Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting Attainable Goals and Depletion Timeframes for DNAPL Source Zones

PREDICTING ATTAINABLE GOALS AND DEPLETION TIMEFRAMES FOR DNAPL SOURCE ZONES Grant R. Carey University of Guelph, 2015 Advisor: Professor Edward A. McBean The primary goal of this research was to develop and validate new statistical and process-based, screening-level modeling tools for estimating attainable goals and depletion timeframes for DNAPL source zones under a wide range of soil texture and other conditions. A process-based screening model (NAPL Depletion Model, or NDM) was developed to simulate the relative influence of surface discharge and through-discharge for one or more DNAPL sub-zones in an overall source zone. Empirical assessment of depletion rates at field sites are compared to model simulated results for pool-dominated source zones to provide insights on the influence of site complexity. Statistical analysis of empirical data for a similar site dataset defined the mean confidence interval for technology-specific, attainable mass discharge reduction. The lower end of this confidence interval is demonstrated to be applicable to complex sites. Empirical regression equations are derived for estimating the tortuosity coefficient based on either hydraulic conductivity or effective porosity, and for estimating total porosity and effective porosity based on hydraulic conductivity. An empirical regression equation is also developed for estimating transverse vertical dispersivity based on hydraulic conductivity, demonstrating that this relationship is inverse to what has been concluded in previous studies. An alternative model for simulating the decline in through-discharge for layers of residual DNAPL is presented, and is demonstrated to be more applicable to a broad range of conditions relative to previously developed regression equations. NDM was used to simulate complex multicomponent DNAPL dissolution trends based on a previously published study (Emplaced Source experiment in Borden, Ontario). Model results demonstrate the influence of re-equilibration and transient effective solubility in a multicomponent DNAPL source zone, on the overall through-discharge decline rate that was observed during the physical experiment. An empirical regression equation is developed for estimating the through-discharge decline rate for residual DNAPL layers over a broad range of conditions. This regression equation allows estimation of the decline rate a priori i.e. without fitting to site-specific data.
A Non-Gaussianity-Aware Receiver for Impulsive Noise Mitigation in Underwater Communications

Impulsive noise significantly deteriorates the performance of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)-based underwater acoustic (UWA) communication systems. The pulse blanking (PB) based approach can mitigate the impulsive noise. However, it causes inter-carrier interference (ICI) and signal attenuation to the receiver. In this work, we first show that the ICI introduces pronounced non-Gaussianity to the receiver chain and leads to significant performance degradation. We then propose a non-Gaussianity-aware iterative ICI cancelation scheme to mitigate the adverse impacts of PB. A companding transformation scheme is incorporated into the soft symbol computation to alleviate the non-Gaussianity of the log-likelihood ratios (LLRs) caused by the residual ICI and impulsive noise. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed non-Gaussianity-aware iterative receiver achieves significant performance gains over the conventional non-Gaussianity-agnostic one with even lower computational complexity.
Asymmetric Effects of Decontamination Using Topical Antibiotics for the ICU Patient

There are several antiseptic, antibiotic and non-decontamination-based interventions for preventing intensive care unit (ICU) acquired infection. These have been evaluated in >200 studies. Infection prevention using topical antibiotic prophylaxis (TAP) appears to be the most effective. Whether antibiotic use in the ICU may influence the risk of infection among concurrent control patients within the same ICU and result in asymmetrical herd effects cannot be resolved with individual studies examined in isolation. The collective observations within control and intervention groups from numerous ICU infection prevention studies simulates a multi-center natural experiment enabling the herd effects of antibiotics to be evaluated. Among the TAP control groups, the incidences for both ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) and mortality are unusually high in comparison to literature-derived benchmarks. Paradoxically, amongst the TAP intervention groups, the incidences of mortality are also unusually high and the VAP incidences are similar (i.e., not lower) compared to the incidences among studies of other interventions. By contrast, the mortality incidences among the intervention groups of other studies are similar to those among the intervention groups of TAP studies. Using topical antibiotics to prevent infections acquired within the ICU environment may result in profoundly asymmetrical effects.
The Influence of the Carbon Source on Microbiological Clogging in an Anaerobic Filter

Using two different substrates, glucose and a mixture of volatile fatty acids, the influence of the types of bacteria on the appearance of microbiological clogging in anaerobic filters was studied. The clogging was detected by lithium tracings and head-loss profiles. The composition of the biofilm and the electron-microscopy were used to illustrate the phenomenon. The clogging is due to polysaccharides secreted by acidogenic bacteria.
The Cauchy problem for an inviscid Oldroyd-B model in $\mathbb{R}^3$

In this paper, we consider the Cauchy problem for an inviscid compressible Oldroyd-B model in three dimensions. The global well posedness of strong solutions and the associated time-decay estimates in Sobolev spaces are established near an equilibrium state. The vanishing of viscosity is the main challenge compared with our previous work [47] where the viscosity coefficients are included and the decay rates for the highest-order derivatives of the solutions seem not optimal. One of the main objectives of this paper is to develop some new dissipative estimates such that the smallness of the initial data and decay rates are independent of the viscosity. In addition, it proves that the decay rates for the highest-order derivatives of the solutions are optimal. Our proof relies on Fourier theory and delicate energy method. This work can be viewed as an extension of [47].
Investigation of low-hydrated metal(II) nitrates. Syntheses and crystal structures of Zn(NO3)2 · H2O and M(II)(NO3)2 · 2 H2O (M = Mg, Mn, Co, Ni)

Abstract Crystals of Zn(NO3)2 · H2O and Mn(NO3)2 · 2 H2O were synthesized by heating melts of the respective penta- or hexahydrates. Single crystal X-ray diffraction of the two highly hygroscopic phases reveals new sheet-structure types: Zn(NO3)2 · H2O [Pbca, a = 9.722(1), b = 5.865(1), c = 17.799(3) Å (120 K), Z = 8, R1 = 0.025]; Mn(NO3)2 · 2 H2O [P212121, a = 5.921(1), b = 8.835(1), c = 22.882(3) Å (120 K), Z = 8, R1 = 0.020]. Zn(NO3)2 · H2O is built of only one kind of complicated, corrugated sheets held together by hydrogen bonds, while Mn(NO3)2 · 2 H2O is built of alternating sheets with Mn in 6- and 7-fold coordination, respectively, again interconnected by hydrogen bonds. While in Zn(NO3)2 · H2O the hydrogen bond system is quite clear-cut, this is not the case in Mn(NO3)2 · 2 H2O. Contrary to expectation, the thermal expansion is not clearly largest perpendicular to the sheets in both compounds. In the well known structures of the nitrate dihydrates of Mg, Co and Ni new refinements allowed to locate the hydrogen atoms. Together with Mn(II) nitrate monohydrate and the dihydrates of Mg, Co, Ni, Zn and Cd the two new nitrates form an interesting group of sheet structures.
Mimetic K-essence

We propose a new non-trivial way to combine mimetic dark matter with the mimetic formulation of unimodular gravity. This yields a Weyl-invariant higher-derivative scalar-vector-tensor theory. We demonstrate that on-shell its behavior mimics GR with an additional k-essence scalar. The overall scale of the k-essence arises as an integration constant -- a global degree of freedom. Interestingly, we find that the resulting fluid cannot make transition through ultra-relativistic equation of state. We develop a method to find a mimetic theory corresponding to any eligible k-essence and identify, which k-essences can or cannot be reproduced this way. Finally, we show that abandoning the Weyl symmetry of the setup allows us to obtain both unimodular gravity and mimetic dark matter simultaneously, from one conformal redefinition of the metric.
Estimating the Effectiveness of First Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine Against Mortality in England: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background: Estimating real-world vaccine effectiveness is vital to assess the impact of the vaccination programme on the pandemic and inform the ongoing policy response. However, estimating vaccine effectiveness using observational data is inherently challenging because of the non-randomised design and the potential for unmeasured confounding. Methods: We used a Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) to estimate vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 mortality in England, exploiting the discontinuity in vaccination rates resulting from the UK's age-based vaccination priority groups. We used the fact that people aged 80 or over were prioritised for the vaccine roll-out in the UK to compare the risk of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 death in people aged 75-79 and 80-84. Findings: The prioritisation of vaccination of people aged 80 or above led to a large discrepancy in vaccination rates in people 80-84 compared to those 75-79 at the beginning of the vaccination campaign. We found a corresponding difference in COVID-19 mortality, but not in non-COVID-19 mortality, suggesting that our approach appropriately addresses the issue of unmeasured confounding factors. Our results suggest that the first vaccine dose reduced the risk of COVID-19 death by 70.5% (95% CI 18.2-117.7) in those aged 80. Interpretations: Our results support existing evidence that a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine has a strong protective effect against COVID-19 mortality in older adults. The RDD estimate of vaccine effectiveness is comparable to previously published studies using different methods, suggesting that unmeasured confounding factors are unlikely to substantially bias these studies.
Thermodynamics and structure of methionine enkephalin using the statistical temperature molecular dynamics algorithm

Kim, Straub, and Keyes introduced the statistical temperature molecular dynamics (STMD) algorithm to overcome broken ergodicity by sampling a non-Boltzmann flat energy histogram as noted in Kim, Straub, and Keyes, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97: 050601 (2007). Canonical averages are calculated via reweighting to the desired temperature. While STMD is promising, its application has been almost entirely to simple or model systems. In this dissertation the implementation of STMD into the biosimulation package CHARMM is used to simulate the methionine enkephalin pentamer peptide with a methione terminal cap in a droplet of CHARMM TIP3P water molecules. Chain thermodynamics is analyzed from the novel perspective of the statistical temperature as a function of potential energy, TS(U), automatically generated by STMD. Both the minimum in the slope of TS(U), and the peak in the heat capacity as a function of temperature, calculated via reweighting, indicate a collapse transition at Tθ ≈ 253K. Distributions of dihedral angles are obtained as a function of temperature. Rotamer regions found in the literature are reproduced, along with unique regions not found previously, including with advanced algorithms, indicating the power of STMD enhanced sampling.
Immune Responses to Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Virus Infection in Pigs Vaccinated with a Conserved Hemagglutinin HA1 Peptide Adjuvanted with CAF®01 or CDA/αGalCerMPEG

This study aimed to evaluate the immune response and protection correlates against influenza virus (IV) infection in pigs vaccinated with the novel NG34 HA1 vaccine candidate adjuvanted with either CAF®01 or CDA/αGalCerMPEG (αGCM). Two groups of six pigs each were vaccinated intramuscularly twice with either NG34 + CAF®01 or NG34 + CDA/αGCM. As controls, groups of animals (n = 6 or 4) either non-vaccinated or vaccinated with human seasonal trivalent influenza vaccine or NG34 + Freund’s adjuvant were included in the study. All animal groups were challenged with the 2009 pandemic (pdm09) strain of H1N1 (total amount of 7 × 106 TCID50/mL) via intranasal and endotracheal routes 21 days after second vaccination. Reduced consolidated lung lesions were observed both on days three and seven post-challenge in the animals vaccinated with NG34 + CAF®01, whereas higher variability with relatively more severe lesions in pigs of the NG34 + CDA/αGCM group on day three post-infection. Among groups, animals vaccinated with NG34 + CDA/αGCM showed higher viral loads in the lung at seven days post infection whereas animals from NG34 + CAF®01 completely abolished virus from the lower respiratory tract. Similarly, higher IFNγ secretion and stronger IgG responses against the NG34 peptide in sera was observed in animals from the NG34 + CAF®01 group as compared to the NG34 + CDA/αGCM. NG34-vaccinated pigs with adjuvanted CAF®01 or CDA/αGCM combinations resulted in different immune responses as well as outcomes in pathology and viral shedding.
The effects of baking on the quality attributes of dried beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.)

In the vegetable preservation process, baking treatment is commonly applied to enhance the end-product quality. This study was carried out to observe baking influences as an alternative pretreatment toward dried beetroot quality. A completely randomized design with different baking times (0, 15, 30, and 45 min) at 200°C was adjusted on beetroot before sliced and dried (50±5°C, 24 h). The result showed that baking treatments significantly affected the whole quality attributes of dried beetroot. There was an increase in anthocyanin, total phenolic, total sugar, and pigment intensity of dried beetroots with the more prolonged baking treatment. Dried beetroot prepared by 45 min baking treatment contained total anthocyanin 109.57 mg/100 g, total phenolic 8.66 mg/100 g, and total sugar 5.13%. Baking treatment for 45 min also resulted in intense color development of redness (a*) and yellowness (b*), although the lightness (L*) reduced due to dark color formation.
Study of soil management in rice fields in Bantimurung District Maros Regency

Rice productivity in Bantimurung District is unstable every year. Farmers tend not to attend to environmental and soil protection but are racing to increase yields rapidly using excessive chemical fertilizers and pesticides, tilling the soil too frequently, and burning postharvest straw. This study aims to study rice fields’ management in Bantimurung District, Maros Regency, based on the soil’s physical and chemical characteristics, which are expected to be a source of information in managing rice fields in Bantimurung District, Maros Regency. Data were collected using a field survey method in irrigated and rainfed rice fields and farmer interviews. Laboratory analysis included soil texture, bulk density, N-total, C-organic, pH, and organic functional group analysis. The result showed that both irrigated and rainfed rice fields have the low category of N-total (0.1-0.23%), low to a moderate category of c-organic (1.87-3.16%), and slightly acid to neutral pH (5.98-6.67). Based on farmers’ information, we know that the rice fields in Bantimurung District are still suitable for rice production but must have a proper good management principle. The best management includes not using an-organic fertilizer excessively, adding organic matter, crop rotation, and attending to water needs.
Exploration of the compositional space for mixed lead halogen perovskites for high efficiency solar cells

Lead halide perovskites have attracted considerable interest as photoabsorbers in PV-applications over the last few years. The most studied perovskite material achieving high photovoltaic performance has been methyl ammonium lead iodide, CH3NH3PbI3. Recently the highest solar cell efficiencies have, however, been achieved with mixed perovskites where iodide and methyl ammonium partially have been replaced by bromide and formamidinium. In this work, the mixed perovskites were explored in a systematic way by manufacturing devices where both iodide and methyl ammonium were gradually replaced by bromide and formamidinium. The absorption and the emission behavior as well as the crystallographic properties were explored for the perovskites in this compositional space. The band gaps as well as the crystallographic structures were extracted. Small changes in the composition of the perovskite were found to have a large impact on the properties of the materials and the device performance. In the investigated compositional space, cell efficiencies, for example, vary from a few percent up to 20.7%. From the perspective of applications, exchanging iodide with bromide is especially interesting as it allows tuning of the band gap from 1.5 to 2.3 eV. This is highly beneficial for tandem applications, and an empirical expression for the band gap as a function of composition was determined. Exchanging a small amount of iodide with bromide is found to be highly beneficial, whereas a larger amount of bromide in the perovskite was found to cause intense sub band gap photoemission with detrimental results for the device performance. This could be caused by the formation of a small amount of an iodide rich phase with a lower band gap, even though such a phase was not observed in diffraction experiments. This shows that stabilizing the mixed perovskites will be an important task in order to get the bromide rich perovskites, which has a higher band gap, to reach the same high performance obtained with the best compositions.
Application of humic substances and bottom ash compounds in improving soil quality in limestone post-mining land

Limestone mining leaves the ex-mine land with poor soil chemical quality. Humic substances can be used as fertilizer to increase macronutrient availability in the soil and improve pH. The application of coal ash can improve the soil’s chemical, physical, and biological properties because it has a pH value, high organic C content, available P, and basic cations such as K, Na, Ca, and Mg. This research aims to determine the effect and interaction of humic substances and bottom ash interaction with different doses to improve soil quality after a limestone quarry. This research uses a randomized block design in a factorial pattern. This experiment consisted of humic substances (H) with 4 levels H0, H1 (0.09%), H2 (0.12%), and H3 (0.15%), and bottom ash (B) with three levels: B0, B1 (400 grams), B2 (600 grams). Humic substances at H2 concentration (0.15%) significantly increased C-organic, K, P-available, Mg-dd, and increased plant height. In contrast, bottom ash treatment at a B2 (600 grams) dose significantly affected the increase in C-organic, P-available, and Mg-dd. The treatment of humic substances with concentrations of H3 (0.15%) and bottom ash at a dose of 600 grams is the best interaction characterized by an increase in soil pH, CEC, Ca-dd, K, and Na. The application of a concentration of H3 (0.15%) and the provision of a dose of B2 (600 grams) or 120 tons/ha significantly affect the chemical properties of post-mining soils limestone and increase plant height.
The integration model of sweet potato-pigs in the Papua highlands

Sweet potato-pigs integration system (hipere-wam) is a model that farmer can apply to maintain production in highland area. The aim of this study is to produce a specific location model of sweet potato-pigs integration technology in the sweet potato center area. The results of the study show that sweet potato production during the four months of the assessment with the wet tuber weight for Musan cultivar was 0.90 kg/plant or 21.67 t/ha and Cangkuang cultivar was 1.06 kg/plant or 25.47 t/ha, respectively. Biomass production was 0.84 kg/plant or 20.24 t/ha for Musan cultivar and 0.76 kg/plant or 18.31 t/ha for Cangkuang cultivar, respectively. The increase in the body weight of introduced pigs was 157 g/head/day, compared to the farmer’s which was of 50 g/head/day. Based on the calculation of the level of consumption of pigs during the assessment, it shows that the average feed requirement from sweet potato was 1.5 kg/head/day or 180 kg/head/4 months or 2.880 kg/16 heads/4 months. The calculation of organic fertilizer from wet livestock manure for four months of maintenance was 480 kg or 30.0 kg/head or 0.30 kg/head/day. If it is assumed that 0.065-0.066 hectare land contains 1.733-1.760 plants, the contribution of organic fertilizer from pig manure to sweet potato plants is 130 - 140 g/plant/4 months.
Divalent Nickel‐Activated Gallate‐Based Persistent Phosphors in the Short‐Wave Infrared

at 1623 K in air for 2 h. Other Ni 2 + -activated gallate-based phosphors, such as LiGa 5 O 8 :Ni 2 + and La 3 Ga 5 GeO 14 :Ni 2 + , were fabricated using the same method but with different sintering conditions: the LiGa 5 O 8 :Ni 2 + phosphor was sintered at 1573 K for 4 h, and the La 3 Ga 5 GeO 14 :Ni 2 + phosphor was sintered at 1593 K for 6 h. Characterizations : The spectral properties (excitation and emission spectra, decay curves, persistent luminescence emission, and excitation spectra) of the ZGGO:Ni phosphor were measured using a Horiba FluoroLog-3 spectroﬂ uorometer equipped with a 450 W xenon arc lamp, a liquid nitrogen-cooled DSS-IGA020L InGaAs detector (800 − 1600 nm) and a R928P photomultiplier tube (240 − 850 nm). All spectra were corrected for the optical system responses. The TL curves were recorded using a homemade measurement setup (heating rate is 4 K s − 1 ). The delay time between the illumination and the TL measurement is 1 min. Before all the spectral measurements, the samples were heat-treated in a mufﬂ e oven at 700 K for 30 min to empty the electron traps. Appropriate optical ﬁ lters were used to avoid stray light in all spectral measurements.
The Challenges of Partnering to Promote Health through Sport

Interagency partnerships and collaborations underpin a settings-based approach to health promotion in all settings, including sport. This study used an online concept mapping approach to explore the challenges that Regional Sports Assemblies (RSAs) in Victoria, Australia experienced when working in partnerships to develop and deliver physical activity programs in a community sport context. Participants from nine RSAs brainstormed 46 unique partnership-related challenges that they then sorted into groups based on similarity of meaning and rated for importance and capacity to manage (6-point scale; 0 = least, 5 = most). A six cluster map (number of statements in cluster, mean cluster importance and capacity ratings)—Co-design for regional areas (4, 4.22, 2.51); Financial resources (3, 4.00, 2.32); Localised delivery challenges (4, 3.72, 2.33); Challenges implementing existing State Sporting Association (SSA) products (9, 3.58, 2.23); Working with clubs (8, 3.43, 2.99); and Partnership engagement (18, 3.23, 2.95)—was considered the most appropriate interpretation of the sorted data. The most important challenge was Lack of volunteer time (4.56). Partnerships to implement health promotion initiatives in sports settings involve multiple challenges, particularly for regional sport organisations working in partnership with community sport clubs with limited human and financial resources, to implement programs developed by national or state-based organisations.