Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biodynamic modelling of the bioaccumulation of arsenic by the polychaete Nereis diversicolor

Environmental context Models that explain the uptake and bioaccumulation of an element in an aquatic ecosystem are valuable for predicting its potential ecotoxicity in coastal areas. Arsenic is a toxic element that is strongly adsorbed to sediments, offering a potential risk to deposit-feeding invertebrates, and ultimately to consumers higher up coastal food chains. This study uses biodynamic modelling to predict the uptake and accumulation of arsenic from water and sediment in a deposit-feeding polychaete worm that is a major source of food to fish and wading birds in estuaries. Abstract Arsenic (AsV) uptake and bioaccumulation from water and ingested sediment by the deposit-feeding polychaete Nereis diversicolor has been investigated using biodynamic modelling. Worms accumulated As from solution linearly at dissolved concentrations from 2 to 20 µg L–1 (uptake rate constant 0.057 l g–1 day–1 at 10°C, 16-psu salinity), and the As assimilation efficiency from ingested sediment was 28.9%. Efflux rate constants of As taken up from water and ingested sediment were 0.0488 and 0.0464 day–1 and did not differ significantly. Sediment As concentrations, ranging from very high to low, were measured at eight estuarine sites, and the model predicted accumulated As concentrations in resident N. diversicolor. Comparisons of predicted against independently measured As concentrations in locally collected worms showed that the model generally performed well, highlighting the potential of biodynamic modelling in predicting the uptake and therefore ecotoxicity of As in estuarine sediments.
SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF ROMAN GLASS FROM AUGUSTA PRAETORIA

Fifty-five fragments of Roman glass from Augusta Praetoria (Aosta, Italy) were analysed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy determining 15 elements (Si, Na, Ca, Al, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ti, Sr, Ba, Cr, Ni, Cu, Co and Pb) on dissolved samples; in addition, potassium was determined by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. The analytical results indicate that all the fragments, with one exception, are silica-soda-lime glasses; (he exception is a potash glass. Cluster analysis was performed on the analytical data by accounting for either 14 (all the elements searched for but Ni and Pb) or eight elements (after further removal of Si, Fe, Mn, Cr, Cu and Co from the data set). The results obtained indicate that, once colouring and decolouring agents are removed, the classification of the glasses seems to be mainly determined by chronology; separate groups within coeval fragments may indicate different provenances.
Excessive Nitrogen Inputs in Intensive Greenhouse Cultivation May Influence Soil Microbial Biomass and Community Composition

Intensive greenhouse vegetable‐production systems commonly utilize excessive fertilizer inputs that are inconsistent with sustainable production and may affect soil quality. Soil samples were collected from 15 commercial greenhouses used for tomato production and from neighboring fields used for wheat cropping to determine the effects of intensive vegetable cultivation on soil microbial biomass and community structure. Soil total nitrogen (N) and organic‐matter contents were greater in the intensive greenhouse tomato soils than the open‐field wheat soils. Soil microbial carbon (C) contents were greater in the greenhouse soils, and soil microbial biomass N showed a similar trend but with high variation. The two cropping systems were not significantly different. Soil microbial biomass C was significantly correlated with both soil total N and soil organic matter, but the relationships among soil microbial biomass N, soil total N, and organic‐matter content were not significant. The Biolog substrate utilization potential of the soil microbial communities showed that greenhouse soils were significantly higher (by 14%) than wheat soils. Principal component (PC) analysis of soil microbial communities showed that the wheat sites were significantly correlated with PC1, whereas the greenhouse soils were variable. The results indicate that changes in soil microbiological properties may be useful indicators for the evaluation of soil degradation in intensive agricultural systems.
Snow removal and its influence on temperature and N dynamics in alpine soils (Vallée d'Aoste, northwest Italy)

The effect of a lack of snow cover in winter was investigated in two soils, beneath larch and meadow, in NW Italy (Vallee d'Aoste Region). During the late 1980s and early 1990s and 2000s, this region experienced extreme climatic conditions including a low snow pack and lack of snow cover for extended periods with important effects on soil temperature and nutrient dynamics. In particular, the mountain belt in the Alps may be extremely sensitive to these phenomena, in relation to the rise in average snowline projected under a warmer global climate. The study area is located at an elevation of 1450 m asl in the Italian Alps (Mont Mars Natural Reserve). During the winter 2003/04, snow was continuously removed in a treatment plot while a reference plot was maintained undisturbed. Soil temperature was measured at 10cm depth by data loggers (UTL-1). Soil N transformations in the topsoil (10cm depth) were determined by the buried-bag technique. The removal of the snow cover caused a significant decrease in soil temperature, related to concurrent decreases in air temperature. The lowest soil temperatures recorded were -4.3°C and -4.5°C beneath larch and meadow, respectively, on January 31, 2004. Soil temperature in the undisturbed plots was maintained above the freezing point when the snow cover was present. The snow removal caused significant increases in net ammonification in both soils and net nitrification only under meadow, but did not affect microbial biomass N which decreased in both plots. Our results suggest that the lower temperature reached in the plot without snow favored the production of inorganic N by physical rather than microbial degradation of soil organic matter (SOM). Soil freezing could enhance soil-aggregate disruption releasing physically protected SOM and fragmentation of OM itself.
MICROSCOPIC SPREADING CHARACTERISTICS OF NONPOLAR PERFLUOROPOLYETHER FILMS

The surface diffusion characteristics of nonpolar perfluoropolyether (PFPE) Z on carbon surfaces are investigated in two regimes, submonolayer and multilayer, for nano-thin films. For the submonolayer regime, the two-dimensional, cubic van der Waals equation of state is applied to determine the dependence of the surface diffusion coefficient on the film thickness, as experimental surface diffusion coefficients increase with increasing film thickness. For the multilayer regime, a conventional fluid mechanics analysis with position dependent viscosity and a van der Waals disjoining pressure gradient is applied to investigate the surface diffusion characteristics. The present theoretical analysis qualitatively agrees with the experimental results.
Characterization of photorefractive LiNbO3 waveguides fabricated by combined proton and copper exchange

Photorefractive planar waveguides in LiNbO 3 are fabricated by a combined proton and copper exchange. The dependence of refractive index profiles, optical absorption, and electrooptic coefficients on different fabrication steps is investigated. With holographic methods dark and photoconductivity, holographic sensitivity, and light-induced refractive index change in the waveguides are measured. By the additional copper exchange the steady state diffraction efficiency of holographic gratings in our proton-exchanged waveguides is increased from 0.01 to 65%.
TEM imaging and analysis of microinclusions in diamonds: A close look at diamond-growing fluids

Abstract Fluid-bearing microinclusions in diamonds (<1 μm) provide a unique source of information on the diamond-forming medium. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigation of such microinclusions enables the detailed study of their size, external habit, internal morphology, and mineralogy, and yields information on the chemical composition and crystallography of the included phases. Here we present a detailed TEM examination of microinclusions in four fibrous diamonds from Canada and Siberia, each with a distinctive inferred original fluid composition. Most microinclusions contain multi-phase assemblages that include carbonate, halide, apatite, possible pyroxene, and high-silica mica (6.8-7.7 Si atoms per formula unit) whose composition lies along the phlogopite-Al-celadonite join. The TEM results, together with the tight range of composition detected by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and the volatiles detected by infrared (IR) spectroscopy, suggest that the microinclusions trapped a uniform, dense, supercritical fluid and that the crystallized minerals grew as secondary phases during cooling. Carbonates appear in all assemblages, together with either halides or silicates, indicative of the importance of carbonatitic high-density fluid during diamond growth and fluid evolution. The presence of halide-carbonate or silicate-carbonate assemblages is in agreement with the bulk composition of the microinclusions as detected by EPMA. The high K content of some microinclusions detected by EPMA cannot be accounted for by the solid phases analyzed by TEM. This discrepancy suggests that K is concentrated in the residual fluid that is lost during TEM sample preparation. In addition to microinclusions, large cavities containing amorphous phases were found in the inner parts of one Siberian and one Canadian diamond. An Al-rich phase is the most abundant, and it is accompanied by Ca-rich and Si-rich phases. These phases may be explained by amorphization of crystalline phases. A breakdown of a single melt into three immiscible components is less likely.
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Contamination of Surface Sediments from Port Dickson, Malaysia: Distribution, Sources and Ecological Risk Assessment

Distribution and sources of 16 parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in surface sediments from Port Dickson, Malaysia. Total PAHs varied from 481.3 to 976.6 with a mean value of 679.3 ng g−1 dry weight, which can be classified as moderate level of pollution. The toxic assessment suggested that the PAHs in sediments will not cause immediately adverse biological effects. Both petrogenic and pyrogenic PAHs were recorded in the study area with dominance of pyrogenic. The authors believe that effective monitoring and implementation of environmental regulations have resulted in a tremendous improvement of sediment quality in the Malaysian aquatic ecosystem.
Effects of filler level in RTV silicone rubber coatings used in HV insulators

The ability of room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone rubber insulator coatings to suppress leakage current, thereby preventing power outages due to contamination, was studied. The RTV coatings were applied to porcelain suspension and line post insulators for a comparative study of the performance of coated and uncoated insulators. A study of the role of alumina trihydrate (ATH) which is used to impart tracking and erosion resistance to RTV coating is reported. A study of the diffusion of silicone fluid from the bulk to the surface of the RTV silicone rubber having various ATH filler levels using attenuated total reflection (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is also reported. It has been found that the diffusion rate of the silicone fluid from the bulk to the surface of the coating after extensive dry band arcing decreases with increasing filler level. >
Chemical optimisation of the compressive strength of aluminosilicate geopolymers synthesised by sodium silicate activation of metakaolinite

High strength cements can be synthesised by alkali activation of materials rich in Al2O3 and SiO2. In this study, amorphous aluminosilicate polymers produced by sodium silicate activation of metakaolinite were studied, with particular reference to chemical optimisation of the compressive strength according to the relative concentrations of Si, Al and Na in the polymer. The sodium silicate was manufactured from silica fume and sodium hydroxide. The compressive strengths of polymers with Si∶Al molar ratios of 1.0–3.0 and Na∶Al molar ratios of 0.5–2.0 were considered. The polymers were cured at 75 °C for 24 h and their compressive strengths measured after aging for 7 days. The strength was found to depend systematically on the relative amounts of Si, Al and Na, with the maximum being 64 ± 3 MPa for an Si∶Al∶Na molar ratio of 2.5∶1∶1.3. X-Ray diffraction/scattering data indicate qualitatively that the bonding network in the amorphous aluminosilicate alters systematically with composition.
Plait Points in Two‐ and Three‐Component Liquid Mixtures

It is pointed out that the plait‐point (isothermal critical‐mixing‐point) phenomenon in a three‐component liquid system of fixed pressure and temperature is identical in character to that in a two‐component liquid system of fixed temperature but variable pressure. A lattice‐gas model of a two‐component liquid system is described. The intermolecular forces are all postulated to be infinitely strong repulsions, as between hard cores, but the model system nevertheless undergoes first‐order phase transitions with an associated plait point. The behavior of the system with varying densities ρ1 and ρ2 of its two components, at fixed temperature, is shown to be exactly transcribable, with only a change of language, from the behavior of a reference one‐component lattice gas of varying density and temperature, in which the interaction between neighboring molecules is attractive. The critical point of the reference one‐component system is mapped into a plait point in the isothermal ρ1, ρ2 plane of the binary system.
Data of SemanticWeb as Unit of Knowledge

In service to the state of the art, advances are required toward redesigning the framework over which web applications are built. The semantic web lies at the intersection of web and machine understandable meaningful data, turning it into intelligent ‘web of data’. The key requirement with any intelligent system has been to ﬁnd a concrete knowledge representation that can make the inferences within time and space constraints; that is, reasoning effectively and efﬁciently within the resource constraints posed to the problem at one hand and with insufﬁcient data as well as incomplete knowledge on the other hand. Various Knowledge representation schemes have been proposed in the literature, each having its limitation over the others. Ontology is the key component for semantic web engineering. Ontologies are conceptual knowledge bases providing a systematic and taxonomical description of the concepts and instances under consideration. Conceptual clarity in the computational representation of a concept is vital for holistic thinking and knowledge engineering. In order to meet the needs of an application/enterprise, knowledge should be presented taking care of all possible perspectives; and represented in a hierarchical structure with differing levels of granularity. This paper discusses about bringing all the manifestations of an ontological Journal of Web Engineering, Vol. 17 8, 647–
Desenvolvimento inicial de trigo sob doses de nitrogênio em Latossolo Vermelho de Cerrado

The soil conditions, climate, topography and adapted varieties have favored the cultivation of wheat in the 'Cerrado'. However, regarding the nitrogen fertilization, it is considered the main factor for increasing production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the initial development and dry mass production of wheat plants cv. Guamirim fertilized with nitrogen in the 'Cerrado' Oxisol. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse at the University of Mato Grosso - Campus of Rondonopolis, in recipients of 5 dm3. The experimental design was completely randomized with six levels of nitrogen (0, 80, 160, 240, 320 and 400 mg dm-3), five replications with five plants per pot. The evaluation periods were: 26, 33, 40 and 47 days after emergence, where the number of leaves and tillers, plant height, dry mass of shoots and roots were determined. Nitrogen fertilization affected the wheat plant development for all evaluated periods. The best responses of wheat to nitrogen fertilization occurred at doses ranging from 80 to 195.6 mg dm-3.
An Empirical Method for the Determination of the Complex Refractive Index of Size-Fractionated Atmospheric Aerosols for Radiative Transfer Calculations

To adequately assess the effects of atmospheric aerosols on climate, their optical constants (scattering and absorption coefficients) must be known. The absorption and scattering coefficients of the aerosols are derived from the real and imaginary parts of the complex refractive index and are dependent on their size and chemical composition. Because aerosol properties vary significantly with location, it is difficult to assign values for the absorption and scattering of solar radiation by aerosols in models of global climate change. This study reports a new method of collecting size-fractionated atmospheric aerosol samples for the purpose of directly measuring their transmission and reflectance spectra followed by the determination of the complex refractive index across the entire atmospherically relevant spectral range. The samples were collected with a modified Sierra high-volume cascade impactor with the usual filter collection surfaces replaced with Teflon sheets machined to hold quartz (ultraviolet [UV]/visible transparent) and/or silver chloride (infrared transparent) sample collection plates. Reflectance and transmission spectra can be obtained on the aerosol samples directly as a function of wavelength, from 280 nm to 2.5 m, with an integrating sphere coupled to an UV/visible or a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer. The effective real and imaginary components of the refractive index of the bulk sample material can then be approximated, as a function of wavelength, from the sample spectra. Preliminary results are presented for carbon soot samples generated in the laboratory and for standard diesel soot samples in the UV/visible spectral range. These are compared to results obtained for size-fractionated atmospheric aerosol samples collected near Pasco, WA, West Mesa, AZ, and Argonne, IL.
DETERMINANT FACTOR ANALYSIS ON COMMUNITY RURAL TOURISM IN INDONESIA

Mostly the tourist destination in Indonesia found in rural areas and belongs to the local community, who lives with limitations in terms of economy, low infrastructure accessibility, and lack of ability to manage natural resources. The study tries to portray and identify the local context of community-based tourism concepts through academic perspectives. It intended to identify the success factors of community-based tourism management for rural tourism objects in Indonesia. It conducted in five water tourism objects from five different regions, are Umbul Ponggok, Situ Panjalu, Situ Cibulan, Kola Lagundih, and Srigethuk. The research used a quantitative approach with discriminant analysis, data collected from 221 respondents through a questionnaire. The study shows that from the six predictors is that the leadership came as the main factor driving success in its implementation. Leadership plays an important role in grass root tourism management since it conceives to a traditional community. Accordingly, the traditional entities may cultural, socioeconomic, structural-administration aspects are, in practice, intertwined. Keywords: Participation, Ownership; Responsibility; Sharing of Resources; Leadership; Partnership
A Scoping Review on Palliative Care: Knowledge and Attitude of Nurses

Background: Palliative care is an essential aspect of care for advanced life-threatening illnesses. It involves holistic care that helps improve the quality of life for chronically ill patients. Palliative care is not meant to cure disease. Instead, it focuses on alleviating the burden of symptoms, easing the discomfort and stress that accompanies living with a life-threatening disease. The attitudes and knowledge of nurses play a vital role in the delivery of palliative care. Nurses should have a positive attitude and a good knowledge of palliative care. This review aims to identify, synthesize, and appraise the relevant evidence on nurses’ level of knowledge and attitude toward palliative care and factors associated with such knowledge and attitude. Methods: A literature search was conducted using several databases: CINAHL, PubMed, MEDLINE, and ScienceDirect. The search was limited to publications written in English between 2016 and 2020 using the search terms “nurses’ knowledge,” or / and “attitude” AND “palliative care. ” Results: 12 studies were identified, analyzed, and synthesized in this review. All studies were quantitative, cross sectional. The finding demonstrates a general lack of sufficient knowledge on palliative care among nurses; however, nurses’ attitudes toward palliative care were positive. Factors found to affect nurse’s knowledge and attitude regarding palliative care included age, educational level, years of experience, and education/training in palliative care. This review demonstrates a gap on nursing knowledge about palliative care. Nurses have inadequate knowledge of palliative care, suggesting a need for increased attention to this subject. It is necessary to Incorporate palliative care education/ training in nursing curricula and establish regular/continuous professional education courses on palliative care by the national health policies. In contrast to the negative findings regarding knowledge, nurses’ attitudes towards palliative care were favorable. The need to implement strategies to improve knowledge as well as attitudes is necessary. Therefore, further research is required to develop interventions that improve knowledge and attitudes toward palliative care among nurses.
Chemical modification of metal oxide surfaces in supercritical CO2 : The interaction of supercritical CO2 with the adsorbed water layer and the surface hydroxyl groups of a silica surface

Infrared spectroscopy was used to probe the interaction of CO2 under supercritical fluid (SCF) conditions with a fumed silica. The experimental difficulties associated with CO2 absorption of infrared light in the hydroxyl spectral region are overcome by using deuterated silica or by venting of the CO2 prior to obtaining a spectrum. It is shown that CO2 behaves quite differently from traditional nonaqueous solvents (i.e., carbon tetrachloride, toluene, and cyclohexane) with respect to interactions with the adsorbed layer of water on the surface. A dry silica easily extracts and adsorbs the residual water present in these nonaqueous solvents whereas, in contrast, a dry silica remains dry when placed in contact with the SCF CO2. Moreover, the CO2 extracts the adsorbed water from wet silica. The SCF solvent extracts more surface water into the fluid phase with increasing density, and repeated extraction cycles with SCF CO2 result in the removal of all water from the surface. The interaction of SCF CO2 with th.