Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chemistry and kraft pulping of seven hybrid aspen clones. Dimension measurements on the vessels and UMSP of the cell walls

Abstract Micropropagated hybrid aspen clones (Populus tremuloides Michx.×Populus tremula L.) and a plus-tree (superior phenotypes selected) aspen (Populus tremula L.) were grown under similar conditions in the central part of Latvia. After cutting at the age of 12 years, 64 sample trees were examined. The dimensions of the vessels and the content of cellulose, lignin, extractives and ash were determined. The cell walls were characterised by UV microspectrophotometry (UMSP) in the UV range. The dimensions of fibres obtained by kraft pulping were determined such as length, width, and their shape factors. Coarseness measurements were performed, and strength properties of the handsheets were tested. One of the clones (no. 44) had a significantly higher stem volume of 208 dm3 and stem diameter of 17 cm at a height of 1.3 m. This clone had otherwise no notable differences to the other clones concerning the chemical composition, except a slightly higher lignin content (20.0% as compared with the mean value of 19.3% for other clones). Kraft cooking of hybrid aspen chips gave pulp yields in the range of 48.6–52.4%. Slightly higher strength properties (10–15%) were found for the handsheets prepared from a common aspen pulp (reference) as compared with those from hybrid aspen fibres.
Dose–effect relationships for PBM in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has become one of the most worrying health conditions with no effective treatment available with the increase in population aging. A large number of clinical studies and experiments proved that photobiomodulation (PBM) had a positive effect on AD treatment. The irradiation with red and near-infrared light at a low dose can effectively reduce an accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques in the central nervous system, relieving the symptoms of AD. This review summarizes the parameters of PBM for AD treatment studied on cells, animals, and in clinical trials, as well as the dose–effect relationship of PBM treatment for AD. The mechanisms of PBM on the cellular level, which include regulation of microglia and astrocytes that may affect Aβ plaque elimination are also discussed.
Analysis of the latent space of pre-trained deep convolutional neural networks in the problem of automatic segmentation of color images

The paper presents a primary study of the latent space structure of neural networks trained for semantic segmentation. Segmentation was performed in a controlled environment of three classes of colored rectangular shapes. The classic autoencoder and U-net like architectures were chosen as reference architectures. To study the structure of the space, a combination of a perceptron that linearly separates classes and the compression algorithms UMAP and PCA was used. As a result, a tool was obtained for evaluating the quality of a neural network based on the degree of separability of classes in the latent space of the network.
Numerical study of the main rotor steep descent modes in the vortex ring state area

The research has been focused on aerodynamic characteristics of the Mi-8 helicopter main rotor in the hover and steep descent modes at rotor angles of attack αR = 90-30º, including vortex ring state area. The research is based on the original free wake model developed by the authors at Moscow Aviation Institute. Total and distributed aerodynamic characteristics, rotor wake shapes and streamlines have been calculated and analyzed. The vortex ring state area borders in the Vx-Vy (horizontal and vertical flight speed components) coordinates have been defined. Five criteria are used: growth of the required rotor blade pitch angle; growth of rotor power consumption with a fixed rotor thrust; increase of the averaged value of the induced velocities and amplitudes of the rotor thrust and torque pulsations. The calculation results have been compared with experimental and calculation data of other authors and indicate sufficient reliability and applicability of used free wake model for calculation and analysis of the vortex ring state modes of helicopter rotor. The results presented in the paper can also significantly supplement the available results of experimental and computational studies of the helicopter rotor operation at steep descent modes in the vortex ring state area.
Analysis of the geometric parameters influence on the labyrinth seals performance

One of the ways to improve the modern gas turbine engines efficiency is to increase the efficiency of its components. An increase in the gas turbine engine components efficiency may be achieved by reducing air leaks by the seals usage. It is possible to achieve a reduction in air consumption through the seal, including off-design operation conditions, by using modern methods of computational fluid dynamics simulations. One of the possibilities of modern computational fluid dynamics methods is to analyze a simultaneous effect of the large number of variable design parameters. Performance of different labyrinth seals type is analyzed. Direct-flow labyrinth seal is chosen as most common in jet engine design due to its properties. Geometric parameters influences are defined. Optimization resulted in a labyrinth seal configuration that achieves a 20% reduction in seal mass flow. A comparison of the mass flow characteristics of the original and the optimized seal showed that the optimized seal provides reduced mass flow over a wide range of pressure ratios. The results obtained lead to the conclusion about geometric parameters influence on the mass flow and the effectiveness of labyrinth seals optimization to reduce air leaks.
Removal and recovery of heavy metals by bacteria isolated from activated sludge treating industrial effluents and municipal wastewater

A total of nineteen metal-resistant and non-resistant bacteria from activated sludge treating both metal-contaminated industrial effluents and municipal wastewater were isolated and identified. These included both Gram-positive (e.g. Micrococcus ) and Gram-negative (e.g. Pseudomonas ) bacteria. The biosorption capacity of these strains for five different heavy metals (copper, nickel, zinc, lead and chromium) was determined at pH 5 and initial metal concentration 100 mg/L. Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes and Micrococcus luteus were found to be capable of removing significant amounts of copper and lead. Hence, they were selected for further investigations. Langmuir adsorption isotherms adequately represented the distribution of copper and lead for both species. The study of pH effect on metal removal for both species indicated that the metal biosorption increased with increasing pH from 2 to 6. The effect of competing cations on biosorption of P. pseudoalcaligenes was studied. Sulphuric acid (0.05 M) was the most efficient desorption medium among the eleven reagents tested. Over 90% of copper sorbed on the cells of M. luteus could be recovered by washing with 0.05 M sulphuric acid within five minutes. The biosorbent was used for at least five biosorption and desorption cycles without loss of copper removal capacity. Immobilization of M. luteus in 2% calcium alginate and 10% polyacrylamide gel beads increased copper uptake by 61%.
Modeling in Pre-service Secondary School Teacher Education: developing an School Scientific Model of Energy

In this document, we will present the results of an investigation carried out in initial teacher education for pre-service secondary school Physics and Mathematics teachers in Chile. A Teaching and Learning Sequence (TLS) was iteratively designed following a Design-based research approach and implemented to promote the construction of an adequate School Scientific Model (SSM) of energy. This SSM is based on the well-known work on energy related concepts in physics education, including the ideas of energy degradation, conservation and transference. The methodology followed in the TLS is based on modeling and model-based inquiry. Subsequently, we have analyzed pre-service teachers’ qualitative productions to identify which model of energy they master at both the beginning and the end of the program. This allowed us to get hints of a learning progression in this field.
Nonlinear stability analysis of a collinear libration point in the planar circular restricted photogravitational three-body problem

We investigate the problem on stability of collinear libration point in the photogravitational three-body problem. That is, we study the stability of stationary motion of an infinitesimal small body (particle) in gravitational field of two bodies (primaries) acting on the particle with radiation pressure repulsive forces. The primaries move in circular coplanar orbits about their barycenter and the particle lies in the plane of primaries motion. By using the method of normal forms and applying theorems of the Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser theory we perform nonlinear stability study of collinear point, which located on the line connecting the primaries. Rigorous conclusions on stability in the sense of Lyapunov have been obtained both for non-resonant case and for cases of third and fourth order resonances. These results can be interesting for spaceflight and astronomical applications such as studies of dynamics of artificial satellites and observations of cosmic dust.
Molecular dynamics calculations of stability and phase transformation of TiV alloy under uniaxial tensile test

In this paper, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation software LAMMPS is used to simulate the elastic properties and stability of Ti-V single-crystal alloys. The relationship between the elastic constant and the mechanical stability of Ti-V alloy with a body-centered cubic (BCC) structure is studied. The energy relationship between TiV alloys with hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structure and BCC structure are compared, respectively. The effects of temperature, crystal orientations, and V content on the mechanical properties of TiV alloys are calculated under uniaxial tensile test. The results show that both ultimate tensile strength and plasticity of the Ti-V alloy with BCC structure decrease with the increase of temperature and V content, due to the phase transition from the BCC structure to the face-centered cubic (FCC) structure. Finally, it is identified that the modes of the transformation from BCC structure to FCC structure during the tensile process are BCC(100)//FCC(110), BCC(010)//FCC(1 1¯ 0).
Surface micromachining of chip-edge silicon microcantilevers using xenon difluoride etching of silicon-on-insulator

We demonstrate a straightforward surface micromachining process for the rapid prototyping of thin ‘chip-edge’ silicon microcantilevers protruding from the edge of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) chip. The process uses a single photolithographic mask—with xenon difluoride used to both pattern the silicon microcantilevers and release them by etching part of the underlying silicon wafer. During the release step, the silicon microcantilevers are protected from the xenon difluoride by a combination of photoresist and buried silicon dioxide. The use of common microfabrication materials (SOI and positive photoresist) and chemicals (buffered hydrofluoric acid and xenon difluoride), along with a maximum process temperature of 100 °C, makes for a generic, soft micromachining process which is—in principle—compatible with preserving the integrity of any pre-patterned circuitry present on the silicon microcantilever top surface. Doppler vibrometry measurements of the silicon microcantilevers reveal a well-defined resonant frequency and a quality factor comparable with that of similar silicon microcantilevers fabricated using other means. Our enabling technological process allows the rapid prototyping of chip-edge silicon microcantilevers—potentially integrating sensitive circuitry for novel probe technologies—by avoiding the relatively cumbersome, expensive, and potentially circuit-damaging front-to-back processing/deep etching combination.
Phenotypic analysis and correlation of eggs laid by two ectotypes of giant african land snails ( Archachatina marginata var . saturalis ) in calabar , Nigeria

The phenotypic analysis and correlations of the eggs laid by black-skinned and whiteskinned ectotypes of giant African land snails (Archachatina marginata var. saturalis) in Calabar, Nigeria were evaluated. Two hundred (200) snails, One hundred (100) each of black-skinned and white-skinned ectotype were used to generate eggs used for this study. The snails were divided into two mating groups, black-skinned x black-skinned and whiteskinned x white-skinned. The results of the study on phenotypic traits of the eggs revealed a high significant (P<0.05) mean number of egg, mean egg weight, mean egg length and mean egg width between the black-skinned and white-skinned ectotypes. The variations in mean egg traits between the two ectotypes in this study may indicate variation in genetic composition of the snails. The results of correlation among the egg traits revealed positive and highly significant phenotypic correlation (rp) within egg traits for the two ectotypes studied. The correlation could suggest that there are direct relationships between the traits, and that selection for one trait will lead to improvement in the other trait. It is recommended that intensive production and domestication of black-skinned be carried out since it seems to have high production rate to meet the animal protein supply of the populace then the whiteskinned. This is due to its larger size. © 2013 Elixir All rights reserved ARTICLE INF O Articl e h istory: Received: 18 May 2013; Received in revised form: 14 August 2013; Accepted: 17 August 2013;
Electromyographic and Performance Analysis during Three Sets of Resistance Exercises among Untrained Women

The number of sets need to be performed in a resistance training session has been debated for decades. As more recent studies showed the superiority of performing multiple sets in resistance training, the aim of this study was to determine and compare the muscle activation and performance during three sets of resistance exercises among untrained women. Thirty-two recreationally active, untrained women were recruited as participants. Muscle activation was obtained from the pectoralis major during bench press and vastus lateralis during squat using electromyography method. Performance was measured by the number of repetitions performed in the three sets during both exercises. Results showed that the number of repetitions decreased significantly as early in the second set and continued to reduce in the third set. No significant changes were found for muscular activation. As the conclusion, among untrained women, it seems that performance in resistance training tend to decrease as early as during the second set. It is recommended for untrained women to perform more than a single set for each exercises in a resistance training to enhance their muscular strength and endurance
Control of Bruchidius incarnatus and Rhyzopertha Dominica using two entomopathogenic fungi alone or in combination with modified diatomaceous earth

The efficacy of diatomaceous earth (DEs) alone and combined with two microbial pathogens Nomuraea rileyi and Lecanicillium lecanii against two species, Bruchidius incarnatus and Rhyzopertha dominica was evaluated. Modified diatoms with Calcium hydroxide (Ca-DE) and modified diatoms with Sodium hydroxide (Na-DE) were the highlight treatments against tested insects and achieved the highest mortality percentages. Ca-DE was the most effective DE and accomplished the highest mortality percentages recorded 88% and 96% after treated R. dominica and B. incarnatus with 1.0%, respectively. The lowest mortality percentage was recorded in case of Al-DE at concentration 0.5% and amounted (21and 15%), for the corresponding species, respectively. Ca-DE and Na-DE were the most effective treatments in enhancing the potency of the tested fungi. The presences of DEs seem to have different types of impact on fungal potency. In most cases, DE combinations with tested fungi had synergistic effects, while Al-DE impaired the efficacy of N. rileyi against tested insects. CaDE has insecticidal, repellent and ovicidal effects against target insects. The current results revealed that both Ca-DE and Na-DE were the most effective DEs tested and they had synergistic effects on the potency of tested fungi. © 2014 Elixir All rights reserved. Elixir Entomology 68 (2014) 22239-22242 Entomology Available online at www.elixirpublishers. com (Elixir International Journal)
NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES FIRM-LEVEL POLITICAL RISK : MEASUREMENT AND EFFECTS

We thank seminar participants at Barcelona GSE, Boston University, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, University of Bristol, University of Chicago, University of Exeter, University of Melbourne, Stanford SITE, the Stigler Center, DAR Conference at the University of Maastricht, and at the joint BeckerFriedman Institute and Hoover Institute Conference on Elections, Policymaking, and Uncertainty. We received helpful feedback from Scott Baker, Nick Bloom, Steve Davis, Gene Fama, Alex Frankel, Ray Fisman, Lars Peter Hansen, Rick Hornbeck, Emir Kamenica, Juhani Linnainmaa, Lubos Pastor, Andrei Shleifer, Chad Syverson, Stephen Terry, Pietro Veronesi, and Luigi Zingales. We are most grateful to Menno van Zaanen for generously providing his textual analysis code and for advising on computational linguistics matters. Markus Schwedeler deserves a special thanks for his excellent research assistance. We also thank Jakub Dudzic, Chris Emmery, Yusiyu Wang, and Hongcen Wei for their help as RAs at various stages. Funding for this project was provided by the Institute for New Economic Thinking. We further gratefully acknowledge the Fama-Miller Center at the University of Chicago (Hassan) and the London Business School (Tahoun) for financial support. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Studies on decolourization and COD reduction of dye effluent using advanced oxidation processes

The present paper involves the application of chemical and photochemical homogeneous advanced oxidation processes on the decolourization of textile effluent and Methyl Orange (MO) Dye. The decolourization efficiency of various oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), fenton reagent i.e. hydrogen peroxide and hydrated ferrous sulphate (H2O2/Fe 2+ ), sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), UV/H2O2/Fe 2+ , Solar/H2O2/Fe 2+ , UV/NaClO and Solar/NaClO has been investigated. The effect of process parameters viz., oxidant dose, pH, concentration of dye and source of light (UV/Solar) for decolourization and COD reduction of dye effluent and MO has been studied. The decolourization efficiency was estimated from residual concentration spectrophotometrically. The experimental results show that the maximum decolourisation (more than 95 %) and COD reduction (40 %) of effluent occurred using combined Solar/NaClO (20 mg/L) system at pH 6 within 20 minutes. The decolourization efficiency of MO dye with H2O2 or UV alone was found to be negligible but more than 95% efficiency could be achieved either with UV/H2O2/Fe 2+ (450 mg/L /150 mg/L) at pH 2 or Solar/NaClO (120 mg/L) at pH 6 within 30 minutes. © 2012 Elixir All rights reserved. ARTICLE INF O Artic le h istory: Received: 2 October 2012; Received in revised form: 7 December 2012; Accepted: 7 December 2012;
Knowledge Level on Cervical Cancer amongst HIV positive women in Makueni County , Kenya

Cancer of the cervix is a major cause of death in developing nations with low levels of screening uptake in Kenya. A descriptive study using interview administered questionnaire was used to determine the knowledge level on cervical cancer among 100 HIV/AIDS positive patients seeking care services at comprehensive care clinic (CCC) in Makueni county referral hospital. 97% of the respondents had heard about cancer of the cervix while barely 7% had been screened by papanicolaou (pap) smear. About 38% knew risk factors for cancer of the cervix with none mentioning HPV. 58% correctly mentioned ways of preventing it. Average knowledge level about cervical cancer was evident even though the HIV/AIDS positive women as risk population should be more
Breastfeeding mother-child clinical outcomes after COVID-19 vaccination

This is a prospective cohort study of 88 lactating women in Singapore who received two doses of BNT162b2 vaccination (Pfizer/BioNTech), whereby outcomes of mother-child dyads within 28 days after the second vaccine dose were determined through a structured questionnaire. Minimal effects related to breastfeeding were reported in this cohort; 3 of 88 (3.4%) women had mastitis with 1 of 88 (1.1%) women experiencing breast engorgement. We report an incidence of lymphadenopathy in our cohort at 5 of 88 (5.7%). Reassuringly, there was no change in reported breastmilk supply after vaccination. The most common side effect was pain/redness/swelling at the injection site, which was experienced by 57 of 88 (64.8%) women. There were no serious adverse events of anaphylaxis and hospital admissions. No adverse symptoms were reported in 67 of 88 (76.1%) breastfed children.
Relationship between teachers knowledge for teaching and students achievement in algebra in some selected senior high schools in Ghana

Core mathematics is a compulsory subject for all Senior High School students in Ghana and many other African countries. Students are expected to pass in this subject before moving on to any tertiary institution. In spite of the compulsory nature of the subject, underachievement of students in mathematics at the Senior High School level has been a matter of concern to the West African Examination Chief Examiner over the years. Though available literature is replete with factors such as pupil-teacher ratio, socio-economic status of students, class size, family background that account for students’ achievement, it is clear that the success of many students depends on the teacher. It is however unclear which aspect of the teacher is statistically significant predictor of what students learn. This paper focuses on the extent to which teachers’ knowledge for teaching correlates with students’ achievement in algebra at the Senior High School level in Ghana. In all, 17 Elective Mathematics teachers and 617 form Three Elective Mathematics students from ten public Senior High Schools in the Central Region of Ghana participated in the study. The samples were selected at random from four school categories; A, B, C and D according to Ghana Education Service classification. Two forms of instruments were administered; form one to students and form two to teachers, and the responses retrieved on the same day. A correlational analysis was used to test for statistical significance in the scores at 0.05 level of significance. Teachers’ knowledge for teaching was found to be significantly related to students’ achievement in
Reduction of apoptotic death of neurons СА-1 zone of hippocampus of rats in the condition of prenatal chronic alcoholisation by cerebrocurin and tiocetam

Our research found that prenatal alcoholism leads to increase of NO induction and nitrosine stress in the brain of newborn rats, evidenced by the increasing of nitrotyrosine in citosole and mitochondria. By adjusting the ratio of mitochondrial/cytosole concentrations of NO and reactive oxygen forms, cerebrocurin and tiocetam limited the effect of these compounds on the activation or deprivation of the processes of gene expression, transcription and translation in neuronal cells of brain of animals that survived the prenatal alcoholism and, thus, may provide the normal development of the cognitive functions of central nervous system. And increased expression of the protein bcl-2 in the group of animals receiving cerebrocurin and tiocetam, testifies to the activation of antiapoptosis protection of damaged neurons. © 2014 Elixir All rights reserved. ARTICLE INF O Articl e h istory: Received: 22 April 2013; Received in revised form: 29 September 2014; Accepted: 23 October 2014;