Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial and Seasonal Variations of Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) in Drinking Water Distribution Systems of Istanbul City, Turkey

This study presents the seasonal and spatial variations of trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) in 30 sampling points within three water distribution systems of Istanbul City, Turkey. The effects of surface water quality, seasonal variation, and species differences were examined. The occurrence of chlorinated THMs and HAAs levels was considerably lower in the system in which raw water is subjected to pre-ozonation versus pre-chlorination. Seasonal analysis of the data indicated that the median concentration of four THMs (THM4) was higher than nine HAAs (HAA9) concentrations in all three distribution systems sampling points. For all distribution systems monitored, the highest median THM4 and HAA9 concentrations were observed in the spring and summer season, while the lowest concentrations of these disinfection byproduct (DBP) compounds were obtained in the fall and winter period. Due to the higher level of bromide in supplying waters of these two systems, moderate levels of brominated DBP species have been observed in the Kagithane and Buyukcekmece distribution systems districts. In fact, Spearman partial correlations (Spearman rank correlation coefficients [rs]) tend to be higher among analogues in terms of number and types of substituent, especially TCAA with TCM (rs 0.91), and DBAA with DBCM (rs 0.90). In contrast, the hydraulic (residence time and flow rate) and chemical mechanisms (hydrolysis, volatilization, and adsorption) affect the fate and transport of DBPs in distribution systems. Seasonal and spatial variations of DBPs presented in this study have important implications on regulatory issues and from an epidemiological point of view.
Effect of biodiesel blends on North American heavy-duty diesel engine emissions.

We conducted an assessment of North American heavy-duty engine emission test results for biodiesel from 49 experimental studies, including both engine dynamometer and vehicle test results. Comparison with a commercial database showed that the engines in the emissions database are not representative of the existing North American in-use fleet as of 2007; more than 50% of the tested engines were of 1995 or earlier vintage. Nevertheless, the results show that the use of a common biodiesel blend (B20) consistently reduces emissions of particulate matter, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide by 10-20%. Tests with B20 show varying effects on oxides of nitrogen (NO x ). If results for pre-1992 two-cycle 6V-92TA(E) engines (which represent 0.2% of the 2007 in-use fleet but 28% of the engines tested) are removed, then there is no statistical evidence that the average NO x emissions from B0 and B20 are different (p value of 0.50 for an estimated average increase of 1 %). Several researchers have used changes in engine calibration to eliminate any NO x penalty associated with B20 (in engines that show an increase in NO x with B20), while still maintaining the advantages of B20 in reducing other pollutants. The emissions effect of B20 on heavy-duty diesel truck emissions did not show any correlation with model year or type of fuel injection equipment.
MATHEMATICAL MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND SIMULATION OF HEAT PUMP FRUIT DRYER

ABSTRACT A mathematical model of a heat pump fruit dryer was developed to study the performance of heat pump dryers. Using the moisture content of papaya glace' drying, the refrigerant temperature at the evaporator and condenser and the performance, was verified. It was found that the simulated results using closed loop heat pump dryer were close to the experimental results. The criteria for evaluating the performance were specific moisture extraction rate and drying rate. The results showed that ambient conditions affected significantly on the performance of the open loop dryer and the partially closed loop dryer. Also, the fraction of evaporator bypass air affected markedly on the performance of all heat pump dryers. In addition, it was found that specific air flow rate and drying air temperature affected significantly the performance of all heat pump dryers.
Phytochemical screening, antioxidant activity, total polyphenols and flavonoids content of different extracts of propolis from Tekel (Ngaoundal, Adamawa region, Cameroon)

Five extracts of propolis of Adamawa Cameroon were obtained by percolation and maceration with five different solvents: hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol and water, in order of increasing polarity. Phytochemical screening was carried out on the extracts and the total content in flavonoids and polyphenols were evaluated by photometric methods. The total flavonoid content was evaluated using the Neu reagent (2-aminodiethyl diphenylborinate) and quercetin as standard and the results varied from 0.84±0.02 gQE/100gRM in ethyl acetate extract to 1.52±0.06 gQE/100gRM in ethanol extract. The total polyphenol content was evaluated using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and gallic acid as standard and results varied from 2.32±0.37 gGAE/100gRM in the ethyl acetate extract which is the least to 8.64±0.47 gGAE/100gRM in the aqueous extract. The antiradical activities of the extracts were evaluated through their inhibition on DPPH• and IC50 values varied from 1.88 mg/mL in the aqueous extract which showed highest antioxidant power to 5.06 mg/mL in the ethyl acetate extract with the least antioxidant power. BHT and vitamin C were used as synthetic and natural standards respectively and they showed higher antioxidant power compared to the propolis extracts. Ferrous iron chelating capacities of the extracts were determined using potassium ferricyanide reagent and EDTA as standard. Using Stat Graphics software and Durbin-Watson statistics test, the extracts showed significant correlation between flavonoid content and polyphenol content with DPPH• scavenging activity. The ethyl acetate extract showed least ferrous ion chelating capacity while the methanol extract showed highest ferrous ion chelating capacity.
Arsenic speciation in marine organisms from Antarctic coastal environments

Environmental context. In studies on trace element accumulation and transformation, it is difficult to distinguish the relative contribution of natural and anthropogenic sources. Antarctic ecosystems provide the opportunity to investigate the natural cycles of the elements, because the food webs are relatively simple and trace element contamination from anthropogenic sources is negligible. We report the arsenic species in various tissues from a range of Antarctic organisms, and compare the patterns of arsenicals with those from similar studies in temperate and tropical waters. Abstract. Antarctic coastal environments offer the unique opportunity to study elemental cycling under pristine conditions. We report arsenic species in various tissues from a range of Antarctic organisms collected from coastal environments, and compare our results with those from similar studies in temperate and tropical waters. The arsenic species were determined in aqueous methanol extracts of tissues (including muscle, liver, gonads and spleen) by HPLC/ICPMS. The major compounds were arsenobetaine and oxo-arsenosugars, with their relative proportions depending on the position of the organism in the food chain and, for some species, on the type of tissue analysed. Several minor compounds, such as dimethylarsinate, trimethylarsine oxide, trimethylarsoniopropionate and arsenocholine were also found; the concentrations of these arsenic species were significantly lower in muscle compared with the other tissues. The transfer of the arsenic through the Antarctic marine food web and the speciation patterns found in the organisms were similar to those reported for comparable organisms from other marine ecosystems. Our study supports the view that the high levels of arsenic occurring in various forms in marine samples is a natural phenomenon, and is little influenced by anthropogenic activities.
IN-VITRO ANTIBACTERIAL EFFICACY OF COMMON SPICES AND THEIR EFFECT ON PERMEABILITY OF MEMBRANE

The aim of the present study is to investigate three different spices for antibacterial activity and also to study their effect on membrane permeability of bacteria. The spices selected were Black pepper (Piper nigrum), Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum) are routinely consumed in our diet. The spice extracts and essential oils were screened for antibacterial activity by Disc Diffusion Method, followed by determination of MBC by double dilution method. Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) was determined by the Double Dilution Method. Killing Kinetics were studied to know the time course of lethal action of these spices on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Effect of spices on membrane leakage of bacteria was studied by using a UV-spectrophotometer. The results indicate excellent inhibition on the growth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Among the spices tested cloves and cinnamon were found to be more efficient in killing bacteria followed by black pepper. Leakage of cellular constituents from bacterial cells into the extra cellular medium through membrane having absorption at 260nm (Nucleic acids) and 280nm (Proteins) gradually increased after treating the bacteria with the test compound and proved that this may be one of the modes of bactericidal action. From the experimental results it can be concluded that the above three spices are good antibacterial and prospective phytotherapeutic agents.
New insights into intrinsic foot muscle morphology and composition using ultra-high-� eld ( 7-Tesla ) magnetic resonance imaging

Melinda Maree Franettovich Smith (  melinda.smith@uq.edu.au ) University of Queensland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0098-7656 James M Elliott The University of Sydney Aiman Al-Najjar University of Queensland Kenneth A Weber II Stanford University Mark Hoggarth Northwestern University Bill Vicenzino University of Queensland Paul W Hodges University of Queensland Natalie J Collins University of Queensland
Oxygen defects and formation of Ce3+affecting the photocatalytic performance of CeO2nanoparticles

Here we report the photocatalytic activity of CeO2 nanoparticles. This is carried out with methyl orange as the reference pollutant. Annealing of ceria under vacuum generates oxygen deficient CeO2 nanoparticles with defects such as oxygen vacancies and formation of Ce3+. This is evident from the characterization results of X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, N2 adsorption–desorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The band gap is red shifted due to the creation of intermediate energy states of Ce3+ and oxygen vacancies in the band gap. The reduced photoluminescence (PL) intensity of defective ceria indicates that the electron–hole separation is substantially enhanced by the surface trap centers. Air annealed ceria not only has relatively low surface area but also has fewer surface defects. Thus, it is expected to display less photocatalytic activity. Vacuum annealed CeO2 indeed displays better photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methyl orange under UV and visible light as compared to the air annealed samples.
Influence of the Combustor Aerodynamics on Combustion Instabilities From Equivalence Ratio Fluctuations

Gas turbine combustors are often susceptible to self excited oscillations, which lead to unacceptable levels of pressure, velocity and heat release fluctuations. Although instabilities can occur in systems with locally constant equivalence ratio, it is very important to take into account the influence of equivalence ratio fluctuations, which are generated in the fuel air mixer in the unstable case. These fluctuations are convected into the flame and lead to an additional mechanism for the generation of heat release fluctuations. Moreover, entropy waves are produced in the flame, which travel through the combustor and generate additional pressure waves during the acceleration of the flow at the combustor exit.To date, available theories use the physically unrealistic assumption that the equivalence ratio waves as well as the entropy waves are convected downstream without any spatial dispersion due to the combustor aerodynamics. An analytical approach is presented, which allows to take the spatial dispersion into consideration. For that purpose, the response of the burner and the combustor to an equivalence ratio impulse or an entropy impulse is calculated using the Laplace transformation and a more general transfer function for harmonic waves is derived. The obtained expression has three parameters, which represent the influence of the burner or the combustor aerodynamics, respectively. This equation can be used in numerical codes, which represent the combustion system through a network of acoustic multiports, if the equivalence ratio and the entropy are added to the vector of variables considered. The parameters required for the dynamic combustor model can be deduced from a detailed CFD analysis of the combustor flow in case of the application of the theory to a particular combustor design.As an example, a simple model combustor is used to demonstrate the application of the theory. It is highlighted how the spatial dispersion of the equivalence ratio and entropy fluctuations can be included in the stability analysis. The calculated examples reveal that the influence of both variables on the generation of instabilities is highly overpredicted if the spatial dispersion is not taken into account. Furthermore, it can be deduced from the study, that burner and combustor designs with a wide range of convective time scales have advantages with respect to the stability of the combustor. © 2000 ASME
Nitric oxide in exhaled gas : studies on physiological regulation and measurements in infants and children

Nitric oxide (NO) is found in the exhaled gas of humans, starting from birth, and is increased in adult patients with bronchial asthma. This study assessed whether the measurement of NO in exhaled gas is technically feasible in infants and children. We studied a possible difference of exhaled NO levels between asthmatic children and healthy controls. Optimising existing sampling techniques, a link between clinical severity and levels of exhaled NO was sought. Adapting the sampling technique to the specific needs of infants, tidal analysis of inhaled and exhaled NO concentrations was performed. Finally, regulatory aspects of pulmonary NO synthesis were studied in an established rabbit model. We found that NO in exhaled gas can be reliably measured in newborn infants and children and distinguished from nasally derived NO. In spite of comparable lung function parameters orally exhaled NO was significantly increased in asthmatic children in comparison with healthy controls. Even higher increases were seen in asthmatic children with recent clinical symptoms of airway obstruction, suggesting that exhaled NO measurements may be an early signal of asthmatic airway inflammation and useful to monitor the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory treatment. In newborn infants the range of autoinhaled NO concentrations made biological effects of NO in the lower respiratory tract conceivable. In the rabbit experiments adrenoceptor stimulation and high frequency oscillatory ventilation significantly increased pulmonary NO production. These findings are likely relevant to the understanding of the circulatory adaptation to extrauterine life. Increases of pulmonary NO production induced by mechanical stretch might influence bronchial function and ventilation perfusion matching.
Collision cross sections and transport parameters in neon and xenon

A self-consistent set of electron impact cross sections is reported for 24 neon and 13 xenon levels. Semi-empirical expressions are used which allow cross section calculations for impact energies from excitation thresholds up to the relativistic energy range. Therefore, they are effective for modelling electric discharges as well as electron-beam produced plasmas in any mixtures containing neon and xenon atoms, such as excimer lasers. The calculated cross sections are in general agreement with the experimental data obtained in electron impact energy loss spectra experiments. In addition, the Boltzmann equation has been solved, in the hydrodynamic approximation, for reduced electric fields in the range 10-3-103 Td. The predicted transport parameters are in agreement with the recent experimental data except for the 1s5 neon level. For this state, the measured excitation coefficient conflicts with that calculated.
Synthesis and characterisation of an epoxy resin containing fluorene moieties and its cured polymer

Purpose – The paper's purpose is to optimise lab‐size synthesis process of a fluorene‐containing epoxy resin, characterise structure of the resulting epoxy resin and evaluate mechanical properties of the cured fluorene‐containing polymers.Design/methodology/approach – The synthesis of the fluorene‐containing epoxy resin was accomplished by the polycondensation of 9,9‐bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐fluorene and epichlorohydrin in the presence of quaternary ammonium salt and composite solvent under vacuum. The chemical structure of epoxy resin thus obtained was characterised with FTIR, NMR and MS. The shear strengthes of cured fluorene‐containing epoxy resin were determined and compared with that of cured E‐44 bisphenol A epoxy resin and F‐44 novolac epoxy.Findings – The epoxide equivalent weight (EEW) of the fluorene‐containing epoxy resin reached 240‐246 g/mol under optimal epoxidising condition. The resulting epoxy resin exhibited approximate high temperature performance relative to F‐44 novolac epoxy, much better.
Modeling Two-Phase-Flow Interactions across a Bentonite Clay and Fractured Rock Interface

Abstract Deep geological repositories are generally considered as suitable environments for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel. In the Swedish and Finnish repository design concept, canisters are to be placed in deep underground tunnels in sparsely fractured crystalline bedrock, in deposition holes in which each canister is embedded with an expansive bentonite-clay-mixture buffer. A set of semigeneric two-dimensional radially symmetric TOUGH2 simulations are conducted to investigate the multiphase dynamics and interactions between water and air in a bentonite-rock environment. The main objective is to identify how sensitive saturation times of bentonite are to the geometry of the rock fractures and to commonly adopted simplifications in the unsaturated flow description such as Richards assumptions. Results show that the location of the intersection between the fracture system and the deposition hole is a key factor affecting saturation times. A potential long-lasting desaturation of the rock matrix close to the bentonite-rock interface is also identified extending up to 10 cm inside the rock. Two-phase-flow models predict systematically longer saturation times compared to a simplified Richards approximation, which is frequently used to represent unsaturated flows. The discrepancy diverges considerably as full saturation is approached.
Biomassa, decomposição e cobertura do solo ocasionada por resíduos culturais de três espécies vegetais na região centro-oeste do Brasil

Com a crescente adocao da semeadura direta na regiao Centro-Oeste do Brasil, faz-se necessario maior conhecimento sobre as plantas de cobertura para producao de palha. O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a producao de biomassa verde e seca, a percentagem de cobertura do solo, bem como a dinâmica da decomposicao da palhada de tres especies de plantas de cobertura em safrinha: amaranto (Amaranthus cruentus L. BRS Alegria), milheto (Pennisetum glaucum L. var. ADR500) e capim-pe-de-galinha [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. ]. O trabalho foi conduzido em um Latossolo Vermelho distroferrico textura argilosa. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos casualizados, no esquema de parcelas subdivididas no tempo, com quatro repeticoes. Nas parcelas foram alocadas as especies, subdivididas em nove epocas de avaliacao (0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210 e 240 dias) apos dessecacao quimica das especies em estudo. Amostras proporcionais da biomassa seca de cada especie foram acondicionadas em bolsas de decomposicao, que foram dispostas sobre o solo, sendo coletadas a cada 30 dias e pesadas ate 240 dias apos a instalacao, para avaliar a dinâmica de decomposicao, apos o manejo das plantas de cobertura. O milheto ADR500 e o capim-pe-de-galinha proporcionaram maior producao de biomassa verde e seca, maior cobertura do solo e menores taxas de decomposicao da palhada, nao diferindo entre si. O milheto ADR500 apresentou maior relacao C/N, seguido pelo capim-pe-de-galinha e amaranto. Ajustaram-se, para a percentagem de cobertura do solo e a decomposicao de palhadas com o tempo, os modelos sigmoidal e exponencial decrescente, respectivamente. O milheto ADR500 e o capim-pe-de-galinha apresentaram comportamentos semelhantes, nao diferindo na comparacao dos modelos de cobertura do solo e decomposicao de palhadas.
The Importance of Acetonitrile in the Pharmaceutical Industry and Opportunities for its Recovery from Waste

Acetonitrile is regarded as a key solvent in the pharmaceutical industry. However, the volatility in acetonitrile supply in recent years, coupled with its relatively poor environmental profile, has presented significant challenges to its use in manufacturing processes and laboratories. This study investigates the importance of acetonitrile in the pharmaceutical industry and critically examines several options for reducing the exposure of the industry to future supply problems whilst also improving its life cycle management. The physicochemical properties of acetonitrile were compared with other typical process solvents and the Conductor-like Screening Model (COSMO) surfaces and sigma profiles were used to help explain the favorable solvation behaviour of acetonitrile. Several options for the replacement or recovery and recycle of acetonitrile were critically examined in the contexts of environmental, technical, and economic feasibility. Azeotropic distillation was found to be the most likely approach to r.
Source Apportionment of Lead Contamination in Residential, Undisturbed, and Roadside Soil (Part II)

Lead (Pb) and antimony (Sb) concentrations in bulk soils and results of individual particle analysis were used to obtain apportionment estimates of identifiable sources of anthropogenic Pb contamination in residential and undisturbed soils. Soil was analyzed from residential and undisturbed wooded areas, an adjacent automobile battery manufacturing facility, and a roadside 2.4 km from the site. Sb in bulk soil was used in apportionment estimates because Sb occurred with Pb originating from the battery facility. Average Pb concentrations in roadside soil were used to obtain estimates of maximum Pb portions attributable to automobile exhaust in residential and undisturbed soils. Data from Pb-Sb-Sn particles and Pb-oxide particles provided apportionment estimates of Pb contamination similar to that derived from bulk soil concentrations. Estimates indicated most (> 80%) of the Pb contamination in residential and undisturbed wooded area soils originated from the neighboring battery facility. Less than a few percent of the Pb in the residential and undisturbed wooded area soils was naturally occurring.