Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are There Brain-Based Predictors of the Ability to Learn a New Skill in Healthy Ageing and Can They Help in the Design of Effective Therapy after Stroke?

This thesis aimed at looking for neural correlates of motor adaptation as a model of rehabilitation after brain injury. Healthy adults across the lifespan and stroke patients were tested in a force-field learning paradigm. This thesis focuses on EEG analysis and the complex relationship of brain-derived measures with observed behaviour. To describe each domain in detail, the focus was first on finding group differences between older and younger healthy adults in a similar manner as it was later between stroke patients versus healthy controls. The analyses were finalised by looking for relationships between the EEG and motor performance data in a multiple linear regression approach. As candidate EEG biomarkers of motor adaptation, error related event related potential around movement onset in the frontocentral electrodes was chosen in time domain. In the time-frequency domain, the focus was on movement related beta band spectral perturbation, looking at the electrodes over the primary motor cortex and the frontocentral ROI found significant in the time domain. Finally, functional connectivity was analysed focusing first on electrode over the primary motor cortex contralateral to the movement as a seed region, to narrow down the analysis to bilateral motor cortex connectivity and connectivity between primary motor cortex contralateral to the movement and the frontocentral region identified as important in the time domain analysis. The crucial part of the project was analysing the relationship between the neural and kinematic measures. The most important predictor of summed error in motor adaptation was the connectivity between C3 and C4 electrode at the baseline prestimulus period in motor adaptation condition and pinch asymmetry. Higher prestimulus interhemispheric connectivity was associated with bigger deviation from the optimal trajectory. When looking at summed error dynamic derivative as a dependent variable - performance index - it was the ERP at the central error-related ROI that explained the most variance. It can be concluded that higher baseline interhemispheric connectivity can be a reflection of a maladaptive process, perhaps related to increased interhemispheric inhibition. It is important to also note that the same connectivity at different timepoints in the movement can be of different significance - differences between stroke patients and controls were present in the postmovement period. In conclusion, brain information could be helpful for e.g. stratifying patients into different intensity programs based on their predicted potential to recover. Moreover, brain information could be utilised to apply closed-loop systems modulating the intensity of tasks to reach the optimal brain state that facilitates learning. I believe this work will help incorporating brain-derived measures in informing neurorehabilitation programmes in the future.
Experimental investigation and characterization of the departure from local thermodynamic equilibrium along a surface‐wave‐sustained discharge at atmospheric pressure

Surface‐wave‐sustained discharges (SWDs) form a particular class of high frequency (HF) discharges: their HF sustaining field is provided by a traveling wave that transfers energy as it propagates along the discharge column, yielding a plasma column with an axially decreasing electron density. SWDs have proved to be ideal for investigating experimentally and theoretically both the HF field and discharge aspects of HF plasma sources at reduced gas pressure. In this article, SWDs are utilized at atmospheric pressure to gain insight into the departure from thermodynamic equilibrium (TE) of HF sustained discharges. This departure is found to increase significantly as the electron density decreases along the plasma column whereas the gas temperature and the power absorbed per electron do not vary axially. The two‐temperature plasma model provides an adequate description of this departure from TE.
Miscible Displacement, Sorption and Desorption of Atrazine in a Brazilian Oxisol

We investigated atrazine [2‐chloro‐4‐(ethylamino)‐6‐(isopropyl‐amino)‐s‐triazine] leaching, sorption, and desorption in a Brazilian Oxisol under no‐till (NT) and conventional (CON) agricultural management. The specific objectives were (i) to infer characteristics of the sorption process (equilibrium vs. nonequilibrium sorption, reversible vs. nonreversible sorption) from breakthrough experiments, (ii) to compare sorption parameters derived from breakthrough and batch experiments, (iii) to predict the distribution of atrazine on reversible and irreversible sorption sites within the soil columns using transport parameters derived from breakthrough data, and (iv) to evaluate the atrazine metabolites during breakthrough experiments. Breakthrough curves of radiolabeled atrazine and of a nonreactive tracer, Br−, were measured during miscible displacement experiments in unsaturated soil columns. The concentration of metabolites in the leachate was determined at three different times. At the end of the displacement experiment, which lasted 494 h, the distributions of atrazine and its metabolites within the soil columns and their partitioning in desorbable, extractable and nonextractable fractions were determined. Atrazine breakthrough curves were fitted with a three‐site chemical nonequilibrium convective dispersive transport model considering irreversible sorption. The three‐site chemical nonequilibrium model predicted that around 40% of the applied atrazine was irreversibly sorbed at the end of the leaching experiment. This corresponded with sum of the measured extractable and nonextractable fractions. The Kd values for reversible sorption sites derived from the BTCs were similar to those derived from 24‐h batch adsorption experiments. However, irreversible sorption was not observed in a four‐step consecutive batch desorption experiment that lasted 120 h in total. Differences in desorption between the column and batch experiments were probably due to differences in time‐scale and sorption‐desorption conditions. More than 90% of the radioactivity in the leachate and 80% remaining in the soil column, respectively, were characterized as atrazine, indicating a slow decay. Hydroxyatrazine was the most important metabolite of atrazine and showed higher retention in the column than the other metabolites.
Ecological restoration and land reclamation in open-cast mines in Shanxi Province, China

Although a major contributor to economic development, the mining industry in China produces a large amount of derelict land, and causes pollution of water and soil erosion as well as other environmental damage. Large areas of degraded mining land remains barren preventing agricultural, social and economically sustainable development in affected areas. As land is under short supply in China, exacerbated by the rapidly expanding population, it is now policy to restore or reclaim land degraded by mining. The aim is to develop sustainable and healthy arable-land ecosystems. This paper outlines the principles and approaches to ecological restoration, which have been adopted in Shanxi Province with reference to three typical surface mines.
Effects of molecular charge density polarization on χ(1) and χ2): a computational study of 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline (MNA) and 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)-3-acetamidonitrobenzene (DAN)

The linear and second-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities of the MNA and DAN organic molecular crystals have been determined using a computationally cheap method, the Rigorous Local Field Theory, which consists in estimating the bulk properties from 1°) the corresponding molecular responses, evaluated using quantum chemistry methods, as well as 2°) the local and dressing electric fields, evaluated using a classical electrostatic interaction scheme. This study has highlighted several conditions for obtaining accurate theoretical results. First, the input molecular geometry should match the main features of the crystal structure. Then, the molecular properties should be evaluated at a correlated level since electron correlation effects are huge for the polarizability (α) and even more for the first hyperpolarizability (β). The recommended approach is to use static MP2 molecular responses together with the multiplicative scheme to describe frequency dispersion. The third important aspect is the impact of the chromophore electron density polarization due to surrounding molecules in the crystal lattice. This effect accounts for an enhancement of ca. 100-200% of β and thus influences strongly the calculated bulk χ(2) tensor components.
Design of hybrid networks by sheathing polymer fibrils with self-assembled nanotubules

This paper examines the possibility of sheathing polymer nanofibrils, prepared from a thermoreversible gel, by nanotubules, obtained through self-assembly of a complex ester. The method for preparing this hybrid system consists of cooling ternary solutions until gelation is achieved. The sheathing mechanism most probably occurs through heterogeneous nucleation: polymer fibrils act as heterogeneous nuclei, and so trigger the growth of nanotubules around them. The occurrence of the sheathing process is investigated by DSC, AFM, SAXS and SANS. In the latter case, the contrast variation method is used.
SCREEN: Stata module to quickly identify possible outliers based on the interquartile range, percentile or standard deviation

screen quickly identifies possible outliers based on the interquartile range, percentile or standard deviation. For example, screen can identify Tukey’s severe outliers (more than 3 IQR away from the nearer quartile) and mild outliers (between 1.5 and 3 IQR away from the nearer quartile), Gaussian outliers based on the three-sigma-rule (more than 3 SD away from the mean), Chebyshev's inequality (no more than 1/k^2 of values can be more than k standard deviations away from the mean), and percentile outliers (top and bottom sample trimming).
Fabrication and characterization of magnetic carbon nanotube composites

Magnetic carbon nanotube (CNT) composites have been successfully fabricated by employing a one-step approach, in which ferrocene decomposed at high temperatures of 350 °C, 425 °C, 500 °C, and transformed into iron oxides to deposit on CNTs. The resulting products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that CNT–maghemite composites sheathed with amorphous carbon-based material were achieved at 500 °C. TEM observation indicated that the produced maghemite particles not only decorated the external walls of CNTs but also were encapsulated within CNTs. The magnetic phase, size and amount of magnetic nanoparticles deposited on the CNTs could be controlled by varying the processing temperature. Magnetic measurements demonstrated that the composites prepared at 500 °C were ferromagnetic, while the composites obtained at 350 °C and 425 °C became superparamagnetic and showed no remanence or coercivity.
Studies on Novel N4-[4,6-Diaryl-2-pyrimidinyl]-7-chloro-4-quinolinamine and their Microbicidal Efficacy

The required chalcones 1a-h were prepared by reaction of substituted acetophenone with different aryl aldehyde, which in turn treated with guanidine nitrate, yielded 4-(substituted phenyl)-6-(substituted phenyl)-2-pyrimidinamine 2a-h. Novel pyrimidine quinoline clubbed molecules 3a-h have been prepared by reaction of 2a-h with 4,7-dichloroquinoline. All the compounds were characterized by elemental analysis and spectral studies. The newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial and antifungal activity.
Concentration dependence of the flory‐huggins interaction parameter of a polymer blend as determined by small‐angle X‐ray scattering experiments

Direct determination of the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter χ of a polymer blend by small-angle x-ray scattering experiments is possible on the basis of the random phase approximation, if absolute intensities are measured. The usually superposed void scattering has to be properly accounted for. Investigations on a series of blends of polystyrene and poly(styrene-co-bromostyrene) yielded χ dependent upon the blend composition. χ shows only slight variations. Scattering data also give the radii of gyration of the two components in the blend.
Robust electrospinning cellulose acetate@TiO2 ultrafine fibers for dyeing water treatment by photocatalytic reactions

Cellulose acetate (CA) composite ultrafine fibers containing different TiO2 nanoparticle (NP) contents were synthesized via electrospinning for effective dyeing water treatment. Morphology, chemical composition, microstructure, thermal properties and photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the fabricated composite ultrafine fibers were investigated. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images revealed that TiO2 NPs were evenly dispersed on or into the composite ultrafine fibers and the distribution became denser as the concentration of TiO2 NPs increased. This was also confirmed by Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR) analyses. Moreover, the results of XRD showed that the crystal structure of the TiO2 NPs was tetragonal anatase and the TiO2 NPs enhanced the amorphous phase of the electrospun composite ultrafine fibers. FTIR indicated that the introduction of TiO2 did not affect the hydrophilic properties of CA and some interaction took place between CA and TiO2. Thermal gravimetric (TG) analysis showed that the addition of TiO2 improved the thermal stability of the CA ultrafine fibers, and a higher thermal stability could be achieved with a higher TiO2 content. Photocatalytic degradation of the dye showed that a higher reaction constant of the photocatalytic degradation of the dye could be obtained with a higher TiO2 content, with a degradation efficiency of the CA composite ultrafine fibers with 5 wt% TiO2 as high as 90% after 240 min degradation. The composite ultrafine fibers were effective for cycling use in dyeing water treatment.
Quality of Chopped and Ground Sweet Potato during the Production of Silage Feed for Pigs

The size of the particles is one of the properties that have more influence in the quality of food for monogastric animals. The present work was carried out with the objective of evaluating the quality of the chopped and ground sweet potato during the production of silage feed for pigs in the plant “Hector Molina", and to check if both characteristics fulfill the demands of the particle size recommended for this kind of food. To demonstrate if the particle size that is obtained coincides to that proposed for the chopping machine (40 ±7 mm)and for the hammer mill(4 ± 2 mm), the sweet potato is characterized physical and mechanically and two experiments are designed that use sweet potato samples of the same lot and in different schedules. The fractional sweet potato is measured with a vernier caliper and a sieve disperser-shaker is used for the finely milled one. A totally randomized design was utilized and Duncan Test for P <0,05 was applied in the necessary cases. For the analysis of the data, the statistical package Infostat version 2012 was used. It was determined that the sweet potato presents physical-mechanical characteristics in correspondence with the agroindustrial process and that the quality of the chopped and the ground sweet potato, respond to the proposed technology. It was also proved that the average value of the particle size was of 36,06 mm for the chopper apparatus and that 100% of the total mass of sweet potato fulfills the proposed particle size (4±2 mm).
All-scale hierarchical thermoelectrics: MgTe in PbTe facilitates valence band convergence and suppresses bipolar thermal transport for high performance

We report a high ZT of ∼2.0 at 823 K for 2% Na-doped PbTe with 6% MgTe with excellent thermal stability. We attribute the high thermoelectric performance to a synergistic combination of enhanced power factor, reduction of the lattice thermal conductivity and simultaneous suppression of bipolar thermal conductivity. MgTe inclusion in PbTe owns triple functions: the Mg alloying within the solubility limit in PbTe modifies the valence band structure by pushing the two valence bands (L and Σ bands) closer in energy, thereby facilitating charge carrier injection. When the solubility limit of Mg is exceeded, ubiquitous endotaxial nanostructures form, which when coupled with mesoscale microstructuring results in a very low (lattice) thermal conductivity through all-scaled length phonon scattering. Meanwhile, most significantly, the Mg alloying enlarges the energy gap of conduction band (C band) and light valence band (L band), thereby suppresses the bipolar thermal conductivity through an increase in band gap.
Evaluating carbon dynamics and microbial activity in arctic soils under warmer temperatures

A large portion of carbon (C) is stored in the world’s soils, including those of peatlands, wetlands and permafrost. However, there is disagreement regarding the effects of climate change on the rate of organic matter decomposition in permafrost soils of the arctic. In this study it was hypothesized that soil exposed to a higher ambient temperature would have a greater flux of CO2 as well as a change in the metabolic diversity of culturable soil microorganisms. To evaluate this hypothesis we determined soil C dynamics, soil microbial respiration and activity, and 13C and 15N fractionation in laboratory incubations (at 14 and 21°C) for an organic-rich soil (Mesic Organic Cryosol) and a mineral soil (Turbic Cryosol) collected at the Daring Lake Research Station in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Soil organic C (SOC) and nitrogen (N) stocks (g m-2) and concentration (%) were significantly different (P < 0.05) between soil horizons for both soil types. Stable isotope analysis showed a significant enrichment i.
Axial Divergence in a Conventional X-ray Powder Diffractometer. II. Realization and Evaluation in a Fundamental-Parameter Profile Fitting Procedure

An accurate model for the axial divergence aberration function has been implemented within a fundamental-parameters fitting procedure for diffraction profiles from a conventional X-ray powder diffractometer. The aberration function for axial divergence is derived from the geometrical dimensions of the diffractometer in the axial plane and the angular apertures of any Soller slits in the beam path. This function is then convoluted with other instrument and specimen aberration functions to form the final profile shape. As this process only requires a modest amount of computational effort, it has been incorporated into both a fundamental-parameters profile-analysis fitting program and a Rietveld refinement program. In these programs, the refinable parameters for the axial divergence contribution to the profile shape are the axial X-ray source length, the sample length, the receiving-slit length and the aperture angles of the primary and secondary Soller slits. The procedure developed has been evaluated by fitting diffraction patterns collected using two different X-ray diffractometers and a variety of Soller slits and sample configurations to introduce varying degrees of axial divergence in the incident and diffracted beams. The reference materials used for this work included Y2O3, LaB6 (SRM 660), Cr2O3 (SRM 674a) and CeO2 (SRM 674a). In all cases, the refined instrumental parameters defining the axial divergence were in good agreement with the directly measured values. Rietveld refinement using the present axial divergence model resulted in Rwp values that are significantly lower than those based on currently available models for this aberration function.
Chemical Characterisation of Geological Raw Materials Used in Traditional Ceramics

A wide range of natural raw materials is used in the manufacture of traditional ceramic products such as ceramic tiles, frits, glazes and pigments. The chemical composition of these raw materials needs to be strictly controlled to assure end‐product quality and enable the identification of the origin of defects caused by impurities or contamination. Six types of ceramic raw materials (silica sand, clays and kaolin, feldspars and related minerals, calcium and magnesium carbonates, sodium and calcium borates, and zirconium silicates) have been analysed in this study. X‐ray fluorescence (XRF), potentiometry, coulometry and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) were used in this chemical characterisation. A methodology has been established for characterising each studied raw material, by identifying the chemical elements to be determined, selecting the most appropriate technique and validating each measurement. The reference materials used for validation were BCS CRM 267, 313/1, 393 and 388 (BAS), GBW 03103, GBW 07404, NIST SRM 181, 201a and 1835, Euronorm CRM 782‐1 and Syenite SY‐2. The results showed that most of the elements present in the geological samples used as traditional ceramic raw materials could be determined by XRF. The determination of light elements, such as lithium, fluorine and boron, is more suitably conducted by ICP‐AES/AAS, potentiometry or potentiometry/ICP‐AES respectively. Organic and inorganic carbon could be determined by coulometry. Inorganic carbon (CO2) could also be determined by coulometry or by thermogravimetry, if samples did not contain clay minerals. Loss on ignition was always determined by gravimetry.
Model Analysis of the Expansion Behavior of LaCrO3 Interconnector under Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Operation

Numerical simulation models to analyze the expansion behavior of the LaCrO 3 interconnector and the resulting stresses under the cell operating conditions were proposed. This model calculation was the first precise analysis including most phenomena which should be considered in terms of stress and mechanical reliability of the interconnector under practical operations. As the first step, using a single-unit model with bipolar channels, the profiles of the oxygen vacancy concentration in the interconnector under practical cell operating conditions were calculated. As the second step, using the calculated profiles of the oxygen vacancy concentration in the interconnector, the deformations of the interconnector and the resulting internal stresses were simulated. It was found from the simulation that the nonuniform expansion of the interconnector under a cell operating condition would cause large internal stresses comparable to the thermal stresses.