Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanistic and Volumetric Properties of Asphalt Mixtures with Recycled Asphalt Pavement

This research examines how the addition of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) changes the volumetric and mechanistic properties of asphalt mixtures. A Superpave® 19-mm mixture containing 0% RAP was the control for evaluating properties of mixes containing 15%, 25%, and 40% RAP. Two types of RAP were evaluated: a processed RAP and an unprocessed RAP (grindings). Testing included dynamic modulus in tension and compression, creep compliance in compression, and creep flow in compression. Dynamic modulus and creep compliance master curves were constructed with the use of the time–temperature superposition principle to describe the behavior of each mix over a range of temperatures. The voids in mineral aggregate (VMA) and voids filled with asphalt (VFA) of the RAP mixtures increased at the 25% and 40% levels, and there was also an influence of preheating time on the volumetric properties. The dynamic modulus of the processed RAP mixtures increased from the control to 15% RAP level, but the 25% and 40% RAP mixtures had dynamic modulus curves similar to that of the control mixture in both tension and compression. The creep compliance curves showed similar trends. A combination of gradation, asphalt content, and volumetric properties is likely the cause of these trends.
Wavefront aberrations control for complex optical systems by compensation-surface

Figure-errors as an optical manufacture error would degrade the performance of optical system. Optical components-clocking around optical axis is a classical method of figure-errors compensation. However, the compensation ability of optical component clocking is limited by the distribution of actual figure-error. This paper proposes a compensation-surface method, which is a simple and effective method for figure-error compensation. Based on the predicted wavefront error with actual figure error, an analytical computational method of figure function of the compensation-surface is built. The figure of compensation-surface is a deterministic polished surface. Finally the other figure errors can be largely compensated by the compensation-surface. The method is implemented on a manufactured optical system, a 193nm small-field projection lens. Simulation experiment proves our method can greatly reduce the aberration caused by figure errors. The WFE can be reduced to 0. 04λ (λ=193.29nm) from 0. 265λ and reduced by 84%. The compensation effect is more remarkable, and nearly 2.7 times the compensation effect of optical-component clocking method.
Real-time detection using wavelet transform and neural network of short-circuit faults within a train in DC transit systems

A method is proposed for the real-time detection of DC-link short-circuit faults in DC transit systems. The discrete wavelet transform is implemented to detect any surges in the DC third-rail current waveform. In the event of a surge the wavelet transform extracts a feature vector from the current waveform and feeds it to a self-organising neural network. The neural network determines whether the feature vector belongs to a normal or a fault current surge.
Kollaborative Musteridentifikation basierend auf Wiki-Technologien

Patterns haben sich als gute Moglichkeit herausgestellt, um wiederkehrende kontextbezogene Entwurfsprobleme zu losen. In der Vergangenheit wurden diese Patterns meist in gedruckten Sammlungen veroffentlicht. Die sich daraus ergebenden Nachteile, wie etwa der feste Autorenkreis, die Beschrankung auf eine Domane sowie die Unmoglichkeit nachtraglicher Erganzungen bzw. Korrekturen, wurden im Rahmen dieser Diplomarbeit durch die Entwicklung eines wiki-basierten Systems angegegangen. Dabei wurde zunachst versucht, einen bereits existierenden Prototypen auf eine wartbare und zukunftsfahige Basis zu stellen. Nach dem Scheitern dieses Vorhabens wurden die zentralen Anforderungen an eine solche Losung herausgearbeitet und als Basis fur einen eigenen Prototypen verwendet. Dieser wurde auf Basis des MediaWiki-Frameworks implementiert und bietet die Moglichkeit, Patterns mit semantischen Daten zu annotieren. ie Patterndokumente lassen sich mit Hilfe von frei konfigurierbaren Templates auf ein einheitliches Format bringen. Durch die Verwendung von semantischen Wiki-Erweiterungen wurde das Erstellen, Suchen und Betrachten von Patterns deutlich verbessert. MediaWiki als Grundsystem sorgt dafur, dass das System sich ideal fur kollaboratives Arbeiten eignet. Patterns have been shown to be a good solution to recurring contextual design problems. In the past those patterns were often published within printed collections. Subsequent disadvantages like a fixed group of authors, the limitation to one specific domain plus the impossibility of future adjustments and corrections respectively, have been addressed in this diploma thesis by developing a wiki based solution. An initial attempt was made to put an existing prototype on a maintainable and sustainable basis. After the failure of this approach the essential requirements of such a solution were carved out and used as a base for a new prototype. This prototype was implemented on top of the MediaWiki. It gives us the possibility to annotate patterns with semantic data. Pattern documents use freely configurable templates to ensure a common format. Due to the use of semantic MediaWiki extensions the process of creating, searching and displaying of patterns was strongly enhanced. Collaborative working was made easily available by the use of MediaWiki as a base.
Microplastics interact with benthic biostabilization processes

Marine microplastics (MPs) accumulate in sediments but impacts on ecosystem functions are poorly understood. MPs interactions with stabilizing benthic flora/fauna or biostabilization processes, have not been fully investigated, yet this is critical for unraveling MPs effects on ecosystem-scale processes and functions. This is also vital for understanding feedback processes that may moderate the stock and flow of MPs as they are transported through estuaries. The relationships between sedimentary MPs, biota, environmental properties and sediment stability from field sediments, were examined using variance partitioning (VP) and correlation analyses. VP was used to identify common and unique contributions of different groups of variables (environmental, fauna and microplastic variables) to sediment stability. The influence of microplastic presence (fragment/fiber abundances and microplastic diversity) on sediment stability (defined using erosion thresholds and erosion rates) was demonstrated. Furthermore, MPs appeared to mediate the biostabilizing effects of environmental properties (including microorganisms) and fauna. Environmental properties and sediment stability could also explain the variation in MPs across sites suggesting biostabilizing properties may mediate the abundance, type and diversity of MPs that accumulate in the bed. The potential for MPs to influence biota and biostabilization processes and mediate microplastic resuspension dynamics within estuaries is discussed.
A virtual warehouse system for production logistics

Rapid change of product demand impacts the master production schedule and affects the stability of production. Traditional inventory planning generated by advanced planning and schedule system is inadequate to handle the effect of variability, non-linear relations, and other abrupt factors on product demand. This paper presents a virtual warehouse system (VWS) which is capable of refining inventory planning so as to streamline product planning and control if there is an abrupt change in the product demand. It can also serve as an advisory tool for supporting decision making and monitoring the inventory allocation of WIP when supply shortage occurs. The VWS is based on the concept of the postponement of product differentiation, a simulation model and knowledge-based system. The inventory, which was originally planned for current and future demands, will act as a buffer to be reallocated and to fulfil a sudden demand. The flexibility of inventory stirring is of key significance in this study. A prototype VWS was built and a successful trial implemented in a prestigious manufacturing enterprise. The results show that the inventory level across the supply chain among different parties can be minimized and the manufacture enterprise more predictable and adaptable to an abrupt change in product demand.
Early detection of pitting failure in gears using a spectral kurtosis analysis

Conventional methods (i.e. time, frequency and cepstrum) can routinely be used to reveal fault-indicating information in the vibration signal. In recent years, wavelet analysis, which can lead to a clear identification of the nature of faults, is widely used to describe rotating machine condition. The capability of this method in the detection of any abnormality can be further improved when its low-order frequency moments are considered. This paper presents the use of the fast kurtogram in the early detection and condition monitoring of pitting fault. For this purpose, a dynamic model of a simple stage gearbox (with and without defects) is used. Then, the pinion’s vibration displacement is analyzed by using a fast kurtogram method. This method is suitable for such diagnosis and gives valuable information about the presence and effects of the pitting tooth defect.
Accelerating skin barrier repair using novel bioactive magnesium-doped nanofibers of non-mulberry silk fibroin during wound healing

Novel magnesium doped non-mulberry silk fibroin nanofibers with ability to enhance skin barrier function were successfully fabricated using electrospinning technique for wound healing applications. Magnesium nanoparticles incorporated in the electrospun nanofibers releases Mg2+ ions at the site of implementation. The effect of Mg2+ is of considerable concern in wound healing due to its skin barrier repair ability and its role in blood coagulation. The physicochemical characterization of the scaffold was investigated by determining the morphology and secondary structure confirmation. The effects of Mg2+ ions in silk fibroin microenvironment have been evaluated using SEM, XRD, and FTIR to confirm the incorporation of magnesium in the film. The aim of this study is to see the effect of doped Mg on the structural, physical, and biological properties of non-mulberry silk fibroin (NSF) film. The magnesium doped nanofibrous film exhibited enhanced mechanical property, satisfactory blood clotting ability, and good in vitro degradability. This silk fibroin-based film mimicking extracellular matrix for skin regeneration were constructed using electrospinning technique. The wound healing efficiency of prepared nanofibers were evaluated in full-thickness wound models of rat. The Mg doped silk fibroin film exhibited faster wound healing activity (14 days) among all experimental group. The study indicates the potential of magnesium-doped silk /PVA film as skin substitute film.
Inferring ongoing cancer evolution from single tumour biopsies using synthetic supervised learning

Variant allele frequencies (VAF) encode ongoing evolution and subclonal selection in growing tumours. However, existing methods that utilize VAF information for cancer evolutionary inference are compressive, slow, or incorrectly specify the underlying cancer evolutionary dynamics. Here, we provide a proof-of-principle synthetic supervised learning method, TumE, that integrates simulated models of cancer evolution with Bayesian neural networks, to infer ongoing selection in bulk-sequenced single tumour biopsies. Analyses in synthetic and patient tumours show that TumE significantly improves both accuracy and inference time per sample when detecting positive selection, deconvoluting selected subclonal populations, and estimating subclone frequency. Importantly, we show how transfer learning can leverage stored knowledge within TumE models for related evolutionary inference tasks — substantially reducing data and computational time for further model development and providing a library of recyclable deep learning models for the cancer evolution community. This extensible framework provides a foundation and future directions for harnessing progressive computational methods for the benefit of cancer genomics and, in turn, the cancer patient. TumE is publicly available for use at https://github.com/tomouellette/TumE.
The Strategic Communication Imperative

Strategic communication remains at best a translucent concept. The term ‘strategic’ is often mis-applied to practice which is technical and tactical. Technical in the sense that it relies on outputs involving marketing communication tools, including those used in public relations, to support sales of products and services; tactical in that its focus is almost always in current time frames, which cannot in any way be described as ‘strategic. ’ It is definitely not about dealing with socio -economic and political issues in a dialogic way that resolves them before they impact on market performance Mahoney, 2022, in press). A crucial question for communication designed to help rarely heard voices is whether, in a given situation concerning a specific issue, its outputs are actually noticed by important stakeholders, read and understood, and generate the desired outcomes: changes in awareness, knowledge and behaviour. A significant problem addressed in this paper, and identified through my mixed-methods research with senior Australian PR managers and consultants, and from international research, is that often practitioners are unable to address issues in a strategic way. Even though they acknowledge the ideal approach to professional communication strategic planning and implementation, practitioners can be prevented from acting strategically by senior management or clients who are not convinced of its importance as a high-order, value-added organisational function Mahoney, 2022, in press). While senior managers and clients recognise the need for strategic business planning, they do not equally recognise the strategic
Integració de la llibreria Intel DPDK a LISPmob

L'objectiu d'aquest projecte es crear un modul per a LISPmob que el fara capac de processar un nombre de paquets mes alt que LISPmob sense aquest modul. Per a aconseguir-ho, integrarem una llibreria de codi obert desenvolupada per Intel anomenada Intel DPDK.
Teacher Readiness in Implementing the Teaching of Design and Technology and Its Relationship with Self-Efficacy and Intrinsic Motivation

An important component of an education change begins with readiness among the implementers. Willingness to face change needs to be measured from the perspective of the individual implementing the change, especially teachers. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the relationship between teachers’ readiness in implementing the teaching of Design and Technology (RBT) year four of the Primary School Standard Curriculum (KSSR) with self -efficacy and intrinsic motivation. This study is guided by the Wallace Reflective Model. The quantitative study of this descriptive survey involved 368 teachers of RBT fourth year KSSR subjects in Peninsular Malaysia. Cluster and simple random sampling were used to select the sample for this study. The research instrument consisted of a set of questionnaires containing 77 items. The findings of the study showed that the overall mean of teachers' readiness in terms of reasoning knowledge and PBS skills was high. The readiness of teachers in terms of PBS skills recorded a higher mean value (M = 3.92) compared to reasoning knowledge (M = 3.82). These findings give the impression that teachers are more prepared in terms of PBS skills in implementing the teaching of RBT KSSR. The results of the Pearson Correlation Test showed that there was a moderately positive relationship between the independent variables (self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation) with teachers' readiness. The findings of this study prove that the component of teachers’ readiness is very important to be taken into account in the formulation of a new curriculum. Factors of self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation also need to be considered because these two variables have a significant relationship with the readiness of teachers in implementing teaching in the classroom. Therefore, this study is expected to provide guidance to policy makers and curriculum planners to pay attention to the aspect of teacher readiness when introducing new subjects.
MEMSEdu: a project for developing an Internet course for teaching basic MEMS technologies and applications

MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) including also MOEMS (micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems) represent a progressive area of electrical/mechanical engineering. To supply this field with well-educated engineers, it is necessary to teach them basic sciences, technology, applications, and design aspects (reliability, packaging, etc.) belonging to the topic of M(O)EMS. Conventional teaching methods, based on lectures, static written materials, laboratories, etc., has become rather difficult at all levels of education. The main objective of the described project is the development of a multimedia supported education material that teaches the theoretical background, application of microelectronics, and packaging technologies in designing micro-electromechanical systems for the next generation of intelligent systems. The new approach tries to exploit all advantages of multimedia computer aided teaching not only for keeping the competitiveness but also in order to overcome the specific difficulties of the particular area. The modern educational software tool can secure up to date information, easy-to-understand visualisation of the 3D MEMS structures and interactive examples of the subject. The course material will be available on the Internet and on CDs for the technical community, for other university professors for teaching, and also will continuously be developed. The paper highlights the structure of the course material and demonstrates animated examples.
Electric vehicle developments in Europe and Japan

Volkswagen, Mercedes, and the big three Japanese companies, Nissan, Toyota and Honda may develop for the 1998 model year good basic electric cars. VW's Concept 1 will be offered with gasoline, diesel/electric, and full electric drive trains. From a cost stand point most of the cars will be offered with improved lead-acid batteries such as the Horizon with NiCd or some form of advanced battery as an upgrade or high performance option. General Motors will sell the Impact with lead-acid batteries. The position of Ford and Chrysler is unknown at this point, but both are fielding electric versions of vans already in production. At least one of these efforts may pay off and after 2000 the electric car could improve rapidly.
AN INVESTIGATION OF VARIABLE VALVE TIMING EFFECTS ON HCCI ENGINE PERFORMANCE

The Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) engine is a promising combustion concept for reducing NOx and particulate matter (PM) emissions and providing a high thermal efficiency in internal combustion engines. This concept though has limitations in the areas of combustion control and achieving stable combustion at high loads. For HCCI to be a viable option for on-road vehicles, further understanding of its combustion phenomenon and its control are essential. Thus, this thesis has a focus on both the experimental setup of an HCCI engine at Michigan Technological University (MTU) and also developing a physical numerical simulation model called the Sequential Model for Residual Affected HCCI (SMRH) to investigate performance of HCCI engines. The primary focus is on understanding the effects of intake and exhaust valve timings on HCCI combustion. For the experimental studies, this thesis provided the contributions for development of HCCI setup at MTU. In particular, this thesis made contributions in the areas of measurement of valve profiles, measurement of piston to valve contact clearance for procuring new pistons for further studies of high geometric compression ratio HCCI engines. It also consists of developing and testing a supercharging station and the setup of an electrical air heater to extend the HCCI operating region. The HCCI engine setup is based on a GM 2.0 L LHU Gen 1 engine which is a direct injected engine with variable xxv valve timing (VVT) capabilities. For the simulation studies, a computationally efficient modeling platform has been developed and validated against experimental data from a single cylinder HCCI engine. In-cylinder pressure trace, combustion phasing (CA10, CA50, BD) and performance metrics IMEP, thermal efficiency, and CO emission are found to be in good agreement with experimental data for different operating conditions. Effects of phasing intake and exhaust valves are analyzed using SMRH. In addition, a novel index called Fuel Efficiency and Emissions (FEE) index is defined and is used to determine the optimal valve timings for engine operation through the use of FEE contour maps.
A deep learning-based approach for feeding behavior recognition of weanling pigs

Abstract Feeding is the most important behavior that represents the health and welfare of weanling pigs. The early detection of feed refusal is crucial for the control of disease in the initial stages and the detection of empty feeders for adding feed in a timely manner. This paper proposes a real-time technique for the detection and recognition of small pigs using a deep-leaning-based method. The proposed model focuses on detecting pigs on a feeder in a feeding position. Conventional methods detect pigs and then classify them into different behavior gestures. In contrast, in the proposed method, these two tasks are combined into a single process to detect only feeding behavior to increase the speed of detection. Considering the significant differences between pig behaviors at different sizes, adaptive adjustments are introduced into a you-only-look-once (YOLO) model, including an angle optimization strategy between the head and body for detecting a head in a feeder. According to experimental results, this method can detect the feeding behavior of pigs and screen non-feeding positions with 95.66%, 94.22%, and 96.56% average precision (AP) at an intersection over union (IoU) threshold of 0.5 for YOLOv3, YOLOv4, and an additional layer and with the proposed activation function, respectively. Drinking behavior was detected with 86.86%, 89.16%, and 86.41% AP at a 0.5 IoU threshold for YOLOv3, YOLOv4, and the proposed activation function, respectively. In terms of detection and classification, the results of our study demonstrate that the proposed method yields higher precision and recall compared to conventional methods.
Characterization of a system for measurements on soft ferrites

This paper deals with the characterization of a system for measurements on soft ferrites through a volt-amperometric method. The accurate control of the driving input field is discussed as a critical aspect for the definition of the correct operating conditions on the magnetic sample. A custom-built transimpedance amplifier is characterized in terms of total harmonic distortion and signal-to-noise and distortion ratio of the primary current and shown as a valid configuration for the required purposes. As a main contribution, the uncertainty analyses of the major loop measurement and of the magnetic accommodation measurement of minor asymmetric loops are provided.