Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanical Properties Research and Structural Characterization of Alkali Lignin / Poly(vinyl alcohol) Reaction Films

With alkali lignin and PVA as the primary materials, glutaraldehyde as the cross-linker, and glycerin as the plasticizer, alkali lignin/PVA cross-linking reaction film was prepared by casting. The process conditions were evaluated one at a time for different variables. Mechanical properties of the composite film were tested. The performance of the reaction film was analysed by XRD, TG, SEM, and FT-IR. The results showed that when the mass ratio of alkali lignin/PVA was 1/5, glutaraldehyde content 1.67%, and glycerol content 7.1% (w/w) of the dry matter, respectively, the reaction film had satisfactory mechanical properties. Under the best conditions, the mechanical properties of the reaction film were better than that of pure PVA film. The thermal stability of the reaction film was higher than the stability of PVA film. Compared with pure PVA film, the crystallinity of the reaction film decreased a little. SEM images indicated that compatibility of alkali lignin and PVA was good. The FT-IR analysis showed that a cross-linking reaction occurred between alkali lignin and PVA(1788). But the aldol reaction between the lignin and PVA(1788) was weak.
A Simulation of the Separate Climate Effects of Middle-Atmospheric and Tropospheric CO2 Doubling

Abstract The separate climate effects of middle-atmospheric and tropospheric CO2 doubling have been simulated and analyzed with the ECHAM middle-atmosphere climate model. To this end, the CO2 concentration has been separately doubled in the middle-atmosphere, the troposphere, and the entire atmosphere, and the results have been compared to a control run. During NH winter, the simulated uniformly doubled CO2 climate shows an increase of the stratospheric residual circulation, a small warming in the Arctic lower stratosphere, a weakening of the zonal winds in the Arctic middle-atmosphere, an increase of the NH midlatitude tropospheric westerlies, and a poleward shift of the SH tropospheric westerlies. The uniformly doubled CO2 response in most regions is approximately equal to the sum of the separate responses to tropospheric and middle-atmospheric CO2 doubling. The increase of the stratospheric residual circulation can be attributed for about two-thirds to the tropospheric CO2 doubling and one-third to the.
Changes in the Natural Environment Recorded in the Sediments of the Karaśne Lake-Mire Complex (Lublin Polesie, E Poland)

Changes in the Natural Environment Recorded in the Sediments of the Karaśne Lake-Mire Complex (Lublin Polesie, E Poland) This article presents results of multidisciplinary research which has been carried out in order to determine changes in the vegetation cover as well as changes in the structure of the Karaśne lake-mire complex in the Late Glacial and Holocene. In addition, human impact on the formation of the vegetation cover and the bio- and chronostratigraphy of the Late Glacial sediments is discussed.
Moving Clusters within a Memetic Algorithm for Graph Partitioning

Most memetic algorithms (MAs) for graph partitioning reduce the cut size of partitions using iterative improvement. But this local process considers one vertex at a time and fails to move clusters between subsets when the movement of any single vertex increases cut size, even though moving the whole cluster would reduce it. A new heuristic identifies clusters from the population of locally optimized random partitions that must anyway be created to seed the MA, and as the MA runs it makes beneficial cluster moves. Results on standard benchmark graphs show significant reductions in cut size, in some cases improving on the best result in the literature.
Estimation of lead in urine of school children in south western Nigeria and effect of ascorbic intervention

This study was carried out to investigate the level of lead in the air and urine of pupils in selected schools in south western Nigeria and ascertain the effect of ascorbic acid, with a view to providing baseline data on lead levels in children. A total of 197 pupils in schools in urban and rural communities of Ife Central Local Government, Osun State in the south west of Nigeria (that is Sabo, Iremo and Ajebamidele (n = 119) and Kajola and Abagboro (n = 78), respectively), The pupils in both communities were randomised into experimental and control group, the experimental group were placed on 500 mg of ascorbic acid daily for five days. Urine samples were collected on the first, third and fifth day of the study from the pupils in experimental and control groups and analysed for lead using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Air samples were collected using the LaMotte air sampling pump and analysed for lead using the same method. The cross sectional survey indicated that the mean lead levels in the air in the school environment in the urban communities on the first, third and fifth day of the study were (8.69 ± 0.070, 9.27 ± 0.09 and 9.27 ± 0.09 ig/m³) respectively and significantly higher than lead levels in rural communities (3.73 ± 0.030 ig/m³). The lead concentration in the urine of the pupils in experimental group in urban (5.51 ± 1.07 ig/m³) and rural communities (5.27 ± 0.98 ig/m³) were similar on the first day of the study. The ingestion of ascorbic acid increased excretion of lead in the urine of pupils significantly (11.22 ± 1.48 ig/m³) on the third day and decreased marginally on the fifth day (9.87 ± 1.20 ig/m³) in the urban communities. Similarly in the rural communities there was a significant increase (11.52 ± 1.41 ig/m³) in the excretion of lead in the urine of pupils on the third day but a marginal increase on the fifth day (12.88 ± 2.27 ig/m³) of the ascorbic acid ingestion. The lead level in the air on the first day of the study had no linear relationship with urinary lead level in the urban and rural communities whilst on the third and fifth day of the study, a linear relationship was observed between lead levels in the air and urinary lead levels of the pupils in the urban and rural communities.
Socioeconomic conditions and cultural profile of the fishers in India- a review

s: Socioeconomic conditions of the fishers in India are very low. Fishers generally have pursue less education and live under improper housing conditions. With a very low income from fishing, fishers supported a large member of family which compel the fisher’s to burrow credits to fulfil their basic needs. The income of the fisherswere very low and remain circulatedinside the vicious circle of poverty. India is a country with diversity in culture and this cultural diversity were reflected in their fishing activities too. Training programmes and scientific orientations are avail at heterogeneous manner in most of the places in India. Therefore proper fishery management policies, effective input supply, technical and social support may improve the livelihood of the fishers which will ultimately increase the overall fisheries productivity of India.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SOIL SEEDBANK AND WEED POPULATION AS INFLUENCED BY LAND USE INTENSITY IN SOUTHERN GUINEA SAVANNA OF NIGERIA

Department of Agronomy, University of Ilorin, P.M. B. 1515, Ilorin. *email: felixtakim@yahoo.co.uk Department of Plant Health Management, Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, P.M. B 7267, Umuahia Abia State Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Moor Plantation , OAU, Ile Ife, Nigeria. This 2 year study investigated the relationship between the number of weed seeds in the soil seedbank and the emerged population of weed seedlings in 4 land use intensities in a southern Guinea savanna of Nigeria. Soil samples were collected soon after harrowing to a depth of 15cm and the weed seeds therein were enumerated. The emerged weed seedlings in the field sampling areas were counted over the following 12 or 15 weeks. The overall average proportion of the active weed seedbank emerging as seedlings at these fields range from 15.8 to 33.6 % of the total weed seedbank enumerated and found to be slightly differed across the cropping systems, weed control practices and land use intensities. The results showed a significant (P≤0.05) linear relationship between the weed seed numbers in the soil and the weed seedling numbers on the arable fields. The result will be valuable in aiding the prediction of likely weed infestations in arable crops and provide a valuable input in timing of weed control.
Signature whistles in free‐ranging populations of Indo‐Pacific bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops aduncus

Common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) use individually distinctive signature whistles which are highly stereotyped and function as contact calls. Here we investigate whether Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (T. aduncus) use signature whistles. The frequency trace of whistle contours recorded from three genetically distinct free-ranging populations was extracted and sorted into whistle types of similar shape using automated categorization. A signature whistle identification method based on the temporal patterns in signature whistle sequences of T. truncatus was used to identify signature whistle types (SWTs). We then compared the degree of variability in SWTs for several whistle parameters to determine which parameters are likely to encode identity information. Additional recordings from two temporarily isolated T. aduncus made during natural entrapment events in 2008 and 2009 were analyzed for the occurrence of SWTs. All populations were found to produce SWTs; 34 SWTs wereidentifiedfromrecordingsoffree-rangingT.aduncusandoneSWTwasprevalent in each recording of the two temporarily isolated individuals. Of the parameters considered,meanfrequencyandmaximumfrequencyweretheleastvariableandtherefore most likely to reflect identity information encoded in frequency modulation patterns. Ourresultssuggestthatsignaturewhistles arecommonlyusedbyT.aduncus.
Propiedades psicométricas de la Escala de Ciber-Violencia en Parejas Adolescentes (Cib-VPA)

The use that adolescents make of social networks, mobile and the Internet to perpetrate violence towards their couple is worrying. Hence, it is necessary to have reliable instruments specific to the adolescent population to facilitate the evaluation of both harassment and victimization situations. The objective of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Scale of Cyber-violence in Adolescent Couples (Cib-VPA). This scale consists of two sub-scales, Cyber-harassment perpetrated and Cyber-victimization, with 10 items related to aggressive and control behaviors that can be perpetrated or suffered through social networks in adolescent couples. From an initial sample of 762 adolescents aged 12-18, those who had a partner or had had a partner in the last year completed the Cib-VPA. The final sample included 363 adolescents (56.6 % girls). Factorial analysis confirmed two similar factors in each sub-scale: cyber-control (excessive control behaviors) and cyber-aggression (threats and insults through social networks). The reliability of these factors is adequate in the two subscales. Positive correlations between cyber-control and - perpetrated and suffered - cyber-aggression, violence and victimization behaviors in adolescent couples outside social networks are also observed.
The effects of soil reinforcing inclusions in an athletic field rootzone.

Reinforcing materials have been utilized in non-cohesive soil (sand) rootzones in attempts to increase the surface stability and improve the playability of athletic fields. Researchers in the civil engineering discipline have reported improved soil characteristics when reinforcing materials were amended into cohesive soils and exposed to heavy load~. The objective of this field study was to determine if the addition of DuPont Shredded Carpet, Sportgrass, and Turfgnds to a cohesive soil exposed to simulated foot traffic resulted in beneficial soil physical properties and playing surface quality. The reinforcements studied in this experiment had limited and varying effects on turf grass wear resistance, soil physical properties, and playing surface conditions. These effects were dependent on inclusion type and wear level. Individual inclusions tended to produce both limited benefits and detriments. The use of these inclusions in a cohesive-soil athletic field rootzone does not seem to be cost-effective.
Response of Cucumber Plants to Foliar Application of Chitosan and Yeast under Greenhouse Conditions

The present study was carried out in two successive seasons of 2010 and 2011 to study the effect of foliar application of chitosan rates (1, 2, 3 and 4 mlL -1 ) and yeast rates (1, 2, 3 and 4 gL -1 ) on growth, yield and quality as well as chemical constituents of cucumber plants. Results of this work showed that foliar application with yeast and chitosan increased significantly the vegetative growth, yield and its quality of cucumber. Meanwhile, foliar spraying with active dry yeast at rates of 4 g L -1 recorded highest values of T.S. S. , N (%), Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn (mg kg -1 ) in cucumber fruits. However, foliar application of chitosan at rates of 4 mlL -1 gave highest contents of P and K % in the two seasons of study. It can be concluded that foliar application with chitosan at rates of 4 mlL -1 recorded the best treatment to obtain the highest vegetative growth, yield and quality of cucumber plants.
0 Beamforming Based on Finite-Rate Feedback

Multiple-input multi-output (MIMO), emerged as one of the most significant breakthroughs in wireless communications theory over the last two decades, is considered as a key to meeting the increasing demands for high data rates and mass wireless access services over a limited spectrum bandwidth. Transmit beamforming with receive combining is a low-complexity technique to exploit the benefits of MIMO wireless systems. It has received much interest over the last few years, because it provides substantial performance improvement without sophisticated signal processing. In order to enable the beamforming operation, either full or partial channel state information (CSI) has to be furnished to the transmitter. With full CSI, the optimal transmit beamforming scheme is maximum ratio transmission (MRT) [Dighe et al. (2003a)], where the principal right singular vector of the channel matrix is used as the beamforming vector. In Rayleigh fading, exact expressions for the symbol error rate (SER) of MRT were derived in [Dighe et al. (2003a;b)], and the asymptotic error performance was studied in [Zhou & Dai (2006)]. However, in certain application scenarios, e.g. frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, CSI is not usually available at the transmitter. To cope with the lack of CSI, a beamforming scheme based on finite-rate feedback has been proposed in the literature, where the CSI is quantized at the receiver and fed back to the transmitter. This scheme has been adopted in current 3GPP specifications. Under the assumption of independent block-fading and the assumption of delayand error-free feedback, the design and performance analysis of quantized beamforming systems have been well investigated. Different beamformer design methods were developed in [Mukkavilli et al. (2003); Love & Heath (2003); Xia & Giannakis (2006)]. In multiple-input single-output (MISO) cases, lower bounds to the outage probability and symbol error rate (SER) were derived in [Mukkavilli et al. (2003)] and [Zhou et al. (2005)], respectively. In MIMO cases, the average receive signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and outage probability were studied in [Mondal & Heath (2006)]. Analytical results showed that full diversity order can be achieved by a well-designed beamformer [Love & Heath (2005)]. This chapter highlights recent advances in beamforming based on finite-rate feedback from a communication-theoretic perspective. We first study the SER performance when the feedback link is delayand error-free. Then non-ideal factors in the feedback link are investigated, and countermeasures are proposed to compensate the performance degradation due to non-ideal feedback. 12
Measurement of central corneal thickness by different techniques

Purpose The aim of this study was to compare the central corneal thickness (CCT) measurements by three different techniques: pentacam, noncontact specular microscopy, and ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) devices. Patients and methods This prospective observational cross-sectional study was performed on patients seeking medical care at the outpatient clinic of Ophthalmology Center at Mansoura University. They were consecutively recruited and selected, and measurement of CCT by pentacam, UBM, and specular microscopy was done. Thereafter, the results were compared as an evaluation study of all techniques. Results This study included 200 eyes of 100 patients. The age of the included patients in the study ranged from 20 to 50 years. The mean age was 34.56±9.94 years. The CCT ranged from 465 to 630 µm, with a mean of 532.88±34.15 µm when measured by pentacam. When measured by specular microscopy, it ranged from 456 to 601 µm, with a mean 531.92±33.64 µm, and when measured by UBM, it ranged from 463 to 602 µm, with a mean 533.97±31.10 µm, with P value of 0.824 (nonsignificant). Conclusion CCT measurements obtained by UBM tend to be thicker than those obtained by pentacam and noncontact specular microscopy, but the measurements of all three are strongly positively correlated with each other. So, any of these devices can be easily substituted by the other for the measurement of CCT.
Occurrence of Sperm Abnormality of Beef Cattle at Several Artificial Insemination Centers in Indonesia

In the most species studied sperm abnormalities have long been associated with male infertility and sterility. This study evaluated the sperm morphology (normality and abnormality) of beef cattle at several Artificial Insemination centers in Indonesia. Total of 142 bulls were used in this study; an ejaculate from each bull was examined. A drop of semen was placed on 3-4 glass slides, and smears were prepared and air-dried. The smears were stained with carbolfluchsin-eosin (Williams stain). Types of morphological abnormalities were recorded from 500 cells on each sample. It was recorded that 77.46% samples had low primary sperm abnormalities ( 10%) was found in 5.63% samples. Pear shaped was the most frequently type of abnormality found on examined samples (2.24 ± 2.94%); while double head was the lowest (0.01 ± 0.04%). (Animal Production 12(1): 44-49 (2010) Key words : sperm abnormality, beef catlle, artificial insemination center
ATLASGAL - The APEX telescope large area survey of the galaxy at 870 μm

Context. Thanks to its excellent 5100 m high site in Chajnantor, the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) systematically explore s the southern sky at submillimeter wavelengths, both in continuum and in spectral line emission. Studying continuum emission from interstellar dust is essential to locate the highest densit y regions in the interstellar medium, and to derive their masses, column densities, density structures, and larger scale morpholog ies. In particular, the early stages of (massive) star forma tion are still quite mysterious: only small samples of high-mass proto-stellar or young stellar objects have been studied in detail so far. Aims. Our goal is to produce a large scale, systematic database of massive pre- and proto-stellar clumps in the Galaxy, in order to better understand how and under what conditions star formation takes place. Only a systematic survey of the Galactic Plane can provide the statistical basis for unbiased studies. A well characteriz ed sample of Galactic star-forming sites will deliver an evolutionary sequence and a mass function of high-mass star-forming clumps. Such a systematic survey at submillimeter wavelengths also represents a pioneering work in preparation for Herschel and ALMA. Methods. The APEX telescope is ideally located to observe the inner Milky Way. The recently commissioned Large APEX Bolometer Camera (LABOCA) is a 295-element bolometer array observing at 870 µm, with a beam of 19. ′′ 2. Taking advantage of its large field of view (11. ′ 4) and excellent sensitivity, we have started an unbiased survey of the whole Galactic Plane accessible to APEX, with a typical noise level of 50‐70 mJy/beam: the APEX Telescope Large Area Survey of the Galaxy (ATLASGAL). Results. As a first step, we have covered ∼95 deg 2 of the Galactic Plane. These data reveal∼6000 compact sources brighter than 0.25 Jy, or 63 sources per square degree, as well as extended structures, many of them filamentary. About two thirds of the c ompact sources have no bright infrared counterpart, and some of them are likely to correspond to the precursors of (high-mass) proto-stars or proto-clusters. Other compact sources harbor hot cores, compact Hii regions or young embedded clusters, thus tracing more evolved stages after star formation has occurred. Assuming a typical distance of 5 kpc, most sources are clumps smaller than 1 pc with masses from a few 10 to a few 100 M⊙. In this first introductory paper, we show preliminary resul ts from these ongoing observations, and discuss the mid- and long-term perspectives of the survey.
The use of electronic government in the State of São Paulo by senior citizens

The elderly are already 13% of the Brazilian population, and the use of technology may increase the quality of life of these people. Senior citizens tend to be more cautious and seek greater certainty before they act towards younger individuals. The objective of the research was to study the factors that influence the elderly in the use of an e-government initiative in the State of Sao Paulo. We interviewed 137 elderly people who used the program. The methodology used was quantitative with the use of structural equation modeling. The study presented a robust model with high explanatory power, in which the influencing factors were: Performance Expectation, Facilitating Conditions, and Habit. The research assists in the participation and involvement of the elderly in the current development phase of e-government in the state, exposing their perceptions.
Identification of target sequences for association studies - analysis of the pig FABP3 and FABP4 loci using comparative genomics methods

Comparative genomics facilitates the identifi cation of conserved and potentially functional elements. Their polymorphism can be responsible for phenotype variability. Two chromosomal regions were studied one containing the FABP gene cluster and the second harbouring the FABP3 locus. Several highly conserved elements across four species (human, mouse, dog and cattle) were found, two of them were selected for association studies in the pig (the FABP4 enhancer and a fragment of intron 2 of the FABP3 gene). Four single nucleotide polymorphisms in the FABP4 enhancer sequence were found: 9 T/G, 31 C/G, 186 G/A, and 189 C/A. One of them (9T/G) was tested but the statistical analysis revealed no association with fatness traits in Polish Large White and Polish Landrace pigs. These studies demonstrate an integrated approach to identify, classify and select target DNA sequences for further association studies.