Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inverse Modelling and Inverse Simulation for System Engineering and Control Applications

Following extensive development over the past two decades, techniques of inverse simulation have led to a range of successful applications, mainly in the fields of helicopter flight mechanics, aircraft handling qualities and associated issues in terms of model validation. However, the available methods still have some well-known limitations. The traditional methods based on the Newton-Raphson algorithm suffer from numerical problems such as high-frequency oscillations and can have limitations in their applicability due to problems of input-output redundancy. The existing approaches may also show a phenomenon which has been termed “constraint oscillations” which leads to low-frequency oscillatory behaviour in the inverse solutions. Moreover, the need for derivative information may limit their applicability for situations involving manoeuvre discontinuities, model discontinuities or input constraints. Two new methods are developed to overcome these issues. The first one, based on sensitivity-analysis theory, allows the Jacobian matrix to be calculated by solving a sensitivity equation and also overcomes problems of input-output redundancy. In addition, it can improve the accuracy of results compared with conventional methods and can deal with the problem of high-frequency oscillations to some extent. The second one, based on a constrained Nelder-Mead search-based optimisation algorithm, is completely derivative-free algorithm for inverse simulation. This approach eliminates problems which make traditional inverse simulation techniques difficult to apply in control applications involving discontinuous issues such as actuator amplitude or rate limits. This thesis also offers new insight into the relationship between mathematically based techniques of model inversion and the inverse simulation approach. The similarities and shortcomings of both these methodologies are explored. The findings point to the possibility that inverse simulation can be used successfully within the control system design process for feedforward controllers for model-based output-tracking control system structures. This avoids the more complicated and relatively tedious techniques of model inversion which have been used in the past for feedforward controller design. The methods of inverse simulation presented in this thesis have been applied to a number of problems which are concerned mainly with helicopter and ship control problems and include cases involving systems having nonminimum-phase characteristics. The analysis of results for these practical applications shows that the approaches developed and presented in this thesis are of practical importance. It is believed that these developments form a useful step in moving inverse simulation methods from the status of an academic research topic to a practical and robust set of tools for engineering system design.
IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF WHITE SPOT SYNDROME VIRUS (WSSV) ENVELOPE PROTEIN VP41A

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is the causative agent of a disease that has led to severe mortalities of cultured shrimp in Taiwan and many other countries. WSSV, a kind of large enveloped DNA virus, has a wide host range among crustaceans. During the first stage to infect a target cell, the enveloped virus must combine itself with the receptor on the host cell membrane via an envelope protein. In WSSV, binding of envelope protein with the receptor of the host cell membrane was revealed in a number of previous studies. WSSV envelope proteins were also considered to form a protein complex, at some stage in all research to be named “infectome”. The WSSV envelope protein VP41A, with the predicted molecular weight of about 41 kDa and having a transmembrane region at its C-terminus, is identified in this study. The interaction of VP41A with the virus’ major envelope protein VP26 is revealed by His pull-down and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Furthermore, the protein-protein interaction of VP41A with VP28 and VP56 is verified by far western blotting. This data indicate that VP41A participates in the formation of a WSSV protein complex that may be involved in WSSV infection. These findings may identify certain areas for further WSSV research.
Effects of the sampling pulse width on the frequency characteristics of a sample-and-hold circuit

Frequency characteristics, especially at high frequency, are important in applications such as sample-and-hold circuits for LCD driver ICs where the required signal bandwidth is much wider than the Nyquist rate. The frequency characteristics of a sample-and-hold circuit using analogue switches have hitherto been estimated from the frequency characteristics of a simple RC circuit comprising a storage capacitor and the on-resistance of the analogue switch. However, the effects of sampling pulse width and storage capacitor resetting are not taken into account. By giving an exact frequency-domain analysis of sample-and-hold circuits, the paper clarifies the limitations of conventional RC estimates. It also reveals the effects of storage capacitor resetting. A narrower pulse causes more ripples in the frequency characteristics. Storage capacitor resetting alleviates these ripples although the DC gain deteriorates for a narrow sampling pulse. This analysis was verified by simple experiments. A design for an LCD driver IC is also described as an application example.
A regional study of quality management infrastructure practices in USA and Mexico

Presents the results of a study on quality management infrastructure practices and quality performance in manufacturing companies located in the North and Central regions of Mexico and the US Midwest region. Seven quality management infrastructure practices – top management support, strategic quality planning, quality information availability, employee training, supplier quality, customer focus, and quality citizenship – were assessed and compared. The research covered 372 manufacturing companies in both countries. Our findings show significant differences between the three regions. Companies located in the North region of Mexico exhibit significantly better levels of quality management infrastructure practices than companies located in the US Midwest and Central Mexico regions. Implications for decision‐makers for location, outsourcing, and joint ventures are discussed.
The Effect of Oxide Fixed Charge on the Breakdown Characteristics of SiC Lateral Super Junction Devices

In this paper, the positive and negative effects of oxide fixed charge on the breakdown characteristic of lateral SiC super junction devices are studied. Simulation results show that in the super junction devices with oxide layer, the negative (or positive) fixed charge on the SiO2/SiC interface act as a like p-pillar (or n-pillar) and enhance the depletion of n-pillar (or p-pillar), which result in a charge compensation and improvement of the breakdown characteristics of the devices. At the same time, a phenomenon of electric field crowding can be caused by the fixed charge and result in a decreasing of the breakdown voltage, this negative effect can be suppressed sufficiently by a field plate.
U.S. Military Casualty Statistics: Operation New Dawn, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom

This report presents difficult-to-find statistics regarding U.S. military casualties in Operation New Dawn (OND), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF, Afghanistan), including those concerning post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), amputations, evacuations, and the demographics of casualties. Some of these statistics are publicly available at the Department of Defense's (DOD's) website, while others have been obtained through contact with experts at DOD. Daily updates of total U.S. military casualties in OND, OIF, and OEF can be found at the DOD's website, at http://www.defenselink. mil/news/casualty.pdf.
Acoustic Emission Behavior during Fatigue Crack of API5LX70 Gas Pipeline Steel

This paper present Acoustic Emission (AE) generated during fatigue mechanism of API5LX70 steel which was widely use as gas pipeline materials. Fully reverse (R=-1) constant amplitude fatigue test were done with four different stress amplitudes which were 437.5MPa, 406.25Mpa, 390.6MPa and 359.4MPa respectively. An observation from those tests shows that AE Count gives a significant value during cyclic softening and bauschinger effect. Crack initiation indicated by rapid increase of AE count values at positive peak stress and followed by high AE count values around zero stress which indicate crack closure phenomena. Among all four tests, it was show that AE activity from fatigue test with amplitude of 359.4MPa can be significantly divided into 3 region which correspond to crack incubation stage, microplastic and slip plane formation stage and crack initiation and propagation stage. Further analysis was done by separating AE signals from those 3 regions into 6 different groups. Ten AE signatures from each group were selected to calculate AE RMS and AE kurtosis. Analyses on AE RMS which correspond to overall energy of the signal were useful to indicate the microplastic and slip plane formation stage and crack initiation and propagation stage while AE kurtosis was useful in indicating crack stage including initiation, propagation and closure stage.
Maintaining supply reliability of small isolated power systems using renewable energy

The application of renewable energy in electric power systems is growing rapidly due to enhanced public concerns for adverse environmental impacts and escalation in energy costs associated with the use of conventional energy sources. Photovoltaics and wind energy sources are being increasingly recognised as cost effective generation sources in small isolated power systems (SIPS) primarily supplied by costly diesel fuel. A relatively high renewable energy penetration can significantly reduce the system fuel costs but can also have considerable impact on the system reliability. Small isolated systems routinely plan their generating facilities using deterministic adequacy techniques that cannot incorporate the highly erratic behaviour of renewable energy sources. Existing probabilistic risk methods are not generally accepted in SIPS evaluation despite their utilisation in most large power utilities. Deterministic and probabilistic techniques are combined using a system well-being approach to provide useful reliability indices for SIPS containing renewable energy. An evaluation of the contribution from photovoltaics and wind energy sources to SIPS reliability is presented.
MECHANISM DESIGN AND MOTION ANALYSIS OF A SPHERICAL MOBILE ROBOT

A new spherical mobile robot BHQ-1 is designed. The spherical robot is driven by two internally mounted motors that induce the ball to move straight and turn around on a flat surface. A dynamic model of the robot is developed with Lagrange method and factors affecting the driving torque of two motors are analyzed. The relationship between the turning radius of the robot and the length of two links is discussed in order to optimize its mechanism design. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the good controllability and motion performance of BHQ-1.
Analysis on Relationship between Accurate Poverty Alleviation and Stock Price Collapse Risk from the Perspective of Information Disclosure

Accurate poverty alleviation (APA) is crucial to building a well-off society in an all-round way. Companies and the capital market are implementers of APA. In the context of stock price collapse risk (SPCR), this paper verifies whether the APA by state-owned listed enterprises (SOLEs) could effectively suppress SPCR. Empirical results show that SOLEs engaging in APA and investing heavily in APA have a relatively low SPCR. This conclusion holds after the control of robustness and endogenous factors. Information disclosure system mediates the effect of APA on SPCR. Besides, APA suppresses SPCR more significantly in central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and public welfare SOEs. Further analysis indicates that good institutional environment, strong poverty alleviation pressure, poverty experience of executives, and model of party organization governance can effectively enhance the influence of APA on SPCR. The research results suggest that SOLEs actively engaging in APA can effectively suppress SPCR by disclosing APA information. This is an organic manifestation of APA effectiveness in the capital market.
Clinical application of insect-based diet in canine allergic dermatitis

Canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) is an allergic skin disease that causes pruritus in dogs with genetic predisposition [1]. Cutaneous adverse food reaction (CAFR) is caused by food allergens and is a common allergic dermatosis that makes CAD difficult to control by triggering the flare of CAD [2,3]. It is generally characterized by non-seasonal pruritus, secondary infection associated with ingestion of various kinds of food allergens such as beef, dairy products, chicken, and wheat in dogs, and exhibit a partial-to-poor response to glucocorticoids [4,5]. As allergic skin reactions to food allergens present CAD-like clinical signs, it is challenging to clearly distinguishing CAFR from CAD based on lesion distribution alone [6,7]. The gold standard for diagnosis in CAFR is based on a strict elimination diet trial, resulting in improved clinical signs, followed by a provocative test. If the clinical signs relapse within a few minutes to several hours or up to 2 weeks after feeding the test food, CAFR is diagnosed. Even though the trial duration of an elimiThe objective of this study was to evaluate the beneficial effects of the short-term application of insect-based diet in canine allergic dermatitis. Total 19 atopic dogs with concurrent cutaneous adverse food reactions were enrolled and classified into 3 groups. The treatment group (n = 7) was fed insect-based diet, the positive control group (n = 6) was fed salmon-based diet, and the negative control group (n = 6) was fed commercial or homemade diet for 12 weeks. The degree of skin lesions was evaluated based on canine atopic dermatitis extent and severity index (CADESI-4). Additionally, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and pruritus visual analog scale were evaluated. All indices were evaluated every 4 weeks after the initial administration of hypoallergenic diets. In the treatment group, significant decrease in the CADESI-4 score was observed at 8 weeks compared to the baseline score (p = 0.031). There were significant differences in the CADESI-4 score between the groups at 8 weeks (p = 0.008), 12 weeks (p = 0.012), and TEWL at 12 weeks (p = 0.022). This preliminary result demonstrates the potential hypoallergenicity of an insect-based diet through features that diminish cutaneous lesions and skin barrier dysfunction.
Sirtuins and Sepsis: Cross Talk between Redox and Epigenetic Pathways

Sepsis and septic shock are the leading causes of death among hospitalized patients in the US. The immune response in sepsis transitions from a pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidant hyper-inflammation to an anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective hypo-inflammatory phase. While 1/3rd sepsis-related deaths occur during hyper-, a vast majority of sepsis-mortality occurs during the hypo-inflammation. Hyper-inflammation is cytotoxic for the immune cells and cannot be sustained. As a compensatory mechanism, the immune cells transition from cytotoxic hyper-inflammation to a cytoprotective hypo-inflammation with anti-inflammatory/immunosuppressive phase. However, the hypo-inflammation is associated with an inability to clear invading pathogens, leaving the host susceptible to secondary infections. Thus, the maladaptive immune response leads to a marked departure from homeostasis during sepsis-phases. The transition from hyper- to hypo-inflammation occurs via epigenetic programming. Sirtuins, a highly conserved family of histone deacetylators and guardians of homeostasis, are integral to the epigenetic programming in sepsis. Through their anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, the sirtuins modulate the immune response in sepsis. We review the role of sirtuins in orchestrating the interplay between the oxidative stress and epigenetic programming during sepsis.
Improved hierarchical search block matching algorithm by using multiple motion vector candidates

The authors describe a hierarchical search block matching algorithm capable of handling large motion in real time motion estimation for existing video compression standards. The algorithm uses multiple motion vector candidates based on an interframe difference measure and a spatial motion-field correlation, respectively. In MPEG-2 application, the encoder adopting the proposed algorithm provides nearly the same performance as the conventional encoder adopting the full search block matching algorithm, with only 0.9% computational complexity for motion estimation.
Analysis of IT Systems Utilized in the R&D for NPD

Many studies have shown that IT utilization has brought about many outcomes but there are not enough approaches dealing about what kind of IT systems and how much are needed. There are no analysis reports discussed about what kinds of IT systems exist in the field of R&D and how they were utilized. This paper analyzes the current state and function of IT systems utilized in the R&D processes and proceeds in survey of the application of IT systems in each R&D process. A guide model for R&D innovation is presented through the re-interpretation of the survey results from a view of R&D managerial aspect. And we propose a guideline to rebuild system architecture for R&D functions.
Historical Roles of Selenium and Selenoproteins in Health and Development: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Selenium is a fascinating element that has a long history, most of which documents it as a deleterious element to health. In more recent years, selenium has been found to be an essential element in the diet of humans, all other mammals, and many other life forms. It has many health benefits that include, for example, roles in preventing heart disease and certain forms of cancer, slowing AIDS progression in HIV patients, supporting male reproduction, inhibiting viral expression, and boosting the immune system, and it also plays essential roles in mammalian development. Elucidating the molecular biology of selenium over the past 40 years generated an entirely new field of science which encompassed the many novel features of selenium. These features were (1) how this element makes its way into protein as the 21st amino acid in the genetic code, selenocysteine (Sec); (2) the vast amount of machinery dedicated to synthesizing Sec uniquely on its tRNA; (3) the incorporation of Sec into protein; and (4) the roles of the resulting Sec-containing proteins (selenoproteins) in health and development. One of the research areas receiving the most attention regarding selenium in health has been its role in cancer prevention, but further research has also exposed the role of this element as a facilitator of various maladies, including cancer.
Performance Improvement of Multi Level Inverter fed Vector Controlled Induction Motor Drive for Low Speed Operations

In this paper, the analysis of space vector based multi level inverter (MLI) fed vector controlled induction motor drive for low speed oparations is presented. The performance of indirect field oriented controlled induction motor drive (IMD) is poor with two-level inverter for low speed operations (LSO). The reduction in performance and peak value of torque are mainly due to the non-linearity caused by stator voltage drop and inverter. Hence the performance factors of induction motor drive are analysed with the multi level inverters under different operating conditions. In this approach, the steady state ripple content in the current and torque waveforms are reduced and that to ripple content of torque is reduced from 0.15 to 0.05 under steady state with five-level inverter. When there is a step change in the load torque, the momentary decrease in speed with five-level inverter is less when compared two and three-level inverters and the speed response reaches the reference value very quickly with five-level inverter during steady state and transient periods. So the overall performance of drive is improved with five-level inverter when compared to two-level and three- level inverters under low speed operations.
Properties of nitrogen-implanted SOI substrates

Properties of nitrogen-implanted silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates prepared by implanting different doses of 200 keV nitrogen into 50-70 Omega -cm, p-type silicon substrates at a temperature of 500 degrees C were studied. The distribution of nitrogen was studied using Auger electron spectroscopy. The electrical properties of the active overlayer were studied using Hall-effect measurements and capacitance-voltage depth profile analysis. The insulating integrity of the buried nitride was studied by directly measuring the leakage current from top to bottom through the substrate. Additionally, electric field strength and surface roughness measurements were performed. Nitrogen concentrations in the buried layer increased from below to above the stoichiometric value for Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/ for increasing dose in the range studied. Nitrogen-related n-type doping is observed in all samples examined, and the magnitude of the doping increased with the increasing implant dose. Insulating buried nitride layers are formed only in samples implanted with very high doses. >
Recent Progress and Future Prospective in HBV Cure by CRISPR/Cas

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains an important issue of global public health. Although current antiviral therapy has dramatically reduced the mortality and morbidity of chronic hepatitis B (CHB), it fails to cure it. Rebound viremia often occurs after stopping antiviral therapy. Persistent HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and integrated DNA under antiviral therapy form the major barrier to eradication of HBV infection. CRISPR-mediated genome editing has emerged as a promising therapeutic approach to specifically destroy persistent HBV genomes, both cccDNA and integrated DNA, for HBV cure. However, the cleavage of integrated HBV DNA by CRISPR-Cas9 will cause double-strand break (DSB) of host genome, raising a serious safety concern about genome instability and carcinogenesis. The newly developed CRISPR-derived base editors (BEs), which fuse a catalytically disabled nuclease with a nucleobase deaminase enzyme, can be used to permanently inactivate HBV genome by introducing irreversible point mutations for generation of premature stop codons without DSBs of host genome. Although promising, CRISPR-mediated base editing still faces daunting challenges before its clinical application, including the base-editing efficacy, the off-target effect, the difficulty in finding conserved target HBV sequences, and in vivo delivery efficiency. Several strategies have been adopted to optimize the efficiency and specificity of CRISPR-BEs and to improve in vivo delivery efficacy through novel viral and non-viral delivery approaches. Particularly, the non-viral delivery of Cas9 mRNA and ribonucleoprotein by lipid nanoparticles exhibits attractive potential for liver-targeted delivery in clinical. Along with all progress above, the CRISPR-mediated gene therapy will ultimately achieve HBV cure.