Quantifying larval infestation with an acoustical sensor array and cluster analysis of cross-correlation outputs

An automated, computer-based system was designed to quantify infestation of internally feeding larvae in a grain sample by obtaining data correlated with the location of sound sources. Information related to the relative arrival times of insect feeding sounds to an array of acoustic sensors is obtained despite the low signal to noise ratios and the differential distortion induced by sound propagation through the non-uniform grain medium to the different sensors. This is achieved by employing parallel acquisition of all sensor outputs and cross-correlation analyses of all adjacent sensor pairs in the vicinity of the sensor with the largest signal. The peak location times of the resulting cross-correlograms cluster together for multiple sounds produced by the same insect but otherwise are more broadly distributed. A cluster analysis algorithm was developed to group sounds with similar ‘fingerprints’ (i.e. patterns of peak locations across several cross-correlograms). Each sufficiently large group of matching sounds indicates the presence of an insect.     

Planar sulfur-doped silicon detectors for high-speed infrared thermography

Planar extrinsic sulfur-doped silicon detectors for infrared (IR) semiconductor-discharge gap image converters intended for use in high-speed thermography of remote objects have been developed. The detectors were fabricated by high-temperature diffusion of sulfur into silicon wafers from the vapor phase. The dependence of doping efficiency on the sulfur vapor pressure in the course of diffusion was analyzed. The detector fabrication technology was optimized to meet the specific requirements for their operation in the microdischarge devices considered. The detectors were tested in a laboratory setup comprising a blackbody source of IR light, an image converter, and a pulsed CCD camera for recording the converted images. The converter equipped with the detector can provide imaging of objects heated to a temperature, T_min ≈ 200 °C, with a temporal resolution on the order of 10^?6 s and spatial resolution of about 5 lines/mm.     

Weak Convergence of Greedy Algorithms in Banach Spaces

We study the convergence of certain greedy algorithms in Banach spaces. We introduce the WN property for Banach spaces and prove that the algorithms converge in the weak topology for general dictionaries in uniformly smooth Banach spaces with the WN property. We show that reflexive spaces with the uniform Opial property have the WN property. We show that our results do not extend to algorithms which employ a ‘dictionary dual’ greedy step.     

Families of Spectral Sets for Bernoulli Convolutions

We study the harmonic analysis of Bernoulli measures μ _λ , a one-parameter family of compactly supported Borel probability measures on the real line. The parameter λ is a fixed number in the open interval (0,1). The measures μ _λ may be understood in any one of the following three equivalent ways: as infinite convolution measures of a two-point probability distribution; as the distribution of a random power series; or as an iterated function system (IFS) equilibrium measure determined by the two transformations λ(x±1). For a given λ, we consider the harmonic analysis in the sense of Fourier series in the Hilbert space L ²(μ _λ ). For L ²(μ _λ ) to have infinite families of orthogonal complex exponential functions e ^2πis(⋅), it is known that λ must be a rational number of the form \fracm2n\frac{m}{2n}, where m is odd. We show that L²(m_\frac12n)L^{2}(\mu_{\frac{1}{2n}}) has a variety of Fourier bases; i.e. orthonormal bases of exponential functions. For some other rational values of λ, we exhibit maximal Fourier families that are not orthonormal bases.     

CeO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticle-modified electrode as a novel electrochemical interface in the quantification of Zn<Superscript>2+ </Superscript>ions at trace level: application to real sample analysis

A simple strategy has been proposed to quantify Zn²⁺ ions using CeO₂ nanoparticle-modified glassy carbon electrode. The CeO₂ nanoparticles were prepared by sucrose-nitrate decomposition method, and it was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR, TEM, and surface area analyzer. The synthesized CeO₂ nanoparticles were used as modifier molecules as a thin film on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) in the trace level quantification of Zn²⁺ by using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) techniques. The fabricated sensor exhibited a good analytical response towards Zn²⁺ ions. The modified electrode showed a wide linearity in the concentration range 20–380 μg L^?1 with a limit of detection 0.36 μg L^?1. The proposed electrochemical sensor was successfully applied to trace level Zn²⁺ quantification from real sample matrices.     

Analysis of HIV/AIDS Epidemic and Socioeconomic Factors in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa has been the epicenter of the outbreak since the spread of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) began to be prevalent. This article proposes several regression models to investigate the relationships between the HIV/AIDS epidemic and socioeconomic factors (the gross domestic product per capita, and population density) in ten countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, for 2011–2016. The maximum likelihood method was used to estimate the unknown parameters of these models along with the Newton–Raphson procedure and Fisher scoring algorithm. Comparing these regression models, there exist significant spatiotemporal non-stationarity and auto-correlations between the HIV/AIDS epidemic and two socioeconomic factors. Based on the empirical results, we suggest that the geographically and temporally weighted Poisson autoregressive (GTWPAR) model is more suitable than other models, and has the better fitting results.     

Behavior of rate coefficients for ion-ion mutual neutralization, 300-550 K

Rate coefficients k(MN) have been measured for a number of anion neutralization reactions with Ar(+) and Kr(+) over the temperature range 300-550 K. For the first time, the data set includes anions of radicals and other short-lived species. In the present paper, we review these results and make note of correlations with reduced mass, electron binding energy of the anion (equivalent to the electron affinity of the corresponding neutral), and temperature, and compare with expectations from absorbing sphere models. An intriguing result is that the data for diatomic anions neutralized by Ar(+) and Kr(+) have k(MN) values close to 3 × 10(-8) cm(3) s(-1) at 300 K, a figure which is lower than those for all of the polyatomic anions at 300 K except for SF(5)(-) + Kr(+). For the polyatomic anions studied here, neutralized by Ar(+) and Kr(+), the reduced mass dependence agrees with theory, on average, but we find a stronger temperature dependence of T(-0.9) than expected from the theoretical E(-0.5) energy dependence of the rate coefficient at thermal energies. The k(MN) show a weak dependence on the electron binding energy of the anion for the polyatomic species studied.     

Electron spin resonance of nanoporous carbon with embedded cobalt clusters

Cobalt clusters were embedded into a nanoporous carbon powder (with pores about 2 nm in size) prepared from a B₄C carbide powder. Electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements were carried out within a broad temperature range. At all temperatures, the ESR spectrum consisted of two overlapping resonance Lorentzian lines. The temperature dependences of the integrated intensities and linewidths and of the resonance fields were determined. A theoretical analysis of these dependences shows that they can be described in terms of the theory of a disordered magnetic medium with two spin systems with different properties.