Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Preliminary Investigation of Interspecific Chemosensory Communication of Emotions: Can Humans (Homo sapiens) Recognise Fear- and Non-Fear Body Odour from Horses (Equus ferus caballus)

Simple Summary Thus far, little attention has been paid to interspecific odour communication of emotions, and no studies have examined whether humans are able to recognise animal emotions from body odour. Thus, the aim of the present study was to address this question. Body odour samples were collected from 16 two-year-old thoroughbred horses in fear and non-fear situations, respectively. The horse odour samples were then assessed by 73 human odour raters. We found that humans, as a group, were able to correctly assign whether horse odour samples were collected under a fear- or a non-fear condition, respectively. An open question remains, which is whether humans could simply distinguish between little versus much sweat and between high intensity versus low intensity or were able to recognise horses’ fear and non-fear emotions. To conclude, the present results indicate that olfaction might contribute to the human recognition of horse emotions. However, these results should be addressed with caution in light of the study’s limitations and only viewed as exploratory for future studies. Abstract Mammalian body odour conveys cues about an individual’s emotional state that can be recognised by conspecifics. Thus far, little attention has been paid to interspecific odour communication of emotions, and no studies have examined whether humans are able to recognise animal emotions from body odour. Thus, the aim of the present study was to address this question. Body odour samples were collected from 16 two-year-old thoroughbred horses in fear and non-fear situations, respectively. The horse odour samples were then assessed by 73 human odour raters. We found that humans, as a group, were able to correctly assign whether horse odour samples were collected under a fear- or a non-fear condition, respectively. Furthermore, they perceived the body odour of horses collected under the fear condition as more intense, compared with the non-fear condition. An open question remains, which is whether humans could simply distinguish between little versus much sweat and between high intensity versus low intensity or were able to recognise horses’ fear and non-fear emotions. These results appear to fit the notion that the ability to recognise emotions in other species may present an advantage to both the sender and the receiver of emotional cues, particularly in the interaction between humans and domesticated animals. To conclude, the present results indicate that olfaction might contribute to the human recognition of horse emotions. However, these results should be addressed with caution in light of the study’s limitations and only viewed as exploratory for future studies.
Understanding the electrokinetic behavior of the acrylic acid based Fe(II) ion-imprinted polymer for its application in Fe(II) ions removal from aqueous medium with high selectivity

Electrokinetic analysis was carried out to study the nature of the electrostatic potential ζ at the adsorbent surface as a function of surface charge density σ to understand the interaction between adsorbate and adsorbent. In the present study, precipitation polymerization was carried out in acetonitrile for preparing an ion-imprinted polymer [Fe(II) IIP] for Fe(II) ions by using acrylic acid as functional monomer, the crosslinking agent was N,N′-Methylenebis(acrylamide), 1,10-phenanthroline as chelating agent for Fe(II) ions and azobisisobutyronitrile as thermal initiator. The ion-imprinted polymer [Fe(II) IIP] which was obtained after performing the leaching for Fe(II) ions removal, displayed a greater affinity for selective recombination with the Fe(II) ions as a target analyte. The morphological analysis was performed by applying scanning electron microscopy while the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was employed to illustrate the different functional groups which are present in the structure of the molecule. Similarly, the specific surface area was determined to be 473.44 m2 g–1 for non-imprinted polymer (NIP) whereas 585.04 m2 g–1 for Fe(II) IIP by employing the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) model. Furthermore, the Barrett, Joyner, Halenda model and t-plot method was used for evaluating the pore size distribution that illustrated the surface texture nature to be mesoporous for both adsorbents. Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin– Radushkevich and BET adsorption models were applied to the equilibrium adsorption data for understanding the adsorption process. It was found that the adsorbent has a heterogeneous surface as the Freundlich isotherm model was obeyed more closely by both the adsorbents. The maximum adsorption capacity of 4.176 mg g–1 was reported for NIP in comparison to 5.559 mg g–1 in the case of the Fe(II) IIP. For the metal ion pairs of Fe(II)/Co(II), Fe(II)/Cu(II), Fe(II)/Ni(II) and Fe(II)/Pb(II), the relative selectivity coefficient k’ was found to be 32.412, 1.129, 1.508 and 1.264, respectively. The adsorption kinetic data followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics more closely pointing to the multistep mechanism of adsorption depicting the substrate and analyte dependency. Also, the Van’t Hoff plot was applied in order to determine the change in entropy (ΔS), enthalpy (ΔH) and Gibbs free energy (ΔG) as thermodynamic parameters.
Designing biaryl phosphacyclic ligands: their characterization and evaluation in palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura reactions of aryl bromides and chlorides

Abstract Efficient palladium catalyst systems based on the combination of bench stable biaryl phosphacycles and Pd(OAc)2 are described for Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions of aryl bromides and chlorides. Notably, the electronically and sterically diametric biaryl phosphacycles allowed facile coupling of sterically hindered and heterocyclic substrates. Graphical Abstract
Energetic Co-Crystal of a Primary Metal-Free Explosive with BTF. Ideal Pair for Co-Crystallization

Co-crystallization is an elegant technique to tune the physical properties of crystalline solids. In the field of energetic materials, co-crystallization is currently playing an important role in the engineering of crystals with improved performance. Here, based on an analysis of the structural features of the green primary explosive, tetramethylammonium salt of 7-oxo-5-(trinitromethyl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrotetrazolo[1,5-a][1,3,5]triazin-5-ide (1), a co-former such as the powerful secondary explosive, benzotrifuroxan (BTF, 2), has been proposed to improve it. Compared to the original 1, its co-crystal with BTF has a higher detonation pressure and velocity, as well as an initiating ability, while the impact sensitivity and thermal stability remained at about the same level. Both co-formers, 1 and 2, and co-crystal 3 were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and their crystal packing was analyzed in detail by the set of approaches, including periodic calculations. In the co-crystal 3, all intermolecular interactions were significantly redistributed. However, no new types of intermolecular interactions were formed during co-crystallization. Moreover, the interaction energies of structural units in crystals before and after co-crystallization were approximately the same. A similar trend was observed for the volumes occupied by structural units and their densifications. The similar nature of the organization of the crystals of the co-formers and the co-crystal gives grounds to assert that the selected co-formers are an ideal pair for co-crystallization, and the invariability of the organization of the crystals was probably responsible for the preservation of some of their properties.
A 150-W Spaceborne GaN Solid-State Power Amplifier for BeiDou Navigation Satellite System

This article describes the design, testing, and space qualification of a 150-W high-power and high-efficiency GaN solid-state amplifier (SSPA) used in the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS). The SSPA, based on 0.5-μm GaN technology, includes the radio frequency unit (RFU) and electronic power conditioner unit (EPC). The power amplifier solves the problems of high efficiency, reliability, stability, and high-power thermal design for 80-W GaN HEMT onboard applications. The RFU together with the EPC is accommodated in a different box with limited volume and mass. In continuous-wave operating mode, the SSPA delivers an output power higher than 150 W at less than 3 dB of gain compression in the whole B2-band (i.e., center frequency freq = 1.191 GHz, bandwidth BW = 80 MHz). Moreover, the demonstrated gain is higher than 52 dB and power added efficiency, including the power dissipated by the EPC, is above 50%. The SSPA has completed all space qualification tests and 10 000-h accelerated life test. The space qualification tests have been approved in 2013, and the first satellite employing this SSPA has been launched in 2015. The SSPA has been applied to more than 10 BeiDou Navigation Satellites. So far, the SSPA in the first satellite has worked successfully for more than 6 years and leads to a technology readiness level more than Level 8. The large-scale application of the high-power gallium nitride solid-state power amplifier in space is reported first in this article.
ESD phenomena in graded junction devices

The current very large-scale integration (VLSI) chips for sub-2- mu m processes use some form of graded junction devices for process reliability. Electrostatic discharge (ESD) performance for these graded junction processes is examined by studying the process variations. The results show that the ESD protection level can be optimized without significantly compromising the hot carrier reliability or the circuit drive current. The unique failure modes in these devices are also discussed. The results are supported by transient thermal analysis simulations. <<ETX>>
Analysis and interpretation of ground reaction forces in normal gait

The locomotion biomechanics study provides very extensive and interesting material for investigating the physiological process involved and the neural mechanisms controlling the systems. Gait analysis - the systematic analysis of locomotion - is used today for pretretment assessment, surgical decision making, postoperative follow-up, and management of both adult and young patients. Over the past few decades, multiple advances in bioengineering technology have permited precise analysis of many specific gait characteristics, such as joint angles, angular velocities and angular accelerations (kinematic analysis), as well as ground reaction forces, joint forces, moments and powers (kinetic analysis); electromyographic activity and energy consumption. Sophisticated gait analysis equipment can generate a visible force vector on an oscilloscope screen and superimpose it simultaneously on a photograph of a gait subject. Visualizing ground reaction forces helps us understand the effect they are having on the body in walking. If we have a full kinematic description, accurate anthropometric measures, and the external forces, we can calculate the joint reaction forces and musle moments. This predicition, called the inverse solution, is a very powerful tool in gaining insight into the net summation of all muscle activity at each joint. In this paper, we present and discuss the results of a ground reaction force analysis, conducted using the data samples of 40 voluntary subjects from our faculty student and employee population, differing in age, sex, height and weight, measured by the AMTI force platform.
NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTATION functions as a negative regulator of Arabidopsis immunity

Background Phosphorus is an important macronutrient required for plant growth and development. It is absorbed through the roots in the form of inorganic phosphate (Pi). To cope with Pi limitation, plants have evolved an array of adaptive mechanisms to facilitate Pi acquisition and protect them from stress caused by Pi starvation. The NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTION (NLA) gene plays a key role in the regulation of phosphate starvation responses (PSR), its expression being regulated by the microRNA miR827. Stress caused by Pi limiting conditions might also affect the plant’s response to pathogen infection. However, cross-talk between phosphate signaling pathways and immune responses remains unclear. Results In this study, we investigated whether NLA plays a role in Arabidopsis immunity. We show that loss-of-function of NLA and MIR827 overexpression causes an increase in phosphate (Pi) content which results in resistance to infection by the fungal pathogen Plectosphaerella cucumerina. The nla mutant plants accumulated callose in their leaves, a response that is also observed in wild-type plants that have been treated with high Pi. We also show that pathogen infection and treatment with fungal elicitors is accompanied by transcriptional activation of MIR827 and down-regulation of NLA. Upon pathogen challenge, nla plants exhibited higher levels of the phytoalexin camalexin compared to wild type plants. Camalexin level also increases in wild type plants treated with high Pi. Furthermore, the nla mutant plants accumulated salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) in the absence of pathogen infection whose levels further increased upon pathogen. Conclusions This study shows that NLA acts as a negative regulator of Arabidopsis immunity. Overaccumulation of Pi in nla plants positively affects resistance to infection by fungal pathogens. This piece of information reinforces the idea of signaling convergence between Pi and immune responses for the regulation of disease resistance in Arabidopsis.
A PLSTM, AlexNet and ESNN based Ensemble Learning Model for Detecting Electricity Theft in Smart Grids

The problem of electricity theft is exponentially increasing around the globe, which is harmful to the power sectors and consumers. The recent development in the advanced metering infrastructure brings opportunities for experts to identify the electricity thieves in the smart grid community. Many advancements are made in the area of the smart grid for Electricity Theft Detection (ETD), where the data collected from the smart meters is utilized. However, the problems of imbalanced distribution of data and inaccurate classification are not efficiently addressed. Therefore, to overcome the problems, machine learning and deep learning models are proposed for ETD. Initially, to refine the smart meters’ data, pre-processing methods are used. Then, the class imbalance problem is solved through Synthetic Minority Oversampling Tomek Links (ST-Links). It solves the classifier’s biasness problem, which occurs due to imbalanced data. It achieves the benefits of both data oversampling and undersampling. Afterwards, an AlexNet and peephole long short-term memory network based feature extractor with an attention layer is developed to extract the relevant features from electricity consumption profiles that are most suitable to classify honest and theft consumers. After the extraction of suitable features, the classification of consumers is performed by an echo state neural network. Moreover, an evolutionary grey wolf optimization technique is utilized to tune the hyper-parameters of the proposed model. A paired t-test is also applied on the final classification results for a reliable assessment of the proposed model. The simulations are conducted on a realistic smart meters’ dataset of China to check the performance of the proposed model. In addition, different benchmark models are implemented to perform a comparative analysis. Different meaningful performance metrics are considered for the fair evaluation of the proposed model: Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC), F1-score, Area Under Curve (AUC), precision and recall. The simulation results depict that the proposed model obtains accuracy, recall, F1-score, AUC, PR-AUC, precision and MCC score of 96.3%, 92.1%, 92.0%, 96.4%, 97.3%, 90.0% and 84.0%, respectively. It is worth mentioning that the application of the proposed solution is quite general. Therefore, it can be used by the power companies to overcome the power losses in the energy sector.
Ecological effects of mineral exploitation in the United Kingdom and their significance to nature conservation

Mineral exploitation directly affects organisms through both physical and chemical modification of their environment, and indirectly in a variety of ways. Excavation alters landform, drainage and soil conditions, while waste disposal has parallel effects and, along with processing, may cause pollution problems elsewhere. The effects on nature conservation interest vary according to the type and quality of habitat, vegetation and animal communities concerned, but mineral extraction can create new habitats of considerable value as well as causing damage. Adverse effects include direct habitat destruction, e. g. quarrying of important limestone areas and mining of ironstone; and production of chemical conditions unfavourable to both terrestrial and aquatic plants and animals, e. g. lead mining in Wales. Benefits are mainly the creation of new or more varied habitats, including lakes and marshes (flooded gravel pits and salt-mine subsidence); cliffs, screes and waste ground (quarries and mine tips); and old access routes, walls and buildings. Lead-mine spoil has greatly increased the populations of certain local plant species. In the past the gains to nature conservation interest have probably outweighed the losses, but the future scale and methods of mineral extraction may pose more serious problems, as through opencast working for ball clay and copper, removal of important coastal shingle beaches, and final exhaustion of the Magnesian limestone. Conservation in the broadest sense requires that ecological knowledge be employed to restore all derelict land to productive use, but this should include nature conservation as well as other uses such as agriculture. Nature conservationists have the knowledge to advise where mineral extraction would cause serious damage, and to indicate how operations elsewhere might be conducted with advantage to their interests. It is, however, important that their information and views be made as early as possible in the planning process controlling future extraction.
Examination of the relationship between family functionality and styles of coping with stress in individuals with substance use disorder

ABSTRACT Aims This study examines the relationship between family functionality and styles of coping with stress in individuals diagnosed with substance use disorder. Methods The study was conducted with 190 individuals who were treated for substance use disorder. The data was obtained using the Personal Information Form , the Family Assessment Device (FAD), and the Styles of Coping with Stress Scale (SCSS). Results Individuals’ mean scores on the FAD subdimensions were 2.02 ± . 61 for problem-solving, 2.17 ± . 53 for communication, 2.15 ± . 47 for roles, 2.26 ± . 62 for affective responsiveness, 2.57 ± . 46 for affective involvement, 2.15 ± . 38 for behavior control, and 2.04 ± . 50 for general functioning. Individuals’ mean scores on the SCSS subdimensions were 13.71 ± 4.68 for the optimistic approach, 9.21 ± 3.35 for the self-confident approach, 12.68 ± 4.76 for the nonassertive/desperate approach, 7.76 ± 3.60 for the submissive approach, and 6.08 ± 2.38 for seeking social support. A significant relationship was found between family functionality and styles of coping with stress in individuals with substance use disorder (p < .001). Conclusion The mean scores on the FAD subdimensions were above 2.00, which indicates a tendency toward unhealthy family functions. The scores on the SCSS subdimensions show that individuals with substance use disorder mostly used emotion-based coping strategies. A significant relationship was found between negative family functionality and ineffective coping styles in individuals with substance use disorder.
Satisfacción del cliente en empresas de base tecnológica del sector hidráulico cubano Clients satisfaction in technology-based enterprises in the cuban hydraulic sector

This paper presents a procedure in order to measuring and assessing the external client’s satisfaction in Cuban technology-based enterprises, using a single project approach with an application case in the hydraulic sector. The procedure is carried out in stages that provide essential outcomes to the organization. As a part of the procedure, “quality attributes and dimensions” of the product are
The Project of Automation of Synthesis of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester as an Additive for Diesel Fuel

As petroleum fuels are getting higher in price day after day. I is important to search for an alternative fuel as crude oil will not last forever specially in this high economical and industrial progress. In a parallel way engineers and scientists are searching for additives for the current known fuel until they find the best alternative fuel which has to fulfill the pollution and technical requirements. One of the solution is to implement the idea of downsizing engine fuelled with alternative biodiesel - in this case manufactured by the transestrification by using microwave heating. The process needs automation to keep control for manufacturing efficiency and quality of fuel properties. Authors show the automation layout and present equipment of test stand. There is short summary of combustion engine emission tests, too.
A low phase-noise CMOS VCO with harmonic tuned LC tank

This paper presents a phase-noise reduction technique for voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) using a harmonic tuned (HT) LC tank. The phase-noise suppression is achieved through almost rectangular-shaped voltage at the switching differential cell, which effectively maximizes the slope of the switching cell output voltage at a zero crossing point. In addition, the proposed technique also suppresses the down-conversion of the noise around the second harmonic frequency by the second harmonic short of the tank. One second HT VCO and two third HT VCOs are designed and implemented to evaluate the concept using a 0.35- and 0.13-/spl mu/m CMOS process. The figure-of-merit (FOM) of the second HT VCO, third HT VCO1, and third HT VCO2 are -180.7, -183.7, and -189.5, respectively. The best FOM performance of the VCO has phase noises of -100.4, -132.0, and -140.8dBc/Hz at 100-kHz, 1-MHz, and 3-MHz offset frequencies at the 2-GHz carrier, respectively. This VCO consumes 3.29 mA from a 1.8-V supply with the silicon area of 500 /spl mu/m/spl times/750 /spl mu/m.
New robust small radius joints based on thermal shrinkage of polyimide in V-grooves

A novel and simple technology for making robust three-dimensional (3-D) silicon structures with small radii of bending has been developed and investigated. The proposed method of bending 3-D structures out of plane so that they stay bent without special locking arrangements is based on thermal shrinkage of polyimide in V-grooves. The structures can be used in both static and dynamic mode for 3-D sensor or actuator applications.