Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Treatment of ligno-cellulosic residues with urea. Influence of dosage, moisture, temperature and addition of ureases

Summary — Comparative studies were made at a laboratory level to assess the effectiveness of the treatment of straw with anhydrous ammonia (anhydrous NH and urea. The influence of moisture, dosage, and temperature were also assessed. The influence of the addition of an urease source was studied in treatments with urea. Two experiments were performed: 1), Anhydrous-NH and urea were used separately to treat a total of 13 samples of barley straw. Anhydrous NH was applied to 3 samples at a dosage of 4% and at moisture levels of 9.2, 22.2 and 32.7%. Urea was applied to 9 batches at doses at 4.3, 6.5 and 8.0% and at 3 moisture levels: 22.2, 31.1 and 42.7%. One sample was left untreated. 2), Urea at a dosage of 3% was applied to 24 samples of wheat straw and 24 samples of maize stover at 4 moisture levels, 10, 20, 30 and 40% and 3 temperatures: 15, 25 and 35 °C for wheat straw and 5, 15 and 25 °C for maize stover. All these parameters were studied both with and without the addition of crude soya bean (CSB). In experiment 1 the increase in moisture content when NH was applied reduced the neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content, but did not modify the in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) values, which were similar to those obtained on the application of urea at moisture levels of 31.1 and 42.7%. In experiment 2, the increase in moisture content to 30% produced a positive response in most of the chemical parameters analyzed. However, with an increase in humidity to 40% the results were less homogeneous. The temperatures used were not limiting, and only had a significant effect (P < 0.05)
Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook

Conversion Factors.Physical and Chemical Data.Mathematics. Thermodynamics.Heat and Mass Transfer.Fluid and Particle Mechanics.Reaction Kinetics.Process Control and Instrumentation.Process Economics.Transport and Storage of Fluids.Heat Transfer Operations and Equipment.Drying, Humidification and Evaporative Cooling.Distillation. Gas Absorption and Other Gas-Liquid Operations and Equipment.Solid-State Operations and Equipment.Size Reduction and Size Enlargement.Handling of Bulk Solids and Packaging of Solids and Liquids.Alternative Separation Processes.Chemical Reactors.Biochemcial Engineering.Waste Management.Safety and Handling of Hazardous Materials.Energy Sources, Conversion and Utilization.Materials of Construction.Process Machinery Drives.Analysis of Plant Performance.
The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution

The pioneering genius of Japan's "God of Comics," Osamu Tezuka (1928-89), is examined through his life's masterwork: Tetsuwan Atomu, also known as Mighty Atom or Astro Boy, a comic series featuring a cute little android who yearns to be more human. The history of Tetsuwan Atomu and Tezuka's role in it is a road map to understanding the development of new media in Japan and the United States. Topics include Tezuka's life, the art of animation, the connection between fantasy robots and technology, spin-offs, and Astro Boy's cultural impact. Frederik L. Schodt is a translator and author of numerous books about Japan, including Manga! Manga! and Dreamland Japan. He often served as Osamu Tezuka's English interpreter. In 2009 he was received the The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette for his contribution to the introduction and promotion of Japanese contemporary popular culture.
Evaluation of Granier's sap flux sensor in young mango trees

La methode de Granier a ete testee sur de jeunes manguiers. Sur des arbres cultives dans des containers, la perte d'eau par transpiration mesuree avec le fluxmetre de seve est en etroite correlation avec celle mesuree par la methode gravimetrique. Sur un arbre de 4 ans, une difference de seulement 5 % a ete observee entre le flux de seve des branches et celui du tronc sur une periode de 24 h. L'appareil de Granier a montre une bonne sensibilite aux changements lents ou brutaux de la transpiration de l'arbre provoques successivement par incision annulaire, defoliation et excision de branches sur le meme arbre. Une comparaison entre le flux de seve et l'absorption d'eau par l'arbre mesuree avec la methode de l'arbre coupe, a montre que la methode du flux de seve sous-estimait legerement (< 6 %) la quantite d'eau absorbee. Les resultats de cette etude montrent que la methode de Granier est fiable pour la mesure de la transpiration sur les jeunes manguiers.
Egg production by colonies of a gorgonian coral

Reproductive success, the production and fertilization of gametes, is a key component of fitness. Among many colonial marine invertebrates, the production of gametes by a colony is a function of both gamete production per module (e.g., polyp, zooid) and the number of modules in the colony (i.e., colony size). We examined variance in gamete production per polyp and egg production per colony over a range of colony sizes, and the relationship between egg production and growth in the common Caribbean gorgonian Plexaura flexuosa. The number of polyps per colony and the average number of mature eggs per polyp both were greater among larger female colonies (>70 cm in height) than among smaller colonies (< 70 cm), resulting in a 1 to 2 order of magnitude increase in whole colony egg release for the larger colonies. In a group of 24 colonies, 98 % of the 9.2 x 10 6 eggs produced in one spawning event came from the 12 colonies taller than 70 cm. Branch extension rates showed no relationship to colony size, but whole colony relative growth appears to decrease as colony size increases. This suggests that proportionately less energy is used for growth as a colony gets larger, and thus may be available for reproduction.
Relationships Between Two Definitions of Fading Memory for Discrete-Time Systems

In this paper, we refer to two definitions of fading memory property, which were published in the literature, for discrete-time circuits and systems. One of these definitions relates to systems working with signals (sequences) defined for both the positive and negative integers, expanding from minus infinity to plus infinity. On the other hand, the second one refers to systems processing sequences defined only for nonnegative integers, that is starting at the discrete-time point equal to zero and expanding to plus infinity. We show here that the second definition follows from the first one. That is they are not independent. Moreover, we also show that if an operator describing a system possesses a fading memory according to the second definition, then its associated operator has this property, too, but in accordance with the first definition.
Wage cyclicality and the wage curve under the microscope

"Using large data sets from the German employment and unemployment register 1985-2004, we investigate aggregate wage cyclicality and the wage curve for establishment stayers and movers. We find that movers' wage responses to aggregate unemployment rate changes exceed these of stayers by about 30-40 percent. A new finding is that the increments of movers over stayer responses to regional unemployment shocks are considerably greater and amount to about 150 percent. This difference in differences (responses to regional compared with aggregate cycles and responses of movers compared with stayers) can be explained by the importance of centralized wage bargaining in Germany. " (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
From ventriloquism to high reliability: Object of activity and figures’ significance

This paper presents the results of a communicational study of High Reliability Organizations (HRO). Starting from a gap in the HRO literature, we seek to deepen the understanding of communicational nature of interactions within HROs. In particular, we contribute to the question related to the track: What forms of talk do we find in organizational practice, and how do they differ in shaping and constituting organizational phenomena in our study of reliability? We draw on the concept of ventriloquism (Cooren, 2010) and examine its impact and importance on the production of high reliability. We base our work on two empirical case studies. The first concerns heavy handling activity in a naval defense industry, and the second concerns the care provided to demented patients in a short-term geriatric ward. We use actor network theory, or ANT (Latour, 2005), to build an original analysis framework of ventriloquism that qualifies the figures in terms of “actor”, “actant” or “object. ” Through a comparative approach, we show that ventriloquism can serve or disserve the high reliability of an organization. Specifically, we demonstrate that the nature of the object of activity (Engestrom, 1987) is a crucial element for the relevance of ventriloquism. We describe the impact of ventriloquism on HROs and build a preliminary typology of talk practices that foster it. We conclude by discussing the theoretical, methodological and practical contributions of our research.
Technical Note: Disturbance of soil structure can lead to release of entrapped methane in glacier forefield soils

Investigations of sources and sinks of atmo- spheric CH4 are needed to understand the global CH4 cycle and climate-change mitigation options. Glaciated environ- ments might play a critical role due to potential feedbacks with global glacial meltdown. In an emerging glacier fore- field, an ecological shift occurs from an anoxic, potentially methanogenic subglacial sediment to an oxic proglacial soil, in which soil-microbial consumption of atmospheric CH4 is initiated. The development of this change in CH4 turnover can be quantified by soil-gas profile analysis. We found evidence for CH4 entrapped in glacier forefield soils when comparing two methods for the collection of soil- gas samples: a modified steel rod (SR) designed for one-time sampling and rapid screening (samples collected 1 min af- ter hammering the SR into the soil), and a novel multilevel sampler (MLS) for repetitive sampling through a previously installed access tube (samples collected weeks after access- tube installation). In glacier forefields on siliceous bedrock, sub-atmospheric CH4 concentrations were observed with both methods. Conversely, elevated soil-CH4 concentrations were observed in calcareous glacier forefields, but only in samples collected with the SR, while MLS samples all showed sub-atmospheric CH4 concentrations. Time-series of SR soil-gas sampling (additional samples collected 2, 3, 5, and 7 min after hammering) confirmed the transient nature of the elevated soil-CH4 concentrations, which were decreasing from 100 µL L 1 towards background levels within min- utes. This hints towards the existence of entrapped CH4 in calcareous glacier forefield soil that can be released when sampling soil-gas with the SR. Laboratory experiments with miniature soil cores col- lected from two glacier forefields confirmed CH 4 entrapment in these soils. Treatment by sonication and acidification re- sulted in a massive release of CH4 from calcareous cores (on average 0.3-1.8 µg CH4 (g d.w.) 1 ) (d.w. - dry weight); re- lease from siliceous cores was 1-2 orders of magnitude lower (0.02-0.03 µg CH4 (g d.w.) 1 ). Clearly, some form of CH4 entrapment exists in calcareous glacier forefield soils, and to a much lesser extent in siliceous glacier forefield soils. Its na- ture and origin remain unclear and will be subject of future investigations.
Molecular cloning and characterization of a thioredoxin from Taiwanofungus 1 camphorata 2 Running title : Characterization of thioredoxin 3

Molecular cloning and characterization of a thioredoxin from Taiwanofungus 1 camphorata 2 Running title: Characterization of thioredoxin 3 Pin-Feng Hong1, Yu-Ting Chen2,, Lisa Wen3,, Chi-Tsai Lin1, 4 1 Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology and Center of Excellence for the Oceans, 5 National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan 6 2 Institute of Genomics and Bioinformatics, Agricultural Biotechnology Center, National 7 Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan 8 3Department of Chemistry, Western Illinois University, 1 University Circle, Macomb, IL 614559 1390 10 11
Visceral adiposity and cardiometabolic risks: epidemic of abdominal obesity in North America

Correspondence: Sunil J Wimalawansa Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, 1 Robert Wood Johnson Place, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA Tel +1 73 2235 9584 Fax +1 73 2235 8892 Email wimalawansa1@hotmail.com Abstract: Over the past 40 years, the prevalence of obesity has more than doubled in the United States. Approximately 67% of American adults older than 20 years of age are either obese or overweight. Obesity has now become a critically important issue facing more than 40% of Americans and has become a major burden on the American health care system. Today, obesity cannot be considered a simple lifestyle issue; it is a disease with major public health and economic consequences that requires serious attention by all stakeholders. Each individual has different causes and risk factors that lead to obesity and its associated complications. In addition to preventing becoming overweight, focusing on identifying the causes of obesity and then individualizing care and treatment plans to targeting weight loss, particularly intra-abdominal fat, could potentially generate huge cost savings. Excess intra-abdominal fat (visceral adiposity) is linked to excess morbidity and mortality, and positively correlates with the risks of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers, and premature death. Therefore, overweight and obese patients should be offered healthy lifestyle changes including education about causes leading to excess weight, weight-reducing diets, physical activity regimens, and monitoring for progress. Medications and bariatric surgery are effective but are the last options and should be complementary to lifestyle and behavioral changes. The costs associated with managing obesity-related disorders and their complications are astounding; unless we intervene now, these are likely to triple over the next 2 decades. Thus, policymakers must pay serious attention to this progressive, insidious epidemic and determine the right paths for tackling obesity, which requires a paradigm shift in thinking and combined approaches. The increasing prevalence of obesity is a major health hazard in all health sectors, in both low and high income societies and countries. Thus, comprehensive programs are needed to minimize the effects of the epidemic.
Demography and territorial behavior of three species of the genus Hetaerina ( Odonata : Calopterygidae ) along three tropical stream ecosystems

We studied the demography and territorial behavior of three damselfly species of the Hetaerina genus (H. fuscoguttata, H. aurora and H. caja) along three lowland stream ecosystems in western Ecuador. Throughout a Capture-Mark-Recapture (CMR) methodology, we estimated the daily survival rates, sex ratio and longevity of the most abundant species on each location, as well as the respective population size. Overall, we captured more males than females and we found male biased sex ratios in all three studied populations. Throughout focal observations, we analyzed male territorial behavior as well as male and female reproductive behavior of the three Hetaerina species. We registered a low number of reproductive events in all populations. Conversely, we registered a higher number of male-male interactions of this territorial genus. However, we did not find evidence that certain morphological characters are related to a male’s territorial role.
Simulation of an Excavator Hydraulic System Using Nonlinear Mathematical Models

This paper describes a mathematical modelling methodology developed for the rapid simulation of an excavator hydraulic system. The modelling approach presented enables a reduction of the control system development time for a complete excavator, while providing accurate system dynamics. A tool for defining an appropriate control strategy is a key point for satisfying the need for systems with better energy-efficiency. Moreover, the model will be a significant support in investigating energy recovery solutions and evaluating the suitability of hybrid solutions (mechanical/hydraulic/electric). The hydraulic model, composed of the pump’s grey box model and the valve block white box model, has been validated on the basis of a set of experimental data collected on a test bench. The results of this study are presented in this paper.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Values of German media users : 1986-2007

Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva. nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
Simulation of Seasonal precipitation using ANN and ARIMA Models: A case study of (Iran) Khozestan

A B ST R A C T Accurate rainfall prediction is of great interest for water management and flood control. In reality, physical processes influencing the occurrence of rainfall are highly complex, uncertain and nonlinear. In this paper, we present tools for modeling and predicting the behavioral pattern in rainfall phenomena based on past observations. The aim of this paper is to predict the seasonal rainfall of (Iran) khozestan using artificial neural network (ANN) and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models. In order to evaluate the prediction efficiency, we made use of 33 years of seasonal rainfall data from year 1976 to 2008 of Khozestan Province (Iran). The models were trained with 28 years of seasonal rainfall data. The ANN and the ARIMA approaches are applied to the data to derive the weights and the regression coefficients respectively. The performance of the model was evaluated by using remaining 5 years of data. The study reveals that ANN model can be used as an appropriate forecasting tool to predict the rainfall, which out performs the ARIMA model.
Application of Andrew’s Plots to Visualization of Multidimensional Data

Importance: The article raises a point of visual representation of big data, recently considered to be demanded for many scientific and real-life applications, and analyzes particulars for visualization of multi-dimensional data, giving examples of the visual analytics-related problems. Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to study application of Andrews plots to visualization of multidimensional data. Methods: Application of Andrews plots to multidimensional data visualization is investigated herein by means of analysis, logical generalization, scientific abstraction. Results: The direct interaction between the analyst and the visualization system projecting the multi-dimensional data into spaces with fewer dimensions, supporting formulation and testing of the hypotheses regarding the nature and the data structure have been researched. The article seems to be useful for working with multidimensional dataset to optimize the process.
Impacts of Institutional Changes in Cambodia under the Pol Pot Regime

This paper presents an econometric analysis of impacts of the communist revolution by the Khmer Rouge (1975-’79) in Cambodia on economic behaviors of survivors after 1979. Specifically, we compare forced marriages in the Pol Pot regime with regular marriages after its collapse, and make econometric evaluations of their educational investments for children. Our econometric results are interpreted as meaning that forced-marriage couples invested less in their children’s education than the regular-marriage couples. We consider those results, by reflecting upon social and political structures of Cambodia under and after the Pol Pot regime.
A single-center, prospective, randomized, open-label, clinical trial of ceramide 2-containing hydrocolloid dressings versus polyurethane film dressings for pressure ulcer prevention in high-risk surgical patients

Purpose: There have been previous clinical studies regarding the impact of dressings on the prevention of pressure ulcer development. However, it remains unclear whether one type of dressing is better than any other type for preventing ulcer development during surgery. Therefore, we compared the effects of ceramide 2-containing hydrocolloid dressing with film dressings in high-risk patients with regard to reducing the incidence of pressure ulcer development during surgery. Patients and methods: A prospective, randomized, open-label, clinical trial was conducted involving patients who were at a high risk of developing pressure ulcers at a Japanese hospital. The intervention group received ceramide 2-containing hydrocolloid dressings (n = 66), and the control group received film dressings (n = 64). The primary end point was the incidence rate of pressure ulcer development in both groups; skin damage, such as blanchable erythema, skin discoloration, contact dermatitis, and stripped skin, was recorded as the secondary end point. The relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were assessed to compare the probability ratios of pressure ulcer development between the groups. Results: There were significantly fewer patients who developed pressure ulcers in the intervention group than in the control group (RR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.05–0.99; P = 0.04). In the post hoc subgroup analysis, the superiority of the intervention group was more marked when patients had a lower body mass index ( P = 0.02), lower albumin values ( P = 0.07), and operation time of 3 hours or more and less than 6 hours ( P = 0.03). There was no evidence of any statistically significant differences in the types of skin damage reported. Conclusion: Application of ceramide 2-containing hydrocolloid dressing reduced the risk of pressure ulcer development in patients who were at a high risk during surgery compared with film dressings.
DRAFT Guidance Document 1 Guidance to define protection goals for environmental risk assessment in 2 relation to biodiversity and ecosystem services

7 Maintaining a healthy environment and conserving biodiversity are major policy protection goals. 8 Legal frameworks therefore require the protection of human, animal and plant health, and the 9 environment. A challenge, however, is that protection goals outlined in legislation are often too 10 general and broad to be directly applicable for environmental risk assessment (ERA) performed by the 11 European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Therefore, general and broadly formulated protection goals 12 need to be translated into specific protection goals. This Guidance presents a framework, which 13 accounts for biodiversity and ecosystem services, to make policy protection goals operational for use 14 in EFSA’s ERAs. The proposed approach follows three sequential steps: (1) the identification of 15 relevant Ecosystem Services; (2) the identification of service providing units supporting/providing 16 relevant Ecosystem Services; and (3) the specification of the degree/parameters of protection of the 17 service providing units using interrelated dimensions. This last step involves the specification of the 18 ecological entitiy and attribute to be protected, the spatial and temporal scale of protection, and the 19 magnitude of acceptable effect. Considerations are proposed against which the selected options can be 20 justified, in order to promote transparency and consistency when specifying the degree/parameters of 21 protection. The proposed approach is considered adequate to provide a framework to derive specific 22 protection goals in all different ERAs conducted by EFSA. 23 © European Food Safety Authority, 2015 24 25