Perception of Artificial Intelligence in Spain

This paper analyses the perception of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by individuals in Spain and the factors associated with it. It uses data from 6308 individuals from a 2018 Spanish survey. A binary logit regression model is formulated and estimated for the attitude towards robots and AI and its possible determinants. As main results are that a gender gap is detected, and that people have a negative attitude if they are not interested in scientific discoveries and technological developments and if AI and robots are not useful at work.     

Binary whale optimization algorithm: a new metaheuristic approach for profit-based unit commitment problems in competitive electricity markets

This article presents a metaheuristic approach, the binary whale optimization algorithm (BWOA), to solve complex, constrained, non-convex, binary-nature profit-based unit commitment (PBUC) optimization problems of a price-taking generation company (GenCo) in the electricity market. To simulate the binary-nature PBUC problem, the continuous, real-value whale position/location is mapped into binary search space through various transfer functions. This article introduces three variants of BWOA using tangential hyperbolic, inverse tangent (arctan) and sigmoidal transfer functions. The effectiveness of the BWOA approaches is examined in test systems with different market mechanisms, i.e. an energy-only market, and energy and reserve market participation with different reserve payment methods. The simulation results are presented, discussed and compared with other existing approaches. The convergence characteristics, solution quality and consistency of the results across different BWOA variants are discussed. The superiority and statistical significance of the proposed approaches with respect to existing approaches is also presented.     

304不锈钢不同精炼渣碱度下夹杂物的演变

 为了提高304不锈钢的产品质量，结合生产实际，利用热力学计算和扫描电镜能谱分析方法, 研究了硅脱氧条件下，LF精炼渣碱度对304不锈钢在LF精炼、连铸过程夹杂物变化规律的影响。试验结果表明,随着冶炼过程进行，全氧质量分数和夹杂物数量依次减小。304不锈钢采用1.75高碱度炉渣，可以得到较低的全氧质量分数和夹杂物数量，但是夹杂物中Al2O3质量分数高，夹杂物熔点高。采用1.53低碱度炉渣，钢液中全氧质量分数较采用高碱度炉渣高，但是夹杂物中CaO、Al2O3质量分数相对较低，SiO2和MnO质量分数较高，夹杂物熔点低。针对304不锈钢产品可以采用不同的生产工艺路线来满足产品的不同需求。     

加权信息熵与增强局部二值模式结合的人脸识别

针对人脸识别因光照、姿态、表情、遮挡及噪声等多种因素的影响而导致的识别率不高的问题，提出一种加权信息熵（IEw）与自适应阈值环形局部二值模式（ATRLBP）算子相结合的人脸识别方法（IE （w） ATR-LBP）。首先，从原始人脸图像分块提取信息熵，得到每个子块的IEw；然后，利用ATRLBP算子分别对每个人脸子块提取特征从而得到概率直方图；最后，将各个块的IEw与概率直方图相乘，再串联成为原始人脸图像最后的特征直方图，并利用支持向量机（SVM）对人脸进行识别。在AR人脸库的表情、光照、遮挡A和遮挡B四个数据集上，IE （w） ATR-LBP方法分别取得了98.37%、94.17%、98.20%和99.34%的识别率。在ORL人脸库上，IE （w） ATR-LBP方法的最大识别率为99.85%；而且在ORL人脸库5次不同训练样本的实验中，与无噪声时相比，加入高斯和椒盐噪声后的平均识别率分别下降了14.04和2.95个百分点。实验结果表明，IE （w） ATR-LBP方法能够有效提高人脸在受光照、姿态、遮挡等影响时的识别率，尤其是存在表情变化及脉冲类噪声干扰时的识别率。     

Experiments and Correlations of the Solubility of γ-DL-Methionine in Binary Solvent Mixtures

Antisolvents increase the supersaturation in the crystallization process which can enhance the product yield. The effect of an antisolvent on the solubility of γ-DL-methionine (γ-DL-met) in aqueous solution was investigated. The solubility of γ-DL-met was measured with various binary solvent mixtures. It improved with higher temperature but decreased with increasing the antisolvent mass fraction. Acetone showed the highest efficiency to reduce the solubility. The solubilities were correlated with the van't Hoff-Jouyban-Acree model and the modified Apelblat-Jouyban-Acree model. Both models fitted to the experimental results with high accuracy. Enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy of dissolution were determined by van't Hoff analysis. The thermodynamic properties indicated that the dissolution process is endothermic and entropy-driven.     

Recent progress in structural development and band engineering of perovskites materials for photocatalytic solar hydrogen production: A review

Photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production is a promising technology for the conversion of solar light to clean energy. In this perspective, several semiconductors have been under investigation, but they show less efficiency, selectivity and stability for hydrogen production. Recently, perovskites are most demanding due to their exceptional characteristics such as controlled structure and morphology, adjustable band structure, controlled valence state, adjustable oxidation state and visible light response. This review highlights structural classification of perovskites and band engineering for solar energy assisted photocatalytic hydrogen production. In the main stream, overview and fundamentals of perovskite materials for selective solar to hydrogen conversion are presented. The structural modification and band alteration to stimulate quantum efficiency and stability are specifically demonstrated. Photoactivity enhancement through metals, noble metals, non-metals doping, oxygen vacancies and fermi level adjustments are also deliberated. The role of perovskites with binary semiconductors towards hydrogen production has also been discussed. Up conversion effect of doping luminescent agents (Er, Ho, Eu, Nd) for improved photocatalytic activity by band gap narrowing is also deliberated. Various conventional and non-conventional synthesis methods for perovskites including solid-state, hydrothermal, sol-gel, co-precipitation, spray-freeze drying, microwave assisted, spray pyrolysis, low temperature combustion, pulse laser deposition and wet chemical method for enhanced photocatalytic activity are also demonstrated in this work. Finally, the key challenges and future directions for sustainable energy systems are also included.     

Physicochemical Properties of Zwitterionic Drugs in Therapy

In solution, amphoteric compounds exist in anionic, uncharged, zwitterionic and cationic forms. The importance of zwitterionic drugs is currently under-represented in the literature. Herein, the acid-base parameters, lipophilicity and solubility of such compounds are discussed to deepen the molecular-level understanding of their pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic behaviour. Our recent studies show there are many drug molecules, including thyroid hormones and 5-hydroxytryptophan, the precursor of the neurotransmitter serotonin, for which the contribution of the zwitterionic microspecies to the overall lipophilicity exceeds that of the uncharged one, which is of higher individual lipophilicity, but occurs in much lower concentration. The second part of the minireview highlights the most important zwitterionic compounds in therapy, grouped into therapeutic classes. The importance of the charge of the molecules is emphasized in their binding to the target molecules.     

Construction of BiVO4 microspheres sensitized TiO2 NTAs for the enhanced photocatalytic mineralization of organic dyes

In the present work, BiVO₄ microspheres were deposited on TiO₂ NTAs via the solvothermal method using urea as the mineralizer. The binary heterojunction formation significantly enhanced the solar response region and intensity, and the electron transfer path was built at the interface of two semiconductors, which was the main reason for the enhanced photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic performances. The S-2 electrode prepared with urea concentration of 2 mol/L displayed the high visible light photocurrent of 73.76 μA/cm² and photovoltage of −0.30 V. Furthermore, the S-2 photocatalyst also showed excellent photocatalytic decoloration ability of MO, RhB and MB dyes, and the corresponding decomposition efficiencies were 55.82%, 41.62% and 89.90% under solar irradiation. Except for the organic dyes, Cr(VI) ions also could be reduced into Cr(III), and the photocatalytic efficiency achieved 74.05% after 3 h solar irradiation. The active group and photocatalytic mechanism were proposed to illuminate the essential reason. The experimental results indicated that the novel BiVO₄/TiO₂ NTAs with binary heterojunction are attractive photocatalysts for the dyeing and printing water treatment.     

碱度对包钢高炉渣物理性能的影响

摘要：为探明二元碱度对包钢高炉渣物理性能的影响机理，基于包钢7号高炉渣化学组成，添加纯试剂CaO、SiO2调整炉渣的二元碱度。通过实验研究二元碱度对包钢7号高炉渣熔化温度、黏度和熔化性温度的影响规律；同时采用Factsage70热力学软件，计算了不同碱度下炉渣的液相线温度和热焓值。结果表明：随着碱度升高，炉渣熔化温度不断升高，黏度和熔化性温度先降低后升高，碱度在1.1～1.3之间，碱度每提高0.1，炉渣半球温度提高4.67℃，软熔区间为3.33～4.60℃；碱度在1.1～1.4之间，1450℃以上炉渣黏度均低于0.5Pa·s，流动性良好；Factsage7.0计算结果表明：随着碱度的升高，炉渣的液相线温度不断升高，热焓值不断降低。综合考虑碱度对包钢炉渣熔化温度、熔化性温度、热焓和黏度的影响规律，建议包钢高炉渣的碱度应控制在1.1～1.3之间。