Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Amberlite XAD-2 impregnated Cyanex272: sorption desorption studies of thorium(IV)

Abstract Amberlite XAD-2 impregnated with Cyanex272 was packed in a column and studied for separation and recovery of Th(IV). The effect of various parameters influencing sorption of Th(IV) viz. acid concentration, aqueous phase flow rates, nature and concentration of eluents and other ions were systematically studied. Under optimized conditions Th(IV) was quantitatively sorbed from 0.001 M HNO3 and recovered using 10 cm3 of 4.0 M HCl at 0.6 cm3 min−1 flow rate. Batch studies using impregnated resin were evaluated for using Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. The sorption capacity of the impregnated resin for Th(IV) was 8.48 mmol g−1. The limit of detection for Th(IV) was 0.67 μg dm−3 and a reusability for more than 65 cycles was observed. The method developed was applied for isolation of Th(IV) from monazite sand. It was reproducible with a relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of 0.8%.
A New Mass Flux Correction Procedure for Vertically Integrated Energy Transport by Constraining Mass, Energy, and Water Budgets

Reconstruction of the atmospheric circulation from the numerical output of general circulation model (GCM) and reanalysis products often suffers from spurious values resulting in imbalances in the mass, energy, and water transport. A correction hence is needed prior to the analysis of energy transport. Most of the previous correction methods only employ a mass budget adjustment since it is the primary source of error. The present study proposes a new method of mass flux correction by constraining the mass, energy, and water budgets that can be applied to meridional energy transport and overturning circulation. The new method seeks a vertical dependent solution, unlike the conventional barotropic correction procedures. The procedure has been tested for one aquaplanet GCM and a reanalysis product. The method successfully corrects the spurious imbalances in the mean meridional energy transport and circulation.
The Determinants of Rural Household Food Consumption Expenditure in Lesotho: Impact of Off-farm Income

Most smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan African need to diversify into nonfarm/off-farm income generating activities in order to ensure household food security through optimum consumption expenditure. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of off-farm income on rural household food consumption expenditure in Lesotho, using secondary data from a comprehensive and representative Household Budget Survey of 2017. The survey design for data collection adopted a two stage stratified sampling procedure. The analysis used two econometric models. The OLS regressions were employed to identify important determinants of household food consumption expenditure and Instrumental Variable (IV) approach was employed to account for endogeneity issues. The results revealed a consistent positive and significant effect of off-farm income on household food consumption expenditure across all models. Household size, transfers and remittances were found to increase household food consumption expenditure significantly and positively. Government is advised to encourage and improve conditions under which rural smallholder farmers could participate in off-farm income generating activities.
Male–male contest limits the expression of assortative mate preferences in a polymorphic poison frog

Codivergence of sexual traits and mate preferences can lead to assortative mating and subsequently reproductive isolation. However, mate choice rarely operates without intrasexual competition, and the effects of the latter on speciation are often overlooked. Maintaining trait polymorphisms despite gene flow and limiting assortative female preferences for less-competitive male phenotypes are two important roles that male–male competition may play in the speciation process. Both roles rely on the assumption that male–male competition limits the expression of divergent female preferences. We tested this assumption in the highly color-polymorphic strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio). Females prefer males of the local color, suggesting that reproductive isolation may be evolving among color morphs. However, this inference does not account for male–male competition, which is also color-mediated. We housed females with two differently colored males, and compared reproductive patterns when the more attractive male was the territory holder versus when he was the nonterritorial male. Females mated primarily with the territory winner, regardless of coloration, suggesting that when a choice must be made between the two, male territoriality overrides female preferences for male coloration. Our results highlight the importance of considering the combined effects of mate choice and intrasexual competition in shaping phenotypic divergence and speciation.
A Log-Based Analysis of the Associations Between Creativity and Computational Thinking

Creativity and Computational Thinking (CT) have been both extensively researched in recent years. However, the associations between them are still not fully understood despite their recognition as essential competencies for the digital age. This study looks to bridge this gap by examining the association between CT and two types of creativity, i.e., Creative Thinking and Computational Creativity. The research was conducted among 124 middle school students from Spain, who were divided into control and experimental groups; the intervention included an explicit encouragement to be as creative as possible (i.e., to submit multiple correct solutions) in a given learning task. Data were analyzed from a standardized creativity test (Torrance's TTCT) and cross-referenced with log files that documented the students' activities in the Kodetu game-based learning environment. Our research findings indicate some interesting associations between CT and Creativity. First, we found that creativity contributes to CT. Second, we found that CT is transferable across different domains. Finally, we found that Computational Creativity can develop and improve over time.
Ethanol organosolv lignin as a reactive filler for acrylamide‐based hydrogels

Hydrogels based on acrylamide (AM) and ethanol organosolv lignin (EOL) with high swelling and good mechanically elastic properties were synthesized in an alkaline solution. EOL was used as a reactive filler for the preparation of AM-based hydrogels. The impact of EOL addition on the physicochemical properties of AM-based hydrogels was investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and their mechanical properties were examined. The water swelling ratio of the prepared hydrogels increased with the increase of EOL content, and their maximum swelling ratio could reach up to 180. Mechanical measurements indicated that their tensile strength was highly dependent on the amount of EOL, and their elongation at break reached up to 1400%. The formation mechanism of EOL composite hydrogels was probably that most of AM was synthesized into the crosslinked poly(acrylic amide) network, and small quantities of AM was hydrolyzed to acrylic acid ions under alkaline condition. The chain transfer of free radicals from AM and/or AA to EOL molecules occurred in the polymerization process. With increasing EOL content in the hydrogels, an interpenetrating polymer network might be mainly formed by the hydrogen bonding between EOL and AA and/or AM molecules. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42638.
Long-lived non-thermal states in pumped one-dimensional systems of hard-core bosons

We study a unitary time evolution of a symmetry-broken state in a form of a charge density wave in a finite system of interacting hard-core bosons, which can be mapped onto the XXZ Heisenberg chain. Moreover, we introduce a spatially-homogenous and time-dependent vector potential that mimics a short laser pulse. We establish the range of amplitudes of the vector potential for which the onset of charge density wave order can be controlled. We propose a protocol that reveals non-thermal long-lived states, which are characterized by a non-zero charge density wave order translated by one lattice site with respect to its initial formation. The life times of these states are large in comparison to all typical times given by the parameters of the system. They increase with the number of lattice sites, but are significantly suppressed by the integrablility breaking perturbations. In view of these findings, we speculate that the long-lived non-thermal states exist in the thermodynamic limit.
Effect of easement geometry on rail end fillet stress at bolted rail joints for transit track

Continuously welded rail (CWR) has become more popular than bolted joints because of the advantages of continuous geometry and stiffness and the resulting maintenance savings. Due to a variety of reasons, a considerable number of bolted joints are still in service in rail transit systems. With the high frequency of impact loads, rail at bolted joints are vulnerable to defects, such as cracking and head-web separation that could lead to more drastic failures and consequences (i.e. derailments, etc.). To prolong the service life of joint bars and rails, rail-end easements in the center of the bar were proposed and became standard in some freight rail companies. However, the effectiveness of a joint bar easement largely depends on the geometry of the easement. Therefore, the easement designed for freight track may not be effective for rail transit infrastructure. Further, the effect of easement geometry has not been thoroughly investigated and documented. Therefore, this study investigates the stress distribution at the rail end bolt-hole and upper fillet areas for joint bars with different easement geometries through a parametric analysis performed with Finite Element (FE) modeling. The FE model used in this study was developed specifically to study rail joints and was validated through full-scale laboratory testing. Results from this study show that a deeper easement yields lower contact stresses, while a longer easement does not necessarily reduce the contact stresses with the studied combination of rails and bolted joints for transit track. An easement may reduce the service life of the joint if the geometry of the easement is not properly engineered.
Continuous synthesis of dispersant-coated hydroxyapatite plates

A continuous flow hydrothermal synthetic route which allows the direct “in situ” capping/coating of hydroxyapatite nanoplates with functional dispersants in a single stage is reported. The methodology induced crystallisation by rapid mixing of streams of preheated water and solutions of reagents in water, whilst the hydrophobic surface modification of the HA platelets was achieved without morphological disruption. The effect of adding the hydrocarbon either before or after the HA platelet formation point has also been assessed, proving that the presence of surfactant at the reaction site does not interfere with the formation of HA and allows for a more efficient binding and extraction of the inorganic materials. The coupling mechanisms between the surfactant and the HA surface have been proposed to be a mixture of covalent and electrostatic interactions (i.e. all forms of chemisorption). This synthesis route is fully scalable to pilot (10 tons per year) and industrial (1000 tons per year) scales.
Design and Implementation of a Big Data Evaluator Recommendation System Using Deep Learning Methodology

As the number of researchers in South Korea has grown, there is increasing dissatisfaction with the selection process for national research and development (R&D) projects among unsuccessful applicants. In this study, we designed a system that can recommend the best possible R&D evaluators using big data that are collected from related systems, refined, and analyzed. Our big data recommendation system compares keywords extracted from applications and from the full-text of the achievements of the evaluator candidates. Weights for different keywords are scored using the term frequency–inverse document frequency algorithm. Comparing the keywords extracted from the achievement of the evaluator candidates’, a project comparison module searches, scores, and ranks these achievements similarly to the project applications. The similarity scoring module calculates the overall similarity scores for different candidates based on the project comparison module scores. To assess the performance of the evaluator candidate recommendation system, 61 applications in three Review Board (RB) research fields (system fusion, organic biochemistry, and Korean literature) were recommended as the evaluator candidates by the recommendation system in the same manner as the RB’s recommendation. Our tests reveal that the evaluator candidates recommended by the Korean Review Board and those recommended by our system for 61 applications in different areas, were the same. However, our system performed the recommendation in less time with no bias and fewer personnel. The system requiresrevisions to reflect qualitative indicators, such as journal reputation, before it can entirely replace the current evaluator recommendation process.
Energy use and energy intensity of the U.S. chemical industry

The U.S. chemical industry is the largest in the world, and responsible for about 11% of the U.S. industrial production measured as value added. It consumes approximately 20% of total industrial energy consumption in the U.S. (1994), and contributes in similar proportions to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Surprisingly, there is not much information on energy use and energy intensity in the chemical industry available in the public domain. This report provides detailed information on energy use and energy intensity for the major groups of energy-intensive chemical products. Ethylene production is the major product in terms of production volume of the petrochemical industry. The petrochemical industry (SIC 2869) produces a wide variety of products. However, most energy is used for a small number of intermediate compounds, of which ethylene is the most important one. Based on a detailed assessment we estimate fuel use for ethylene manufacture at 520 PJ (LHV), excluding feedstock use. Energy intensity is estimated at 26 GJ/tonne ethylene (LHV), excluding feedstocks.The nitrogenous fertilizer production is a very energy intensive industry, producing a variety of fertilizers and other nitrogen-compounds. Ammonia is the most important intermediate chemical compound, used as basis for almost all products. Fuel use is estimated at 268 PJ (excluding feedstocks) while 368 PJ natural gas is used as feedstock. Electricity consumption is estimated at 14 PJ. We estimate the energy intensity of ammonia manufacture at 39.3 GJ/tonne (including feedstocks, HHV) and 140 kWh/tonne, resulting in a specific primary energy consumption of 40.9 GJ/tonne (HHV), equivalent to 37.1 GJ/tonne (LHV). Excluding natural gas use for feedstocks the primary energy consumption is estimated at 16.7 GJ/tonne (LHV). The third most important product from an energy perspective is the production of chlorine and caustic soda. Chlorine is produced through electrolysis of a salt-solution. Chlorine production is the main electricity consuming process in the chemical industry, next to oxygen and nitrogen production. We estimate final electricity use at 173 PJ (48 TWh) and fuel use of 38 PJ. Total primary energy consumption is estimated at 526 PJ (including credits for hydrogen export). The energy intensity is estimated at an electricity consumption of 4380 kWh/tonne chlorine and fuel consumption of 3.45 GJ/tonne chlorine, where all energy use is allocated to chlorine production. Assuming an average power generation efficiency of 33% the primary energy consumption is estimated at 47.8 GJ/tonne chlorine (allocating all energy use to chlorine).
ENTEROPATHOGENIC ESCHERICHIA COLI STRAINSFROM DIARRHOEIC STOOLSAMPLES OF CHILDREN BELOW 5 YEARS OF AGE IN DAMATURU, YOBE STATE, NIGERIA

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is an important cause of deaths mostly in infants and young children with diarrhoea worldwide. This study investigated Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli strains in diarrhoeic stool samples of children below 5 years of age in Damaturu, Yobe State, Nigeria. Microscopy, culture and antibiotic susceptibility tests were carried out on stool specimens obtained from children with diarrhoea. All isolated Escherichia coli were investigated for virulence eae and eaf genes of EPEC strains using Polymerase Chain Reaction method. Information on risk factors of diarrhoea was obtained using the questionnaire. Out of 307 children, 154 (50.2%) were male and 153 (49.8%) female, majority 107 (34.9%) were 3 years old. A total of 175 (57.0%) Escherichia coli were isolated, 19 (10.9%) were identified to be enteropathogenic Escherichia coli of these, 17 (89.5%) were atypical (carries eae genes) while only 2 (10.5%) were typical (harbours eaf genes). Multidrug resistance was observed in some of the isolates, the EPEC were resistant to Reflacin (47.4%), Ciprofloxacin (36.8%), Augmentin (36.8%), Septrin (36.8%). The major factor that predispose children to diarrhoea are poor hygiene practices. Escherichia coli was the most prevalent bacterial causing diarrhoea and atypical EPEC is the predominant strain circulating among these children.
On Distance Statistics of First Arriving Multi-Paths in Indoor mm-Wave Communications

This paper presents a mathematical framework to evaluate distance statistics of first arriving multi-path components at millimeter wave (mm-Wave) frequencies in a typical indoor environment. The proposed modeling approach is based on a numerically tractable channel model that accounts for the line-of-sight (LoS) component and first-order reflection components from surrounding walls. Based on the derived statistics, an approximation for coverage probability of mm-Wave indoor wireless local area networks (WLAN)s is obtained. Further, the coverage probability for an access point (AP) to user node link is determined after accounting for blockage of LoS component and optimal antenna beamforming in the modeling framework. The analysis of coverage probability provides useful insights which can be applied to plan optimum AP location layout in a typical mm-Wave indoor WLAN.
Structural and Functional Analysis of the Only Two Pyridoxal 5′-Phosphate-Dependent Fold Type IV Transaminases in Bacillus altitudinis W3

Aminotransferases are employed as industrial biocatalysts to produce chiral amines with high enantioselectivity and yield. BpTA-1 and BpTA-2 are the only two pyridoxal 5′-phosphate-dependent fold type IV transaminase enzymes in Bacillus altitudinis W3. Herein, we compared the structures and biochemical characteristics of BpTA-1 and BpTA-2 using bioinformatic analysis, circular dichroism spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and other approaches. BpTA-1 and BpTA-2 are similar overall; both form homodimers and utilize a catalytic lysine. However, there are distinct differences in the substrate cofactor-binding pocket, molecular weight and the proportion of the secondary structure. Both enzymes have the same stereoselectivity but different enzymatic properties. BpTA-2 is more active under partial alkaline and ambient temperature conditions and BpTA-1 is more sensitive to pH and temperature. BpTA-2 as novel enzyme not only fills the building blocks of transaminase but also has broader industrial application potential for (R)-α-phenethylamines than BpTA-1. Structure-function relationships were explored to assess similarities and differences. The findings lay the foundation for modifying these enzymes via protein engineering to enhance their industrial application potential.
A Robust Three-Level Time-Split MacCormack Scheme For Solving Two-Dimensional Unsteady Convection-Diffusion Equation

This paper considers an explicit time-split scheme for the numerical solution of two-dimensional time-dependent transport equations with constant coefficients. The differential operator "splits" the two-dimensional problem into two pieces so that each subproblem is easy to solve by the use of the original MacCormack scheme. This reduces the computational cost of the algorithm. Under a suitable time-step restriction, both stability and convergence of the numerical scheme are analyzed using the $L^{infty}(0,T;L^{2})$-norm. A large set of numerical examples which provide the convergence rate of the new algorithm are presented.
Base-catalysed cleavage of lignin β-O-4 model compounds in dimethyl carbonate

A base-catalysed transformation and cleavage of lignin β-O-4 model compounds in dimethyl carbonate is reported. The reaction system consists of readily available bases and inexpensive dimethyl carbonate as a solvent and reagent, affording methoxy benzene or 2-aryloxyvinyl benzene derivatives in good to very good yields. The applicability of the system for the bond cleavage in an organosolv lignin sample was demonstrated.
Preparation and In-Vitro Evaluation of Sustained-Release Matrix Tablets of Diltiazem

The purpose of the present research work was develop once-daily sustained-release matrix tablet containing water-soluble drug (Diltiazem) that is a novel calcium channel blocker used in cardiovascular diseases, by utilizing a combination of Hypromellose (HPMC), Eudragit with different grades and finally milled Ethyl cellulose. Tablets were prepared by the wet granulation method. The prepared granules and tablets were evaluated based on a range of parameters and in vitro drug release profile. Lastly, tablets shown approx 92%, 97% and 99 % drug release at the last dosing interval. Keywords: - Sustain release; Diltiazem;HPMC
Widening the host range of the ectosymbiotic scale-worm Asterophilia culcitae (Annelida: Polynoidae) to three echinoderm classes, with data on its body color variation

: The Polynoidae, commonly known as “scale-worms” due to the scale-like elytra on the dorsal surface, contains many species living in symbioses with other invertebrates. Most of these symbionts are host-speciﬁc, but some have a wide range of hosts. The genus Asterophilia includes two species living in shallow subtropical to tropical waters in the Paciﬁc Ocean as ectosymbionts of asteroids and, more rarely, crinoids. Here, we recorded Asterophilia culcitae from asteroid hosts ( Culcita novaeguineae , Linckia laevigata , L. guildingi , and Leiaster leachi ) and, for the ﬁrst time, from holothurian hosts [ Stichopus chloronotus , Holothuria atra , H. ( Stauropora ) pervicax , and Bohadschia argus ] along warm Japanese Paciﬁc coasts. The cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences of the specimens from holothurians did not diﬀer signiﬁcantly from those on asteroid hosts, proving that A. culcitae has a wide host range across three dif-ferent echinoderm classes: asteroids, holothurians, and crinoids. The general body color of A. culcitae was constantly reddish (female) or whitish (male), regardless of the host body color, although a previous study suggested that it diﬀers in accordance with the host body color. However, we found that one individual from a holothurian host showed a dif-ferent color pattern: A. culcitae typically shows three whitish or yellowish elytral mounds that have been suggested to mimic the tube foot of the asteroid hosts, whereas one individual from S. chloronotus had reddish brown translucent mounds, which we suggest might be cryptic on its holothurian host.