Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simulating, fabricating and characterising photoconductive microwave switches for RF applications

Photoconductive microwave switches can be used in place of traditional microwave switches to reconfigure antennas and RF circuits. The switch, which consists of a silicon die placed over a gap in transmission line, is controlled by illumination via a fibre optic cable. Hence there is no requirement to design electrical biasing lines which may affect RF performance. This benefit is the main motivation behind further developing and understanding the photoconductive switch. The second motivation is the growing demand for reconfigurable antennas which necessitate certain switching requirements; one specific area of interest is in cognitive radio applications. However, in order to use such a switch in RF circuitry, the photoconductive nature of the switch must be understood. This is addressed in this thesis presenting and applying analytical equations which dictate the material properties in photoconductive silicon. These equations are then used to generate a 3D EM simulation model to investigate transmission loss in the photoconductive switch. The concept of signal planarity is investigated so as to give some insight into the best way to package the switch. In order to potentially reduce loss and facilitate a packaged device, the fabrication of the switch is investigated. Namely, the treatment of the silicon and the addition of contacts on the silicon are discussed as possible methods to improve switch performance. Lastly, linearity, power handing and switching times are presented for the photoconductive switch. This characterisation is important with regards to understanding which types of application the switch can be used in. In particular the single tone and two tone linearity of the switch is measured these values have not previously been reported for this type of photoconductive switch. The results are encouraging and support further development of the switch into a packaged product to be used in reconfigurable antennas and circuitry.
Identification of Circulating miR-210 as a Promising Biomarker for Lung Adenocarcinoma

Background: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), with an increasing morbidity and mortality globally, is the most common histological subtype of lung cancer (LC). Early diagnosis of LUAD can significantly prolong survival time. Multiple researches have revealed that circulating miRNAs might be used as promising biomarkers for early detection of LUAD Material and Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted to find circulating miRNAs for early diagnosis of LUAD and summarized their diagnostic values based on GEO database. Further, by bioinformatics analysis we predicted the target genes of circulating miRNAs owning statistically significant, and explored the molecular regulation mechanisms and biological processes of the target genes in the pathogenetic of LUAD. Results: overall, six datasets were eligible, information on original expression levels of circulating miR-21, miR-155, miR-210, miR-126, miR-486, miR-182, and miR-17 extracted independently by two reviewers. Finally, we found circulating miR-210 had good diagnostic efficacy for LUAD detection, the combined AUC value was 0.83. We then predicted 480 overlapped genes of miR-210 at least 5 of 11 databases. Bioinformatics analysis showed statistically significant GO analysis 38 items and KEGG pathways 21 items. Response to hypoxia may be the mainly involved biological process of miR-210 in LUAD. Nine hub genes (FBXO, FBXL, MGRN1, ATG7, CUL3, RAB, ADAMTS, SEMA, THBS2) were obtained by construct PPI network. Conclusions: our study implied that circulating miR-210 may be a promising noninvasive biomarker for early detection of LUAD, but further researches are needed to validate the promising results and to identify specific biological processes and target genes.
Head-up transition behavior of pilots with and without head-up display in simulated low-visibility approaches

To quantify head-up transition behavior with and without a flightpath type head-up display, eight rated B-727 pilots each flew 31 manual and coupled approaches in a simulator with B-727 dynamics and collimated model board external scene. Data were also obtained on the roll played by the head-up display in the coupled-to-manual transition. Various wind shears, low visibilities, and ceilings were tested along with unexpected misalignment between the runway and head-up display symbology. The symbolic format used was a conformal scene. Every pilot except one stayed head-up, flying with the display after descending below the ceiling. Without the display and as altitude decreased, the number of lookups from the instrument panel decreased and the duration of each one increased. No large differences in mean number or duration of transitions up or down were found during the head-up display runs comparing the no-misalignment with the lateral instrument landing system offset misalignment runs. The head-up display led to fewer transitions after the pilot made a decision to land or execute a missed approach. Without the display, pilots generally waited until they had descended below the ceiling to look outside the first time, but with it several pilots looked down at their panel at relatively high altitudes (if they looked down at all). Manual takeover of control was rapid and smooth both with and without the display which permitted smoother engine power changes.
Online Prediction of the Post-Disturbance Frequency Behaviour of a Power System

The radical changes that are currently occurring in the nature of power systems means that in the future it may no longer be possible to guarantee security of supply using offline security assessment and planning. The increased uncertainty, particularly the reduction and variation in system inertia that will be faced in the future must be overcome through the use of adaptive online solutions for ensuring system security. The introduction of synchronised measurement technology means that the wide area real time measurements that are necessary to implement these online actions are now available.The objective of the research presented in this thesis was to create methods for predicting the post-disturbance frequency behaviour of a power system with the intent of contributing to the development of real time adaptive corrective control for future power systems. Such a prediction method would generate an online prediction based on wide area measurements of frequency and active power that are recorded within the period of approximately one second after a disturbance to the active power balance of the system. Predictions would allow frequency control to respond more quickly and efficiently as it would no longer be necessary to wait for the system frequency behaviour to violate pre-determined thresholds.The research presented in this thesis includes the creation of an online method for the simultaneous detection of the time at which a disturbance occurred in a power system, or area of a power system, and the estimation of the inertia of that system, or area. An existing prediction method based on approximate models has been redesigned to eliminate its dependence on offline information. Furthermore, the thesis presents the novel application of pattern classification theory to frequency prediction and a five class example of pattern classification is implemented.
Iterative detection for overloaded multiuser MIMO OFDM systems

Inspired by multiuser detection (MUD) and the ‘Turbo principle’, this thesis deals with iterative interference cancellation (IIC) in overloaded multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. Linear detection schemes, such as zero forcing (ZF) and minimum mean square error (MMSE) cannot be used for the overloaded system because of the rank deficiency of channel matrix, while the optimal approach, the maximum likelihood (ML) detection has high computational complexity. In this thesis, an iterative interference cancellation (IIC) multiuser detection scheme with matched filter and convolutional codes is considered. The main idea of this combination is a low complexity receiver. Parallel interference cancellation (PIC) is employed to improve the multiuser receiver performance for overloaded systems. A log-likelihood ratio (LLR) converter is proposed to further improve the reliability of the soft value converted from the output of the matched filter. Simulation results show that the bit error rate (BER) performance of this method is close to the optimal approach for a two user system. However, for the four user or more user system, it has an error floor of the BER performance. For this case, a channel selection scheme is proposed to distinguish whether the channel is good or bad by using the mutual information based on the extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) chart. The mutual information can be predicted in a look-up table which greatly reduces the complexity. For those ‘bad’ channels identified by the channel selection, we introduce two adaptive transmission methods to deal with such channels: one uses a lower code rate, and the other is multiple transmissions. The use of an IIC receiver with the interleave-division multiple access (IDMA) to further improve the BER performance without any channel selection is also investigated. It has been shown that this approach can remove the error floor. Finally, the influence of channel accuracy on the IIC is investigated. Pilot-based Wiener filter channel estimation is used to test and verify how much the IIC is influenced by the channel accuracy.
FATIGUE AND PERFORMANCE IN HEAVY TRUCK DRIVERS WORKING DAY SHIFT, NIGHT SHIFT OR ROTATING SHIFTS

Research on shiftwork has shown that fatigue and related performance problems increase at night. In Australia, this has lead to calls to limit night work for long distance heavy vehicle drivers. However the evidence for diminished performance at night among heavy vehicle drivers is equivocal, and the risks posed need to be weighed against different safety risks inherent in daytime driving. This study sought to directly compare the impact of day and night shift rosters on the fatigue and performance of heavy vehicle drivers going about their normal work. Self-reported fatigue increased similarly over the week for all drivers, but more over individual night shifts than individual day shifts. There were also indications of slowing response speed over the week but this effect was not different for night and day drivers. In short, night shifts made drivers feel more tired than day shifts, but did not produce significantly poorer performance, suggesting that night drivers can manage their fatigue. Whether these results would also apply to drivers working the types of irregular shifts common in the long-haul road transport industry requires further investigation.
Decision Support in Commodities Investment

Presents an application of an expert system in the commodities market. The system is designed to facilitate decision making with regard to when to buy and sell. This system has several attractive features which make it very appealing to users without much computer background. Executives of large firms as well as individual investors can use this system to time the market right.
A simplified method for the determination of damage arrest capabilities in stiffened structures

The recent application of Glass Reinforced Aluminium (Glare) in the Airbus A380 has proven to be a suitable candidate to replace metal structures. The reduction in weight and increased performance results in lower emissions and cost reduction. Therefore research has been performed at the Delft University of Technology, dedicated to the residual strength of fibre metal laminates. This has resulted in reliable prediction methods for flat structures. However in practise these structures are reinforced, to be able to support the loads present in aircraft, while minimising mass. The addition of these local reinforcement features has revealed interesting residual strength characteristics. It was observed that these structures may possess the ability to arrest unstable crack growth, when damaged, which is of great interest for the analysis of damage tolerance aircraft structures. Currently no simple prediction method is available, giving insight in the crack growth characteristics and enabling crack growth predictions in the early design phase. Therefore the objective of this thesis is to predict the damage arrest capabilities of stiffened structures in a simplified manner. Based on the literature study it was observed that the current understanding of fibre metal laminate stiffened structures was insufficient for predicting the fracture mechanics of built-up structures. Therefore the available linear elastic fracture mechanics for metal structures is modified to account for plasticity and stiffeners ahead of the crack-tip, by assuming isostrain conditions. As result, the stress intensity reduction factor is successfully implemented, incorporating the presence of a stiffener in combination with the Irwin plasticity correction method. This configuration results in accurate crack growth predictions for residual strength data obtained from literature. The model verification is expanded with experimental test results to validate the crackarrest capabilities of a stiffened structure. Therefore four test samples were tested and analysed, representing the different stages of the residual strength diagram. Based on the test results some difference were obtained in the model, which can be appointed to the negligence of stiffener yielding and stiffener effect on the plastic zone growth. Nevertheless a residual strength has been predicted within 7.5 % of the experimental data. Finally it is concluded that the model is able to predict the crack growth characteristics of a stiffened structure in a simplified manner for both metal and fibre metal laminates.
Design the Parking Guidance Information for the Drivers

Parking guidance and information (PGI) systems are thought to enable a more efficient control and management of the traffic and the use of the available car park in urban areas. Despite the installation of PGI systems in many cities and their operation for a number of years, the levels of usage of PGI remain much lower than expected. To guide investment and operational decisions, this paper examines the existing PGI systems from the drivers’ perspective. The results show that PGI is not efficiently used and often ignored by drivers due to its inaccurate or out-of-date nature. Habitual behavior also played an important role in the choices of a car park. However, there is a desire for more accurate, dynamic and personalized parking information through different means at pre-trip stage and en-route stage. The results of this survey should provide some guidance in the design of future PGI systems.
Integrated control of vehicle chassis systems

This thesis develops a method to integrate several automotive intelligent chassis systems, such as Anti-lock Brake System, Traction Control System, Direct Yaw Control and Active Rear Wheel Steering, using evolutionary approaches. The Integrated Vehicle Control System (IVCS) combines and supervises all controllable systems in the vehicle, optimising the over all performance and minimising the energy consumption. The IVCS is able to improve the driving safety avoiding and preventing critical or unstable situations. Furthermore, if a critical or unstable configuration is reached, the integrated system should be able to recover a stable condition. The control structure proposed in this work has as main characteristics the modularity, extensibility and flexibility, fitting the requirements of a 'plug-and-play' philosophy. The investigation is divided into four steps: Vehicle Modelling, Soft-Computing, Behaviour Based Control, and Integrated Vehicle Control System. Several mathematical vehicle models, which are applied to designing and developing the control systems, are presented. MATLAB, SIMULINK and ADAMS are used as tools to implement and simulate those models. A methodology for learning and optimisation is presented. This methodology is based on Evolutionary Algorithms, integrating the Genetic Leaming Automata, CARLA and Fuzzy Logic System. The Behaviour Based Control is introduced as the main approach to designing the controllers and coordinators. The methodology previously described is used to learn the behaviours and optimise their performance, and the same technique is applied to coordinators. Several comparisons with other controllers are also carried out. From this an Integrated Vehicle Control System is designed, developed and implemented under a virtual environment. A range of manoeuvres is carried out in order to investigate its performance under diverse conditions. The leaming and optimisation method proposed in this thesis shows effective performance being able to learn all the controller and coordinator structures. The proposed approach for IVCS also demonstrates good performance, and is well suited to a 'plug-and-play' philosophy. This research provides a foundation for the implementation of the designed controllers and coordinators in a prototype vehicle.
Toward autonomous harbor surveillance

In this thesis we address the problem of drift-free navigation for underwater vehicles performing harbor surveillance and ship hull inspection. Maintaining accurate localization for the duration of a mission is important for a variety of tasks, such as planning the vehicle trajectory and ensuring coverage of the area to be inspected. Our approach uses only onboard sensors in a simultaneous localization and mapping setting and removes the need for any external infrastructure like acoustic beacons. We extract dense features from a forward-looking imaging sonar and apply pair-wise registration between sonar frames. The registrations are combined with onboard velocity, attitude and acceleration sensors to obtain an improved estimate of the vehicle trajectory. In addition, an architecture for a persistent mapping is proposed. With the intention of handling long term operations and repetitive surveillance tasks. The proposed architecture is flexible and supports different types of vehicles and mapping methods. The design of the system is demonstrated with an implementation of some of the key features of the system. In addition, methods for re-localization are considered. Finally, results from several experiments that demonstrate drift-free navigation in various underwater environments are presented. Thesis Supervisor: John Leonard Title: Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Genotyping of Human Papilloma Virus Causing Skin Wart among Iraqi Patients

The papillomaviruses are a large group of tiny, non-enveloped DNA viruses that in several different anatomical locations can cause squamous epithelial tumor’s (warts and papilloma’s). There is a close association between HPV and cervical uterine cancer . The genome is composed of 7200–8000 base pairs and is divided into three parts, early region (E) comprising of E1, E2, E4–E8 and reflecting 50 percent of the L1 and L2 genome, Genomic DNA from wart tissue samples were extracted by using gSYAN DNA mini kit extraction kit . The Real Time PCR primers for detection and genotyping of DNA Human papillomavirus type 1 and type3 and type6 based on L1 gene that designed in this study using NCBI-Genbank Sequence database and primer 3 plus . The genetic study included analysis of a common DNA to HPV that was found in 20 % of cases and DNA fragment specific to HPV type 1, 3 and 6 based on real time PCR. Type 1 HPV was not approved to present in any sample in the study. Type 3 HPV was identified in a single case. HPV 6 was identified in 8 cases, Therefore, type 6 HPV is the most common genotype, followed by type 3.
A Radio Link Quality Model and Simulation Framework for Improving the Design of Embedded Wireless Systems

Despite the increasing application of embedded wireless systems, developers face numerous challenges during the design phase of the application life cycle. One of the critical challenges is ensuring performance reliability with respect to radio link quality. Specifically, embedded links experience exaggerated link quality variation, which results in undesirable wireless performance characteristics. Unfortunately, the resulting post-deployment behaviors often necessitate network redeployment. Another challenge is recovering from faults that commonly occur in embedded wireless systems, including node failure and state corruption. Self-stabilizing algorithms can provide recovery in the presence of such faults. These algorithms guarantee the eventual satisfaction of a given state legitimacy predicate regardless of the initial state of the network. Their practical behavior is often different from theoretical analyses. Unfortunately, there is little tool support for facilitating the experimental analysis of self-stabilizing systems. We present two contributions to support the design phase of embedded wireless system development. First, we provide two empirical models that predict radio-link quality within specific deployment environments. These models predict link performance as a function of inter-node distance and radio power level. The models are culled from extensive experimentation in open grass field and dense forest environments using all radio power levels and covering up to the maximum distances reachable by the radio. Second, we provide a simulation framework for simulating self-stabilizing algorithms. The framework provides three feature extensions: (i) fault injection to study algorithm behavior under various fault scenarios, (ii) automated detection of non-stabilizing behavior; and (iii) integration of the link quality models described above. Our contributions aim at avoiding problems that could result in the need for network redeployment.
Complex Processing of Saponite Waste from a Diamond-Mining Enterprise

The solution of the sludge utilization problem and yield increase at processing plants have great importance today all over the world. Disasters associated with the tailings dams failures have madeus develop technologies of tailings sludge utilization as a commercial product, reducing the environmental damage on the regions of mineral extraction. This research aimed to provide new data, methods and an analytical approach to solve the saponite sludge accumulation problem on mining enterprises with silicate coagulant to increase the rate of cycle water clarification for the enrichment process and the recycling of sludge to reduce its hazardous effect. Samples were taken in the deposit located in the north of the European part of Russia, where diamond bearing ore contain montmorillonite minerals, mostly saponite, which is considered to be a perspective secondary product. The content of this mineral in the sludge is above 20 wt. %. Saponite is a clay mineral with the general chemical formula (Ca,Na)0.3(Mg, Fe2+)3(Si, Al)4O10(OH)2·4H2O. The mineral has high adsorption, ion exchange, and catalytic and filtration properties; due to the developed diffuse layer, saponite particles are highly stable in an aqueous medium—the resulting suspension is highly stable and has slow sedimentation. During the research, a positive effect on the sedimentation process of clay saponite particles was established, due to the introduction of a coagulant containing 70% tricalcium silicate, at a dosage of 2 g/dm3 coagulant; the degree of purification of water containing the saponite clay suspension is 99%. The condensed sediment after the thermal drying and with the limestone addition can be used again as a coagulant or secondary product with enhanced properties;therefore, the sludge will be processed, and not stored.