Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
RFID Inside: The Murky Ethics of Implanted Chips

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Modeling of Image Formation in Cryo-Electron Microscopy

Knowledge of the structure of biological specimens is crucial for understanding life. Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) permits structural studies of biological specimen at their near-native state. The research performed in this thesis represents one of two subprojects of the FOM industrial partnership program with FEI Company. The common aim is to obtain higher resolution in cryo-EM of biological specimens. Currently, the resolution is limited by: i) the noise and blurring of the detector; ii) the oscillatory and dampening character of the contrast transfer function (CTF) originating from defocusing which is employed to produce contrast; and iii) the radiation damage which limits the integrated electron flux that can be used, resulting in images with poor signal-to-noise ratio. Simulation of image formation (forward modeling) provides possibility to easily and cost-effectively investigate the influence of a certain physical parameter on the final image. The main goal of this thesis is to improve our understanding of the relevant physical processes that govern image formation and to develop a quantitative forward model. Such a model is essential for optimizing the acquisition strategy, assisting the regularization (introduction of prior information) in the 3D reconstruction, improving image interpretation, and achieving a resolution beyond the limits imposed by the oscillatory CTF. This thesis addresses the following challenges: i) construction of the electron-specimen interaction potential based on elastic and inelastic electron scattering properties and adequate description of the electron propagation through the specimen; ii) accurate estimation of the CTF parameters, in particular defocus and astigmatism and their uncertainties, iii) characterization of the detector including all relevant statistics; iv) better understanding of certain aspects of radiation damage such as specimen heating, dose-rate effects, and beam-induced movements. The validation of forward model is based on a systematic comparison between simulated and experimental images under various experimental conditions. All parameters are based on physical principles. Defocus and astigmatism as well as detector parameters are accurately estimated from independent measurements using the methods developed in this thesis. Software tools for image simulations, accurate defocus and astigmatism estimation and detector characterization have been developed and are freely available for non-commercial use. The theory and methods presented in this thesis form the essence of an expert system that would optimize the data collection strategy. Furthermore, the influence of new hardware components could be inexpensively and efficiently investigated.
Use of Records as Means to Provide a Common Operational Picture

Records are used in operational police work as a basis for tactical decisions, but also as important and high quality information sources. One trend in the area of crisis management is common operational picture (COP). COP aims to provide actors in a crisis with a correct overview of what is going on. Yet there is limited knowledge about how evidential records are used in creating a COP. This paper focuses on what role records play in the creation of a COP during operational police work. It is based upon a case study of the police operation in Are during the informal meeting for the EU energy and environment ministers held in Are on 23-25 July 2009. This paper argues that records play an important role in creating the common operational picture when the situation is calm. When a calm situations transforms to a more chaotic situation, the records play a less important role in creating a COP. The COP is then created by the actors involved, and is best understood by them. During these more chaotic situations the information is very rich, but the reach of the information is low, which minimizes the reach of the COP.
The Impact of Urban Rail Boarding and Alighting Factors

As passenger railway demand has increased, this has put increasing pressure on capacity. In urban areas, railway line capacity is determined by station stops, and the movement of passengers on and off trains at stations is therefore critical. Understanding and quantifying the factors which determine boarding and alighting rates is essential if railways are to manage these issues appropriately. Although a number of individual researchers have examined passenger flow rates in particular conditions, this study has had access to an international dataset of passenger movements at almost 130 locations. Collection of background information on train and platform characteristics has supported data on passenger flow to provide 17 possible independent variables. Simple regressions have limitations of correlation and choice of functional form which have been overcome in this work by using a multivariate fractional function approach. This has enabled the derivation of statistically-significant parameters to explain passenger boarding and alighting, with seven variables providing the vast majority of explanatory power. However, although it is still believed to be an important factor, door width was not one of the isolated variables, being subject to a threshold width value which makes the identification of an appropriate functional form very difficult.
A computational fluid dynamic investigation of rowing oar blades

This thesis describes the application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to model the flow regime around rowing oar blades. The two phase flow that was present at the surface between the water and the air was also incorporated into the CFD model. Firstly, a quasi–static method was applied, whereby the blade was held at a discrete number of angles of attack to the oncoming flow. The performance of the model was assessed by applying it to four scaled oar blade designs and validating results against an experimental data set. The results were encouraging with lift and drag coefficients acting on the blades being well predicted throughout. The scope was extended to include full size oar blades of designs typically found in competition rowing. A second approach to investigating the flow around oar blades was also adopted, where instead of being held stationary, the blades moved in the fluid domain. The unsteady effects induced by this rotational motion were found to be substantial, with a 72% and 67% increase in the lift and drag coefficients respectively. Finally, through coupling the CFD predictions of oar blade force coefficients with a mathematical model of rowing, it was possible to determine the influence of oar blade design on rowing performance, and also use the mathematical model to further validate the CFD predictions against on–water data. The results provided an accurate assessment of boat performance during the rowing stroke.
A new era of multiple sclerosis treatment

Roztroušená skleróza je závažné neurologické onemocnění, které v případě neléčení vede k závažné invalidizaci nemocného. S příchodem moderní terapie v devadesátých letech minulého století vznikla určitá naděje na ovlivnění této nemoci. Ovšem poslední desetiletí přináší revoluční změny v její léčbě. Mimo léky, které je nutné užívat k ovlivnění onemocnění kontinuálně, je k dispozici specifická léčebná skupina, tzv. imunitní rekonstituční terapie (IRT), která umožnuje navození dlouhodobé remise nemoci bez nutnosti setrvalého užívání léčby. Nová vysoce účinná terapie mění pohled na cíle v terapii roztroušené sklerózy. Aktuálním cílem je dosažení dlouhodobé remise onemocnění, která je definována konceptem No Evidence of Disease Activity (NEDA). Klíčová slova: roztroušená skleróza, udržovací/eskalační terapie, imunitní rekonstituční terapie, no evidence of disease activity (NEDA).
Transforming the Practice of Mobile Learning: Promoting Pedagogical Innovation through Educational Principles and Strategies that Work

This chapter deploys Denning’s (2004) powerful assertion that “an innovation is a transformation of practice in a community” (p. 1) through the elaboration of three key educational principles: engagement; presence; and flexibility. Each principle is accompanied by an elicitation of practical strategies that have proved effective in implementing the principles sustainably within particular courses and programs of study, as well as factors that inhibit that implementation. The authors use these principles and strategies that work as an evaluative lens for examining the pedagogical innovativeness of mobile learning and teaching environments. The application of that lens highlights a set of challenges and opportunities facing those technologies and their proponents, specifically in the authors’ host institution and in higher education more broadly. Provided that those technologies can be used to engage with those challenges and opportunities, mobile learning can indeed contribute simultaneously to pedagogical innovation and to transformed practice in university learning and teaching.
Cybernetics and the Agility Question

The ability to sense and respond effectively to fluctuations in an environment is the fundamental problem addressed by cybernetics. When applied to the context of the organizational IT function, agility denotes the capacity of the IT function to perceive "signals" from its internal and external environments, to interpret these, and respond appropriately. The processing of such signals requires the selection and filtering of information to drive decision-making for response in a timely way. The challenge for the IT function is processing an overwhelming collection of signals, in un-standardized formats, and from overlapping sources, that tends to overload decision-makers. Informed by a cybernetic model, we studied how the IT function enables agility. We found evidence (1) that the more mature the policy processes of the IT function, the more the IT function will create agility in information systems; (2) The more mature the intelligence processes of the IT function to look outside the organization, the more the IT function will create agility in information systems and; (3) The more mature the control processes of the IT function that focus on the current use of information systems, the more the IT function will create agility in information systems.
Organizational Virtues and Psychological Capital as Positive Predictors of Job Satisfaction and Performance

In this paper we analyzed the incremental validity of the organizational virtues over the individual psychological capital (IPC) in terms of predicting performance and job satisfaction. The sample was made up of 459 Indian employees (232 men, 227 women); average age: 36.43 years (SD = 11.56); Belonging to public (17.4%, n = 80) and private (82.6%, n = 379) companies, the majority resided in and around Dehradun & Haridwar city (96.8%, n = 443). For data collection, an inventory of organizational virtues –IVO, Psychological Capital Scale, and some ad-hoc designed surveys were used. Sociodemographic, organizational, job dissatisfaction, and job performance surveys. in relation to the dimensions of the IPC, regarding the prediction of satisfaction and job performance.
Causal Relationship of Infra, Process and Firm Performance on Supply Chain Quality Management

The purpose of this study is that analyzing the causal relationship between Infra, Process and Performance of companies which are executing the Supply Chain Quality Management(SCQM) with their subcontractors and partners. Korean Standards Association(KSA) provides the Supply Chain Quality Management Model and Quality Collaboration Index for 4 years, but a few study has investigated the critical variables and their causal relationship to organizational performance. Therefore we examine the SCQM model and related index and choose the quality, human resource and risk management processes for identifying the path to organizational performance. In addition, exploratory factor analysis is conducted for figuring out the major factors among the 3 processes. Structural Equation Model are successively used for determining which characteristics of the infra and processes are the most critical variables to performance. The data was collected from KSA and composed of 52 companies and 346 their partners. The result shows that risk management process has no significant effect on the organizational performance and pre-production process collaboration.
Chilled water plant design

The causes of low {Delta}T syndrome are not mysterious, but they are often pervasive and thus can be hard to remedy. Low {Delta}T can be caused by dirty cooling coils, throttling valves with insufficient shutoff capability, reset CHS temperature, poorly controlled blending stations, and of course, CHW bypassing out in the system. But most often, low system {Delta}T is the result of faulty controls and improperly adjusted set points. This article, however, is not about the causes of central plant syndrome. It`s about accepting that the problem exists in virtually every big distributed chilled water system and then recognizing the need to seek design solutions that can cope with it, if not prevent it.
CODE_RUSH COMMON COMPILER IN LAN

: Internet access during practical and practice sessions hinders the graph of learning. The trend of copying code and pasting them can be easily observed in online exams which makes it unfair for others who are not copying. This problem can be resolved with some simple approach which will be discussed here. Code-Rush is the name given to the solutions we came up with. Code_Rush will help both to faculties and students to organize their time and efforts.
Dielectric properties of atomic-layer-deposited LayZr1-yOx and EryHf1-yOx thin films

The functions in electronic devices such as mobile phones are increasing, while their dimensions are shrinking every year. To comply with this trend, the number of components on the integrated circuits (IC’s) is drastically increasing and their performance such as the switching speed are improving every year as was observed by Gordon Moore in 1965 [1]. Moore suggested that the number of active components on an IC will double every 18 months [2]. Cramming more components into integrated circuits necessitates the lateral and vertical shrinkage of the component dimensions. The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) foresees several challenges in complying with Moore’s law in future semiconductor devices [3], among which two reasons are worth noting. Firstly, the calculations of tunnel current through the dielectric layers by Hirose et al., based on multiplescattering theory show that the transconductance fluctuations will be problematic when the gate oxide thickness is scaled down to 0.8 nm [4]. This sets the fundamental limit for thinning down the gate oxide (SiO2) in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices to 0.7 nm, beyond which the spill-over of the silicon conduction-band wave-functions into the oxide generates interface states that will generate unacceptably large power consumption [5]. Secondly, every bit of data processed in a CMOS logic gate consists of a thermodynamically irreversible process, which is given by the Landauer limit k T ln 2 B = 17.9 meV [6], which might set the noise limit beyond which the CMOS technology may not be possible unless another smart technology is developed [7].
Studier av speciering og kortidsvariasjoner for jern, kobber og sink i Raubekken med tilførsel av pyritt- og gruveavrenning; Speciation studies and studies of short time fluctations for zinc and iron (and copper) in streams receiving runoffwater from pyrite mines.

Det har i de siste arene vaert en okende interesse for problematikken i sammenheng med gruvedrift. I Sor-Trondelag, sor for Orkanger, ligger Lokken gruvene. Her har det vaert drevet med gruvedrift i 333 ar. Det ble hovedsakelig utvunnet kobber, men det er ogsa store pyrittforekomster med sink i omradet. Det er store syreavrenninger som folge av oksidasjon av pyritt, og det er store mengder metaller. Det skal i denne oppgaven kartlegges for sitasjonen i Raubekken, som renner gjennom Lokken sentrum. Raubekken renner ut til en populaer lakseelv, Orkla, som videre renner ut i Orkangerfjorden. Ved innsamling av filtrerte og ufiltrerte vannprover til analyse pa HR-ICP-MS, UV, DOC, samt malinger av pH, konduktivitet og redoks skal det anslas hvor jern feller ut, samt hva som skjer med kobber og sink. Det er her onskelig a se pa jern, kobber og sink. Det ble tatt prover fra seks punkter av Raubekken, der det forste punktet ligger oppstroms Lokken sentrum, og punkt to ligger ved et punkt der det renner gruvevann ut i bekken, og de siste fire punktene ligger nedstroms Lokken sentrum. Videre ble det samlet inn filtrert og ufiltrert vannprover til analyse med HR-ICP-MS. Det ble ogsa tatt filtrerte vannprover til analyse for DOC, altsa for a finne den opploste mengden av organisk karbon. Oppgaven er a finne det punktet i Raubekken der jern gar fra opplost fase til det blir felt ut. Det ble videre utfort en maling av konduktivitet og turbiditet. Dette ble avgjort etter bearbeiding av resultater, der det var tydelig at det skjer noe med metallene hovedsakelig mellom punkt fire og fem. Dette ble utfort i slutten av april 2013, der det ble utfort malinger fra punkt tre og langs Raubekken nedstroms frem til for punkt fem. Dette for a indikere hvor mye opplost materiale, eventuelt utfelt materiale som er langs ulike lokalisasjoner. Dette ble ogsa utfort for a kunne visuelt se om det var tydelige omrader det ble felt ut. Ved hjelp av alle de fysiske parameterne, samt ved a se pa de mengdene av jern, kobber og sink og malinger av DOC og UV, kan det antas at det feller ut mye jern allerede etter punkt tre, men hovedsakelig mellom punkt fire og fem. Det er tydelige omrader med utfelt jern, og dette i punkter med mye aktivitet i vannmassene som folge av fall i terrenget. Videre fraktes sink lengre nedstroms, og dette fordi sink kan fraktes ved hoyere pH-verdier enn for eksempel jern. Kobber felles ogsa ut. Likevel kan det konkluderes med at det er store konsentrasjoner av disse metallene som renner ut i Orkla.
Performance Analysis of Pre-detection and Post-detection Diversity reception schemes for Mobile Satellite Systems.

For mobile satellite systems, quality of service and service availability depend on the line-of-sight satellite availability. The satellite visibility is one of the major factors which influence satellite link availability, since the satellite channel behavior is depended on the link conditions between satellite and land user. Because of this, the mobile satellite systems are using satellite constellation in low elevation orbits, which can provide multiple satellite visibility. In this paper a closed form expression for the performance of the post-detection product detector combiner (PDC) operating on L correlated branches in Nakagami fading has been derived, considering the DPSK signaling scheme and Nakagami flat fading channel. The average bit error rate (BER) obtained with this scheme is compared to the ideal predetection maximum ratio combining (MRC), showing limited loss. The post-detection product detector combiner is shown to perform better than the selection diversity combiner (SDC) under the considered case of mobile satellite systems.
Blending the Battlefield: An Analysis of Using Private Military Companies to Support Military Operations in Iraq

Abstract : Over the past fifteen years, the Department of Defense has experienced an increasing trend in the outsourcing and privatization of military operations. Key factors contributing to the growth include declines in military budgets, reductions in active duty end-strength, increases in operational deployments, advancements in weapon system technology, and evolutions in the nature of warfare. However, the continued escalation of incorporating Private Military Companies (PMCs) on the battlefield creates unique challenges. The purpose of this exploratory and descriptive research is to identify utilization rates, describe the types of roles being fulfilled, and synthesize the challenges of augmenting military manpower with civilian contractors. For this effort, the research scope is primarily focused on exploring the use of PMCs to support battlefield operations in Iraq. The research strategy involves the collection, reduction, and analysis of existing census data and secondary archival data from multiple sources. To add flexibility to the study, interactive data analysis techniques are employed using a combination of several qualitative methodologies. The conclusions drawn from the resulting data analysis framework are intended to facilitate a better understanding of the complexities of using civilian contractors in a war zone as well as outline key focus areas for improving the planning, management, and oversight of PMC operations. In addition, this research expands the existing body of knowledge on this dynamic topic.