Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SECURITY: VOLUME 6: APPLICABILITY OF PORTABLE EXPLOSIVE DETECTION DEVICES IN TRANSIT ENVIRONMENTS

This sixth volume of TCRP Report 86, "Public Transportation Security," will be of interest to transit general managers; transit law-enforcement and security officials; and operations, training, and human-resource staffs. It will also be of interest to federal, state, and local law-enforcement representatives. Although some transit agencies deploy bomb-sniffing canine units, technology-based explosive detection devices have not been used on a routine basis in transit systems. This report assessed the usefulness of portable explosive detectors in a transit environment. Commercially available portable explosive detection units were tested in the laboratory as well as in field tests in actual transit agency environments such as subway stations and platforms, bus stations, tunnels, and repair facilities. Training, implementation issues, and specific information on explosives detection are discussed herein.
The robot builder's bonanza: 99 inexpensive robotics projects

The robot experimenter anatomy of a robot tools and supplies getting parts building robots of plastic building a basic wooden robot platform building a metal platform constructing high tech robots from toys build a Robotix-based robot build a Lego technic-based robot building a functionoid with Lego mindstorms all about batteries choosing the right motor for the job locomotion with DC motors locomotion with Stepper motors locomotion white Servo motors build a RoverBot build a six-legged walking robot build the HydraBot - walk'n roll! advanced locomotion systems an overview of arm systems build a revolute coordinate arm build a Servo motor-based robotic arm build a polar coordinate arm experimenting with Gripper designs adding the sense of touch fire detection systems robotic eyes collision detection and avoidance navigating through space remote control systems robot control via PC parallel port an overview of robot "brains" using the BASIC stamp and other microcontrollers robot control with 8051 single board computer creating your own PIC-based "Robobug". Appendices: sources reading robot information on the Internet interfacing Logic families and Ics construction charts.
Social Network Analysis of Open Source Projects

A large amount of widespread software used today is either open source or includes open-source projects. Much open-source software has proved to be of very high quality despite being developed through unconventional methods. The success of open-source products has sparked an interest in the software industry in why these projects are so successful and how this seemingly unstructured development process can yield such great results. This thesis presents a study done on the projects hosted by one of the largest and most well-known open-software communities that exists. The study involves gathering developer collaboration data and then using social network analysis to find trends in the data that eventually might be used to create benchmarks for open-source software development. The results show that several interesting trends can be found.
Using "Social Scriptures" as a Tool for Gospel Learning and Sharing

USING THE SCRIPTURES AS A SOCIAL TOOL FOR GOSPEL LEARNING AND SHARING Cahlan A Sharp Department of Instructional Psychology and Technology Master of Science This paper summarizes a design project entitled “Social Scriptures” completed for the AudioVisual Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (The Church). The purpose of the design project was to prototype a web-based computer application that could be used by Church members to study the scriptures in an online social context. Originally, the project was designed to be a part of the Facebook Application Platform in order to leverage both the extensive existing social connections of Church members as well as deliver the application in a setting where many Church members already spend a good deal of their time. Through the cyclic design processes of feedback and evaluation, the project was later generalized to not necessarily depend on the Facebook Platform, but rather create a system from the existing member account information coupled with scriptural content that can function inside of a social network or on its own. The evolution of the design process towards using a rapid prototyping methodology allowed for quick revisions, lower stakes testing, and more overall flexibility in the design. The various stages of the design process, including revisions and prototypes, are shown and discussed in this paper.
Incorporating Travel Time Reliability in Equitable Congestion Pricing Schemes for Heterogeneous Users and Bimodal Networks

Congestion pricing is proposed as an effective travel demand management strategy to circumvent the problem of congestion and generate revenue to finance developmental projects. There are several studies focusing on optimal pricing strategies to minimize the congestion level or maximize the revenue of the system. However, with regard to equity issues, benefiting only users with higher value of time is claimed to be the main factor that prevents implementation of such policies in practice. While many studies aimed to tackle the equity issues by certain welfare analyses, most of these studies fail to fully consider realistic features of users’ behavior and the uncertainty in link travel times. Given the variability of travel time in real-world networks and the impacts of pricing policies on path travel time distributions, it is important to consider the users’ reliability valuations, in addition to their travel time valuations. Thus, the goal in this study is to find an equitable pricing scheme that minimizes the total travel time of auto users in a general bimodal network considering heterogeneous users with different values of time and reliability. A particle swarm optimization algorithm is proposed to find self-funded and Pareto-improving optimal toll values. A reliability-based user equilibrium algorithm is embedded into this optimization algorithm to assign travelers to the equilibrated paths for different user classes given toll values. The proposed approach is successfully applied to a modified Sioux Falls network to explore impacts of subsidization, congestion level, and considering travel time reliability on the pricing strategy and its effectiveness.
Proximal Junction Kyphosis in Adult Scoliosis: Best Postoperative Radiological Predictors—A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background Proximal junction kyphosis (PJK) is the postsurgical radiographic event seen in the surgical plane after the fusion of a spinal deformity. Unfavorable health outcomes have been reported in symptomatic PJK patients compared to non-PJK patients. Methods The data for adult scoliosis patients who underwent curve correction were extracted from the hospital database. Pelvic and spinal parameters were measured and calculated to compare four predictive formulae for occurrences of PJK. Formula 1. Restoration of hypothetical values of lumbar lordosis (LL) and thoracic kyphosis (TK) according to pelvic incidence (PI). Formula 2. Evaluation of global sagittal alignment. Formula 3. Restoration of the apex of LL to its hypothetical position according to the spine shape. Formula 4. Evaluation of positive-sum and negative-sum of (LL + TK). Results A total number of cases were 52. There were 14 cases of PJK. The incidence of PJK was 26.9%, and the mean age for PJK cases was 63.2 ± 5.2. The excellent predictor for occurrences of PJK was formula 3. Postsurgical sagittal apexes of lumbar lordosis were located in their hypothetical position in 24 cases, and 12.5% of these cases developed PJK. While sagittal apexes were not located in their hypothetical position in 28 patients, PJK occurred in 39.3% of them (P=0.03, OR: 4.53, (95% CI: 1.09–18.9)). The second good predictor for occurrences of PJK was formula 2 (GSA >45° versus GSA <45° OR = 2.5, (95% CI: 0.67–9.38), P=0.17). The other two formulae (1 and 4) were not good predictors for occurrences of PJK. Conclusion Among the four proposed formulae for predicting occurrences of PJK, the position of the sagittal apex of lumbar lordosis is an excellent predictor of the development of PJK, followed by GSA. Hypothetical values of LL and TK, and positive or negative-sum of (LL + TK), are weak predictors for occurrences of PJK.
Country Risk Premium: The Case of Chile

Currently there is no agreed method to estimate the Risk Premium accurately, therefore, different authors arrive at significantly different results when calculating the risk premium for a given country or industry. This work estimates the risk premium of the Chilean stock market (PRM) for the period 1993-2020 using different estimation methodologies (Differential Returns, Implicit Return in Current Stock Prices). The results indicate, depending on the methodology used, a Premium for Risk that ranges between 1,91% and 10,28%, which shows the existence of a positive premium for assuming risk in Chile that ranges around 5,3%.
Potential Consumer Response to Electricity Demand Response Mechanisms: Early Plug-in Electric Vehicle Drivers in San Diego, California

This report summarizes findings of household interviews and focus groups conducted with plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) drivers on the effects of demand response management (DRM) strategies on the time of day of PEV charging. The research was conducted in the spring and fall of 2012 with PEV drivers in San Diego County, CA. The DRM strategies were of three basic types. First, electricity pricing included intentional and carefully designed time-of-use (TOU) price signal, as well as uncontrolled implicit TOU signals resulting from differences between home and away-from-home prices of electricity. Second, technology, in this case timers onboard PEVs and in the electric vehicle service equipment (EVSE), i.e., the “chargers” were available to support PEV drivers adherence to a chosen time to start vehicle charging. Third was exhortation about the private and social benefits of shifting electricity demand to off-peak periods. It is not possible to entirely disentangle the effects of the individual DRM strategies. PEV drivers reveal different comparative standards for whether any electricity price is perceived to be “high” or “low. ” Their behavior, in aggregate, suggests the effect of TOU prices may be more like an off-on switch than the continuous change implied by the most common measure of such prices, i.e., own-price elasticity of electricity.
Smarter Than You Think: How Technology is Changing Our Minds for the Better

It's undeniabletechnology is changing the way we think. But is it for the better? Amid a chorus of doomsayers, Clive Thompson delivers a resounding "yes. " The Internet age has produced a radical new style of human intelligence, worthy of both celebration and analysis. We learn more and retain it longer, write and think with global audiences, and even gain an ESP-like awareness of the world around us. Modern technology is making us smarter, better connected, and often deeperboth as individuals and as a society. In Smarter Than You Think Thompson shows that every technological innovationfrom the written word to the printing press to the telegraphhas provoked the very same anxieties that plague us today. We panic that life will never be the same, that our attentions are eroding, that culture is being trivialized. But as in the past, we adaptlearning to use the new and retaining whats good of the old. Thompson introduces us to a cast of extraordinary characters who augment their minds in inventive ways. There's the seventy-six-year old millionaire who digitally records his every waking momentgiving him instant recall of the events and ideas of his life, even going back decades. There's a group of courageous Chinese students who mounted an online movement that shut down a $1.6 billion toxic copper plant. There are experts and there are amateurs, including a global set of gamers who took a puzzle that had baffled HIV scientists for a decadeand solved it collaboratively in only one month. Smarter Than You Think isn't just about pioneers. It's about everyday users of technology and how our digital toolsfrom Google to Twitter to Facebook and smartphonesare giving us new ways to learn, talk, and share our ideas. Thompson harnesses the latest discoveries in social science to explore how digital technology taps into our long-standing habits of mindpushing them in powerful new directions. Our thinking will continue to evolve as newer tools enter our lives. Smarter Than You Think embraces and extols this transformation, presenting an exciting vision of the present and the future.
Ultrawideband Phased Array Antenna Technology for Sensing and Communications Systems

Ultrawideband phased array antennas are an enabling technology for many ground-based and airborne communications and radar systems. This book surveys electromagnetic theory and phased array antenna theory and provides examples of ultrawideband phased array antenna technology. It describes some of the research on ultrawideband phased arrays undertaken by the authors and their colleagues at MIT Lincoln Laboratory over the last ten years. The book focuses on experimental prototype ultrawideband phased array technology developed at Lincoln Laboratory for applications in the VHF and UHF bands from approximately 100 MHz to 1 GHz, and addresses dipole, monopole, loop, and other antenna array elements. It offers examples of antennas for both airborne and ground vehicle applications. Most of the examples are developed in the context of rapid prototyping for quick assessment of communications and radar systems feasibility, with measurements and numerical electromagnetic simulation results provided for many prototype examples. The book is intended primarily for practicing antenna engineers, radar engineers, and communications engineers, and for graduate students and researchers in electrical engineering. Readers need no prior knowledge of ultrawideband antennas, although some background in electromagnetic theory, antennas, radar, and communications would be helpful.
A New Technique for Improved Positioning Accuracy Employing Gaussian Filtering in Zigbee-based Sensor Networks

The IEEE 802.15. 4 wireless sensor network is composed of the unique sensor devices to monitor and collect physical or environmental conditions. The interests in a positioning technology, which is one of the environment monitoring technologies, are gradually increased according to the development of the sensor technology and IT infrastructure. Generally, it is difficult for the positioning system using RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) based implementation to get accurate position because of obstacles, RF wave's delay and multipath. Therefore, in this paper, we investigate the improved positioning technologies for RSSI-based positioning system. This paper also proposes the enhanced scheme to improve the accuracy of positioning system by applying the Gaussian Filter algorithm, which is widely used for enhancing the performance of image processing system. For the implementation of proposed scheme, we firstly make a look-up tables, which represent the distance between target node and master node and corresponding RSSI value of each target node which are recorded as an average value after investigating the characteristics of attenuation of transmitted signal By applying the pre-determined look-up tables and Gaussian Filtering in the proposed scheme, we analyzed the positioning performance and compared with other conventional RSSI-based positioning algorithms.
An exploration of how interactive whiteboard technology is being utilised in secondary English classrooms

This study offers a much-needed discussion of the use of interactive whiteboards in English teaching. Focusing on a sample of teachers, in an English region, it seeks to provide heightened awareness of and critical insight into the role that the technology plays within the teachers’ practice. Specifically and distinctively, it examines how the technology supports the teaching of English skills and content. The study addresses the paucity of research into interactive whiteboard use within this secondary core subject. The study is informed by a consideration of teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and by two other specific theories. Gibson’s theory of affordances supports a consideration of opportunities offered by the technology. The cognitive theory of multimedia learning (Mayer) underpins an exploration of the multimedia capabilities of interactive whiteboards. A case study approach is adopted, using mixed methods to gather data on seven case study teachers who are experienced, regular users of the technology. Lessons taught by the teachers were observed through systematic observation and the content of the interactive whiteboards was analysed. The English teachers were subsequently interviewed. A range of findings illuminate areas relating to interactive whiteboard content, English subject teaching and pedagogy in general. Analysis shows how the teachers are actively considering aspects of planning and design with their resources In particular. They produce highly prepared resources, designed to suit individual teaching groups. However, the technology can be utilised in limited and limiting ways. Program choices constrain the affordances of the interactive whiteboard. Multimedia content is limited in nature. The main pedagogic model is one that supports teacher control and the transmission of content. Student interaction is usually constrained and training opportunities are uncommon. The study identifies the need for a better informed understanding of the technology’s affordances if it is to effectively support English teaching.
Prospects for the continued development of environmentally-realistic toxicity test susing microorganisms

The focus of environmental regulations has changed significantly since the introduction of the bioassay as a standard means of assessing environmental impact. Prominent in this change is an increasing emphasis on protecting the integrity of natural ecosystems, which incorporate community- and system-level properties as well as organismal and population processes. Consequently, support for the use of multispecies testing has widened to include not only ecologists in academia but environmental scientists in the regulatory and industrial sector as well. The reason for this trend is clear: the additional environmental realism gained from tests utilizing communities of organisms allows for greater insight into the potential hazard of chemicals and other forms of human activity to natural ecosystems that cannot be obtained from single species tests alone. Many of the problems cited for multispecies testing early in their evolution as a hazard assessment tool have been refuted or overcome. In particular, the u
A Speech Enhancement Algorithm based on Human Psychoacoustic Property

In the speech system, for example hearing aid as well as speech communication, speech quality is degraded by environmental noise. In this study, to enhance the speech quality which is degraded by environmental speech, we proposed an algorithm to reduce the noise and reinforce the speech. The minima controlled recursive averaging (MCRA) algorithm is used to estimate the noise spectrum and spectral weighting factor is used to reduce the noise. And partial masking effect which is one of the human hearing properties is introduced to reinforce the speech. Then we compared the waveform, spectrogram, Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality (PESQ) and segmental Signal to Noise Ratio (segSNR) between original speech, noisy speech, noise reduced speech and enhanced speech by proposed method. As a result, enhanced speech by proposed method is reinforced in high frequency which is degraded by noise, and PESQ, segSNR is enhanced. It means that the speech quality is enhanced.
Designing out-of-box experiences for older adults: exploring the boundaries of inclusive design

This thesis investigates the Out-of-Box Experience (OoBE) of interactive consumer products for older adults, with a view to improve the User Experience (UX) of a product by manipulating factors of the OoBE. This research emerges in the context of current demographic trends, which see people living longer and in better health, and the increasing ubiquity of technology in modern life. The OoBE describes the very first stages of interaction with a new product, including acquisition, unpacking and setup. This crucial initial experience has the potential to influence product acceptance and therefore determine its future use. Creating a positive OoBE requires an empathic understanding of the intended users, as well as contextual knowledge about current practices. A review of the literature revealed that many of the difficulties older adults experience with technology concern elements of the OoBE, such as complicated documentation, technical jargon and inadequate support for inexperienced users. However, the absence of research on how to engage older adults during the OoBE of new technology reinforced the need for further research. To this end, two user studies were conducted with older people, followed by a design study with designers. The first study explored older adults relationship with technology and their current practices of the OoBE, using the Technology Biography method. The second study used cultural probes to investigate the social side of UX and its effect on personal feelings of independence. Data from these two studies were used to create four personas, which were used in the design study. This third and final study focused on whether the construct of social benefits could be operationalised within the OoBE of new technology. Collectively, the findings indicated that the involvement of other people during the OoBE can be a strong motivator for older people to take up and use technology. Far from impinging on individual perceptions of independence, some older people actively manipulate the OoBE in order to derive social benefits. This research thus contributes to the discussion of how Inclusive Design can evolve through the incorporation of social benefits, in order to generate desirable and successful future products.
Integration Testing of a Modular Discharge Supply for NASA's High Voltage Hall Accelerator Thruster

Abstract NASA’s In-Space Propulsion Technology Program is developing a high performance Hall thruster that can fulfill the needs of future Discovery-class missions. The result of this effort is the High Voltage Hall Accelerator thruster that can operate over a power range from 0.3 to 3.5 kW and a specific impulse from 1,000 to 2,800 sec, and process 300 kg of xenon propellant. Simultaneously, a 4.0 kW discharge power supply comprised of two parallel modules was developed. These power modules use an innovative three-phase resonant topology that can efficiently supply full power to the thruster at an output voltage range of 200 to 700 V at an input voltage range of 80 to 160 V. Efficiencies as high as 95.9 percent were measured during an integration test with the NASA103M.XL thruster. The accuracy of the master/slave current sharing circuit and various thruster ignition techniques were evaluated. Nomenclature Eff efficiency Id discharge current Idm discharge current master module Ids discharge current slave module Pd discharge power Vd discharge voltage Vin input voltage Vpk peak voltage