Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synthesis, Characterisation and Antimicrobial studies of 4, 6-Disubtuted phenyl - (5-subsutied phenyl -1, 3, 4-thiadiazol-2-yl) -1, 4, 5, 6-tetrahydro pyrimidine-2-thiols

A new series of 4,6-disubtuted phenyl (5-subsutied phenyl -1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)1,4,5,6-tetrahydro pyrimidine 2-thiols were synthesized by the condensation of 1-(5-substitued phenyl -1,3,4-thidiazole-2-yl)thiourea and substituted chalcones. The structures of the new compounds have been established by spectral and analytical data. Some of the compounds were screened for their antibacterial and antifungal activity. A few compounds showed potent activity comparable with that of the standard drugs.
Deficit irrigation as a sustainable option for improving water productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa: the case of Ethiopia. A critical review

Improving irrigation water management and enhancing water productivity (WP) is required to address future water scarcity in the sub-Saharan region. Maximizing WP by exposing the crop to a certain level of water stress using deficit irrigation (DI) is considered a promising strategy. To adopt DI strategies, a shred of comprehensive evidence concerning DI for different crops is required. This review aims to provide adequate information about the effect of DI on WP. The result showed that DI considerably increased WP compared to full irrigation. Despite higher WP, the reduced yield was obtained in some of the studied DI practices compared to full irrigation. It was also found that yield reduction may be low compared to the benefits gained by diverting the saved water to irrigate extra arable land. Maize revealed the highest (2.7 kg m−3) and lowest (0.5 kg m−3) WP when irrigated at only the initial stage compared with being fully irrigated in all growth stages. Also, onion showed a decreasing WP with increased irrigation water from 60% crop water requirement (ETc) (1.8 kg m−3) to 100% ETc (1.3 kg m−3). Increasing water deficit from 100 to 30% ETc led to an increase of wheat WP by 72%. For tomato, the highest WP (7.0 kg m−3) was found at 70% ETc followed by 50% ETc (7.0 kg m−3) and 85% ETc (6.9 kg m−3), while 100% ETc showed the least WP (6.8 kg m−3). Teff showed the lowest WP (1.7 kg m−3) under optimal irrigation, while it was highest (3.0 kg m−3) under 75% ETc throughout the growing season. The regression analysis for WP increment and yield reduction versus saved water showed higher values, indicating that DI could be an option for WP increment and increasing overall yield by expanding irrigated area and applying the saved water in water-scarce regions.
Heat flow dynamics in planar multilayer antennas excited by far-infrared picosecond laser pulses

Thin metallic buffer layers are commonly used between semiconductor substrates and noble metal films or nanostructures. We propose an extended two-temperature heat transfer model that can be used to investigate the heat flow in multilayer antennas and includes metallic layers, a dielectric substrate, and their respective interfaces. It is demonstrated how the heat flow dynamics in a layered material, excited by short laser pulses, can be controlled by the thermal properties of the buffer layer. A large buffer layer electron-phonon coupling was found to induce a non-intuitive reverse internal heat flow in the layered material and transient energy retention on time scales of a few tens of picoseconds, while the buffer layer-substrate Kapitza conductance was found to be the limiting parameter for the heat dissipation on nanosecond time scales.
Developing a technology for making goat's cottage cheese using the preparation Yodkazeine

In recent years, there has been a deficit of several essential components, with the iodine deficiency of varying degree, from mild to severe, relating to the most common phenomena and is observed in 90 % of the Ukrainian population. Deficiency of iodine is the cause of many illnesses: disturbance of thyroid gland function, delayed mental and physical development of children, deafness, blurred vision, neurological cretinism. Therefore, one of the most important tasks in the food industry is to provide people with foods containing iodine in the required amount, and to expanding the range of iodine-containing products. To improve the quality of cottage cheese made from goat's milk and to enrich it with iodine, we have used the iodine-containing protein preparation Yodkazeine. It was established that the enrichment of milk with Yodkazeine in the amount of 0.01‒0.025 % by weight in the production of cottage cheese from goat's milk improves its quality. The application of the preparation, which includes a complex of organic iodine, associated with the protein, in the amount of 0.01 to 0.025 % by weight of milk in the production of experimental batches of product (E.1, E.2) helps increase the moisture-retaining capacity of the cheese. This property predetermines an increase in the mass proportion of moisture in the product by 0.87 and 2.37 %. That affects the reduction of the mass share of fat in cheese by 0.5 and 1.74 %, compared with the similar indicator in control. However, under the influence of the above-specified dosage of the preparation, there was an increase in the mass fraction of protein by 0.19 and 0.25 % and a reduction of the total amount of low molecular fatty acids, responsible for the manifestation of the taste and smell of goat's fat and sweat, by 0.18 and 0.31 %, respectively. It attests to the improvement of organoleptic indicators in the experimental batches of cottage cheese, enriched with the experimentally determined rational dosage of Yodkazeine, as well as its saturation with organic iodine
MAPK‐Targeted Drug Delivered by a pH‐Sensitive MSNP Nanocarrier Synergizes with PD‐1 Blockade in Melanoma without T‐Cell Suppression

The combination of BRAF/MEK‐targeted therapy with immune checkpoint blockade is regarded as a promising regimen for patients with metastatic melanoma due to their complementary advantages. However, MEK‐inhibitor‐induced T‐cell toxicity impedes effective cooperation. In this experiment, a pH‐responsive on‐demand controlled release mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) system is designed. Fluorescein‐isothiocyanate‐loaded MSNP can be specifically delivered into tumor cells rather than T‐cells. MEK‐inhibitor‐loaded MSNP avoids proliferative and functional inhibitions of T‐cells, while preserving growth suppression of tumor cells in vitro. In an in vivo model, MSNP encapsulation reverses the MEK‐inhibitor‐induced suppression of activated CD8+ T‐cells, and enhances the secretion of INF‐γ and IL‐2. The combination of BRAF inhibitor plus MSNP‐loaded MEK inhibitor and anti‐PD‐1 antibody synergistically inhibits tumor growth via promoting robust immune‐related antitumor response. This work provides a novel and generalized framework for combining T‐cell‐impaired targeted therapy and immune checkpoint blockade by using a nanoparticle‐based delivery system.
Phytotoxicity of carbon nanotubes and nanodiamond in long-term assays with Cactaceae plant seedlings

Abstract We present the results of long-term phytotoxicity assays of single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs and MWNTs, respectively) and nanodiamond (ND) employing cactus species Ferocactus latispinus, Melocactus matanzanus and Parodia ayopayana. They are small and slow growing plants, which is convenient for long-term assays using the substrate volumes as small as a few milliliters, contrary to the commonly reported experiments with crop species. The soil-based experiments described allow for a better match of the real environmental situation. After a few months (up to 40 weeks) observations of seedling growth, we concluded that pristine arc-discharge SWNTs exhibit the strongest phytotoxic effect as compared to pristine MWNTs, purified SWNTs and ND, which can be attributed to a high amount of impurities (including remainders of the catalyst used for their synthesis) in as-prepared SWNTs. We found that after first three months of exposure, nanomaterials might produce seemingly favorable effect on seedling growth, which can invert after a more prolonged exposure. Therefore, careful evaluation of the possible phytotoxic effects must include observations for several months, whereas shorter assays might produce misleading results.
Screening of Antibacterial and Anticancer Activity of Soft Corals from Togean Islands, Indonesia

Soft corals ( Octocorallia, Alcyonaceae ) have been reported to possess diverse biological activities and unique structural chemistry. This study aims to screen the potential antibacterial and anticancer activity of some soft corals collected from Togean Islands, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. They were Lobophytum sp , Sarcophyton sp , Sinularia sp 1 , and Sinularia sp 2 . All dried coral materials were extracted for 3 x 24 h by maceration method using methanol and then evaporated by rotary evaporator to obtain viscous extracts. The determination of antibacterial activity had been performed by well agar diffusion method against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli . Meanwhile, the cytotoxic activity was performed by MTT method, followed by apoptosis annexin V-FTIC assay agains. Identification for the presence of terpenoids was performed by vacuum p-anisaldehyde-sulphuric acid spraying reagent on thin layer chromatography (TLC). Sinularia sp2 extract have strongly inhibited S. aureus and E.coli with the diameter of inhibition range from 12.76mm and 17.86mm, respectively. Moreover, Sinularia sp2 extract possessed also cytotoxic activity against human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and colorectal carcinoma (HCT-116) with the IC 50 of 46.807 and 47.186 μg/mL, respectively. Extract Sinularia sp 1 was found to have strongest cytotoxicity on human colon colorectal carcinoma (HCT-116) with the IC 50 of < 1.505 μg/mL. Annexin V-FTIC assay clearly exhibited that the apoptosis mechanism is proposed by the extracts of Sinularia sp1 and Sinularia sp 2 . Terpenoids were identified on both extracts suggesting for further purification and isolation for the bioactive terpenoid compounds.
CAN RUMINANT METABOLIZABLE ENERGY OF BARLEY, CHICKPEA AND LENTIL STRAW BE PREDICTED USING CHEMICAL COMPOSITION?

This study attempted to generate simple and robust models to predict metabolizable energy (ME) content of barley, chickpea and lentil straw using chemical composition. Crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL) and ME of 1933, 487 and 489 straw samples of barley, chickpea and lentil respectively were determined using near infrared reflectance spectroscopy. The samples belonged to 1933 genotypes of barley, 79 genotypes of chickpea and 66 genotypes of lentil. Barley samples were collected from experimental locations of International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, Morocco. Chickpea and lentil samples were collected from Ethiopian Institute of agricultural Research experimental locations. Data of each crop was randomly divided into two sets, a training set (75% of the data) and a deployment set (25% of the data). Crude protein, NDF, ADF and ADL were regressed on ME and Box-cox transformed ME of the training sets to generate prediction models. Coefficients of these models were used to calculate residuals and prediction error (PE) in both training and deployment sets. Criteria used in the screening algorithm were low PE (95th percentile of PE≤4) and homogenous residuals in both training and deployment sets. Barley and chickpea models were unable to predict ME of deployment samples with a 95th percentile of PE less than 4. Heterogeneity of residuals of the deployment set was found in lentil model (positive residuals= 64% of overall residuals). Accordingly, chemical composition from NIR is a poor predictor for ME of straws of barley, chickpea and lentil to formulate rations for farm management and a direct measurement of ME of these straws is still required.
Effective Carrier Sensing in CSMA Networks under Cumulative Interference

This paper proposes and investigates the concept of a safe carrier-sensing range that guarantees interference-safe (also termed hidden-node-free) transmissions in CSMA networks under the cumulative interference model. Compared with the safe carrier-sensing range under the commonly assumed but less realistic pairwise interference model, we show that the safe carrier-sensing range required under the cumulative interference model is larger by a constant multiplicative factor. For example, the factor is 1:4 if the SINR requirement is 10dB and the pathloss exponent is 4. We further show that the concept of a safe carrier-sensing range, although amenable to elegant analytical results, is inherently not compatible with the conventional powerthreshold carrier-sensing mechanism (e.g., that used in IEEE 802.11). Specifically, the absolute power sensed by a node in the conventional mechanism does not contain enough information for it to derive its distances from other concurrent transmitter nodes. We show that, fortunately, a carrier-sensing mechanism called Incremental-Power Carrier-Sensing (IPCS) can realize the carrier-sensing range concept in a simple way. Instead of monitoring the absolute detected power, the IPCS mechanism monitors every increment in the detected power. This means that IPCS can separate the detected power of every concurrent transmitter, and map the power profile to the required distance information. Our extensive simulation results indicate that IPCS can boost spatial reuse and network throughput by more than 60% relative to the conventional carrier-sensing mechanism. Last but not least, IPCS not only allows us to implement our safe carrier-sensing range, it also ties up a loose end in many other prior theoretical works that implicitly assume the use of a carriersensing range (safe or otherwise) without an explicit design to realize it.
Electronic and Optical Properties of Ultrasmall ABX3 (A = Cs, CH3NH3/B = Ge, Pb, Sn, Ca, Sr/X = Cl, Br, I) Perovskite Quantum Dots

Perovskite quantum dots (QDs) constitute a novel and rapidly developing field of nanotechnology with promising potential for optoelectronic applications. However, few perovskite materials for QDs and other nanostructures have been theoretically explored. In this study, we present a wide spectrum of different hybrid halide perovskite cuboid-like QDs with the general formula of ABX3 with varying sizes well below the Bohr exciton radius. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations were employed to determine their structural, electronic, and optical properties. Our calculations include both stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric QDs, and our results reveal several materials with high optical absorption and application-suitable electronic and optical gaps. Our study highlights the potential as well as the challenges and issues regarding nanostructured halide perovskite materials, laying the background for future theoretical and experimental work.
The application of molecular tools to study the drinking water microbiome – Current understanding and future needs

Abstract Despite the long history of water research, understanding how the drinking water microbiome is shaped at the user end is rather challenging owing to the complexity in community assembly, water matrices, physical structures, and chemical gradients from source to tap. The application of molecular tools that primarily base on the use of rRNA gene sequences has substantially expanded our view of the drinking water microbiome. In this review, we critically evaluate currently available cultivation-independent tools for monitoring the drinking water microbiome and summarize the ecological patterns we have observed so far on the longitudinal and temporal dynamics, geographical distributions, and structural and functional characteristics of the drinking water microbiome (including those in recycled water systems). Studies on four full-scale systems in the United States and Europe further exemplify the application of ecological theory into drinking water microbiome studies. Finally, we discuss how meta-omics are able to provide new perspectives on microbial function and interspecies relationship within the drinking water ecosystem. This review promotes an integral understanding of the drinking water microbiome and the transformation of drinking water microbiology from a descriptive discipline to an ecology-driven science that attempts to elucidate mechanisms for predicting and shaping the microbiome at the user end.
Temperature effects on sulfuric acid aerosol nucleation and growth: initial results from the TANGENT study

Abstract. New particle formation (NPF) consists of two steps: nucleation and subsequent growth. At present, chemical and physical mechanisms that govern these two processes are not well understood. Here, we report initial results obtained from the TANGENT (Tandem Aerosol Nucleation and Growth Environment Tube) experiments. The TANGENT apparatus enables us to study these two processes independently. The present study focuses on the effects of temperature on sulfuric acid nucleation and further growth. Our results show that lower temperatures enhance both the nucleation and growth rate. However, under temperatures below 268 K the effects of temperature on the nucleation rate become less significant and the nucleation rate becomes less dependent on relative humidity, indicating that particle formation in the conditions of our flow tube takes place via barrierless nucleation at lower temperatures. We also examined the growth of newly formed particles under differing temperature conditions for nucleation and further growth. Our results show that newly nucleated clusters formed at low temperatures can indeed survive evaporation and grow in a warmer environment in the presence of SO2 and ozone and potentially other contaminant vapors. These results imply that some heterogeneous reactions involving nanoparticles affect nucleation and growth of newly formed particles.
An alternative and indirect statistical modeling method for viscosity estimation and its experimental validation for low styrene content polyester resin

Abstract We propose an indirect method of ASTM D-1200 for measurement of viscosity from 0.1 to 30 stokes (St) using Ford cup 5 (range 2~ 12 St) by developing a statistical relation. General purpose low styrene content polyester resin (without adding initiator, hardener and accelerator) was used for viscosity measurement. In existing ASTM D 1200 standard, ford cups (1-4) are used to measure the viscosity up to 2 St, while fifth cup is used for measurement from 2 to 12 St. Viscosity above 12 St is not estimated using existing ASTM D- 1200 method. In contrast, our method and statistical relation proposed in this paper estimates viscosity in the flexible range of 0.1 to 30 St by using Ford cup 5 only. The estimated values were confirmed by existing ASTM D-1200 (0.1 to 12 St) and by using Ubbelohde viscometer (12 to 30 St). Values estimated above 12 St are from the proposed model are also in good conformance (percentage error ~ 5% or less) with experimental results. The satisfaction level of the estimated values with the experiments suggests that the model has also the potential for application to paints, polymer and oil industry.
Study of stacking interactions between two neutral tetrathiafulvalene molecules in Cambridge Structural Database crystal structures and by quantum chemical calculations.

Tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and its derivatives are very well known as electron donors with widespread use in the field of organic conductors and superconductors. Stacking interactions between two neutral TTF fragments were studied by analysing data from Cambridge Structural Database crystal structures and by quantum chemical calculations. Analysis of the contacts found in crystal structures shows high occurrence of parallel displaced orientations of TTF molecules. In the majority of the contacts, two TTF molecules are displaced along their longer C2 axis. The most frequent geometry has the strongest TTF-TTF stacking interaction, with CCSD(T)/CBS energy of -9.96 kcal mol-1. All the other frequent geometries in crystal structures are similar to geometries of the minima on the calculated potential energy surface.
Lignin as Bio-industrial Materials : Focused on Cosmetic Ingredients

Lignin, which accounts for 15-35% of the wood components, is being obtained as a by-product in the industrial processes of pulp and in the production of cellulose fuels. It is composed of three main phenyl propane units, p-coumaryl alcohol, coniferyl alcohol, and sinapyl alcohol, which contain a large amount of phenolic hydroxyl groups. In the process of extracting lignin, enzymes and solvents used in each process undergo chemical structural changes during the pretreatment process. Lignin is used in the fields of fine chemicals, polymers, pharmaceuticals and additives, and studies on antioxidant and biological activity are under way. The antioxidative activity of lignin was confirmed by its antioxidant activity, although it depends on the antioxidant activity assay. Several results suggested that lignin should be mixed with conventional antioxidants or synthetic ultraviolet blocking agents rather than using alone. This increases the antioxidant activity and ultraviolet blocking effect by the synergy between lignin and each ingredient. This review described some aspects on a raw material for cosmetics to replace the existing antioxidant raw materials and UV-blocking agents as well as stateof-the-art of lignin research based on literature survey.
Coarse-Grained Simulation of CaCO3 Aggregation and Crystallization Made Possible by Nonbonded Three-Body Interactions

Calcium-containing minerals are key model systems for investigating fundamental principles of nucleation and mineral formation both experimentally and by simulation. Due to the rare event character of nucleation, the different dimensions of pre- and postnucleation stages and the possible relevance of nonclassical nucleation pathways, such investigations require advanced sampling techniques and simulation models on a range of resolution levels. To this end, we have developed coarse-grained (CG) models for calcium carbonate. We present a strategy to devise CG parameters, including nonbonded angular-dependent terms such that the model correctly represents the calcite phase along with properties of the constituents in solution. We show how the CG interactions affect the crystallization pathways by stabilizing different intermediates, spanning a wide range of degrees of crystallinity and water content. This will allow us to investigate contributions to crystallization transitions and link them to experimentall.
Pyrolysis of heavy tar for improving the yield of light components through a microwave pyrolysis reactor

ABSTRACT The composition of a heavy tar can still be divided into two fractions, the light organic components (LC) and heavy organic components (HC). The HC is hard to be processed into liquid fuel due to its high viscosity and coke formation tendency. In this work, the pyrolysis of HC is tested for improving the yield of LC product from HC pyrolysis with a microwave reactor. It is found that the existence of LC in heavy tar can promote the conversion of HC to LC product. As potential H donors, the effect of Anthracene (ANT) and 9,10-hydrogenated anthracene (HAN) in LC on HC pyrolysis are particularly evaluated. The improved yield of LC product from HC pyrolysis with LC is attributed to the hydrogenated aromatics in LC.