Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anaerobic Digestion of CHLOrphenolic Wastes

Feasibility of methanolic wastes treatment containing chlorophenol in experimental UASB reactors i.e. R-I and R-II working side by side constantly for a couple of almost 32 weeks were studied. UASB reactor R-I was initiated by utilizing the digested sludge alone, whereas, the UASB reactor R-II was startedup by adding an activated carbon of an effective size 1.5-2.5mm to the digested sludge with the volume-volume ratio of 3:2. At low loading rates d” 0.5g-TOC/L-d for R-I and d” 2.6g-TOC/L-d for R-II, it was observed that the effect of HRT on the TOC reduction was not prominent, and in both the reactors the TOC reduction effectiveness was noticed to be above 80%. An optimum OLR to accomplish 80-85% TOC and chlorophenol reduction effectiveness (at HRT e” 12hours) was observed to be 2.6g-TOC/L-day and 10.8g-TOC/L-day for reactor R-I and R-II, respectively. It was also observed that to attain more than 80% TOC removal efficiency at a constant OLR of 6.5g-TOC/L-day and at a HRT of 18-20hours, the maximum influent chlorophenol concentration should stay below 21mg/L and 29mg/L for reactor R-I and R-II, respectively. The average VFAs effluent concentration observed was 357mg/L and 230mg/L for the reactor R-I and R-II, respectively. Comparatively the production of biogas in reactor R-II was less. The overall gas conversation rate observed at greater than 80% TOC removal efficiency for R-I and R-II was found to be 0.28L/g-CODremoved and 0.17L/g-CODremoved, respectively, with 60-62% of methane content for both the reactors. The results of this study suggested that the use of methanol as a medium to biodegrade chlorophenol in the presence of an activated carbon in a UASB reactor is an effective and feasible method at mesophilic temperature and neutral pH.
EFFECT OF PURSLANE (PORTULACA OLERACEA) ON RENAL ISCHEMIA/REPERFUSION INJURY IN RAT

Objective: Use of herbal medicines has increased in recent years and many researches show their values in the treatment and prevention of diseases. In several studies, antioxidant properties of purslane (PO) were demonstrated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of ethanolic extract of PO (EEPO) on the renal function and antioxidant status after induction of ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury in the rat kidney. Methods : 30 male Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups (n=6): sham operated+ vehicle (sham), sham operated+ EEPO 300mg/kg (control), I/R, I/R+ EEPO 150 and 300 mg/kg. Unilateral nephrectomy was performed in all animals, 20 days before the experiment. PO extract or vehicle was administered for 5 days, So that the last dose was administered a half hour before induction of the left kidney I/R (45 min ischemia /24 h reperfusion). At the end of reperfusion period, blood and renal tissue samples were obtained for the serum urea and creatinine (Scr) measurements as well as the tissue antioxidant assays. Results : Induction of I/R and pretreatment with PO extract, increased the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD). There were no significant changes in the levels of MDA, GSH and FRAP among different groups. On the other hand the Scr and serum urea of the I/R and treated groups were elevated compared to the sham group. Conclusion : Purslane did not strongly affect the renal antioxidant status and could not prevent the renal injury following I/R. Probable reason might be the stimulation of immune system by the PO extract.
Developing Organisms for Consolidated Bioprocessing of Biomass to Ethanol

Lignocellulosic biomass is an abundant, renewable feedstock for sustainable production of biofuels and chemicals. The main technological barrier that impedes widespread utilization of this resource for production of fuels and other commodity products is the lack of low-cost technologies to overcome the recalcitrance of lignocellulose. Organisms that hydrolyse the cellulose and hemicelluloses in biomass and produce a commodity product such as ethanol at a high rate and titre would significantly reduce the costs of biomass conversion. This would allow steps that are currently accomplished in different reactors, often by different organisms, to be combined in a consolidated bioprocess (CBP). While there is still no ideal organism to use in one-step biomass conversion, several candidates have been identified that are in various stages of development for establishment of a cellulolytic system and/or improvement of product-forming attributes. This chapter assesses the status quo for CBP organismal development either by enabling non-cellulolytic organisms to grow on cellulosic substrates or by improving product forming abilities of native cellulose utilizing organisms. The authors also discuss feedstocks that are available for the production of biofuels using CBP and assess how process integrations can make CBP economically feasible in the near future. The increasing demand for oil coupled to the premium many governments place on greater energy security and environmental concerns have led to the development of an active biofuels industry (Van Zyl et al., 2011). First generation biofuels such as ethanol from starch or sugar already contribute considerable amounts of liquid fuels in several countries. However these technologies suffer from a shortage in the availability of feedstock in order to displace a more significant amount of petroleum based fuels. Lignocellulose represents the most widespread and abundant source of carbon in nature and is the only source that could provide a sufficient amount of feedstock to satisfy the world’s energy and chemicals needs in a renewable manner (Hill et al., 2006; Van Zyl et al., 2011). Second generation biofuels such as ethanol form cellulosic biomass therefore seeks to overcome the problem of feedstock supply shortage by utilizing the energy contained in total plant biomass. Current technologies for conversion of biomass to ethanol commences with a pretreatment step during which physical and/or chemical processes are used to render the polymeric sugar fractions more accessible to conversion by enzymatic processes (Stephanopoulos, 2007). The type of feedstock will predetermine the optimal type of pretreatment which in turn defines the optimal enzyme mixture to be used in subsequent hydrolysis steps and the composition of the hydrolysis products. Four biologically mediated events occur during conversion of
ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC DIVERSITY AMONG INDIAN FENUGREEK (TRIGOI ELLA FOENUM-GRAECUM L.) VARIETIES USING MORPHOLOGICAL AND RAPD MARKERS

The study was conducted to reveal genetic variability among the released varieties of fenugreek from different regions of India using morphological and molecular markers. Seventeen varieties were evaluated for important characteristics like plant height, test weight, total weight, yield per plant, pod length, pod per plant, pod per axis, petiole length and 50% flowering. In this study, Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to assess genetic diversity wherein fifteen polymorphic primers showed a 57.66% polymorphism. All the varieties were classified into two major clusters viz., cluster-I and cluster-II, cluster-I is further divided into five sub clusters containing twelve varieties namely Hisar Suvarna, Hisar Sonali, Rajendra Kranti, Hisar Mukta, Hisar Madhavi, AM-2, GM-2, AM-1, Azad Methi, CO-2, RMT-143 and RMT-351 showing genetic similarity irrespective of their geographical distribution. Cluster-II contains five varieties viz., Lam Selection, RMT-1, RMT-305, RMT-303 and Pant Ragini. In morphological analysis few varieties did not follow the pattern of RAPD analysis indicating their phenotypic characters to be influenced by the environmental factors. Morphological dendrogram also showed two major clusters and Pant Ragini was found to branch out distinctly confirming its uniqueness from all other varieties.
Estimation à noyau adaptatif dans des espaces multidimensionnels hétérogènes

Kernel estimation techniques, such as mean shift, suffer from one major drawback: the kernel bandwidth selection. This selection becomes a real challenge in case of multidimensional heterogeneous features. This paper presents a solution to this problem. The selection is done iteratively for each type of features, by looking for the stability of local bandwidth estimates within a predefined range of bandwidths. A new estimator that permits the iterative computation is introduced. The validity of the method is demonstrated in the context of color image segmentation and motion segmentation.
Low power spectral band replication technology for the MPEG-4 audio standard

Spectral band replication (SBR) is the bandwidth extension technology for the MPEG-4 audio extension 1 standard. Its principle is based on mapping the low-frequency portion of an audio signal coded at low bitrate to the missing high-frequency region, and uses a small amount of information embedded in the audio bitstream to shape the energy envelop and tone to a noise ratio of the mapped signals, such that they aurally resemble the high-frequency spectrum of the original signal, and thereby deliver compact disc-like listening sensation to the listeners. Low power SBR (LP-SBR) is a simplified version of the SBR technology that applies real-valued processing to all SBR modules, and applies aliasing reduction tools to suppress the resultant aliasing artifacts. LP-SBR requires 40% less computational cost compared to the original SBR. This paper describes the causes of aliasing artifacts and the principles behind the anti-aliasing solutions.
Label-Free Biodetection Using Capacitive Micromachined UltrasonicTransducers (CMUTs) and Its Application for Cardiovascular DiseaseDiagnostics

In this study, Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (CMUTs) were used to detect protein using two different schemes involving antibody detection and biomarker or antigen detection. For antibody detection, anti-human IgG Fab-specific was used as an antibody that specifically adsorbs on human IgG functionalized CMUT devices and anti-goat IgG was chosen as a non-specific negative control. We achieved a significant higher signal for the specific antibodies (~10-500 ng/ml) on CMUT devices in comparison to the non-specific negative control at low concentration. For antigen detection, we were interested in a cardiovascular disease biomarker and chose the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) as the analyte. We found a linear calibration curve for TNF-α at very low concentrations and demonstrated that this label-free biodetection has a general applicability for assays including diagnostics of cardiovascular disease.
ANKLE AND KNEE COORDINATION FOR SINGLE-LEGGED VERTICAL JUMPING COMPARED TO RUNNING

Similar basic movement patterns in ground reaction forces and ankle frontal plane kinematics of single-legged vertical jumping (JUMP) compared to running (RUN) have already been identified in earlier investigations. To broaden these findings, lower extremity kinematics of 25 subjects were recorded executing RUN and JUMP. Special focus was laid on the knee and ankle coordination of tibial endorotation and ankle eversion as well as on knee and ankle flexion/extension by applying a modified vector coding technique. RUN and JUMP demonstrated similar knee and ankle joint coordination patterns. However, differences in coupling angles unveiled phases, where joint coordination of ankle eversion/tibial endorotation was adjusted in JUMP. By comparing knee and ankle coordination of JUMP in healthy athletes with athletes suffering from anterior knee pain, common in sports with high jumping occurrences, key differences in execution leading to this overuse injury might be unveiled.
SC-VQM – A Visual Quality Metric for Synthetic Contents

Metrics approximating the perceived visual quality of image or video content play an important role in the development and usage of manifold processing and compression algorithms. Several visual quality metrics have been proposed in the past and produce good results. However, visual content is more and more influenced by synthetic content generation. Fully synthetic scenes or augmented reality contents present a new challenge to visual quality metrics. We present a Visual Quality Metric for Synthetic
Wage-Setting Coordination Scores

This document provides rationale, in the form of comments and notes, for my wage setting coordination scores. An Excel file that contains the scores for each country-year is available from my webpage (see above). The scores cover 18 OECD countries  Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States  over the period 1960 to 2000. These scores revise and extend the wage coordination scores in Hicks and Kenworthy (1998, p. 1642). In creating them I drew on a variety of sources, the most important of which are: Soskice (1990), Iversen (1999, pp. 84-85), Traxler, Blashke, and Kittel (2001), the Golden-Lange-Wallerstein indexes of wage centralization (Golden, Wallerstein, and Lange 1997), Ferner and Hyman (1998), the monthly European Industrial Relations Review, and the European Industrial Relations Observatory website (http://www.eiro.eurofound.ie).
Microstructure and molecular dynamics of elastomers as studied by advanced low-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance methods

ABSTRACT Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) certainly belongs to the most powerful spectroscopic tools in rubber science. Yet the often high level of experimental and in particular instrumental sophistication represents a barrier to its widespread use. Recent advances in low-resolution, often low-field, proton NMR characterization methods of elastomeric materials are reviewed. Chemical detail, as normally provided by chemical shifts in high-resolution NMR spectra, is often not needed when just the (average) molecular motions of the rubber components are of interest. Knowledge of the molecular-level dynamics enables the quantification and investigation of coexisting rigid and soft regions, as often found in filled elastomers, and is further the basis of a detailed analysis of the local density of cross-links and the content of nonelastic material, all of which sensitively affect the rheological behavior. In fact, specific static proton NMR spectroscopy techniques can be thought of as molecular rheology, and .
Nuclear fusion driven by Coulomb explosion of homonuclear and heteronuclear deuterium- and tritium-containing clusters

The ionization and Coulomb explosion of homonuclear D n and T n (n=959-8007) and heteronuclear (D 2 O) n and (T 2 O) n (n=459-2171) clusters in very intense (I=5×10 1 4 -5×10 1 8 W cm - 2 ) laser fields is studied using classical dynamics simulations. The efficiency of the d+d and d+ t nuclear fusion driven by the Coulomb explosion (NFDCE) is explored. The d+d NFDCE of (D 2 O) n ‖ heteronuclear clusters is enhanced by energetic and kinematic effects for D + . while for (T 2 O) n heteronuclear clusters the kinetic energy of T + is dominated by energetic effects. The cluster size dependence of the fusion reaction yield has been established. The heteronuclear clusters provide considerably higher d+ d and d+ t fusion reaction yields than the homonuclear clusters of the same size. The clusters consisting of both D and T atoms can provide highly efficient d+t fusion reactions.
Hedge Fund Activism in the Enforcement of Bondholder Rights

Activist hedge funds have transformed how bondholders respond to violations of their contractual rights. Insurance companies and mutual funds, the traditional investors in bonds, often slept on their rights and turned active only little and late. Hedge funds, by contrast, seek out opportunities for activism in order to make profits. In the wake of their activism, hedge funds have not only benefitted themselves, but their fellow bondholders as well.Alas, the remedy scheme for violations of bondholders rights - in particular, the centrality of the acceleration remedy - introduces its own set of imperfections. When treasury interest rates have increased or the stock price of a company that has issued convertible bonds has declined, acceleration generates a windfall: bondholders receive compensation in excess of the harm associated with the violation. In these cases, activists will spend excessive resources in detecting and pursuing potential claims and companies have excessive incentives to stave off potential violations. When treasury rates have declined, the tables are turned, and bondholder rights are underenforced.Whether this selective enforcement has generated aggregate benefits for bondholders and companies in the short term is unclear. Over the long term, however, the market will adjust to hedge fund activism by changing other terms in corporate bond indentures. In particular, we suggest that the contractual remedy scheme be revised by giving companies an expanded defeasance option and offering bondholders a make-whole premium upon acceleration, which would reduce, respectively, the incentives for overenforcement and underenforcement.
Building the future of public policy in the Basque Country: Etorkizuna Eraikiz, a metagovernance approach

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to understand how the changing role of public leadership in the different institutional configurations and political fields of the current context have given rise to the transformation of the structural conditions and the mechanisms of public and political management in the Basque Country, and more precisely inside the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa. The aim of this process is to try to interpret these changes in the context of the description and analysis of a new public policy program Etorkizuna Eraikiz, which translates into “The Future Constructed” in Basque language. Etorkizuna Eraikiz is the result of a strategic reflection and planning process carried out by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa to redirect public policies and promote the innovation of the Gipuzkoan Institutional Governance System. This strategy also responds to the challenge of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa to provide solutions in a collaborative and innovative manner, combining knowledge and experiences that can help to jointly build together a shared future for Gipuzkoa from a meta-governance approach.
Mayores Universitarios en la Red

Hoy dia la relevancia de Internet es cada vez mayor en todos los ambitos. Participar en la misma es fundamental para estar integrados socialmente. El aumento de la esperanza y la calidad de vida conllevan que los mayores activos supongan un volumen significativo de la poblacion. En este trabajo se analiza el uso que personas mayores activas realizan de Internet, asi como los principales beneficios o motivaciones de su utilizacion, y las barreras que encuentran aquellos que no la utilizan. Se administro un cuestionario a personas inscritas en programas universitarios de mayores. Los resultados muestran que estos mayores universitarios se conectan a Internet frecuentemente, a diario o entre dos o tres veces por semana. Se destaca la relevancia de Internet para estar actualizados, contactar con la familia y los amigos, el uso academico, y consultar la prensa. La consideran facil de utilizar aunque afirman que podrian vivir sin ella. Por otro lado, para los que no acceden a Internet no saber utilizarla es una de las principales barreras, si bien las personas que no la utilizan consideran que serian capaces de aprender. En su conjunto los datos animan a romper estereotipos negativos sobre los mayores y a no considerar a los mayores activos como personas incapaces o desconectadas de la Red sino a valorar positivamente los avances que realizan y la motivacion por aprender.
Magnetic Bearing Control System Based on PI and PID Controllers

This paper describes the implementation of magnetic bearings and their active control system. The working principle of the special combined axial and radial magnetic bearings and their implementation is explained. The overall laboratory system consists of two magnetic bearings with their housings, the suspended shaft and control system with sensors and power electronics. Sensor electronics are used to measure the position of the shaft within a bearing and to determine the appropriate bearing current with outer position control loops and nested current control loops. The motor control board featuring the TMS320F28335 DSP and LDC1000 proximity sensors is used for control and power electronics. In order to implement the control system the X2C tool is used. This is an open source model based development and code generation tool embedded in the Scilab/Xcos environment. The sensor data acquisition time is optimized to increase the speed of the control system.
Visualizing Subduction Using Statistical Modelling Applied to the Cascadia Slab

The intention of this thesis is to give a better understanding of the way that subduction zones evolve, to examine the way that different subduction parameters affect each other and finally to demonstrate how visualization can be used as a tool to provide deeper insight into such zones. The first part, describes the characteristics and the theory behind the formation and evolution of the areas that the phenomenon of subduction takes place. It can be especially useful to readers who do not have extensive previous knowledge on this subject. The second part, uses 20 measurable parameters of subduction zones to develop statistical models in order to reveal correlations and tendencies within geological observations around zones of subduction. This models are created using multiple linear regression with the help of the R statistical software environment. The third and final part, deals with the visualization of geological phenomena by using software that computer science has developed for geoscience. For this purpose, bathymetrical reconstruction of the Cascadia slab is performed and visualized, using the previously acquired models and the 4DPlates plate reconstruction software.