Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Test and Evaluation of Autonomous Ground Vehicles

A preestablished test and evaluation system will benefit the development of autonomous ground vehicles. This paper proposes a design method for a scientific and comprehensive test and evaluation system for autonomous ground vehicles competitions. It can better guide and regulate the development of China's autonomous ground vehicles. The test and evaluation system includes the test contents, the test environment, the test methods, and the evaluation methods. Using a hierarchical design approach, the test content is designed to be stage by stage, moving from simplicity to complexity and from individual modules to the entire vehicle. The hierarchical test environment is established according to the levels of test content. The test method based on multilevel platforms and sensors is put forward to ensure the accuracy of test results. A fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method combined with analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used for the comprehensive evaluation which can quantitatively evaluate the individual module and the overall technical performance of autonomous ground vehicles. The proposed test and evaluation system has been successfully applied to real autonomous ground vehicle competitions.
The hydrologic outcome of a Low Impact Development (LID) site including superposition with streamflow peaks

Abstract Hydrology plays a key role in mitigating environmental impacts with Stormwater Management (SWM). Site-level Low Impact Development (LID) is a promising approach but impeded by a lack of experience, performance metrics and comprehensive analysis. This study investigated the hydrologic performance of a small LID site (0.15 km2) including superposition with high flows of the receiving stream by monitoring precipitation, discharge and streamflow for 30 months. The results (73% event capture, 66–87% volume reduction, 39 L/ha/s peak discharge, 4.5% streamflow amplification) implied that site-level LID provides an alternative to conventional SWM even for unfavourable conditions. Weak performance related to underground storage, antecedent conditions, storm characteristics and freezing periods occurred seasonally; and a minimum storm capture volume could not be observed, but a maximum retention capacity. Future LID site designs should consider these characteristics and limitations, together with a differentiated analysis of a set of metrics for deducing environmental implications.
The Electrical Network Frequency Criterion: Determining The Time And Location Of Digital Recordings

The topic of this thesis is the Electrical Network Frequency (ENF) Criterion as a method to determine both the time of recording and the location of an audio file when no or corrupted meta-data is available. This may be possible when the recording equipment is mains powered or when it is situated in electromagnetic field of the power grid. Then the voltage signal is unintentionally recorded as well and its frequency is uniquely changing over time and location. In this sence, the ENF is like a digital fingerprint. It is found that a time of recording can be estimated under reasonable circumstances and that a rough location estimation of the recording is possible. The ENF criterion is applied mostly in forensic research. The applicability is limited by acoustic noise and audio filters.
Data Analysis of Diversion and Dynamic Message Signs

Dynamic message signs (DMS) are used in conjunction with other media to communicate traffic conditions, general information, and recommended diversion strategies to motorists. This study uses loop detector data from Richmond, Virginia, to estimate diversion rates attributable to DMS advisory messages on Interstate 95 where Interstate 295 is available as a comparable alternate route, thus evaluating DMS effectiveness in traffic diversion without major concerns of added trip time or quality of the alternate route. The impacts of existing message strategies are investigated to determine those messages that maximize diversion for specific circumstances. Analysis is performed for various message types for the scenario of an incident on the primary freeway, I-95, encouraging diversion of I-95 traffic to an alternate route (I-295). Results show trends where the usage of particular words in messages is more effective than others in causing diversion, and recommendations are made to create a more effective message.
DSP-based implementation of capacitor voltage balancing strategy for a three-phase three-level bidirectional rectifier

Digital signal processing (DSP)-based implementation of a modified space-vector modulation strategy for balancing the DC-bus capacitor voltages of a three-phase neutral-point clamped bidirectional converter is presented. The proposed modulation strategy is simple in nature. It first identifies the switching states responsible for the unbalancing of capacitor voltages and then, based on the knowledge of polarity of capacitor voltage difference and direction of power flow, uses the appropriate redundant switching vectors to achieve the balancing of capacitor voltages. The analysis and control of the converter is described. The proposed control algorithm is validated through experimental results obtained on a laboratory prototype of the converter. The performance of the converter is found excellent in terms of the line-side and load-side power quality. A perfect balancing of the DC-bus capacitor voltages is achieved under balanced as well as unbalanced load conditions. The performance of converter is also investigated with distorted mains voltages and found satisfactory. DSP of dSPACE has been used for real-time simulation and implementation of the proposed control algorithm.
Comparison of four reliability surrogate measures for water distribution systems design

Water distribution system (WDS) design naturally involves a trade‐off between the cost and reliability or robustness of a design. Traditionally, WDS reliability quantification schemes have employed graph theoretic techniques or probabilistic schemes such as Monte Carlo simulation. In recent decades there has been increased interest in the application of so‐called reliability surrogate measures, such as flow entropy, the resilience index, and network resilience, because of their ease of use and dramatically reduced computational burden. In this paper, these surrogate measures (as well as a mixed reliability surrogate) are employed in the multiobjective evolutionary design of a set of WDS benchmarks from the literature. The resulting Pareto‐optimal sets in cost‐reliability space for each surrogate measure are analyzed in terms of their ability to handle demand uncertainty and pipe failure, and a regression analysis is conducted in order to determine whether the surrogate measures are correlated to stochastic reliability and failure reliability as expressed by demand satisfaction measures. It is found that the resilience index demonstrates the best performance under pure stochastic demand variation. However, it lags when compared to the network resilience and mixed reliability measures in terms of reliability under pipe failure conditions. These are recommended as the most practical reliability surrogate measures for use in general WDS design, since they also produce designs that minimize size discontinuities between adjacent pipes. Flow entropy performs relatively poorly in terms of correlation to both stochastic reliability and failure reliability.
Computerized Database for Maintenance and Management of Highway Bridges in Vietnam

The deterioration of physical and serviceable conditions of highway bridges in Vietnam increasingly have become major social and technical concerns. Moreover, the maintenance management system applied currently is considered outdated and not satisfying the actual traffic and social demands imposed on highway bridges. This paper is an attempt to develop an advanced maintenance management system (V-BMS) concurrently with a computerized database for highway bridges in Vietnam. The current status of existing bridges is first reviewed in terms of the physical condition and the maintenance management practice in order to identify outstanding problems. Several advanced techniques have been, therefore, introduced into the V-BMS to manage and maintain highway bridges in the most suitable manner. Furthermore, practical application in a direct-maintenance agency is presented as an example to demonstrate the validity of the database. In order to be successful, the paper recommends fully testing the system on various .
HYDROSTATIC TRANSMISSIONS FOR WHEEL LOADERS-AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF AMULTIPLE-MOTOR CONCEPT

A modern hydrostatic transmission for an off-road vehicle must have a high power capacity, a wide speed range and good overall efficiency. A concept that can meet these requirements is one that uses two motors controlled in sequence. The motors are then connected to each other via gearing and are driven at different rotational speeds. To utilise the capacity, one of the motors must be controlled to zero displacement and disconnected at high vehicle speeds. The challenge of the concept is the reconnection procedure, in which the disconnected motor must be accelerated, synchronised and finally locked to the output shaft of the transmission, all in a fraction of a second. In this paper, two principles for establishing the reconnection are investigated in a complete two-motor laboratory test stand. In the first method, the reconnecting motor synchronises using secondary control, in the other it does so by means of a mechanical synchronising mechanism. The aim of the tests is to compare and evaluate different control strategies and hardware configurations.
Virtual Reality and Physiotherapy in Post-Stroke Functional Re-Education of the Lower Extremity: A Controlled Clinical Trial on a New Approach

Numerous Virtual Reality (VR) systems address post-stroke functional recovery of the lower extremity (LE), most of them with low early applicability due to the gait autonomy they require. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility of a specific VR treatment and its clinical effect on LE functionality, gait, balance, and trunk control post-stroke. A controlled, prospective, clinical trial was carried out with 20 stroke patients, who were divided into two groups: the first group (VR + CP; n = 10) received combined therapy of 1 h VR and 1 h of conventional physiotherapy (CP) and the second group (CP; n = 10) received 2 h of CP (5 days/week, for 3 weeks). The following pre-post-intervention measuring scales were used: Functional Ambulatory Scale (FAC), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FM), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Trunk Control Test (TCT). Only VR + CP showed a significant improvement in FAC. In FIM, CP presented a tendency to significance, whereas VR + CP showed significance. Both groups improved significantly in FM (especially in amplitude/pain in VR + CP and in sensitivity in CP) and in BBS. In TCT, there was a non-significant improvement in both groups. The results indicate that the intervention with VR is a feasible treatment in the post-stroke functional re-education of the LE, with the potential to be an optimal complement of CP.
The role of organizational culture in motivating innovative behaviour in construction firms

Motivation is the main force through which individuals allocate effort to generate and implement innovative ideas. However, employees are only motivated to go beyond their designated role and get involved in spontaneous and innovative activities if they have a strong identification with the organization. Organizational culture plays a critical role in motivating innovative behaviour, as it can create commitment among members of an organization in terms of believing in innovation as an organizational value and accepting innovation-related norms prevalent within the organization. The research this paper reports on addresses the motivational aspects of the relationship between culture and innovation in construction firms. Specifically, it focuses on those managerial actions through which the importance of innovation may be communicated and innovation-related behaviour may be induced and reinforced. An in-depth case study investigating the innovation activities of a Swiss contractor revealed that project constraints and regional separation may diminish the motivational effects of managerial actions in construction firms. It is concluded that a culture that motivates new solutions and innovative improvements in particular first of all prevents ideas from getting lost in daily business and within the organization. Giving immediate feedback, providing communication channels for implicit knowledge, allowing for autonomous work and task identity, initiating innovation projects and using a comprehensive reward and incentive system are appropriate managerial actions in this regard.
Distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers

Pulsed single mode operation of distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers is reported above room temperature at both 5.4 and 8 μm wavelengths. Peak optical powers up to 60 mW at 300 K are obtained with a tuning range of ∼60 nm from 100 to ∼320 K. The linewidth is limited by thermal drift during the pulse with a typical value of 0.3 cm−1 for a 10 ns long pulse at 300 K.
Baclofen Induced Suicidality in a Patient with Alcohol Dependence Syndrome: A Case Report with Review of Literature.

Baclofen is a GABA-B agonist, used mainly in the treatment of spasticity due to its myorelaxant properties. Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy of baclofen in the treatment of alcohol use disorders (AUD). It is well tolerated having certain adverse effects of fatigue, somnolence, tinnitus, paresthaesias and blurred vision (Beaurepaire et al. 2019). There are reports of baclofen overdosing resulting in encephalopathy, respiratory depression, muscular hypotonia, coma and delirium (Holla et al. 2015). Reports of psychiatric side effects are rare and till date there are paucity of reports of suicidality occurring in the context of treatment with baclofen. We report a case of alcohol dependence syndrome who was treated with baclofen as an anticraving agent and who developed suicidal ideations with it.
Electrophysiological study of Arabidopsis ABCB4 and PIN2 auxin transporters: Evidence of auxin activation and interaction enhancing auxin selectivity

Abstract Polar auxin transport through plant tissue strictly requires polarly localized PIN proteins and uniformly distributed ABCB proteins. A functional synergy between the two types of membrane protein where their localizations overlap may create the degree of asymmetric auxin efflux required to produce polar auxin transport. We investigated this possibility by expressing ABCB4 and PIN2 in human embryonic kidney cells and measuring whole‐cell ionic currents with the patch‐clamp technique and CsCl‐based electrolytes. ABCB4 activity was 1.81‐fold more selective for Cl− over Cs+ and for PIN2 the value was 2.95. We imposed auxin gradients and determined that ABCB4 and PIN2 were 12‐fold more permeable to the auxin anion (IAA−) than Cl−. This measure of the intrinsic selectivity of the transport pathway was 21‐fold when ABCB4 and PIN2 were co‐expressed. If this increase occurs in plants, it could explain why asymmetric PIN localization is not sufficient to create polar auxin flow. Some form of co‐action or synergy between ABCB4 and PIN2 that increases IAA− selectivity at the cell face where both occur may be important. We also found that auxin stimulated ABCB4 activity, which may contribute to a self‐reinforcement of auxin transport known as canalization.
A Near-Chromosome Level Genome Assembly of the European Hoverfly, Sphaerophoria Rueppellii (Diptera: Syrphidae), and a Comparative Analysis of Insecticide Resistance-Related Gene Families in Hemipteran Crop Pests and Pollinators

Background: Sphaerophoria rueppellii, a European species of hoverfly, is a highly effective beneficial predator of crop pests including aphids, thrips and coleopteran/lepidopteran larvae in integrated pest management (IPM) programmes. It is also a key pollinator of a wide variety of important agricultural crops. No genomic information is currently available for S. rueppellii. Without genomic information for such beneficial predator species, we are unable to perform comparative analyses of insecticide target-sites and genes encoding metabolic enzymes potentially responsible for insecticide resistance, between crop pests and their predators. These metabolic mechanisms include several gene families - cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s), ATP binding cassette transporters (ABCs), glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs), UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) and carboxyl/choline esterases (CCEs). Methods and findings: In this study, a high-quality near-chromosome level de novo genome assembly (as well as a mitochondrial genome assembly) for S. rueppellii has been generated using a hybrid approach with PacBio long-read and Illumina short-read data, followed by super scaffolding using Hi-C data. The final assembly achieved a scaffold N50 of 87Mb, a total genome size of 537.6Mb and a level of completeness of 96% using a set of 1,658 core insect genes present as full-length genes. The assembly was annotated with 14,249 protein-coding genes. Comparative analysis revealed gene expansions of CYP6Zx P450s, epsilon-class GSTs, dietary CCEs and multiple UGT families (UGT37/302/308/430/431). Conversely, ABCs, delta-class GSTs and non-CYP6Zx P450s showed limited expansion. Differences were seen in the distributions of resistance-associated gene families at the subfamily levels between S. rueppellii and some crop pests. Conclusion and significance: This assembly is the first published genome for a predatory member of the Syrphidae family and will serve as a useful resource for further research into selectivity and potential tolerance of insecticides by beneficial predators. Furthermore, the expansion of some gene families often linked to insecticide resistance and selectivity may be an indicator of the capacity of this predator to detoxify IPM selective insecticides. These findings could be exploited by targeted insecticide screens and functional studies to increase effectiveness of IPM strategies, which aim to increase crop yields by sustainably and effectively controlling pests without impacting beneficial predator populations.
Active Control of Structure-Borne and Airborne Sound Transmission Through Double Panel

This paper presents a theoretical study of the active control of both structure-borne and airborne noise transmission through a double-panel system. The physical and geometrical characteristics of the system were chosen to be similarto those of the fuselage of a civil aircraft. The total sound power transmitted by the double-panel system was used to evaluate the active control performance of four different strategies for the control system: e rst, active mounts connecting the two panels and loudspeakers placed between the two panels were driven to minimize the total sound powerradiated by thepanel (thereference case );second, activemounts connecting the two panels were driven to cancel the out-of-plane velocities at the connecting points on the radiating panel; third, loudspeakers placed between the two panels were driven to cancel the acousticpressure at points neareach control loudspeaker; and fourth, active mount and control loudspeaker systems were used simultaneously as already stated. The simulations show that the control loudspeakers are able to produce large attenuation of the sound transmission at low frequencies close to the mass-air-mass resonance of the double panel. The performance is signie cantly better if the loudspeakers are driven to minimize radiated sound power, rather than cancel pressure between the panels. The active mount cone guration studied in this paper does not producesignie cant reductions of the sound transmission except in the case where it is used in combination with the control loudspeakers. I. Introduction
Thin film formation on non-planar surface with use of spray coating fabrication

This paper presents a three-dimensional microfabrication and integration technology for MEMS smart materials that utilizes a spray coating method. Spray coating is shown to be most effective for additional deposition on non-planar surfaces. PZT films were formed both on flat and uneven surfaces at a thickness of about 1 μm. Perovskite structures were formed with suitable heat treatment and ferroelectric P-E hysteresis loop was also obtained. This paper is the first report from our group and other researchers on the deposition of smart materials for MEMS using a spray coating method. Spray coating has been proposed as an effective three-dimensional coating method which can be used to deposit piezoelectrics, pyroelectrics, magnetics, etc. for sensors and actuators. The hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties between the substrate surface and ejected liquid are most essential process factors in the spray coating method for improving the film growth conditions.
Rotating Machinery Vibration Control Based on Poles Allocation using Magnetic Actuators

The recent years have seen the appearance of innovative systems for acoustic and vibration attenuation, most of them integrating new actuator technologies. In this sense, the study of algorithms for active vibrations control in rotating machinery became an area of enormous interest, mainly due to the countless demands of an optimal performance of mechanical systems in aircraft, aerospace and automotive structures. Also, many critical machines such as compressors, pumps and gas turbines continue to be used beyond their expected service life despite the associated potential for failure due to damage accumulation. In this way, this paper presents an developed approach for active vibration control in a rotor using Active Magnetic Bearings (AMB) that is numerically verified. The feedback technique is used for this controlling device and the controller gain is obtained by the pole allocation. The AMB uses electromagnetic forces to support a rotor without mechanical contact. It offers many advantages compared to fluid film and rolling element bearings, such as no wear, the ability to operate in high temperature environments, and no contamination of the working fluid due to the absence of lubricant in the system. By monitoring the position of the shaft and changing the dynamics of the system accordingly, the AMB keeps the rotor in a desired position. This unique feature has broadened the applications of AMB and now they can be considered not only as a main support bearing in a machine but also as dampers for vibration control and force actuators.
Application and experience with a 15 kV static transfer switch

In an effort to dramatically improve reliability to a sensitive customer, Detroit Edison, a DTE Energy Company, installed a 15 kV static transfer switch (STS). This paper presents the background on the electrical system disturbances which had a negative impact on an automotive components plant served by Detroit Edison. Previous steps taken, the studies performed, planning considerations, and the most recent actions taken to resolve the reliability issues are described. In addition, the performance of the STS during its first year of service is detailed. This application demonstrates that if there is adequate isolation of the two sources for the STS, it can avoid disturbances from voltage sags and outages, thus greatly improving overall reliability for the customer.
U-slot circular patch antennas with L-probe feeding

Experimental results for U-slot circular patch antennas with L-probe feeding are presented. Using a foam layer of thickness /spl sim/0.1/spl lambda//sub 0/ as a supported substrate, an impedance bandwidth of 38% (SWR/spl les/2) and a gain of 6.8 dBi have been achieved. The far-field radiation patterns are stable across the passband.