Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applications of Artificial Neural Networks to Land Drainage Engineering

An artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed and trained by using the simulated midspan water table depths from DRAINMOD, a conventional water table management model. Compared to DRAINMOD, the model is very simple to run, and requires only a small amount of data, such as precipitation, evapotranspiration, and initial midspan water table depth.
Anticipating and controlling mask costs within EDA physical design

For low k1 lithography, more aggressive OPC is being applied to critical layers, and the number of mask layers with OPC treatments is growing rapidly. The 130 nm, process node required, on average, 8 layers containing rules- or model-based OPC. The 90 nm node will have 16 OPC layers, of which 14 layers contain aggressive model-based OPC. This escalation of mask pattern complexity, coupled with the predominant use of vector-scan e-beam (VSB) mask writers contributes to the rising costs of advanced mask sets. Writing times for OPC layouts are several times longer than for traditional layouts, making mask exposure the single largest cost component for OPC masks. Lower mask yields, another key factor in higher mask costs, is also aggravated by OPC. Historical mask set costs are plotted below. The initial cost of a 90 nm-node mask set will exceed one million dollars. The relative impact of mask cost on chip depends on how many total wafers are printed with each mask set. For many foundry chips, where unit production is often well below 1000 wafers, mask costs are larger than wafer processing costs. Further increases in NRE may begin to discourage these suppliers' adoption to 90 nm and smaller nodes. In this paper we will outline several alternatives for reducing mask costs by strategically leveraging dimensional margins. Dimensional specifications for a particular masking layer usually are applied uniformly to all features on that layer. As a practical matter, accuracy requirements on different features in the design may vary widely. Take a polysilicon layer, for example: global tolerance specifications for that layer are driven by the transistor-gate requirements; but these parameters over-specify interconnect feature requirements. By identifying features where dimensional accuracy requirements can be reduced, additional margin can be leveraged to reduce OPC complexity. Mask writing time on VSB tools will drop in nearly direct proportion to reduce shot count. By inspecting masks with reference to feature-dependent margins, instead of uniform specifications, mask yield can be effectively increased further reducing delivered mask expense.
Generalized vent sizing monogram for runaway chemical reactions

This paper outlines for the first time a generalized vent sizing monogram for runaway chemical reactions. The method is shown to be realistic yet also simple enough to be used by non-specialist engineers. Typically, only a knowledge of the adiabatic self-heat rate corresponding to tempered reaction conditions at the specified set pressure of the relief device is necessary in order to carry out the assessment; no other thermo-kinetic and physical property information are required.
Using Novel Statistical Techniques to Accurately Determine the Predictive Dose Range in a Study of Overall Survival after Definitive Radiotherapy for Stage III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in Association with Heart Dose

Purpose: Recent studies of radiotherapy (RT) for stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have associated high dose to the heart with cardiac toxicity and decreased overall survival (OS). We used advanced statistical techniques to account for correlations between dosimetric variables and more accurately determine the range of heart doses which are associated with reduced OS in patients receiving RT for stage III NSCLC. Methods: From 2006 to 2013, 119 patients with stage III NSCLC received definitive RT at our institution. OS data was obtained from institutional tumor registry. We used multivariate Cox model to determine patient specific covariates predictive for reduced overall survival. We examined age, prescription dose, mean lung dose, lung V20, RT technique, stage, chemotherapy, tumor laterality, tumor volume, and tumor site as candidate covariates. We subsequently used novel statistical techniques within multivariate Cox model to systematically search the whole heart dose-volume histogram (DVH) for dose parameters associated with OS. Results: Patients were followed until death or 2.5 to 81.2 months (median 30.4 months) in those alive at last follow up. On multivariate analysis of whole heart DVH, the dose of 51 Gy was identified as a threshold dose above which the dose volume relationship becomes predictive for OS. We identified V55Gy (percentage of the whole heart volume receiving at least 55 Gy) as the best single DVH index which can be used to set treatment optimization constraints (Hazard Ratio = 1.044 per 1% increase in heart volume exposed to at least 55 Gy, P = 0.03). Additional characteristics correlated with OS on multivariate analysis were age, stage (IIIA/IIIB), and administration of chemotherapy. Conclusion: Doses above 51 Gy, applied to small volumes of the heart, are associated with worse OS in stage III NSCLC patients treated with definitive RT. Higher stage, older age and lack of chemotherapy were also associated with reduced OS.
MEMS switch for 60 GHz band

The aim of this work was to develop a new MEMS switch structure for millimeter wave applications, which can be integrated with other more complex devices for developing of reconfigurable filters or antennae for microwave or millimeter wave frequency range. Electrostatic force was chosen for the switching operation, which seams to be the only way to obtain high reliable and wafer scale manufacturing techniques at these frequencies. Different geometries of the switching element were designed and manufactured in order to study the mechanical stability of these structures; the measured actuation voltage, of about 24,5V, shows an acceptable value for the further applications. Measured and simulated results of these structures (insertion losses of about 0.75dB@60GHz and isolation >50dB@60GHz) were in good agreement and are promising for further applications in this frequency range.
California Digital Library UC Office of the President

Library and Archives Canada has a wide mandate to preserve and provide access to Canadian published heritage, records of national significance, as well as to acquire the records created by the Government of Canada, deemed to be of historical importance. To address this mandate, Library and Archives Canada has undertaken the development of a digital preservation infrastructure covering policy, standards and enterprise applications which will serve requirements for ingest, metadata management, preservation and access. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the efforts underway to engage digital recordkeeping activities in the Government of Canada and to influence and align those processes with LAC digital preservation requirements. The LAC strategy to implement preservation considerations early in the life cycle of the digital record is to establish a mandatory legislative and policy framework for recordkeeping in government. This includes a Directive on Recordkeeping, Core Digital Records Metadata Standard for archival records, Digital File Format Guidance, as well as Web 2.0 and Email Recordkeeping Guidelines. The expected success of these initiatives, and collaborative approach should provide a model for other digital heritage creators in Canada. Supporting material: Presentation
Disc Monopole Antenna with Ring Patches and Meandered Feeder for Radio Frequency Energy Harvesting

In this paper, a new wideband antenna with meandered feed line is presented which can be used in radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting. The proposed antenna is designed on 36 by 56.5 mm2 FR4 board with thickness of 1.6 mm and dielectric permittivity constant and tangent loss of 4.3 and 0.025, respectively. It consists of circular disc antenna, two ring patches and three rectangular slots on the ground plane as well as a meandered feed line. Although any RF signal could be useful from energy harvesting point of view, the proposed antenna shows a wideband frequency range from 1.59 to 6.62 GHz and 7.44 GHz to 8 GHz in reference to -10dB return loss or better for wideband applications.
Using Group Interaction History in the Wild

Inspired by theories of how professionals enter into a reflective conversation with their work materials, the research area of interaction history seeks to make use of the accumulated actions of many people in working with digital objects. Despite compelling system designs and empirical results in laboratory settings, group interaction histories have not been widely employed. I outline a series of research questions, plans and tools that will be among the first to investigate and evaluate the use of shared interaction history in the day-to-day work of individuals and groups. Author
Lean viewed as a philosophy

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to act as a meticulous conceptual paper probing the contemporary view towards lean and illustrate that, despite its discernible benefits, the implementation record suffers as the prevailing opinion fails to encapsulate that an aspiring lean enterprise shall only succeed if it views lean as a philosophy rather than another strategy. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is based on a thorough literature search concerning the success and failure of lean implementations and acts as a precursor for one of the authors utilising a combination of methodologies; namely, interviewing, survey questionnaire and participant observation in attempting to prove his PhD hypothesis. Findings - Evidently, a cocktail of factors are needed for lean success; not only is it necessary to implement most of the technical tools but an organisation's culture needs transforming too. Furthermore, the alterations need to be implemented throughout an organisation's value chain. Lean has a major strategic significance, though its implementation procedure, HRM implications, general approach to the supplier base coupled with the overall universal conviction of viewing lean as a set of tactics rather than embracing it as a philosophy advocates that this contributes to the relatively low number of successful lean initiatives. Originality/value - The paper would prove invaluable to lean practitioners through its summation of the intricacies towards lean enterprise success and academic researchers by focusing their attention towards the necessary cultural implications. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Comparison of error rates in combinational and sequential logic

A pulsed laser was used to demonstrate that, for transients much shorter than the clock period, error rates in sequential logic were independent of frequency, whereas error rates in combinational logic were linearly dependent on frequency. In addition, by measuring the error rate as a function of laser pulse energy for fixed clock frequency, the logarithmic dependence of the SEU vulnerable time period prior to the clock edge in combinational logic was established. A mixed mode circuit simulator program was used to successfully model the dynamic response of the logic circuit to pulses of laser light.
KOBIO, the First Web-based Korean Biologics Registry Operated With a Unified Platform Among Distinct Disease Entities

The KOrean College of Rheumatology BIOlogics and targeted therapy (KOBIO) registry is a nationwide observational cohort that captures detailed data on exposure of patients to biologic and targeted synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). This registry was launched in December 2012 with an aim to prospectively investigate clinical manifestations and outcomes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriatic arthritis who initiated a biologic or targeted synthetic DMARD or switched to another. Demographic data, disease activity, current treatment, adverse events, terms based on Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities, and so on are registered for patients who are then followed up annually in a web-based unified platform. The KOBIO registry also recruits and collects data of patients with RA on conventional DMARDs for comparison. As of today, more than 5,500 patients were enrolled from 47 academic and community Rheumatology centers across Korea. The KOBIO registry has evolved to become a powerful database for clinical research to improve clinical outcomes and quality of treatment.
Formulating the Work Flow Plan for Horizontal Projects - Case Study

Recently much research has been done in the field of Production Management, focusing on the concepts and principles of Lean Construction. Regarding the topic Production Planning, some contributions are extremely important as they aim to protect production from uncertainty and also to fight variability through a new insight into the productive process. However, in the first stage of preparation of the planning process, where the formulation of the work flow plan (object of this study) takes place, there is still insufficient research, in spite of the importance of this issue for the definition of the physical flows in the building site. Regarding this issue, a case study was developed in a small construction company, aiming to clarify what the scope of a program which formulates the work flow plan would be, and also to explain how this stage of the planning process can be appended to the Production Planning and Control Model proposed by NORIE (Post-Graduation Program on Civil Engineering - Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul).
Clinico- etiological profile of acute poisoning and intoxication in children in western Nepal

Background: Pediatric poisoning is a common emergency. The present study was done to assess the incidence, clinico-etiological profile of acute poisoning and intoxication in children.Methods: This study was conducted in the Department of Pediatrics, Lumbini Medical College and Teaching Hospital, Nepal in which children aged less than 18 years, with history of consumption of poison accompanied or unaccompanied by container or poison or with doubtful history of consumption of poison but with definite signs and symptoms of acute poisoning we included. We also included children with history of bites by poisonous creatures like snakes, scorpions, bees and insects or with doubtful history of bites due to poisonous creatures but with definite acute onset of signs and symptoms locally or systemically.Results: In the present study, during the study duration, 68 children were included. The most common age group of included children was 1 to 5 years (59%). Accidental poisoning was reported in 93% of the cases, while the rest had suicidal poisonings. The most common type of poison used were different types of pesticides (46%). We observed that vomiting was the most common clinical presentation (79%). In our study sample, arrival of 46% of the children was delayed by 30 minutes to 2 hours. Majority of the patients arrived in the afternoon to the hospital (51%). Conclusions: The findings of the present study would enable emergency physicians to identify clinical features of common poisonings among children, which would enable manage the cases better.
Coupled mode theory of round optical fibers

This paper presents a comprehensive theory of mode coupling in optical fibers with imperfections. The paper begins with the derivation of a general coupled wave theory based on the modes of the ideal fiber. The general theory is applied to a simplified description of guided and radiation modes of the fiber that is valid for small core-cladding index differences. The simplified theory results in expressions for the coupling coefficients that are nearly as simple as those of the slab waveguide. As an example, the theory is applied to the calculation of radiation losses caused by pure core diameter changes and by elliptical deformations of the fiber core.
How I Treat Neuroendocrine Tumors

1Division of Medical Oncology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States 2Department of Radiology, Division of Interventional Radiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States 3Division of Medical Oncology, Markey Cancer Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States 4Department of Hematology and Oncology, Ochsner Health New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States 5Department of Surgery, Louisiana State University Health Science Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Address for correspondence Aman Chauhan, MD, Department of Medical Oncology, University of Kentucky, 800 Rose Street, Lexington 40536, United States (e-mail: amanchauhan@uky.edu).
A capacity investigation on UTRA-TDD utilising underused UTRA-FDD uplink resources

This paper presents an analytical approach to calculate the capacity that a UMTS terrestrial radio access-TDD (UTRA-TDD) pico cell can exploit from underused uplink radio resources of a UTRA-FDD macro cellular overlay. Also, the impact on the UTRA-FDD uplink capacity is evaluated. Underused FDD spectrum is a consequence of a growing demand for an asymmetrical use of communication channels. This study is carried out under the assumption of a spatially uniform user distribution. It was found that under the assumption made, the TDD underlay can be used to increase the flexibility of the UMTS air interface. However, the advantages of the underlay are dependent on the BS separation and the severity of lognormal shadowing. The optimal BS separation was found to be between 200 m and 300 m. Methods are proposed to overcome the revealed constraints.
SmallSats: a new technological frontier in ecology and conservation?

We are in the midst of a revolution in satellite technology, with the rapid development and advancement of small satellites (or SmallSats, i.e., satellites <180 kg). Here, we review the opportunities and challenges that such technology might afford in the field of conservation and ecology. SmallSat constellations may yield higher resolutions than those that are currently available to scientists and practitioners, increasing opportunities to improve environmental‐monitoring and animal‐tracking capabilities. They may cut access costs to end users, by reducing operational costs and bringing increased competition to the existing market. Their greater flexibility and affordability may moreover enable the development of bespoke constellations for specific conservation and ecological applications, and provide greater interoperability with ground‐based sensors, such as tracking devices and camera traps. In addition, SmallSats may serve as cost‐effective research and development platforms for new components and products. Combined, these benefits could significantly improve our ability to monitor threats to the environment as they unfold, while enhancing our understanding of animal ecology and ecosystem dynamics. However, significant hardware and software developments are required before such technology is able to produce, process and handle reliable and cost‐effective data, and the initial research and development costs still represent a major challenge. Further, we argue that much remains to be done to ensure these new data products become accessible, equitable and sustainable.
Learners’ Voices in Inclusive Education Policy Debates

Although the idea of including learners in policy-making is gaining ground, their voices still seem to be marginalised. This article focuses on the issue of learners’ voices in inclusive education policy debates. It begins by discussing main policy developments, arguments and key issues around learner voice and participation. It then draws on different aspects of work by the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (the Agency) that has directly involved young people in exchanges with policy-makers and decision-makers responsible for developing and implementing policy for inclusive education. This includes four European “Hearings” (in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015), involving over 300 young people. It also includes workshops with learners in Cyprus and Poland as part of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support Programme activities. In the Agency’s work, learners with a range of learning needs from across Europe shared their views on their right to education (access), their rights in education (learning and participation) and their rights in wider society (achievement). Key messages from learners included the importance of barrier-free schools, raising awareness, changing attitudes and combating stereotypes to support their longer-term social inclusion and ensure they are able to become full citizens in their local communities. Building on these messages, the article concludes with some important considerations for future work and recommends positioning learners as key agents in policy debates for inclusive education.
Non-coherent FSK receiver for underwater communications

The detection process in underwater communications suffers from a severe degradation in reception due to the existence of fast multipath fading during transmission. Several non-coherent frequency shift keying (FSK) receivers have been proposed to alleviate this problem. However, each receiver is seen to work properly only in certain environmental conditions. A new non-coherent FSK receiver has been developed, based on the utilization of low-order models of parametric spectral estimation. The proposed receiver is found to outperform existing receivers in realistic fading conditions. Simulation results are included to support this claim.
Optimal control of the transient emissions and the fuel efficiency of a diesel hybrid electric vehicle

As an important technical innovation which has emerged in the automotive industry, powertrain hybridization has been considered as one of the most effective ways for addressing transportation energy consumption and environmental concerns. However, owing to the complex physical and chemical nature of the engine combustion process, and the dynamic interactions between the engine and the alternative power source, it is difficult to optimize simultaneously and precisely both the engine fuel consumption and the emissions, especially during transient operations. Targeted at achieving both global energy optimization and reduction in the transient emissions, a control-oriented diesel engine emission model is first investigated and identified using a large number of experimental data. On this basis, a two-mode hybrid energy management strategy is proposed. In the ‘fuel-efficiency-improving’ mode, a dynamic programming algorithm is used to seek global optimization of the fuel economy and to ensure sustainability of the battery’s state of charge over any given driving cycle while, in the ‘emission-reducing’ mode, the management strategy utilizes a linear quadratic regulator to optimize locally the surging emissions due to undesired engine torque transients. At the end of each emission-reducing mode, the locally optimized engine operation is driven back to match the globally optimized trajectory, i.e. the initial states of the next fuel-efficiency-improving mode. This seamless integration of the two modes will realize a reduction in the local transient emissions without losing optimality of the global fuel efficiency and sustainability of the battery’s state of charge. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed modeling and control strategy can considerably reduce the local soot emissions of a power-split diesel hybrid electric vehicle but can still maintain a high fuel efficiency and a high state of charge of the battery.