Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ethanol Steam Reforming for Renewable Hydrogen Production over La-modified Tio2 Catalyst

In recent years, ethanol steam reforming (ESR) has received considerable attention as a promising route for cleaner H2 production. This process could be industrially advantageous, ideally yielding 6 moles of H2 per mole of ethanol reacted. The major drawbacks of the process are the endothermic nature of the reaction and presence of CO2 in the product. At low temperatures (below 500 °C), side reactions that yield alternative products such as acetic acid, acetaldehyde and ethylene are favoured. Besides promoting ESR, higher temperatures make the process costly for an industrial development while promoting CO, CO2 and coke formation, which is the main cause of catalyst deactivation. In this study, a series of La-loaded TiO2 catalysts were prepared by an impregnation-co-precipitation method, La being a well-known inhibitor of CO and CO2 formation. Catalytic ethanol steam reforming was conducted in a tubular fixed bed reactor operated at 1 atm, 500 °C and an ethanol/water molar feed ratio of 10:1. The influence of La-loading on inhibiting coke formation and selectivity towards hydrogen formation by ethanol steam reforming has been investigated. The catalytic performance of La-loaded TiO2 catalyst was found to be considerably higher when compared to the pure TiO2. At 10 % La loading, ethanol conversion of ~27.5 % was achieved with a H2 mole fraction of 0.53. Significant amounts of valuable products such as CH4 and C2H4 were also detected in the product mixture. More importantly, CO was not detected over La-loaded TiO2 catalyst, which confirmed its ability for minimizing coke formation. This development has confirmed improved efficiency of La/TiO2 catalyst toward renewable hydrogen production.
Effect of cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) on cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) root storage components, starch quantities and starch quality properties

Effect of cassava brown streak disease on cassava root storage components were studied on four Ugandan varieties with varying levels of tolerance. Significant differences (P<0.05) were observed with reductions of 30% in amylose content and 50% in amylopectin content of diseased compared to healthy plots. Average dry matter content of diseased plots was 25% higher as much as starch yield and starch content reduced by 40 and 15% respectively in diseased plots compared to healthy plots. Susceptible varieties had lower protein and higher cyanide contents in diseased state compared to tolerant varieties. On pasting, mixed reactions were observed but importantly there were significant differences (P<0.05) in the starch pasting properties of starch from diseased compared to healthy plots. Plants with similar reactions to viral attack at the phenotypic level had different reactions when the levels of particular metabolite components (especially cyanide and starch constituents) were quantified. The results point to hijacking of plant carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolic processes for viral metabolic gains. In turn, this affects the use of cassava for food and other applications but also points to possible use of metabolite based selections for tolerant varieties rather than mere root and stem phenotypic observations. Key words: Brown streak disease, Cassava, metabolism, starch, plant virus.
Serum insulin-like growth factor-I adult reference values for an automated chemiluminescence immunoassay system

Analysis of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) in serum is fundamental in order to aid in the diagnosis of growth hormone (GH)-related disorders, as well as in the diagnosis and follow-up of other diseases. Considering the importance of IGF-I local normal range, the aim of this study was to determine reference values for IGF-I (Immulite 2000) in a Brazilian adult population from the city of Rio de Janeiro. This study included samples of blood taken from 484 healthy subjects (251 men, 233 women) aged 18 to 70. The subjects agreed with this study, approved by the ethical committee of the Instituto Estadual de Hematologia Arthur de Siqueira Cavalcanti, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The samples were analyzed by an automated immunochemiluminometric assay (ICMA). For data analysis, age and sex-specific figures were fitted after transformation of IGF-I values. In adulthood, a slow age-dependent decrease was seen. IGF-I in women were significantly higher than in men.The present study established age- and sexspecific IGF-I reference values, for the healthy Brazilian adult populatoin from the city of Rio de Janeiro, determined with the currently most widely IGF-I assay used in Brazil (Immulite 2000). Key words : Insulin-like growth factor I, chemiluminescence assay, reference range.
Effect of Compost and Gypsum Application on the Chemical Properties and Fertility Status of Saline-Sodic Soil

Salt-affected soils are present in Pakistan in significant quantity. This experiment was conducted to assess the effectiveness of compost for reclamation and compare its efficiency with gypsum. For this purpose, various combinations of compost and gypsum were used to evaluate their efficacy for reclamation. A saline-sodic field having pH s 8.90, EC e 5.94 dS m ? 1 and SAR 34.5 (mmol L ? 1 ) 1/2 , SP (saturation percentage) 42.29% and texture Sandy clay loam, gypsum requirement (GR) 8.75 Mg ha ? 1 was selected for this study. The experiment comprised of seven treatments (control, gypsum alone, compost alone and different combinations of compost and gypsum based on soil gypsum requirements). Inorganic and organic amendments (gypsum and compost) were applied to a saline sodic soil. Rice and wheat crops were grown. Soil samples were collected from each treatment after the harvest of both crops and analyzed for chemical properties (electrical conductivity, soil reaction and sodium adsorption ratio) and fertility status (organic matter, available phosphorus and potassium contents) of soil. Results of this study revealed that compost and gypsum improved chemical properties (electrical conductivity, soil reaction and sodium adsorption ratio) of saline sodic soil to the desired levels. Similarly, all parameters of soil fertility like organic matter, available phosphorus and potassium contents were built up with the application of compost and gypsum.
Impacts of environmental change and human activity on microbial ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau, NW China

Microorganisms play important roles in maintaining ecosystem functions. It is poorly known, however, how microbial ecosystems respond to environmental changes and human activities. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the microbial record in lake sediments and ice cores contains a wealth of paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic information. Saline lakes on the Tibetan Plateau exhibit multiple environmental gradients and have accumulated thick sequences of sediments through time. Microbial abundance and species diversity vary considerably along environmental gradients across the plateau. Studies of lake sediments reveal that wet and warm climates are correlated with high bacterial abundance and diversity, whereas cold and dry climates result in low abundance and diversity. Recent human activities have enhanced sulfate reduction in lake sediments. Ice cores from the plateau reveal that bacterial abundance and diversity are positively correlated with dust particle concentration and
An ensemble of AMIP simulations with prescribed land surface temperatures

Abstract. General circulation models (GCMs) are routinely run under Atmospheric Modelling Intercomparison Project (AMIP) conditions with prescribed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and sea ice concentrations (SICs) from observations. These AMIP simulations are often used to evaluate the role of the land and/or atmosphere in causing the development of systematic errors in such GCMs. Extensions to the original AMIP experiment have also been developed to evaluate the response of the global climate to increased SSTs (prescribed) and carbon dioxide (CO2) as part of the Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP). None of these international modelling initiatives has undertaken a set of experiments where the land conditions are also prescribed, which is the focus of the work presented in this paper. Experiments are performed initially with freely varying land conditions (surface temperature, and soil temperature and moisture) under five different configurations (AMIP, AMIP with uniform 4 K added to SSTs, AMIP SST with quadrupled CO2, AMIP SST and quadrupled CO2 without the plant stomata response, and increasing the solar constant by 3.3 %). Then, the land surface temperatures from the free land experiments are used to perform a set of “AMIP prescribed land” (PL) simulations, which are evaluated against their free land counterparts. The PL simulations agree well with the free land experiments, which indicates that the land surface is prescribed in a way that is consistent with the original free land configuration. Further experiments are also performed with different combinations of SSTs, CO2 concentrations, solar constant and land conditions. For example, SST and land conditions are used from the AMIP simulation with quadrupled CO2 in order to simulate the atmospheric response to increased CO2 concentrations without the surface temperature changing. The results of all these experiments have been made publicly available for further analysis. The main aims of this paper are to provide a description of the method used and an initial validation of these AMIP prescribed land experiments.
Raman and fluorescence contributions to the resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering on LaAlO 3 / SrTiO 3 heterostructures

We present a detailed study of the Ti $3d$ carriers at the interface of ${\mathrm{LaAlO}}_{3}/{\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$ heterostructures by high-resolution resonant inelastic soft x-ray scattering (RIXS), with special focus on the roles of overlayer thickness and oxygen vacancies. Our measurements show the existence of interfacial Ti $3d$ electrons already below the critical thickness for conductivity. The (total) interface charge carrier density increases up to a ${\mathrm{LaAlO}}_{3}$ overlayer thickness of 6 unit cells before it levels out. Furthermore, we observe strong Ti $3d$ charge carrier doping by oxygen vacancies. The RIXS data combined with photoelectron spectroscopy and transport measurements indicate the simultaneous presence of localized and itinerant charge carriers. At variance with previous interpretations, we show that in our excitation energy dependent RIXS measurements the amounts of localized and itinerant Ti $3d$ electrons in the ground state do not scale with the intensities of the Raman and fluorescence peaks, respectively. Rather, we attribute the observation of either Raman components or fluorescence signal to the specific nature of the intermediate state reached in the RIXS excitation process.
Frictions, Persistence, and Central Bank Policy in an Experimental Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium Economy

New Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models are the principal paradigm currently employed for central bank policymaking. In this paper, we construct experimental economies, populated with human subjects, with the structure of a New Keynesian DSGE model. We give individuals monetary incentives to maximize the objective functions in the model, but allow scope for agents' boundedly rational behavior and expectations to influence outcomes. Subjects participate in the roles of consumer/workers, producers, or central bankers. Our objective is twofold. The first objective is general, and is to create an experimental environment for the analysis of macroeconomic policy questions. The second objective is more focused and is to consider several specific research questions relating to the persistence of shocks, the behavior of human central bankers, and the pricing behavior of firms, using our methodology. We find that the presence of menu costs is not necessary to generate persistence of output shocks, but rather that monopolistic competition in the output market is sufficient. Interest rate policies of human discretionary central bankers are characterized by persistence in interest rate shocks, the use of the Taylor principle, and lower output and welfare than under an automated instrumental rule. Pattens in price changes conform closely to stylized empirical facts.
Correlation Between Interactive eBooks and Printed Text in Reading Achievement and Student Interest

Interactive eBooks or traditional printed text? Teachers face difficult decisions when determining which are the most effective tools to use to increase student reading achievement. Studies (Chong, Lim, & Ling, 2009; Ciampa, 2012; Coyle, 2008; Huang, Liang, Su, & Chen, 2012; Jones, & Brown, 2011; Larson, 2010; Martinez-Estrada, & Conaway, 2012; Maynard, 2010), have found that students prefer the additional features of interactive eBooks over traditional printed text; however, studies have failed to prove that these additional text features increase student reading achievement over traditional printed text. There has not been enough evidence to show that student reading achievement increases in the general education classroom when students read from an interactive eBook rather than a traditional printed text. This study was conducted to determine if the additional text features of interactive eBooks in the general education classroom increased student reading achievement and student motivation over traditional printed text. The results of this study did not provide significant evidence that the additional text features of interactive eBooks increase reading achievement over traditional printed text. The results of the study did indicate that while students prefer the additional text features of interactive eBooks, use of interactive eBooks did not increase student motivation. Document Type Thesis Degree Name Master of Education (MEd) Department Graduate Education
FACULDADE DE BIOCIÊNCIAS PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM BIOLOGIA CELULAR E MOLECULAR MESTRADO

Using the classical hybridization approach series of 1H-benzo[d]imidazoles and 3,4-dihydroquinazolin-4-ones were synthesized and evaluated as inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth. Chemical modifications and structureactivity relationship studies yielding potent antitubercular agents with minimum inhibitory concentration values in submicromolar range. Further, the synthesized compounds were active against drug-resistant strains and were devoid of apparent toxicity to HepG2, HaCat, and Vero cells. In addition, some 3,4dihydroquinazolin-4-ones showed low risk of cardiac toxicity, no signals of neurotoxicity or morphological alteration in zebrafish (Danio rerio) models. Therefore, these data denote that this class of molecules may furnish candidates for future development of novel anti-TB drug alternatives.
CC Health Care Management Discussion Paper 11-2010 EConoMIC ConsEquEnCEs oF Low FErtILIty In EuroPE

This paper focuses on possible economic consequences of low fertility in Europe. It summarizes a selection of papers that were presented at a conference at the University of St. Gallen in April 2008. This introduction also reviews the history of falling fertility in Europe and the literature that explores its causes, its potential implications, and possible policy responses. It summarizes the evolution of thinking about the relationship between population growth and economic development, with attention to recent work on the mechanisms through which fertility decline can spur economic growth if the necessary supporting conditions are met. The paper also identifies some of the challenges of population aging that are associated with low fertility and suggests that there may be less reason for alarm than has been suggested by some observers Introduction Fertility rates in European countries have declined dramatically over the past 50 years, and today all European nations have fertility rates below the long-term replacement rate. Although migration and population momentum have to date kept these countries from experiencing population decline, the changes in population age structure that result from persistent low fertility mean that many nations will face absolute population decline in the near future. With age structure known to be an important determinant of economic growth, recent studies have raised concerns about a brewing low-fertility crisis in Europe, in which declining and aging populations will result in decreased economic growth and lower standards of living. To better understand this challenge of low fertility in Europe, to draw attention to various related issues, and to stimulate further thinking, we issued a call for papers and organized a conference * This paper is an introduction to a special issue of the European Journal of Population that will be published in 2010. in St. Gallen, Switzerland, in April 2008. Five of the papers presented at that conference appear in this special issue. Background The pervasiveness of declining fertility throughout Europe during the past half century is illustrated in Figure 1 by time series data on total fertility rates for four European subregions: Eastern (including Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, and Ukraine), Northern (Channel Islands, Denmark, Estonia, Faeroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and United Kingdom), Southern (Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Gibraltar, Greece, Holy See, Italy, Malta, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Yugoslavia), and Western (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, and Switzerland). In all these subregions and in every country for which the United Nations provides data with the single exception of Iceland, fertility rates are now below the long-run replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman.
Geomorphological processes of a Mediterranean urbanized beach (Sardinia, Gulf of Cagliari)

ABSTRACT In this study, we present a comprehensive map of a microtidal wave-dominated beach system based on an interdisciplinary sea–land approach and with the purpose of supporting a sustainable and successful beach management. The study area is located in a highly urbanized/industrialized coastal sector of the W side of Cagliari Gulf (S Sardinia, W Mediterranean). In the Main Map (1:15,000 scale), static and dynamic features of the beach system and adjacent inner shelf are divided into thematic sections, including geomorphological elements, bathymetry, sedimentological distribution, benthic habitat (mainly Posidonia oceanica meadow), hydrodynamics and anthropogenic features. The map constitutes an example of multidisciplinary benchmark to allow for long-term planning and management of this highly urbanized beach system. It is able to provide a substantial scientific support to policy-makers towards environmental restoration and sustainable development.
Factors Associated with Cervical Cancer Screening Uptake in Naivasha District, Kenya

The objective was to determine and explore factors associated with cervical cancer screening uptake among women attending the family planning clinic at a public hospital in Naivasha District. A concurrent triangulation mixed study method was used. Using systematic sampling, 384 women aged 18-49 years of age were enrolled into the study. Data was collected through semi-structured questionnaires. After purposive sampling 7 key informant interviews and 2 focus group discussions were conducted using interview guides among women treated at the family planning clinic. Data from the quantitative study was analyzed for descriptive statistics, bivariate (unpaired student’s t-test, Chi-square) and multivariate analysis (Binary logistic regression analysis) while themes were used to analyze data from the qualitative study. Using multivariate analysis, employment status, usual treatment center, risk of cervical cancer, having heard of cervical cancer and knowing someone who had been screened were factors found to be significantly associated with cervical cancer screening uptake. Large number of clients, inadequate screening rooms, inadequate information and misconception of facts on cervical cancer screening were identified as common barriers to uptake of screening. Hospital talks were the most preferred source of getting information related to cervical cancer. In conclusion, policy makers should establish a comprehensive strategy that ensures programs in health facilities and outreaches educate those accessing their facilities well so as to increase cervical cancer screening uptake. Keywords: Cervical cancer screening; VIA/VILI; family planning clinic; Naivasha referral public hospital; Health access.
Species Richness and Diversity in Bee Assemblages in a Fragment of Savanna (Cerrado) at Northeastern Brazil

The conservation of the fauna of bees inhabiting the Brazilian savanna is threatened due to changes in land use in the last decades. We investigated the composition, species richness and abundance of a bee assemblage in the vicinity of the Chapada Diamantina National Park. In addition, we compiled data on composition and diversity from another bee assemblage located in the same portion of the Cerrado, which was previously investigated by one of us almost 30 years ago, in order to produce a more complete panorama on beta diversity of bees in this region. We used a non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination analysis (NMDS) to compare composition of bee assemblages from diff erent types of open vegetation. We recorded 77 bee species (H’ = 2.95; J = 0.68), 42% of them were singletons. We collected slightly more than half of the species and 60% of the genera recorded in the bee assemblage studied three decades ago. H’ was signifi cantly lower in our area than in the previous study (t = 8.588, p <0.001), but equitability (J) was very similar. Several factors may contribute to these diff erences, including local diff erences in bee assemblage composition, diff erences in the probability of capturing the diff erent species (many rare species), factors affecting the sampling itself, and perhaps species loss over the three decades separating the two studies. The magnitude of species loss is difficult to assess because the two studies were not carried out exactly in the same area and there were differences in sampling time and sampling effort.
Weblog-Based Collaborative Learning: Iranian EFL Learners' Writing Skill and Motivation

This study investigated the effect of weblog-based collaborative learning on young Iranian EFL learners’ writing skill and motivation. To this end, the participants were selected from a language institute and divided into two groups of experimental and control each with 40 female students in the age range of 18 to 25. They were classified as low, intermediate, and high according to their level of language proficiency. While the control group attended classes, the students in the experimental group were simply asked to put their writing assignments on the weblog. They were asked to read each others’ writings and make comments and corrections. A pre-test measured the participants’ initial behavior in writing. A parallel test was conducted at the end of the study to check the effect of the treatment on the students’ final behavior in writing. Their writing was scored by using the scoring rubric adapted from Rog (2007). A questionnaire was also used to check the blogger’s motivation. The analysis of the data revealed that the blogging integrated collaborative learning instruction was more effective than in-class language learning instruction. The results of the study indicate that blogs as a tool for language learning provide a platform for language learners to use the language actively. Finally, learners were motivated to use language and build their autonomy in learning language. Keywords: Blogging, Collaborative writing, Weblog, Language learning, Motivation