Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Time‐cost relationships of building construction project in Korea

Purpose – Time is an important factor in any project, especially in construction projects. Although using detailed scheduling techniques is unavoidable, a model to predict or benchmark time performance has interested many researchers. For an exploratory purpose, this paper aims to investigate the time‐cost relationship proposed by Bromilow with data from construction projects in Korea.Design/methodology/approach – The data are collected from 34 historical building projects in Korea. Construction cost is adjusted using a building price index. Analysis is carried out on variety of project characteristics.Findings – It is shown that a time‐cost relationship is applicable to the Korean construction industry. Further analysis indicates that the original Bromilow time‐cost model is not the best fit regression form, and alternative models are proposed.Research limitations/implications – The data are limited to a small sample of 34 building projects. This limitation arises because of the data collection approach,.
Wideband circular polarization patch antenna for access point of 802.11B, G WLAN

A wideband patch antenna using circular polarization was designed and implemented. To enhance the operation bandwidth of the proposed antenna, probe feeding and air gap (capacitive gap) were used. The air gap was composed of a rectangular shape near the feed point. The impedance bandwidth (VSWR < 2) was 29.01% ranging from 2.163 to 2.897 GHz and the axial ratio bandwidth (AR < 3 dB) was 5.48% ranging from 2.394 to 2.529 GHz. Measured maximum gain was approximately 6.92 dBic at 2.480 GHz. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 1042–1046, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23307
A grey Bayesian inference framework for structural damage assessment

Real‐life civil structures often stay in a grey situation due to lack of knowledge and measurements. In a poor information condition, classic Bayesian inference is practically difficult to perform owing to intractable likelihood functions. Under such circumstance, a structure should be defined as a grey system. Thereby, a grey Bayesian inference framework has been proposed by incorporating the grey theory with approximate Bayesian computation for damage assessment purposes. Structural parameters are represented by interval grey variables, whose grey kernels and degrees of greyness are used to define probability distributions for sampling. A grey population Monte Carlo sampler has also been developed by introducing interval grey numbers and an evolutionary particle pool into the particle filtering process. A novel particle interchange mechanism is simultaneously proposed for effective particle interflow. Meanwhile, stochastic response surfaces are used to correlate structural parameters with responses for fast response computation. Also, likelihood calculation is replaced with a distance measure between simulated and measured samples. Lastly, the proposed inference strategy has been verified against both the numerical and experimental beams having the different damage scenarios. The damage locations and severities were successfully identified by the changes in the grey intervals and kernels.
Physical Layer Intrusion Detection System Based on Channel Prediction for Wireless Networks

Wireless Networks suffer from many constraints including wireless communication channel, internal and external attacks, security becomes the main concern to deal with such kind of networks. Therefore, an intrusion detection system (IDS) is required that monitors the network, detects misbehavior or anomalies and notifies other nodes in the network to avoid or punish the misbehaving nodes. This paper describes the simple method to detect the intruder in wireless communication system based on physical layer characteristics. Channel prediction method is used in receiver part to predict the transmission channel for the next time slot. Then, in the next time slot the result is compared with the actual value of channel from the channel estimation. Number of detection and false alarm ratio is measured as performance matrices of the simulation. Based on simulation result, the proposed intrusion detection system give high detection ratio and low false alarm ratio for given threshold.
A hydrodynamical analysis of fish turning manoeuvres

Slender body theory, adapted here to the study of unsteady, curvilinear large amplitude movements in an inviscid fluid, is applied to the study of the turning mechanism in fishes. The vortex wake is represented by the circulation shed from the fins in the present theory. Examination of filmed sequences of turning fish show that the turning process includes three stages, distinguished by different movements of the centre of mass. In the first and third stages the centre of mass moves in straight lines in the initial and final directions of swimming while in the middle period it moves along an approximately circular connecting arc. The forces and moments acting on the fish, calculated by the present method are found to be in good agreement with these experimental observations.
On the Unsteady Behavior of the Flow around NACA 0012 Airfoil with Steady External Conditions at Re=1000

Even for the stationary airfoils, due to the boundary and shear layer interactions of upper and lower surface of the airfoils, alternating vortex patterns form and the flow becomes time dependent. In the current study, the unsteady behavior of the flow around a symmetric airfoil is considered as incidence angle increases. The flow patterns are presented for wide range of angles of attack values. The vortex pattern generated is analyzed numerically for different angles of attack at Re=1000 around NACA 0012 airfoil. At this Reynolds number, the flow is laminar and boundary layers are quite thick. Flow separation and unsteady vortex shedding is observed even at low angles of attack. For NACA 0012 airfoil, the unsteady vortex pattern is observed at about 8° angle of attack for Re=1000. Spectral analysis is performed for angles of attack ranging from 0° to 90°. It is presented that amplitude spectrum of lift coefficient (C1) start to shows a peak at 8° for NACA 0012 and the aerodynamic forces presents oscillatory behavior afterwards. The effect of angle of attack to wake pattern and instantaneous and mean aerodynamic coefficients are discussed. The time-averaged streamlines, pressure and skin friction coefficients are analyzed to observe the vortex formation and separation from the airfoil upper surface at this low Reynolds number.
Simulation of thermodynamic systems using soft computing techniques

An exact thermodynamical analysis of systems is only possible under several assumptions; each of them brings an uncertainty in the solution. Without these assumptions, a thermodynamical analysis of a real application requires thousands of nonlinear equations, whose solution is either almost impossible or takes too much computational time and effort. To overcome this obstacle, the artificial neural network (ANN) and fuzzy logic are magic tools, in particular to analyse the systems for arbitrary input and output patterns. This paper deals with the ANN and fuzzy logic analysis of various thermodynamic systems. The first is an efficiency and emission modelling of a stationary natural gas engine using an ANN model, which is able to obtain the effect of various operational parameters such as charge‐pressure and temperature, air fuel equivalence ratio, combustion‐start and duration and combustion form on the engine efficiency and NOx emission. The second is a cogeneration power plant with three gas turbines, one steam turbine and a district heating system. The effects of ambient‐pressure and temperature, relative humidity, wind‐velocity and direction on the plant power are investigated using the ANN model, which is based on the measured data from the plant. The last example is a dryer machine. The dryer machine is modelled first as a thermodynamical system. Then a fuzzy logic model is developed to predict the drying time and the power demand depending on condensation pressure and ‐temperature and evaporation pressure. All models studied here give very accurate and fast estimations which are comparable with the experimental results. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Diathermy Applicators with Circular Aperture and Corrugated Flange

A design method and experimental results for a direct-contact circular aperture applicator are provided. The aperture is excited in the TE/sub 11/ mode; a corrugated flange surrounding the aperture improves the uniformity of the heating pattern and limits leakage. The performance of the applicators operating in the S band (2.45 GHz) and the X band (9.96 GHz) has been tested using a short monopole probe and a thermographic camera. The heating patterns obtained by the two methods are in agreement within the experimental errors. The applicators are suitable for clinical use, as they are lightweight and rugged, and capable of delivering a desired energy dose effectively, thanks to a relatively small standing-wave ratio (SWR < 2) and very low leakage.
Research on Monitoring Power System Faults by Wireless Sensor Network

Methods of a wireless sensor concept for detecting and locating electrical system faults including phase-phase short circuit and single phase to earth are presented. The concept is based on hierarchical wireless sensor network (WSN) that is attached to the incoming and outgoing power lines of secondary substations. This paper discussed WSN topology structure and designed the WSN node's energy supply model, analyzed the theory of locating phase-phase short circuit fault and single phase to earth fault, verified the feasibility of the theory by simulation.
Effect Of Unsaturated Fatty Acid Omega-3 On Some Histological Criteria In White New Zealand Rabbits Administrated With Cyclosporine Drug

The present study was aimed efficiency to evaluate the unsaturated fatty acid omega-3 in reducing the side effects that resulted from administration of cyclosporine drug in white New Zealand rabbits. (60) from white males' rabbits were used in this study, the animals divided into major four groups (15) rabbits per group and its subdivision into three groups (5) rabbits per group. The first group is orally administered with normal saline, second groups were administered cyclosporine (25mg/kg) only. Third groups were administered cyclosporine (25mg/kg) in the first day and Omega-3 (500mg/kg) in the second day, while Fourth groups were administered cyclosporine (25mg/kg) in the first day and omega-3 (1000mg/kg) in the second day for periods (21,30,60) days respectively. After ending study periods, the animals were sacrificed and the blood was collected and samples from liver were taken and the results were showed the following: the histological study showed pathological changes after administration of cyclosporine (25mg/kg) with blood congestion for period (21day), while severe blood congestion with beginning of fibrosis for period (30day) while in the period (60day) very severe blood congestion with aggregation of inflammatory cells and grow of fibroblast cells were showed. while the interaction between cyclosporine and two concentrations (500&1000mg/kg) of omega-3 were showed non-pathological changes in liver tissues. From this study concluded that omega-3 have an important role in the reducing histopathology side effects that result from administration of cyclosporine drug in white rabbits.
Preparation and Photovoltaic Properties of Lead Lanthanum Zirconate Titanate in Design of Multilayers

In this paper, we report on the formation of multilayer structures and the highly improved photovoltaic output current of the lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) film employed. The photovoltaic effect of ferroelectrics has the advantage of simple mechanisms of nonbias applications, which are indispensable for semiconductor p-n junctions. However, the output current of PLZT bulk is too low for use as a device current source. The new design is described using an upper transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode. The PLZT film structure exhibits a µA output current upon light illumination. The photovoltaic current of the PLZT film is more than 102 times that of the bulk PLZT. These differences are due to the characteristics of the design of multilayers including the configuration of the electrode. The PLZT film also has the advantages of easy output control and suitability for use on a Si substrate. A simple model is used for an illustrative explanation of the improved photovoltaic effect of the PLZT film. Results show that the photovoltaic effect of the ferroelectric multilayer is useful as the current source for a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS).
Cost and Schedule Risk Analysis of Bridge Construction in Pakistan: Establishing Risk Guidelines

AbstractThe construction process is inherently prone to risks. Risk management is an essential and integral part of project management on virtually all construction projects. Risk analysis is one of the core components of risk management that enables professionals to quantify and analyze risks that may pose potential threats to project performance in terms of cost, quality, safety, and time. This research was conducted to identify and analyze risks associated with bridge construction in Pakistan. A questionnaire was conducted to collect data. Risks affecting bridge construction project performance were identified through interviews conducted with engineers and managers involved with various bridge projects. Cost and schedule impacts of project risks were supplemented by conducting a case study using the Monte Carlo simulation. The key findings indicate that financial risks were a major factor that affected cost and schedule objectives. The highest ranked factor identified was unavailability of funds with .
A Novel Fusion Method Using NSCT and PCNN

An image fusion algorithm by combing Nonsubsampled Contourlet Transform and Pulse Coupled Neural Network is proposed in this paper. Two primitive matched images are decomposed in NSCT domain. The low frequency used the regional energy weighted fusion. The high frequency coefficients are input to the PCNN. Finally, the fused result is obtained through inverse NSCT. The novel algorithm will employ features and contain the most of the energy of image. The simulation results show that the results are much better than the experimental results, which the mutual information and QAB/F parameters are higher than the contrast method of fusion results.
Plasma Glutathione Levels Decreased with Cognitive Decline among People with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): A Two-Year Prospective Study

Glutathione (GSH) is a major endogenous antioxidant. Several studies have shown GSH redox imbalance and altered GSH levels in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. Early detection is crucial for the outcome of AD. However, whether GSH can serve as a biomarker during the very early-phase of AD, such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), remains unknown. The current prospective study aimed to examine the longitudinal change in plasma GSH concentration and its influence on cognitive decline in MCI. Overall, 49 patients with MCI and 16 healthy individuals were recruited. Plasma GSH levels and cognitive function, measured by the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) and Alzheimer’s disease assessment scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog), were monitored every 6 months. We employed multiple regressions to examine the role of GSH level in cognitive decline in the 2 years period. The MCI patients showed significant decline in plasma GSH levels and cognitive function from baseline to endpoint (month 24). In comparison, the healthy individuals’ GSH concentration and cognitive function did not change significantly. Further, both GSH level at baseline and GSH level change from baseline to endpoint significantly influenced cognitive decline among the MCI patients. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that both plasma GSH levels and cognitive function declined 2 years later among the MCI patients in a prospective manner. If replicated by future studies, blood GSH concentration may be regarded as a biomarker for monitoring cognitive change in MCI.
Temperature Effects of Constant Bias Stress on n-Channel FETs with Hf-based Gate Dielectric

Temperature dependence of degradation and breakdown behavior of hafnium silicate gate dielectrics in n-channel field-effect transistors (NFET) with polysilicon and TiN gate electrodes has been investigated. At elevated temperatures under positive gate bias, devices with polysilicon gate electrodes exhibit a so-called Vth turn around phenomenon (a change of the direction of the Vth shift from positive to negative), accompanied by decreasing transconductance and increasing gate leakage current. Hot-holes generation in the poly-Si gate by the injected electrons and a subsequent hole diffusion and trapping near the high-k/Si-substrate interface is proposed to contribute to the turn around behavior. No Vth turn around phenomenon was observed in devices with the TiN gate electrode. This hole induced degradation of the high-k/poly-Si gate stack may further complicate integration of the polysilicon gate electrode with high-k dielectrics.
Heart Rate Detection from Ballistocardiogram

The heart rate detection from the ballistocardiography signal is described in this article. The ballistocardiography is a technique for recoding of repetitive motions of the human body in form of the ballistocardiogram (BCG). Caused by the sudden ejection of blood into the great vessels with each heart beat, the body motions are in turn causing movements in a suspended supporting structure equipped with piezoelectric sensors. The signal is amplified and filtered by simple electronic measurement circuit. The pre-processed analog signal is sampled on the measuring card. The second lead of electrocardiography (ECG) signal is sampled synchronously with BCG and is used as a reference. The sampled BCG signal is processed by digital filters. Three heart rate detection methods were proposed and tested on BCG signal. Similarity of processed signal allowed us to use methods based on heart rate detection from ECG signal. Proposed methods were tested on the BCG measurements from several persons. According to the results the optimal methods for the heart rate detection are the algorithms based on the autocorrelation and on the thresholding of the signal energy. Due to their simplicity, proposed algorithms are suitable for the real-time BCG signal processing and heart rate calculation.
Sustainable landscape planning the reconnection agenda

to climate change. These negotiations and the subsequent agreements that stemmed from them have taken a variety of forms, involved numerous actors and boasted varying degrees of success. The book The roads from Rio, edited by Pamela Chasek and Lynn Wagner, delves back into the history of these negotiations to try and uncover lessons from 20 years’ worth of multilateral environmental negotiations. After an introduction by the editors, the book is divided thematically into three parts: evolution of processes, evolution of actors and evolution of issues. The chapters in each section look at different aspects of these larger topics, thus providing a broad coverage overall. Each chapter provides a detailed description of the changes that have taken place, the background context and also some analysis and interpretation to explain events, successes and failures. The final chapter ties the three themes together and suggests some lessons that can be learnt. The authors of each chapter have all been participants in the negotiations, as well as contributors to the ‘Earth Negotiations Bulletin’, produced by the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Consequently, they are able to draw on substantial experience of both being involved in the negotiation process and reporting on it, giving their writing authority and clarity. The individual chapters discuss different topics and offer differing viewpoints and interpretations, but there is consistency in the overarching approach, which helps to make the book feel a complete work, with a distinctive perspective to share. All of the chapters are clearly written and very readable. The book strikes a good balance between describing events and outcomes and providing a detailed interpretation and analysis. There is certainly much more to be said on the different topics and more depth to the analysis would be welcome, but, nonetheless, this book provides an excellent background and starting point, solidly based on ‘on-the-ground’ experience. The book would be suitable for anyone interested in multilateral environmental negotiations, from students through to researchers, and would even provide insights for those involved in negotiations. It is wellwritten enough to provide a fascinating background to interested lay readers, and, equally, there is enough detail and analysis to interest even those familiar with such negotiations. The world of multilateral negotiations can appear mysterious and complex to those on the outside, and this is an excellent contribution that sheds light on the process and highlights lessons that can be learned. Since the number and complexity of such negotiations is only likely to increase as the world tries to deal with transnational problems, this book is both timely and important. It provides an insightful, thought-provoking and clear analysis of international environmental policy negotiations and agreements that should be read by anyone with an interest in this area.
Inferential control for rolling mills

A robust inferential controller is developed for hot strip rolling mill tension control. Tension cannot be measured, therefore a nonlinear model is used to infer the tension from the looper angle. The model uses constant physical parameters while the actual physical system will be uncertain, therefore quantitative feedback theory is used to design a tension controller, which will provide robust performance despite uncertainty from both the physical system and the inference model or soft sensor.
The alignment angle approach to inherent design limitations

Inherent design limitations involves a study of system properties and characteristics that is used to assess the potential difficulty of a feedback control design. Such knowledge is useful in the early stage of engineering design cycle, in order to configure the plant and sensor/actuator locations. This paper suggests an approach on design limitations by observing the alignment between plant and disturbance subspaces. We illustrate via an active noise control example that plant-disturbance misalignment causes undesirable closed-loop behaviors such as poor stability margins or amplification at the measurement output. We also show that some choice of sensor/actuator placement, called the "symmetric configuration," is prone to plant-disturbance misalignment.
Modelos de cadeias de laço fechado na indústria de impressão

There is a clear change in focus in large companies, previously dedicated primarily to the production of physical goods, toward offering complimentary services and changing their focus toward more service-oriented businesses, in order to increase their competitiveness. At the same time, companies are facing increasing product returns due to various reasons leading to reverse logistics practices and toward the introduction of a Closed Loop Supply Chain management perspective. The purpose of this work is to identify, using a case study in the printing industry, specific characteristics, regarding product returns, both in a product-oriented and a service-oriented operation. Furthermore, the current work performs a diagnosis of current practices applications of CLSC models in the two operating models. The paper concludes that indeed there are relevant differences in managing the CLSC for each case and identify the main gaps for each operation.