Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A set of key principles to assess the impact of Living Labs

Many companies are experiencing a shift from a product-based economy to a service economy. This puts pressure on companies to continuously develop their offerings and be innovative to keep their market position. To support companies' innovation processes, a concept called Living Lab has started to grow rapidly around Europe. These living labs have the endeavour to support actors such as SMEs' by offering a neutral arena where stakeholders can meet and co-develop innovations in real-world contexts. However, the impacts of living lab's operations are to some extent unexplored and under-theorised. In this paper, five basic principles for conducting living lab operations are proposed. These principles are value, openness, realism, influence, and sustainability that can be used to assess the impact of living labs. By using these principles it was shown that the living lab approach offers values in several ways to its stakeholders.
Performance assessment of commercial circadian personal exposure devices

Through the influence on circadian rhythms, natural and artificial lighting, as well as lifestyle and architecture, affect health and performance. Epidemiological and interventional studies of light-initiated circadian biological outcomes require robust 24‐hour data on personal light exposures, including blue light weighted irradiance data. The performance of the detection systems used is a key factor. We assessed the performance of 16 Actiwatch Spectrum™ devices for spectral response, directional response and dynamic range and propose techniques for calibration, deployment and data analysis for use of the watches in circadian studies. The results are presented, followed by a discussion of applicability focussing on spectral response for circadian studies.
Trigger-Based Dexterous Operation with Multimodal Sensors for Soft Robotic Hand

This paper focuses on how to improve the operation ability of a soft robotic hand (SRH). A trigger-based dexterous operation (TDO) strategy with multimodal sensors is proposed to perform autonomous choice operations. The multimodal sensors include optical-based fiber curvature sensor (OFCS), gas pressure sensor (GPS), capacitive pressure contact sensor (CPCS), and resistance pressure contact sensor (RPCS). The OFCS embedded in the soft finger and the GPS series connected in the gas channel are used to detect the curvature of the finger. The CPCS attached on the fingertip and the RPCS attached on the palm are employed to detect the touch force. The framework of TDO is divided into sensor detection and action operation. Hardware layer, information acquisition layer, and decision layer form the sensor detection module; action selection layer, actuator drive layer, and hardware layer constitute the action operation module. An autonomous choice decision unit is used to connect the sensor detecting module and action operation module. The experiment results reveal that the TDO algorithm is effective and feasible, and the actions of grasping plastic framework, pinching roller ball pen and screwdriver, and handshake are executed exactly.
Electromagnetic scattering by metallic holes and its applications in microwave circuit design

The problem of arbitrarily incident plane-wave scattering from rod structures of thick conducting plates arranged with two-dimensional (2D) periodicity has been examined. The square approximation as well as truncated-square approximation of circular cross sections is used in this study. The impedance of cascaded screens and the reflection coefficient is calculated using the multimodal variational method for both TE- and TM-polarized incident electric field. The 2D periodic structure of holes described in this paper can be used for the purpose of designing new guiding microwave structures. A transverse resonance method is applied to solve this problem. The convergence behavior of the technique has also been examined. The numerical results of the reflection coefficient, surface impedance, and dispersion curves are presented.
Comparison of power supplies for residential telephony systems

With the advent of broadband access products, many manufacturers are controlling and powering small phones systems. Numerous companies have developed high voltage subscriber line interface circuits (SLIC), which control the ring and voice transmission for these phone systems. This paper presents a comparison of approaches to providing high voltage power to these integrated solutions. Three approaches are presented; a low power residential application, a higher power residential application and a single line ring generator which removes functions off the SLIC and transfers It into the dc-ac inverter. Schematics and physical designs are discussed and efficiency, size and performance for these approaches are presented. Finally, recommendations are made for circuit configurations based on the key system requirements.
In-flight entertainment-getting from wishlist to reality

Much of what we see in the consumer electronics stores will eventually find it's way into airplanes in the form of in-flight entertainment (IFE). This consumer electronic equipment is often referred to as "the leading edge of technology". Unfortunately, that same equipment that is the "leading edge" of consumer electronics, often starts to feel like the "bleeding edge" when you try to integrate it into IFE systems for today's modern aircraft. Unlike Avionics systems, the technologies behind IFE equipment are not usually mature before they are integrated into the aircraft. What may work well in a home environment, may not work well at all in the aircraft environment. Often this problem results in last minute redesign in an effort to make the equipment function as intended on the aircraft. Both the FAA and the aircraft manufacturer impose many requirements on the suppliers and products of IFE. Systems need to be designed for the aircraft environment. Many variations on in-flight entertainment systems have forced the creation of new standards for integration into commercial aircraft. Power, cooling, and EMC issues are becoming more of a concern as we move to full aircraft implementations. Beyond the technical evaluations and lab/aircraft testing, one key component is customer satisfaction. This paper will cover some of the methods and tools we use to get IFE from wishlist to reality.
VPI Varnishing Technology Effects on Frequency Characteristics of an Air Core Inductor Used in LISN Circuit Application

Abstract – The functional characteristic of LISN circuit, which is used for measurements of conductive noise in mains power line, is basically related to frequency characteristics of passive elements like inductors used in the circuit as well as the frequency response of inductors is highly related to the resins used in the varnishing process. The significant problem in determination of an inductor's frequency characteristic is the intrinsic resistance, inductance and parasitic capacitance. In this triplet, the parasitic capacitance is the major limiting factor of inductor's frequency range. This capacitance depends on inductor design parameters and materials filling the spaces of coil like resin and its coherency after curing process. In this paper, two similar inductors were designed and built. The first inductor was not varnished while the second one was varnished with VPI technology. VPI, or Vacuum, Pressure, Impregnation technology is one of the most reliable methods performing good insulating conditions for electrical circuits and windings based on resins. The measured results show that implying varnishing technology does not significantly affect the frequency response. However, due to mechanical solidity aspects and improved environmental protection, it is better to varnish the inductors.
Telecommuting in India: Pitfalls and Possibilities

Telecommuting, where individuals primarily work from sites that are miles away from central offices, is making inroads into India’s work practices. This practice carries several promises but also confronts many hurdles in its adoption. The advantages include reduced traffic congestion and commuter hassles, higher productivity and better work–family balance. The problems it confronts include structural and cultural issues such as lack of adequate infrastructure, societal resistance and organizational culture of command and control. This article proposes many possible solutions to enable telecommuting. These include information dissemination, redesign of jobs and appraisal systems and careful configuration of telecommute programmes.
The Effects of Reynolds Number on the Efficiency of Centrifugal Compressor Stages

An analysis of the friction losses in a centrifugal compressor stage is used to suggest a new form of correction equation for the effect of Reynolds number on efficiency. This equation relates the effect of Reynolds number to the surface roughness, the impeller outlet width ratio and the work input coefficient. Systematic tests on a wide range of compressor stages are used to calibrate the single empirical coefficient in the equation. Despite its simplicity this equation provides more accurate predictions of the Reynolds number effects than existing empirical methods.
A proposed SRAM cell for low power consumption during write operation

Purpose – Low power static‐random access memories (SRAM) has become a critical component in modern VLSI systems. In cells, the bit‐lines are the most power consuming components because of larger power dissipation in driving long bit‐line with large capacitance. The cache write consumes considerable large power due to full voltage swing on the bit‐line. The aim of the paper is to propose a new SRAM cell architecture to reduce the power consumption during write 0 and write 1 operation.Design/methodology/approach – The proposed circuit includes two tail transistors in the pull‐down path of inv‐A and inv‐B. The simulated results of the proposed cell is compared with Conventional 6T SRAM cell and zero‐asymmetric SRAM cell.Findings – The proposed SRAM cell consumes less power than the conventional SRAM cell during write operation. The write access delay is reported to be lower than conventional and ZA SRAMs in the proposed circuit. The read operation is similar to Conventional SRAM cell but due to tail transist.
Torque Balance Mechanism Applied to Oceanographic Profiler

The collection of periodic profiles of oceanographic data at specific bites is a critical component of oceanographic monitoring programs. Typically, this type of work is completed by lowering instrumentation from ships but the cost of these operations has often meant that the temporal and spatial coverage of these surveys is less than ideal. As an alternative, moored profilers have been developed but the energy required moving a substantial package up and down a mooring hire can represent a major limitation. A new profiling instrument with Torque balance mechanism is under development. This device is based on a taut single point mid-water mooring system. It incorporates a small, instrumented vertically profiling float attached via an electromechanical cable to a winch integral with the main subsurface flotation. On a pre-set schedule, the instrument float carrying sensors is winched up to the surface. And it can be immediately winched down to a certain depth. To respond to the concern of energy demands, torque balance mechanism has been designed to conserve a substantial portion of the potential energy lost during the ascent phase of each profile and subsequently use this energy to pull the instrument down. Compared with the previous singlepoint layered measurement, it is useful and economica1.
1.3-μm InGaAsN VCSELs for telecom and datacom applications

VCSELs operating at 1.3 microns are the ideal laser source for meeting the exploding demand for bandwidth in local area and metro area networks. NCSELs will eventually replace the vast majority of 1.3 micron FP and DFB edge emitting lasers currently used in these applications, since they offer lower manufacturing cost, on wafer testability, extremely narrow linewidth, a circular output beam, high speed direct modulation, and the ability to be integrated into arrays. The primary challenge in 1.3 micron VCSELs has been to find an active region material that can be grown directly on high thermal conductivity and high reflectivity GaAs/AlGaAs distributed Bragg reflectors DBRs. In this work, we have developed MBE grown InGaAsN quantum wells that can be grown directly on GaAs substrates and integrated directly into high performance oxide VCSEL structures. We have demonstrated record room temperature CW single mode output powers in excess of 1 mW at an emission wavelength of 1287 nm. CW lasing has been observed as high as 125 degree(s)C, illustrating the excellent thermal performance of both the InGaAsN quantum wells and the GaAs/AlGaAs DBRs. Open eye diagrams were observed at 10 Gb/s, paving the way for OC-192 SONET and 10 Gb/s Ethernet applications.
Multimode network description of a planar periodic metal-strip grating at a dielectric interface. III. Rigorous solution

For pt.II see (ibid., vol.37, no.3, p.542-52, 1989). In pt.I the solution to the scattering problem posed by a plane-wave incident at an angle on a plane, periodic, metal-strip grating at a dielectric interface was formulated in terms of novel multimode equivalent network representations. The analytical phrasing followed in pt.I led to two Fredholm integral equations of the first kind with singular kernels. Here, the authors derive a rigorous analytical solution for one of the two integral equations derived in pt.I (see ibid., vol.37, no.3, p.534-41, 1989). Closed-form, rigorous, analytical expressions for the elements involved in the equivalent network representations derived are obtained. Numerical results obtained by using these rigorous equivalent network representations are presented for TE-mode and TM-mode incidence for the case in which the same dielectric is present on both sides of the grating as well as for the case in which the two dielectric media are different. >
Quantifying the impact of landscape changes on hydrological variables in the alpine and cold region using hydrological model and remote sensing data

Quantifying the impact of landscape on hydrological variables is essential for the sustainable development of water resources. Understanding how landscape changes influence hydrological variables will greatly enhance the understanding of hydrological processes. Important vegetation parameters are considered in this study by using remote sensing data and VIC‐CAS model to analyse the impact of landscape changes on hydrology in upper reaches of the Shule River Basin (URSLB). The results show there are differences in the runoff generation of landscape both in space and time. With increasing altitude, the runoff yields increased, with approximately 79.9% of the total runoff generated in the high mountains (4200–5900 m), and mainly consumed in the mid‐low mountain region. Glacier landscape produced the largest runoff yields (24.9% of the total runoff), followed by low‐coverage grassland (LG; 22.5%), alpine cold desert (AL; 19.6%), mid‐coverage grassland (MG; 15.6%), bare land (12.5%), high‐coverage grassland (HG; 4.5%) and shrubbery (0.4%). The relative capacity of runoff generation by landscapes, from high to low, was the glaciers, AL, LG, HG, MG, shrubbery and bare land. Furthermore, changes in landscapes cause hydrological variables changes, including evapotranspiration, runoff and baseflow. The study revealed that HG, MG, and bare land have a positive impact on evapotranspiration and a negative impact on runoff and baseflow, whereas AL and LG have a positive impact on runoff and baseflow and a negative impact on evapotranspiration. In contrast, glaciers have a positive impact on runoff. After the simulation in four vegetation scenarios, we concluded that the runoff regulation ability of grassland is greater than that of bare land. The grassland landscape is essential since it reduced the flood peak and conserved the soil and water.
Academic Staff Development at the University of Malaya: A Case Study of UMLIC

Pusat Peningkatan Pembelajaran Universiti Malaya (UMLIC) yang beroperasi dari 1996 hingga 2000 telah ditubuhkan untuk tujuan meningkatkan kemahiran pensyarah dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran serta kemahiran lain yang diperlukan untuk berfungsi sebagai seorang pensyarah profesional. Artikel ini akan membicarakan sejarah penubuhan UMLIC, peranan dan operasinya dalam pembangunan staf di Universiti Malaya.
A Novel Energy-Efficient Adaptive Routing Protocol for Wireless Sensor Network

Energy efficiency is one of major issues which must be improved to prolong the lifetime of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Considering the maintenance of Quality of Service (QoS) and energy consumption, we proposed a novel energy-efficient adaptive routing protocol (EEARP) for WSNs. EEARP is composed by a gradient-based topology generator (GBTG) and a novel energy-efficient adaptive routing algorithm (EEARA). After the sensor nodes were deployed broadly, the topology is constructed by GBTG, and then the information of resulted links among the nodes is provided to EEARA. In order to minimize power consumption and transmission delay, the EEARA with loadbalance capability is utilized for selecting efficient path toward the destination sink (the node that is the data storage center). Two simulation scenarios were considered in this study. The simulation results show that the proposed protocol can balance the burden of all nodes effectively and significantly reduce the overall energy consumption.
Comparison of the effects of intravenous fluids and vasoconstrictive agents on the hemodynamic response developing in spinal anaesthesia

Aim: The study’s aim was to compare the effects of norepinephrine, ephedrine, and 0.9% sodium chloride (NaCl) solution against the hemodynamic response that develops after spinal anaesthesia.Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 80 patients who were scheduled for surgery onlower extremity varicose veins, and they were divided into four groups. Group F was started with a 0.9% NaCl solution of 15ml/kg 20 minutes before spinal anaesthesia. For 20 minutes after spinal anaesthesia, Group E received 2mg/min of ephedrine and Group N received 5mic/min norepinephrine as an infusion. Meanwhile, Group C was not given any medication or fluid. Spinal anaesthesia was performed with 0.5% bupivacaine. The systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), and peripheral oxygen saturation (SPO2) values of the patients were recorded before and after the procedure. Sensorial block levels and degrees of motor block were also recorded after the operation. In addition, side effects other than hypotension that may develop after the surgery were also recorded.Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of SBP, DBP, SPO2, HR, sensory block level, and degree of motor block (p>0.05). In Group C, the decrease in SBP and DBP values that occurred at the fifteenth, twentieth, and thirtieth minutes of spinal anaesthesia was statistically significant when compared with the control values (SBP: p=0.0274, 0.0028, 0.0036, and DBP: p=0.0132, 0.0210, 0.0041). Hypotension developed in 10 (50%) of the 20 patients in Group C, and a 10mg intravenous (IV) bolus intervened with ephedrine. This result was statistically significant when compared with Group F, Group E, and Group N (p=0.005). Conclusion: As a result, it has been shown that norepinephrine, ephedrine, and 0.9% NaCl solution are similarly effective in preventing hypotension from developing after spinal anaesthesia.
Reconciling Earlier Snapshot Time With Local Cache for Optimal Performance Under Transactional Causal Consistency

Currently, Transactional Causal Consistency (TCC) has succeeded in removing some anomalies discovered in eventual consistency, diminishing the synchronization overhead consumed by strong consistency, and advocating interactive read-write transactions. However, the popular design in maximizing snapshot time for data freshness weighs against read-write interaction especially under read heavy overloads. Moreover, lower end-user latency and higher throughput in reading becomes paramount desiderata in deploying web services such as social networks among many data-centers. To this purpose, this article proposes earlier snapshot time and client-side local data-center cache for read-heavy transaction to boost lower response time and higher throughput. By the former, our new causal dependencies tracking mechanism can precisely initialize transactions to get the version values. For the latter, a large number of remote collections are eliminated since non-replica data is cached in the local data center. On the other hand, our system benefits from partial replication and one dependency-tracked timestamp to boost resource efficiency and scalability. Practically, our performance evaluation reveals that our design garners 6.73x lower response time and 1.76x higher throughput than the conventional maximized coordinating snapshot.
Analysis of Main Optimization Techniques in Predicting Surface Roughness in Metal Cutting Processes

This paper collects the main methodologies and tools employed for predicting the surface roughness. The goal of this work is to provide compact and adequate information that could be useful in metal cutting industries to select the techniques and optimization tools that best suit to their needs and particular requirements. Each approach, with its advantages and disadvantages, is outlined and the present and future trends are discussed. As result, a quick guide for using practitioners of mentioned industrial sector is provided in form of tables that relate: machining parameters, cutting tool properties, workpiece properties and cutting phenomena with the different techniques and optimization tools usually employed to analyze the different parameters and phenomena involved in the process of surface roughness generation.
Gain enhancement for microstrip reflectarray using superstrate layer

The results of a recent investigation of a high‐gain microstrip reflectarray are presented. The substrate–superstrate resonance technique is used to increase the reflectarray gain. The measured gain is increased by 5 dB when the superstrate layer is added. Gain and radiation patterns are discussed. In order to use this technique in reflectarrays with phase‐control elements, the analysis and discussion of the phase reflected by a particular unit cell made up of a slotted and grounded patch are presented. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 46: 152–154, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.20928