Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
14-MeV neutron and Co/sup 60/ gamma testing of a power MOSFET optocoupler

The effect of radiation from neutron activation of package materials was studied using a power MOSFET optocoupler as the test device. The optocouplers were exposed to 14-MeV neutrons to a fluence of 1/spl times/10/sup 11/ n/cm/sup 2/, with the devices switching during exposure. Electrical characterization was performed after each neutron exposure. A separate set of optocouplers was then irradiated using a Co/sup 60/ source. These results combined with gamma ray spectroscopy showed that radiation from neutron activation had a significant effect on the electrical parameters of the optocouplers.
Development of passive microwave antenna-feed systems for wide-band dual-polarisation receivers

This study presents the design and experimental results of a wide-band passive antenna-feed system developed for the C-band dual-circular-polarisation receiver of the Sardinia radio telescope (SRT). The latter is a 64 m diameter shaped radio-telescope under construction designed to operate with high efficiency from 300 MHz to over 100 GHz. The developed C-band antenna-feed system exhibits very high performances in a 30 band centred at 6.7 GHz, for example the return loss at all electrical ports is higher than 30 dB and the cross-coupling between the two polarisations is lower than 34 dB. The design solutions of all the feed-system components such as marker injector, polariser, transitions and the ortho-mode transducer (OMT) are reported in the study. In particular, the novel architecture of the OMT that provides an isolation between the two rectangular ports better than 70 dB is described in close detail. Computed and experimental results regarding both the complete system and its sub-assemblies are reported and discussed.
Influence of Hydrolysis Conditions on Characteristics of Nanocrystalline Cellulose Extracted from Ramie Fibers by Hydrochloric Acid Hydrolysis

Nanocrystalline celluloses (NCCs) were successfully extracted from ramie fibers using chemical pretreatments followed by hydrochloric acid hydrolysis. The effects of acid concentration and hydrolysis time on the characteristics of NCCs were investigated in this study. Results showed that the optimal hydrolysis conditions were found to be 6 M hydrochloric acid concentration at 45 °C for 70 min. The obtained NCC had a rod like-shape with an average of 8.07 nm in diameter, 158.51 nm in length, 22.37 in aspect ratio, 89.61% in the crystallinity index, and 5.81 nm in crystallite size. The higher crystallinity and thermal stability were exhibited by NCCs compared to both raw fibers and chemically purified cellulose. The hydrolysis time had a significant effect on crystallinity and thermal stability. The crystallinity index and thermal stability of NCCs were obtained to decrease with increasing hydrolysis time.
Augmenting public participation: enhancing planning outcomes through the use of social media and web 2.0

Abstract Social media and web 2.0 tools offer opportunities to devise novel participation strategies that can engage previously difficult to reach, as well as new, segments of society in urban planning. This paper examines participatory planning in the four local government areas of Brisbane City Council, Gold Coast City Council, Redland City Council and Toowoomba Regional Council, all situated in South East Queensland, Australia. The paper discusses how social media and web 2.0 tools can deliver a more engaging planning experience to citizens and investigates local government's current use and receptiveness to social media tools for plan-making and community engagement. The study's research informed the development of criteria to assess the level of participation reached through the current use of social media and web 2.0 in the four local government areas. This resulted in an adaptation of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Toolbox to integrate these new tools, which is being presented to encourage further discussion and evaluation by planning professionals.
Reconfigurable Printed Antennas

Abstract The concept of reconfigurability in antennas and their types are discussed in detail in this paper. Novel reconfigurable antenna structures for modern wireless communication application are presented. PIN diodes that are biased with on-board biasing circuitry are used to achieve reconfigurability in these antennas. Full electromagnetic and transient analysis is carried out for RF and time domain modeling. The developed reconfigurable antennas include the frequency reconfigurable antennas, radiation pattern reconfigurable antennas, and polarization reconfigurable antenna. Developed reconfigurable antennas are characterized for RF and switching characteristics.
Cloning and characterization of the Iron-Regulated Transporter (IRT) genes and their transcription factors in Populus

iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . v LIST OF TABLES . xi LIST OF FIGURES . xii CHAPTER I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION . 1 References . 3 CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW . 7 Iron is an essential nutrient for plants . 7 Iron deficiency and its management in plants . 7 Iron availability in the soil . 8 Iron uptake, transport, and metabolism in plants . 9 Iron homeostasis in plants . 11 Ferric reduction oxidase (FRO) gene family . 11 Iron-regulated transporter (IRT) gene family . 13 Iron deficiency inducible transcription factor basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) gene family. 15 Poplar, a model tree species for molecular and biotechnology research . 18 References . 19 CHAPTER III. PHYSIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF IRON CHLOROSIS IN POPULUS TREMULA L. ‘ERECTA’ . 30 Abstract. 30 Introduction . 30 Materials and methods . 32
Voltage sensorless control of the three-level three-switch Vienna rectifier with programmable input power factor

The three-level, three-switch Vienna rectifier is fast emerging as the preferred topology for the high-power factor front end converter in many applications. Conventional control algorithms for the Vienna rectifier requires sensing of both the supply voltage and the line current. However, in many applications, where an electrical generator feeds the rectifier, the ‘supply voltage’ is not available for measurement. Even for grid-connected applications the supply voltage may contain significant harmonic distortion which, in turn, increases the harmonic distortion of the rectifier input current. To mitigate these disadvantages, this study presents a novel voltage sensorless control algorithm for the Vienna rectifier. Voltage sensorless control algorithms reported in the literature for this rectifier, so far permit only unity rectifier terminal power factor operation. In contrast, the proposed control algorithm can operate the rectifier at programmable power factor. For the verification of the algorithm, experiments were conducted on a laboratory prototype of the Vienna rectifier using both voltage sensorless and sensor-based control algorithms. Performances of both these algorithms were found to be similar under transient conditions. The voltage sensorless controller achieved better input line current total harmonic distortion in steady state.
Distributed receding horizon control of multiagent systems

Multiagent systems arise in several domains of engineering. Examples include arrays of mobile sensor networks for aggregate imagery, autonomous highways, and formations of unmanned aerial vehicles. In these contexts, agents are governed by vehicle dynamics and often constraints, and the control objective is achieved by cooperation. Cooperation refers to the agreement of the agents to 1) have a common objective with neighboring agents, with the objective typically decided offline, and 2) share information online to realize the objective. To be viable, the control approach for multiagent systems should be distributed, for autonomy of the individual agents and for scalability and improved tractability over centralized approaches. Optimization-based techniques are suited to multiagent problems, in that such techniques can admit very general objectives. Receding horizon control is an optimization-based approach that is applicable when dynamics and constraints on the system are present. Several researchers have recently explored the use of receding horizon control to achieve multi-vehicle objectives. In most cases, the common objective is formulated, and the resulting control law implemented, in a centralized way. This dissertation provides a distributed implementation of receding horizon control with guaranteed convergence and performance comparable to a centralized implementation. To begin with, agents are presumed to be individually governed by heterogeneous dynamics, modelled by a nonlinear ordinary differential equation. Coupling between agents occurs in a generic quadratic cost function of a single optimal control problem. The distributed implementation is generated by decomposition of the single optimal control problem into local problems, and the inclusion of local compatibility constraints in each local problem. The coordination requirements are globally synchronous timing and local information exchanges between neighboring agents. For sufficiently fast update times, the distributed implementation is proven to be asymptotically stabilizing. Extensions for handling inter-agent coupling constraints and partially synchronous timing are also explored. The venue of multi-vehicle formation stabilization demonstrates the efficacy of the implementation in numerical experiments. Given the generality of the receding horizon control mechanism, there is great potential for the implementation presented here in dynamic and constrained distributed systems.
Emotionally Durable Design: Objects, Experiences and Empathy

Following the award of a scholarship (£8,250.00) from the Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation, Dr Chapman undertook the research, development and writing of his first book. This 60,000-word monograph is a call to arms for both the professional and academic creative; a polemical work, in which the emergence of new and provocative genres of design are proposed that reduce the consumption and waste of natural resources by increasing the durability of relationships established between users and products. Emotionally Durable Design is the first in its genre to attend to the 'causes' rather than the 'symptoms' of the ecological predicament, projecting the reader beyond symptom-focused approaches to sustainable design such as recycling, biodegradability and design for disassembly, to address the deeper underlying causes of the problems we currently face. Dr Chapman argues that for decades the consumer machine has raged forth practically unchanged, leaving designers to attend the periphery, healing mere symptoms of what is in essence a fundamentally flawed system. By failing to understand the actual drivers underpinning the human consumption and waste of goods, design resigns itself to a peripheral activity rather than the central pioneer of positive social, economic and environmental change. Since international publication in June 2005, the book has been reprinted three times. Citations have included The House of Lords, The Independent, The New York Times, New Scientist, BBC Radio 4, New Statesman and the leading journal, Design Issues, among others.
A THREE-DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE VOLLEYBALL ONE-FOOT JUMP SPIKE

INTRODUCTION: Since the Chinese National female volleyball team developed the one-foot jump spike technique during the 1980s, the high percentage of successful spiking has made the skill a powerful offensive weapon on volleyball courts all over the world. But no research has been done on the biomechanical analysis of the female one-foot jump spike. The purpose of this study was to describe the biomechanical characteristics of the techniques of the one-foot jump spike demonstrated by elite Taiwanese female players. METHODS: Four elite female players from the Taiwanese National Volleyball Team served as subjects. Their mean height, weight, and age (and variance) were 1.78 (0.03) m, 63.53 (.11) kg, and 21.50 (.58) years, respectively. Two Peak Performance high speed video cameras operating at 120Hz were synchronized to record the actions employed by the subjects in performing the one-foot jump spike. Three-dimensional object space co-ordinates of digitized image co-ordinates were obtained using a DLT algorithm and 19 calibration points in the video volume. RESULTS: [Table 1] The values of selected variables for the one-foot jump spike by the four female players were calculated (Table 1). The elite female one-foot jump spikers had a shorter takeoff time(0.198s) than the elite male two-foot spikers(0.308s). The female one-foot jump spikers also had a sharper approach angle(27 deg)then the elite male and female two-foot spikers(45- 60 deg) which made it harder for the opponent to block the ball. The results of this study provide valuable information for teachers and coaches teaching players to perform the one-foot jump spike. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that elite female one-foot jump spikers have a shorter takeoff time and a sharper approach angle then the elite male and female two-foot spikers, which contribute to the success of spiking.
DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A PEM FUEL CELL EMULATOR FOR STATIC AND DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR

This paper presents the design, implementation, and experimental validation of a digitally-controlled emulator of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells for static and dynamic behavior. The emulator is a low cost, easy to use, and portable device designed to evaluate power systems and control strategies for fuel cell-based generation systems. For the implementation of this emulator, an appropriate mathematical model is chosen, parameterized, and experimentally validated. The resulting model is processed digitally by the emulator, which generates the appropriate electrical behavior to a load. The emulator power stage is implemented by using a two-inductor step-down DC/DC switching converter, which is controlled directly by the digital processing system. Later, the electrical scheme of the power stage and the block diagram of the system are presented, and the behavior of the emulator is illustrated with a simulation. Finally, the emulator is validated using experimental data.
Directional wideband shorted bowtie antenna

A new wideband antenna employing a shorted bowtie patch for exciting a slot‐type radiation is presented. Unlike a conventional directional slot antenna, which generally is placed 1/4‐wavelength above a ground reflector, the height of the proposed antenna is 1/10‐wavelength but a directional radiation can be achieved. The impedance bandwidth is 64% (SWR ≤ 2) from frequency of 2.07 to 4.02 GHz. The antenna does not only have a wideband feature but also has several attractive electrical characteristics such as symmetric radiation pattern, low cross polarization and stable pattern over the operating bandwidth. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 48: 1670–1672, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.21709
A printed quasi‐self‐complementary antenna for band‐notched uwb applications

A quasi‐self‐complementary antenna for band‐notched ultrawideband application free from interference with existing wireless local area network systems is proposed.The designed band‐notched UWB operation can be obtained by choosing the size of the parasitic fan‐shaped patch in the quarter‐slot. The proposed antenna has advantages of low cost, easy design, and compact in size. Details of the proposed design and experimental results of the constructed antennas are presented. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:1879–1882, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26961
A produtividade em serviços: uma análise à luz da revisão sistemática de literatura

Through the method of Systematic Review of Literature (SRL), this study conducted an analysis of productivity in services. For this purpose, fourteen journals of Operations Management and Scielo database were consulted. The studies were analyzed with respect to six criteria for classification: i) type of study, ii) investigated business sector, iii) affiliation of authors, iv) prevailing methodological approach, v) themes, e vi) methods used in comparative analyzes of performance. It was found that the greatest amount of work used the modeling approach to assess the productivity, particularly by linear programming methodology - Data Analysis Envelopment (DEA). It was observed that the vast majority of authors are academic, there are few publications of researchers from companies or that have both types of researchers. The study identified four recurring themes in the articles. Then, some studies have focused on the establishment of productivity indicators and their analysis over time, comparing the performance of different firms or industries. Other studies have identified the characteristics and difficulties of measuring productivity in services in relation to manufacturing companies. Different studies have proposed indicators to measure productivity in services. Finally, in light of the main textbooks on operation's management and service literature, this study identified key strategies and methods for improving productivity in services. It was found that the theme productivity in services is a promising research topic.
Human Behavior Feedback and Traffic Safety

A general human behavior feedback formalism is developed in which the actual safety change in traffic systems is related to the intended or expected change through the introduction of a "human behavior feedback parameter," f. This formalism includes earlier approaches to modeling or understanding traffic safety as special cases and in addition includes responses outside the range encompassed by the earlier approaches. It is applied in an essentially symmetric way to changes expected to increase or to reduce safety. Compared with the expected safety change, the actual safety changes found in 26 studies in the literature provide examples of all of the following: change even greater than expected; as expected; smaller than expected; no safety change; and a perverse effect (safety change opposite in sign to expected). It is concluded that human behavior feedback is a pervasive phenomenon in traffic systems, and one that may greatly influence the outcome of safety measures.
Theory and Tables of Optimum Symmetrical TEM-Mode Coupled-Transmission-Line Directional Couplers

New equal-ripple polynomials were determined and applied to the synthesis of symmetrical TEM-mode coupled-transmission-line directional couplers (using exact methods). Tables of designs for symmetrical couplers of three, five, seven, and nine sections having mean couplings of -3.01, -6, -8.34, -10, and -20 dB, and having several equal-ripple tolerances in the coupling band are presented. Symmetrical maximally-flat directional-coupler designs having three, five, seven, and nine sections are also presented to complete the tables.
Memristive devices as parameter setting elements in programmable gain amplifiers

In this paper, we investigate the AC performance of a variable gain amplifier that utilizes an in-house manufactured memristor as a gain setting element. Analysis includes frequency and phase responses as the memristor is programmed at different resistive states. A TiO2-based solid-state memristor was employed in the feedback branch of an inverting voltage amplifier and was programmed externally. We have also observed indications of memcapacitive effects and a correlation with resistive states is presented. We demonstrate that our TiO2 memristive devices, although possessing relatively low ROFF/RON switching ratios (∼10), are versatile and can be used reliably in programmable gain amplifiers.
Human driving data-based design of a vehicle adaptive cruise control algorithm

This paper presents a vehicle adaptive cruise control algorithm design with human factors considerations. Adaptive cruise control (ACC) systems should be acceptable to drivers. In order to be acceptable to drivers, the ACC systems need to be designed based on the analysis of human driver driving behaviour. Manual driving characteristics are investigated using real-world driving test data. The goal of the control algorithm is to achieve naturalistic behaviour of the controlled vehicle that would feel natural to the human driver in normal driving situations and to achieve safe vehicle behaviour in severe braking situations in which large decelerations are necessary. A non-dimensional warning index and inverse time-to-collision are used to evaluate driving situations. A confusion matrix method based on natural driving data sets was used to tune control parameters in the proposed ACC system. Using a simulation and a validated vehicle simulator, vehicle following characteristics of the controlled vehicle are compared with real-world manual driving radar sensor data. It is shown that the proposed control strategy can provide with natural following performance similar to human manual driving in both high speed driving and low speed stop-and-go situations and can prevent the vehicle-to-vehicle distance from dropping to an unsafe level in a variety of driving conditions.
Remote sensing with nonlinear negative-index metamaterials

A concept of the remotely actuated and interrogated four-wave mixing photonic sensor, which employs the negative-index photonic materials, is described. Unique electromagnetic properties of such a metamaterial enable enhancement of frequency conversion and redirection of the signals which carry important information for environmental probing. Four-wave mixing process allows for independent engineering of resonantly enhanced optical nonlinearities and negative refractive index.
Enzymatic Browning in Banana Blossoms and Techniques for Its Reduction

Banana blossoms are rich in fiber and nutrients and are a popular plant-based, vegan alternative to fish. However undesirable browning, usually visible at the peduncle cut-end, negatively impacts consumer acceptability of banana blossoms. The aim of this work was to develop safe alternatives to prevent browning in banana blossoms. First, the activities of primary enzymes associated with tissue browning, i.e., polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD) and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), were assayed. Our data showed that PPO and POD were the key enzymes responsible for blossom browning as they increased in activity, reaching a maximum at pH 7, as browning developed. In contrast, PAL activity decreased, and total phenolic content did not change as browning progressed, indicating PAL was not induced by cutting and may not be involved in blossom browning. Second, to find antibrowning agents for banana blossoms that can substitute for the use of sodium metabisulfite (SMS), different organic acids of varying concentrations were tested. Among organic acids studied, treatment with 3% (w/v) oxalic acid was the most effective method and thus could be a safe substitution for SMS to prevent browning in banana blossoms.
High capacity hotspots based on bluetooth technology

Bluetooth is a short range wireless interface that offers data transmission rates of the order of 721 kbit/s which is comparable with ADSL data rates, but which could be regarded as being too low for deployment as a limited range wireless access point. The capacity of a wireless access point based on Bluetooth technology can be increased significantly by co-locating a number of Bluetooth transducers in a hotspot scenario. This paper describes a technique which reduces mutual interference in co-located Bluetooth transducers by coordinating the hopping frequencies of the individual devices. Such a system can then provide attractive data transmission rates when deployed in wireless access point applications.