Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prediction models for the softening of new commercial Actinidia cultivars

Empirical models for the softening of Actinidia deliciosa fruits (exponential decay, complementary Gompertz and modified Boltzmann models) were applied to the ‘Hortgem Tahi®’ and ‘Hortgem Rua®’ cultivars of Actinidia arguta (Seib. Et Zucc.) Planch. Ex Miq, and the ‘Jingold®Jintao’ cultivar of Actinidia chinensis Planch. , all of which are emerging cultivars in the baby kiwi and yellow pulp kiwifruit markets. A texture analyser collected firmness data for kiwifruits stored up to 18 days at 2 and 24°C, for use in prediction models. The dry matter, soluble solid, and vitamin C content was also determined for these new commercial cultivars, which were compared to the control ‘Hayward’ cultivar. The Boltzmann model, which is known to perform well for the ‘Hayward’ cultivar, was confirmed as the best fit for baby kiwi ‘Rua®’ and yellow ‘Jingold® Jintao’ cultivars for all studied conditions, whereas the exponential decay model was the best fit for the ‘Tahi®’ cultivar. Practical applications In the postharvest sector, models or equations can represent effective tools for the prediction and characterization of physiological and qualitative changes during fruit ripening in different storage conditions. We evaluated the softening of new commercial cultivars of the Actinidia genus, which could improve our understanding of the behavior of these fruits under different temperatures, as well as allowing prediction of their shelf-life. Moreover, the evaluation of mathematical models on softening could facilitate the scheduling of the post-harvest management of kiwifruit. This would assist with managing this product for distant or demanding markets, as well as other operations such as packaging, where this information could help to reduce economic losses associated with excessive softening.
Synthesis of N-substituted-2{4,5,6,7-tetrahydrothienopyridine-5-yl}acetamides and Their Anti-platelet Aggregation Activities

Nine novel ADP receptor inhibitors,N-substituted-2-{4,5,6,7-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrothienopyridine-5-yl}acetamides(1a~1e,2a~2d),were synthesized from 4,5,6,7-tetrahydrothienopyridine hydrochloride and 2-oxo-2,4,5,6,7,7a-hexahydrothienopyridine hydrochloride in yields of 61.4%~80.3%. The structures were characterized by 1H NMR and HR-MS.The anti-plated aggregation activities were evaluated by plated aggregation inhibition tests in rats.The results showed that 1 and 2 exhibited certain anti-platelet aggregation activities,in which the inhibitions of 1d and 2d were 50.0% and 58.9%,respectively.The inhibition of 2d was better than the positive control of ticlopidine.
The Occurrence of Potentially Pathogenic and Antibiotic Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria Isolated from the Danube Delta Ecosystem

The spread of a growing number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) outside the clinical setting into the environment has been observed. The surface water plays an important role in ARB dissemination by being both habitats and transport systems for microorganisms. The ecological and touristic importance of the Danube Delta make it a European priority for close monitoring of its freshwater system. The main goal of this paper was to analyze how the St. Gheorghe branch of the Danube Delta microbiological contamination and their antibiotic-resistant profile were influenced by climate change, especially the global warming from 2013 up to 2019. In the surface water from all sampling points, total and fecal coliform bacteria showed a constant colony forming units (CFU) increase tendency during the years, with a sharp rise from 1500 CFU/mL in 2015 to more than 20,000 CFU/mL in 2019. The bacterial population’s analyses revealed an indirect proportionality between coliform bacteria density in water and sediment during the years in accordance with global warming. The most commonly identified bacterial strains such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella oxytoca, Citrobacter freundii and Proteus mirabilis have been shown a resistance rate of approximatively 70% to beta-lactam antibiotics, especially to ampicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanate.
Study on the Ozone Gas Sensing Properties of rf-Sputtered Al-Doped NiO Films

Al-doped NiO (NiO:Al) has attracted the interest of researchers due to its excellent optical and electrical properties. In this work, NiO:Al films were deposited on glass substrates by the radio frequencies (rf) sputtering technique at room temperature and they were tested against ozone gas. The Oxygen content in (Ar-O2) plasma was varied from 2% to 4% in order to examine its effect on the gas sensing performance of the films. The thickness of the films was between 160.3 nm and 167.5 nm, while the Al content was found to be between 5.3 at% and 6.7 at%, depending on the oxygen content in plasma. It was found that NiO:Al films grown with 4% O2 in plasma were able to detect 60 ppb of ozone with a sensitivity of 3.18% at room temperature, while the detection limit was further decreased to 10 ppb, with a sensitivity of 2.54%, at 80 °C, which was the optimum operating temperature for these films. In addition, the films prepared in 4% O2 in plasma had lower response and recovery time compared to those grown with lower O2 content in plasma. Finally, the role of the operating temperature on the gas sensing properties of the NiO:Al films was investigated.
Methane steam reforming kinetics over Ni-YSZ anodematerials for Solid Oxide FuelCells

Methane steam reforming kinetics over Ni-YSZ anodematerials for Solid Oxide FuelCells Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) is a technology with great potential. Its high efficiency makes it a relevant alternative to existing technologies for utilizing fossil fuels and its fuel versatility makes it invaluable in the transition from a fossil fuel based energy system to on based on renewable energy. The overall efficiency of a fuel cell system operating on natural gas can be significantly improved by having part of the steam reforming take place inside the SOFC stack. In order to avoid large temperature gradients as a result of the highly endothermal steam reforming reaction, the amount of internal reforming has to be carefully controlled. The objective of this thesis is to make such a careful control possible by examining the rate of internal steam reforming in SOFCs. The catalytic steam reforming activity of Ni-YSZ anode material was tested both in a packed bed reactor to determine intrinsic kinetics, and in a stack configuration to determine the rate observed under realistic SOFC conditions. The kinetic expressions obtained from respectively the packed bed measurements and the stack measurements are shown in Equations 3 and 4. Furthermore, a simple model was derived, which can accurately predict the steam reforming rate in a stack from the rate expression obtained from the packed bed experiments. During the experiments a previously unreported long term dynamic behavior of the catalyst was observed. After startup, the initial high reactivity was slowly reduced by a factor 5-10 over a period of several days or several weeks depending on operating temperature. It was also found that prolonged exposure to a H2O/H2 mixture without CH4 resulted in a reactivation of the catalytic activity up to the initial high level. It was attempted to account for this behavior through characterization with SEM, TEM, XRD and EXAFS.
Structural Analysis of 2-Benzyl-3-[3-(4-bromo-phenyl)-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4yl]-4,6-dioxo-5-phenyl-octahydro-pyrrolo[3,4-C]pyrrole-1-carboxylic Acid Ethyl Ester through X-ray Crystallography

In view of the growing medicinal importance of pyrazole and its derivatives, the single crystal X-ray diffraction study was carried out for the potential active 2-Benzyl-3-[3-(4-bromo-phenyl)-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4yl]-4,6-dioxo-5-phenyl-octahydro-pyrrolo[3,4-C]pyrrole-1-carboxylic acid ethyl ester (, H2O). In the title compound are two molecules exist in the asymmetric unit. It crystallizes in the monoclinic space group with unit cell dimension $a
A Comparison of In-vitro PAH Bioaccessibility in Historically Contaminated Soils: Implications for Risk Management

ABSTRACT This study compared polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) extractable fractions determined using six in-vitro methods, typically used for bioaccessibility/bioavailability predictions, for manufactured gas plant (MGP) historically contaminated soils, and evaluated the influence of soil properties. Methods used included depletive approaches for the bioaccessible fraction including butanol extraction (BuOH), non-buffered and buffered hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin extractions (HPCD, Buf-HPCD), potassium persulfate oxidation (KPS) and solid-phase extraction using Tenax resin (Tenax); and a non-depletive polyoxymethylene solid phase extraction (POM) approach to determine the freely dissolved fraction. The KPS extraction removed the most ∑16 PAHs (1.5–77.1 fold more than other methods), while POM extracted the smallest ∑16 PAHs (average of 3.9–77.1 fold less than the other 5 methods). Soil properties were generally inconclusive as indicators of extractable fraction for the historically contaminated soils. Neither total nor organic carbon were important but soil particle size was most influential. Toxicity values and biodegradation endpoints derived using bioaccessibility-biodegradability linear regression models on the extracted PAH fractions ranged widely for the different soils, and illustrated the high variability for predicted ecotoxicity and bioremediation outcomes in risk managment application. The results demonstrated the importance of validation with intended soil end use and receptors for in-vitro assessment of bioaccessibility and bioavailability, to fully inform regulatory decision-making and risk management.
Evaluating Operation Performance in Higher Education: The Case of Vietnam Public Universities

The system of public universities plays an important role in the socioeconomic development of each country. In Vietnam, public universities perform a leading role in the national higher education system’s operation and development. Therefore, public universities are assigned funds, assets, and facilities to implement goals and prioritize investment policies in the country’s education and training. However, to appropriately allocate funding, the state must reconsider the performance of the public education system. This paper presents a methodology to evaluate the operating performance of public higher education in Vietnam. The research design model includes cluster analysis and ANOVA, and Duncan post hoc tests have been used to provide an overview of public universities’ current state in Vietnam and to identify each of the strengths and weaknesses in cluster-specific groups. Based on this study’s results, educational administrators can develop a reasonable financial budget allocation plan for each university cluster.
Spatial conservation prioritization considering socioeconomic costs and degradation conditions in the Southwest China Biodiversity Hotspot

Summary There have been calls for the expansion of protected areas (PAs) to tackle the ongoing biodiversity loss, yet it is unclear where future PAs might help to protect biodiversity in degraded landscapes under the conservation planning principles of complementarity, connectivity and cost-effectiveness. Our conservation goal is to increase the PA network coverage to up to 30% of the landscape of the Zhangjiang River Basin for target species in the karst area of southwest China, a global biodiversity hotspot. Zonation 4GUI was used to evaluate the adequacy of current PAs and to strategically expand PAs while maximizing the coverage of target species and considering ecological integrity and socioeconomic activities. The results show that significant habitat degradation has occurred across 77.9% of the basin. The current PAs cover 6.3% of the site and represent 8.7% of the total distribution of key species. With regards to the threshold of protection of 30% of the area, protecting an additional 27.2% of the site under an ecological integrity prioritization scenario and a scenario of the socioeconomic costs involved in iteration would cover 93.5% and 80.4% of the ranges of the key species, respectively. Our results can be used to inform the upcoming actions associated with karst area conservation-related policies.
Anti-media expression by citizens: conservative summary sites, hostile media perceptions, and media trust in Japan

ABSTRACT This study adopts a populism communication framework to examine the influences of conservative summary site use on trust in mainstream news organizations. Data from two-wave panel surveys show that reading conservative summary sites is positively related to hostile media perceptions. Hostile media perceptions are negatively related to trust in several Japanese news organizations. The association between conservative summary site use and hostile media perception is not dependent on information processing strategies.
Generation Mean Analysis for Seed Yield and Wilt Resistance in Castor (Ricinus communis L.)

Background: Castor is an important non-edible oil seeds crop of Gujarat state. Yield potentiality of this crop has been considerably improved through several breeding techniques. Now days, a wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ricini) of castor has become a serious problem. The present study therefore, was under taken to use populations of P1, P2, F1, F2, BC1 and BC2 generations in each of six crosses of castor. The six crosses were selected in such a way that two crosses in each group of resistance × resistance, resistance × susceptible and susceptible × susceptible made available for detail study of gene effects for wilt resistance.Methods: The experiment was laid out in a compact family block design with three replications during kharif, 2017. The experimental materials consisted of four pistillate lines viz., VP-1, Geeta, SKP-84 and SKP-106 and six inbred lines viz., VI-9, JI-35, 48-1, SH-72, SKI-215 and PCS-124 selected from the germplasm maintained at the Castor and Mustard Research Station, S.D. Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar. Each entry was planted in a single row of 10 dibbles maintaining 120 cm row to row and 60 cm plant to plant distances.Result: The analysis of variance revealed significant difference among different generations for wilt incidence and seed yield indicating considerable variability in the material tested. The estimation of the gene effects revealed that additive as well as non-additive gene effects were observed for wilt incidence and seed yield in all the six cross. In the cross, VP - 1 × JI- 35 the wilt incidence estimation of scaling test and gene effect was observed non-significant indicating non-allelic interaction was absent for this character, while for seed yield, all the crosses have significant scaling test indicating the presence of non-allelic interactions for this trait.
Coupled longitudinal-flexural vibration characteristics of a piezoelectric structure with losses

The dynamic characteristics studies of piezoelectric structures usually focus on the single vibration modes such as the longitudinal or the flexural mode, and the losses that cause heat generation and energy waste are generally neglected, which leads to discrepancies compared with experiments. In the present paper, a beam-type piezoelectric structure with four kinds of losses under coupled longitudinal-flexural vibration mode is investigated. In this approach, first, impedance matrix of the structure is obtained based on the motion equation and the electrical-mechanical boundary conditions. Secondly, admittance curves of this piezoelectric structure under different boundary conditions are simulated by the equivalent circuit methods that contain four losses—piezoelectric and dielectric losses, as well as two elastic losses. The simulation results by equivalent circuit methods has good agreement with COMSOL results, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
A novel approach for anti-pollution attacks in network coding

Network coding remarkably improves network performance and transmission efficiency for multi-cast. Nevertheless, as its inherent defect, it is vulnerable to pollution attacks, bringing in a severe decrease of the network performance. In the proposed work, a novel approach is put forwarded, which can rapidly identify and isolate the malicious nodes from the networks as early as possible. On the one hand, we raise a secure infrastructure, on the other hand, we advocate a secure transmission protocol to verify every received packet. Theoretical analysis and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme has the optimal performance in terms of security, network delay and network throughput.
Potential strengthening additive for cement mortar based on the maleic anhydride – α-octene functionalised multiwall carbon nanotube

ABSTRACT Multiwalled carbon nanotubes obtained via the Catalytic Chemical Vapor Deposition method were covalently functionalised by maleic anhydride – α-octene copolymer via ‘grafting from’ approach using a sonochemical method to obtain the additive for improving the mechanical properties of cement mortar. The catalyst and oxidising agent used for nanotube synthesis and surface activation through the formation of the functional groups in a mild condition were Fe – Co / Al2O3 and potassium permanganate, respectively. These functional moieties were used for the consequent functionalization of the nanotubes with the copolymer. The instrumental techniques like Transmission Electron Microscopy, Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X - ray powder diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterise the obtained nanostructures. The used techniques revealed the success of the surface functionalization in the formation of the strengthening additive. The results obtained from the compressive strength tests for the strengthening additive included cement mortar composites revealed the positive effects of the additive on the mechanical properties of the cement mortar over the reference material. The use of the ‘grafting from’ approach to covalently functionalise the multiwalled carbon nanotubes with maleic anhydride – α-octene copolymer via the sonochemical method to obtain strengthening additive for cement mortar is the novelty of the work.
The Analysis and Design of a High Efficiency Piezoelectric Harvesting Floor with Impacting Force Mechanism

In renewable energy technology development, piezoelectric material has electro-mechanical converted capability and the advantages of simple construction and compact size, it has potential development since the environment vibration can be transferred into an electrical energy in daily harvesting applications. To improve the electro-mechanical converted efficiency of a piezoelectric harvester at low-frequency environment, a free vibration type of piezoelectric cantilever harvesting structure was proposed, which can generate a resonant oscillation by releasing an initial deformed displacement, and was uninfluenced from the effects of external environment. To analyze the harvesting behaviors, an equivalent circuit with voltage source was provided, and the parameters in theoretical model can be determined by the dimensions of the piezoelectric unimorph plate and its initial deformation. From the comparison of measurement and simulation, it reveals a significant efficient theoretical model where 8% error occurrence for storage energy was found. Finally, the proposed free-vibration generation method was developed in a piezoelectric harvesting floor design, which can transfer human walking motion into electric energy, and store in an external storage capacitor. From the testing result, one time of footstep motion can cause the charging energy in a 33 μF of storage capacitor achieve to 0.278 mJ, which was larger than the driven power of the wireless transmitter module, and then the wireless transmitter can be driven to send a RF signal without external power supply. Therefore, the designed piezoelectric harvesting floor has potential development to locate the user’s current position, which can provide users with future appropriate service for intelligent building application.
Assessment of Synergistic Impact of Ambient Surface Ozone and Fine Particulate Matter on Experimentally Grown Wheat Crop

The present study aims to understand how increasing surface ozone and fine particulate matter concentrations affect wheat crop productivity under ambient conditions. A pot experiment was conducted spanning over a period of 117 days starting from December 2016 to April 2017 at one of the receptor locations in Delhi characterized with high levels of surface ozone and fine particulate matter. The study site recorded highest concentrations of PM1, PM2.5, PM10 and surface ozone of 159±77 μg m−3, 172±79 μg m−3, 280±108 μg m−3 and 335±18 μg m−3, respectively during the crop cycle indicating the high levels of air pollutants at the site. The crops were treated with ascorbic acid under different experimental setups. A large number of growth, biochemical and yield parameters were evaluated at the vegetative, reproductive and grain formation stage of the crop cycle. Results indicated that the chlorophyll content and harvest yield of crops grown under ambient conditions were ∼23% and ∼14% lower than those of crops grown under controlled environment. Furthermore, a ∼13%, 5%, 15% and 10% decline in root length, plant height, number of tillers and number of leaves was observed in crops that were exposed to only surface ozone in comparison to crops exposed to only fine particulate matter under vegetative stage, respectively. Relative water content, chlorophyll content and air pollution tolerance index observed ∼56%, 23% and 61% decline with fully exposed setup in comparison control setup in the vegetative stage, while ∼57%, 23% and 44% decline was observed in the reproductive stage. Experiments also suggested that surface ozone had a more pronounced influence on overall productivity of wheat crops in comparison to fine particulate matter.
Estimation of the Thermodinamic Properties of Several Oxigenated Compounds Involved in Biomasses Pyrolysis

As already well established, the products of biomasses pyrolysis can be important in the exploration of alternatives to the use of fossil fuels. The study of the kinetic mechanism of thermal degradation of biomasses requires the knowledge of thermodynamic properties of the species, molecules and radicals, involved in the reaction path. These properties have been estimated by using the group contributions method and the program THERM. Particularly in the case of radicals the use of THERM can be difficult and, as an alternative, here is proposed a criterion based on analogy rules (isodesmic method). The obtained properties have been tabulated and compared with the experimental data where available. Moreover a comparison among the methods has been performed. A useful databank for several oxygenated compounds involved in biomasses pyrolysis has been obtained.
Perception of complexity in engineering design

This paper evaluates perception of complexity in a novel explanatory model that relates product performance and engineering effort. Complexity is an intermediate factor with two facets: it enables desired product performance but also requires effort to achieve. Three causal mechanisms explain how exponential growth bias, excess complexity, and differential perception lead to effort overruns. Secondary data from a human subject experiment validates the existence of perception of complexity as a context‐dependent factor that influences required design effort. A two‐level mixed effects regression model quantifies differences in perception among 40 design groups. Results summarize how perception of complexity may contribute to effort overruns and outline future work to further validate the explanatory model and causal mechanisms.