Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Carbon dioxide (CO2) Valorization by Mineral Storage and Abiotic Hydrocarbons Generation

This study examined hydrogen production, CO2 storage and abiotic hydrocarbon generation during gas-water-rock interactions by conducting hydrothermal experiments. The first part of this manuscript presents the simultaneous CO2 sequestration and hydrogen production by reacting New Caledonian mine tailings with CO2 saturated water at 473 K <T< 573 K and 15 MPa <PCO2< 30 MPa. The results showed that the best conditions for both these reactions were 523 K <T<540 K at 30 MPa, capturing 320.5 g of CO2 in the form of iron-rich magnesite ((Mg,Fe)CO3), and producing 0.57 g of H2 per 1 kg of mine tailings. In addition, considering the annual mine tailings production and the annual CO2 emission in New Caledonia, the proposed method could potentially capture ~90 % of New Caledonia’s CO2 emissions. In addition, the H2 produced by this method could offset ~10 % of New- Caledonia’s annual electrical consumption. Further investigation of secondary products and their mineral-water interfaces at nanometer scale indicated that the reactions were taken place by dissolving mine tailings followed by precipitation of iron rich magnesite, smectite group clay minerals (nontronite, vermiculite), traces of iron oxides and amorphous silica. Although, the phyllosilicates and amorphous silica could potentially act as passivating layers, slowing down the dissolution kinetics and consequently limiting the CO2 storage and H2 production capacities, our experiments demonstrated that the reactivity of New Caledonian mine tailings could also be lowered by the presence of glass. The second part of this manuscript presents the interaction of dissolved CO2 and H2 during the synthesis of “abiotic” hydrocarbons, via Fischer-Tropsch type (FTT) synthesis in the presence of two potential catalysts found in natural systems; sphalerite (ZnS) and marcasite (FeS2). The experiments were conducted at 573 K and 30 MPa in gold capsules heated and pressurize in autoclaves. Hydrogen necessary for the reaction was provided by Fe2+ oxidation of minerals such as olivine (Mg1.80Fe0.2SiO4), fayalite (Fe2SiO4) and Fe-rich chlorite or chamosite (6Fe5Al(AlSi3)O10(OH)8). Methane (CH4) produced in our experiments was one order of magnitude higher than those reported in previous studies when magnetite and iron oxide-chromite were used as catalysts for CH4 production, and in the same order of magnitude as pentlandite and Fe-Ni alloy catalysts. However, the small conversion rates of inorganic carbon into organic carbon as well as the Schulz-Flory distribution of C1-C4 alkanes demonstrated that sphalerite and marcasite do not explicitly catalyze the FTT synthesis of hydrocarbons under the conditions of these experiments.
Lung cancer cells survive epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor exposure through upregulation of cholesterol synthesis

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) provide clinical benefits over chemotherapy for lung cancer patients with EGFR activating mutations. Despite initial clinical responses, long‐term efficacy is not possible because of acquired resistance to these therapies. We have developed EGFR TKI drug‐tolerant (DT) human lung cancer cell lines as a model for de novo resistance. Mass spectroscopic analysis revealed that the cytochrome P450 protein, CYP51A1 (Lanosterol 14α‐demethylase), which is directly involved with cholesterol synthesis, was significantly upregulated in the DT cells. Total cellular cholesterol, and more specifically, mitochondrial cholesterol, were found to be upregulated in DT cells. We then used the CYP51A1 inhibitor, ketoconazole, to downregulate cholesterol synthesis. In both parental and DT cells, ketoconazole and EGFR TKIs acted synergistically to induce apoptosis and overcome the development of EGFR tolerance. Lastly, this combination therapy was shown to shrink the growth of tumors in an in vivo mouse model of EGFR TKI resistance. Thus, our study demonstrates for the first time that ketoconazole treatment inhibits upregulation of mitochondrial cholesterol and thereby overcomes EGFR‐TKI resistance in lung cancer cells.
Analysis and quantification of ENSO-linked changes in the tropical Atlantic cloud vertical distribution using 14 years of MODIS observations

Abstract. A total of 14 years (September 2002 to September 2016) of Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) monthly mean cloud data are used to quantify possible changes in the cloud vertical distribution over the tropical Atlantic. For the analysis multiple linear regression techniques are used. For the investigated time period significant linear changes were found in the domain-averaged cloud-top height (CTH) (−178 m per decade), the high-cloud fraction (HCF) (−0.0006 per decade), and the low-cloud amount (0.001 per decade). The interannual variability of the time series (especially CTH and HCF) is highly influenced by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Separating the time series into two phases, we quantified the linear change associated with the transition from more La Niña-like conditions to a phase with El Niño conditions (Phase 2) and vice versa (Phase 1). The transition from negative to positive ENSO conditions was related to a decrease in total cloud fraction (TCF) (−0.018 per decade; not significant) due to a reduction in the high-cloud amount (−0.024 per decade; significant). Observed anomalies in the mean CTH were found to be mainly caused by changes in HCF rather than by anomalies in the height of cloud tops themselves. Using the large-scale vertical motion ω at 500 hPa (from ERA-Interim ECMWF reanalysis data), the observed anomalies were linked to ENSO-induced changes in the atmospheric large-scale dynamics. The most significant and largest changes were found in regions with strong large-scale upward movements near the Equator. Despite the fact that with passive imagers such as MODIS it is not possible to vertically resolve clouds, this study shows the great potential for large-scale analysis of possible changes in the cloud vertical distribution due to the changing climate by using vertically resolved cloud cover and linking those changes to large-scale dynamics using other observations or model data.
Estimation of total phenolic contents and antioxidant capacities in some green and black tea of Saudi Arabia markets and evaluation of their antibacterial activity

Tea is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world after water and considered a good antioxidant nutrient against free radical reactions. Teas are classified into more than one type depending on the manufacturing process. Green and black tea leaves are rich in phenolic compounds that are known for their antioxidant activity, having a beneficial effect on human health. The objective of this study was to determine phenolic content, antioxidant capacities as well as the antibacterial activity of green and black tea for the most popular brands in Saudi Arabia, Lipton and Rabea. The results showed that the content of polyphenols was higher for green brands 524.10 ± 11.8 and 553.75 ± 14.0 mg/g than black brands 468.70 ± 10.5 and 466.25 ± 6.8 mg/g for Lipton and Rabea types respectively. Moreover, it was found that all tea types exhibited high antioxidant activity, but green tea brands were higher 93.94 and 94.08 % than black brands 93.64 and 93.32 % for Lipton and Rabea brands respectively. Test of antibacterial activity showed that green tea was more effective in inhibiting the growth of the test organisms than black tea, where it showed antibacterial activity with a mean diameter of inhibition zone ranged from 9.0 ± 0.22 to13.0 ± 0.24 mm in comparison with black tea 9.0 ± 0.20 to 11.0 ± 0.10 mm. The present study indicated that no significant differences were noted in total phenolic contents and antioxidant activities for black and green tea. but Rabea green tea exhibited stronger antibacterial activity than black tea brands. To our knowledge, no studies have so far been done to compare these properties of two commercial black and green teas available in the markets of Saudi Arabia.
Single Crystal Perovskite Solar Cells: Development and Perspectives

The efficiency of perovskite solar cells has increased to a certified value of 25.2% in the past 10 years, benefiting from the superior properties of metal halide perovskite materials. Compared with the widely investigated polycrystalline thin films, single crystal perovskites without grain boundaries have better optoelectronic properties, showing great potential for photovoltaics with higher efficiency and stability. Additionally, single crystal perovskite solar cells are a fantastic model system for further investigating the working principles related to the surface and grain boundaries of perovskite materials. Unfortunately, only a handful of groups have participated in the development of single crystal perovskite solar cells; thus, the development of this area lags far behind that of its polycrystalline counterpart. Therefore, a review paper that discusses the recent developments and challenges of single crystal perovskite solar cells is urgently required to provide guidelines for this emerging field. In this progress report, the optical and electrical properties of single crystal and polycrystalline perovskite thin films are compared, followed by the recent developments in the growth of single crystal perovskite thin films and the photovoltaic applications of this material. Finally, the challenges and perspectives of single crystal perovskite solar cells are discussed in detail.
Tentative characterization of phenolic compounds in three species of the genus Embelia by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry analysis

Abstract This article illustrates the chemical characterization of phenolic compounds, of the selected species of the genus Embelia viz., Embelia ribes, Embelia tsjeriam-cottam, and Embelia basaal using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry analysis with electrospray ionization (ESI) in negative mode. The analysis of samples allowed first-time identification of different phenolic compounds, which consists of various types of flavonoids, flavonoid glycosides, organic acids, and their derivatives, benzenoids, coumarins, and stilbens in this genus. Seventy-three different phenolic compounds were identified based on the fragment ions, and over thirty unknown compounds with unique fragmentation patterns were further noted. The results of the study offer that the selected species of the genus Embelia, which is being used in centuries-old traditional medical systems, is a promising source of medicinally valuable compounds like luteolin, sinesetin, rutin, naringenin, astragalin, narcissin, vanillic acid, resveratrol, and so on.
Massively Engineering the Wettability of Titanium by Tuning Nanostructures and Roughness via Laser Ablation

Efficient, environment-friendly, and low-cost oil-water separation is currently a global challenge, to which surface wettability engineering is a key. Here, we introduce an advanced titanium membrane with thousands water-selective microchannel arrays in a Ti mesh, which is fabricated by femtosecond laser machining. The laser ablation accomplishes three tasks during one process: drilling microchannels, forming a TiO2@Ti membrane, and engineering nanoscale surface roughness. Particles ejected during machining resolidify to produce rough surfaces with micro/nanoscale hierarchical structures. This direct ablation gives a highly stable, self-cleaning, and pollutant-free oil–water filter with high separation efficiency. Furthermore, the critical values of the surface roughness and the pore size are analytically derived, providing a guidance for laser surface wettability engineering. Our results could be useful in surface engineering, laser machining, nanostructure engineering, and industrial-scale oil–water sep.
A feasibility study of solar PV‐powered electric cars using an interdisciplinary modeling approach for the electricity balance, CO2 emissions, and economic aspects: The cases of The Netherlands, Norway, Brazil, and Australia

Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming an increasingly attractive option to effectively and economically efficiently reduce global fossil fuel consumption as well as CO2 emissions associated with road transportation. In general, the grid provides the electricity required to charge an EV's battery. However, it could be worthwhile to consider EV charging by specific solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to further facilitate the use of renewable energy and to minimize CO2 emissions. Additional benefits could, for instance, be less overloaded local grids and additional grid flexibility. Because little information and experiences exist with so‐called solar PV‐powered EVs, this paper explores how well PV systems—with the possible combination of battery energy storage systems (BESSs)—might contribute to charging of EVs in four different countries, namely, The Netherlands, Norway, Brazil, and Australia. To this end, a model has been developed that calculates the interactions between PV‐BESS systems, EVs, and the grid in each country to determine the electricity balance, financial consequences, and avoided CO2 emissions of PV‐powered EVs, compared with EVs that are solely charged by the grid, as well as conventional passenger cars with an internal combustion engine (ICE‐V). It is logically found that in countries with a high irradiation, the whole year through, such as Brazil and Australia, solar PV‐powered EVs can be operated more effectively than in countries with a high variability of irradiation over the year such as The Netherlands and Norway. If the charging system's PV share is increased from 0% to 50%, the number of required grid charging events per year can be reduced from 104 to 34 in The Netherlands and from 123 to 55 in Norway. PV charging can also reduce CO2 emissions of EVs by 18% to 93% as compared with ICE‐Vs depending on the location. From a financial perspective, PV‐powered EVs are not yet financially feasible in all countries; however, in some nations, 100% PV charging is already a viable option. In general, it can be concluded that in contrast to driving an ICE‐V, the further PV‐powered EVs are driven, the more affordable they become—they might even generate financial revenues—and hence, the higher their positive environmental impact will be.
Acceleration of Decomposition Process by Lignocellulolytic Bacteria and Its Effect on the Physical and Engineering Properties of Kalimantan Fibrous Peat

Peat is an organic soil which has very low bearing capacity and very high compressibility; its organic content is higher than 75%. Peat is classified into two categories, amorphous granular peat and fibrous peat (fiber content > 20%). Fibrous peat has higher bearing capacity compared to the amorphous one due to its fiber content. When the fiber undergoes decomposition, however, its bearing capacity drops, and bigger compression takes place. For this reason, decomposition process of fibrous peat has to be accelerated before the construction starts in order to prevent the change of its properties. In this study, lignocellulolytic bacteria was used to accelerate the fiber decomposition. The results show that 10% of bacteria with 28 days of curing period had the optimum results. The fiber content decreased from 50% to 36.67% in 28 days of curing period. The coarse and medium sizes of fiber decreased 5.13% and 22.03%, respectively; but the fine fiber increased 27.16% because of the change of coarse and medium fiber. Its unit weight and specific gravity decreased 6.83% and 7.89%, respectively. The peat compression increased 22.95% compared to the initial one; but the internal friction angle decreased 27.29%. Keywords—acceleration, fibrous peat, fiber decomposition, lignocellulolytic bacteria
Şizofreni hastalarında kanda glukoz-6-fosfat dehidrogenaz aktivitesi ve element düzeyleri / Elements levels and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity in blood of patients with schizophrenia

Objectives: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is the rate limiting enzyme of the hexose monophosphate cascade which plays role in the synthesis of nucleotide, reduced glutathion, fatty acid and cholesterol precursors. At the same time, it is an important enzyme for neuronal development during and after fetal life and for neurotransmitters. Serum elements are necessary for neuronal development and synthesis and activity of enzymes and hormones. The aim of this study was to compare serum levels of some elements and G6PD enzyme activity in schizophrenic patients with those in healthy individuals. Methods: This study involved blood serum analysis of 32 schizophrenia patients and 32 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Copper, zinc, iron, magnesium levels were determined with a double lighted, deuterium sourced, background proof reading fire atomic spectrophotometer and in order to determine aluminum and manganese levels, a graphite tube atomizer spectroscope was used. G6PD enzyme activity was analyzed by the Glock and Mclean Method. Results: This analysis revealed higher levels of G6PD activity, copper, iron, magnesium and aluminum in schizophrenia patients compared to controls, whereas zinc and manganese levels showed a decreasing trend on the contrary. Discussion: The higher levels of G6PD activity in schizophrenic patients is not consistent with the literature in general. It is considered that results on G6PD and element levels may be explained as the effects of specific hormones, antipsychotic medications, or by schizophrenia itself. Conclusion: The elements we investigated and G6PD are important for the antioxidant system. Thus changing levels of elements in patients with schizophrenia may lead to disturbed functions of antioxidant enzymes and G6PD. Further researches on this subject conducted with larger and drug naive patient groups are needed.
Physicochemical characterization of traditionally fermented liquid manure from fish waste (Gunapaselam)

Kunapajala, a fermented liquid from animal wastes has been used as manure since ancient times. Using this indigenous knowledge, fermented manure, Gunapaselam (in Tamil, Indian language), was prepared using fish waste and jaggery. An attempt was made to characterize Gunapaselam (GP) by measuring biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), crude protein, lipid, minerals and amino acid content. The microbial status of the fermented manure was also enumerated. Phytotoxicity analysis was performed to scientifically validate its manurial potential. Changes in the pH, glucose, lactic acid, ethanol and acetic acid contents were recorded for first 5 days till the pH dropped to 4.0. The results show that during the course of fermentation, glucose concentration decreases with concomitant increase in the concentration of lactic acid, ethanol, and acetic acid. The analysis reveals the presence of macro, micronutrients and essential amino acids in Gunapaselam that could promote plant growth. Gunapaselam preserved permissible limits of BOD and COD levels. Microbial analysis proved the preparation was free from spoiling microbes. The highest germination index achieved from 50 fold diluted Gunapaselam. The data obtained confirmed the manurial potential of Gunapaselam which could restore the fertility of the soil deteriorated by chemical fertilizers.
Assessment of the AquaCrop Model for Simulating Maize Response to Different Nitrogen Stresses under Semi-arid Climate

ABSTRACT AquaCrop applies an automatic calibration procedure through semi-quantitative approach to determine degree of soil fertility stress on crop production and water productivity. The objective of this study was to assess this capability of AquaCrop to simulate maize grain yield and biomass production, canopy cover and soil water content in the root zone under different nitrogen (N) applications in a semi-arid environment. The field experiments were conducted at the research farm located in Tehran, over the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons. Five N treatments were investigated including no nitrogen (N0), 50(N1), 100(N2), 150(N3) and 200 kg N. ha−1 (N4) for each year. Calibration was carried out using the data of N0 and N4 in 2015 and validation in the field was performed with remaining data. The results indicated that the range of relative root-mean-square error (RRMSE), coefficient of determination (R2) and mean bias error (MBE), for estimating final biomass production were obtained as 5.16%, 0.966, 0.28 ton. ha−1, and for final grain yield were 14.64%, 0.939, 0.56 ton. ha−1, respectively. The AquaCrop simulated canopy cover and biomass production development with RRMSE of 16.23–24.12% and 6.09–32.39%, respectively. The performance of the model for simulating soil water content was also good with RRMSE< 10.78%. Over all, these results confirmed that the AquaCrop model could be an applicable tool for managing maize production under different N stresses in a semi-arid environment.
Use of nanotechnology to improve plant performance in boreal forest ecosystem

Nano-priming has been shown to significantly improve the total germination percentage and seedling vigor of different plant seeds including agricultural crops. In these applications, seeds primed with Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exhibited dramatic improvements in germination rate and seedling vigor (root and stem lengths). Herein, we applied this technique to non-agriculture crop species in an attempt to resolve several different seeds dormancies hindering their propagation and field establishment. Specifically, the seeds of boreal forest plant species with embryo and seed coat dormancy were nano-primed with several carbon-based nanoparticles, as part of a strategy to overcome seed dormancy. Carboxylic acid functionalized multi-walled carbon nanoparticle (-COOH biomolecule coated) was the most effective in breaking physical (seed coat) and morphological dormancy (embryo), as well as increase the germination rate in combination with stratification in green alder (Alnus viridis L.), bog birch (Betula pumila), and labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum). Conversely, a combination of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs), especially the multiwall carbon nanoparticles functionalized with carboxylic acid (MWCNT-COOH), cold stratification, mechanical scarification and hormonal priming (gibberellic acid) was effective in overcoming embryo and hard seed coat dormancy present in buffalo berry seeds (Shepherdia canadensis L.). A concomitant increase in the seedling vigor index and the number of normal seedlings was observed in the nano-primed germinated seedlings, indicating its superior ability to be established across a range of environmental sites. The improvement in germination rate and resolution of both embryo and seed coat dormancy appears to be associated with the remodeling of several membrane lipids as indicated by the segregation of these molecular species in the same quadrant of the biplot as germination rate (GR) and seedling vigor index (SVI), following redundancy analysis. Phosphatidylcholine (PC) (18:1/18:3), phosphatidylglycerol (PG) (16:1/18:3), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (18:3/18:2), and digalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG) (18:3/18:3) lipids classes were observed to be highly correlated with increased seed germination percentages and the enhanced seedling vigor observed in this study for the evaluated species. Mechanistically, it appears that carbon nano-primed seeds following stratification is effective in mediating seed dormancy by remodeling the seed membrane lipids {Phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidic acid (PA) and digalactosylglycerol (DG)} in both peatland and upland boreal forest species. These findings suggest that nanopriming (20 μgmL⁻¹ or 40 μgmL⁻¹) may be a useful approach to resolve seed dormancy issues and improve seed germination in non-resource boreal forest species ideally suited for forest reclamation following resource mining.