Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Free Parking on Commuter Mode Choice: Evidence from Travel Diary Data

This study assesses the effect of free parking on mode choice and parking demand. A multinomial logit model is developed to evaluate the probabilities that commuters who do and do not receive free parking at work will choose to drive alone, ride in a carpool, or use transit for the trip to work in the central business district (CBD) of Portland, Oregon. The mode choice model predicts that with free parking, 62 percent of commuters will drive alone, 16 percent will commute in carpools, and 22 percent will ride transit; with a daily parking charge of $6, 46 percent will drive alone, 4 percent will ride in carpools, and 50 percent will ride transit. The mode choice model predicts that a daily parking charge of $6 in the Portland CBD would result in 21 fewer cars driven for every 100 commuters. This translates to a daily reduction of 147 vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per 100 commuters and an annual reduction of 39,000 VMT per 100 commuters. These findings are consistent with previous studies on how parking cost affects mode choice. The policy variables that help influence mode choice decisions for commuters are the parking cost and the travel time by transit. The results suggest that raising the cost of parking at work sites and decreasing the transit travel time (by improving service and decreasing headways) will reduce the drive alone mode share. The results provide little support for the contention that land use is a significant factor in mode choice decisions.
Optimal Design Methodology on Compensation Parameters of Inductive Power Transfer Converter for Electric Vehicles

Compensation topologies of the inductive power transfer (IPT) converter for electric vehicles (EVs) have been researched in previous works. However, a methodology for designing a compensation topology based on the efficiency of the IPT converter has been barely discussed. This paper proposes an optimal design methodology for compensation parameters to achieve optimal efficiency of the IPT converter with LCC-S. The optimal output voltage is derived using the losses analysis of the IPT converter, and the IPT converter is designed for the optimal output voltage to achieve the optimal efficiency. Furthermore, the battery management (BM) converter on the receiving side is designed based on the output voltage of the IPT converter, the fluctuation range of the coupling coefficient, and the battery charging voltage. The validity of the proposed IPT converter design methodology is verified by designing different compensation parameters and BM converters. The power rating of the three design cases is 3.3 kW with the same magnetic pads satisfying the SAE J2954 WPT 1 class.
Analysis of the propulsion and manoeuvring characteristics of survey-style AUVs and the development of a multi-purpose AUV

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are a developing technology with multiple applications including oceanographic research, military missions and commercial activities such as oil and gas field exploration. The reported research covers two main areas, namely, the assessment of the survey performance of AUVs and the development of the next generation of multi-purpose AUVs. The performance characteristics of long range survey-style AUVs are examined and improvements in performance are sought through the use of hybrid devices. Hybrid devices are defined as those that provide both propulsion and manoeuvring forces. Two devices were chosen for detailed investigation; a vectored thruster and a collective and cyclic pitch propeller. The manoeuvring performance of both devices was found to be insufficient to justify the additional engineering complexity associated with them. The aim of the next generation of AUVs is to be able to combine long range survey capabilities with low speed investigation of the environment encountered. An assessment of a likely mission profile and a review of the available design options demonstrate that maintaining the survey efficiency of the AUV is of principal importance. Therefore the investigation focuses on approaches to the addition of low speed control to an existing survey-style AUV design using propeller based thrusters. Externally mounted thrusters and through-body tunnel thrusters are reviewed and new experimental investigations are reported to provide insight into the performance characteristics on a survey-style AUV hull form. The main body of the experimental programme characterises forward and aft mounted tunnel thruster performance over a range of forward speeds and small yaw angles. The results are used to develop a new, simple modelling procedure representing the performance of tunnel thrusters on an AUV which facilitates the incorporation of the characteristics of tunnel thrusters into numerical simulations of AUV performance. Such a simulation is used to examine approaches to undertaking the transition phase between high speed survey and low speed manoeuvring operation. The results demonstrate the advantageous nature of undertaking a smooth interchange between control approaches considering both the vehicle performance and the energy demands.
Novel doubly perforated broadband microstrip branch‐line couplers

Two broadband compact doubly perforated hybrid couplers have been designed, manufactured, and measured. To improve frequency characteristics and to reduce circuit dimensions, two kinds of perforations have been introduced: the defected ground structures in the ground plane metallization and photonic bandgap cells in the strip metallization. Measurement results show essential miniaturization (∼39% and ∼36%) and enhancement of the bandwidth (∼47% and ∼75 %). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 51: 2149–2152, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.24566
Time-dependent modeling of the MFA-MOPA

Semiconductor lasers present enormous potential for free-space laser communications. Recently, a new class of devices based on a master oscillator power amplifier configuration has emerged as the leading contender. The paper illustrates the monolithically integrated flared amplifier (MFA-MOPA) device. It incorporates an index-guided, single-lateral-mode- distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) master oscillator section that diffracts a relatively low- power, narrow spectral bandwidth signal into a tapered amplifier section. The tapered amplifier section then amplifies the output to a one-watt or greater level while the divergence precludes the formation of filaments, maintaining good beam quality during the amplification process. The final output facet of the amplifier section is anti-reflection coated so that feedback into the DBR master oscillator is minimized, while outcoupling the amplified power.
Development of Expert System for Material and Welding rod Selection in Robotic Welding

In artificial intelligence, an expert system is a computer system that emulates the decision-making ability of a human expert. Expert systems are designed to solve complex problems by reasoning about knowledge, represented primarily as if-then rules rather than through conventional procedural code Robotics welding has been used over the years in some advanced countries like Japan, USA etc to weld but there has been series of problems encountered with the usage of these processes or method. These includes the difficulty of designing suitable software that will enhance robotic welding, the cost and skill required thereby creating a barrier to its usage. Welding operation is joining two metals together. The need arise for how to minimize or eliminate the error encountered when fatigue sets in, due to low efficiency of the local welder. CADD software for welding was developed using Microsoft visual studio package which was used to weld two mild steel plates together automatically, at the same time, it could be used for cylindrical hollow pipes. Therefore, this research work is based on reducing or eliminating such problems by creating a mean of designing a suitable and competent software that can aid robotic welding at a lower cost and above all which can be operated by anybody without the requirement of programming knowledge or any special skill. The result clearly shows that Robotic welding systems are able to operate continuously, provided appropriate maintenance procedures are adhered to. Continuous production line interruptions can be minimized with proper robotic system design. Robotic welding is faster, error free and uniformly welded all through like that of the CADD welding model developed.
Association between Roadway Intersection Characteristics and Pedestrian Crash Risk in Alameda County, California

Each year from 1998 to 2007, an average of approximately 4,800 pedestrians were killed and 71,000 pedestrians were injured in traffic crashes in the United States. Because many pedestrian crashes occur at roadway intersections, it is important to understand the intersection characteristics that are associated with pedestrian crash risk. The present study uses detailed pedestrian crash data and pedestrian volume estimates to analyze the pedestrian crash risk at 81 intersections along arterial and collector roadways in Alameda County, California. The analysis compares pedestrian crash rates (the number of crashes per 10,000,000 pedestrian crossings) with intersection characteristics. In addition, more than 30 variables were considered for use in the development of a statistical model of the number of pedestrian crashes reported at each study intersection from 1998 to 2007. After the pedestrian and motor vehicle volumes at each intersection were accounted for, negative binomial regression showed that significantly more pedestrian crashes occurred at intersections with more right-turn-only lanes, more nonresidential driveways within 50 ft (15 m), more commercial properties within 0.1 mi (161 m), and a greater percentage of residents within 0.25 mi (402 m) who were younger than age 18 years. Raised medians on both intersecting streets were associated with lower numbers of pedestrian crashes. These results, viewed in combination with other research findings, can be used by practitioners to design safer intersections for pedestrians. This exploratory study also provides a methodological framework for future pedestrian safety studies.
Curriculum Disentangled Recommendation with Noisy Multi-feedback

Learning disentangled representations for user intentions from multi-feedback (i.e., positive and negative feedback) can enhance the accuracy and explainability of recommendation algorithms. However, learning such disentangled representations from multi-feedback data is challenging because i) multi-feedback is complex: there exist complex relations among different types of feedback (e.g., click, unclick , and dislike , etc) as well as various user intentions, and ii) multi-feedback is noisy: there exists noisy (useless) information both in features and labels, which may deteriorate the recommendation performance. Existing disentangled recommendation works only focus on positive feedback, failing to handle the complex relations and noise hidden in multi-feedback data. To solve this problem, in this work we propose a Curriculum Disentangled Recommendation (CDR) model that is capable of efﬁciently learning disentangled representations from complex and noisy multi-feedback for better recommendation. Concretely, we design a co-ﬁltering dynamic routing mechanism which simultaneously captures the complex relations among different behavioral feedback and user intentions as well as denoise the representations in the feature level. We then present an adjustable self-evaluating curriculum that is able to evaluate sample difﬁculties for better model training and conduct denoising in the label level via disregarding useless information. Our extensive experiments on several real-world datasets demonstrate that the proposed CDR model can signiﬁcantly outperform several state-of-the-art methods in terms of recommendation accuracy 3 .
Specialized analyser for electrical energy quality estimation in ship electrical power system

This paper presents the problems of electrical energy quality estimation in ship electrical power system and describes the appropriate factors of this. These factors were worked out with the criterion of safe operation of ship technical systems. Economical aspects of the presented problems have only auxiliary importance. Special attention has been paid to instrumentation for electrical energy estimation. In this context, the concept of a specialized analyser for electrical energy quality estimation is shown. The presented device was constructed with its own safety operation criteria and destined for use under assumption of temporary lack of service. For this reason, it has in particular, a distributed structure which contains autonomous modules. Moreover, some additional, autodiagnosis and emergency functions have been introduced. Taking into account measurement needs, the application of signal processors for analyser construction has been proposed.
Magnetoelastic Materials for Monitoring and Controlling Cells and Tissues

Advances in cell and tissue therapies are slow to be implemented in the clinic due to the limited standardization of safety and quality control techniques. Current approaches for monitoring cell and tissue manufacturing processes are time and labor intensive, costly, and lack commercial scalability. One method to improving in vitro manufacturing processes includes utilizing the coupled magnetic and mechanical properties of magnetoelastic (ME) materials as passive and wireless sensors and actuators. Specifically, ME materials can be used in quantifying cell adhesion, detecting contamination, measuring biomarkers, providing biomechanical stimulus, and enabling cell detachment in bioreactors. This review outlines critical design considerations for ME systems and summarizes recent developments in utilizing ME materials for sensing and actuation in cell and tissue engineering.
Two-level Force Input on TouchPad and the Effects of Feedback on Performance

Human fingers are accustomed to applying force in everyday activities and this dimension is not captured with today’s TouchPads. We developed a prototype TouchPad with force sensors capable of detecting force applied by a finger. We evaluated two-level force interaction by creating a modified Fitts’ task with two colored targets – one selected by light press and the other selected by heavy press. We evaluated the effects of modality of force level feedback on task performance time and error using audio and visual feedback and compared it to a no-feedback control condition. Results showed no difference in Fitts’ movement time between the various feedback conditions. Most participants preferred the simple audio feedback over other feedbacks. Many participants also commented that feedback helped them learn the force thresholds for each level but with practice they would prefer to have no additional force level feedback.
Compressive and Tensile Elastic Properties of Concrete: Empirical Factors in Span Reinforced Structures Design

Concretes with the same strength can have various deformability that influences span structures deflection. In addition, a significant factor is the non-linear deformation of concrete dependence on the load. The main deformability parameter of concrete is the instantaneous modulus of elasticity. This research aims to evaluate the relation of concrete compressive and tensile elastic properties testing. The beam samples at 80 × 140 × 1400 cm with one rod Ø8 composite or Ø10 steel reinforcement were experimentally tested. It was shown that instantaneous elastic deformations under compression are much lower than tensile. Prolonged elastic deformations under compression are close to tensile. It results in compressive elasticity modulus exceeding the tensile. The relation between these moduli is proposed. The relation provides operative elasticity modulus testing by the bending tensile method. The elasticity modulus’s evaluation for the reinforced span structures could be based only on the bending testing results. A 10% elasticity modulus increase, which seems not significant, increases at 30–40% the stress of the reinforced span structures under load and 30% increases the cracking point stress.
Automation and robotics for workers health and safety improvements in pot-plant nurseries

Objectives The pot-plants sector is very important in European agriculture, and employees a considerable number of workers. Most operations are still manually performed and many of them are critical for worker health and safety (Belforte et al, 2006). Pots handling is one of the most repetitive and heavy operations forcing workers to hazardous postures for musculoskeletal apparatus, whereas the high number of pesticide applications determines a strong exposition to toxic substances. Robotic systems and automated machines able to perform repetitive and/or dangerous tasks could significantly facilitate and make safer the work in pot-plants nurseries where millions of pots are grown every year. This paper discusses operations that can be conducted by automated, specific machines and presents the design of a multipurpose autonomous robot customized for pot-plants nurseries as well as other protected cultivations. Particular attention if focused on the control of the steering and path following systems.
Fabrication of micrometre-sized periodic gratings in free-standing metallic foils for laser–plasma experiments

Abstract Engineered targets are expected to play a key role in future high-power laser experiments calling for joined, extensive knowledge in materials properties, engineering techniques and plasma physics. In this work, we propose a novel patterning procedure of self-supported 10 μm thick Au and Cu foils for obtaining micrometre-sized periodic gratings as targets for high-power laser applications. Accessible techniques were considered, by using cold rolling, electron-beam lithography and the Ar-ion milling process. The developed patterning procedure allows efficient control of the grating and foil surface on large area. Targets consisting of patterned regions of 450 μm × 450 μm, with 2 μm periodic gratings, were prepared on 25 mm × 25 mm Au and Cu free-standing foils, and preliminary investigations of the micro-targets interacting with an ultrashort, relativistic laser pulse were performed. These test experiments demonstrated that, in certain conditions, the micro-gratings show enhanced laser energy absorption and higher efficiency in accelerating charge particle beams compared with planar thin foils of similar thickness.
Floating lossless immittance functions using DVCCTA

A new circuit realisation scheme for the simulation of floating lossless immittance function (FLIF) using differential voltage current conveyor transimmittance amplifier is proposed; intuitive choice of the device transadmittance (Ym) would yield either a floating inductor (if Ym ≈ gm) or a floating FDNR-type supercapacitor (if Ym ≈ sCm) in the same topology. Analysis indicates that device nonidealities have insignificant effects on the nominal design. Experimental results for some selective filter (5 ≤ Q ≤ 10) design using the FLIFs are presented.
Dietary factors and brain health

Purpose of review Nutrition is a complex exposure (i.e., the food exposome) that influences brain function and health through multiple pathways. We review recent epidemiological studies that have improved the characterization of the food exposome and brain health in humans and have revealed promising nutrition-based strategies to prevent cognitive aging. Recent findings A selection of epidemiological research from the past 18 months of both observational and clinical studies is presented, with a focus on novel findings, including novel nutrient and diet patterns, diet-related approaches to rescue brain energetics defects in aging, and biomarker-based studies to decipher specific neurobiological pathways of nutrition and brain health. Summary Although healthy diets such as the Mediterranean diet promote brain health throughout life, specific diets, such as the Mediterranean-Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay diet, or specific nutrients (LC n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids, vitamin D, B vitamins, polyphenols) alone or in combination, may prevent cognitive aging. Diet management approaches to rescue brain energetics defects such as the Modified Mediterranean-ketogenic diet may be promising to prevent neurodegenerative diseases. Expanding research also suggests that promotion of a healthy gut microbiome through prebiotic foods may preserve the diet–gut–brain axis with aging. Future studies should explore more individualized preventive approaches through a ’precision nutrition’ framework.
Alternatives to Labor Intensive Tasks in Roadside Vegetation Maintenance

This report describes an investigation into machine based technologies that are alternatives to the current methods of vegetation control in roadside maintenance. Two different lines of inquiry are described in separate report sections. The alternatives of hot foam application, radiant heating, and high pressure water application are compared to mowing and herbicide application in maintenance of areas around posts and guardrails, mow strips, and paved surfaces. Hot foam application and radiant heating technologies are candidates for further development. In the second line of inquiry, an autonomous mower control is achieved using dead reckoning information obtained from shaft mounted encoders fused with absolute positioning and heading information provided by a differential GPS unit. In this study however, the GPS unit provides accurate drift free heading, eliminating the need for a gyroscope unit, and leading to an overall low cost, high performance solution. Results indicate that future development and fusion into Caltrans current mowing practices could significantly reduce the agency's dependence on herbicide, improve worker and public safety, lead to enhanced levels of environmental quality, and decrease the annual statewide mowing budget.
Phylogenetic Analysis of Canonical/non-canonical Dicers and RNase III Containing Proteins in Fungal Kingdom

Background: Dicers were member of RNase III containing proteins family with important RNAi function in eukaryotes. In this study, we tried to address the potential distribution of all RNase III containing proteins among the fungal kingdom, as well as their possible evolution paths including canonical Dicers, non-canonical Dicers and non-canonical Dicer-like proteins.Result: RNase III containing proteins were collected from 83 species, and discussed the features and possible evolution pathways of RNase III containing protein family. In general, RNase III containing protein family could be characterized into three different groups as canonical Dicer, non-canonical Dicers and Dicer-like proteins based on their domain structures and functional annotation. Most eukaryotes obtained multiple RNase III protein of different types at the same time, including canonical Dicers and Dicer-like proteins. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the RNase III domains were different between canonical Dicers and Dicer-like proteins, for the first and second RNase III domains had different insertions in different regions with certain extent of conservation. Regardless of the types, RNA-binging domains in RNase III protein family were very similar to each other. Furthermore, short insertions were found in different positions from the first and second RNase III domains in canonical Dicers separately. RNA-binging domains from all types were quite similar to each other.Conclusion: RNase III containing proteins in general widely exist in eukaryotes with minor divergent among different types and groups. Suggested by the RNase III and RDB domains, the canonical/non-canonical Dicers Dicer-like proteins might share the same ancestor and have evolved from separate mild-types through different directions.