Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design of Low Dispersion Photonic Crystal Fiber Using Smoothing Filter Coefficients

In this paper, the designs for Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) with elliptical air holes having rectangular lattice are proposed. These designs are derived from the coefficients of smoothing Filter. These designs are very practical and easily applicable. The simulations of these Photonic Crystal Fiber (PCF) designs are carried out using OPTIFDTD simulator with Full Vector Mode Solver that uses Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) Method. The simulator shows that dispersion of the proposed design approaches almost zero at wavelength of 1. 41μm. The dispersion of all the proposed designs is negative and almost negligible at range of wavelengths between 1. 0μm to 1. 5μm. The proposed designs suit the requirements of high data bandwidth applications.
Do natural resources matter for interstate and intrastate armed conflict?

This article reviews the existing theoretical arguments and empirical findings linking renewable and non-renewable natural resources to the onset, intensity, and duration of intrastate as well as interstate armed conflict. Renewable resources are supposedly connected to conflict via scarcity, while non-renewable resources are hypothesized to lead to conflict via resource abundance. Based upon our analysis of these two streams in the literature, it turns out that the empirical support for the resource scarcity argument is rather weak. However, the authors obtain some evidence that resource abundance is likely to be associated with conflict. The article concludes that further research should generate improved data on low-intensity forms of conflict as well as resource scarcity and abundance at subnational and international levels, and use more homogenous empirical designs to analyze these data. Such analyses should pay particular attention to interactive effects and endogeneity issues in the resource–conflict relationship.
Voltage Balancing Strategy for V-Clamp Multilevel Converter Under High Modulation Index and High Power Factor Condition

Featured with the simple structure, V-clamp multilevel converter (VMC) shows good prospect in the high-voltage and high-power applications. But VMC is endangered by the deviation of dc-link capacitors voltage, especially under the high modulation index (MI) and high power factor (PF) condition. Thus, a voltage balancing strategy for three-phase seven-level VMC is proposed in this paper. This strategy re-designs the carriers and reference to achieve capacitors voltage balancing with reduced switching actions. Besides, an active compensation control for capacitors voltage is presented to improve the dynamic performance. Compared with the conventional virtual space vector modulation, the proposed strategy significantly reduces the switching loss while provides a better output voltage under the high MI and high PF condition. The simulation model and experimental prototype of VMC with 7.2kW/220V are constructed to verify the validity of the proposed strategy.
An ancient enzyme finds a new home: Prevalence and neofunctionalization of trypsin in marine phytoplankton

Trypsin is an ancient protease best known as a digestive enzyme in animals, and traditionally believed to be absent in plants and protists. However, our recent studies have revealed its wide presence and important roles in marine phytoplankton. Here, to gain a better understanding on the importance of trypsin in phytoplankton, we further surveyed the distribution, diversity, evolution and potential ecological roles of trypsin in global ocean phytoplankton. Our analysis indicated that trypsin is widely distributed both taxonomically and geographically in marine phytoplankton. Furthermore, by systematic comparative analyses we found that algal trypsin could be classified into two subfamilies (trypsin I and trypsin II) and exhibited highly duplicated and diversified during evolution. We also observed markedly different domain sequences and organizations between and within the subfamilies, suggesting potential neofunctionalization. Diatoms contain both subfamilies of trypsin, with higher numbers of genes and more environment‐responsive expression of trypsin than other lineages. The duplication and subsequent neofunctionalization of the trypsin family may be important in diatoms for adapting to dynamical environmental conditions, contributing to diatoms' dominance in the coastal oceans. This work advances our knowledge on the distribution and neofunctionalization of this ancient enzyme and creates a new window of research on phytoplankton biology.
Energy‐Based Adaptive Focusing of waves: Application to Ultrasonic Transcranial Therapy

We propose a general concept of adaptive focusing through complex media based on the estimation or measurement of the wave energy density at the desired focal spot. As it does not require the knowledge of phase information, this technique has many potential applications in acoustics and optics for light focusing through diffusive media. We present here the application of this technique to the problem of ultrasonic aberration correction for HIFU treatments. The estimation of wave energy density is based on the maximization of the ultrasound radiation force, using a multi-elements (64) array. A spatial coded excitation method is developed by using ad-hoc virtual transducers that include all the elements for each emission. The radiation force is maximized by optimizing the displacement of a small target at the focus. We measured the target displacement using ultrasound pulse echo on the same elements. A method using spatial coded excitation is developed in order to estimate the phase and amplitude aberration based on the target displacement. We validated this method using phase aberration up to 2� . The phase correction is achieved and the pressure field is measured using a needle hydrophone. The acoustic intensity at the focus is restored through very large aberrations. Basic experiments for brain HIFU treatment are presented. Optimal transcranial adaptive focusing is performed using a limited number of short ultrasonic radiation force pushes.
Coherence bandwidth characterisation and estimation for indoor Rician multipath wireless channels using measurements at 62.4GHz

Estimations of coherence bandwidth from wideband channel sounding measurements made in the 62.4GHz band in two indoor environments in a university building are described. Results are intended for applications in high-capacity indoor wireless local area networks. The coherence bandwidth is estimated from measurements of the complex transfer function of the radio channel, performed with no motion in the channel. The 90th percentile of the estimated coherence bandwidth B/sub 0.9/ at 0.9 correlation level in a long narrow corridor environment is below 38 MHz. Large variations in B/sub 0.9/ were observed. In an empty room environment, B/sub 0.9/ was 72 MHz for 90% of the time. The presence and layout of furniture appeared not to influence significantly the frequency correlation values. Replacing a directional receive antenna with an omidirectional one did not appear to influence B/sub 0.9/ significantly. In both corridor and room environments, the coherence bandwidth varied significantly with the transmitter receiver distance. The paper relates the RMS delay spread to the coherence bandwidth, which in turn, affects the radio channel capacity. By limiting the extent of the picocell so that the RMS delay spread is restricted to 20 ns, higher data transmission rates can be achieved. With appropriate modulation schemes, these may approach the challenging 155 Mbit/s rate envisaged for a mobile broadband system (MBS).
Repeaters for CDMA systems

The recent worldwide telecommunication deregulation has intensified the wireless competition all around the world. In the United States, PCS spectrum auctions sponsored by the FCC have created a new group of wireless operators who are aggressively building networks to launch services. Considering the large amounts of capital committed to winning the licenses, in addition to roughly the same amount needed for building infrastructure, these new entrants could benefit from cost saving opportunities. The existing cellular operators, on the other hand, need to significantly reduce their operation cost so as to effectively compete with the new entrants. The major avenues for cost saving appear to be network hardware reduction, reduction in real estate requirements, and decrease in the number of personnel needed for infrastructure build-out and maintenance. Additionally, time to market will be a critical factor. A solution for coverage expansion to minimize capital, real estate, turn-up time and personnel requirements is urgently sought. For both cellular and PCS service providers, use of repeaters as a means to the "last mile" connection could offer an answer to these problems. In this paper, we specifically focus on the use of repeaters in the IS-95 CDMA systems. While both analog networks and European GSM systems have been employing "off-the-air" repeaters for years, repeaters have not been deployed in CDMA systems until very recently.
Nanoindentation on isotropic and anisotropic materials confrontation with FEM simulations

Mechanical properties are calculated using nanoindentation technique by the Oliver and Pharr (1992) method. This method has been developed for isotropic materials; nevertheless, it has also been used for bone. In this instance, the validity of the Young modulus obtained by this method should be considered. Some elements of answers exist for anisotropic materials. In fact, Swadener and Pharr (2001) proposed a correction of indentation modulus based on the area of contact performed with a conical indenter. Other studies such as Bocciarelli et al. (2005) proposed an identification method by confronting experimental indentation curves (using a conical indenter) and the results obtained with finite-element model (FEM) analyses. Our objectives are to investigate the anisotropic behaviour of bone by experimental nanoindentation using a conical indenter and to perform a 3D-FEM representing the nanoindentation test.
EMS network security applications of the future

Changes facing the electricity supply industry are significant, and the challenges these changes pose are enormous. There are major changes to the business environment of traditional electric utilities. There are also changes in the management of the companies in that nontechnical people are taking over the leadership of traditionally technical companies to deal with the new business scenario. This raises the concern that there may be a lack of familiarity by management of the technical issues involved with the result that the quality of the product may be at risk over the long term. This article deals with the future. It describes a vision for the control center energy management systems (EMS) network security applications as a function of the current and expected changes in the electric supply industry. The objective is to present a conceptual specification. It suggests possible approaches to the problems control centers are likely to encounter in the future. This future is not far away, the thoughts and recommendations put forth should be largely in place 2 to 3 years from now, if security applications are to serve the emerging industry effectively. One of the objectives of this article is to raise the profile of some of the technical issues and promote better understanding.
Newly Enacted Intent Changes to ADS-B MASPS: Emphasis on Operations, Compatibility, and Integrity

Significant changes to the intent reporting structure in the Minimum Aviation System Performance Standards (MASPS) for Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) have recently been approved by RTCA Special Committee 186. The re-structured intent formats incorporate two major changes to the current MASPS (DO-242): addition of a Target State (TS) report that provides information on the horizontal and vertical targets for the current flight segment and replacement of the current Trajectory Change Point (TCP) and TCP+1 reports with Trajectory Change (TC) reports. TC reports include expanded information about TCPs and their connecting flight segments, in addition to making provisions for trajectory conformance elements. New intent elements are designed to accommodate a greater range of intent information, better reflect operational use and capabilities of existing and future aircraft avionics, and aid trajectory synthesis and conformance monitoring systems. These elements are expected to benefit near-term and future Air Traffic Management (ATM) applications, including separation assurance, local traffic flow management, and conformance monitoring. The current MASPS revision (DO-242A) implements those intent elements that are supported by current avionics standards and data buses. Additional elements are provisioned for inclusion in future MASPS revisions (beyond DO-242A) as avionics systems are evolved.
Folklore Herbal Plants as a Safe and Natural Hair Depilatories

Hair is one of the distinguishing characteristics of mammals, and it serves a variety of functions including protection from external forces, production of sebum, apocrine sweat, and pheromones. However, the unwanted hair growth is always a worrying aspect among teenage girls and women. The present study is the need of selecting herbal depilatories over chemical depilatories due to its high efficacy, safety and lesser side effects. The various types of hair removal process, herbs showing depilatory action and their composition for herbal cream are studied. According to statistics, the use of depilatories has been steadily expanding, and the global hair removal products market was valued at USO 2.2 billion in 2018, with a CAGR of 5.5 percent predicted from 2019 to 2025. Depilatories are the cosmetic preparation which is used to remove the hair from skin, in chemical depilatories the main active ingredients are salts of thioglycolic acids, sulphides and stannites which can produce rashes and side effects on long time usage, whereas herbal depilatories include active ingredients like Turmeric, Indian neetle, Neem, Tanner’s cassia, Apple cider vinegar, Paw-paw extract etc. which are tremendously safe to use. Hence in this study we have been discussed about importance of few folklore herbal medicine and preparation methods of both chemical and herbal depilatories.
Vibration mode frequency formulae for micromechanical scanners

A torsional scan mirror suspended with two flexure beams can be used in various display, imaging and other scanning applications. Using various mirror shapes and flexure dimensions as parameters, a set of analytical formulae is presented to predict the natural frequency of the first five vibration modes, which are torsion, in-plane and out-of-plane sliding modes and in-plane and out-of-plane rocking modes. Mode frequencies are compared with the finite element model (FEM) predictions using ANSYS™ for a wide range of flexure beam dimensions. The formulae include the effective inertia of the flexure beams and orthotropic material anisotropy effects. The analytical formulae are verified for both isotropic (e.g. steel) and orthotropic (e.g. silicon) materials. These formulae work very well when the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory assumptions and the rigid mirror assumption are satisfied. The accuracy of analytical predictions is improved by introducing an empirical correction factor to the analytical predictions using non-dimensional flexure beam ratios. The correction factor reduces the error between analytical formulae and FEM predictions to within a few per cent for all five modes for a large range of flexure dimensions. FEM predictions and analytical formulae are partly verified by experimental results.
System Analysis of Information Reception and Processing for Driving Task

Traffic safety can be defined as the quality of driving task outcome, which in its turn depends on factors within the system "Driver-Vehicle-Road". Therefore, if analyzing concept of traffic safety from viewpoint of driving task, it must include relationships following from interactions among all the system elements. To understand these relationships and fix essential factors and elements, which must be taken into account, when making design solution or analyzing it, the system model was established. Based on this model the system functioning was analyzed. Results obtained explain importance of content and quality of information in sources from which driver obtains it for decision making. It was also established, that visual road image is the main information source for decision making in situation, where the traffic flow influence is small. Therefore, content and quality of this information, contained in road image, visible for driver, is formed and must be checked during design process.
Assessing Determinants of Programmatic Performance of Community Management of Malaria, Pneumonia, and Diarrhea in Children in Africa: Protocol and Data Collection for a Mixed Methods Evaluation of Integrated Community Case Management

Background Integrated community case management (iCCM) is a child health program designed to provide integrated community-based care for children with pneumonia, malaria, or diarrhea in hard-to-reach areas of low- and middle-income countries. The foundation of the intervention is service delivery by community health workers (CHWs) who depend on reliable provision of drugs and supplies, consistent supervision, comprehensive training, and community acceptance and participation to perform optimally. The effectiveness of the program may also depend on a number of other elements, including an enabling policy environment, financing mechanisms from the national to the local level, data transmission systems, and appropriate monitoring and evaluation. The extent to which these factors act upon each other to influence the effectiveness and viability of iCCM is both variable and challenging to assess, especially across different implementation contexts. Objective In this paper, we describe a mixed methods systems-based study protocol to assess the programmatic components of iCCM that are associated with intervention effectiveness and report preliminary results of data collection. Methods This protocol uses a mixed qualitative and quantitative study design based on a systems thinking approach within four iCCM programs in Malawi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Niger State and Abia State in Nigeria. Routine monitoring data are collected to determine intervention effectiveness, namely testing, treatment, and referral outcomes. Surveys with CHWs, supervisors, and caregivers are performed to collect quantitative data on their demographics, activities, and experiences within the program and how these relate to the areas of intervention effectiveness. Focus group discussions are conducted with these stakeholders as well as local traditional leaders to contextualize these data. Key informant interviews are undertaken with national- and district-level program stakeholders and officers knowledgeable in critical program processes. Results We performed 3836 surveys and 45 focus group discussions of 379 participants with CHWs, supervisors, caregivers, and traditional leaders, as well as 120 key informant interviews with district- and national-level program managers, health officers, and ministry officials. Policy and program documents were additionally collected for review. Conclusions We expect that evidence from this study will inform child health programs and practice in low- and middle-income settings as well as future policy development within the iCCM intervention. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/33076
Exploring the effect of microecological agents on postoperative immune function in patients undergoing liver cancer surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Precision hepatectomy for primary liver cancer has been widely used in clinical practice. As an effective nutritional supplement to prevent endotoxemia and hepatic impairment, microecological agents have been used together with traditional enteral nutritional support substances in several clinical studies. METHODS Chinese and English databases were searched using the terms "hepatocellular carcinoma", "hepatectomy", "microecological agents", and "microecological regulators". The search terms were "hepatocellular carcinoma", "liver resection", "microecological agents", and "microecological regulators". Meta-analysis was performed using Rev Man 5.3 and Stata 13 software provided by the Cochrane system. RESULTS Eleven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in this study. Of these, all 11 described the correct method of random assignment; 8 described in detail the concealment of the assignment scheme; and 9 used blinding methods in the research. Microecological agents significantly reduced total bilirubin (TBIL) levels [mean difference (MD)=-0.10, 95% confidence interval (CI): (-0.14, -0.06), P<0.00001] of patients after hepatectomy. The alanine transaminase (ALT) levels [MD =-3.65, 95% CI: (-14.65, 7.34), P=0.52], aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels [MD =-0.64, 95% CI: (-6.87, 5.58), P=0.84], prothrombin level [MD=1, 95% CI: (-2.57, 4.57), P=0.58], and C-reactive protein (CRP) level [MD =-0.28, 95% CI: (-3.01, 2.45), P=0.84] among the included articles were statistically significant. However, probiotics could significantly reduce the risk of postoperative infection in patients with liver cancer (MD =0.23, 95% CI: (0.07, 0.79), P=0.02 <0.05), and did not significantly increase the risk of complications in patients with liver cancer [odds ratio (OR) =0.82, 95% CI: (0.38, 1.77), P=0.61]. DISCUSSION This study used meta-analysis to confirm that microecological agents can significantly improve the immune function of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, and have alleviating effects on endotoxemia and hyperbilirubinemia.
Fault Diagnosis and Failure Prognostics of Lithium-ion Battery based on Least Squares Support Vector Machine and Memory Particle Filter Framework

123456A novel data driven approach is developed for fault diagnosis and remaining useful life (RUL) prognostics for lithium-ion batteries using Least Square Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) and Memory-Particle Filter (M-PF). Unlike traditional data-driven models for capacity fault diagnosis and failure prognosis, which require multidimensional physical characteristics, the proposed algorithm uses only two variables: Energy Efficiency (EE), and Work Temperature. The aim of this novel framework is to improve the accuracy of incipient and abrupt faults diagnosis and failure prognosis. First, the LSSVM is used to generate residual signal based on capacity fade trends of the Li-ion batteries. Second, adaptive threshold model is developed based on several factors including input, output model error, disturbance, and drift parameter. The adaptive threshold is used to tackle the shortcoming of a fixed threshold. Third, the M-PF is proposed as the new method for failure prognostic to determine Remaining Useful Life (RUL). The M-PF is based on the assumption of the availability of real-time observation and historical data, where the historical failure data can be used instead of the physical failure model within the particle filter. The feasibility of the framework is validated using Li-ion battery prognostic data obtained from the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Prognostic Center of Excellence (PCoE). The experimental results show the following: (1) fewer data dimensions for the input data are required compared to traditional empirical models; (2) the proposed diagnostic approach provides an effective way of diagnosing Li-ion battery fault; (3) the proposed prognostic approach can predict the RUL of Li-ion batteries with small error, and has high prediction accuracy; and, (4) the proposed prognostic approach shows that historical failure data can be used instead of a physical failure model in the particle filter.