficiency index. This index characterizes energy consumption as a function of inherent actuator parameters only, generalizing over the specific tasks. The proposed analysis is validated using simulations and experiments, demonstrating its coherence with analytical results.
Neo-Robust Control Theory (Part I) Uncertainty Model and Robust Stability Analysis

The celebrated small-gain approach to robust con­ trol only makes use of the gain information of uncertainty. This results in a limitation on the achievable control bandwidth in system design. On the other hand, the alternative passivity approach has only limited applications. To relax the limitations associated with small-gain and pas­ sivity approaches, we explore the possibility of utilizing both the gain and the phase information of uncertainty in robust control design. The modelling of uncertainty accounting for both gain and phase is discussed first. Then conditions for the robust stability are derived. These conditions are described as either phase or gain constraints on the nominal system in finite frequency bands. Finally, it is revealed, both theoretically and via a HDD benchmark, that by using the phase information of uncertainty, much higher robust performance can be achieved than the existing small-gain and passivity approaches.
Comparison of Family and Non-Family Businesses in Terms of Family Performance and Economic Development

Family businesses that along with high economic performance have high internal family consistency are known as The most successful businesses of this type. This study aimed to compare the economic development and family function of family and nonfamily businesses. study was conducted in the carpet industry in the cities of Kashan, Aran and Bidgol that are hub of this industry in Iran. Its implementation took time from January 2011 to September 2012. Causal-comparative research method was chosen. Population was the managers / owners of carpet firms of Kashan and Aran Bidgol city which are carpet industrial hub in this country. Among them 122 members were selected through stratified random sampling as the sample society. research method was Causal-comparative. Family Function Device and Economic Development Questionnaire were used for data collection. Data were analyzed by independent T-test and MANOVA. Analysis of the results showed that in terms of economic development and family performance of family and non-family carpet industry, there is no difference between two groups. According to this result, to grow and maintain its competitiveness in the carpet industry, preserve precious heritage and transmit it to next generations, family businesses, should seek to promote their economic growth and performance and try to promote coordination, cooperation and synergy system.
Monitoring technique for vitamin B2 and water content in plants for producing vegetables

Optical sensing techniques have become important tools in agricultural engineering to enhance human health and welfare by increasing farm productivity and controlling agronomic practices. If nutrients needed for human health could be monitored in real time, the amount of these nutrients contained in vegetables could be controlled to some extent by adjusting the growth conditions in green houses or open fields. The authors have developed viable methods to detect the water and vitamin B2 content in living plants using optical reflection, absorption, or fluorescence monitoring. Compact and mobile equipment has also been developed for this purpose. The equipment consists of light emitting diodes (LEDs), a compact spectrometer, and a fibre optic system with a lens. The optical reflection from, absorption in, or fluorescence from growing leaves were monitored under LED illumination, and the water or vitamin B2 content could then be measured in growing vegetables. The vegetables used were mainly Jew’s mallows (Corchorus olitorius) and leaf lettuces, which were grown in our laboratory atmosphere. The applicability of these techniques to growing vegetables to benefit human health and welfare is demonstrated in this paper, based on practical data.
Intelligent environments for informal public spaces : the Ki/o Kiosk platform

The Ki/o Kiosk Project was a research effort to explore the potential applications for embedding computation in informal public spaces, such as hallways, building lobbies, and break areas. By deploying a prototype kiosk network, the ki/o Project identified challenges, requirements, and design criteria for designing kiosk Intelligent Environments, and fielded community reactions to the system. Thesis Supervisor: Howard E. Shrobe Title: Principal Research Scientist
Triggers of Escalations in Violence Against Civilians by Non-State Actors in Africa

ABSTRACT Although past research has addressed why civilians are targeted, we know less about why non-state actors escalate violence against civilians at particular times. This article seeks to identify the events that trigger spikes in violence against civilians committed by non-state actors. We employ an innovative method to identify twenty-four such escalations in Africa committed by twenty different non-state groups between 1989 and 2015. Rigorous case studies reveal three major types of triggers, including situations in which (1) groups lose relative power, (2) groups gain relative power, and (3) opponents attack civilians. Specifically, we find that opponent military advances—which results in a relative loss of power for the non-state actor—are the most common trigger. More broadly, 75 percent of all escalations are tied to a group’s relative loss in power. These results improve understandings of civilian targeting by non-state actors and may inform efforts to forecast such violence before it occurs.
VNE-HRL: A Proactive Virtual Network Embedding Algorithm Based on Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning

Virtual network embedding (VNE) that instantiates virtualized networks on a substrate infrastructure, is one of the key research problems for network virtualization. Most existing VNE approaches, however, focus on the current virtual network request (VNR) and treat all VNRs equally, which disregard the long-term impact and waste many resources on the process of embedding infeasible VNRs (i.e., VNRs that cannot be embedded completely). To address these problems, a proactive virtual network embedding algorithm based on hierarchical reinforcement learning, VNE-HRL, is proposed in this paper. Within our framework, the VNE task is performed by a two-level agent that considers both the long-term impact of a VNR and the short-term effect of an embedding action. For each processing, a high-level agent aims to select a currently feasible VNR with the maximum long-term reward from a window-based batch, and a low-level agent is assigned to embed the selected VNR on a substrate infrastructure by performing a series of embedding actions. Extensive simulation results indicate that our algorithm best performance on most metrics compared with existing state-of-the-art solutions, with up to 9.92% and 33.03% improvement on acceptance ratio and average revenue.
Selecting Profitable Hotel Sites at La Quinta Motor Inns

Selecting a good site plays a crucial role in the success of a hotel, and as competition intensifies in the lodging industry, it has become increasingly important. The success of a site is based on competitive, demographic, physical, market awareness, and demand generator variables. We built a regression model for La Quinta Motor Inns, a mid-sized hotel chain headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, that predicted profitability for sites under consideration. We validated the regression model on new data and incorporated it into a spreadsheet decision model that management uses for selecting sites. The model minimizes the risk of picking an unprofitable site.
Congenital Epulis: A Two-Case Report

Congenital epulis is a rare benign tumor of the newborn that could be detected in the prenatal period. Females are more often affected than males and the premaxillary region is usually the predilection site for this oral mass. Excision is the treatment of choice and no recurrences have been reported so far. We present our experience with two cases of congenital epulis, detected in the second trimester of gestation and treated shortly after birth with no further complications. Histopathology should differentiate between congenital epulis and other congenital oral tumors even if its clinical appearance is usually enough to make a tentative diagnosis. A multidisciplinary assessment in the management of this tumor can avoid unwanted complications such as airway obstruction or bleeding.
Frequency and genotype distribution of hepatitis C virus infection in patients with diabetes type 2 in Ahvaz, Iran

Background and Objectives: Diabetes is recognized as a great concern and a public health problem worldwide. Several factors including environmental and genetic factors have been involved. Recently, infectious agents such as hepatitis C virus (HCV) have been reported to be associated with diabetes. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the frequency of HCV infection among patients with diabetes type 2 in Ahvaz city, Iran. Materials and Methods: A case-control study design was conducted at Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. A total of 600 study subjects were included in this research. All the patient sera were tested for Anti-HCV antibody, HBsAg, and HIV antibody. The sera of positive Anti-HCV antibody, were assayed for 5′- UTR and core regions of the HCV genome by Nested RT-PCR. Finally, the HCV genotyping was determined by sequencing. Results: The prevalence of HCV in type 2 diabetes and nondiabetic controls was 2% and 0.33%, respectively. The distribution of HCV genotypes among the HCV-positive patients were 3a (1.66%) and 1a (0.33%). Conclusion: To control and improve the treatment, the screening of HCV infection with anti-HCV antibody was followed by molecular techniques such as PCR and HCV genotyping which should be implemented for all patients with diabetes type 2.
Cat Sounds Classification with Convolutional Neural Network

In this study, we attempt to use a convolutional neural network (CNN) to identify cats’ different sounds. CNN is proven to classify different patterns from the spectro-temporal features of a sound and thus well suited for sound classification. We will perform data transformation using mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) to extract the sound frequency to apply this method. In MFCCs, each frequency bin is quasi-logarithmically spaced so that it resembles the resolution of the human auditory system compared to the spectrogram. We will be using four convolutional layers of CNN architecture with a pooling layer and dense layer as the output layer in our model. From the sound ontology Audio set, we can collect 595 different sound data classified into five categories of cat sounds, which we used to train our model. From our training process, our model can achieve a classification accuracy of 88.473254%. In the future, we look forward to improving our model accuracy by adding more data and even out each label to reduce overfitting. We would also like to implement a data augmentation method on our dataset to improve our model accuracy.
A New Approach to Stability Analysis for Stochastic Hopfield Neural Networks With Time Delays

This article is devoted to the existence and the global stability of stationary solutions for stochastic Hopfield neural networks with time delays and additive white noises. Using the method of random dynamical systems, we present a new approach to guarantee that the infinite-dimensional stochastic flow generated by stochastic delay differential equations admits a globally attracting random equilibrium in the state-space of continuous functions. An example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of our results, and the forward trajectory synchronization will occur.