Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The All-New Switch Book: The Complete Guide to LAN Switching Technology

This much-needed update to the bestselling guide on the extensive changes to the local area networks (LAN) switching technologies explains why LAN switching technologies are critical to network design. This in-depth guide covers the capabilities, application, and design of LAN switches and switched internetworks and examines the significant changes that have taken place since the publication of the first edition seven years ago. Youre sure to appreciate the witty writing style and easy-to-follow format on such an often-complicated subject matter.
The coordinated control of autonomous agents

This thesis considers the coordinated control of autonomous agents. The agents are modeled as double integrators, one for each Cartesian dimension. The goal is to force the agents to converge to a formation specified by their desired relative positions. To this end a pair of one-step-ahead optimization based control laws are developed. The control algorithms produce a communication topology that mirrors the geometric formation topology due to the careful choice of the minimized cost functions. Through this equivalence a natural understanding of the relationship between the geometric formation topology and the communication infrastructure is gained. It is shown that the control laws are stable and guarantee convergence for all viable formation topologies. Additionally, velocity constraints can be added to allow the formation to follow fixed or arbitrary time dependent velocities. Both control algorithms only require local information exchange. As additional agents attach to the formation, only those agents that share position constraints with the joining agents need to adjust their control laws. When redundancy is incorporated into the formation topology, it is possible for the system to survive loss of agents or communication channels. In the event that an agent drops out of the formation, only the agents with position interdependence on the lost agent need to adjust their control laws. Finally, if a communication channel is lost, only the agents that share that communication channel must adjust their control laws. The first control law falls into the category of distributed control, since it requires either the global information exchange to compute the formation size or an a priori knowledge of the largest possible formation. The algorithm uses the network size to penalize the control input for each formation. When using a priori knowledge, it is shown that additional redundancy not only adds robustness to loss of agents
Cardiopulmonary Response to Exercise at High Altitude in Adolescents with Congenital Heart Disease

Objective: To extend our knowledge on tolerance of acute high-altitude exposure and hemodynamic response to exercise in adolescents with congenital heart disease (AscCHD) without meaningful clinical or functional restriction. Methods: A symptom limited cardiopulmonary exercise stress test and a non-invasive cardiac output measurement during steady state exercise were performed at 540 m and at 3454 m a.s. l. Symptoms of acute mountain sickness were noted. Results: We recruited 21 healthy controls and 16 AscCHD (59% male, mean age 14.7 ± 1.1 years). Three subjects (2 controls, 1 AscCHD) presented light symptoms of acute mountain sickness (dizziness and headache). During the symptom limited exercise test at lowland, control subjects showed a significantly higher power to weight index (3.5 ± 0.6 W/kg vs. 3.0 ± 0.7 W/kg, p < 0.001), heart rate (188.8 ± 10.4 1/min vs. 179.4 ± 13.1 1/min, p < 0.050) and ventilation (92.8 ± 22.9 l/min vs. 75.4 ± 18.6 l/min, <0.050). At altitude, power to weight index only remained significantly higher in the control group (2.8 ± 0.6 W/kg vs. 2.6 ± 0.6 W/kg, p < 0.001). Pulmonary blood flow (PBF) at lowland showed no difference between the control and the AscCHD group, neither at rest (5.4 ± 0.8 l/min vs. 5.1 ± 0.9 l/min, p = 0.308), nor during the steady state test (10.6 ± 2.4 l/min vs. 10.5 ± 2.0 l/min, p = 0.825). At high altitude, PBF increased by 110% and 112%, respectively (12.8 ± 2.32 l/min vs. 12.5 ± 3.0 l/min; intergroup difference: p = 0.986). Conclusions: High altitude exposure was well tolerated in an unselected group of AscCHD. No significant difference in the cardio-pulmonary adaptation to a control group was noted during a steady state exercise. Symptoms of minor acute mountain sickness did occur, which should however not be misinterpreted as signs of hemodynamic maladaptation.
Practical Service Level Management: Delivering High-Quality Web-Based Services

Measure, manage, and improve the speed and reliability of web services Complete reference for creating relevant, effective Service Level Agreements Detailed discussions of both technical and business performance metrics and their statistical treatment Performance and management implications of various web services delivery infrastructures, including caching and load distribution Discussion of the transport infrastructure, including quality of service (QoS) technology and traffic shaping Instrumentation system design Measurement collection, aggregation, correlation, and use for real-time service level control and reporting Quick problem detection, "triage" problem diagnosis, and root-cause analysis Automated, policy-based system management Load testing, modeling, and capacity planning for web systems Calculation of return on investment for web infrastructure improvements Structured plan for implementation of SLM techniques The web has become a major vehicle for transforming business processes, but ineffective management of web-based services can result in high costs and user dissatisfaction. Service Level Management (SLM) is therefore a competitive weapon in the web marketplace, providing the tools needed to improve performance and reliability of web services while simultaneously controlling costs.Practical Service Level Management: Delivering High-Quality Web-Based Services shows you how you can measure, manage, and improve network performance and quality of experience (QoE) for critical web services. Starting with an explanation of SLM and common performance metrics, the book provides detailed discussions of methods to measure and improve performance. Service Level Agreements, instrumentation, performance-improvement technologies, load testing, and long-term planning are all covered in detail. This book provides both technical engineers and non-technical managers with an organized, cohesive plan for measuring, improving, and evaluating the performance of web-based services.Whether you are delivering services to other businesses or directly to customers, Practical Service Level Management: Delivering High-Quality Web-Based Services walks you through the complete process of designing a balanced solution for your situation. Use it to help design a system with the speed, reliability, and flexibility that are critical success factors for your business.This book is part of the Networking Technology Series from Cisco Press, which offers networking professionals valuable information for constructing efficient networks, understanding new technologies, and building successful careers.
A new family of DC-DC-AC power electronics converters

Darabi, Mostafa M.S.E.C. E, Purdue University, May 2014. A New Family of DC-DCAC Power Electronics Converters. Major Professor: Euzeli Cipriano Dos Santos. This thesis proposes a family of non-isolated bidirectional converter in order to interface dc and ac variables. Such power electronics solutions guarantee: (i) bidirectional power flow between dc and ac converter sides, (ii) independent control in both converter sides, (iii) high level of integration with a reduction of one power switch and its drive circuits, (iv) implementation of two functions by using a unique power conversion stage and (v) reduction of the capacitor losses. Despite proposing new power converter solutions, this thesis presents an analysis of the converters in terms of pulse-width-modulation (PWM) strategy, dc-link capacitor variables, and suitable a control approach. Solutions for single-phase, three-phase and three-phase four-wire systems are proposed by employing a converter leg with three switches. A possible application of this converter is in Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) systems and interfacing dc microgrid with a utility grid. In addition to the new power electronics converters proposed in this thesis, an experimental setup has been developed for validation of the simulated outcomes. The proof-of-concept experimental setup is constituted by: DSP, Drivers & Integrating Board, Power Supply and, Power Converter & Heat-Sink .
Spam filtering using signed and trust reputation management

In the e-mail revolution most of the e-mail messages contain SPAM which clogs up the inbox and is quite obnoxious. Therefore, managing a mailbox has become a big task in the faster e-world. Especially, when the user linked with social networks, user's inbox is occupied with several kinds of SPAM emails which lead to many problems. Deduction of spam mails has become an important issue in e-world. In this paper a mathematical approach based on signed and trust reputation management is developed to restrict the spam e-mails through user's attitude on a particular e-mail and content relevancy of the e-mail. The results obtained by this approach are similar to the results obtained through ID3 classifier.
Getting the Most Out of Your Silage

The keys to making silage are to 8 harvest the crop from the field at optimum maturity for good nutritive value, 8 if needed, wilt the crop as quickly as possible to an acceptable dry matter content to preserve nutrients and promote a good fermentation, 8 chop forage particles to an optimal size to allow for good effective fiber and silo packing, 8 use a proven silage additive to promote a more efficient fermentation, 8 rapidly exclude air from the forage mass in the silo structure by packing silage tightly, 8 seal the silo as rapidly as possible after filling and 7) prevent the penetration of air into the silage mass during storage and subsequent feed out.
Noise analysis for switched-capacitor circuitry

Track and hold circuits play a key role in mixed-signal, analog to digital interfaces. They are often used as part of the analog to digital conversion (ADC) process whereby a time-varying analog signal is sampled at the transition of a clock signal and subsequently held for a part of the conversion process. This approach is used, in part, because the remainder of the ADC conversion process is adversely affected if the input signal varies during the conversion. Noise, and in particular thermal noise, is recognized as a major bottleneck limiting the performance of switched-capacitor circuits and it is essential that all of the major contributors to noise are appropriately considered when designing any switched-capacitor circuit. Invariably, switched-capacitor (SC) circuit designers only discuss noise generated in the track mode when reporting noise performance and correspondingly ignore noise generated in the hold mode. In particular, most authors simply use the well-known expression kT/C to represent the variance of sampled thermal noise present on a sampling capacitor[16]-[19]. The spectrum of the continuous-time sample and hold noise has been discussed as the switches capacitor circuitry field evolved [1]-[3] but the early authors didn’t discuss the relationship between the spectrum of the sample and hold noise and the sampled noise characterized with the kT/C expression. More important, noise present during the hold mode which affects subsequent sampling has not been discussed in the literature. In the thesis, the continuous noise which is generated during the second phase of a SC circuit will be compared to the S/H noise. In chapter two of this thesis, a numerical comparison between the RMS value of the continuous-time S/H noise and the sampled kT/C noise is presented. In chapter three, thermal noise present during the hold mode for two switched-capacitor circuits which are often used
Modeling Endogenous Relationship Between Driver Behavior and Highway Safety

This paper describes how the misinterpretation of the risk taken by drivers has been recognized as a significant factor in highway crashes. It is generally accepted that a link exists between objective risk and subjective risk that is determinant in the likelihood of crash, but the mutual relationship between the driver behavior as influenced by the risk perceived and the crash rate on the road has not been fully studied. The main objective of this paper is the development of an advanced econometric model that uses a system of relationships approach to link driver behavior (free-flow speeds), objective risk (crash rate), and the roadway characteristics of four-lane highways. The proposed system of relationships is formulated using a simultaneous equations model that consists of two structural equations involving two endogenous variables, the objective risk and the speed selected by the drivers. The interpretation of the relationship between the mean speed and the objective risk was straightforward from the results obtained from the system of equations. The results established that the mean speed decreases with an increasing crash rate and in the presence of restricted conditions as represented by the roadway characteristics. On the other hand, the crash rate equation included the effects of the mean speed and six different roadway characteristics. The relationship established that the crash rate on the road increases with increasing mean speed and the presence of riskier conditions as represented by the roadway characteristics.
A study of Douglas-fir anatomical and mechanical properties and their interactions

Low embodied energy, ability to act as a carbon store and ease of recycling gives forest products an important role within a low carbon built environment. Almost 25 % of the coniferous resource within the South West of England is Douglas-fir, a species reputed for producing high quality timber. Despite this, the region is facing challenges in delivering the resources full potential, a contributing factor to which is a loss of knowledge regarding its quality. The aim of the work presented is to gain an improved understanding of the quality of Douglas-fir grown within the region, from the perspective of uses in structural applications, the factors which influence material quality and their interrelationships. Flexural modulus of elasticity, flexural and compressive strength were determined utilising small clear specimens derived from 1.3 and 8 m heights within 27 trees from six sites across the South West. Results showed a rise in the magnitude of properties with increasing cambial age, particularly so at younger ages. Differences in values were also recorded between stem heights and with rate of growth. These were however less than age related variations. Results compared favourably to those reported in other studies conducted on the species. Utilising SilviScan-3, anatomical properties including density, microfibril angle and cellular dimensions were measured. Significant variations were recorded with cambial age, and in some instances sampling height. The influence of growth rate on anatomical properties was small. Through statistical and composite modelling, microfibril angle was found to be strongly associated with changes in modulus of elasticity within juvenile wood. Within mature wood and for strength properties, density was the controlling factor. It was shown that a moderate proportion of variations in mechanical properties can be accounted for utilising visually identifiable wood characteristics. The new understanding that has been gained through this work presents opportunities for improved utilisation, the implementation of effective management practices and the development of more efficient visual grading techniques.
A Defect-Based Approach for Detailed Condition Assessment of Concrete Bridges

Bridge condition assessment is one of the most essential elements of Bridge Management Systems (BMS). This is owing to the fact that available inputs from assessment reports are constantly interpreted for maintenance decisions and budget allocation to critical bridges within a region’s inventory. Thus, performing effective bridge assessment is vital to ensure safety and sustainability of the bridge infrastructure. In practice, the evaluation of concrete bridges is mostly conducted on the basis of visual inspection, which is associated with considerable subjectivity and uncertainty inherent in human judgments. Additionally, current bridge assessment practices were found to be oversimplified, with conclusions being often drawn in absence of in-depth review and consideration of critical factors. To remediate the existing shortcomings and ameliorate the bridge assessment process, this study proposes a fuzzy Hierarchical Evidential Reasoning (HER) approach for detailed condition assessment of concrete bridges under uncertainty. The essence of the suggested framework addresses the treatment and aggregation of uncertain measurements of detected bridge defects, in a systematic manner, to establish an enhanced platform for reliable and detailed bridge assessment. The significant features of this methodology can be summarized in the following points. First, the proposed approach utilizes a generic hierarchy that models the several levels of a concrete bridge under assessment; namely: bridge components, elements, and measured defects. Second, the proposed model is set to account for relative importance weights of all assessment factors in the hierarchical breakdown. Third, a novel HER assessment belief structure is employed to grip probabilistic uncertainty (ignorance) in bridge evaluation, whereas fuzzy uncertainty (subjectivity) is processed through a set of collectively exhaustive fuzzy linguistic variables. Forth, Dempster-Shafer (D-S) theory is eventually applied under the proposed HER framework for the purpose of accumulating supporting pieces of evidence in a comprehensive manner. The suggested model is implemented to arrive at detailed and informative bridge element condition ratings through data acquired from two case study bridges in Canada. As it benefits from a data oriented and structured algorithm, the developed defect-based model is believed to introduce a great deal of objectivity in an otherwise subjective area of infrastructure assessment. This falls within the ultimate goal of enhancing overall public safety and well-being.
Delirium Screening in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: Delirium is a complex syndrome characterized by a disturbance in attention and awareness, with a prevalence of 10-20% in patients admitted to the Emergency Department (ED). Screening tools have been developed to identify delirium in the ED, but their accuracy of screening remains unclear. To address this challenge, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to systematically review the accuracy of delirium screening tools currently being used to assess ED patients.Methods: PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched. Studies involving ED inpatients which compared diagnostic tools with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) criteria as a reference standard were included. Two reviewers independently screened the studies, extracted data, and assessed the quality of studies using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS)-2 scale. We conducted a conventional meta-analysis for each screening tool. Then we used network meta-analysis method to calculate the relative sensitivity and specificity among the diagnostic tests. The diagnostic accuracies were then ranked through the superiority index.Results: Thirteen studies included six screening tools. The pooled sensitivity and specificity for the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) were 0.71 and 0.98, and for 4AT (Arousal, Attention, Abbreviated Mental Test 4, Acute change) were 0.83 and 0.93, respectively. The other four tools used were only reported in one or two studies. Their sensitivity ranged from 0.70 to 1.00, and their specificity ranged from 0.64 to 0.99. Moreover, network meta-analysis indicated that the CAM and 4AT had a greater superiority index and a higher diagnostic accuracy.Conclusions: The available data suggested that both the CAM and 4AT can be used as efficient screening tools for the ED patients.
Interaction entre des anneaux cohérents de vorticité et la turbulence

Dans un reacteur partiellement melange (PaSR, i.e. Partially Stirred Reactor), le fluide est injecte par 16 paires de jets opposes et evacue par des parois poreuses. Ce forcage particulier conduit a la creation de paires d'anneaux coherents de vorticite, tournant dans des sens alternativement opposes. Les proprietes du champ moyen de vorticite et etirement, conduisent a une turbulence en rotation locale, quasi-2D aux grandes echelles. Dans ces anneaux, le champ turbulent est localement homogene et le champ de vorticite reste spatialement correle sur des echelles de la taille des anneaux. Les fonctions de structure de vorticite ne presentent pas de lois d'echelles dans la zone inertielle, mais plutot un comportement en Log (r) (r est la separation entre deux points de l'espace), analogue a la turbulence 2D [Falkovich and Lebedev, Phys. Rev. E 49 (1994) 1800–1803]. Afin de decrire le comportement de l'enstrophie sur une large gamme d'echelles, une approche analytique similaire a celle developpee par [Falkovich and Lebedev, Phys. Rev. E 49 (1994) 1800–1803] est abordee dans notre cas.
Developing an autopilot for the peregrine falcon Robird

In this paper, we introduce an autopilot for the peregrine falcon Robird, a robotic bird of prey. Currently, piloting the Robird is very difficult and operator intensive. The effect of flapping-wing flight on measurement data and flight stability is investigated. A gliding controller, an algorithm that takes care of transition between flight modes, is also introduced. The autopilot is implemented in the form of controllers for roll and pitch. As a result, the operator’s cognitive load is decreased and the Robird keeps itself stable when no remote control inputs are given. This is a first step towards completely autonomous flight of the Robird.
Condition monitoring techniques for wind turbines

This thesis focuses on practical condition monitoring of wind turbines. With offshore wind playing an increasing part in UK electricity generation, prompt fault detection leading to preventative maintenance is gaining in importance. This work describes the development of a condition monitoring test rig and the innovation and application of signal processing techniques for the detection of faults in non-stationary signals. Work is supported throughout by information from wind turbine operators and their experiences of variable speed, variable load wind turbines in the field. Experimental work is carried out on a condition monitoring test rig comprising a wound rotor induction generator, gearbox and DC driving motor. The test rig operates at variable speed and allows the implementation of a number of fault-like conditions including rotor electrical asymmetry, shaft mass unbalance and gear tooth failure. Test rig instrumentation was significantly developed during this research and both electrical and mechanical condition signals are monitored. A signal processing algorithm was developed based on experience with analysis techniques and their relationship with the characteristics of a wind turbine. The algorithm is based on Fourier analysis and allows the analysis of fault-related speed-dependent frequencies within non-stationary signals such as those encountered on a wind turbine. The detection of different faults is discussed and conclusions drawn on the applicability of frequency tracking algorithms. The newly developed algorithm is compared with a published method to establish its advantages and limitations.