125 research outputs found
Identifying Professional Photographers Through Image Quality and Aesthetics in Flickr
In our generation, there is an undoubted rise in the use of social media and
specifically photo and video sharing platforms. These sites have proved their
ability to yield rich data sets through the users' interaction which can be
used to perform a data-driven evaluation of capabilities. Nevertheless, this
study reveals the lack of suitable data sets in photo and video sharing
platforms and evaluation processes across them. In this way, our first
contribution is the creation of one of the largest labelled data sets in Flickr
with the multimodal data which has been open sourced as part of this
contribution. Predicated on these data, we explored machine learning models and
concluded that it is feasible to properly predict whether a user is a
professional photographer or not based on self-reported occupation labels and
several feature representations out of the user, photo and crowdsourced sets.
We also examined the relationship between the aesthetics and technical quality
of a picture and the social activity of that picture. Finally, we depicted
which characteristics differentiate professional photographers from
non-professionals. As far as we know, the results presented in this work
represent an important novelty for the users' expertise identification which
researchers from various domains can use for different applications
A biorefinery approach to the biomass of the seaweed Undaria pinnatifida (Harvey Suringar, 1873): obtaining phlorotannins-enriched extracts for wound healing
Brown seaweeds are recognized sources of compounds with a wide range of properties and applications. Within these compounds, phlorotannins are known to possess several bioactivities (e.g., antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial) with potential to improve wound healing. To obtain phlorotannins enriched extracts from Undaria pinnatifida, a biorefinery was set using lowcost industry-friendly methodologies, such as sequential solidâliquid extraction and liquidâliquid extraction. The obtained extracts were screened for their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity against five common wound pathogens and for their anti-inflammatory potential. The ethanolic wash fraction (wE100) had the highest antioxidant activity (114.61 +- 10.04 mmol mg-1 extract by Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 6.56 +-1.13mMeq. Fe II mg-1 extract by and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP)), acting efficiently against Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria, and showing a nitric oxide production inhibition over 47% when used at 0.01 ug mL-1. NMR and FTIR chemical characterization suggested that phlorotannins are present. Obtained fraction wE100 proved to be a promising candidate for further inclusion as wound healing agents, while the remaining fractions analyzed are potential sources for other biotechnological applications, giving emphasis to a biorefinery and circular economy framework to add value to this seaweed and the industry.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Dielectric Breakdown in Chemical Vapor Deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitride
Insulating films are essential in multiple electronic devices because they can provide essential functionalities, such as capacitance effects and electrical fields. Two-dimensional (2D) layered materials have superb electronic, physical, chemical, thermal, and optical properties, and they can be effectively used to provide additional performances, such as flexibility and transparency. 2D layered insulators are called to be essential in future electronic devices, but their reliability, degradation kinetics, and dielectric breakdown (BD) process are still not understood. In this work, the dielectric breakdown process of multilayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is analyzed on the nanoscale and on the device level, and the experimental results are studied via theoretical models. It is found that under electrical stress, local charge accumulation and charge trapping/detrapping are the onset mechanisms for dielectric BD formation. By means of conductive atomic force microscopy, the BD event was triggered at several locations on the surface of different dielectrics (SiO2, HfO2, Al2O3, multilayer h-BN, and monolayer h-BN); BD-induced hillocks rapidly appeared on the surface of all of them when the BD was reached, except in monolayer h-BN. The high thermal conductivity of h-BN combined with the one-atom-thick nature are genuine factors contributing to heat dissipation at the BD spot, which avoids self-accelerated and thermally driven catastrophic BD. These results point to monolayer h-BN as a sublime dielectric in terms of reliability, which may have important implications in future digital electronic devices.Fil: Jiang, Lanlan. Soochow University; ChinaFil: Shi, Yuanyuan. Soochow University; China. University of Stanford; Estados UnidosFil: Hui, Fei. Soochow University; China. Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Estados UnidosFil: Tang, Kechao. University of Stanford; Estados UnidosFil: Wu, Qian. Soochow University; ChinaFil: Pan, Chengbin. Soochow University; ChinaFil: Jing, Xu. Soochow University; China. University of Texas at Austin; Estados UnidosFil: Uppal, Hasan. University of Manchester; Reino UnidoFil: Palumbo, FĂ©lix Roberto Mario. ComisiĂłn Nacional de EnergĂa AtĂłmica; Argentina. Universidad TecnolĂłgica Nacional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lu, Guangyuan. Chinese Academy of Sciences; RepĂșblica de ChinaFil: Wu, Tianru. Chinese Academy of Sciences; RepĂșblica de ChinaFil: Wang, Haomin. Chinese Academy of Sciences; RepĂșblica de ChinaFil: Villena, Marco A.. Soochow University; ChinaFil: Xie, Xiaoming. Chinese Academy of Sciences; RepĂșblica de China. ShanghaiTech University; ChinaFil: McIntyre, Paul C.. University of Stanford; Estados UnidosFil: Lanza, Mario. Soochow University; Chin
Planeación estratégica en el simulador de negocios Capstone para la industria de sensores
En este trabajo se presenta el plan de negocios realizado para la empresa Baldwin Inc. dentro del simulador de negocios Capstone. Se presenta la estrategia utilizada, las tĂĄcticas y objetivos que hicieron que esta empresa ganara la competencia
Nanostructured State-of-the-Art Thermoelectric Materials Prepared by Straight-Forward Arc-Melting Method
Thermoelectric materials constitute an alternative to harvest sustainable energy from waste heat. Among the most commonly utilized thermoelectric materials, we can mention Bi2Te3 (hole and electron conductivity type), PbTe and recently reported SnSe intermetallic alloys. We review recent results showing that all of them can be readily prepared in nanostructured form by arc-melting synthesis, yielding mechanically robust pellets of highly oriented polycrystals. These materials have been characterized by neutron powder diffraction (NPD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electronic and thermal transport measurements. Analysis of NPD patterns demonstrates near-perfect stoichiometry of above-mentioned alloys and fair amount of anharmonicity of chemical bonds. SEM analysis shows stacking of nanosized sheets, each of them presumably single-crystalline, with large surfaces parallel to layered slabs. This nanostructuration affects notably thermoelectric properties, involving many surface boundaries (interfaces), which are responsible for large phonon scattering factors, yielding low thermal conductivity. Additionally, we describe homemade apparatus developed for the simultaneous measurement of Seebeck coefficient and electric conductivity at elevated temperatures
Around the tangent cone theorem
A cornerstone of the theory of cohomology jump loci is the Tangent Cone
theorem, which relates the behavior around the origin of the characteristic and
resonance varieties of a space. We revisit this theorem, in both the algebraic
setting provided by cdga models, and in the topological setting provided by
fundamental groups and cohomology rings. The general theory is illustrated with
several classes of examples from geometry and topology: smooth quasi-projective
varieties, complex hyperplane arrangements and their Milnor fibers,
configuration spaces, and elliptic arrangements.Comment: 39 pages; to appear in the proceedings of the Configurations Spaces
Conference (Cortona 2014), Springer INdAM serie
Obtention and characterization of ferrous chloride FeCl_2âą4H_2O from water pickling liquors
As a hazardous waste, water pickling liquors must be properly treated. An alternative consists of promoting the formation of ferrous salts from this residue due to their higher ferrous content. Since FeCl_2âą4H_2O is widely used in several applications, obtaining pure crystals of this material appears to be an interesting prospect. However, this compound has scarcely been investigated. In the present work, FeCl_2âą4H_2O crystals were obtained from water pickling liquors. Their structural and morphological characteristics were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy as well as Mossbauer spectroscopy. In addition, the photoluminescence study of the obtained samples was also assessed. It was observed that after some aging time, the obtained crystals changed in colour from green to more yellowish. As such, the aged sample was also evaluated, and their structural characteristics were compared with the original crystals. Despite this, the obtained crystals exhibit a FeCl_2âą4H_2O structure, which is not modified with the aging of the sample
Stressor controllability modulates the stress response in fish
Background In humans the stress response is known to be modulated to a great extent by psychological factors, particularly by the predictability and the perceived control that the subject has of the stressor. This psychological dimension of the stress response has also been demonstrated in animals phylogenetically closer to humans (i.e. mammals). However, its occurrence in fish, which represent a divergent vertebrate evolutionary lineage from that of mammals, has not been established yet, and, if present, would indicate a deep evolutionary origin of these mechanisms across vertebrates. Moreover, the fact that psychological modulation of stress is implemented in mammals by a brain cortical top-down inhibitory control over subcortical stress-responsive structures, and the absence of a brain cortex in fish, has been used as an argument against the possibility of psychological stress in fish, with implications for the assessment of fish sentience and welfare. Here, we have investigated the occurrence of psychological stress in fish by assessing how stressor controllability modulates the stress response in European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Results Fish were exposed to either a controllable or an uncontrollable stressor (i.e. possibility or impossibility to escape a signaled stressor). The effect of loss of control (possibility to escape followed by impossibility to escape) was also assessed. Both behavioral and circulating cortisol data indicates that the perception of control reduces the response to the stressor, when compared to the uncontrollable situation. Losing control had the most detrimental effect. The brain activity of the teleost homologues to the sensory cortex (Dld) and hippocampus (Dlv) parallels the uncontrolled and loss of control stressors, respectively, whereas the activity of the lateral septum (Vv) homologue responds in different ways depending on the gene marker of brain activity used. Conclusions These results suggest the psychological modulation of the stress response to be evolutionary conserved across vertebrates, despite being implemented by different brain circuits in mammals (pre-frontal cortex) and fish (Dld-Dlv)
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