Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study Of Ethanol Production From Fungal Pretreated Wheat And Rice Straw

Bioconversion offers a cheap and safe method of not only disposing the agricultural residues, but also it has the potential to convert lignocellulosic wastes into usable forms such as reducing sugars that could be used for ethanol production. This paper reports a preliminary study on the microbial pretreatment and fermentation of the agricultural residues like wheat straw, rice straw. A combination of five different fungi viz. Aspergillus niger , Aspergillus awamori , Trichoderma reesei, , Phenerochaete chrysosporium, Pleurotus sajor-caju, obtained from screening were used for pretreatment and Saccharomyces cereviseae (NCIM 3095) was used for carrying out fermentation. In case of Wheat straw and rice straw, pretreatment with Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus awamori and later fermentation yielded highest amount of ethanol(2.5gl & 2.2g l respectively ).
Novel Method to Diagnose COVID-19: HNN of CNN and Bi-LSTM Using X-ray Images

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has caused a global pandemic and many of COVID-19’s key symptoms are related to the respiratory tract. In fact, the most relevant features correlated to the diagnosis of COVID-19 were found to be breathing problems and dry cough as determined by experimental results, produced when such a dataset was run through the random forest model with feature importance function. Therefore, using chest x-ray images labeled as COVID-19 and normal from kaggle, we developed a novel hybrid deep learning model incorporating CNN (convolutional neural network) and Bi-LSTM (bidirectional long short term memory) to detect symptoms of COVID-19. Our goal was to develop a model with the highest accuracy. As a total number of datasets were not enough to train the model, we augmented the input dataset through the “ImagedataGenerator” function from the Keras. Also, this proposed model ensures high accuracy as experimental results reported its average accuracy, which was tested with various optimizers (Adam, Nadam, Rmsprop, SGD), to be 98.13%. The new model showed the highest average accuracy compared to any other preexisting models (VGG-16, Resnet50, Resent50_v2, Mobilenet, Mobilenet_v2, Xception) also tested during this research. This model could potentially be used as an alternative process to diagnose COVID-19, especially with the number of global cases increasing, along with the need for efficient, quicker testing methods.
Systematische Untersuchungen zur Elektronenkuehlung am Heidelberger Schwerionenspeicherring TSR

In dieser Arbeit wurde die Elektronenkuehlung systematisch erstmals sowohl longitudinal als auch transversal am Heidelberger Speicherring TSR untersucht. Transversal wurde eine Methode entwickelt, um Kuehlraten fuer kleine Relativgeschwindigkeiten zu bestimmen. Aus dieser Kuehlrate kann der Reibungskoeffizient, bzw. der Gradient der Kuehlkraft im linearen Regime der Kraft berechnet werden. Longitudinal wurde die Kraft im linearen Regime mit Hilfe des Induktionsbeschleunigers und mit stochastischem Heizen gemessen. Letztere Methode wurde im Rahmen dieser Arbeit am TSR implementiert. Der Einfluss des longitudinalen magnetischen Fuehrungsfeldes, der transversalen Elektronentemperatur und der Parameter Elektronendichte, Ionenintensitaet und Ionenladung wurde im Bereich kleiner Relativgeschwindigkeiten systematisch untersucht. Die Experimente zur Ladungsabhaengigkeit der Kuehlkraft fanden dabei im Rahmen einer Strahlzeit mit D+, 6Li3+, 12C6+ und 16O8+ (6.1MeV/u) statt. Im Bereich hoher Relativgeschwindigkeiten wurden longitudinale Kuehlkraefte gemessen und die Abhaengigkeiten der Parameter Elektronendichte, Ionenintensitaet und Ionenladung studiert. Transversal wurden Kuehlzeitmessungen injizierter Strahlen, bzw. Strahlen grosser anfaenglicher Strahldurchmesser durchgefuehrt. Darueber hinaus wurde die Ladungs- und Teilchenzahlabhaengigkeit der strahlinternen Streuung studiert und erstmals die dispersive Elektronenkuehlung, mit der die horizontale Kuehlrate beeinflusst werden kann, untersucht. Die gemessenen Kraefte bzw. Raten konnten dabei mit einem einfachen Modell hervorragend beschrieben werden.
Association Between Successful Aging Activities and Perceived Health Among Older Adults With Hearing and/or Vision Impairments

Due to the high prevalence of age-related sensory impairment (SI), this study examined the relative strength of the association between successful aging activities and perceived health among older adults with SI. A sample of adults aged 65 and older who experienced SI in vision and/or hearing was drawn from the 2015–2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (N = 2,084). Two aspects of successful aging were considered: employment status and religious participation. Of the total sample, 1,370 (65.7%) reported hearing impairment; 440 (21.1%), vision impairment; and 274 (13.1%) dual sensory impairment. Among the covariates, female gender, higher educational attainment, non-Hispanic White race, fewer chronic diseases, alcohol use, non-hospitalization, non-cigarette use, and no mobility challenges were associated with greater perceived health status. Working older adults with SI are more likely to perceive their health status as good compared with their unemployed counterparts (odds ratio [OR] = 2.43, p < .01). Religious participants with SI also perceive greater health (OR = 1.58, p < .01). For older adults with SI, ensuring that they participate in productive activities, such as employment or religious activities, may be important for their perceived health status and may lead to better overall health outcomes.
Intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) in childhood immune thrombocytopenia: towards personalized medicine—a narrative review

: In childhood immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), the morbidity is significant due to the risk of bleeding and a reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Current management guidelines indicate that treatment is considered for children with moderate to severe bleeding, or a reduced HRQoL. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment has been introduced in childhood ITP in 1981. IVIg treatment speeds up the remission of thrombocytopenia in newly diagnosed ITP and reduces bleeding symptoms, but this has the disadvantage of side effects and costs. Some data indicated that IVIg may modulate the late disease outcomes of ITP, but our recent randomized controlled trial (RCT) showed that IVIg does not affect the development of chronic ITP. Overall, 60% of children with newly diagnosed ITP show a sustained response to IVIg. Such a sustained response after IVIg treatment is strongly associated with long-term remission from ITP. Recent molecular and clinical data show that treatment responders could be identified before IVIg is administered. The same molecular and clinical characteristics that identify treatment responders are otherwise associated with a transient, self-limiting ITP disease course, suggesting the identification of a distinct subgroup of ITP patients. Thus, the development of multivariate clinical and molecular prediction scores could allow to individualize treatment decisions, i.e., target IVIg to those who benefit the most. These prediction scores may also be used to design studies aimed at identifying children who benefit from adjunctive or alternative treatments, such as thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-Ra).
Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer in Automotive Application: A Systematic Literature Review

Efforts to develop effective and innovative materials are increasingly being developed by researchers, especially in the development and utilization of NFRP (Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer) in the automotive sector due to increased demand and increased ecological awareness. The purpose of this literature review article is to provide up-to-date information on the application of NFRP and plastic recycling in the automotive sector as well as consideration of selecting natural fibers for use as reinforcing composites in the automotive sector. This literature review focuses on the progress of the development of polymeric materials applied in the automotive field. Referring to defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 30 articles in polymer composite studies published between 2015 and 2020 were selected for further investigation. The analysis of selected studies revealed that several leading car manufacturers have produced and developed products from NFRP or recycled plastics with natural fiber reinforcement because they are relatively cheap, lightweight, and able to reduce exhaust emissions. The great potential of using NFRP materials and recycled plastics in the automotive sector presents a future challenge, namely the increasing need for natural fiber in the long term which will certainly have an impact on ecosystems and biodiversity.
Mining Vehicle Trajectories to Discover Individual Significant Places: Case Study using Floating Car Data in the Paris Region

In this study we discovered significant places in individual mobility by exploring vehicle trajectories from floating car data. The objective was to detect the geo-locations of significant places and further identify their functional types. Vehicle trajectories were first segmented into meaningful trips to recover corresponding stay points. A customized density-based clustering approach was implemented to cluster stay points into places and determine the significant ones for each individual vehicle. Next, a two-level hierarchy method was developed to identify the place types, which firstly identified the activity types by mixture model clustering on stay characteristics, and secondly discovered the place types by assessing their profiles of activity composition and frequentation. An applicational case study was conducted in the Paris region. As a result, five types of significant places were identified, including home place, work place, and three other types of secondary places. The results of the proposed method were compared with those from a commonly used rule-based identification, and showed a highly consistent matching on place recognition for the same vehicles. Overall, this study provides a large-scale instance of the study of human mobility anchors by mining passive trajectory data without prior knowledge. Such mined information can further help to understand human mobility regularities and facilitate city planning.
Trace element geochemistry of coarse‐grained angrites from Northwest Africa: Implications for their petrogenesis on the angrite parent body

The angrites are a class of achondrites that encompass a wide range of igneous textures from quenched, volcanic, and subvolcanic stones to slowly cooled, plutonic rocks. The compositions of the various geochemical reservoirs generating this variety of rocks have not been investigated fully because historically the numbers and masses of angrites available for study have been quite small. However, the rapid increase in meteorites from Northwest Africa (NWA) has enabled a renewed opportunity for such an investigation. In particular, three samples, NWA 2999, 4590, and 4801, have provided a new window into our understanding of the origin and petrogenesis of the coarse‐grained (plutonic) angrites. We report here the trace element abundances in individual mineral grains of pyroxene, plagioclase, olivine/kirschsteinite, and phosphate and in the whole‐rock samples. We utilize these data to constrain the petrogenetic history of each of these samples on the angrite parent body (e.g., parental melt compositions and oxygen fugacity conditions) and assess genetic relationships to previously investigated angrites. The trace element abundances in each of the three coarse‐grained angrites studied here indicate a unique history for each. The observed trace element abundances and patterns in NWA 2999 show similarities with previously studied fine‐grained, volcanic angrites and potentially indicate a common geochemical source reservoir, even though NWA 2999 is temporally distinct from the volcanic angrites. In contrast, NWA 4590 has trace element characteristics analogous to other coarse‐grained angrites (e.g., Lewis Cliff [LEW] 86010), suggesting that these samples originated from geochemically similar source reservoirs. The third angrite, NWA 4801, exhibits geochemical characteristics most similar to the plutonic, coarse‐grained angrites, but also appears to have some affinities in its trace element characteristics to the volcanic, fine‐grained angrites. This suggests that NWA 4801 may represent a petrogenetic link between two distinct geochemical reservoirs on the angrite parent body. In aggregate, the trace element distributions in these three plutonic angrites suggest that while they may have originated up to several million years after the fine‐grained angrites, they sampled a range of source reservoirs on the angrite parent body. Some of these source reservoirs were likely similar to those of the fine‐grained angrites, but others had distinct geochemical characteristics.
Water Scarcity and Food Security in Ngqeleni Locality in the Eastern Cape Province- South Africa

South Africa in general and the Eastern Cape Province in particular face increasing water shortages. However, little empirical evidence exists on how rural households are affected by water scarcity and the impact thereof on food security. This paper discusses the relationship between water scarcity and food security in Ngqeleni, a rural location in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Through empirical evidence collected using techniques inspired by the tradition of participatory focus group research and self-administered questionnaires in Ngqeleni, it is argued that there is a significant relationship between water scarcity and food security. Results also reveal that population growth, lack of political will and commitment, inadequate water resource infrastructure, and weaknesses within the institutional framework are some of the causes of water scarcity. Until effective water management systems are identified and enforced, food security will continue to plague Ngqeleni.
Plasma Modified V2O5/PEDOT Hybrid Based Flexible Electrochromic Devices

Vanadium oxide/poly (3,4- ethylenedioxythiophene)(V2O5-PEDOT) hybrid materials were prepared in a rotating quartz plasma reactor via capacitively coupled radio frequency (RF 13.56 MHz) plasma. Thin films of V2O5-PEDOT hybrid and V2O5 were obtained by electron beam evaporation technique onto flexible PET substrate for electrochromic devices (ECDs) applications. As a counter electrode, both RF magnetron sputtered MoO3 onto ITO coated PET and only ITO coated PET electrodes were used. Characterizations of the films were carried out via using scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Hybrid ECDs results showed that synergistic effect depending on improved stability between V2O5 and PEDOT. As a result, we developed all solid complementary electrochromic devices including V2O5, V2O5-PEDOT and MoO3 films. The electrochromic device characteristics such as electrochromic contrast, coloration efficiency, switching time were calculated from optical and electrochemical measurements. The highest coloration efficiency and optical contrast were obtained as 53 cm2/C and 17 % for V2O5-PEDOT/MoO3-based ECD.
Laser fusion cutting: evaluation of gas boundary layer flow state, momentum and heat transfer

The present work deals with the evaluation of gas boundary layer characteristics under conditions of a high-pressurized gas flow through narrow kerfs as prevalent in laser fusion cutting. A simplistic two-dimensional channel model with appropriate boundary conditions in combination with empirical correlations of the similitude theory is applied to determine the flow state and the thickness of the boundary layer as well as magnitudes of momentum and heat transfer rates. The estimations show that the most expectable flow state of the boundary layer corresponds to a transitional regime. Calculated boundary layer thicknesses lie in a range of 100 to 300 microns after a considered running length of 10 mm. Thus, the formation of the characteristic cut edge topography with typical maximum roughness values for Rz of about 50 microns for high-quality solid-state laser fusion cuts will take place within the boundary layer region. It can be concluded, that the knowledge of the particular spatial and temporal flow structure of the boundary layer should be considered of being indispensable for a profound understanding of the formation mechanisms of the cut edge topography.
Variation in macroinvertebrate community structure of functional process zones along the river continuum: New elements for the interpretation of the river ecosystem synthesis

We examined how communities of macroinvertebrates occurring in functional process zones (FPZs) are affected by the location of FPZs in the river continuum. We delineated FPZs for three rivers displaying significant disparities in elevation, annual precipitation, valley shape, and other valley‐scale hydrogeomorphic variables. We extracted corresponding macroinvertebrate community data from the US National Water Quality Monitoring Council database and matched it to the stream order (SO) and FPZ delineations. We examined community structure in the three rivers by partitioning the variances associated with the FPZ and SO delineations. Then, we examined community variation as patterns of beta‐diversity for communities of FPZs in different SOs. In total, 23 FPZ‐SO configurations were examined. SO and FPZ delineations contributed similarly to the variance in the structure of macroinvertebrate communities. Taxa turnover accounted for the majority of the compositional change in communities of FPZs along the river continuum, while the functional composition showed primarily a nested structure. Pairwise comparison of communities for each FPZ along the river continuum showed that significant differences in community composition occurred at high SO in the three examined rivers. In this manuscript, we show that communities of FPZs are only partially comparable along the river continuum as significant compositional changes occur when comparing communities of FPZs in distant SOs. We bring, therefore, new elements to improve the interpretation of the River Ecosystem Synthesis concept that can have wider implications for understanding the biocomplexity of hydrogeomorphic patchiness in river networks.
The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Education: Social Exclusion and Dropping out of School

The current study is aimed at investigating the problem of students’ social exclusion and dropping out of school as a consequence of COVID-19 pandemic, which abruptly disrupted school life and education in general. The closure of all educational institutions rendered distant learning an unavoidable, yet important, measure taken by education stakeholders around the globe, which, however, raised issues of unequal participation of all students. Benefits largely remain skewed towards those who are considered privileged in all aspects, thus leaving many poor, ethnic and racial minorities, and other marginal groups shortchanged, especially in Greece, which has been tortured by a severe financial crisis since 2011. Groups of Greek students that were already experiencing adverse educational and social conditions due to their families’ socio-economic status or due to specific individual and ethnic characteristics, find themselves unable to keep up with the requirements set by the mode of synchronous teaching and learning, ending up socially and educationally excluded and marginalized and ultimately being prematurely forced to abandon school, thus rising dropping-out rates tremendously. Thus, the various parameters of this multi-faceted problem are examined and social and practical recommendations are made accordingly.
Characteristics of Agricultural Lands, the Estimation of Yield of Grain and Leguminous Crops Varieties and Parameters of Their Adaptability in the Tyumen Region

The priority task of the agricultural sector of the Russian Federation is the production of food grain. The article describes the characteristics of agricultural lands for 2004-2018, the area of sowing and yield of the grain and leguminous crops for 2014-2018, as well as the assessment of yield and adaptive potential of the main varieties of the grain and leguminous crops for 2017-2019 in the Tyumen region. On average, in 2004-2018, the total area of agricultural lands amounted to 2352.6 thousand hectares, and the area of the field – 1119.1 thousand hectares. The time dynamics showed an increase of the total area of agricultural lands and a decrease of the area of the field. The area of sowing of the grain and leguminous crops averaged 689.4 thousand hectares in 2014-2018, and the average yield was 2.06 tons/ha. The leading grain crop is spring wheat. The average sowing area of spring wheat was 402.9 thousand hectares with an average yield of 1.95 tons/ha. The variability of grain and leguminous crops yield ranged from small to significant, while coefficient of yield stability ranged from 1.0 (winter wheat) to 5.3 (winter rye). The largest average yield of spring wheat was observed in the middle-early variety Tyumenskaya 25 (5.21 t/ha) and middle-season variety Aviada (5.00 t/ha), in the spring barley – Abalak (4.69 t/ha), in the oats – Foma (6.07 t/ha) and peas – Thomas (4.37 t/ha). In general, all varieties of grain and leguminous crops were characterized by low stress resistance, and their yield variability ranged from small to significant. The index of ecological plasticity of the majority of varieties was equal to and close to one, which characterizes them as plastic, i.e. the change in their yield fully corresponds to the change in growing conditions. The variety of spring wheat Tyumenskaya 25 was the best in terms of general adaptive ability (GAA = 0.20), the variety of spring barley – Abalak (GAA = 0.15), the variety of oats – Foma (GAA = 0.20) and the variety of peas – Thomas (GAA = 0.18). The variety of the spring barley Abalak (GAA = 0.15; Cv = 6.6%) and the pea variety Thomas (GAA = 0.18; Cv = 5.3%) were the best varieties combining a high level of general adaptive ability with a small yield variability.
Nexus between Nitrous Oxide Emissions and Agricultural Land Use in Agrarian Economy: An ARDL Bounds Testing Approach

This paper analyses the relationship between Nitrous Oxide emissions, agricultural land use, and economic growth in Pakistan. Agriculture largely contributes to Nitrous Oxide emissions. Hence, models of agriculture induced Nitrous Oxide emissions are estimated in addition to models of total Nitrous Oxide emissions. Estimated models accommodate more flexible forms of relationship between economic growth and emissions than those of the widely adopted models in testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve. The Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to co-integration and the vector error correction model approach is applied to test the Environmental Kuznets’s Curve hypothesis for Pakistan and to detect the directions of causality among variables using the time series data for the period 1971 to 2012. Results indicate that an N-shaped rather than an inverted U-shaped relationship exists in the case of Pakistan. The tipping values for total Nitrous Oxide emissions and agriculturally induced Nitrous Oxide emissions indicate that Pakistan passes through a phase of increasing environmental degradation. Increases in agricultural land use and per capita energy use will increase the level of Nitrous Oxide emissions. However, controlling Nitrous Oxide emissions from agricultural land use and per capita, energy use without adversely affecting economic development will be a serious policy challenge for Pakistan.