Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
WSR: A WiFi Sensor for Collaborative Robotics

In this paper we derive a new capability for robots to measure relative direction, or Angle-of-Arrival (AOA), to other robots operating in non-line-of-sight and unmapped environments with occlusions, without requiring external infrastructure. We do so by capturing all of the paths that a WiFi signal traverses as it travels from a transmitting to a receiving robot, which we term an AOA profile. The key intuition is to "emulate antenna arrays in the air" as the robots move in 3D space, a method akin to Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). The main contributions include development of i) a framework to accommodate arbitrary 3D trajectories, as well as continuous mobility all robots, while computing AOA profiles and ii) an accompanying analysis that provides a lower bound on variance of AOA estimation as a function of robot trajectory geometry based on the Cramer Rao Bound. This is a critical distinction with previous work on SAR that restricts robot mobility to prescribed motion patterns, does not generalize to 3D space, and/or requires transmitting robots to be static during data acquisition periods. Our method results in more accurate AOA profiles and thus better AOA estimation, and formally characterizes this observation as the informativeness of the trajectory; a computable quantity for which we derive a closed form. All theoretical developments are substantiated by extensive simulation and hardware experiments. We also show that our formulation can be used with an off-the-shelf trajectory estimation sensor. Finally, we demonstrate the performance of our system on a multi-robot dynamic rendezvous task.
Improvements and Extensions on Metaphor Detection

Metaphors are ubiquitous in human language. The metaphor detection task (MD) aims at detecting and interpreting metaphors from written language, which is crucial in natural language understanding (NLU) research. In this paper, we introduce a pre-trained Transformer-based model into MD. Our model outperforms the previous state-of-the-art models by large margins in our evaluations, with relative improvements on the F-1 score from 5.33% to 28.39%. Second, we extend MD to a classification task about the metaphoricity of an entire piece of text to make MD applicable in more general NLU scenes. Finally, we clean up the improper or outdated annotations in one of the MD benchmark datasets and re-benchmark it with our Transformer-based model. This approach could be applied to other existing MD datasets as well, since the metaphoricity annotations in these benchmark datasets may be outdated. Future research efforts are also necessary to build an up-to-date and well-annotated dataset consisting of longer and more complex texts.
A Quality Diversity Approach to Automatically Generating Human-Robot Interaction Scenarios in Shared Autonomy

The growth of scale and complexity of interactions between humans and robots highlights the need for new computational methods to automatically evaluate the performance of novel algorithms and applications. Strong evaluation methods should explore the diverse scenarios of interaction between humans and robots. We propose quality diversity (QD) algorithms as a method for simultaneously exploring both environments and human actions to discover diverse failure scenarios. We focus on the shared autonomy domain, where the robot attempts to infer the goal of a human operator. We evaluate our approach by automatically generating scenarios for two published algorithms in this domain: shared autonomy via hindsight optimization and linear policy blending. Some of the generated scenarios confirm previous theoretical findings, while others are surprising and bring about a new understanding of state-of-the-art implementations. Our experiments show that QD outperforms Monte-Carlo simulation and optimization based methods in effectively searching the scenario space, highlighting its promise for automatic evaluation of algorithms in shared autonomy.
Measurement of the ionization response of amorphous selenium with 122 keV γ rays

We performed a measurement of the ionization response of 200 μm-thick amorphous selenium (aSe) layers under drift electric fields of up to 50 V/μm. The aSe target was exposed to ionizing radiation from a 57Co radioactive source and the ionization pulses were recorded with high resolution. Using the spectral line from the photoabsorption of 122 keV γ rays, we measured the charge yield in aSe and the line width as a function of drift electric field. From a detailed microphysics simulation of charge generation and recombination in aSe, we conclude that the strong dependence of recombination on the ionization track density provides the dominant contribution to the energy resolution in aSe. These results provide valuable input to estimate the sensitivity of a proposed next-generation search for the neutrinoless ββ decay of 82Se that aims to employ imaging sensors with an active layer of aSe. We estimate the RMS line width of the integrated ionization signal from neutrinoless ββ decay events (of deposited energy 3.0 MeV) to be 2.0% for a drift field of 50 V/μm. The energy resolution can be improved to 1% by correcting for the charge yield as a function of ionization density along the imaged electron tracks.
The benefits of Dawson heteropoly compound reorganisation in oxidation catalysis

Heteropoly compounds are multifunctional materials of growing importance in catalysis. However, they are unstable materials under oxidation reaction conditions as they tend to transform into oxides. Taking advantage of such instability is a challenge. This work aims at determining the genesis and the evolution of the structural rearrangement that Dawson (NH4)6P2Mo18O62 heteropoly compounds undergo when submitted to the conditions of oxidation reactions. Dawson heteropoly compounds, along their decomposition pathway to a Keggin structure, generate more active species which possess the ability to form quite selectively methyl ethyl ketone from 2-butanol in the presence of O2. The redox properties of the gaseous feed are shown to influence this reorganisation and thus the formation of the truly active species. The evolution of the Dawson structural rearrangement is studied by operando Raman investigation. During the oxidation of propylene, Dawson heteropoly compounds rearranged into a not-so-well-defined Mo trioxide phase which in turn operated more efficiently for the reaction. This state was obtained when the working catalyst was in the course of rearranging between a Keggin structure and that of a Mo trioxide phase. Regarding supported Dawson heteropoly compounds on TiO2, active species for the total oxidation of propylene were formed during the Dawson rearrangement on the TiO2 support. This enhancement in total oxidation is related to the favourable development of the distribution of reduced and oxidised Mo in the supported samples. Dawson heteropoly compounds are thus promising catalysts for promoting a specific oxidation reaction provided that their a priori undesirable rearrangement during the catalytic process be adequately mastered.
ICP-OES and ICP-MS for the Determination of Metals: Application to Oysters

Abstract This mini-review gives a general overview of inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for the determination of metals in oysters. A brief description of the basic principles, instrumentation, and recent developments is provided. A comparison and selected applications of these two analytical techniques for metal determination in oysters is presented. It was noted that the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) standard reference materials (SRM 1556b, Oyster Tissue) were frequently used for accuracy studies in a wide variety of reports.
Dielectric dispersion and hydrogen bonding interactions study of aqueous D-mannitol using time domain reflectometry

The measurement of complex dielectric permittivity of binary mixtures of D-mannitol and water have been carried out in the frequency range of 10 MHz to 30 GHz using time domain reflectometry (TDR) technique. Measurements were done at different temperatures ranging from 5°C to 25°C for different weight fractions of D-mannitol (0 < WM ≤ 0.18) in water. The dielectric relaxation behaviour of these mixtures is explained using Cole–Davidson model. The dielectric parameters such as static dielectric constant and relaxation time for the mixtures have been evaluated. The activation energy decreases with increased D-mannitol content in the mixture. The molecular interaction between D-mannitol and water molecules is discussed using the Kirkwood correlation factor and Thermodynamic parameters.
The Acid-catalyzed Decomposition of a-Diazo -Hydroxy Ketones

The proton acid-catalyzed decomposition of 3-aryl-2-diazo-3-hydroxy-1-phenylpropanone (1) gave aryl and hydrogen migration products. The former was the enol-form (2) of 2-aryl-3-phenyl-1,3-propanedione and the latter was the enol- (3) and keto-form (4) of 1-aryl-3-phenyl-1,3-propanedione. The product ratios, 2/(3+4), were affected by the catalysts and solvents used. More polar solvents favored the formation of aryl migration products (2). On the other hand, the BF3-catalyzed decomposition of 1 gave acetylenic ketones as main products along with 2, 3, and 4. The TsOH-catalyzed decomposition of 2-diazo-3-hydroxy-3-phenyl-1-indanone, (cyclic α-diazo β-hydroxy ketone), gave 2-phenyl-1,3-indandione quantitatively through phenyl migration.
Characterization of solvatochromic probes: simulation of merocyanine 540 absorption spectra in binary solvent mixtures and pure solvent systems

An empirical extension of the continuum model was used to reproduce the absorption spectrum of the optical probe merocyanine 540 in numerous solvents based on 27 probe-specific parameters in conjunction with the dielectric constant and refractive index of the solvent. The calibrated absorption spectrum of this dye allowed the accurate determination of the dielectric constant and refractive index of the bulk solvent. This study incorporates several binary solvent mixtures in addition to several pure solvents of differing functionality, including protic and aprotic solvents. A single, generally applicable, set of probe-specific parameters is presented. The accuracy of the determined solvent properties using this general set of probe parameters suggests that the influence of specific solvent–solute interactions on the absorption spectrum of this dye must be constant if not insignificant in the range of solvents studied, with the notable exception of water. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthesis, crystal structure, and second-order nonlinear optical properties of a new phase-matchable cyanine dye

A new chiral hemicarboxonium salt, (ephem)(BF4), was synthesized by action of α-1-((methylamino)ethyl)benzyl alcohol, (−)-ephedrine, on a carboxonium tetrafluoroborate salt. The compound crystallizes in monoclinic space group P21. a = 11.153(1) A, b = 8.187(1) A, c = 16.104(1) A, β = 91.26(1)°, Z = 2. The molecular origin of the nonlinearity was calculated using the INDO/SCI-SOS approach. The static molecular hyperpolarizability (β0) is equal to 10.7 × 10-30 cm5 esu-1. The compound is phase matchable and exhibits an efficiency around 20 times that of urea at 1.097 μm. The orbital description of the electronic transitions reveals that the carbon skeleton is mainly responsible for the NLO response. The possibility of growing large single crystals (>0.5 mm3) associated with a good transparency (λmax = 420 nm) suggests that pentamethinium salts may be an interesting family of materials for second-order optical nonlinearities.
Determination of arsenic(V) and arsenic(III) in ferric sulfate-sulfuric acid leaching media by ion chromatography

Preseparation de Fe(II) et Fe(III) par echange cationique et dosage de As (V) par chromatographie ionique. As (III) est determine par difference, apres oxydation a l'eau regale. Les limites de detection obtenues avec 2 eluants differents sont 0,022 et 0,050 mg As (V)/l
(1-Naphthyl)phenylamino functionalized three-coordinate organoboron compounds: syntheses, structures, and applications in OLEDs

New three-coordinate organoboron compounds functionalized by a (1-naphthyl)phenylamino group, B(mes)2(dbp-NPB) (1), B(db-NPB)3 (2), and B(dbp-NPB)3 (3), have been synthesized. A variable temperature 1H NMR study showed that the aryl groups around the boron center in these compounds have a rotation barrier ∼70 kJ mol−1. The new boron compounds are amorphous solids with Tg being 110 °C, 171 °C and 173 °C, respectively. The electronic properties of the new boron compounds were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and UV–visible spectroscopy. All three boron compounds are blue emitters in the solid state. In solution the emission spectra of the boron compounds shift toward a longer wavelength with increasing solvent polarity. In CH2Cl2, the emission quantum efficiency of the three compounds was determined to be 0.22, 0.27 and 0.23, respectively. Several series of electroluminescent (EL) devices where compounds 1–3 are used as either an emitter/electron transport material, a hole transport material, or a hole injection material have been fabricated and their performance has been compared to the corresponding devices of BNPB, a previously investigated molecule, NPB, a commonly used hole transport material, and CuPc, a commonly used hole injection material. The EL results indicate that the new boron compounds are not suitable as emitters/electron transport materials, but they are promising as hole transport and hole injection materials in EL devices.
Optimizacija mehanizovanog procesa ubiranja kamilice (Matricaria chamomilla L.)

Intenzivna proizvodnja kamilice (Matricaria chamomilla L.) podrazumeva proizvodnju gde se svi tehnoloski postupci gajenja i prerade mogu obaviti sredstvima mehanizacije poljoprivrede na optimalan nacin i uz racionalan utrosak energije. Tema istraživanja u ovoj doktorskoj disertaciji je mehanizovan postupak ubiranja kamilice. Zahtevu za mehanizovanim postupkom ubiranja kamilice odgovorili su mnogi domaci i svetski proizvoaci poljoprivrednih masina, koji su proizveli veci broj konstrukcija i tipova masina koje se meusobno razlikuju, kako po tehnickim, konstruktivnim karakteristikama, tako i po kvalitetu rada i ostvarenim ucincima. Takva pojava je ovo istraživanje usmerila ka svestranom proucavanju odabrene teme sa ciljem izbora odgovarajuce masine koja ce najbolje odgovarati uslovima rada na parcelama pod kamilicom. U tehnologiji proizvodnje kamilice proces ubiranja cvasti kamilice je tehnicko-tehnoloski najzahtevniji i ima veliki uticaj kako na kvalitet dobijene droge, tako i na dobit ostvaren proizvodnjom. U ovoj disetaciji su ispitivana tri konstrukcijski i koncepcijski razlicita tipa kombajna za ubiranje kamilice. Praceni su tehnicki, tehnoloski, bioloski, meteoroloski i eksploatacioni pokazatelji koji uticu na ocenu efikasnosti rada ispitivanih kombajna. Kao osnovne parametre treba izdvojiti režim rada, kvalitet i gubitke ostvarene tokom ubiranja, energetsku i ekonomsku opravdanost koriscenja pojedinih kombajna. U radu su primenjene tri metode optimizacije najuticajnijih parametara rada kombajna, kako bi se ustanovio optimalan kombajn i režim rada u odreenim agroekoloskim uslovima, prema zadatim kriterijumima ocenjivanja. Tehnoloska proizvodnost (ucinak) kombajna za ubiranje kamilice zavisi iskljucivo od radnog zahvata i brzine kretanja kombajna. Najveci prosecan ucinak postigao je kombajn A od 0,65 ha/h, pa kombajn B sa 0,57 ha/h i kombajn C sa 0,56 ha/h. Najmanju potrosnju goriva po jedinici povrsine su ostvarili kombajni u režimu rada V3, gde je najekonomicniji bio kombajn B sa potrosenih 23,86 l/ha, pa kombajn C sa 33,51 l/ha i kombajn A sa potrosnjom od 45,78 l/ha. Može se konstatovati da visi režim rada (veca brzina kretanja i broj obrtaja berackog ureaja) donosi i vece ukupne gubitke. Najvece prosecne ukupne gubitke ostvaruje kombajn A (39,77%) dok se kod kombajna B i C oni krecu oko 20%. Sva tri ispitivana kombajna, u sva tri režima rada, ostvaruju približan kvalitet ubiranja cvasti kamilice, narocito kada se posmatraju njihove prosecne vrednosti, kao i zbirno I i II kategorije kvaliteta (kombajn A: 68,5- 92,1%; kombajn B: 69,9-90,7%; kombajn C: 62,2-86,1%).
Biaxial Nematic Phase in Mixtures of a Liquid Crystal and a Rodlike Polymer

A simple mean field theory is introduced to describe a biaxial nematic phase in mixtures of a low-molecular-weight liquid crystalline molecule (LC) and a rigid-rodlike polymer (ROD), such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and liquid crystalline polymers. When the two components favor perpendicular orientations, we predict a biaxial nematic phase on the temperature-concentration plane, depending on the anisotropic interaction between ROD and LC.
Hot Coal-Gas Desulfurization with Calcium-Based Sorbents in a Pressurized Moving-Bed Reactor

The performance of a pressurized moving bed on hot coal-gas desulfurization was analyzed for the countercurrent and cocurrent configurations. The behavior of several calcium-based sorbents, two limestones, and a dolomite was determined at temperatures in the range of 1073−1273 K and a pressure of 1 MPa. The limestones were used only under calcining conditions, whereas the dolomite was used under both calcining and noncalcining conditions. The desulfurization level and sorbent conversion, as well as the longitudinal H2S concentration profiles in the transference zone, were determined as a function of the main design and operating variables, including the Ca/S molar ratio, the bed height, the type of flow configuration (countercurrent or cocurrent), the temperature, the H2S concentration, and the particle size. The length of the transference zone, and then the reactor length necessary for full desulfurization, was highly dependent on the particle size and the solids velocity. In both countercurrent and cocu.
Quantitative analysis of bicomponent dye solutions by derivative spectrophotometry

Purpose – Application of ratio spectra derivative spectrophotometery to quantitative analyses of bicomponent dye mixtures.Design/methodology/approach – The binary mixtures of five textile dyes including yellow, scarlet, red, blue, and navy blue colors were analysed by ratio spectra derivative spectrophotometry. The absorption spectra of the binary mixtures, prepared in different ratios, were recorded between 400 and 700 nm. The obtained spectra were divided by a standard spectrum of each component of the binary mixtures, and then the derivative spectra were calculated. The amounts of dyes were determined by the measurements in the appropriate wavelengths in the range of 400‐700 nm.Findings – The analysis of obtained results via the proposed derivative and normal methods show higher accuracy of the developed method in determination of dye contents. The proposed derivative technique was found to be easily applicable for the quantitative analysis of dyes with both overlapping and non‐overlapping spectra in t.
The effects of pig manure type and application timing and frequency on nitrate leaching from a seven‐course arable rotation on a retentive alluvial soil

Management rules for integrating manure applications into arable crop rotations have generally been developed from short‐term studies. The aim of this experiment was to test whether they would apply to frequent applications across an entire crop rotation. The hypothesis was that by avoiding autumn manure applications and adjusting fertilizer inputs to account for manure nitrogen (N) inputs, frequent manure applications could be made to a rotation without increasing N leaching compared with a control that received inorganic fertilizer according to the recommended rates. Four separate manure management strategies with varying manure types (pig slurry vs. pig farmyard manure), timing (autumn/winter vs. spring) and frequency (4–7 applications in 7 yrs) were superimposed on the rotation and compared with a treatment that received no manure. The rotation comprised cereals, potatoes, sugar beet and fallow and was undertaken on a retentive marine silt soil in Eastern England. The results demonstrated that by reducing fertilizer N inputs (by 14–54%, depending on manure type and application frequency) to account for manure N and by avoiding autumn applications of slurry, applications could be made as regularly as 6 yrs in seven without increasing N leaching, compared with an inorganic fertilizer control. Yields were at least the same as the inorganic fertilizer control from all manure treatments. This result contrasts with previous work which demonstrated that less frequent manure applications were necessary on a sandy soil. Soil type is therefore an important consideration when developing guidelines. The message is generally positive: fertilizer savings, similar or better yields and no extra leaching can be achieved over a rotation by careful manure management.
Characterization of Manganese-Containing Particles Collected from the Exhaust Emissions of Automobiles Running with MMT Additive

Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) is an organometallic compound used as an octane improver in unleaded gasoline. The objective of this study was to determine the physical and the chemical characteristics of the manganese (Mn) compounds emitted from vehicles using MMT. Particles emitted from the tailpipe were trapped and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) and by analytical transmission electron microscopy (ATEM). Results support the conclusion that Mn is emitted from the tailpipe primarily as a mixture of Mn-phosphate and Mn-sulfate with a size ranging between 0.2 and 10 μm. ATEM characterization shows that the isolated particles consist of manganese−oxygen−phosphorus−sulfur (Mn−O−P−S) (in order of a descending peak intensity), indicating that Mn-phosphate is the main constituent of the residual particles. Moreover, all the Mn-containing particles investigated were amorphous. Further toxicological studies with a mixture of Mn-.
Ultraviolet photolysis of the ClO dimer

Photodissociation of the ClO dimer (ClOOCl) is studied in the ultraviolet regime (250 and 308 nm) under collision-free conditions. The primary photolysis products are probed by photoionization mass spectrometry. At both photolysis wavelengths, exclusively the formation of 2Cl + O2 is observed, corresponding to a primary quantum yield γCl near unity. Considering the error limit of the experimental results one obtains γCl ≥ 0.98 at 250 nm and γCl ≥ 0.90 at 308 nm, respectively. At both photolysis wavelengths the pathway yielding ClO is not observed, corresponding to γClO ≤ 0.02 at 250 nm and γClO ≤ 0.10 at 308 nm. Sensitivity studies of these results with respect to ozone depletion in the stratosphere regarding photochemically induced ozone loss are discussed using model simulations. These simulations suggest that a change of γCl from 1.0 to 0.9 leads to a reduction of polar ozone loss of ∼5%.