Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nonlinear Aeroelastic Analysis of Control Surface with Freeplay Using Computational-Fluid-Dynamics-Based Reduced-Order Models

A computational-fluid-dynamics-based aeroelastic analysis method is proposed to simulate control-surface limit-cycle oscillation (LCO) induced by freeplay gap. The present method is based on the previously proposed aeroelastic reduced-order model (ROM), in which an unsteady aerodynamic state-space model is generated from aerodynamic responses to step excitation of individual mode using the eigensystem realization algorithm, and connected to a structural dynamic state-space model within the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. The aeroelastic ROM is extended to treat structural nonlinearity due to the control-surface freeplay by generating an additional feedback line of generalized residual forces in the SIMULINK model. To reduce the problem size and the computation time, a fictitious-mass modal approach is used, which can afford the possible local change of stiffness. The present method is first validated for its capability to simulate aeroelastic responses of a regional-jet horizontal-tail (HT) model without fre.
A novel integrated chassis controller for full drive-by-wire vehicles

In this paper, a systematic design with multiple hierarchical layers is adopted in the integrated chassis controller for full drive-by-wire vehicles. A reference model and the optimal preview acceleration driver model are utilised in the driver control layer to describe and realise the driver's anticipation of the vehicle's handling characteristics, respectively. Both the sliding mode control and terminal sliding mode control techniques are employed in the vehicle motion control (MC) layer to determine the MC efforts such that better tracking performance can be attained. In the tyre force allocation layer, a polygonal simplification method is proposed to deal with the constraints of the tyre adhesive limits efficiently and effectively, whereby the load transfer due to both roll and pitch is also taken into account which directly affects the constraints. By calculating the motor torque and steering angle of each wheel in the executive layer, the total workload of four wheels is minimised during normal driving, whereas the MC efforts are maximised in extreme handling conditions. The proposed controller is validated through simulation to improve vehicle stability and handling performance in both open- and closed-loop manoeuvres.
The Design of an Intelligent Robotic Wheelchair Supporting People with Special Needs, Including for Their Visual System

The paper aims to study the applicability and limitations of the solution resulting from a design process for an intelligent system supporting people with special needs who are not physically able to control a wheelchair using classical systems. The intelligent system uses information from smart sensors and offers a control system that replaces the use of a joystick. The necessary movements of the chair in the environment can be determined by an intelligent vision system analyzing the direction of the patient’s gaze and point of view, as well as the actions of the head. In this approach, an important task is to detect the destination target in the 3D workspace. This solution has been evaluated, outdoor and indoor, under different lighting conditions. In order to design the intelligent wheelchair, and because sometimes people with special needs also have specific problems with their optical system (e.g., strabismus, Nystagmus) the system was tested on different subjects, some of them wearing eyeglasses. During the design process of the intelligent system, all the tests involving human subjects were performed in accordance with specific rules of medical security and ethics. In this sense, the process was supervised by a company specialized in health activities that involve people with special needs. The main results and findings are as follows: validation of the proposed solution for all indoor lightning conditions; methodology to create personal profiles, used to improve the HMI efficiency and to adapt it to each subject needs; a primary evaluation and validation for the use of personal profiles in real life, indoor conditions. The conclusion is that the proposed solution can be used for persons who are not physically able to control a wheelchair using classical systems, having with minor vision deficiencies or major vision impairment affecting one of the eyes.
Actualizing lean construction: Barriers toward the implementation

Article history: Lean thinking has been regarded as a success strategy in mass production, realizing cost and time saving while simultaneously improving competitive position in the market. It also can be interpret as a philosophy based on the concept of lean manufacturing. It is about managing and improving the construction process to profitably deliver what the customer need. Despite all the benefits that can be gained by implementing the idea of lean construction, all industry player need to consider the barriers obstructing its application. Through a review of a literature there are numbers of barrier that can be identified. The barriers toward the implementation are discussed in this paper.
Quasi-static analysis of asymmetric cylindrical coplanar waveguides with finite-extent ground

Quasi-static characteristics of asymmetric cylindrical coplanar waveguides (CCPWs) with finite-extent ground are analysed using the conformal mapping technique. Closed-form expressions for the effective permittivity and characteristic impedance of inside and outside asymmetric CCPWs with finite ground are derived. Using these expressions, the effect of various parameters on the characteristics of CCPWs is studied.
Specific contact resistance measurements on semiconductors

The ladder network (transmission line) technique for measuring the specific contact resistance of ohmic contacts to semiconductors is analysed, and the results of the analysis compared with the common approximations made in analysing experimental data. It is shown that the method fails when the transfer length and the width of the potential-measuring contacts are comparable. A graph is presented which allows corrections to be made as the measurement limit is approached, and a table gives the limiting values of specific contact resistance that can be measured for specific ladder geometries and semiconductor sheet resistivities. The 'variable gap' structure is shown to be free of the limitations of the ladder network because it has no narrow, potential-measuring electrodes. Experimental data for gold-germanium contacts to gallium arsenide are given to illustrate the above results.
The Innovative Application of Learning Companions in Chronicles of Singapura

The Chronicles of Singapura (CoS) is a learning companion augmented virtual world designed for lower secondary school students to learn the transport systems in plants. Two types of learning companions, (1) the curious companion and (2) the remembrance companion, have been incorporated. Up to date, CoS has been deployed in two local secondary schools in Singapore and involved over 500 students in its studies. To our best knowledge, this is the rst work to investigate a learning companion augmented virtual world as a learning environment in such a large scale. Results collected from the eld studies have demonstrated the advantages of this type of systems in enhancing students’ learning experiences.
Growth Response of Abaca (Musa textilis Nee) in Abandoned Mine Soil Amended with Oil Palm Residues

The mining industry is one of the leading sectors providing economic benefit to the community. However, mining minerals inevitably affect the ecosystem function of the land, thereby reducing ecological services provided to mankind. Soil remediation is done to restore ecological integrity while mitigating degradation processes. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the chemical properties of abandoned mine soil and to determine the effects of oil palm residues on the growth performance of abaca (Hybrid 7) grown in mined soil under nursery conditions. This study was arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) with five treatments and four replications, namely, T1 - Mined Soil Alone, T2 - Garden Soil Alone, T3 - Mined soil + Oil Palm Sludge, T4 - Mined Soil + Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) Biochar, T5 – Mined Soil + Oil Palm Vermicast. Chemical analysis of mined soil revealed extreme acidic soil condition, low organic matter, CEC, N, K, and high P content relative to soil nutrient sufficiency criteria. Mined soil contained 0.347 mg/kg Cd and 0.230 mg/kg Pb which are within the tolerable limit of 2.00 mg/ kg for Cd and 300 mg/kg (Pb), respectively. Application of oil palm residues in mined soil can significantly improve the morphology and dry matter yield performance of hybrid 7 abaca seedlings. Plants grown in mined soil amended with oil palm residues were taller, larger pseudostem girth with more and bigger functional leaves, and had a higher survival rate compared to those grown in soil derived from the abandoned mining area. Abaca plants grown with amendments had accumulated higher dry matter. Oil palm residues particularly vermicast has greater potential as soil amendment under degraded mined in Mawab, Davao de Oro.
: IPv6 Testbed

– D ue to the continuing growth of Internet, IP addresses have become scarce and valuable resources. A new Internet standard, IPv6, solves the problem of address scarcity because it has a very large address space (2 128 addresses). Therefore many network environments need to deploy ipv6. Before deploying ipv6, we need to test how the applications will run exactly as if they were running in the real Ipv6 environment. With this requirement, Testbeds/virtual environments came into play. However there is a lack of testbeds to test and run ipv6 applications. We address this problem by proposing a Testbed called “VIPNet” to create ipv4/ipv6 network environments to test and deploy applications. Furthermore VIPNet can be used as a virtual learning environment to facilitate on-line learning.
An industrial application of multivariable linear quadratic control to a cement mill circuit

There are a variety of control strategies that one may consider for cement mill circuit control and often several methods for implementing each strategy. Ideally, the control strategy selected and methodology used in its implementation should not only optimize circuit performance in terms of productivity but also be able to optimize quality. A linear quadratic multivariable controller has been applied to milling circuits and these goals successfully accomplished. The results are a stable circuit with mill and separator optimized, producing a consistent quality product of a predictable fineness. This enables one to use cement quality as the single circuit control set point.
Deep Learning Neural Network Algorithm for Computation of SPICE Transient Simulation of Nonlinear Time Dependent Circuits

In this paper, a special method based on the neural network is presented, which is conveniently used to precompute the steps of numerical integration. This method approximates the behaviour of the numerical integrator with respect to the local truncation error. In other words, it allows the precomputation of the individual steps in such a way that they do not need to be estimated by an algorithm but can be directly estimated by a neural network. Experimental tests were performed on a series of electrical circuits with different component parameters. The method was tested for two integration methods implemented in the simulation program SPICE (Trapez and Gear). For each type of circuit, a custom network was trained. Experimental simulations showed that for well-defined problems with a sufficiently trained network, the method allows in most cases reducing the total number of iteration steps performed by the algorithm during the simulation computation. Applications of this method, drawbacks, and possible further optimizations are also discussed.
Space Interferometry Mission instrument mechanical layout

The Space Interferometry Mission, planned for launch in 2006, will measure the positions of celestial objects to an unprecedented accuracy of 4/spl times/10/sup -6/ are sec (about 1 billionth of a degree). In order to achieve this accuracy, which represents an improvement of almost two orders of magnitude over previous astrometric measurements, a ten-meter baseline interferometer will be flown in space. Starlight is collected by 33 cm diameter telescopes and combined to form fringes on detectors. To achieve the stated accuracy, the position of these fringes must be measured to a fraction of a wavelength of visible light. Passive vibration isolation and several layers of active control are used to stabilize the starlight wavefronts at sub-nanometer levels. Tight thermal control is coupled with very low CTE materials. Certain parts of the instrument need to be stabilized so that they move more slowly than the speed at which a baby grows.
Research on the Measurements of the Production Factors between the Hi-Tech Zones and the Hinterlands

The regional transfer of production factors was the foundation of regional economy, which was connected with non-balance-development theory. The paper, from the angle of regional economy, made a deep study and established the transfer measurements of the production factors of the High-tech zones.Empirical study of the panel data of the High-tech Zone, results showed that the clustering rate in the zones is already good, but the clustering quality of production factors was not ideal.
Reversing T-cell Exhaustion in Cancer: Lessons Learned from PD-1/PD-L1 Immune Checkpoint Blockade

Anti–PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy has revolutionized the treatment of many types of cancer over the past decade. The initial therapeutic hypothesis underlying the mechanism of anti–PD-1/PD-L1 ICB was built around the premise that it acts locally in the tumor, reversing the exhaustion of PD-1hiCD8+ T cells by “releasing the brakes. ” However, recent studies have provided unprecedented insight into the complexity within the CD8+ T-cell pool in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Single-cell RNA sequencing and epigenetic profiling studies have identified novel cell surface markers, revealing heterogeneity within CD8+ T-cell states classified as unique. Moreover, these studies highlighted that following ICB, CD8+ T-cell states within and outside the TME possess a differential capacity to respond, mobilize to the TME, and seed an effective antitumor immune response. In aggregate, these recent developments have led to a reevaluation of our understanding of both the underlying mechanisms and the sites of action of ICB therapy. Here, we discuss the evidence for the reversibility of CD8+ T-cell exhaustion after ICB treatment and its implication for the further development of cancer immunotherapy.
Current and electromagnetic field associated with lightning-return strokes to tall towers

An analysis of electric and magnetic fields radiated by lightning first and subsequent return strokes to tall towers is presented. The contributions of the various components of the fields, namely, static, induction, and radiation for the electric field, and induction and radiation for the magnetic field are illustrated and discussed. It is shown in particular that the presence of a tower tends, in general, to increase substantially the electric and magnetic field peaks and their derivatives. This increase is mainly caused by the presence of two oppositely propagating current wavefronts originating from the tower top and by the very high propagation velocity of current pulses within the tower, and depends essentially on the wavefront steepness of the channel-base current. Because of the last factor, the increase of the field magnitudes is found to be significantly higher for subsequent return strokes, which are characterized by much faster risetimes compared to first return strokes. The presented results are consistent with experimental observations of current in lightning strokes to the Toronto CN Tower and of the associated electric and magnetic fields measured 2 km away. These findings partially explain the fact that subsequent return strokes characterized by lower current peaks but higher front steepnesses and return stroke speeds may result in higher field peaks. The results obtained have important implications in electromagnetic (EM) compatibility. It is found that lightning strokes to tall metallic objects lead to increased EM field disturbances. Also, subsequent return strokes are to be considered an even more important source of EM interference than first return strokes. Indeed, EM fields from subsequent strokes are characterized by faster fronts and additionally, they may reach greater peaks than first strokes. Lastly, findings of this study emphasize the difficulty of extracting reliable lightning return stroke current information from remote EM field measurements using oversimplified formulae.
The cost of quality in Internet-style networks

In broad terms, the quality of service (QoS) of a wide-area network is a measure: of how well it does its job-how quickly and reliably it transfers various kinds of data, including digitized voice and video traffic, from source to destination. With the advent of packet switching and the proliferation of many kinds of communications traffic (time-sensitive financial transactions, still images, large data files, voice, video, and so on), there are more than one set of criteria to satisfy. The the data rate needed for satisfactory voice communication may take an intolerable time to transfer high-resolution images. Conversely, the degree of network latency acceptable in transferring some files may not be adequate for real-time voice. So QoS has become a hot topic, and the contracts that specify it, called service level agreements (SLAs), are becoming more and more common, at least between service providers and their largest customers. As incumbent providers of telecommunications service are increasingly being challenged by competitive carriers, QoS has become a convenient marketing tool for both. The ability truly to deliver quality of service will separate the winner from the losers in the packet-switched future. The paper defines QoS, its priorities, and improvement.
A novel maximum power point tracking technique for solar panels using a SEPIC or Cuk converter

A novel technique for efficiently extracting the maximum output power from a solar panel under varying meteorological conditions is presented. The methodology is based on connecting a pulse-width-modulated (PWM) DC/DC SEPIC or Cuk converter between a solar panel and a load or battery bus. The converter operates in discontinuous capacitor voltage mode whilst its input current is continuous. By modulating a small-signal sinusoidal perturbation into the duty cycle of the main switch and comparing the maximum variation in the input voltage and the voltage stress of the main switch, the maximum power point (MPP) of the panel can be located. The nominal duty cycle of the main switch in the converter is adjusted to a value, so that the input resistance of the converter is equal to the equivalent output resistance of the solar panel at the MPP. This approach ensures maximum power transfer under all conditions without using microprocessors for calculation. Detailed mathematical derivations of the MPP tracking technique are included. The tracking capability of the proposed technique has been verified experimentally with a 10-W solar panel at different insolation (incident solar radiation) levels and under large-signal insolation level changes.
CCID_A_276676 1857..1866

1Private Practice, Tel Aviv, Israel; 2Private Practice, Milan, Italy; 3IBSA Farmaceutici Italia Srl, Lodi, Italy; 4Department of Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Naples, Italy Abstract: Hyaluronic acid (HA)-based injectable filling agents are at the forefront of the current demand for noninvasive dermatological procedures for the correction of age-related soft tissue defects. The present review aims to summarize currently available HA-based products and critically appraise their differences in rheological nature and clinical application. Linear HA (LHA) gels may be supplemented with amino acids, lipoic acid, vitamins, nucleosides, or minerals for synergistic antiaging and antioxidant benefits (polycomponent LHA). HA hydrogels can be generated via chemical or physical crosslinking, which increases their elasticity and decreases viscosity. The performance of crosslinked fillers depends on HA concentration, degree of crosslinking, elastic modulus, cohesivity, and type of crosslinking agent employed. PEG-crosslinked LHA displays improved elasticity and resistance to degradation, and lower swelling rates as compared to BDDE-crosslinked LHA. Physical crosslinking stabilizes HA hydrogels without employing exogenous chemical compounds or altering hyaluronans’ natural molecular structure. Thermally stabilized hybrid cooperative HA complexes (HCC) are a formulation of highand low-molecular-weight (H-HA and L-HA) hyaluronans, achieving high HA concentration, low viscosity with optimal tissue diffusion, and a duration comparable to weakly cross-linked gel. Our critical analysis evidences the importance of understanding different fillers’ properties to assist physicians in selecting the most appropriate filler for specific uses and for predictable and sustainable results.
A reduced branch-line coupler with eight stubs

A branch-line coupler using eight stubs is proposed for size reduction. As for the stubs, a structure consisting of two sections of high and low impedance transmission lines is presented in order to connect a low impedance stub to a signal line. According to transmission line theory, no practical differences are found in the frequency characteristics between the normal hybrid and an experimental circuit, except for slight differences in higher frequency region over the center frequency. The experimental circuit was reduced to 25% in area, and showed good agreement with theory.
The Economics of Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement: A Review

Without monitoring and enforcement, environmental laws are largely non-binding guidance. While economists and philosophers have thought seriously about the broader public enforcement of law since at least the 18 century, environmental monitoring and enforcement remains both understudied and controversial. This paper reviews what we do and do not know about the subject. I review common environmental enforcement institutions, prescriptive and descriptive theories, empirical evidence on regulator behavior, and empirical evidence on deterrence effects.
Investigating Introduction to Programming Course Students’Programming Self Efficacy Perceptions and Perspectives on Programming

ÖZET Bu çalışmada üniversite öğrencilerinin Java programlama öz yeterlilik algıları, programlama öğrenme istekleri ve çalışma alışkanlıkları çeşitli değişkenlere göre (cinsiyet, bölüm, eğitim dili, harf notu, ders tekrarları vb.) istatistiksel yöntemler kullanılarak (T-testi, Mann Whitney U-testi, Kruskal Wallis H testi, tek yönlü varyans analizi, Ki-Kare testi) incelenmiştir. Çalışma grubu, farklı bölümlerde zorunlu olarak programlamaya giriş dersini alan 191 lisans öğrencisinden oluşmaktadır. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre öğrencilerin Java programlama öz yeterlilik algıları bölümlerine ve programlama öğrenme isteklerine göre farklılaşmaktadır. Çalışmada ayrıca Apriori algoritması kullanılarak birliktelik kuralları çıkartılmıştır. En yüksek güven değeri elde edilen kurala göre, programlama öğrenmeyi çok fazla isteyen, programlama öğrenmenin iş hayatında kendisine fayda sağlayacağını düşünen ve programlama dersinden başarı ile geçen öğrencilerin programlama öz yeterlilikleri yüksektir.