Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Excited States of Melatonin

Melatonin, a hormone that controls the circadian rhythm, has a strongly fluorescent singlet state. While it can sensitize the formation of singlet oxygen, the yield is limited by inefficient intersystem crossing. The triplet energy is ca 72 kcal/mol, sufficient to transfer efficiently to a variety of acceptors, including biphenyl, which has been used as a tool for triplet characterization.
Nanoflakes of cobalt oxide for highly sensitive sensing of two orally iron chelating drugs deferasirox and deferiprone

The synthesis of nanoflakes of cobalt oxide via electrodeposition onto platinum electrode surface was reported. The morphology of the electrodeposited thin film was studied by means of scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy techniques and the electrochemical characteristics were investigated using cyclic voltammetry. The applicability of the synthesised nanoflakes of cobalt oxide to electrocatalytic oxidation of two orally administered iron chelating drugs (deferasirox, ICL670 and deferiprone, CP20) was evaluated in an alkaline solution. The results indicate that the drugs were oxidised via oxyhydroxide species immobilised on the electrode surface through an electrocatalytic mechanism. The catalytic rate constants and the diffusion coefficients of the drugs were determined. A sensitive, simple and efficient amperometric procedure was developed for the analysis of deferasirox and deferiprone, with detection limits of 6.67 and 2.52 µM, respectively. The electrode was also used for the direct assay of deferasirox and deferiprone tablets and determination of their main metabolites in human serum and urine.
Scoliosis: A Retrospective Report Outcome of Posterior-Only Approach for Severe Rigid

Background: The management of severe scoliosis may lead to significant complications, and adequate mobilization is a key step to achieve maximal correction, usually requiring extensive approaches. There is still no consensus on the management of these severe and rigid curves. In this study we evaluated the clinical and radiologic outcome of a posterior-only approach with multilevel asymmetric Ponte osteotomy with a minimum of 2 years’ follow-up. Methods: In this retrospective study, 23 patients with severe and rigid adolescent idiopathic scoliosis who underwent surgery with a single-staged posterior-only approach were included. The surgical procedures in these patients were excision of posterior ligaments and spinous process, partial laminectomy in caudal part of lamina, excision of the ligamentum flavum, facetectomies, and multilevel asymmetric posterior column osteotomies (Ponte) followed by instrumented fusion. Clinical records—including demographic data; operating time; hospitalization time; blood loss; number of segments instrumented, fused, and osteotomized; functional improvement; follow-up duration; and complications—were recorded. Results: The mean preoperative Cobb angle of major curve in coronal plan was 97.5 8 (range, 82 8 –131 8 ) with the mean flexibility of 21.4 8 (range, 10 8 –25 8 ) on bending radiography. The mean immediate postoperative Cobb angle of major curve was 34.8 8 (range, 17 8 –61 8 ), showing a 64.2% correction. The mean preoperative coronal and sagittal imbalances of 3.8 and 4.2 cm were improved to 1.0 and 1.3 cm at postoperative measurements, respectively. A mean of 6.1 (range, 5–9) vertebral segments were osteotomized. We experienced no major complications. Conclusions: We found that a posterior-only procedure in patients with severe and rigid adolescent idiopathic scoliosis could provide correction rate, coronal and sagittal balance, and clinical outcomes comparable with other procedures. Using this technique can eliminate the need for the anterior release, with the associated complications related to anterior surgery, in the treatment of severe rigid scoliosis.
Electron‐Enhanced Hole Injection in Blue Polyfluorene‐Based Polymer Light‐Emitting Diodes

It has recently been reported that, after electrical conditioning, an ohmic hole contact is formed in poly(9,9‐dioctylfluorene) (PFO)‐based polymer light‐emitting diodes (PLED), despite the large hole‐injection barrier obtained with a poly(styrene sulfonic acid)‐doped poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT:PSS) anode. We demonstrate that the initial current at low voltages in a PEDOT:PSS/PFO‐based PLED is electron dominated. The voltage at which the hole injection is enhanced strongly depends on the electron‐transport properties of the device, which can be modified by the replacement of reactive end groups by monomers in the synthesis. Our measurements reveal that the switching voltage of the PLED is governed by the electron concentration at the PEDOT:PSS/PFO contact. The switching effect in PFO is only observed for a PEDOT:PSS hole contact and not for other anodes such as indium tin oxide or Ag.
The thermal stability of mixed phenylphosphonic acid/water intercalates of kaolin and halloysite. A TG–EGA and VT-DRIFTS study

Phenylphosphonic acid undergoes a topotactic reation with the available hydroxyls on the gibbsite sheet of kaolin and halloysite during reflux in a water–acteone mixture at 70°C. The reaction occurs much more rapidly with halloysite than with kaolin and the number of hydroxyls consumed is much higher for the halloysite than the kaolin. Variable temperature X-ray diffraction confirmed that the d-spacing for both kaolin–phenylphosphonic acid (KPPA) and halloysite–phenylphosphonic acid (HPPA) remained stable at 15.4 A to temperatures greater than 450°C. Variable temperature diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (VT-DRIFTS) together with TG–MS analysis of the evolved gases confirmed that the phenyl ring was not thermally desorbed until after dehydroxylation began to take place. Moreover, these techniques showed that the complexes contained water which was desorbed near 150°C. In addition VT-DRIFTS showed that this water was hydrogen bonded to the remaining surface hydroxyls on the gibbsite sheet resulting in a shift of the AlAlOH band from 934 to 885 cm−1 in both HPPA and KPPA. This band shifted back to 934 cm−1 when the hydrogen bonded water (characterised by an OH bending mode at 1643 cm−1 and an OH stretching mode at 3547 cm−1) was thermally desorbed.
Design and psychometric properties of BAtSS: A new tool to assess human attitudes towards bats.

Despite the benefits that bats offer the ecosystem, these animals are feared due to mythological beliefs and their association with dirt and disease. The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated this situation, exacerbating the already habitual attacks on these creatures. Today there is an urgent need to address the human-bat conflict in order to develop conservation policies. Understanding peoples' attitudes towards bats is a key part of this process. The object of this study was to design the Bats Attitudes Standard Scale (BAtSS) and analyse its psychometric properties. We developed an initial version of the scale in which we established the content validity; we analysed the items and structure in a pilot sample. In the next phase, we analysed psychometric properties in a sample of 1639 Chilean people. The final BAtSS consists of 34 Likert-type items configured in an oblique-hierarchical structure of 4 factors (Scientistic, Positivistic, Negativistic and Myths) and 3 facets (Negativistic-Emotional, Negativistic-Behavioural and Negativistic-Cognitive). It presents adequate internal consistency and the analysis of concurrent validity confirms the capacity of the scale to discriminate between groups. Women and participants with a lower level of education are more Negativistic and less Positivistic. People with a higher level of education have a less mythological view of bats. We also analysed the items which would be more/less difficult to change under the assumptions of Item Response Theory (IRT). Finally, BAtSS is a robust tool to assess the human attitudes and could help to understand and solve human-wildlife conflicts and therefore, improving the conservation actions
Effect of Ginger oil on the sensory and chemical changes of fish finger (Sarda sarda, Heckel 1843) during refrigerated storage

This study was examined the effect of ginger oil (0.5% and 1%) on chemical and sensorial quality and production of fingers from Sarda sarda. The amounts of moisture, crude ash, salt, pH, TVB-N and TBA in fillet were 77.16%,1.02% 0.59%, 6.43, 8 mg/100 g, 0.72 mgMDA/ kg, respectively, while fish finger paste was found to be 56.6%, 2.97%, 2.95%, 6.10, 7.76 mg/100 g, 0.69 mgMDA/kg, respectively. There was no significant difference between groups in terms of moisture, crude ash, and salt amount (p > 0.05). However, significant differences were found between groups in terms of pH, TVB-N and TBA values (p < 0.05) during storage. It was observed that the addition of ginger oil at 1% to fish fingers increased the shelf life of the products while the addition of ginger oil made a positive effect on sensory quality. In conclusion, the addition of 1% ginger oil to fish fingers allowed for an acceptable shelf life for up to 17 days at 4°C.
Holomorphic Vanishing Theorems on Finsler Holomorphic Vector Bundles and Complex Finsler Manifolds

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the holomorphic sections of holomorphic Finsler bundles over both compact and non-compact complete complex manifolds. We also inquire into the holomorphic vector fields on compact and non-compact complete complex Finsler manifolds. We get vanishing theorems in each case according to different certain curvature conditions. This work can be considered as generalizations of the classical results on Kähler manifolds and hermitian bundles.
To what extent can the Pt–C bond of a metallacycle labilize the trans position? A temperature- and pressure-dependent mechanistic study

The orthoplatinated complex [Pt{C6H3X(CH2NMe2)}(NC5H4SO3-3)(H2O)](X = H 1a or 3-MeO 1b) was designed for mechanistic studies in water. The aqua ligand is located trans to the Pt–C bond of the phenyl group which lies in the platinum(II) co-ordination plane. The rates of substitution of the aqua ligand by a series of nucleophiles (Nu)(Cl–, Br–, I–, N3–, SCN–, thiourea, N,N′-dimethylthiourea or N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylthiourea) were studied as a function of concentration, pH, temperature, and pressure by using a stopped-flow technique. The pKa value of the aqua ligand in 1a is 9.75 ± 0.05 and the observed pseudo-first-order rate constants for the substitution reaction are given by kobs=k1[Nu]+k–1. The k–1 term arises from the reverse solvoiysis reaction and is insignificant for stronger, S-donor nucleophiles. The values of k1 are ca. four orders of magnitude higher than the corresponding rate constants for anation reactions of [Pt(dien)(H2O)]2+(dien = diethylenetriamine) and close to the rate constants for anation of [Pd(dien)(H2O)]2+. The effect is largely due to a strong decrease in ΔH‡. An analysis of the activation parameters, ΔH‡, ΔS‡ and ΔV‡, clearly shows that the substantial rate increase is not associated with a changeover in mechanism and that the substitution process is still associative in nature.
Effects of ethephon, methanol, ethanol and girdling treatments on berry maturity and colour development in Cardinal table grapes

To hasten berry maturity and improve skin colour, the early-season table grape variety Cardinal was treated (post veraison) with a bunch + foliar spray using either 240 or 480 mg/L ethephon, as well as with 30% methanol, 30% ethanol (v/v); or by girdling. Treatment effects were evaluated in a randomised experimental design, with 10 replications of one plant per plot, down a single row. Ethephon at 480 mg/L applied twice, on July 2 when 5% of the berries showed colouring and on July 9 when 20% of the berries developed partial colour, increased total soluble solids, Brix/titratable acidity and skin colour. Girdling, methanol and ethanol also increased total soluble solids and berry colouration and caused faster ripening. Ethephon at 480 mg/L was generally the most effective means of hastening ripening and improving colour.
Fractionation of stable isotopes in perchlorate and nitrate during in situ biodegradation in a sandy aquifer

Environmental context. Perchlorate (ClO4–) and nitrate (NO3–) are common co-contaminants in groundwater, with both natural and anthropogenic sources. Each of these compounds is biodegradable, so in situ enhanced bioremediation is one alternative for treating them in groundwater. Because bacteria typically fractionate isotopes during biodegradation, stable isotope analysis is increasingly used to distinguish this process from transport or mixing-related decreases in contaminant concentrations. However, for this technique to be useful in the field to monitor bioremediation progress, isotope fractionation must be quantified under relevant environmental conditions. In the present study, we quantify the apparent in situ fractionation effects for stable isotopes in ClO4– (Cl and O) and NO3– (N and O) resulting from biodegradation in an aquifer. Abstract. An in situ experiment was performed in a shallow alluvial aquifer in Maryland to quantify the fractionation of stable isotopes in perchlorate (Cl and O) and nitrate (N and O) during biodegradation. An emulsified soybean oil substrate that was previously injected into this aquifer provided the electron donor necessary for biological perchlorate reduction and denitrification. During the field experiment, groundwater extracted from an upgradient well was pumped into an injection well located within the in situ oil barrier, and then groundwater samples were withdrawn for the next 30 h. After correction for dilution (using Br– as a conservative tracer of the injectate), perchlorate concentrations decreased by 78% and nitrate concentrations decreased by 82% during the initial 8.6 h after the injection. The observed ratio of fractionation effects of O and Cl isotopes in perchlorate (ϵ18O/ϵ37Cl) was 2.6, which is similar to that observed in the laboratory using pure cultures (2.5). Denitrification by indigenous bacteria fractionated O and N isotopes in nitrate at a ratio of ~0.8 (ϵ18O/ϵ15N), which is within the range of values reported previously for denitrification. However, the magnitudes of the individual apparent in situ isotope fractionation effects for perchlorate and nitrate were appreciably smaller than those reported in homogeneous closed systems (0.2 to 0.6 times), even after adjustment for dilution. These results indicate that (1) isotope fractionation factor ratios (ϵ18O/ϵ37Cl, ϵ18O/ϵ15N) derived from homogeneous laboratory systems (e.g. pure culture studies) can be used qualitatively to confirm the occurrence of in situ biodegradation of both perchlorate and nitrate, but (2) the magnitudes of the individual apparent ϵ values cannot be used quantitatively to estimate the in situ extent of biodegradation of either anion.
Emotions

one newly devised. The format and nature of the individual entries can be exempliμed by the treatment given to the initial entry, although many fables receive considerably briefer treatment. First, the tale is thoroughly identiμed: the heading (H. 1) indicates that the narrative is the initial fable in Hausrath’s edition; additional references and cross-references relate the fable to A. ’s medieval inventory (M. 33), to other critical editions of anonymous Greek fables (Chambry 3, Perry 1), and to pertinent motifs in Stith Thompson’s Motif-Index of Folk-Literature; and the title of the fable is given in Greek (Aetos kai Alôpêks) and in English. After this basic information, the Greek and Latin sources for the tale of the Eagle and the Fox are given, leading to a summary of the fable’s contents and observations on variations in content by di¶erent authors. Next, A. o¶ers a brief description of the structure, characters, and themes of the fable, along with observations on its history and development, culminating in a stemma that traces the fable’s literary history, as the author reconstructs it, from Archilochos to Romulus. Finally, A. prints possible traces of Hellenistic verse in the Greek prose versions, in support of his conviction that this fable is one of many that derive from a lost book of fables in Greek verse. Frequent references are made throughout to earlier discussions of di¶erent aspects of the Eagle and the Fox in Volumes I and II. The entry on this fable concludes with two separate sets of supplementary references, new to the English edition, one by A. and the other by van Dijk. The fable inventory is the fruit of an enormous amount of meticulous scholarship, and it will be a welcome resource for all scholars pursuing work on individual Greek and Latin fables and fable-like narratives. Nevertheless, some of the evidence and results will be of little interest to researchers who do not share A. ’s conclusions concerning the transmission of the ancient Greek fables, which, for one thing, is seen as an almost entirely literary process. The reader will μnd a summary of the author’s views at the end of the preceding volume (II.711–26). The four-part fable inventory is followed by an impressive series of indices, over 100 pages of them, prepared by van Dijk. These include correlations of the enumeration of the fables in the present work to those in the standard critical editions as well as to Antti Aarne’s and Stith Thompson’s The Types of the Folktale and to Thompson’s Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, an index of the languages of the fables cited, an index of the fables by character, and an index of fable passages cited. No subject index for the work as a whole is provided, nor is there a bibliography of scholarly works cited.
Mining

Purpose. To establish the feasibility of refining deep open­pit mines below the boundary of the use of combined motor­con­ veyor transport with an increased slope angles of the pit walls using the developed transport unit for reloading rocks to overlying horizons during the reactivation of pillars under transport berms. Methodology. Preparation of a digital block model of the deposit, the elaboration of 3D geomechanical models for the dynam­ ics of mining, 2D and 3D numerical simulation of the rock stress­strain state of the outcrops of opencast workings, mathematical modeling of stepwise ore reserves and mining schedule, patent research and feasibility study. Findings. It is advisable to carry out mining in terms of the marginal rock state with an increase in the slope of the pit sides below the limit of application of the cyclic and continuous method in ultra­deep open pits. Such design of pit sides is achieved when benches are mined from top to bottom within the boundaries of steeply inclined layers with the use of inter­bench loaders of the developed designed in the completion zone. Provisions for the selection and feasibility of using the loader in the deep zone are formulated based on demarcation of application zones of cyclic (road transport) and cyclic­flow (combined road­conveyor trans­ port) technologies. Originality. Schematization of the mining operation was performed based on the calculated values of safety factor of sides, which allows increasing the slope angles of the pit walls of even ultra­deep open pits in the completion zone. It was found that with deepening of mining, the zones of potential sliding move away from the loose overburden to lower ore benches closer to the final depth of the Kacharsky open pit (760 m), but the safety factor corresponds to the required value according to the design standards. Practical value. An increase in the slope of the pit walls in the completion zone can be achieved using the developed loading installation, the main difference of which is that it can be moved without dismantling under conditions of reactivation of transport pillars (with an increase in lifting height by 1.5–4.5 times compared to the known equipment).
Analysis of Polyphenols from Hop Bract Region Using CCC

Abstract Polyphenols derived from hop (Humulus lupulus L.) bract region (HBP) can be used as food materials, thereby preventing dental caries. Chemical details of the active substances need to be elucidated. The polyphenols from hop bract (HBP) region were purified by countercurrent chromatography (CCC). The fractions were analyzed by high‐performance size‐exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) and reversed phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (RP‐HPLC). From HBP fractions by HPSEC, some low‐molecular‐ weight polyphenols (glycosides of flavonoids, catechins, and proanthocyanidins) were identified by RP‐HPLC. However, a very hydrophilic fraction was found to have the most potent cavity‐preventive activity, but it showed no peak in its RP‐HPLC chromatogram (absence of small polyphenols). HPSEC analysis showed that the major components of this fraction were high‐molecular weight substances, which were supposed to be proanthocyanidins, consisting of approximately 22 catechin units in its structure.
Characterization of iron oxide-silica nanocomposites in flames: Part II. Comparison of discrete-sectional model predictions to experimental data

A discrete-sectional model accounting for particle formation by chemical reaction and growth by coagulation and condensation is developed to predict the evolution of the nanocomposite aerosol size distribution in a multicomponent iron-silicon system in a flame. Particle formation by nucleation of the vapor is represented by an Arrhenius-type rate expression, with the rate constant being obtained from experiments and simulation results reported in the literature. Precursor vapor concentrations and the second aerosol volume moment predictions are compared to laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and light scattering intensity measurements from experiments described in Part I^20 of the paper. The results elucidate the important formation and growth mechanisms of nanocomposite ferric oxide-silica particles in flame reactors. The role of operating parameters such as precursor characteristics and temperature profiles on the final product characteristics is established.