Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal Modified Tracking Performance of Linear Single-Input Multiple-Output Control Systems

In this paper, the optimal modified performance of the single-input multiple-output (SIMO) linear time-invariant (LTI) systems is investigated. The performance bound is related to the scaled factor, the inner factor of the plant and the spectral density of the reference signal. The output dimension also plays an important role. The strong restrictions of the directions for the reference signal and the assumption that the plant must have an integrator in the existing conclusions are not necessary. Also the modified performance index overcomes the invalidity when the state error is not zero vectors.
Uncertainty in Designed Experiments

ABSTRACT Statistical experiment design can be used to efficiently select experimental runs to achieve a given experimental purpose. However, uncertainty is a fact of life in experimentation. The experimenter is faced with uncertainty in inputs, uncertainty in outputs from both random variability and uncertainty in measurement processes, as well as uncertainty about the underlying model structure of the phenomenon under investigation. In the face of all this uncertainty, the experimenter must try to collect and analyze data that will address questions of scientific interest.
Full-volume Color Flow Quantification in Mitral Regurgitation

and regurgitant volume by Doppler volumetric methods. 5 However, all these methods present significant and well-recognized limitations and there is no single parameter allowing the correct grading of lesion severity alone; consequently, an integrated approach is mandatory. 3 An extensive description of 2D echocardiography limitations is beyond the scope of this article, but a few points will be remembered. Both 2D color flow imaging and jet/LA area ratio, despite providing simple estimates of regurgitation severity, are easily confounded by variable hemodynamics and gain settings. 5 Given this limitation, color flow imaging should only be used for MR diagnosis and not for its quantification. 6 Abstract Valvular heart disease is an important cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Its correct management requires an accurate diagnosis and estimation of severity, usually performed by echocardiography. Even if 2D echocardiography was traditionally the method of choice for assessing valvular heart disease, it presents several limitations, which are being overcome by 3D echocardiography. This article is focused on the current state of the art of 3D echocardiographic evaluation of mitral regurgitation (MR), complemented by the description of a new methodology for MR quantification through 4D echocardiography automatic proximal isovelocity surface area (PISA) measurement.
Immune-PSO for Economic Dispatch with Valve Point Effect

This paper presents a simple and efficient approach for solving the nonconvex economic dispatch (ED) problems based on Immune-pso algorithm. ED is one of the most important problems in power system operation and planning. The aim of the ED problem is to determine the optimal combination of power outputs of all generating units so as to meet the required load demand at minimum operating cost while satisfying system equality and inequality constraints. This paper proposes an novel Immune-PSO algorithm to handle the equality and inequality constraints in ED problems. The Immune-PSO can be used as an optimizer providing the global solution while satisfying constraints for the nonconvex ED problems. To verify the feasibility of the proposed method, numerical studies have been performed for test systems.
Inter-institutional articulation as a strategy for family livestock farming

The development of the Uruguayan family farming production, and specifically of the livestock sector, has been raised as a priority in public policies, reconciling economic and social objectives. Livestock breeding continues to be one of the most important activities within the agriculture sector, but its productivity still shows an important gap in relation to potential, as a result of the combination of a complexity of factors, being low application of basic management technologies one of them. This is more evident in the case of family producers. In this context, the project "Improving the sustainability of family livestock farming in Uruguay", UFFIP for its acronym in English, set as a general objective to contribute to improve the profitability and viability of family farms without affecting natural resources, applying a co-innovation approach. In this context, 20 focus farms were selected from two of the main livestock regions of the country: Basaltic and East Hills. For each focus farm, a farm business plan was developed and agreed between facilitator and the producer and his/her family, which allowed sharing and validating new management and management practices, with a comprehensive approach; preserving natural resources, family goals, the production system and the local context. The UFFIP represented an umbrella that facilitate to achieve an effective articulation between the participating institutions (i.e. farmers, IV Congreso de Ciencias
Contamination of a calcareous soil by battery industry wastes. II. Treatment

This study evaluated treatment of a soil that was heavily contaminated by the disposal of waste from a Pb battery industry. The site was of interest from a remediation point of view, since the soil contained substantial quantities of calcareous material. Treatment involved extraction of the metals from the soil using aqueous solutions of EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid). The impact of pH, EDTA concentration, and reaction time on the extent of leaching of Pb was evaluated. The leaching efficiency was found to be independent of pH over a range of values from 4 to 8.2. The leaching of Pb and Ca increased with EDTA concentration with 99% of the Pb removed at an EDTA dosage of 3.2 M/kg soil. The removal efficiencies of Cu, Cr, Cd, Ni, and Zn were consistently less than that of Pb; however, with their lower initial concentrations, acceptable levels were achieved for all metals except Cd. A two-reaction model was successfully used to describe the results of a batch extraction test. The results indicated re.
Vertical comb drive microscanners for beam steering, linear scanning, and laser projection applications

This paper describes in detail our concept of quasi-static micro scanning mirrors enabling large static deflections and linearized scanning using vertical out-of-plane comb drives. The vertical comb configuration is realized from a planar scanner substrate by wafer bonding. The device concept is highly flexible by design; different kinds of vertical combs (e.g. staggered and angular) can be realized without changing the technological process flow but by design modifications, only. First demonstrator devices are presented: a) quasi-static 1D-scanners with 4 mm mirror diameter and ±7.5° mechanical tilt angle for beam steering and b) a quasi-static / resonant 2D-scanner enabling 2D raster scanning with SVGA resolution.
High-f/sub max/ AlGaAs/InGaAs and AlGaAs/GaAs HBTs fabricated with MOMBE selective growth in extrinsic base regions

Summary form only given. AlGaAs/GaAs and AlGaAs/InGaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) with excellent microwave performance are reported. An f/sub T/ of 102 GHz and an f/sub max/ of 224 GHz are achieved, using selective growth of heavily C-doped GaAs layers in extrinsic base regions, in combination with a 40-nm-thick compositionally graded InGaAs base structure. >
Measurements of teeth using the Reflex Microscope

Anthropologists and paleontologists have traditionally relied upon instruments such as calipers to measure bones and teeth thus effectively reducing complex threedimensional surfaces to two dimensional characterizations of surfaces. The Reflex Microscope is a noncontacting threedimensional measuring instrument that allows easy computation of measurements such as volumes and complex surface areas through its accompanying computer software. In the present study high resolution dental impressions were taken every 68 weeks from a laboratory colony of 15 vervet monkeys. Epoxy casts of the teeth were analyzed using the Reflex Microscope. Results indicate that monkeys raised on different diets show different wearrelated changes in tooth shape.
Nonlinear Analyses of an Instrumented Structure Damaged in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake

The extensive damage and economic losses that occurred during the 1994 Northridge and other recent moderate earthquakes have stimulated structural engineers to consider how to protect economic investment besides meeting life safety requirements of buildings. The equivalent lateral force procedure for seismic design is based on implicit consideration of inelastic response of structures in earthquakes. Experience with past earthquakes has indicated that this procedure is inadequate in controlling damage in buildings. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the capability of nonlinear dynamic analyses to predict performance of reinforced concrete structures subjected to earthquake ground motions. An instrumented building damaged during the 1994 Northridge earthquake was analyzed using DRAIN-2D, and the results were compared with recorded response data. Both nonlinear dynamic time history and nonlinear static push-over analyses were performed, and correlations between these two nonlinear analysis methods were studied. A simplified shear failure model was proposed in the study.
Small and decentralized wastewater management systems

1 Decentralized Wastewater Management Systems and Management 2 Constituents in Wastewater 3 Fate of Wastewater Constituents in the Environment 4 Introduction to Process Analysis and Design 5 Wastewater Pretreatment Operations and Processes 6 Alternative Wastewater Collection Systems 7 Biological Treatment and Nutrient Removal 8 Pond Treatment Systems 9 Wetlands and Aquatic Treatment Systems 10 Land Treatment Systems 11 Intermittent and Recalculating Medium Filters 12 Effluent Repurification and Reuse 13 Effluent Reuse and Disposal for Decentralized Systems 14 Biosolids and Septage Management 15 Management of Decentralized Wastewater Systems Appendixes
Using power decoupled technique for improvement of SEPIC Converter

Abstract. In almost all solar to electrical power converter systems capacitor is placed across the solar panel. In these systems, the capacitor across the solar panel has unwanted ripple. The capacitor voltage is observed by the maximum power tracking controller and due to existence of unwanted ripple, Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller fall into error and MPPT will be lost. In this paper by using the power decoupled circuit in the grid connected systems, voltage ripple is eliminated and MPPT can be realized. In this paper a new inverter with high gain ratio and high efficiency base on SEPIC converter is proposed. The proposed converter maintains MPPT and improves the efficiency and voltage gain.
Quantitative Evaluation of an On-Highway Trucking Fleet to Compare #2ULSD and B20 Fuels and their Impact on Overall Fleet Performance

A study was performed on 20 Class-8 trucks paired by make, model, mileage, and drive cycles. Ten trucks were operated using #2 Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel and 10 using a 20% soy methyl ester blend (B20). All trucks were equipped with data collection units that monitored engine information including fuel consumption, idle time, truck speed, engine load, and engine speed. Data collection occurred over a continuous span of 12 months. In addition to operating data, laboratory-based fuel and engine oil testing was performed to quantify the analytical differences between the two fuel types. Cetane number, energy content, density, kinematic viscosity, and lubricity was measured for both fuels and at every oil service interval engine oil samples were evaluated based on fuel dilution, soot content, wear metals, contaminant metals, viscosity, oxidation, and acid/base number. Operational and maintenance issues such as cold start reliability, fuel filter service intervals, and general engine maintenance was also analyzed for each fleet. Statistical analysis was performed to determine significant differences in the performance of engines on these #2ULSD and B20 fuels. At the conclusion of the study minimal differences were found with most comparisons, the exceptions primarily found in differences between the engine oil samples based on the two fuel types used in the study. These differences included viscosity, acid/base number, oxidation, and lead wear which indicated slightly higher oil degradation levels with B20 use.
O uso de ERP e CRM no suporte à gestão da demanda em ambientes de produção Make-to-Stock

Much attention today focuses on the Demand Management business process, which is responsible for coordination between production anxd the market, especially in companies of the Make-to-Stock type. In addition, new computer systems have been implemented to support a greater number of business activities. However, the real applicability of the functionalities of ERP and CRM systems in the activities of a Demand Management business process is still unclear. Therefore, this paper analyzes the applicability of an ERP and a CRM system in the activities of a Demand Management reference model for make-to-stock environments. The analysis is based on an exploratory study of the systems' functionalities and the activities described by a reference model of the business process.
Precipitation and Soil Moisture Datasets Show Severe Droughts in the MENA Region

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is facing the challenge of lingering droughts. Precipitation and soil moisture are two Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) that are relevant for drought monitoring. We assessed the discrepancies in drought monitoring using remote sensing data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative (ESA-CCI) and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis data (ERA5). A standardized index approach is applied to the four datasets. The indices are spatially and temporally consistent except for the ESA-CCI soil moisture (SM) dataset. The indices depict drought events over the North-West Africa region and show that the TRMM standardized precipitation index (SPI), ERA5 SPI and standardized soil moisture index (SMI) detect drought events in the Near East. A binary classification analysis showed that the indices can accurately and precisely identify drought events across the MENA region except for North East Africa. The indices show that the MENA region was recently under severe to extreme drought conditions, which are driving the exploitation of available water resources in an unsustainable manner. A focus on the Haouz Plain, Morocco, and Aleppo, Syria, shows the critical situation, while the conditions over Al Jazirah, Sudan, are less critical.
A Long Sequence Length, Reduced Complexity MASH 1-1-1 DDSM for Fractional-N Frequency Synthesizer

In this paper, a long sequence length, reduced complexity MASH 1-1-1 digital delta-sigma modulator (DDSM) suitable for fractional-N frequency synthesizer applications is presented. Good shaping of quantization noise is achieved by using the state of art MASH structure for a digital third-order delta-sigma modulator, meanwhile, the hardware required for this modulator is considerably reduced by recoding all carry output signal from accumulators. The functional operation of the modulator is confirmed by simulation.
Study on the stabilization of an optical fiber interferometric sensor

Optical fiber interferometric (OFI) sensors have been extensively used to measure a large variety of parameters due to their superior performance. The F-P OFI sensors are very sensitive to the cavity-length changes. However, it is difficult to fix the operating position at the quadrature point (Q point) in the sensor fabrication, and the sensor may also encounter with various environmental perturbations, which may drive the sensors out of the linear region. For the purpose of developing a highly-sensitive and reliable OFI vibration sensor, a new method was proposed and demonstrated in our research. By choosing a short cavity length, we can obtain OFI sensor with large interference period, which is helpful to avoid the infection of Q point drifting, but the visibility decline problem will arise simultaneously. A tilted diaphragm method was used to solve this problem in the short cavity length. Theoretical analyses have been performed, and a tilted diaphragm optical fiber sensor has been fabricated, the result shows a visibility of nearly 100% is realized in a short cavity about 50μm.
Novel two-bit HfO/sub 2/ nanocrystal nonvolatile flash memory

This paper presents a novel nonvolatile poly-Si-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon-type Flash memory that was fabricated using hafnium oxide (HfO/sub 2/) nanocrystals as the trapping storage layer. The formation of HfO/sub 2/ nanocrystals was confirmed using a number of physical analytical techniques, including energy-dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These newly developed HfO/sub 2/ nanocrystal memory cells exhibit very little lateral or vertical stored charge migration after 10k program/erase (P/E) cycles. According to the temperature-activated Arrhenius model, we estimate that the activation energy lies within the range 2.1-3.3 eV. These HfO/sub 2/ nanocrystal memories exhibit excellent data retention, endurance, and good reliability, even for the cells subjected to 10 k P/E cycles. These features suggest that such cells are very useful for high-density two-bit nonvolatile Flash memory applications.
Therapeutic Effect of Attenuated Salmonella Carrying SiRNA-STAT3 Plasmid on Transplanted Prostate Cancer in Mice

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of attenuated Salmonella carrying siRNA-STAT3 plasmid on transplanted prostate cancer in mice, and investigate the mechanism of siRNA-STAT3 inducing apoptosis of prostate cancer cells in mice. Methods The transplanted prostate cancer models of mice were built, and then the mice were randomly divided into Mock group, pGC-Si-Scramble group and pGC-Si-STAT3 group. The general status of the mice was observed and the changes of tumor volume were recorded. The expression levels of mRNA and protein of STAT3 and its downstream genes such as Bcl-2, c-Myc, HIF-1, cyclinD1 were analyzed with RT-PCR and western blotting, and the apoptosis of tumor cells was detected with flow cytometry. Results Compared with the Mock group, the tumor weight and tumor volume in pGC-Si-STAT3 group were significantly decreased (P<0.05). The result of flow cytometry revealed that the early apoptotic rate of tumor cells in pGC-Si-STAT3 group was (29.1±1.6)%, which was significantly higher than that of pGC-Si-Scramble group (14.7±1.4)% and Mock group (8.9±1.8)% (P<0.05). The mRNA expression levels of STAT3 and its downstream genes Bcl-2 and c-Myc in the pGC-Si-STAT3 group were significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the protein expression levels of STAT3 and its downstream genes HIF-1 and cyclinD1 were also decreased (P<0.05), compared with the Mock group. Conclusion The attenuated Salmonella carrying siRNA-STAT3 plasmid could inhibit the growth of transplanted prostate cancer in mice by regulating the expressions of STAT3’s downstream genes and inducing the apoptosis of tumor cells.
A novel microactuator for microbiopsy in capsular endoscopes

This paper presents a LiGA (a German acronym for lithographie, galvanoformung, abformung) process based microactuator to be used for microbiopsy in capsular endoscopes. This microactuator is designed to be integrated into a capsular endoscope and to extract tissue samples inside the small gastrointestine which a conventional endoscope cannot reach. The proposed microactuator was fabricated as a cylindrical shape of diameter 10 mm and length 1.8 mm. This actuator consists of three parts: a microbiopsy part with a microspike, an actuating part with a torsion spring and a triggering part with a shape memory alloy (SMA) heating wire and polymer string. In order to extract sample tissue, a microspike in the developed actuator moves forward and backward using the slider-crank mechanism. For low power consumption triggering, a polymer-melting scheme was applied. The SMA heating wire consumed approximately 1.5 V × 160 mA × 1 second (66.67 µWH) for triggering. The precise components of the microactuator were fabricated using the LiGA process in order to overcome the limitations in accuracy of conventional precision machining. The developed microactuator was evaluated by extracting tissue samples from the small intestine of a pig ex vivo, and examining the tissue with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining protocol. The experimental tests demonstrated that the developed microactuator with microspike successfully extracted tissue samples from the pig's small intestines.
Reliable energy-aware routing with unreliable links in ad hoc networks

Since most ad hoc mobile devices today operate on batteries, energy-aware routings and power control techniques in wireless networks have drawn considerable research interests recently. This paper presents a reliable energy-aware routing algorithm (REARP) for unreliable ad hoc networks. The lifetime of the whole network and the energy cost for each packet are considered simultaneously in the routing processes of the REARP. Different from the formers, the energy cost of the link layer retransmission is also computed into the total energy consumption. Moreover, the REARP appropriately adjusts the transmission power by systematically integrating the reliability and power control techniques. We conducted extensive simulations to evaluate the performance of the new routing algorithms compared to a number of existing routing algorithms.
A review of micro-contact physics for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) metal contact switches

Innovations in relevant micro-contact areas are highlighted, these include, design, contact resistance modeling, contact materials, performance and reliability. For each area the basic theory and relevant innovations are explored. A brief comparison of actuation methods is provided to show why electrostatic actuation is most commonly used by radio frequency microelectromechanical systems designers. An examination of the important characteristics of the contact interface such as modeling and material choice is discussed. Micro-contact resistance models based on plastic, elastic-plastic and elastic deformations are reviewed. Much of the modeling for metal contact micro-switches centers around contact area and surface roughness. Surface roughness and its effect on contact area is stressed when considering micro-contact resistance modeling. Finite element models and various approaches for describing surface roughness are compared. Different contact materials to include gold, gold alloys, carbon nanotubes, composite gold-carbon nanotubes, ruthenium, ruthenium oxide, as well as tungsten have been shown to enhance contact performance and reliability with distinct trade offs for each. Finally, a review of physical and electrical failure modes witnessed by researchers are detailed and examined.