Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feedstock Characterization of Elemental Nickel and Titanium Powders Mixture for Metal Injection Moulding Process

The success of metal injection moulding (MIM) process is significantly influenced by the homogeneity level of the powder-binder mixture (feedstock). This paper highlights some initial characterization of the feedstock containing elemental Ni and Ti powders mixture, (50.8 at.% Ni/ 49.2 at.% Ti) mixed with Palm stearin-based binder system. The feedstock was prepared using an internal mixer, HAAKE Rheomix at a temperature of 160°C for 2 hours. The feedstock was then characterized by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric (TGA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Capillary Rheometer. All the results obtained were analyzed and discussed for further injection moulding process.
Precision control of cylindrical stamp contact in a continuous roll-to-roll microcontact printing machine

Microcontact printing is a form of soft lithography that uses a molded elastomeric stamp to print patterns with micron and sub-micron scale features. This is an effective low-cost technique for replicating master patterns onto substrates. However, the traditional embodiment of using a planar stamp with a planar substrate is limited in both scale and speed. In order to achieve higher production rates, the lab scale plate-to-plate microcontact printing method must be developed into a roll-based manufacturing process. The marriage of the precision of microcontact printing with the speed of traditional press printing will fill a niche in manufacturing capabilities. Large area, high rate patterning of micron and sub-micron scale features will help to enable the economic manufacturing of a wide range of emerging technologies. Specifically, this continuous microcontact printing process could be used to make flexible displays, thin film photovoltaic cells, transparent conductors, desalination membranes, and other large-scale surface modifications. This thesis details the development of a precision roll-to-roll microcontact printing machine. This pilot-scale web-handling machine serves as the platform for research on the continuous microcontact printing process. Specific consideration is given to the design of a precision print head that is capable of maintaining consistent contact pressure even while printing at high speeds. As well, a novel camera system is developed to achieve in-situ real-time inspection of the contact region between the stamp and the substrate. The visual data from this sensor is used as feedback for the controller, enabling the print head to maintain the desired evenly distributed pressure along the entire stamp width. Results show that the closed-loop control of print contact is able to compensate for eccentricities and disturbances in the system, significantly decreasing variation in print pressure. These tests show promise for the usefulness of this novel process control technique, rather than traditional downstream sensing. As well, this pilot-scale machine succeeds in serving as a platform for continuous roll-to-roll microcontact printing research that will help to guide the scale-up of the process into a high rate manufacturing technique. Thesis Supervisor: David E. Hardt Title: Ralph E. and Eloise F. Cross Professor of Mechanical Engineering
A robust semi‐decentralized fault detection strategy for multi‐agent systems: An application to a network of micro‐air vehicles

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to address the problem of fault detection (FD) of linear continuous‐time multi‐agent systems.Design/methodology/approach – A mixed H∞/H− formulation of the FD problem using semi‐decentralized filters is presented.Findings – It is shown that through a decomposition approach the drawbacks of the existing distributed FD design methods in multi‐agent systems can be effectively tackled. An extended linear matrix inequality (LMI) characterization is used to reduce the conservativeness of the design solution by introducing additional matrices in order to eliminate the couplings of the Lyapunov matrices with the agent's matrices.Research limitations/implications – It is shown that by applying the proposed decomposition approach the FD problem of multi‐agent systems can be solved by analyzing the problem of a set of decoupled systems whose order and complexity are equal to that of a single agent. This procedure will be useful for both simplifying the computational cost of the sol.
Specializzazione settoriale e qualità dei prodotti: misure della pressione competitiva dell'industria italiana

The paper analyses the sectoral pattern of Italian manufacturing exports, as compared to the export pattern of its main competitors in the Oecd market. The analysis is carried out at the four-digit level of the SITC (Rev 3) Classification, and is extended to estimate the quality of products (as it is revealed by their average unit values). It is showed that the competitive pressures on Italian industries are rather low, when measured by quality-adjusted export similarity indeces. While these findings may appear as involving positive consequences for the Italian export performance, nevertheless they imply that international forces pressing towards structural change are relatively weak in the Italian economy. Hence, the Italian pattern of specialisation is bound to persist notwithstanding the increasing role played in world trade by low-cost exporting countries.
Gender Differences in Attachment Anxiety and Avoidance and Their Association with Psychotherapy Use—Examining Students from a German University

Attachment anxiety and avoidance might explain gender differences in psychotherapy use, which is generally lower in men. In addition, university students are a particularly vulnerable group for mental health problems, and understanding psychotherapy use, especially among mentally distressed male students, is pivotal. A total of 4894 students completed an online survey answering questions regarding psychotherapy use and completing the PHQ-D identifying psychological syndromes. In addition, the ECR-RD12 was used to measure attachment anxiety and avoidance. Significant gender differences for attachment anxiety and avoidance emerged, showing higher attachment anxiety in female students and higher attachment avoidance in male students. Male students used psychotherapy significantly less than female students. Male students’ attachment anxiety and avoidance predicted psychotherapy use, while for female students, only attachment anxiety emerged as a significant predictor. Attachment anxiety is positively associated with psychotherapy use, and lower attachment anxiety in men may explain lower psychotherapy use in male students.
Comparative Job Satisfaction and Its Determinants in For-Profit and Nonprofit Employees Across the Globe

Beneficial outcomes of job satisfaction include greater productivity, higher work quality, increased company competitiveness, less turnover, and decreased workplace conflict. Understanding the variables that impact job satisfaction is critical to improving organizational effectiveness. The current research compares job satisfaction factors among for-profit and nonprofit employees globally, using International Social Survey Program data on work orientations. As such, this study contributes new insights from a large-scale international data set to inform employers and researchers about factors that contribute to job satisfaction on a global basis. Findings indicate more commonalities than differences in job satisfaction factors across the two groups.
Reduce Health Risks by Subsidizing Particulate Traps in New Diesel Cars

From 2010 on, new diesel cars sold in the European Union will probably have to be equipped with particulate traps to be able to meet the Euro-5 emission standards. In order to possibly diminish the health impacts of exposure to airborne particulates, the Dutch Ministry of the Environment is going to subsidize particulate traps on new diesel cars between 1 January 2005 and the time the Euro-5 emissions standards come into force. The Ministry asked the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency to assess the possible short-term health risk reduction of this subsidy programme for 2010. The total number of premature deaths due to short-term exposure to PM10 in the Netherlands is approximately 2800. However, there is still much uncertainty about what part of the total PM10 causes this observed acute mortality. For this reason the health risk reduction of the particulate trap subsidy programme was estimated using three different assumptions on which part of PM10 is actually causing acute premature mortality. From the assessment we can presume the subsidy programme to result in around 40 fewer premature deaths (c 1% of 2800) in 2010 due to short-term exposure to PM10 in the case only primary anthropogenic PM10 causes the observed acute health impact. In the hypothetical case that only the carbonaceous part of primary anthropogenic primary PM10 or Black Smoke cause the observed health impact, the health benefit is estimated at around 5% of 2800. One should bear in mind that the share of all diesel cars in total PM10 emissions in the Netherlands in 2010 is only 6% and the share of diesel cars in the average PM10 concentration is even smaller, around 1%. Despite the uncertainty about what fraction of PM10 causes the observed short-term health impacts, subsidizing particulate traps could still be justified from a precautionary perspective and besides, long-term exposure to diesel PM10 is harmful to humans. For the covering abstract see ITRD E129315.
Laboratory Performance Evaluation Report of SEL 421 Phasor Measurement Unit

PNNL and BPA have been in close collaboration on laboratory performance evaluation of phasor measurement units for over ten years. A series of evaluation tests are designed to confirm accuracy and determine measurement performance under a variety of conditions that may be encountered in actual use. Ultimately the testing conducted should provide parameters that can be used to adjust all measurements to a standardized basis. These tests are performed with a standard relay test set using recorded files of precisely generated test signals. The test set provides test signals at a level and in a format suitable for input to a PMU that accurately reproduces the signals in both signal amplitude and timing. Test set outputs are checked to confirm the accuracy of the output signal. The recorded signals include both current and voltage waveforms and a digital timing track used to relate the PMU measured value with the test signal. Test signals include steady-state waveforms to test amplitude, phase, and frequency accuracy, modulated signals to determine measurement and rejection bands, and step tests to determine timing and response accuracy. Additional tests are included as necessary to fully describe the PMU operation. Testing is done with a BPA phasor data concentrator (PDC) which provides communication support and monitors data input for dropouts and data errors.
Revisiting the Large-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium (BKCa) Channels in the Pulmonary Circulation

Potassium ion concentrations, controlled by ion pumps and potassium channels, predominantly govern a cell′s membrane potential and the tone in the vessels. Calcium-activated potassium channels respond to two different stimuli-changes in voltage and/or changes in intracellular free calcium. Large conductance calcium-activated potassium (BKCa) channels assemble from pore forming and various modulatory and auxiliary subunits. They are of vital significance due to their very high unitary conductance and hence their ability to rapidly cause extreme changes in the membrane potential. The pathophysiology of lung diseases in general and pulmonary hypertension, in particular, show the implication of either decreased expression and partial inactivation of BKCa channel and its subunits or mutations in the genes encoding different subunits of the channel. Signaling molecules, circulating humoral molecules, vasorelaxant agents, etc., have an influence on the open probability of the channel in pulmonary arterial vascular cells. BKCa channel is a possible therapeutic target, aimed to cause vasodilation in constricted or chronically stiffened vessels, as shown in various animal models. This review is a comprehensive collation of studies on BKCa channels in the pulmonary circulation under hypoxia (hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction; HPV), lung pathology, and fetal to neonatal transition, emphasising pharmacological interventions as viable therapeutic options.
Virtual Simulation and Remote Desktop Interface for CNC Milling Operation

Advanced development of computer network through Internet brings the technology to Manufacturing. Increasing the demand for effectively use of the production facility requires the tools for sharing the manufacturing facility by remote operation of the machining process. This paper introduces the methodology of machining technology for direct remote operation of networked milling machine. The tools including virtual simulation using CAD model, remote desktop protocol and Setup Free Attachment for remote operation of milling process are proposed. Accessing and monitoring of machining operation is performed by remote desktop interface and 3D virtual simulations. Capability of remote operation is supported by an auto setup attachment with a reconfigurable pin type setup free technology installed on the table of CNC milling machine to perform unattended machining process. The system is designed using a computer server and connected to a PC based controlled CNC machine for real time monitoring. A client will access the server through internet communication and virtually simulate the machine activity. The result has been presented that combination between real time virtual simulation and remote desktop tool is enabling to operate all machine tool functions and as well as workpiece setup.
Innovative passive viscoelastic damper to suppress excessive floor vibrations

Due to changes in construction methods and new building layouts in recent years, human activities such as walking, dancing and aerobics have become major sources of floor vibrations. Excessive floor vibration is a cause of annoyance and discomfort to occupants. Excessive floor vibrations are realised after completion of construction or following structural modifications. Hence rectification measures would be required to minimise floor accelerations. This paper proposes a new innovative passive viscoelastic damper to reduce floor vibrations. This damper can be easily tuned to the fundamental frequency of the floor and can be designed to achieve various damping values. This paper discusses the analytical development of the damper and further experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed damper.
A model of collective behavior based purely on vision

From minimal visual information, organized collective behavior can emerge without spatial representation or collisions. Classical models of collective behavior often take a “bird’s-eye perspective,” assuming that individuals have access to social information that is not directly available (e.g., the behavior of individuals outside of their field of view). Despite the explanatory success of those models, it is now thought that a better understanding needs to incorporate the perception of the individual, i.e., how internal and external information are acquired and processed. In particular, vision has appeared to be a central feature to gather external information and influence the collective organization of the group. Here, we show that a vision-based model of collective behavior is sufficient to generate organized collective behavior in the absence of spatial representation and collision. Our work suggests a different approach for the development of purely vision-based autonomous swarm robotic systems and formulates a mathematical framework for exploration of perception-based interactions and how they differ from physical ones.
Contraction/expansion flow of dilute elastic solutions in microchannels

An experimental study is conducted on the nature of extensional flows of mobile dilute polymer solutions in microchannel. By observing such fluids on the microscale it is possible to generate large strain rates (~ 50,000 s-) that are greater than values which have been observed in macroscale contraction flows. Subsequently, large Deborah numbers (equivalent to those observed on the macro scale in high viscosity solutions) are generated for low viscosity solutions without the interplay of significant inertial effects. High quality microfluidic channels are fabricated using soft lithography techniques. Rheological behavior in these channels is dominated by an abrupt planar contraction, which generates extensional flow in the working fluids. Dilute viscoelastic aqueous solutions of polyethylene oxide are passed through 16:1 planar micro-contractions. Fluids exhibit substantial elastic behavior marked by elastic instabilities followed by subsequent lip vortices and eventually stable vortex growth. The onset of flow instabilities (De =50) and the nature of vortex growth are similar for PEO solutions at various concentrations. Differential pressure measurements indicate that substantial extensional thickening occurs at the onset of flow instabilities and indicate that planar extensional viscosities grow rapidly with increasing strain rates. Also apparent Trouton ratios are calculated indicating that extensional viscosities are two orders of magnitude larger than shear viscosities at high Deborah numbers. Thesis Supervisor: Gareth H. McKinley Title: Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Structure-function characterization and engineering of polysaccharides and antibodies with therapeutic activity

Proteins and polysaccharides are of growing importance as a source for novel therapeutic compounds and target a range of diseases, from cancer to infections from pathogens. However, owing to their large and complex structures, they face a unique set of challenges, compared to small molecules, in their discovery and development as safe, efficacious drugs. Towards addressing these challenges, we describe in this thesis the implementation of structure-function relationship approaches to characterize and engineer polysaccharides and antibodies to improve their therapeutic profiles. The plant polysaccharide pectin, when modified, has demonstrated significant anticancer activity in animal models and small-scale clinical trials. Its development has been hampered, however, due to its complex structure and lack of structure-activity correlates. Using an integrated approach, we engineer a modified pectin that exhibits significant in vivo anticancer activity, which we link to specific structural attributes and cellular functional mechanisms. These results improve our structure-function understanding of anticancer modified pectin, an important step towards the clinical use of this complex polysaccharide. Applying what we learned from pectin, we develop an integrated framework to identify a contaminant in batches of heparin, a polysaccharide anticoagulant drug, associated with an outbreak of allergic-type reactions in 2007-2008. Employing orthogonal analytical approaches to overcome challenges of characterizing structurally complex pharmaceutical heparin, we determine that the structurally related glycan, oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, is the major contaminant. We link its presence to activation of the contact pathway, thereby establishing a structure-function understanding of contaminated heparin and improving the safety profile of this polysaccharide drug. Transitioning knowledge gained from the structure-function characterization of polysaccharides, we engineer, by structure-based design, a broad spectrum neutralizing antibody to dengue virus, which yearly infects more than 200 million people, causing approximately 21,000 deaths. We incorporate complementary approaches of energetics and empirical informatics
Multilevel converters for single-phase grid connected photovoltaic systems-an overview

Multilevel voltage source inverters offer several advantages compared to their conventional counterparts. By synthesising the AC output terminal voltage from several levels of voltages, staircase waveforms can be produced, which approach the sinusoidal waveform with low harmonic distortion, thus reducing filter requirements. The need of several sources on the DC side of the converter makes multilevel technology attractive for photovoltaic applications. This paper provides an overview an different multilevel topologies and investigates their suitability for single-phase grid connected photovoltaic systems. Several transformerless photovoltaic systems incorporating multilevel converters are compared regarding issues such as component count and stress, system power rating and the influence of the photovoltaic array earth capacitance.
Toepassing (A)CTCRC-wet op een systeem met flexibiliteit en Coulombse wrijving

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Optimized Design of Switching Amplifiers for Piezoelectric Actuators

The formulation and solution of an optimization problem for the design of a current controlled switching power amplifier to drive a piezoelectric actuator is the subject of this paper. The design is formulated as a continuous optimization problem. A detailed model that includes the anhysteretic nonlinearity between the electric field and polarization is developed and is coupled with a dynamic model of the amplifier. The design specifications are formulated as optimization constraints. The objective function is chosen to be the weight of the inductor. Optimization results are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed design methodology.
Muscle strain of the hand-arm-shoulder system during typing at conventional and ergonomic keyboards

Manufacturers of ergonomic split keyboards promise maximum effectiveness and comfort as well as a reduction of physical complaints. In order to determine the positive effects claimed, a study was carried out during which 10 male subjects (Ss) participated in standardized working tests. They entered text into a PC, alternatingly using a conventional keyboard and an ergonomic keyboard. Electromyographic activity (EA) of 8 muscle groups was simultaneously recorded during altogether 6 working phases with a duration of 10 min, each. Measurements of the maximum activity, EAmax, via maximum voluntary contractions of the 8 muscles - which were necessary for calculating standardized electromyographic activity (sEA) used to represent muscle strain as a percentage - were always taken at the end of the experiment. Muscle strain varied from muscle to muscle but the level of the sEA-values for the different muscles was reproducible and stable. Also, activation of most muscles acting on the shoulder, upper arm, forearm, and the hand showed differences which, though small in amount, could be statistically secured and associated with the keyboard type. The ergonomic design of the tested keyboard led to objectively verifiable and plausible reductions of muscle strain.