Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Electric Double Layer and Space Charge Polarization by Plural Kinds of Ions on Complex Dielectric Constant of Liquid Crystal Materials

The complex dielectric constant of a liquid crystal material, 4-cyano-4′-alkyl-biphenyl (5CB), was measured in low-frequency regions below 1000 Hz. The anomalous increasing behavior was analyzed using an equivalent circuit which takes two kinds of contributions into account: one is from the electric double layer and the other is from the space charge polarization. It was found by numerical calculations that these two effects exhibit different dependences of dielectric dispersion on the thickness of a specimen, and both effects were successfully distinguished in the experimental results. In the analysis of the space charge polarization, the experimental results were best fitted by the calculated results with five kinds of ions in terms of the diffusion coefficient. These measurements can be applied to a precise determination of the attributes of plural kinds of ions, such as the diffusion coefficient and the number density.
Effects of moisture content and heat treatment on peroxide value and oxidative stability of un-refined sesame oil.

Sesame ( Sesamum indicum L) is one of the oldest cultivated plants. Its seed contains about 42-54 % quality oil, 22-25 % protein, 20-25 % carbohydrates and 4-6% ash. This composition varies with genetic and environmental factors. Conditioning of oil seeds which include roasting, flaking, size reduction, cooking, pre-pressing and drying, is an important operation in the production line of sesame oil. This work investigated effects of initial moisture content, roasting duration and temperature on initial Peroxide Value (PV) and Oxidative Stability (OS) of un-refined sesame oil using response surface methodology. Goza-25, a variety of sesame seed that is commercially cultivated in Nigeria was used for the study. Initial moisture content levels were 4, 7, 10, 13 and 16 % wet basis (wb). Roasting duration and temperature levels were 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 minutes, and 50, 70, 90, 110 and 130 oC respectively. The recorded minimum and maximum PV were 3.9 and 15.4 meq/kg respectively. Mean value was 9.85 ± 3.9 meq/kg. Peroxide value increased with increasing moisture content and reduced with increasing roasting duration. Analysis of variance and regression analysis of obtained data showed that application of quadratic model to predict effect of initial moisture content, roasting duration and temperature on peroxide value is significant at p ≤ 0.05. Within the studied range, 13 h was the minimum OS recorded while maximum were 63.3 h. Mean of the data was 38.37 ± 16.02. Using the conversion factor of one hour of an active oxygen hour as being equivalent to 15 days; the expressed sesame oil in its present form will retain its quality for a maximum period of 949 days. Rise in roasting temperature and duration increased the oxidative stability, a reverse was observed with initial moisture content. High moisture content reduced the quality and storage life while heat treatment increased both the initial quality and storage life of the mechanically expressed oil. Peroxide value and oxidative stability of crude sesame oil significantly (p ≤ 0.05) depend on moisture content of the seed, roasting duration and temperature. Key words: Sesame, Oil, Crude, Oxidation, Storage
The Biological Fate of Sodium Prasterone Sulfate after Vaginal Administration II: Distribution after Single and Multiple Administration to Pregnant Rats.

The distribution of sodium prasterone sulfate (PS, a common name is sodium dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate) was studied in pregnant rats after single and multiple vaginal administration of 14C-PS. The radioactivity was high in the vagina, liver and kidney, and low in the central nervous system and fat tissues after single vaginal administration. During multiple vaginal administration, plasma levels of radioactivity and the rate of urinary and fecal excretion of radioactivity were almost constant. Tissue distribution of radioactivity after multiple vaginal administration was similar to that after single vaginal administration. There were no tissues showing a pronounced retaining of the radioactivity after the multiple vaginal administration. Unchanged PS and its metabolites were transported to the cervix of uterus being an action site for PS and its some metabolites, to much higher extent after vaginal administration than after intravenous administration.
A Non-Wetting Packed Bed Gas Scrubber

Abstract The operation of a small-scale packed column working under non-wetting condition was investigated to provide insight and design data for the subsequent development of a liquid metal irrigated packed bed gas scrubber. An 8 cm internal diameter Perspex column was used, packed with 9.5 mm polyethylene spheres and 10.0 mm glass spheres coated with paraffin wax. A counter-current air–water system was used. The packings well all essentially hydrophobic promoting a non-wetting water flow condition, simulating liquid metal flow on solid packings. Results on flow visualization, flooding capacity and liquid holdup trends, as well as the particulate removal performance of the non-wetting packed bed scrubber are presented in this paper. The maximum water droplet size on the non-wettable spherical packing surface could be estimated from the static equilibrium of a pendent droplet, governed by surface tension and gravitational force. The flooding capacity and liquid holdup trends of the water-irrigated packed column operating under non-wetting condition were found to be similar to those reported for liquid metal systems despite the pronounced differences in liquid density and surface tension. This suggests that the hydrodynamics of a packed column in non-wetting operation are largely influenced by the liquid–solid contact angle which overrides the dissimilarities in liquid physical properties. Good particulate removal performance was demonstrated by the non-wetting packed bed scrubber.
Liquid crystals of the twenty-first century – nematic phase of bent-core molecules

Bent-core (BC) materials that form nematic liquid crystals (BC nematics (BCNs)) are known only since 2000, but since then they have been intensively studied. In this review we give a comprehensive summary of the main research directions and results. After discussing representative examples of molecules making BCNs, we review theoretical predictions and experimental findings about macroscopic symmetries, such as chirality of achiral and chiral molecules, tetrahedratic symmetry and phase biaxiality versus uniaxiality. Then we describe the properties of smectic nano clusters often observed in BCNs, and discuss rheological properties that reveal unusually large viscosities and small twist and bend elastic constants. Finally, we focus on the electric properties of BCNs, such as dielectric and ferroelectric properties, electroconvection (EC) and electromechanical effects.
Energetic and thermodynamic size effects in molecular clusters

In this paper we explore the interrelationship between the energetics and the thermodynamic properties of molecular clusters. We advance simple models for the energy spectrum, which are used to derive analytical results for the thermodynamic properties of these clusters. The energy spectrum is characterized by the distribution of the energies of the local minima of the nuclear potential energy hypersurface, i.e., the inherent structures. On each of these energy levels the vibrational density of states of the particular inherent structure is superimposed. The energy spectra were specified in terms of the energy gap, Δ, between the (single) ground state and the excited‐state inherent structures, the number, R, of the inherent structures and their energetic spread W. Four classes of energy spectra were considered. (1) A large energy gap with nearly degenerate excited‐state manifold, i.e., Δ≫W. (2) A large energy gap with a considerable spread of the excited‐state manifold, i.e., Δ≪W and W/R≪Δ. (3) A gapless .
Effect of electron Monte Carlo collisions on a hybrid simulation of a low-pressure capacitively coupled plasma

Fluid models have been widely used and conducted successfully in high pressure plasma simulations where the drift–diffusion and the local-field approximation are valid. However, fluid models are not able to demonstrate non-local effects related to large electron energy relaxation mean free path in low pressure plasmas. To overcome this weakness, a hybrid model coupling electron Monte Carlo collision (EMCC) method with the fluid model is introduced to obtain precise electron energy distribution functions using pseudo-particles. Steady state simulation results by a one-dimensional hybrid model which includes EMCC method for the collisional reactions but uses drift–diffusion approximation for electron transport in a fluid model are compared with those of a conventional particle-in-cell (PIC) and a fluid model for low pressure capacitively coupled plasmas. At a wide range of pressure, the hybrid model agrees well with the PIC simulation with a reduced calculation time while the fluid model shows discrepancy in the results of the plasma density and the electron temperature.
Degradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Waste Wood

PAH-contaminated waste wood is a serious environmental problem. As an alternative to incineration and landfill disposal, wood containing PAHs may be detoxified by composting. The efficiency of this process depends on the composting conditions. The aerobic treatment of PAH-containing wood was therefore investigated under varying environmental conditions with particular attention to the kinetics of PAH degradation and wood mineralization. The composting of pine wood spiked with 2 g/kg phenanthrene, anthracene and pyrene each and subsequently artificially aged was studied on a laboratory-scale using a respiration analyzer. The temperature was found to highly influence both PAH degradation and wood decay. The fastest and most extensive PAH degradation and wood mineralization were found at 30°C. Higher temperatures particularly inhibited the degradation of anthracene and pyrene. The addition of urea markedly accelerated both PAH degradation and wood mineralization. Only small amounts of urea were needed to maximize PAH degradation, whereas higher amounts of urea were required to maximize wood mineralization. Urea hydrolyzes to ammonium carbonate, which in turn forms highly volatile ammonia. When more then 2 g/kg urea-N was added to the wood, excessive nitrogen disappeared as ammonia via the gas phase. Using nitrate instead of urea dramatically reduced both PAH degradation and wood mineralization. Although a slightly alkaline pH seemed to promote PAH degradation, it has to be taken into account that this experiment was carried out with nitrate as an N source rather than urea to avoid any N losses at high pH values. Glucose as a cosubstrate neither accelerated PAH degradation nor stimulated wood decay. Molasses as a cosubstrate actually inhibited PAH degradation since it contains much salt and alkalinized the rot material.
Fenton and photo‐Fenton treatment of distillery effluent and optimization of treatment conditions with response surface methodology

Two chemical processes, Fenton and photo-Fenton, were tested separately for the treatment of vinasse, which was generated from an alcohol distillery process. In order to evaluate the processes effectiveness, four independent variables viz. SCOD concentration, initial pH, H2O2 and FeSO4 dosage were applied. Experiments were conducted based on a central composite design (CCD) and analyzed using response surface methodology (RSM). UV radiation for 80 min was applied in each experiment during the photo-Fenton process. Two modified quadratic equations were used for data fitting. The most significant model terms in the processes were found to be the initial chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration and the initial pH. A higher removal efficiency was achieved in the photo-Fenton process compared to Fenton alone. The efficiency varied from 18 to 97% for the photo-Fenton process, while it was in the range of 5–47% for Fenton process. The R2 value of the models (R2 > 0.97) shows a very high degree of correlation between the parameters. Copyright © 2009 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Crosslinked and entanglement networks in thermomechanical analysis of polycondensation resins

Thermomechanical analysis (TMA) tests on joints bonded with synthetic phenol–formaldehyde (PF) resins have shown that, frequently, the joint increase in modulus does not proceed in a single step but in 2 steps, yielding an increase of the modulus first-derivate curve presenting 2 peaks rather than a single peak. This behavior has been found to be due to the initial growth of the polycondensation polymer, leading first to linear polymers of critical length for the formation of entanglement networks. Two modulus steps and 2 first-derivate peaks then occur, with the first due to the formation of linear polymers entanglement networks, and the second due to covalent crosslinked networks. The faster the reaction of phenolic monomers with formaldehyde, or the higher the reactivity of a PF resin, the earlier and at lower temperature the entanglement network occurs; more important is its modulus value in relation to the final, crosslinked resin modulus. The accepted methods of calculating the gel point and gel temperature of a polycondensation resin or from the single peak of the first derivate of the modulus increase curve or from the start of the uprise of the modulus increase curve is still acceptable in resins in which the entanglement effect is small or it is not present. In resin systems in which the entanglement effect, instead, is of importance, the question of what is the gel point in such systems had to be addressed, and gel temperature and gel point must be obtained from the modulus and its first-derivate curve in a different manner, which is presented. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 70: 1111–1119, 1998
Optimal Design of Membrane/Distillation Column Hybrid Processes

In this work a mathematical programming methodology is proposed for the efficient optimization of hybrid separation systems consisting of distillation columns and membrane separation units. A superstructure representation of the alternative solutions is first presented. This superstructure is obtained by modifying an existing superstructure for distillation columns and combining with a recently proposed superstructure for gas permeation networks. The final morphological representation is then used for the structural and parametric optimization of a hybrid system for the propylene/propane separation (C3 splitter). The results are noticeably different from the results of previous case studies on the same separation and show that the economic potential for using hybrid systems can be significant.
Symmetry‐breaking perturbations in the ν2+3ν3 rovibrational manifold of acetylene: Spectroscopic and energy‐transfer effects

Time‐resolved infrared–ultraviolet double resonance (IR‐UV DR) spectroscopy is used to characterize complex rovibrational levels in the highly perturbed ν2+3ν3 region (∼11 600 cm−1) of gas‐phase acetylene, C2H2. Here, very few of the known rovibrational levels have appreciable Franck–Condon factors linking them to accessible excited rovibronic levels, as is needed in the fluorescence‐detected IR‐UV DR excitation scheme; rovibrational levels that are ‘‘IR‐bright’’ tend to be ‘‘UV‐dark’’ and vice versa. The rovibrational states detectable by IR‐UV DR in this region are strongly perturbed, such that IR‐bright (but UV‐dark) vibrational basis states are coupled to other states with more favorable Franck–Condon factors. The characterization of these perturbed rovibrational states (and their associated dynamical properties) is facilitated by a novel IR‐UV DR technique in which the UV and IR laser frequencies are simultaneously scanned in opposite directions, with their sum held constant. From the observed IR‐UV .
Potassium Fertilization and Physiological Soybean Seed Quality

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of increased application rates of potassium on the physiological quality of seeds from different soybean cultivars. Seeds from two locations (Sao Gotardo, MG and Lavras, MG, Brazil) were used. After harvest, the seeds were sent to the Cen- tral Seed Analysis Laboratory of the Federal University of Lavras. We used a randomized design in a 4 × 6 factorial arrangement of four cultivars and six doses of potassium. All tests were performed with two replicates of 50 seeds (300 seeds per treatment). Germination, emergence under con- trolled conditions, accelerated aging, electrical conductivity, and tetrazolium tests were per- formed. Data were subjected to analysis of variance. In soybean seed production fields with high potassium content in the soil, higher application rates of potassium do not increase the physiolog- ical quality of seeds.
Brüssel oder Bern: Schlägt das Herz der 'Romands' eher für Europa? Ein Vergleich der Einstellungen von Deutsch- und WestschweizerInnen zur Europa-Frage

Im Vorfeld der Abstimmung uber den EWR-Vertrag haben Meinungsumfragen zum Thema «Europa» Hochkonjunktur. Die Resultate einer «aktuellen» Befragung werden oft schon am nachsten Tag durch neue Ergebnisse korrigiert. Der Wandel der offentlichen Meinung vollzieht sich auf verschiedenen Ebenen und in wachsendem Tempo. Die zum Teil gegenlaufigen Tendenzen fugen sich nur zu einem diffusen Bild. Ein konstantes Ergebnis der verschiedenen Befragungen, das sich auch ohne weiteres vor Ort nachprufen lasst, ist der deutliche Unterschied zwischen Deutsch- und Westschweiz in bezug auf die Einstellungen zu einem Beitritt der Schweiz zu den Europaischen Gemeinschaften: Die Haltung der Romands ist wesentlich europafreundlicher. Erklarungen fur diesen Sachverhalt greifen meist auf wenig erhartete - aber plausible-Annahmen zuruck: Die Romands seien eben weltoffener und hatten sich als Minderheit im eigenen Land schon immer eher am grossen gleichsprachigen Nachbarland orientiert als die Deutschschweizerinnen usw. Der vorliegende Artikel unternimmt den Versuch, theoretisch begrundete und - sofern moglich - empirisch abgestutzte Erklarungsmoglichkeiten fur die unterschiedlichen Einstellungen in den beiden wichtigsten Sprachregionen aufzuzeigen
CORRELATION OF FREUNDLICH Kd AND n RETENTION PARAMETERS WITH SOILS AND ELEMENTS

We studied the retention of 15 elements by 11 soils from 10 soil orders to determine the effects of element and soil properties on the magnitude of the Freundlich parameters Kd and n. The magnitude of Kd and n was related to both soil and element properties. Strongly retained elements, such as Cu, Hg, Pb, V, and P had the highest Kd values. The transition metal cations Co and Ni had similar Kd and n values, as did the group IIB elements Zn and Cd. Oxyanion species tended to have lower n values than did cation species. Soil pH and CEC were significantly correlated with log Kd values for cation species. High pH and high CEC soils retained greater quantities of the cation species than did low pH and low CEC soils. A significant negative correlation between soil pH and the Freundlich parameter n was observed for cation species, whereas a significant positive correlation between soil pH and n for Cr(VI) was found. Greater quantities of anion species were retained by soils with high amounts of amorphous iron oxides, aluminum oxides, and amorphous material than were retained by soils with low amounts of these minerals. Several anion species were not retained by high pH soils. Despite the facts that element retention by soils is the result of many interacting processes and that many factors influence retention, significant relationships among retention parameters and soil and element properties exist even among soils with greatly different characteristics.
Contributions from surface-modified bulk electronic bands to the reflection anisotropy of Au(110)-(1 ? 2)

We investigate the temperature dependence of the optical reflectance anisotropy (RA) of the Au(110)-(1 × 2) surface and find that transitions involving surface-modified bulk bands contribute to the RA spectrum. The RA peaks observed at room temperature at photon energies of 3.52 and 4.50 eV are assigned to the transitions and , respectively. The assignments are based upon a comparison between temperature-induced shifts in the energy of these RAS peaks and thermovariation optical spectroscopy results of the temperature dependence of transition energies between bands at the L symmetry point. The application of RAS to Au(110) can be seen as a model system for exploring surfaces in a range of environments including ultra-high vacuum, high pressures and at the solid/liquid interface. The results reported here further the understanding of the RA spectrum of the clean Au(110) surface.
Effects of phosphorus and Bradyrhizobium japonicum on growth and chlorophyll content of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp).

The field and screen house experiment was conducted at Tanzania Coffee Research Institute and Seliani Agricultural Research Institute respectively in Tanzania, between March-July 2013, to assess the effects of Bradyrhizobium japonicum and phosphorus on growth and total leaf chlorophyll content of cowpea. The experiment was out down in splitplot design whereby the main plots comprised two inoculation treatments (with and without B. japonicum), while the sub-plots contained phosphorus (TSP) application at four different levels (0 kg/ha, 20 kg/ha, 40 kg/ha, 80 kg/ha). Both experiments were replicated four times. We measured plant growth parameters such as plant height; number of leaves per plant at different stages of plant growth, the stem girth was measured by vernier caliper at physiological maturity. The chlorophyll content was determined at 3, 5, and 7 weeks after planting (WAP). The chlorophyll was extracted by using dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) and absorbance was determined at 645 and 663nm using UV/Visible spectrophotometer. B. japonicum inoculation significantly increased the plant height, number of leaves per plants, and stem girth above the control. The height was increased by 11.23, 10.43 and 8.99% (screen-house) and by 8.11, 24.05, 9.29% (field) in the measurements taken at 4, 6, and 8 WAP respectively. Number of leaves per plant counted at 6 and 8 WAP increased by 14 and 10.8% (screen-house) and 14 and 11.6% (field) respectively. B. japonicum also Original Research Article American Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 4(10): 1120-1136, 2014 1121 significantly increased leaf chlorophyll content of cowpea by 26% (3 WAP) in screen-house and 52, 37.9 and 13.3% (3, 5 and 7 WAP) respectively on the field. Phosphorus also significantly increased different plant growth parameters and leaf chlorophyll content relative to control. B. japonicum inoculation can be as beneficial as inorganic N fertilizers. Therefore, their combined use with phosphorus boosts plant growth and chlorophyll content of the legumes and eventually legume production is increased.