Validation of Low-Cost Impedance analyzer via Nitrate Detection

Impedance spectroscopy is a widely used electrochemical technique with a wide variety of applications. Many of these applications benefit from the additional accessibility provided by low-cost impedance devices. With this in mind, a low-cost impedance device was designed for a high performance-to-cost ratio. The performance of this analyzer was validated against a high-performance DropSens µStat-i 400s potentiostat by performing an application-based experiment. Nitrate detection provides a relevant experiment because of the importance of maintaining precise nitrate concentrations to mitigate the impact of nitrate fluctuations on the environment. Dissolved nitrate samples of different concentrations, in the range 3–1000 mg/L, were confirmed colorimetrically and measured with both instruments. A calibration curve of the real impedance matched a sigmoidal transfer, with a linear region for concentrations below 10 mg/L. The device under investigation exhibited an average magnitude error of 1.28% and an average phase error of 0.96∘ relative to the high-performance standard, which validates the performance of the low-cost device. A cost analysis is presented that highlights some of the complexities of cost comparisons.

Investigation of droplet impact on inclined fabric based on CMOS imagingtechnology and FSI numerical method

In order to study the impact characteristics of droplet on inclined fabric, the relevant experiment was setup in this paper.The process of a single droplet (2.12 mm) impacting inclined fabric (45°) was captured by CMOS (ComplementaryMetal-Oxide Semiconductor) imaging technology. It could be found that there was a second impact phenomenon duringspreading stage, which was very different from impacting horizontal fabric. Then a two-way coupling method was usedto simulate that impacting process. The numerical results were basically consistent with the experimental results. Inaddition, the reaction force and vibration characteristics of fabric which couldn’t be collected by experiments were alsoobtained. Finally, the effect of inclination angle on impact characteristics was analyzed by numerical method. The biggerthe inclination angle was, the longer the stability time of droplet was, and the smaller the reaction force on fabric was.The change law conformed to the momentum theorem. The method and conclusions could provide some references forthe design of parachute system.

Visual salience of 3D and 2D spoons determines S-R mapping and flanker effects

This study tested the hypothesis that affordances for grasping with the corresponding hand are activated more strongly by three-dimensional (3D) real objects than by two-dimensional (2D) pictures of the objects. In Experiment 1, participants made left and right keypress responses to the handle or functional end (tip) of an eating utensil using compatible and incompatible mappings. In one session, stimuli were spoons mounted horizontally on a blackboard with the sides to which the handle and tip pointed varying randomly. In the other, stimuli were pictures of spoons displayed on a black computer screen. Three-dimensional and 2D sessions showed a similar benefit for compatible mapping when the tip was relevant and a small cost of compatible mapping when the handle was relevant. Experiment 2 used a flanker task in which participants responded compatibly to the location of the handle or the tip, and spoons located above and below the target spoon could have congruent or incongruent orientations. The difference between 3D and 2D displays was not obtained in the flanker effect for reaction time. There was little evidence that 3D objects activate grasping affordances that 2D images do not. Instead, we argue that visual salience of the tip is the critical factor determining these correspondence effects.

Task relevance determines binding of effect features in action planning

Action planning can be construed as the temporary binding of features of perceptual action effects. While previous research demonstrated binding for task-relevant, body-related effect features, the role of task-irrelevant or environment-related effect features in action planning is less clear. Here, we studied whether task-relevance or body-relatedness determines feature binding in action planning. Participants planned an action A, but before executing it initiated an intermediate action B. Each action relied on a body-related effect feature (index vs. middle finger movement) and an environment-related effect feature (cursor movement towards vs. away from a reference object). In Experiments 1 and 2, both effects were task-relevant. Performance in action B suffered from partial feature overlap with action A compared to full feature repetition or alternation, which is in line with binding of both features while planning action A. Importantly, this cost disappeared when all features were available but only body-related features were task-relevant (Experiment 3). When only the environment-related effect of action A was known in advance, action B benefitted when it aimed at the same (vs. a different) environment-related effect (Experiment 4). Consequently, the present results support the idea that task relevance determines whether binding of body-related and environment-related effect features takes place while the pre-activation of environment-related features without binding them primes feature-overlapping actions.

The N170 event-related potential differentiates congruent and incongruent gaze responses in gaze leading

To facilitate social interactions, humans need to process the responses that other people make to their actions, including eye movements that could establish joint attention. Here, we investigated the neurophysiological correlates of the processing of observed gaze responses following the participants’ own eye movement. These observed gaze responses could either establish, or fail to establish, joint attention. We implemented a gaze leading paradigm in which participants made a saccade from an on-screen face to an object, followed by the on-screen face either making a congruent or incongruent gaze shift. An N170 event-related potential was elicited by the peripherally located gaze shift stimulus. Critically, the N170 was greater for joint attention than non-joint gaze both when task-irrelevant (Experiment 1) and task-relevant (Experiment 2). These data suggest for the first time that the neurocognitive system responsible for structural encoding of face stimuli is affected by the establishment of participant-initiated joint attention.

A Semantic Expansion Model for VGI Retrieval

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a representative volunteered geographic information (VGI) project. However, there have been difficulties in retrieving spatial information from OSM. Ontology is an effective knowledge organization and representation method that is often used to enrich the search capabilities of search systems. This paper constructed an OSM ontology model with semantic property items. A query expansion method is also proposed based on the similarity of properties of the ontology model. Moreover, a relevant experiment is conducted using OSM data related to China. The experimental results demonstrate that the recall and precision of the proposed method reach 80% and 87% for geographic information retrieval, respectively. This study provides a method that can be used as a reference for subsequent research on spatial information retrieval.

Friction Characteristics of Synchronization Process Based on Tribo-Thermodynamics

In order to improve the shift control accuracy and shift quality, the temperature and friction coefficient changing regularities of a friction cone during the synchronization process were investigated. The thermal-structural coupling model was established through tribo-thermodynamic analysis. The relevant experiment was carried out as well. The results show that the error between the experimental and simulated results is within 3%. Besides, the maximum temperature of the synchronous ring friction surface increases 1.8°C for every additional 50 N of shift force, while increases 1.1°C for every additional 200 r/min shift speed difference. Moreover, the friction coefficient declines rapidly first and then tends to be stable slowly during the synchronization process. The result of friction coefficient changing regularity lays a good theoretical basis for establishing an effective friction coefficient compensation control strategy.

Analysis of The Impact of Weather Conditions on the Effectiveness of Oil Spill Recovery Operation in Simulated Conditions (Pisces II)

The ability to use computer simulation to predict the behavior of oil spills at sea enables better use of available personnel and resources to combat such spills. The use of oil collecting equipment properly selected to suit the conditions is essential for the operation to be effective. Therefore, an attempt is made to verify the influence of weather conditions on the efficiency of oil recovery. Three types of spilled crude oil were simulated. A relevant experiment was conducted on a PISCES II oil spill simulator.