Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization and quantification of luxury sound quality in premium-class passenger cars

Abstract Luxury sound is one of the most important sound qualities in a premium passenger car. Previous work has shown that, because of the effects of many different interior sounds, it is difficult to evaluate the luxury sound objectively by using only the A-weighted sound pressure level. The characteristics of such sound were systematically investigated and a new objective evaluation was proposed of the luxury sound quality index. This was developed by the systematic combination of the seven major interior sound quality indices based on path analysis. These sounds inside a passenger car were evaluated by the members of a luxury automotive club. Then, by using sound metrics (psychoacoustic parameters) and multiple regression, seven major interior sound quality indexes were developed. Multiple regression was used to model the correlation between objective and subjective evaluation. The newly developed luxury sound quality index can be applied to the objective evaluation of the seven premium passenger cars in a pilot car stage based on the customer preference.
Design of K-Band Substrate Integrated Waveguide Band-Pass Filter with High Rejection

This article presents the design of K-band Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) Band-pass filter with high rejection, by using the topology with iris and the SIW resonators. The simulated results of this filter have shown that the passband is from 17.3 GHz to 19.3 GHz, while the insertion loss is 1.35 dB within 10.9 % bandwidth around 18.3 GHz and input return loss in the passband is better than 15 dB, with high rejection of -57.88 dB at the frequency 24.07 GH. All the structures are designed on a single substrate of Rogers R04003 permittivity 3.55. The compatibility with planar circuits is provided via a specific microstrip transition (microstrip tapered transitions).
Data mining applications in transportation engineering

Abstract Data mining is the extraction of implicit, previously unknown and potentially useful information from data. In recent time, data mining studies have been carried out in many engineering disciplines. In this paper the background of data mining and tools is introduced. Further applications of data mining to transportation engineering problems are reviewed. The application of data mining for typical example of ‘Vehicle Crash Study’ is demonstrated using commercially available data mining tool. The paper highlights the potential of data mining tool application in transportation engineering sector.
Charge-trapping device structure of SiO2∕SiN∕high-k dielectric Al2O3 for high-density flash memory

We present a device structure of SiO2∕SiN∕Al2O3 (SANOS). The use of a high-k dielectric material, specially Al2O3, in the blocking oxide concentrates the electric fields across the tunnel oxide and SiN, and releases it across the blocking oxide under program and erase mode. This effect leads to lower program and erase voltage as well as faster erase speed than the conventional SiO2∕SiN∕SiO2 (SONOS) device. Moreover, it is shown that the fast erase operation is performed even at a thicker tunnel oxide over 30A where the hole direct tunneling current through the tunnel oxide is reduced significantly and thus the SANOS device has the excellent bake retention.
Modelling of power lines in lightning incidence calculations

When applying the electrogeometric model to power lines to determine the frequency and characteristics of the collected lightning strokes, the power line has traditionally been represented by a set of horizontal wires, i.e. both the sag of the wires and the existence of the towers have been ignored. This approach has serious shortcomings. The authors eliminate these problems by presenting a computerized solution which takes into consideration the sag of the wires, the existence of the towers, and the inequality of the striking distances to towers and to wires. The solution requires 168 equations for calculating the stroke collection area for a given current amplitude, as compared to the only three equations needed for the horizontal wire representation, and it uses an improved validated electrogeometric model. The features of the program are discussed and some of its results are given. >
Validating an ICT Literacy Assessment Tool for Trainee Teachers: Preliminary Findings

Abstract: This paper reports the findings of an on-going doctoral study which seeks to identify the information and communications technology (ICT) literacy levels of trainee teachers, by investigating their ICT proficiency and attitudes towards computer technology. An ICT literacy assessment tool was developed to assess ICT literacy and the Delphi technique was used as a primary validation method for the new assessment tool. Preliminary findings indicate that the taskbased assessment (TBA) tool does represent the ICT literacy indicators that had been previously identified, and support its suitability for use in the assessment of trainee teachers in Malaysia. TBA tools are increasingly utilised by ICT practitioners to accurately measure knowledge, ability and skills.
S1759078720001762jra 999..1006

In this paper, a ultra-wideband (UWB) bandpass filter with stopband characteristics is presented using a multi-mode resonator (MMR) technique. An MMR is formed by loading three dumbbell-shaped (Mickey and circular) shunt stubs placed in the center and two symmetrical locations from ports, respectively. Three circular and arrowhead defected ground structures on the ground plane are introduced to achieve UWB bandwidth with a better roll-off rate. The proposed filter exhibits stopband characteristics from 10.8 to 20 GHz with a 0.4 dB return loss. The group delay and roll-off rate of the designed filter are <0.30 ns in the passband and 16 dB/GHz at lower and higher cut-off frequencies, respectively. The dimension of the filter is 0. 74λg × 0. 67λgmm 2 and was fabricated on a cost-effective substrate. All simulated results are verified through the experimental results.
Can Learning from Demonstration Reproduce Natural and Understandable Movements?

—There are many factors, such as the dynamic nature of environments, which necessitate that robots should be able to learn new tasks and skills from their end-users. Although some algorithms, like Learning from Demonstration (LfD), have shown promising results in aiding the robotic learning process, other aspects, like their social effects, should be studied to facilitate their use. In this regard, we have conducted a study to determine whether the LfD method can affect the quality of the performance of a task. The parameters we examined in this paper include, but are not limited to, naturalness and understandability of the performed task. Also, to decrease the effect of people’s expectations of the robots, we tried to have a reference point because of which the robot performed the pointing action with a simple method (i.e. an Inverse kinematic based method). After using these two methods to teach a robot to point to objects, the participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire regarding those learning methods without knowing which action was performed by the LfD. After gathering the viewpoints of 36 participants, we found that the subjects believed that the LfD method reproduced natural and understandable movements. In a preliminary comparison, while both of the methods were understandable for the participants, the LfD method was found to reproduce significantly more natural tasks than the simpler Inverse kinematic based method. Also, the participants thought/believed that the LfD method was more reliable to teach new tasks, and they expected to see significant differences in the performance of complex high-level tasks learned by these
Verbal subgroups of alternating group An and Matieu groups

The verbal width of a free group was investigated by Sucharit Sarkar [1] Sarkar proved that an arbitrary commutator of free group of rank greater than 1 cannot be generated by only 2 squares. We consider set of all squares S(An) of An as generating set for An. The width of the verbal subgroup V (G, W ) over set W is equal to а least value of m ∈ N∪{∞} such that every element of the subgroup V (G,W ) is represented as the product of at most m values of words from W . The conditions when an arbitrary g ∈ An as well as h ∈ PSL2(Fp) can be presented as one squares were also found by us. Therefore, we research the verbal width by squares of An and some Matieu groups. In a group G a set of squares of its elements is denoted by S(G). Since An is generated by all pairs of transpositions in particular by Mitsuhashi’s generating set [2] then S(An) generates whole An. Therefore one can consider diam(An, S(An)) [6]. Thus it can be applied to investigation of distance between permutations on Cayley graph. Thus, problem of element verbal width is solved for the verbal subgroup V (S(An), An) which coincides with An.
Towards uniformity of rotational events recording – initial data from common test engaging more than 40 sensors including a wide number of fiber-optic rotational seismometers

https://doi.org/10.24425/opelre.2021. 135827. 1896-3757/ Association of Polish Electrical Engineers (SEP) and Polish Academic of Sciences (PAS). Published by PAS © 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Towards uniformity of rotational events recording – initial data from common test engaging more than 40 sensors including a wide number of fiber-optic rotational seismometers
Multi-Modal Search for Inspirational Examples in Design

Inspirational stimuli are known to be effective in supporting ideation during the design process. However, minimal prior work has allowed individuals to search using multiple modes of input simultaneously, which is more representative of real design behavior. In the current work, we developed a multi-modal search platform that retrieves 3D model parts based on text, appearance, and function-based search inputs. This work presents the results of an experimental study (n = 21) in which the search platform was used to find parts identified as potentially useful for inspiring solutions to a design challenge. Participants were asked to engage with three different search modalities: search by keywords, by curated 3D parts, and by user-assembled 3D parts in their workspace. When searching by parts that are curated or in their workspace, additional control over the similarity of appearance and function of results in reference to the input was available to participants. The results of this study demonstrate that the modality used affects search behavior, such as in the frequency of searches, how participants engage with retrieved search results, and how broadly the search space is covered. Specific results link interactions with the interface to search strategies participants may have used during the task. Findings suggest that multi-modal search should enable intentional search for desired goals through direct search inputs (e.g., by keyword) and incremental adjustments to features of visually represented search inputs. Moreover, enabling discovery of inexplicitly searched for examples through related information or more randomly encountered examples may assist exploratory search behavior.
-G MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN COMMERCIAL BANKS AT THE COLOMBO STOCK EXCHANGE: EVIDENCE FROM SRI LANKA

The purpose of this study is to examine whether commercial banks listed on Colombo stock exchange engage in Earnings Management (EM) practices. EM has become a major concern in the corporate world as plenty of avenues are available for managers to do so, despite the fact that accounting standards have stipulated with clear guidelines, rules and principles. Legitimacy theory provides a basis for corporate to appear as a legal person before stakeholders in order to carry out their operations smoothly. Therefore, shareholders, auditors, managers, accountants, and regulators are concerned whether financial statements have been manipulated. Previous studies find that managers engage in earnings management practices around the world by using different tools and techniques. Hence, this study attempts to investigate whether there are adequate factors that can be used by potential stakeholders to see whether banking companies listed on Colombo Stock Exchange engage in EM techniques. Several earnings management tests are carried out to test the extent to which managers engage in EM based on financial statements of ten banks for the years between 2010 to 2016. A conceptual framework comprising various motives and factors for managers to engage in EM practices developed based on literature review. Further, the study focuses on the awareness of managers, auditors and shareholders about EM practices. Study does not find strong evidence to conclude that commercial banks in Sri Lanka are engaging in EM practices. Major reason is found to be stringent compliance requirements to be complied by banks form local and international perspectives.
Optimal Convergence Rate of θ–Maruyama Method for Stochastic Volterra Integro-Differential Equations with Riemann–Liouville Fractional Brownian Motion

This paper mainly considers the optimal convergence analysis of the θ– Maruyama method for stochastic Volterra integro-differential equations (SVIDEs) driven by Riemann–Liouville fractional Brownian motion under the global Lipschitz and linear growth conditions. Firstly, based on the contraction mapping principle, we prove the well-posedness of the analytical solutions of the SVIDEs. Secondly, we show that the θ–Maruyama method for the SVIDEs can achieve strong first-order convergence. In particular, when the θ–Maruyama method degenerates to the explicit Euler– Maruyama method, our result improves the conclusion that the convergence rate is H+ 2 , H∈(0, 1 2 ) by Yang et al., J. Comput. Appl. Math., 383 (2021), 113156. Finally, the numerical experiment verifies our theoretical results. AMS subject classifications: 65C30, 65C20, 65L20
An Ensemble Learning Algorithm Based on Dynamic Voting for Targeting the Optimal Insulin Dosage in Type 1 Diabetes Management

People with type 1 diabetes (T1D) need exogenous insulin administrations several times a day. The amount of injected insulin is key for maintaining the concentration of blood glucose (BG) within a physiological safe range. According to well-established clinical guidelines, insulin dosing at mealtime is calculated through an empirical formula which, however, does not take advantage of the knowledge of BG trend provided in real-time by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors. To overcome suboptimal insulin dosage, we recently used machine learning techniques to build two new models, one linear and one nonlinear, which incorporate BG trend information.In this work, we propose an ensemble learning method for mealtime insulin bolus estimation based on dynamic voting, which combines the two models by taking advantage of where each alternative performs better. Being the resulting model black-box, a tool that enables its interpretability was applied to evaluate the contribution of each feature. The proposed model was trained using a synthetic dataset having information on 100 virtual subjects with different mealtime conditions, and its performance was evaluated within a simulated environment.The benefit given by the ensemble method compared to the single models was confirmed by the high time within the target glycemic range, and the trade-off reached in terms of time spent below and above this range. Moreover, the model interpretation pointed out the key role played by the information on BG dynamics in the estimation of insulin dosage.
Design of maturity model for software project management level evaluation

In recent public institutions and banks to improve competitiveness in the integration of information systems projects are larger in size and may be the project's ever-growing need appropriate software project management plan. However, between the effect of the project management area for systematic research was scarce. Through this study, previous research in the important area of project management is developed, and "scope, schedule, quality, human resources, risk" of each area of impact analysis and the interaction between the progress of each area, the planning, execution, completion Performance levels were analyzed separately. Affected and Performance Analysis of the results to assess the level of the project management model is presented.
A vowel feature hierarchy for contrastive specification

Contrastive specification has been criticized on the grounds of lacking a procedure that does not require initial specification of both redundant and distinctive features for each segment (Archangeli (1988)). In reply, in this paper I define a systematic procedure for the contrastive specification of vowel inventories which specifies only distinctive features. I assume that a procedure of contrastive specification is applied universally (see, for example, the work of Steriade (1987), Clements (1988), and Avery and Rice (1989)). I argue that this procedure is performed step-wise in vowel inventories for a single feature at a time, according to a fixed hierarchy of contrastive features. When applied to inventories of different shapes, this procedure may produce different representations for a vowel and its counterpart in other inventories, thus allowing the same phonetic segment to have more than one underlying structure, depending on the system it occurs in. Since representations affect the output of rules, the shape of the vowel inventory will have a significant impact on the patterning of vowels in the phonological processes of a language.
Design Research of Photovoltaic Inverter

Based on the practical engineering application, This paper analyses the inverter strategy of SVPMW. Aiming at the refining problem of sine function value table, on the basis of unrefined sine function value table, through additional two-stage filter, the inverting result of the inverter is greatly improved. The harmonic wave is effectively suppressed and the output wave of the inverter is much more close to sine wave. At last, the Matlab simulation and setting up of the experimental platform of the inverter validate the effectiveness of the additional two-stage filter.
Hemiptera:

Chilacis typhae: Morton Lochs; on heads of reedmace,Typha. Drymus brunneus: Widespread; woodland ground litter. Drymus sylvaticus: Dumbarnie Links, Earlsferry, Lundin Links; amongst grass. Gastrodes grossipes: Pine-cone bug; Tentsmuir; [pines]. Kleidocerys resedae: Dumbarnie Links. Kleidocerys ericae: Tentsmuir; as K.truncatulus; [heaths]. Nysius ericae: Dumbarnie Links. Nysius thymi: Tentsmuir; [grassland]. Peritrechus lundii: Earlshall Muir. Scolopostethus affinis: Widespread on coast; often on nettles. Scolopostethus decoratus: Tentsmuir; [heathland]. Scolopostethus thomsoni: Dumbarnie Links, Tentsmuir; dune grassland. Stygnocoris fuligineus: local. Stygnocoris rusticus: Tentsmuir; [dune grassland]. Stygnocoris sabulosus: Dumbarnie Links, Kincraig, Tentsmuir; including S. pedestris.
Switched Inductor Z-Source AC-DC Converter

Due to the increasing amount of applications of power electronic ac-dc converters, it is necessary to design a single-stage converter that can reliably perform both buck and boost operations. Traditionally, this can be achieved by double-stage conversion (ac/dc-dc/dc) which ultimately leads to less efficiency and a more complex control system. This paper discusses two types of modern ac-dc converters. First, the novel impedance-source ac-dc converter, abbreviated as custom Z-source rectifier, is analyzed; and then, switched inductor (SL) Z-source ac-dc converter is proposed. This paper describes the Z-source rectifiers` operating principles, the concepts behind them, and their superiorities. Analysis and simulation results show that the proposed custom Z-source rectifier can step up and step down voltage; and the main advantage of the SL Z-source ac-dc converter is its high step-up capability. Low ripple of the output dc voltage is the other advantage of the proposed converters. Finally, the SL Z-source ac-dc converter is compared with the custom Z-source ac-dc converter.
Diabetes Mellitus Management during the Coronavirus disease-19 Pandemic: Literature Review

AIM: This paper aims to analyze the development of diabetes mellitus (DM) health service management during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic situation. DM is a disease that has an increasing prevalence from year to year and has a high morbidity rate. This is not only the case in Indonesia but also globally. The severity of both diseases (DM and COVID-19) then demands the management of comprehensive patient services so as to reduce the risk of morbidity. METHOD: The method used in this writing is the literature review method, carried out by examining journals’ articles published between 2020 and 2021. RESULTS: The results showed that the impact of COVID-19 pandemic prevention will worsen the condition of DM sufferers where there will be the restrictions on the supply of healthy food, changes in eating habits, and access to health services due to concerns about COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Hence, the conclusion is, during the COVID-19 pandemic situation, it was necessary to adjust the management of DM services to prevent complications from DM itself by utilizing health technology. The use of telehealth in diabetes service management needs to be developed as a solution to prevent and treat DM during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A systematic literature review of Human Resource Information System (HRIS) usage in the health system of South Africa

This systematic literature review is aimed at determining the predominance of existing studies conducted in HRIS as it relates to HRM, HRH, workforce management and the use of Information Systems (IS) and technology within the health sector. The main findings of the study demonstrate that HRIS benefits are the most researched at 11.8% with a) impact: implementation and IS in healthcare:10.5%; b) effectiveness: motivation, competence, workforce IS and adoption: 9.2%; c) workforce retention and migration: 7.9% d) HRIS and EHRM for decisions 5.3%, e) HRIS in HRM and digital records 2.6%; f) IT in the healthcare setting standing at 1.3%.
Exploring the spatial patterns of visitor expenditure in cities using bank card transactions data

ABSTRACT The importance of tourism expenditure is widely recognized, but the spatial patterns of visitor expenditure in cities is so far an unexplored subject. The main aim of this paper is to analyze the spatial distribution of visitor spending using bank card transaction data. Spatial statistics tools are used to identify expenditure clustering patterns and hot spots, distinguishing between national and foreign visitors, and comparing their patterns with those of locals. Our analysis shows that visitor expenditure, and especially that of foreigners, is much more concentrated in the city centre and spatially clustered than local spending. OLS regressions and spatial regression models are used for explaining the spatial distribution of visitor expenditure. Predictors are extracted from old (Cadastre) and new (the social network Foursquare) data sources. Regressions results indicate that socio-symbolic variables have greater explanatory power than physical dimension variables, that expenditure falls sharply with the distance to the city centre, and that the amount of spending in each spatial unit is influenced by the expenditure in the neighbouring spatial units. The paper demonstrates the great potential of this data source to explore with a high level of detail the spatial patterns and drivers of visitor spending within urban destinations.