Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sustainable Synthesis of Polymeric Materials versus Fine Chemicals via CO2 Addition to Epoxides

The development of efficient chemical processes capable of transforming carbon dioxide (CO2) into value-added products constitutes one of the greatest challenges for the scientific community. In this context, the use of carbon dioxide as a C1 source is a relevant topic and, over the last decade, there has been remarkable scientific and technological advances regarding the development of chemical processes for converting CO2 into added value products. We highlight the reaction of CO2 addition to epoxides, from which it is possible to selectively obtain two types of products: cyclic carbonates and polycarbonates, both with relevant applications as fine chemicals and polymeric materials, respectively.
Qualidade das águas superficiais do Médio São Francisco após a implantação dos perímetros irrigados de Gorutuba/Lagoa Grande e Jaíba

Os perimetros irrigados de Gorutuba/Lagoa Grande e Jaiba localizam-se na porcao mineira do Medio Sao Francisco, totalizando cerca de 31.493 ha. Essa regiao possui potencial de contaminar os recursos hidricos, em decorrencia da urbanizacao, do desmatamento e da utilizacao de fertilizantes e de agrotoxicos nas atividades agricolas. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi investigar o impacto da irrigacao na qualidade das aguas superficiais da regiao, utilizando fonte de dados secundarios de monitoramento disponibilizados pelo Instituto Mineiro de Gestao das Aguas (IGAM) e Companhia de Desenvolvimento dos Vales do Sao Francisco e Parnaiba (CODEVASF). Foram selecionadas nove estacoes de monitoramento da qualidade da agua superficial na regiao que representassem o uso e ocupacao do solo pela agricultura, areas preservadas e urbanizadas, com o intuito de caracterizar o impacto. Primeiramente foi realizada uma analise multivariada (Analise de Cluster) numa tentativa de evidenciar as estacoes de monitoramento similares, considerando as caracteristicas fisico-quimicas e biologicas. Posteriormente foram aplicados testes nao parametricos ( Kruskal-Wallis , seguido do teste de comparacoes multiplas), para averiguacao de quais parâmetros apresentaram comportamentos diferenciados entre as estacoes de monitoramento. Para verificar a tendencia de elevacao dos constituintes ao longo do tempo, foi aplicado o teste da hipotese de estacionariedade de Spearman, o qual detecta tendencias temporais presentes em uma serie de dados. Apos a aplicacao desses testes estatisticos, concluiu-se que, de maneira geral, nao houve uma deterioracao da qualidade das aguas da regiao no periodo estudado, considerando os parâmetros analisados neste trabalho.
Characterization of Traits Related to Grain Shape in Korean Rice Varieties

Grain size and shape are the two important components contributing to rice yield and quality. To analyze traits related to grain-shape, a total of 272 varieties derived from japonica, japonica black and Tongil-type rice accession in Korea were evaluated in this study. The traits, grain length (GL), grain width (GW), grain thickness (GT), length to width ratio (RLW), and 1000-grain weight (TGW) were measured and replicated 10 times. Genes (GW2, GS3, qGL3, qSW5, GS5, TGW6, GW7, and GW8) related to grain-shape were validated in the accessions using specific DNA marker sets. K-mean clustering of the accession based on phenotypic data revealed three groups: group 1 was classified by GW and GT and included most of japonica type, group 2 was classified by RLW and GL reached a medium size and possessed a half spindle-shaped type, and group 3 was classified by TGW, reached a long size and possessed a semi-round shape. In validation tests using the marker sets, both gw2 and tgw6 were validated in less than 1% of the tested accessions and two allelic types, qgl3 and gw8, were only verified in Tongil-type accessions. For GW8 and GW2, any different amplicons were not amplified in any japonica or Tongil-type accessions, respectively. In order to suggest the representative grain-shape gene combinations for each ecotype, the allelic combinations were evaluated by PCR analysis. Cj1 and 2 in japonica (Cj1-7), Cj_b1 and 2 in japonica-black (Cj_b1-3), and CT3 in Tongil-type (CT1-13) turned out to be the dominant combination in each ecotype, respectively. In addition, the results revealed that introgression of four genes (gw2, gs3, qSW5, and GS5) would expand the diversity of grain shape in Korean japonica varieties. The gene combinations information could be utilized practically to understand or enhance grain shape in japonica rice breeding program.
Psychological Resilience Hope and Adaptability as Protective Factors in Times of Crisis: A Study in Greek and Cypriot Society during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Various studies have assessed resilience in relation to risk and protective factors during periods of crisis, and have shown that values such as hope and optimism are significantly related to peoples’ level of quality of life in times of crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a great challenge as it is an unprecedented global health crisis. Our study aims to explore the effects of psychological resilience, hope, and adaptability when people experience real or perceived possible danger. The present study was quantitative, and it applied three different self-report questionnaires, namely the CD RISK to assess psychological resiliency (Connor & Davidson, 2003), the AHS (Adult-Hope-Scale) (Snyder, 1994) to assess hope, and a third questionnaire, the CAQ (Covid-19-Adaptation-Questionnaire), to explore perceived ability to adapt to changes in daily life due to the imposed quarantine as well as trust in state policies and the media during the peak of the pandemic in Greece and Cyprus. Demographic data such as age, gender, place of residence, and level of education were collected by using a Personal Information Form. We administered the instruments to 205 Greek and Cypriot men and women in age groups of 18 years or older. Our findings showed that high scores in hope could predict higher levels of psychological resilience and the ability to adapt in the face of adversity. We have also found a significant positive relationship between age and level of education with psychological resiliency. Older participants and participants with higher levels of education showed higher levels of psychological resiliency and adaptation in comparison with the younger and less educated subjects. At the same time, findings indicated that although people adapted and complied with extreme social isolation measures, neither did they actually trust the relevant state policies, nor did they rely on mass media for information regarding the pandemic.
The Role of Social Support in the Association Between Dependency and the Important Risk Factors Among Elderly: A Cross-sectional Study Based on Baseline Data From Aehrr Project

BackgroundDependence is a common mental disorder among the elderly increases with increasing age，and can lead to serious health problems. This study aimed to assess the association between social resources and dependency, and explored the effect of social support on modification of important risk factors for dependency among elderly.Method The present study was a population-based cross-sectional study. A total of 950 participants aged ≥ 60 years were selected using a complex multistage sampling design from 22 locations in China. All data were collected using questionnaires by face-to-face interviews. The dependency was assessed using the standardized Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II, and the social resource was assessed using the questionnaires of Older American Resources and Services (OARS) in Chinese version. The logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between dependency and social resources. The analysis of covariance was performed to evaluate the effect of social support on modification of important risk factors for dependency.ResultsA total of 913 participants were included in the analysis, and 10.3% of males and 14.4% of females were identified as dependency. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that a significant negative association between the levels of social resource and dependency. The odds ratio was 0.78 (95% CI, 0.73–0.84) after adjusting for important confounding factors. The results of analysis of covariance showed the differences in the mean dependency score between different chronic disease status and social support level.ConclusionThe levels of social resources were negatively associated with dependency. Our results suggest that the social support had both a direct effect on dependency and an indirect effect through modifying chronic disease status and individual income.
Combining ability and gene action studies for seed yield and its components in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

A line x tester analysis using nine lines and five testers was carried out to study the combining ability and gene action in sesame for seed yield and its related 11 quantitative traits. The partitioning of variances due to the crosses showed that the mean squares due to lines were found significant for all the characters except for number of branches per plant and oil content, whereas mean squares due to testers and lines x testers were found significant for all the characters except for the plant height and number of branches per plant. General and specific combining ability variances showed the involvement of both type of gene actions in the inheritance of these characters. Among the parents, two lines viz., AT-472 and AT-483 and three testers viz., GT-2, GT-3 and GT-6 exhibited good general combining ability effect for seed yield per plant. The cross combination, AT-471 x GT-2 showed significant and positive sca effect for seed yield per plant and involved average x good combining parents. It was followed by AT-464 x GT-4 and AT-472 x GT-3 which involved either good x good or poor x poor combining parents. These crosses have been identified as best hybrids for improving seed yield per plant.
Evaluation of kaolin floc characteristics during coagulation process: a case study with a continuous flow device

In this study, we used a continuous flow device to simulate actual water treatment works and explored the impact of the coagulant dosage and shear rate combination on kaolin floc properties. The results indicated that an increase in coagulant dosage contributed to larger floc size and more compact floc structure. As coagulant dosage further increased, both floc size and fractal dimension were reduced. For different shear rate combinations, the floc size during the transitional phase increased with the decrease of fractal dimension, followed by the reduction of floc size and increase of floc density in the steady state because of the breakage and restructure of flocs. Considering that the actual coagulation process aims to generate large flocs without breakage, this indicates that the time to reach a steady state for floc size is the optimal coagulation time. Thus, the optimal shear rate combination (59–48–17 s−1) is the one which reached steady state for floc size at the end of the coagulation process. In contrast to constant shear rate, decreasing shear rate enhances the floc growth, leading to similar floc properties for different shear rate combinations. This is the first time temporal evolution of floc size and structure in a continuous flow reactor has been reported.
An evaluation of the effectiveness, facilitators and barriers of HIV Teen Clubs in achieving successful transition from teen to adult care in Blantyre, Malawi using the RE‐AIM Framework.

Background: High attrition is a major problem for Adolescent Living with HIV (ALHIV) transitioning from pediatric to adult care. Although the HIV Teen Club model has been shown to promote antiretroviral (ARV) adherence and viral suppression among ALHIV, its effect on promoting transitioning ALHIV from pediatric to adult care has not been formally evaluated. We sought to estimate the proportion of ALHIV enrolled in HIV Teen Clubs who successfully transitioned to adult care within six months of the expected transition time and assess health facilities’ fidelity in implementing HIV Teen Clubs’ adult care transition protocols and factors associated with successful transition to adult Care.Methods: From September 2018 to June 2019, we conducted a retrospective descriptive cohort study involving ALHIV attending HIV Teen Clubs in 14 primary health facilities in Blantyre, Malawi who had reached the recommended transition age of 18/19 years between July - December 2017. After obtaining consent, we reviewed their records to assess the proportion who successfully transitioned and also factors associated with transitioning. Checklist was used to ascertain fidelity of implementation of HIV Teen Club transition protocols. In-depth interviews were conducted with service providers (SP) in health facilities providing HIV Teen Club to get their perspectives on reasons for successful or unsuccessful transition.Results: Of the 131 eligible ALHIV enrolled in the study, only 6.9% (n=9) successfully transitioned to adult care within six months of the expected transition time. The overall fidelity in implementing adult care transition protocols in health facilities was medium. There was an association between implementation fidelity and ALHIV successful transition with 2 out of 3 health facilities with high implementation fidelity also successfully transitioning ALHIV into adult care. Successful ALHIV transitioning was associated with urban location of health facilities and ownership of the facilities by NGOs. SPs reported that lack of training in transitioning ALHIV, lack of clear guidelines, inadequate human resource and refusal of ALHIV to transition were some of the health system factors negatively influencing successful transition.Conclusions: Training and mentorship of SP in implementing transitioning protocols and adequately resourcing HIV teen clubs may improve their operations and facilitate successful transitioning.
Corporate Tax Planning and Financial Performance of Companies Listed in Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE)

This study focuses on how best performing listed companies in CSE make strategies in tax planning to reduce tax liabilities without violating rules and regulations imposed by the Tax Authority. In this study, the corporate tax planning was measured by using the Effective Tax Rate (ETR) and the financial performance was measured by using Return on Assets (ROA). The sample of the study was designed based on criteria namely, the largest and most liquid companies in the Sri Lankan equity market and the sample period was restricted for the period 10 years from 2009-2018. The sample represents seventeen (17) companies which are used to calculate the S&P SL 20 index. Data was collected through the published annual reports of CSE of the selected listed companies during the selected financial time period. Co-integration regression along with Panel Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) statistical technique was used to explore this study. Johansen co-integration test confirmed to run the panel DOLS. According to the result of that, corporate tax planning has a negative impact on the financial performance of Sri Lankan best-performing companies listed in CSE however, which is not statistically significant at 5% level. It provides evidence that there is no significant impact from corporate tax planning strategies to the financial performance of listed companies in CSE. This evidence implies that Sri Lankan firms do not utilize the loopholes embedded in the Sri Lankan tax law efficiently. Keywords: Corporate Tax Planning, Colombo Stock Exchange, Co-integration regression, Effective Tax Rate, Financial Performance, Panel Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares, Return on Assets.
Peace Theories & Quest for Peace: A Cross-cultural Perspective

Out of the plethora of peace theories, two stand out in particular: (a) the Kantian democratic theory of peace, which argues that peace depends on a league of democracies, and (b) the liberal economic theory of peace, that a free, open world market conduces to peace. In this essay, concrete examples are cited that would raise doubt on the validity of these theories. It then proceeds to examine whether culture would make a difference on the incidence of war. In this light, the Westphalian system of states is compared with the historical Chinese “tribute system” qua an inherent system of international relations. One distinct difference is found in the much lower incidence of wars in the latter system, as David Kang’s study identified that in 5 centuries (1368-1841) the Chinese tribute system had only two interstate wars within its circle of members, not counting the wars initiated by external, ex-regional Western powers. And, the religious wars that plagued the West were never found in the Chinese tribute system. In search of an answer to this almost incredible record of low incidence of war, this essay finds that the Confucian culture, with its emphasis on harmony and harmonization of opposites, in contradistinction to the teachings on conflict in Abrahamic cultures, seems to hold the key to an answer. If so, culture, rather than institutions (such as democracies, open world market, etc.) deserves to be seriously considered as a relevant factor contributing to peace. Most importantly, culture as such can be taught and disseminated, including through the classroom.
The effect of the dose rate of ionizing radiation on the dielectric properties of polyethylene and polytetrafluoroethylene

The effect of the dose rate of γ-irradiation on the dielectric properties of LDPE and PTFE was studied. Measurements were taken for dose rates D= 10 -3 -1 Gy/s, and different irradiation conditions (air and vacuum). The dielectric losses (tan δ) of LDPE γ-irradiated in air increase with a decrease in the dose rate proportional to D -0.5 because of the radiation-induced oxidation reaction. For air-irradiated PTFE, the dependence of tan δ on the dose rate is determined by competition between the processes of recombination of primary radicals and their oxidation
Development of a harvesting technique for large-scale microalgal harvesting for biodiesel production

Harvesting imposes a major constraint in microalgal downstream processes and cost-effective production of various high value products. In this study, different harvesting techniques were assessed under a single domain to identify the most suitable one for large-scale harvesting of green microalgae for biodiesel purpose. In the laboratory, Scenedesmus obliquus showed a flocculation efficiency of 83.2% at pH 12 after 1 h. Maximum flocculation efficiencies of 80.2, 95 and 91%, respectively were observed for FeCl3 at 200 mg L−1, alum at 250 mg L−1 and chitosan at 20 mg L−1 after 1 h. Electro-flotation at 24 V and dissolved air flotation with 1 mg L−1 of alum also revealed flocculation efficiencies of 99 and 91% respectively, after 1 h. For Chlorella vulgaris, similar trends were also observed. Under field trials with 1000 L algal suspension, electro-flotation required a voltage of 60 V to achieve a flocculation efficiency of ∼90% after 24 h. Dissolved air flotation also showed a flocculation efficiency of same magnitude after 7 h, but with 10 mg L−1 of alum. Thus electro-flotation required a profoundly higher voltage with increasing culture volume, whereas for dissolved air flotation a much higher concentration of alum was entailed. Both the processes also depicted a significantly longer time period to achieve the required flocculation efficiency. On the other hand, pH-induced flocculation was found to be the most pertinent one for large-scale set-ups, and emerged to be efficient, cost-effective and eco-friendly as the supernatant can be reused as growth medium by re-supplementing the nutrients and adjusting the pH.
Frequency and Distribution of Mandibular Teeth Treated by Single Visit RCT and Multi Visit RCT in an Indian Population- A Retrospective Study

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and distribution of mandibular teeth treated by single visit root canal treatment (RCT) and multi-visit RCT in a group of the Indian population. With the approval of the Institutional Review Board of Saveetha Dental college, the data of 3887 patients between June 2019 to March 2020 were retrieved and analysed. Data was collected from 3887 patients and were divided into the criteria of a single visit and multi-visit RCT. The data were tabulated into excel sheets under the headings age, gender, teeth, type of treatment. It was an Institutional based Retrospective study. It was observed that there was a statistically significant association in the age and gender of patients who underwent single visit and multi-visit RCT in mandibular teeth. The probability value P<0.05 was obtained after performing a Chi-square test, showing that multi-visit RCT cases (59.9%)were higher than single visit RCT (40.56%). Within the limitations of the study, it was concluded that the frequency of multi-visit RCT was higher in mandibular teeth compared to single visit RCT. Frequency of multi-visit RCT was higher in mandibular molars followed by second premolars in comparison to single visit RCT. The frequency of multi-visit RCT was higher in both males and females compared to single visit RCT.
WARM VERSUS COLD INTERMITTENT BLOOD CARDIOPLEGIA FOR MYOCARDIAL PROTECTION DURING ON-PUMP CORONARY ARTERY BYPASS GRAFTING

Background: Obtaining an optimal surgical result depends on performing a technically proficient operation while protecting the heart from potential damage. Cardioplegia is an essential component in myocardial protection during aortic cross-clamping and cardiopulmonary bypass. The development of cardioplegia solutions is one of the major advances in cardiac surgery that allowed surgeons to extend the period of ischemic arrest to well over 3 hours to perform complex surgical procedures without adversely affecting myocardial functio). Aim of the work: We sought to compare between two specific modalities of myocardial protection using either intermittent ante-grade cold blood cardioplegia or warm blood cardioplegia.Patients and Methods: This prospective study included 200 successive adult patients who have undergone elective on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) operations. Randomization was done immediately before the beginning of the operation so that group allocation was blinded to the patient. Participants were recruited between 14 January 2017 and 10 July 2019 at Mahalla Cardiac Center. All patients were thoroughly evaluated preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively.Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups as regards bypass and cross clamp times. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups as regards spontaneous defibrillation. There were no significant differences in both groups regarding the needed either inotropic support, or an IABP to achieve weaning. The total period of mechanical ventilation was statistically shorter in the warm group compared to the cold group.Conclusion: We found that there was no difference in the clinical effect of warm or cold blood cardioplegia despite the relative increase in postoperative serum cTnI in the warm cardioplegia group. Both strategies appear to allow a comparable and satisfactory method for myocardial protection during the period of cardiac arrest.