Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors relating to soil fertility and species diversity in both semi‐natural and created meadows in the West Midlands of England

The post‐war decline in the area and diversity of neutral meadows in Britain, resulting from agricultural intensification, has prompted schemes to restore and create new habitats. Their success relies on understanding the relations between soil fertility and species diversity. We have investigated these relations, using multivariate analysis, in 28 semi‐natural meadows and eight artificially created urban meadows. Mineralizable nitrogen was the most important soil characteristic in the semi‐natural sites; the more N the soil contained the fewer were the species characteristic of traditional meadows. Both potassium and total magnesium favoured diversity, perhaps because their deficiency in many traditionally managed meadows jeopardizes the survival of broad‐leaved species in competition with grasses. Available lead, at sub‐lethal concentrations and measured as a Pb:Ca ratio, appeared to favour diversity in the semi‐natural sites, possibly by inhibiting the uptake of P by competitive grasses and allowing the less competitive species associated with diversity to flourish. The main differences between the soils of the artificial and the semi‐natural meadows were that the former contained more extractable P and less mineralizable N and organic matter. It seems that large soil phosphorus concentrations may be the main reason why relatively few species colonize or survive in grassland on many urban soils.
Metal binding capacity of soft acid, organic‐rich waters

Organic carbon from one stream and two ponds in South Carolina was fractionated into five nominal molecular diameter fractions by ultrafiltration. The concentrations associated with and binding capacity for Ca, Cd, Cu and Pb were determined for each fraction. The distribution of organic carbon among ultrafilter fractions varied from water to water, with the largest percentage occurring in the smaller fractions. Calcium was associated with each of the fractions isolated from each of the three waters, indicating Ca is bound to organics in all fractions, however, more than 99% of the Ca which passed the smallest ultrafilter was removed by cationic exchange resin. Each fraction bound more Ca than Cd, Cu or Pb except in a few cases where Pb binding was greater. All of the organic fractions had their Ca++ binding sites saturated. Calcium was not an effective competitive ion against Cd, Cu or Pb for organic binding sites. The total Cu binding capacity was less than that of Ca or Pb but similar to that of Cd. Nat.
Influence of legumes and fertilization on deep distribution of available phosphorus (Olsen-P) in a thin Black Chernozemic soil

Inorganic phosphorus (P) is generally believed to be relatively immobile in Chernozemic soils. However, available P (e.g., Olsen-P) has been found at depth in some soils and this has been postulated to be either the result of leaching or of transportation by plant roots. Lagumes, in particular, are believed to be involved in the latter mechanism. A long-term (34-yr) crop rotation study conducted on a heavy clay, thin Black Chernozemic soil at Indian Head, Saskatchewan, was sampled to a depth of 4.5 m in May and September 1991, to determine the influence of fertilization, cropping frequency, legume green manure and legume-grass hay crops on Olsen-P distribution in the soil profile. The results indicated that Olsen-P may indeed leach in Chernozemic soils, especially when fallow-containing cropping systems are fertilized. It also appeared that deep-rooted legumes, such as sweetclover Melilotus officinalis L. ) green manure and alfalfa-bromegrass (Medicago sativa L. — Bromus inermis Leyss) hay crops do increas.
Micropore Size Distribution of Activated Carbon Fiber Using the Density Functional Theory and Other Methods

The pore-size distribution of a series of pitch-based activated carbon fiber samples (A5, A10, A15, and A20) has been determined from the nitrogen adsorption isotherms at 77 K, with the nonlocal density functional theory (DFT), the Dubinin−Stoeckli (DS) method, and the subtracting pore effect (SPE) method using the high-resolution αS plot. The pore-size distributions of all the samples from DFT show a distinguishable peak at small pore widths around 0.6 nm and a broad peak at bigger micropore size. The mean pore widths obtained from DFT and DS methods are similar for samples whose pores are narrow and different for wider ones. The use of the SPE method shows that the mean pore widths are slightly smaller than those obtained by DFT and DS methods.
Gd@C60[C(COOH)2]10 and Gd@C60(OH)x: Nanoscale Aggregation Studies of Two Metallofullerene MRI Contrast Agents in Aqueous Solution

Derivatized water-soluble Gd-based metallofullerenes are excellent MRI contrast agents with unusually large proton relaxivities for agents with no direct Gd−OH2 bonding. In this study, dynamic light scattering (DLS), static light scattering (SLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) have been used to characterize the propensity of two such species, Gd@C60[C(COOH)2]10 and Gd@C60(OH)x, to aggregate in aqueous solution, since aggregation is known to enhance proton relaxivities of MRI contrast agents by increasing their rotational correlation times (via more slowly tumbling aggregates). The present aggregation study has been conducted as a function of concentration, temperature, and pH and has revealed that both compounds aggregate at pH = 9 to form spherical and irregular clusters having sizes between 30 and 90 nm, with little concentration or temperature dependency. Below pH = 9, the aggregate sizes increase steadily and dramatically, reaching hydrodynamic diameters of 600−1000 nm by pH = 5. Addition.
An active and stable CaO–CeO2 catalyst for transesterification of oil to biodiesel

CaO–CeO2 catalysts were successfully synthesized by simple gel formation viaco-precipitation and used as an active and stable catalyst for the production of a clean and green alternative fuel – biodiesel – via transesterification of palm oil and methanol. Among a series of CaO–CeO2 catalysts, the 1Ca1Ce catalyst performed the best performance (with FAME yield >90% after 2 h) due to its high surface total basicity and base strength. The 1Ca1Ce catalyst showed negligible leaching of catalyst components due to the good interaction between calcium and cerium species in the solid catalyst. The leaching of catalyst could be reduced by increasing calcination temperature; however, the catalyst lost its total basicity at very high calcination temperature. Therefore, the 1Ca1Ce catalyst calcined at 650 °C was the optimum catalyst for transesterification as the catalyst has low leaching of catalyst components but high total basicity. In addition, the catalyst could be reused up to 18 cycles without significant loss of performance (FAME yield >90%). The dissolved calcium and cerium contents in the biodiesel product were already less than 5 ppm after the 10th cycle. These results suggest that 1Ca1Ce is a promising catalyst for a green and durable biodiesel production process.
The inhibition of growth by chemical compounds

In an extended investigation of the growth-inhibitory activity of carcinogenic compounds and related substances, over two hundred compounds were tested, including various 5-, 10- and 9 : 10-substituted benzanthracenes, dimethyl derivatives of anthracene, nitrogenous analogues of 1 : 2-benzanthracene, benzphenothiazines and dibenzphenothiazines, compounds related to 3 : 4-benzphenanthrene, dibenzfluorenes, dibenzcarbazoles, dibenzpyrenes, azonaphthalenes and related products, naphthylam ines and naphthaquinones, arsenonaphthalenes, derivatives of triphenylethylene, and diphenyl derivatives of indene, β-naphthindole and β-naphthofuran. A striking degree of correspondence was often shown by the inhibitory and carcinogenic activity of closely related com pounds (e. g. 5-alkyl benzanthracenes; dibenzfluorenes; dibenzphenanthrenes; 2 : 2'-azonaphthalene, 2 : 2'-diamino -1 : 1'-dinaphthyl and 3 : 4 : 5 : 6-dibenzcarbazole). However, no inhibitory activity was observed for certain carcinogenic 10- and 9 : 10- substituted benzanthracenes. On the other hand, inhibitory activity was noted in a few compounds (e. g. 1 : 2'-azonaphthalene) which have yielded few or no tum ours in exhaustive tests, and in some of a group of synthetic oestrogenic compounds which, although not carcinogenic in the usual sense, are nevertheless associated with the induction of individual types of tum our under special conditions. The relation between molecular structure and inhibitory activity depends in general upon an optimal degree of molecular complexity and upon certain more specific requirements. Nevertheless, the results obtained with derivatives of triphenylethylene suggest that inhibitory activity may still be shown by compounds diverging widely from the polycyclic structure and possessing only a skeletal resemblance. Diminution of inhibitory effect with increased substituent size was shown in the 5-alkyl benzanthracenes tested, although the same relation does not necessarily obtain for other positions. The influence of the nature of the substituent is seen (for example) in the contrast between 10-methyl-, 10-amino- and 10-cyano-l: 2-benzanthracene (inhibitory) and 10-isopropyl - 1:2-benzanthracene (inactive). Lastly, numerous experiments indicated that solubilization of an active compound usually entails decrease of activity, although certain apparent exceptions were encountered. In addition to the relationship between inhibitory activity and carcinogenicity, and that between both biological properties and chemical structure, consideration is also given to the mode of production of the inhibitory effect.
Ultraviolet luminescence in AlN

The defect related luminescence in the near UV region between 3 and 4 eV has been investigated in insulating, n‐type and irradiation damaged AlN. A single luminescence band around 3.3 eV with a full width at half maximum of more than 500 meV, is attributed to a donor–acceptor pair transition at low temperatures. The substantial linewidth and a Stokes shift of around 1.3 eV result from strong electron–phonon coupling of the deep acceptor. While the chemical nature of the donor remains ambiguous, the acceptor species is attributed to the isolated Al vacancy, i.e. ${\rm V}_{{\rm Al}}^{{\rm 3}{-} } $. This luminescence band might be interesting for studying n‐type compensation mechanisms in AlN.
Reforming of ethanol-dehydrogenation to ethyl acetate and steam reforming to acetic acid over copper-based catalysts

The title reactions, 2CH3CH2OH→CH3COOC2H5+2H2 and CH3CH2OH+H2O→CH3COOH+2H2, were carried out over copper-based catalysts (Cu, Cu/SiO2, Cu/ZrO2, Cu/Al2O3, Cu/MgO, and Cu/ZnO). The selectivities to ethyl acetate and acetic acid markedly depended upon the supports used. Acetaldehyde was formed by the dehydrogenation of ethanol and transformed to either ethyl acetate or acetic acid through steps in which a nucleophilic addition of ethanol (or ethoxide ions) or water (or hydroxide ions) to acetaldehyde occurred. The rates of the transformation steps to ethyl acetate and acetic acid were appreciably affected by the kinds of supports used. The transformation steps proceeded slowly, compared with the dehydrogenation step.
Atomic-scale analysis of interfaces in an all-oxide magnetic tunnel junction

We use High Resolution Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) together with Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) to analyze the crystallography and the chemical configuration of interfaces in a state- of-the-art La2/3Sr1/3MnO3/SrTiO3/La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 tunnel junction. EELS indicates that manganese ions keep their bulk valency up to the last atomic plane in contact with the insulator. Tunnel magnetoresistance however decreases with temperature faster than magnetisation in these samples. Quantitative HRTEM reveals some local departures from chemical abruptness at the interfaces, which could play a role in this decrease.
SIRE-Technology. Part I. Amperometric Biosensor Based on Flow Injection of the Recognition Element and Differential Measurements

Abstract An amperometric biosensor with injection of the recognition element (SIRE) is described. An oxidase enzyme is injected into the measuring chamber, separated from the sample by a semi-permeable membrane. It is possible to make measurements in the presence and absence of enzyme and subtract the background current. This differential measuring technique has been difficult with previous sensors because it is very difficult to match two sensors. The versatility of the biosensor was demonstrated by determination of several different metabolites (glucose, lactate, phenyl alanine, and galactose). The system was not optimized for the individual analytes, but showed a linear response for each up to approximately 10 mM. For glucose, a detection limit of approximately 2 μM was achieved. By using the differential measuring technique, glucose could be determined by direct measurement in a urine sample with the standard addition method.
Simulation of activation free energies in molecular systems

A method is presented for determining activation free energies in complex molecular systems. The method relies on knowledge of the minimum energy path and bases the activation free energy calculation on moving along this path from a minimum to a saddle point. Use is made of a local reaction coordinate which describes the advance of the reaction in each segment of the minimum energy path. The activation free energy is formulated as a sum of two terms. The first is due to the change in the local reaction coordinate between the endpoints of each segment of the path. The second is due to the change in direction of the minimum energy path between consecutive segments. Both contributions can be obtained by molecular dynamics simulations with a constraint on the local reaction coordinate. The method is illustrated by applying it to a model potential and to the C7eq to C7ax transition in the alanine dipeptide. It is found that the term due to the change of direction in the reaction path can make a substantial con.
Comparative study of diverse indigenous and exotic barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes for terminal heat tolerance

Barley is one of the most valuable cereal crop and belongs to Poaceae family. Among the abiotic stress, heat stress (terminal high temperature) is one of the major causes of lowering productivity of barley crops. Therefore, the present investigation comprising a set of 101 barley genotypes was evaluated at Agriculture Research farm, Banaras Hindu University, during Rabi of 2016-17 with aim to finding the terminal heat tolerance with better yielding genotypes. Experiment was conducted at in two date of sowing viz., early sowing was on 22nd November 2016 and late sowing was on 18 December 2016respectively. In early sown condition at the time of grain filling stage, temperature was 20-22 0C while under late sown condition it was 28-35 oC. Analysis of variance for 101 genotypes studied in early condition and late condition, it revealed significant differences for all the thirteen and fourteen characters respectively. In the early condition genotype 11th HBSN-175 had highest yield per plant while highest grain per ear recorded on MOROC-9-75 and 1000 grain weight was highest for INBON-05-50. The terminal heat stress varieties as 12th HBSN-7(7.58 g) had highest grain yield per plant and BH-976(49.76) recorded in 1000 grain weightPL-751(29.66) recorded highest for grains per ear. Genotypes having ideal maturity, satisfactory yield under higher temperature could be used under breeding program for crop improvement.
Experimental Study of O2-CO2 Production for the Oxyfuel Combustion Using a Co-Based Oxygen Carrier

Production of O{sub 2}-CO{sub 2} mixed gases for the oxyfuel combustion using a Co-based oxygen carrier packed in a fixed bed reactor was investigated. The reaction kinetics of CoO with O{sub 2} and the decomposition kinetics of Co{sub 3}O{sub 4} in CO{sub 2} atmosphere at different temperatures were studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Both desorption and sorption processes exhibit a high reaction rate. Multiple sorption and desorption cycles indicated that Co-based oxygen carrier has high reactivity and cyclic stability. The results of X-ray diffraction indicated that Co-based oxygen carrier does not react with CO{sub 2} during the desorption stage, and this is especially important for oxyfuel combustion. The high temperature sorption process for production of O{sub 2}-CO{sub 2} gas mixtures in a fixed bed reactor packed with Co-based oxygen carrier particles through air separation with carbon dioxide as the purge gas is investigated. Oxygen is absorbed, and heat is stored by the Co-based oxygen carrier particles with air being fed. An O{sub 2}-CO{sub 2} stream can be obtained when the fixed bed is regenerated with carbon dioxide as the desorption gas. O{sub 2} fraction in the O{sub 2}-CO{sub 2} gas mixtures can be controlled by adjusting the flow rate ofmore » CO{sub 2} regeneration gas. This Co-based oxygen carrier offers potential for further study in the O{sub 2}-CO{sub 2} production for the oxyfuel coal combustion process. « less
Limiting negative pressure of water under dynamic stressing

The authors describe experiments concerned with the limiting negative pressure (that is, tension) which water can sustain when stressed dynamically by propagating a pulse of tension through a vertical column of the liquid. The effect of boiling and deionization increased the ability of the water to withstand tension. A single sample of water was subjected to repeated tensile failure at regular time intervals and it was found that the breaking tension that could be sustained tended progressively to an upper limit of about 11.0 atm as this type of stressing proceeded. The breaking tension is a maximum at around the temperature corresponding to the maximum density of water.
Expiratory Aerosol Transport in a Scaled Chamber under a Variety of Emission Characteristics: An Experimental Study

Pollutant concentration is a major factor affecting exposure. Expiratory process generates high-velocity droplets for a very short period of time that leads to highly transient temporal and nonuniform concentration profiles. In this work, solid aerosol generated by an expiratory process was measured spatially and temporally inside a scaled ventilated chamber. Conventional ceiling-supply, ceiling-return, and displacement ventilation systems were studied. Two sizes of monodisperse microspheres, 0.05 and 10 μm, were generated by a modeled expiratory process. Two heated, scaled manikins were used to mimic a simple yet typical exposure scenario with an aerosol source and a receiver while buoyancy flow was presented. First, the influence of relative orientation of the source to the inlet diffuser on spatial concentration was investigated. The source was located in such a position that the bulk airflow was against to the expiratory process. Second, the relative orientation of the source-to-receiver was also investigated to study how the concentration distribution was being affected. Two orientations were tested as one of the source faced to the receiver and the other source faced to a sidewall. The dimensionless temporal concentration results were presented at six locations. Transient ventilation effectiveness was also evaluated and compared for both ventilation systems. With the “counter flow” scenario, the emitted particles tended to suspend in the mechanical ventilated chamber for a long period; this indicates a high exposure will be resulted. For the displacement scheme of the “face-to-wall” orientation, due to the low y-component of air velocity, poor lateral dispersion was observed.
Compensation Effect on the Desulfurization of Hydrogen Sulfide by Zinc Oxide

The microkinetics of H2S removal by ZnO desulfurizer in the presence of 7 different gas atmospheres were studied by thermogravimetric analysis. Experiments were carried out with ZnO powder of 100–120 mesh at temperatures from 473 K to 563 K. The experimental data was correlated using an improved shrinking core model. Kinetic parameters in different gas atmospheres were estimated. It was found that there existed a compensation effect in H2S removal process by ZnO.
ADSORÇÃO DE MATÉRIA ORGÂNICA EM CARVÃO ATIVADO GRANULAR NO PÓS TRATAMENTO DE LIXIVIADO DE ATERRO SANITÁRIO

RESUMO: Quando nao tratado adequadamente, o lixiviado proveniente de aterros pode infiltrar e poluir mananciais e suas adjacencias. Devido as caracteristicas de lixiviado estabilizado, com elevadas concentracoes de nitrogenio amoniacal, cloretos, metais, materia orgânica recalcitrante, ha grande dificuldade de tratamento dos mesmos, assim como um elevado custo operacional, para minimizar potenciais efeitos ao meio ambiente. Por consequencia das propriedades fisicas inerentes ao carvao ativado tais como grande area superficial, forma e estrutura de poros, alta capacidade adsortiva e reatividade da superficie a adsorcao, o uso deste, tem recebido recentemente, consideravel atencao quanto a capacidade de remover material orgânico e inorgânico de aguas residuarias. Assim, este trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de avaliar a aplicabilidade do sistema de adsorcao/filtracao em carvao ativado granular – CAG em relacao a remocao de cor verdadeira, Demanda Quimica de Oxigenio- DQO e Carbono Orgânico Total – COT, como pos-tratamento de lixiviado tratado por stripping de amonia, seguido de lodos ativados e coagulacao quimica-floculacao-sedimentacao. Para as condicoes utilizadas nos experimentos, pode-se concluir que, a adsorcao por CAG apresentou elevada eficiencia com remocao de 100 % para cor verdadeira, 82,5 % para DQO com valor maximo residual de 86 mg.O 2 . L -1 e de 68 % para COT com valor maximo residual de 39 mg.L -1 . Palavras chave: Gestao de lixiviados de aterro sanitario. Tratamento fisico-quimico. Materia orgânica recalcitrante.
Effect of Chemical Nature on the Susceptibility of Asphalt to Aging

Abstract The knowledge of the factors affecting the susceptibility of asphalt to aging can be of help when selecting the asphalt binders for the construction of durable pavements. Investigated were the aging-induced changes in the chemical composition and colloidal nature of asphalts differing in origin and technology. It was shown that the course of the changes in the generic composition of asphalt upon aging under laboratory conditions depends on the chemical type of the feedstock from which the asphalt has been derived. During aging of the asphalts from the paraffin–naphthenic crudes, the resins undergo partial decomposition, which results in the increase of the cyclic fraction content. Although the increase of the asphaltene content in air-blown asphalts after the Thin Film Oven Test was found to be lower than that in the corresponding straight-run asphalts, the much higher value of the instability index and smaller size distribution of asphaltenes in the air-blown asphalts permit us to expect that their utilization as binders in pavement construction will lead to the reduction of pavement durability. It follows from the results of this study that not only the generic composition but also the structure of the fractions affect the resistance of asphalt to aging.