Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Photoelectroanalytical Sensor Based on TiO2 Nanoparticles/Copper Tetrasulfonated Phthalocyanine for Detection of Dopamine Exploiting Light Emitting Diode Irradiation

In this manuscript, a novel photoelectroanalytical sensor for detection of dopamine based on anatase TiO2 nanoparticles sensitized with copper tetrasulfonated phthalocyanine (CuTsPc/TiO2) was developed. The CuTsPc/TiO2 photoelectroanalytical sensor shows high anodic photocurrent under visible light emitting diode irradiation in comparison to pure anatase TiO2 nanoparticles. The CuTsPc/TiO2 composite shows a photocurrent about 2.5-fold higher than those of pure TiO2 nanoparticles or CuTsPc modified electrode. The CuTsPc/TiO2 composite shows a low charge transfer resistance in comparison to its individual components as well as the impedance circle radius decreases significantly under UV light illumination. Under optimized conditions, the photoelectroanalytical sensor shows a linear response range from 4 up to 810 µmol L−1 with a sensitivity of 3.0 nA L µmol−1 and limit of detection of 0.5 µmol L−1 for the detection of dopamine. The photoelectrochemical sensor shows high photocurrent to dopamine in comparison to foreign species such as ascorbic acid, uric acid, glucose, K+, Na+, and Cl−.
Improving Observations of Precipitation Type at the Surface: A 5-year Verification of a Radar-derived Product from the United Kingdom Met Office.

This study aims to verify the skill of a radar-based surface precipitation type (SPT) product with observations on the ground. Social and economic impacts can occur from SPT because it is not well forecast or observed. Observations from the United Kingdom Meteorological Office’s weather radar network are combined with post-processed numerical weather prediction (NWP) freezing level heights in a Boolean logic algorithm to create a 1 km resolution cartesian-gridded map of SPT. Here 5 years of discrete non-probabilistic outputs of rain, mixed phase, and snow are compared against surface observations made by trained observers, automatic weather stations, and laser disdrometers. The novel skill verification method developed as part of this study employs several tolerances of space and time from the SPT product, indicating the precision of the product for a desired accuracy. In general the results indicate that the tolerance verification method works well and produces reasonable statistical score ranges grounded in physical constraints. Using this method, we find that the mixed precipitation class is the least well diagnosed which is due to a negative bias in the input temperature height field, resulting in rain events frequently being classified as mixed. Snowis capturedwell by the product which is entirely reliant upon a post-processed NWP temperature field, although a single period of anomalously cold temperatures positively skewed snow scores with low-skill events. Furthermore, we conclude that more verification consistency is needed amongst studies to help identify successful approaches and thus improve SPT forecasts.
Influence of Tsunami Aspect Ratio on Near and Far-Field Tsunami Amplitude

This study presents a numerical investigation of the source aspect ratio (AR) influence on tsunami decay characteristics with an emphasis in near and far-field differences for two initial wave shapes Pure Positive Wave and N-wave. It is shown that, when initial total energy for both tsunami types is kept the same, short-rupture tsunami with more concentrated energy are likely to be more destructive in the near-field, whereas long rupture tsunami are more dangerous in the far-field. The more elongated the source is, the stronger the directivity and the slower the amplitude decays in the intermediate- and far-fields. We present evidence of this behavior by comparing amplitude decay rates from idealized sources and showing their correlation with that observed in recent historical events of similar AR.
CHANGES IN DEMAND FOR CRUDE OIL AND ITS CORRELATION WITH CRUDE OIL AND STOCK MARKET RETURNS VOLATILITIES: EVIDENCE FROM THREE ASIAN OIL IMPORTING COUNTRIES

While different streams of literature exist investigating the relationship and the conditional correlation between oil import prices, oil returns volatility and stock market returns volatility. The period of the study runs from July 1997 until July 2017 with a monthly data. The objectives of the present paper are the following to investigate the order of the mean equation, the order (p,q) of the conditional variance and the order (r,s) of the Diag-BEKK model. Data from the Indian and Indonesian stock market returns series respectively shows the existence of appropriate ARMA(2,2)-EGARCH(2,2) and ARMA(2,2)-IGARCH(2,2) models. The appropriates models of Diag-BEKK(p,q) for China, India and Indonesia are Diag-BEKK(1,2), DiagBEKK(0,2) and Diag-BEKK(0,2) respectively. In the three Asian Countries, the three variables are correlated. Also, equations show a statistically significant covariation in oil import price, which depends more on its lags than on past errors. Consequently, oil demand are influenced by past information which is common to the crude oil market and the stock market and to its volatilities. They suggest that the comovements of the three series display an extremely volatile trend for the study period.
Hydrodynamics of a Flexible Flipper for an Underwater Vehicle-Manipulator System

Motivated by the requirement for developing a lightweight and nimble underwater vehicle-manipulator system (UVMS), this article presents a novel design of the overall framework and the functional modules for a flippers-driven UVMS (F-UVMS), which is equipped with six biomimetic flipper propulsors to produce thrust. With taking into account the material properties and flexible deformation, the dynamic model of the flexible flipper is derived. The fluid-solid coupling analysis reveals the wake vorticity characteristics and the mechanism of the flexible flipper. Besides, by introducing the dimensionless swimming number ${{\text{S}}_{\text{w}}}$, the force-parameter relationship of the flexible flipper is revealed. By comparing the hydrodynamic characteristics of the flexible flipper and rigid flipper, it can be concluded that the flexible flipper has higher propulsion efficiency. The motion patterns of the F-UVMS are designed by proposed coordinated control strategy. Moreover, through computational fluid dynamics method, the hydrodynamic effects of the biomimetic flipper propulsors during forward motion are analyzed. Finally, the force measurement experiments and the thrust efficiency experiments validate the practicability of the proposed biomimetic flipper propulsor. The motion feasibility of the F-UVMS is verified bythe motion experiments.
Cenozoic Dynamic Topography of Madagascar

It has been proposed that Oligo‐Miocene regional uplift of Madagascar was generated and is maintained by mantle dynamical processes. Expressions of regional uplift include flat‐lying Upper Cretaceous‐Paleogene marine limestones that crop out at elevations of hundreds of meters along the western seaboard and emergent Quaternary coral‐rich terraces that rim the coastline. Here, we explore the history of subcrustal topographic support through a combined analysis of four sets of observational constraints. First, we exploit published receiver function estimates of crustal thickness and spectral admittance between gravity and topography. An admittance value of ∼+40 ± 10 mGal km−1 at wavelengths >500 km implies that ∼1 km of topography is supported by subcrustal processes. Secondly, new apatite fission‐track and helium measurements from 18 basement samples are inverted, constraining temperature and denudation histories. Results suggest that 0.5–1.6 km of regional uplift occurred after ∼30 Ma. Thirdly, we calculate a history of regional uplift by minimizing the misfit between observed and calculated longitudinal river profiles. Results suggest that topography was generated during Neogene times. Finally, inverse modeling of rare earth element concentrations in Neogene mafic rocks indicates that melting of the asthenospheric source occurred at depths of ≤65 km with potential temperatures of 1300–1370 °C. Melting occurred at higher temperatures beneath Réunion Island and northern Madagascar and at lower temperatures beneath the Comores and southern Madagascar. These inferences are consistent with shear wave velocities obtained from tomographic models. We conclude that Madagascar is underlain by thinned lithospheric mantle and that a thermal anomaly lies within an asthenospheric layer beneath northern Madagascar.
MCDM Approach to Improve the Quality of Broadcasting Technique in Wireless Ad-hoc Networks

Contemporary research work in the field of Wireless Ad-hoc Networks (WANETs) are focused on most important issue of performance, minimize the congestion in the network. A number of research proposals have come up with innovative query transmission approaches in order to scale down congestion, route latency and energy consumption to the feasible extent. It has been shown experimentally that these approaches have mainly focused on checking propagation of route query using query broadcast repealing technique which unfortunately paves way to additional routing overhead. This leads to increased energy-consumption which offsets the benefits. This paper introduces a self-aware query-broadcast approach which is dynamic in nature and obtains desirable path in discovery phase without counterbalancing the advantages reaped from confining the request zones. The proposed approach relies on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which utilizes the routing metrics in estimating the weighing factors for combined weight metrics. For evaluation of the proposed technique, critical and analytical assessment is done in terms of query-diffusion, packet-delivery ratio and route-latency. The results reveal the proposed approach is ideal, optimal and highly practical for application in WANETs.
Real time and label-free detection of C-reactive protein in serum by long period grating in double cladding fiber

Here, we present a novel label-free biosensor based on fiber optic technology which was tested for the detection of a serum inflammatory marker, the C-reactive protein (CRP). The biosensor is based on a long period grating (LPG) inscribed in a double cladding fiber (DCF) having a W-type refractive index profile. Such DCF fiber permits to tune the sensor working point to the so-called mode transition region through etching of the fiber outer cladding. Therefore, a significant enhancement of the refractive index sensitivity, as well as visibility of the grating spectral features were attained since the mode transition was induced in all-silica fiber structure. Subsequently, the so-prepared LPG was coated with a nano-scale layer of graphene oxide, providing carboxylic functional groups for the covalent immobilization of the biological recognition element for the CRP. As a result, a remarkable limit of detection of 320 pg/mL and a large working range of clinical relevance (0.002-100 μg/mL) were achieved during the real time detection of CRP in human serum.
Performance analysis of machine learning algorithms on automated sleep staging feature sets

With the speeding up of social activities, rapid changes in lifestyles, and an increase in the pressure in professional fields, people are suffering from several types of sleep ‐ related disorders. It is a very tedious task for clinicians to monitor the entire sleep durations of the subjects and analyse the sleep staging in traditional and manual laboratory environmental methods. For the purpose of accurate diagnosis of different sleep disorders, we have considered the automated analysis of sleep epochs, which were collected from the subjects during sleep time. The complete process of an automated approach of sleep stages’ classification is majorly executed through four steps: pre ‐ processing the raw signals, feature extraction, feature selection, and classification. In this study, we have extracted 12 statistical properties from input signals. The proposed models are tested in three different combinations of features sets. In the first experiment, the feature set contained all the 12 features. The second and third experiments were conducted with the nine and five best features. The patient records come from the ISRUC ‐ Sleep database. The highest classification accuracy was achieved for sleep staging through combinations with the five feature set. From the categories of the subjects,
Development of tandem time-of-flight instrumentation for the examination of prompt photodissociation of peptides using 193-nm radiation

Development of Tandem Time-of-Flight Instrumentation for the Examination of Prompt Photodissociation of Peptides Using 193-nm Radiation. (December 2005) Joseph William Morgan, B.S., Truman State University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. David H. Russell The design and incorporation of a decelerating/accelerating cell into a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer is described for the examination of promptly-formed photodissociation products of peptide ions. The analytical utility of prompt 193-nm photodissociation was investigated for model peptides that resemble tryptic digest products, as well as for two sets of homologous peptides. The first of these sets include bradykinin, several bradykinin fragments, and two bradykinin mutants with substituted amino acids. Fragment ion spectra of [M + H], [M + Na], and [M + Cu] were collected for each of these peptides. The second set of homologous peptides has the sequence XVGVAZG, where variable amino acid X was either arginine, histidine, or lysine, and amino acid Z was either proline, serine, or glycine. Photofragment ion spectra obtained using the new mass spectrometer are compared to results of high energy collision induced dissociation (CID) acquired on a high performance commercial instrument. The advantages and disadvantages of prompt photodissociation relative to CID are discussed, as well as the advantages of photodissociation using the modified instrument geometry versus that of the post-source decay focusing method.
Improved decadal predictions of East Asian summer monsoon with a weakly coupled data assimilation scheme

The East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) has undergone significant decadal variations since the late 1970s, which greatly affects regional economic and societal activities. However, most available EASM predictions are limited to seasonal to interannual scales, with indistinctive improvements. This study significantly improves decadal prediction skills of the 10‐year‐averaged EASM index (EASMI) and related decadal variations of the East China summer precipitation anomalies (ECSPAs) in the 10‐member decadal prediction experiments started once a year from 1960 to 2005 using a coupled climate model. These improvements are mainly attributed to the use of more realistic and well‐balanced initial conditions (ICs) from a weakly coupled data assimilation system that incorporates the monthly mean atmospheric reanalysis data into the model using the dimension‐reduced projection four‐dimensional variational data assimilation approach, a kind of four‐dimensional ensemble‐variational hybrid method. The atmospheric initialization ameliorates the ICs of Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) through the air‐sea coupling, and thus leads to better PDO hindcasts and forecasts (under the representative concentration pathway 4.5). The improved PDO hindcasts (forecasts) result in more accurate hindcasts (forecasts) of land‐sea thermal contrast, and thus have significant impacts on the EASMI. The improved decadal predictions of the EASMI then contribute to the ameliorated prediction on decadal variations of the spatial distribution of ECSPAs. This study highlights the importance of ICs for a coupled model in reasonably presenting decadal variabilities of the EASMI.
Evaluating Students’ Reaction to Lectures Using Facial Expression Recognition

Interaction between lecturers and students plays a critical role in defining one's view of a lecture. However, with an increasing number of students enrolled in universities every year and limited classroom space available, classrooms are often overcrowded. As a result, it is fairly difficult for lecturers to immediately observe the learning feedback from all students on the lecture being delivered. In this paper, we propose a tool named Facial Expression Analysis Tool (FEAT) to help lecturers in universities in evaluating the effectiveness of their lecture by evaluating their students’ facial expression based on three facial expressions: bored, satisfied or confused. The tool utilizes dual CNN for detection and classification. FEATreceives the video feed via an IP camera from the classroom, and analyzes and stores the information on a cloud database. The aggregated information from the database is further filtered, and the statistical details are displayed on a visual dashboard on the web. The tool was evaluated in a real classroom environment and found to have achieved a good accuracy. The tool provides useful insights for the lecturers to better observe their students’perception on their lectures and improve their teaching approach if required.
Comparative Economic and Environmental Assessments of H2O2-based and Tertiary Butyl Hydroperoxide-based Propylene Oxide Technologies

Until a decade ago, the industrial technologies for producing propylene oxide from propylene were predominantly based on variations of the venerable chlorohydrin and organic hydroperoxide processes. Within the past decade, highly selective H2O2-based propylene epoxidation technologies have been developed by Dow-BASF (HPPO process) and the University of Kansas Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis (CEBC-PO process). We present comparative economic and environmental impact analyses based on plant scale simulations of the processes for an assumed 200,000 tonnes/yr of PO production capacity and employing relevant process data from the literature. The predicted capital costs for the CEBC-PO process ($228 million) and HPPO process ($275 million) are lower than the conventional PO/TBA process ($372 million). The PO production costs via the conventional PO/TBA and HPPO processes are 150.4¢/lb PO (profit 87.9¢/lb, assuming a market value of 41¢/lb for the TBA co-product and 42¢/lb for the enriched propan.
More Rational or More Emotional Than Others? Lay Beliefs About Decision‐Making Strategies

Research demonstrates that people utilize both reasoning and feeling in decision making and that both strategies can be advantageous. However, little is known about how people perceive their decision making relative to others. Despite research findings and popular appeals supporting the use of affective decision processes, across a series of studies, we find that individuals believe they rely more on reasoning, and less on feelings, than others. These effects are driven by the motivation to self-enhance where, in most contexts, individuals believe the use of reasoning is superior, and self-enhancing, compared to the use of feelings. Consistent with this mechanism, beliefs that one’s decisions are more rational than others’ are: (a) stronger for those who exhibit greater beliefs in the superiority of reasoning (vs. feeling), (b) attenuated when the decision context precludes motivational thinking about the self or the self is affirmed, and (c) reversed when the use of feelings is perceived as more self-enhancing. We demonstrate downstream consequences (e.g., decision delegation), rule out alternative explanations, and discuss practical implications of these lay beliefs.
Wireless Power and Drive Transfer Using Orthogonal Bipolar Couplers and Separately Excited Modulation

This article proposes and implements a novel wireless power and drive transfer system using orthogonal bipolar couplers and separately excited modulation (SEM). Specifically, two bipolar coils are orthogonally integrated and naturally decoupled to form a compact magnetic coupler which will be utilized in the transmitter and receiver, respectively. The key is to employ the SEM to alternatively energize bipolar coils in the transmitter while self-driven circuits in the receiver can directly extract the drive information to control receiver-side switches. Consequently, the concurrent wireless power transfer and wireless drive transfer can be skillfully realized via the shared transfer channel at the single resonant frequency. Moreover, the proposed system can effortlessly achieve the wireless dc motor drive with the capability of bidirectional motion, or the wireless ac motor drive with the variable-voltage variable-frequency control. Besides driving the dc and ac motors, a 200-W prototype is constructed with the transmission efficiency of 89.5% over the transfer distance of 100 mm for a resistive load of 40 Ω. Both theoretical and experimental results are provided to validate the feasibility and flexibility of the proposed system.
Low reproductive success of the endangered Iberá Seedeater in its only known breeding site, the Iberá Wetlands, Argentina

ABSTRACT Subtropical grasslands are highly susceptible to habitat conversion and number among South America's most threatened ecosystems. The grasslands of northeastern Argentina have been identified as a priority conservation area for threatened capuchino seedeaters because they constitute the main breeding area of these migratory birds. The Iberá Seedeater (Sporophila iberaensis) is a newly described species in the Iberá Wetlands in Argentina whose biology is still poorly understood. The endangered species inhabits grasslands but has only been reported to breed in the Iberá Wetlands ecoregion of northeastern Argentina. To explore the species' association with grassland vegetation, we studied the breeding biology (clutch size, hatching success, and fledgling production) of the Iberá Seedeater and the main parameters that influence nest survival and nest-site selection. We conducted nest searches and banded adults and nestlings in Iberá National Park during the breeding seasons of 2016–2018. The breeding season of the Iberá Seedeater was highly synchronous and the cumulative probability of nest survival was 0.16. The daily nest survival rate decreased as the breeding season advanced, survival was lower for nests supported by Rhynchospora corymbosa than Paspalum durifolium, the two main nest substrates, and the main causes of nest failure were nest predation and strong winds. Additionally, the population exhibited male-biased site fidelity and a low female return rate. In contrast to other capuchinos, whose breeding biology is associated with upland grasslands, the Iberá Seedeater nested exclusively in flooded lowland grasslands on marsh plants. Thus, effective lowland grassland management is key to maintain the vegetation structure required for reproduction in the Iberá Seedeater. LAY SUMMARY Capuchino seedeaters are austral migrants strongly associated with subtropical grasslands, which are among the ecosystems that suffer the highest rates of habitat conversion. The Iberá Seedeater is a recently described, endangered species that has a poorly understood biology, restricted breeding range, and faces unknown threats. We located and monitored nests, banded adults and nestlings, and took vegetation measurements to assess nest-site selection between 2016 and 2018 in Iberá National Park. Breeding site fidelity was male-biased, and nest survival was relatively low, decreased as time of breeding advanced, and differed among nest substrates. Breeding occurred exclusively in flooded lowland grasslands, suggesting that the species could be sensitive to changes in vegetation structure and water levels.