Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Second‐order matrix pencil‐based phasor measurement algorithm for P‐class PMUs

Phasor measurement units (PMUs) have made real-time monitoring and control of power systems possible, thanks to their time synchronisation and fast reporting rate. It is critical that the PMUs can track the dynamics of complex power systems accurately. In this study, a measurement bandwidth extraction method based on signal reconstruction is proposed to filter the out-of-band signals without extra response time. The synthetic phasor is modelled by the second-order Taylor's series expansion. A matrix pencil-based fast phasor measurement algorithm is proposed for P-class PMUs. Simulation and experiment results show that the accuracy and the response time of the proposed algorithm meet the requirements of the IEEE standard. Field data test shows that out-of-band signals have been reduced and the dynamic change of power system can be accurately reflected by phasor estimations. All results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is suitable for P-class PMUs in complex power systems.
Fusion of External and Internal Prior Information for the Removal of Gaussian Noise in Images

In this paper, a new method for the removal of Gaussian noise based on two types of prior information is described. The first type of prior information is internal, based on the similarities between the pixels in the noisy image, and the other is external, based on the index or pixel location in the image. The proposed method focuses on leveraging these two types of prior information to obtain tangible results. To this end, very similar patches are collected from the noisy image. This is done by sorting the image pixels in ascending order and then placing them in consecutive rows in a new two-dimensional image. Henceforth, a principal component analysis is applied on the patch matrix to help remove the small noisy components. Since the restored pixels are similar or close in values to those in the clean image, it is preferable to arrange them using indices similar to those of the clean pixels. Simulation experiments show that outstanding results are achieved, compared to other known methods, either in terms of image visual quality or peak signal to noise ratio. Specifically, once the proper indices are used, the proposed method achieves PSNR value better than the other well-known methods by >1.5 dB in all the simulation experiments.
Manufacturing, Characterisation and Mechanical Analysis of PAN Membranes

To investigate the effect of Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) addition and consequently porosity, two different sets of membranes are manufactured, since PVP is a widely used poring agent which has an impact on the mechanical properties of the membrane material. The first set (PAN 1) includes PAN and the necessary solvent while the second set (PAN 2) is made of PAN and PVP. These membranes are put through several characterisation processes including tensile testing. The obtained data are used to model the static behaviour of the membranes with different geometries, but similar loading and boundary conditions that represent their operating conditions. This modelling process is undertaken by using finite element method. The main idea is to investigate how geometry affects the load-carrying capacity of the membranes. Alongside membrane modelling, their materials are modelled with representative elements with hexagonal and rectangular pore arrays (RE) to understand the impact of porosity on the mechanical properties. Exploring the results, the best geometry is found as the elliptic membrane with the aspect ratio 4 and the better RE as the hexagonal array which can predict the elastic properties with an approximate error of 12%.
Annealing-Temperature Dependent Carrier-Transportation in ZnO/PbS Quantum Dot Solar Cells Fabricated Using Liquid-Phase Ligand Exchange Methods

We constructed ZnO/PbS quantum dot (QD) heterojunction solar cells using liquid-phase ligand exchange methods. Colloidal QD solutions deposited on ZnO-dense layers were treated at different temperatures to systematically study how thermal annealing temperature affected carrier transport properties. The surface of the layers became dense and smooth as the temperature approached approximately 80 °C. The morphology of layers became rough for higher temperatures, causing large grain-forming PbS QD aggregation. The number of defect states in the layers indicated a valley-shaped profile with a minimum of 80 °C. This temperature dependence was closely related to the amount of residual n-butylamine complexes in the PbS QD layers and the active layer morphology. The resulting carrier diffusion length obtained on the active layers treated at 80 °C reached approximately 430 nm. The solar cells with a 430-nm-thick active layer produced a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 11.3%. An even higher PCE is expected in solar cells fabricated under optimal annealing conditions.
15N tracer-based analysis of fertiliser nitrogen accumulation, utilisation and distribution in processing tomato at different growth stages

ABSTRACT The unnecessary application of nitrogen could negatively impact both the yield and quality of crops, and could also lead to nitrate leaching and soil pollution. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the optimized nitrogen application on 15N accumulation, utilization and distribution of processing tomato in China. Through field experiments with 15N and consisted two treatments: optimized nitrogen application (NY) and no nitrogen application (N0). The results showed that the absorption efficiency of applied fertilizer nitrogen was 46%. In processing tomato plants, 128.9 kg ha−1 of nitrogen came from applied fertilizer, while the remainder of the nitrogen (177.6 kg ha−1) came from the soil. The processing tomato fully absorbed the soil nitrogen, which reduced the nitrogen loss rate and resulted in higher production of dry matter. In the harvest stage. The residual percentage in soil of applied fertilizer nitrogen was 34%, which was mainly distributed in the 0-40 cm soil layer. This reduced the leaching of nitrogen and was conducive to the reuse of crops in the next year. This study provides a reference for the development of precise nitrogen management techniques using drip irrigation methods in arid areas.
BOXREC

Fashionable outfits are generally created by expert fashionistas, who use their creativity and in-depth understanding of fashion to make attractive outfits. Over the past few years, automation of outfit composition has gained much attention from the research community. Most of the existing outfit recommendation systems focus on pairwise item compatibility prediction (using visual and text features) to score an outfit combination having several items, followed by recommendation of top-n outfits or a capsule wardrobe having a collection of outfits based on user’s fashion taste. However, none of these consider a user’s preference of price range for individual clothing types or an overall shopping budget for a set of items. In this article, we propose a box recommendation framework—BOXREC—which at first collects user preferences across different item types (namely, top-wear, bottom-wear, and foot-wear) including price range of each type and a maximum shopping budget for a particular shopping session. It then generates a set of preferred outfits by retrieving all types of preferred items from the database (according to user specified preferences including price ranges), creates all possible combinations of three preferred items (belonging to distinct item types), and verifies each combination using an outfit scoring framework—BOXREC-OSF. Finally, it provides a box full of fashion items, such that different combinations of the items maximize the number of outfits suitable for an occasion while satisfying maximum shopping budget. We create an extensively annotated dataset of male fashion items across various types and categories (each having associated price) and a manually annotated positive and negative formal as well as casual outfit dataset. We consider a set of recently published pairwise compatibility prediction methods as competitors of BOXREC-OSF. Empirical results show superior performance of BOXREC-OSF over the baseline methods. We found encouraging results by performing both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the recommendations produced by BOXREC. Finally, based on user feedback corresponding to the recommendations given by BOXREC, we show that disliked or unpopular items can be a part of attractive outfits.
The Challenge of Oral History to Environmental History

Oral history has much to offer environmental history, yet the possibilities and promises of oral history remain underutilised in environmental history and environmental studies more broadly. Through a reflection on work in environmental history and associated disciplines, this paper presents a case for the strength and versatility of oral history as a key source for environmental history, while reflecting on questions of its reliability and scope. We identify three major insights provided by environmental oral history: into environmental knowledge, practices and power. We argue that, rather than being a weakness, the (inter)subjective and experiential dimensions of oral accounts provide a rich source for situating and interrogating environmental practices, meanings, and power relations. Oral history, moreover, provides a counterweight to a reliance on colonial archives and top-down environmental accounts, and can facilitate a renewal - and deepening - of the radical roots of environmental history. Furthermore, as a research practice, oral history is a promising means of expanding the participatory and grassroots engagement of environmental history. By decentring environmental expertise and eroding the boundaries (both fictive and real) of environmental knowledge production, oral environmental histories can provide key interventions in pursuit of a more just, sustainable world.
Personality Sensing for Theory Development and Assessment in the Digital Age

People around the world own digital media devices that mediate and are in close proximity to their daily behaviours and situational contexts. These devices can be harnessed as sensing technologies to collect information from sensor and metadata logs that provide fine–grained records of everyday personality expression. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework and empirical illustration for personality sensing research, which leverages sensing technologies for personality theory development and assessment. To further empirical knowledge about the degree to which personality–relevant information is revealed via such data, we outline an agenda for three research domains that focus on the description, explanation, and prediction of personality. To illustrate the value of the personality sensing research agenda, we present findings from a large smartphone–based sensing study (N = 633) characterizing individual differences in sensed behavioural patterns (physical activity, social behaviour, and smartphone use) and mapping sensed behaviours to the Big Five dimensions. For example, the findings show associations between behavioural tendencies and personality traits and daily behaviours and personality states. We conclude with a discussion of best practices and provide our outlook on how personality sensing will transform our understanding of personality and the way we conduct assessment in the years to come. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology
Travel distance and land use: a generalized Box–Cox model with conditional spatial lag dependence

ABSTRACT Disentangling individual contributions to travel distance continues to be an active field of research, with advances in econometrics being germane. In this study, we focus on several econometric techniques, some of which have been applied in isolation in past studies, but the combination of which has yet to be applied to the problem. We apply a series of statistical tests using the method of artificial regression to test the joint effects of functional form and spatial autocorrelation on model fit. An empirical application is made to the Greater Toronto Area using a large-scale travel survey. Several results found in past studies are refuted through the use of advanced econometric methods, including the previous finding of a positive correlation between travel distance and density in the study region. Model results are validated using bootstrapped sampling and local indicators of spatial association.
ROOST SITE CHARACTERISTICS AND FOOD HABIT OF SPOTTED OWLET, Athene brama Temminck – AN INSECTIVOROUS NOCTURNAL PREDATOR

The present investigations on “Roost site characteristics and food habits of Spotted Owlet Athene brama Temminck” were carried out at Anand Agricultural University and its surrounding areas in Gujarat State from January to May, 2008. A total 42 roosting sites of Spotted Owlet were studied during study period. Out of seventeen species of trees available, only nine tree species were used by the owlet for roosting. The data revealed that nearly half (54.76%) of roosts were located exclusively in Peltophorum tree. Both Rain tree and Neem occupied 11.90% each while the other tree species with substantial number of roosts were Pipal (7.14%) and Khijado (4.76%). The Selectivity index of tree species like Umber (0.54) and Pipal (0.53) which neared + 1 shows that these tree species were utilized in much greater proportion than they were available. The mean roost tree height was 12.90 ± 1.93 m and it ranged from 8.35 to 16.1 m whereas the mean roost height of the perching site was found to be 6.95 ± 1.57 which
Effects of nectar feeding on cannibalism in striped lynx spiderlings Oxyopes salticus (Araneae: Oxyopidae)

Abstract The timing and nutritional value of a first meal is important for spiderlings, but little is known about what spiderlings specifically consume. For wandering spiders, nectar feeding is a common occurrence thought to be directly beneficial in providing nutrients and serving to fuel energy costly for foraging. Cannibalism is also prevalent among many spiders. We suspect in spiderlings of the cursorial species, Oxyopes salticus Hentz, 1845, nectar feeding could decrease cannibalism by causing satiation, or increase cannibalism by enhancing energy levels and rates of interaction. We conducted laboratory experiments to test the longevity of newly hatched O. salticus in the presence of different nutrient resources and the effect these resources had on cannibalism rates. Spiderlings were housed solitarily or in pairs and given access to different nutrient resources that reflect those available in the wild, including nectar and insect prey items (fructose, protein, and water). In a 14-day period, we recorded the number of days each spiderling was alive to determine survivorship. By the end of the experiment, 60% of spiderlings housed with fructose were still alive and 10% survived when housed with protein or water. Based on survivorship models, the predicted mean age at death differed between treatments (15.9 days for fructose, 11.2 days for protein, and 9.5 days for water). Spiderlings housed in pairs declined more rapidly in survivorship compared to solitary spiderlings, suggesting cannibalism occurred across all treatments. Fructose significantly increased longevity of spiderlings regardless of their housing and reduced cannibalism.
Temporal influence on the functional traits of testate amoebae in a floodplain lake

EnglishComprehending functional traits is increasingly recognized as an important element in the investigation of community assembly. We hypothesized that the homogenization effect of floods will lead to trait convergence in flooding periods, while environmental isolation will lead to trait divergence in drought periods. Sampling was carried out during two hydrological periods between 2002 and 2011 in a floodplain lake. The traits considered were taxonomical grouping, origin of the shell material, and presence of gas vacuoles. A functional dispersion index was calculated to detect trait convergence or divergence related to the hydrological periods over time. A redundancy analysis was carried out to investigate how the functional traits of the testate amoebae were linked to environmental variables during the different hydrological periods. We recorded seventy-nine taxa belonging to eight families. The functional index of testate amoebae indicated a predominant pattern of trait convergence in flooding and trait divergence in drought. Our results indicated that hydrological periods influence the functional traits of testate amoebae (indicating those typical of drought and flooding periods), which are strongly influenced by environmental variables related to food resources, especially chlorophyll a. portuguesA compreensao sobre a distribuicao dos tracos funcionais das especies tem sido considerada como um elemento importante na investigacao da estrutura das comunidades. Avaliou-se a hipotese de que o efeito da homogeneizacao das inundacoes promovera a convergencia de tracos funcionais no periodo de cheia enquanto que o isolamento ambiental promovera a divergencia de tracos funcionais no periodo de seca. As coletas foram realizadas em dois periodos hidrologicos, entre 2002 e 2011, em uma lagoa de uma planicie de inundacao. Os tracos funcionais utilizados foram: classificacao taxonomica, constituicao da carapaca e presenca ou ausencia de vacuolo gasoso. Um indice de dispersao funcional foi calculado para indicar a convergencia ou divergencia de tracos funcionais relacionadas com os periodos hidrologicos, ao longo do tempo. A analise de redundância foi realizada para investigar como os tracos funcionais estavam sendo relacionados com as variaveis ambientais, durante os periodos hidrologicos. Foram registrados 79 taxons pertencentes a oito familias. O indice funcional indicou a predominância de convergencia de tracos funcionais na cheia e divergencia de tracos funcionais na seca. Os resultados indicaram que os periodos hidrologicos influenciaram os tracos funcionais das amebas testaceas, que sao fortemente influenciadas pelas variaveis ambientais relacionadas com os recursos alimentares, especialmente a clorofila-a.
Leisure activities as a main threat for the conservation of waterbirds in an estuary in northern Iberia

Human disturbances can have a severe impact on avian conservation, decreasing diversity and carrying capacity of ecosystems. Coastal wetlands are hotspots for the conservation of biodiversity but they commonly suffer the impact of human activity because they are usually priority areas for socio–economic development. The aim of this study was to determine the role of several factors on the potential and real disturbances of human origin on waterbirds over an annual cycle, and to evaluate their impact on the waterbird community. The study was carried out at the Urdaibai estuary (Spain). Although Urdaibai is a main coastal refuge for aquatic birds in Northern Spain (a Ramsar site, Natura 2000 site, Reserve of Biosphere), it faces high levels of human–induced disturbances. We found disturbances varied across the day, week and year, with peak disturbance coinciding with hours, days and months with highest activity, mostly associated with leisure options. The impact on waterbirds varied between species and the response to such impacts was also species–specific. Disturbances were highest near the river mouth and decreased towards the upper parts of the estuary. Efforts to increase protection of waterbirds should consider reducing the disturbance in areas with the highest impact in order to increase the functional carrying capacity of the estuary for waterbirds and to create quiet feeding and resting areas, maybe by establishing reserves with restricted access.
Visual Continuous Recognition Reveals Widespread Cortical Contributions to Scene Memory

Humans have a remarkably high capacity and long duration memory for complex scenes. Previous research documents the neural substrates that allow for efficient categorization of scenes from other complex stimuli like objects and faces, but the spatiotemporal neural dynamics underlying scene memory are less well understood. In the present study, we used high density EEG during a visual continuous recognition task in which new, old, and scrambled scenes consisting of color outdoor photographs were presented at an average rate 0.26 Hz. Old scenes were single repeated presentations occurring within either a short-term (≤ 20 seconds) or longer-term intervals of between 30 sec and 3 minutes or 4 and 10 minutes. Overall recognition was far above chance, with better performance at short- than longer-term intervals. A group ANOVA found parietal and frontal ERPs discriminated the three scene types as early as 59 ms after stimulus onset. Parietal ERPs were greater for old compared to new scenes by 189 ms, while fronto-temporal ERPs were greater for new compared to old scenes by 194 ms. For old scenes presented within longer-term intervals, parieto-temporal and centro-frontal ERPs were greater by 228 and 355 ms respectively compared to old scenes presented within a short-term interval. Supervised machine learning exhibited above-chance decoding of scene type by 275 ms. Single-subject BOLD-fMRI showed greater activity for old scenes across frontal, parietal, and temporal cortex. These converging findings show that a widespread network including parietal, frontal, and temporal regions supports short- and long-term scene memory. Significance Statement The ability to recognize a scene as novel or familiar is critical for basic cognition. Scene recognition plays an important role in episodic memory because it helps us quickly establish place, a first step in recalling where previous events occurred. Short-term recognition supports our ability to detect changes in the immediate environment, an ability critical to survival. Scene recognition after a longer-term interval is often the essential cue for retrieving autobiographical memories. Previous behavioral studies demonstrate high capacity and long duration scene memory. Neural studies have identified the brain regions that support scene-specific processing. The present study extends this research by filling a gap in understanding how distributed spatiotemporal patterns of neural activity support short- and long-term scene memory.
The influence of cultural exchange on international trade: an empirical test of Confucius Institutes based on China and the ‘Belt and Road’ areas

Abstract With the implementation of the Belt and Road initiative, the development of trade governance between China and countries along the line has expanded. Firstly, this paper analyzes the impact of cultural exchanges through Confucius Institutes on regional trade cooperation from three dimensions: improving cultural identity, reducing trade costs and sharing information. Secondly, we utilise data trade data from the 64 countries along the line from 2004 to 2015 to examine the effects of Confucius Institutes in regional trade cooperation with China. Overall, we found that Confucius Institutes have significantly promoted the trade growth of China and those countries. Compared to exports, Confucius Institutes promote greater growth imports to the Belt and Road countries from China. Compared to countries in the Road, Confucius Institutes better promoted trade growth between China and countries in the Belt. This empirical conclusion stands under various robustness tests. Forth, after the 12th five-year-plan, the promoting effects of the Confucius Institute has been strengthening. Fifth, the smaller the cultural distance, the stronger the promoting effects of the Confucius Institute on the trade in BRI countries. However, the effect of language similarity is not significant. This study indicates that the Chinese government should pay more attention to the economic effects of cultural factors, such as the Confucius Institute, in policy design.