Finding good acoustic features for parrot vocalizations: the feature generation approach

A crucial step in the understanding of vocal behavior of birds is to be able to classify calls in the repertoire into meaningful types. Methods developed to this aim are limited either because of human subjectivity or because of methodological issues. The present study investigated whether a feature generation system could categorize vocalizations of a bird species automatically and effectively. This procedure was applied to vocalizations of African gray parrots, known for their capacity to reproduce almost any sound of their environment. Outcomes of the feature generation approach agreed well with a much more labor-intensive process of a human expert classifying based on spectrographic representation, while clearly out-performing other automated methods. The method brings significant improvements in precision over commonly used bioacoustical analyses. As such, the method enlarges the scope of automated, acoustics-based sound classification.     

Mechanical behaviour of MWCNTs reinforced electrospun nanofibres

Abstract

The nanoscale dimension of electrospun polymeric nanofibres produced by electrospinning are highly captivating, yet facing limitation of resisting external forces due to the weak tensile properties. Carbon nanotubes providing tremendous toughness due to extraordinary strong sp² bonding network of carbon atoms in honeycomb lattice structure, augmented the physical resistant strength and is easily recover to its original state after load is removed. This study reports the performance of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as filler in the electrospinning of poly (_L-lactide)-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) composite nanofibres. Voltage of 10?kV is applied to the spinning solution mixture of 11?wt% (w/v) PLCL and MWCNTs, yielded nanofibres having diameters less than 400?nm. Results obtained showed the formation of composite nanofibres with tailored tensile behavior by modifying the content of MWCNTs. The addition of MWCNTs improved the tensile properties of resultant composite nanofibres, signified by tensile strength of 5.82 to 15.95?MPa, which were obtained using 0.1 to 1.0?wt% of MWCNTs. The structural integrity of nanofibres mats were retained in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) medium. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) micrographs revealed the minimal of fiber deformation over 30?days of incubation and are closely identical to the initial diameter of as-spun fiber.     

Water pH and surfactant addition effects on the stability of an Algerian crude oil emulsion

In many oil production sites water injection is used as a piston to push the crude out of the well. As the age of the field progresses, the ratio of water to oil produced increases. Agitation of a water and crude oil mixture may give stable water-in-oil emulsion in which the water remains dispersed for a long period of time. These emulsions can cause severe problems in production and transport processes since they normally possess high stability and viscosity. The most important water properties which may contribute to the emulsion stability include pH and additive content. In this study, we report on the effect of both, water pH and the presence of surfactant molecules (anionic, cationic or non-ionic) on the stability of an Algerian crude oil (Haoudh el Hamra well) aqueous emulsion prepared by a mechanical agitation procedure. The stability was followed by the test-bottle method to measure the resolved water separated from the emulsion, and optical microscopy to visualize the dispersed water droplets in the oil phase. The results of the effects of varying the aqueous-phase pH suggest that the neutral medium is more efficient than acidic or basic environment for stabilizing the emulsions. The addition of non-ionic surfactants has a better potential to improve crude oil emulsion stability with respect to both cationic and anionic surfactants which do not show any improvement in the oil/water phase compatibility.