Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urea Uptake and Release by Novel Macrogels from Dimethylacrylamide

ABSTRACT A novel macrogels poly(N,N-Dimethylacrylamide) (p(DMAAm)) and its derivatives were synthesized from DMAAm for use in urea uptake and release. p(DMAAm) surface was modified by NaOH and HCl to obtain p(DMAAm)/NaOH and p(DMAAm)/HCl, which are negatively and positively charged, respectively. The dynamic swelling behaviors, water retention and pH sensitivities of the macrogels were studied. It was found that all macrogels exhibited the equilibrium swelling ratio (SR) in the range 1068–1451%. Swelling kinetics showed that the macrogels possessed Fickian diffusion behavior while the diffusion coefficient of the macrogels varied from 1.41. 10–5 to 2.53. 10–5 cm2/min. Furthermore, urea uptake capacity and controlled release properties of the macrogels were studied. The maximum urea uptake capacity at pH 6 for p(DMAAm), p(DMAAm)/HCl, p(DMAAm)/NaOH macrogels were obtained to be 76.7 mg/g, 88.2 mg/g, 110.5 mg/g, respectively. It was concluded that the Langmuir isotherm fits quite well the experimental data. To describe the urea release kinetics, experimental data recorded at different pH solutions were computed through common release models. At pH 8, the p(DMAAm)/NaOH showed the highest release among the three prepared macrogel. Consequently, the results demonstrated that synthesized novel macrogels had high swelling rate and ability of absorbing and releasing of urea at different medium conditions.
The effect of micronutrient foliar application on yield, seed quality and some biochemical traits of soybean cultivars under drought stress

Abstract This experiment carried out as split plot factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications during two consecutive years (2015–2016). The main plot consisted of drought stress: complete irrigation, irrigation withholding at R1 stage, irrigation withholding at R2 stage and subplots included foliar application of micronutrients: distilled water (control), zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate and zinc sulfate + manganese sulfate and cultivar as: Williams and Zan elite. The results showed that proline and linoleic acid were increased significantly, but chlorophyll a and b, seed yield, protein percentage, oleic and linolenic acids were decreased significantly by irrigation withholding. Also, the maximum values of chlorophyll b, protein percentage and linolenic acid were achieved by Williams. The significant increasing effect of zinc was found on the maximum root and stem proline, chlorophyll b, and oleic, linolenic and linoleic unsaturated fatty acids, meanwhile the maximum leaf proline was obtained by manganese sulfate.
Automatic detection of tuberculosis in chest radiographs

Chest radiographs commonly contain projections of foreign objects, such as buttons, brassier clips, jewelry or pacemakers and wires. The presence of these structures can substantially affect the output of computer analysis of these images. An automated method is presented to detect, segment and remove foreign objects from chest radiographs. Detection is performed using supervised pixel classification with a kNN classifier, resulting in a probability estimate per pixel to belong to a projected foreign object. Segmentation is performed by grouping and post-processing pixels with a probability above a certain threshold. Next, the objects are replaced by texture inpainting. The method is evaluated in experiments on 257 chest radiographs. The detection at pixel level is evaluated with ROC analysis on pixels within the unobscured lung fields and an Az value of 0.949 is achieved. FROC analysis is performed at the object level, and 95.6% of objects are detected with on average 0.25 false positive detections per image. To investigate the effect of removing the detected objects through inpainting, a texture analysis system for tuberculosis detection is applied to images with and without pathology and with and without foreign object removal. Unprocessed, the texture analysis abnormality score of normal images with foreign objects is comparable to those with pathology. After removing foreign objects, the texture score of normal images with and without foreign objects is similar, while abnormal images, whether they contain foreign objects or not, achieve on average higher scores. We conclude that removal of foreign objects from chest radiographs is feasible and beneficial for automated image analysis.
Development and Validation of a Sector-Field Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) Method for Analyzing the Diagenesis-Designating Metals in Marine Sediments

Abstract The inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technique was applied for the quantification of specific metals in marine sediments following a four-step microwave-assisted digestion protocol. The effects of microwave heating and digesting medium on metal recovery were investigated using lake and river sediment reference materials to minimize the deviations from certified values. Increasing the temperature and time variables improves the accuracy of the ICP-MS measurements so that an optimized acid-digestion protocol enables the determination of heavy metals in sediments with relative errors better than 10%. The developed method was applied to measure longitudinal metal distribution in sediments collected from the continental shelf of the East Siberian Sea in the range from 50 to 600 km. Minima in the content of redox sensitive elements such as Mn, Mo, V, U, and Sb at distances from 200 to 300 m to the coast are most likely related to diagenetic processes such as sulfide reduction in the upper part of the sediment. In addition, the quality of sediments under consideration was assessed in terms of the average and maximum concentrations of heavy metals that may contaminate the bottom seawater. The developed method can be recommended as a standard tool for accurate and precise sediment analysis with important geochemical and environmental implications.
An investigation of [delta]- and [mu]-opioid receptors: putative subtypes and interactions

The possible existence of μ- and δ-opioid receptor subtypes, and interactions between μ- and δ-opioid receptors, has been examined in isolated tissue preparations, by radio-ligand binding in rodent brain homogenates and at the second messenger level using cell cultures of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. [Continues. ]
Role of Size, Concentration, and Natural Organic Matter on the Fate, Behavior, and Toxicity of Nanoparticle in Aquatic Environment

Understanding the impact of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) physicochemical properties such as size, surface coating and concentration; and environmental factors such as ionic strength, media composition and natural organic matter (NOM) on NP fate, behavior, and toxicity is crucial for ENP risk assessment. Thus, the overall aim of this dissertation is to evaluate the effects of ENP properties and water chemistry on the behavior, bioavailability, and toxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs).
Titanium Dioxide Wrapped MOFs-Derived Cobalt-Doped Porous Carbon Polyhedrons as Sulfur Hosts for Advanced Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Abstract To overcome the shortcomings (low-activity materials and the poor cycle stability) of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, rational design of cathode host materials is critical. Herein, we developed core-shell Co@NPC@TiO2 nanostructures, coating titanium dioxide (TiO2) on cobalt-doped nanoporous carbon (Co@NPC) derived from the thermal decomposition of zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) for sulfur electrodes. The synthesized Co@NPC@TiO2 has excellent electrical conductivity and strong restrictions on polysulfides, the sulfur cathodes with core-shell structure demonstrate a high initial discharge capacity of 1400 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C, compared with porous carbon, the electrical conductivity and cyclic stability are improved obviously.
Simple Implementations of the Cole-Cole Models

A novel procedure for the circuit implementation of the single and double dispersion Cole-Cole models is presented in this work. The concept is that the impedance of the whole model is approximated and implemented by appropriately configured RC networks, instead of the conventional implementation method where the approximation of each one of the fractional-order capacitors is required. The approximation is performed through the utilization of a curve fitting technique, where both magnitude and phase frequency responses of the total impedance are fitted by a rational integer-order driving point impedance. The main offered benefit is the reduction of the number of passive element count, especially in the case of the double dispersion Cole-Cole model. The behavior of the resulting structures, in terms of accuracy and robustness, is evaluated through simulation results.
A numerical analysis of a microwave induced coaxial surface wave discharge fed with a mixture of oxygen and hexamethyldisiloxane for the purpose of deposition

A microwave induced coaxial surface wave discharge with a feeding gas mixture of oxygen and hexamethyldisiloxane used for the deposition of polymer coatings is numerically analysed by a volume-averaged zero-dimensional modelling formalism. A set of edge-to-centre ratios are analytically estimated for a self-consistent description of the positive ion and reactive neutral flux at the radial walls (Kemaneci et al 2017 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 50 245203). The simulation results are compared with the measurements of a wide variety of distinct particle concentrations as well as of the electron temperature and an agreement is obtained with respect to the input power, the pressure and the oxygen to hexamethyldisiloxane flow ratios. The net charge density is dominated by Si2OC5H 15 + with a negligible degree of electronegativity. Hexamethyldisiloxane is fragmented into methyl radical via the electron impact dissociation and the dissociative ionization. Large amounts of hydrocarbons, water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen molecules are produced. A significant portion of the net hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide production rates is formed by the emission from the solid surfaces due to the hydrogen and oxygen atom flux. The essential roles of C3H9SiO molecules and Si2OC5H 15 + ions on the deposition process are verified.
Transient Resistive Switching for Nonvolatile Memory Based on Water‐Soluble Cs4PbBr6 Perovskite Films

All‐inorganic halide perovskite Cs4PbBr6 thin films are synthesized at low temperature through a facile chemical deposition method. The deposited films are implemented as a dielectric and dissolvable layer with the Au/Cs4PbBr6/PEDOT:PSS/ITO configuration for transient memory electronic devices. The bipolar resistive switching phenomena, good switching cycling (endurance), and long data retention (104 s) are demonstrated on as‐grown nonvolatile memory device to evaluate its high stability, reliability, and reproducibility. The I–V relationship shows ohmic conduction behavior at the low‐resistance state, whereas space charge limited current mechanism is dominating at the high‐resistance state. The conductive filaments formation and rupture, accompanied by Br− vacancies in Cs4PbBr6 layer, are employed to elucidate switching mechanism. More interestingly, the soluble insulation layer of the devices is quickly dissolved and the color of films transforms from yellow to white as fast as 2 s in deionized water, which exhibits good transient performance. Moreover, the electrical characteristics as well as optical properties vanish absolutely to further demonstrate the abovementioned transition after the memory devices dissolve in deionized water. This work offers a novel way to prepare disposable electronic memory devices by utilizing cheap perovskite‐based materials for transient electronics memory area as well as implantable electronics systems.
Leadership development curriculum for family and consumer sciences undergraduates

The objectives of this study were to design a leadership curriculum for family and consumer sciences female undergraduate students to be implemented as a course or infused into existing courses, and to conduct a formative evaluation of the curriculum. Curriculum content was based on recommendations of theorists of "transformational leadership" Bennis and Nanus (1985), Kouzes & Posner (1987), and Tichy and Devanna, (1986); leadership experts, and students. A draft curricu­ lum was developed and pilot tested with seven undergraduate and two graduate students. The curriculum was revised and again pilot tested using a pretestposttest, experimental-standard treatment design. Fifty-nine female students en­ rolled in a required one-credit, 15 contact-hour senior seminar constituted the ex­ perimental group for curriculum implementation; 48 female students enrolled in another section of the seminar served as the standard group and received the tradi­ tional curriculum for the seminar. The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), a selfreport measure of perceived leadership practices developed by Kouzes and Posner (1993), and a questionnaire developed by the researcher containing structured and open-ended questions were used to assess curriculum impact. No significant posttest differences were found for any of the five LPI scale scores or total LPI scores between the experimental and standard groups beyond those explained by the covariates; i.e., pretest scores for each of the five scales and the total instrument respectively. However, a total of 12 (25.53%) students in the experimental group compared to only 3 (7.14%) in the standard group declared that
Wall-Modeled Large Eddy Simulation of the Flow Through PWR Fuel Assemblies at ReH = 66 000—Validation on CALIFS Experimental Setup

Abstract The EDF aims to identify what causes fuel assembly vibrations in pressurized water reactors. The present work focuses on the validation of pressure fluctuations along the central rod of a 5 × 5 configuration for wall-modeled large eddy simulations. New experiments, called CALIFS, have been carried out by the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) on a 5 × 5 mixing vane grid (MVG) in the framework of the Fuel Assembly EDF/CEA/FRAMATOME tripartite project. In addition to pressure drop and velocity measurements using particle image velocimetry, pressure measurements have been performed along the central rod. The computational domain is representative of a span of the experimental mock-up composed of a 5 × 5 rod bundle equipped with a split-type MVG. The hydraulic Reynolds number is equal to 66 000 and periodic boundary conditions are imposed in the streamwise direction. The mesh is fully hexahedral and conformal. Computations give very satisfactory results for the pressure drop, the mean velocity, and the Reynolds stresses at different locations. The root-mean-square of the pressure along the central rod is also compared to experimental data at different heights. The behavior is in very good agreement up to five hydraulic diameters downstream of the MVG.
Highly Effective Propane Dehydrogenation Using Ga–Rh Supported Catalytically Active Liquid Metal Solutions

Our contribution demonstrates that rhodium, an element that has barely been reported as an active metal for selective dehydrogenation of alkanes becomes a very active, selective, and robust dehydrogenation catalyst when exposed to propane in the form of single atoms at the interface of a solid-supported, highly dynamic liquid Ga–Rh mixture. We demonstrate that the transition to a fully liquid supported alloy droplet at Ga/Rh ratios above 80, results in a drastic increase in catalyst activity with high propylene selectivity. The combining results from catalytic studies, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, IR-spectroscopy under reaction conditions, microscopy, and density-functional theory calculations, we obtained a comprehensive microscopy picture of the working principle of the Ga–Rh supported catalytically active liquid metal solution.
Growth, production and yield of common bean under water replacement levels

ABSTRACT The bean is a world-class crop and requires adequate water management for higher yield. The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth and the production and to fit multiple regression models to estimate the production components, total biomass accumulation and grain yield of ‘Rosinha’ bean under levels of replacement of evapotranspired water. The experimental design was randomized blocks with four repetitions. Treatments consisted of fractions of crop evapotranspiration (25, 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150% ETc). Growth variables (plant height, number of leaves, leaf area per plant, leaf area index, stem dry mass and leaf dry mass) and production components (number of pods per plant, pod length, pod diameter, pod dry mass, total biomass, pod mass per plant, grain yield) were evaluated. Measurements of growth variables carried out at 35 days after sowing were used to fit multiple regression models to estimate dry pod mass, total biomass accumulation and grain yield of common bean. Higher growth and yield of common bean, ‘Rosinha’, are obtained with irrigation depth corresponding to 100% of the evapotranspired water.
Chemical discrimination of the particulate and gas phases of miniCAST exhausts using a two-filter collection method

Abstract. Combustion of hydrocarbons produces both particulate- and gas-phase emissions responsible for major impacts on atmospheric chemistry and human health. Ascertaining the impact of these emissions, especially on human health, is not straightforward because of our relatively poor knowledge of how chemical compounds are partitioned between the particle and gas phases. Accordingly, we propose coupling a two-filter sampling method with a multi-technique analytical approach to fully characterize the particulate- and gas-phase compositions of combustion by-products. The two-filter sampling method is designed to retain particulate matter (elemental carbon possibly covered in a surface layer of adsorbed molecules) on a first quartz fiber filter while letting the gas phase pass through and then trap the most volatile components on a second black-carbon-covered filter. All samples thus collected are subsequently subjected to a multi-technique analytical protocol involving two-step laser mass spectrometry (L2MS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Using the combination of this two-filter sampling–multi-technique approach in conjunction with advanced statistical methods, we are able to unravel distinct surface chemical compositions of aerosols generated with different set points of a miniCAST burner. Specifically, we successfully discriminate samples by their volatile, semi-volatile, and non-volatile polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contents and reveal how subtle changes in combustion parameters affect particle surface chemistry.
Effect of combined infrared freeze drying and microwave vacuum drying on quality of kale yoghurt melts

Abstract Kale yoghurt melts are proposed as a novel snack that can melt in the mouth. However, such melts with thin fresh pulp were difficult to shape when drying at elevated temperature. In order to obtain a desirable shape and high-quality snack, freeze drying (FD), infrared freeze drying (IRFD), and combination of infrared freeze drying and microwave vacuum drying (IRFD-MVD) were attempted. The effects of these drying techniques on the drying time, energy consumption, bulk density, rehydration time, texture, color, chlorophylls, carotenoids and total phenolics contents as well as antioxidant activity and sensory characteristics of the differently dried products were compared. Nuclear magnetic resonance and magnetic resonance image analyses were also conducted to illustrate the state and proportion of water during the IRFD process. Drying time of IRFD was noted to be significantly shorter than that of FD. IRFD-MVD could further save the time as well as energy consumption of drying and, when properly conducted, could maintain the quality of snacks.
In Vitro Antioxidant and Anti-Lipid Peroxidation Activities of Hydroalcoholic Extracts of Caralluma tuberculata, Root and Aerial Parts

Background: Medicinal plants are considered as a useful source of antioxidants against diseases due to reducing free radicals. Caralluma tuberculata is one of such sources utilized by Iranian population as a traditional herbal medicine. Objectives: The present study aimed at investigating antioxidant activity, total phenolic content (TPC), and total flavonoid content (TFC) of C. tuberculata root hydroalcoholic extract (CRE) and aerial parts hydroalcoholic extract (CAE). Methods: Antioxidant properties were assessed using DPPH (1,1-dipheny l,2-picryl hydrazyl), superoxide anion (O2˙ˉ), nitric oxide (NO), ferric reducing antioxidant power, and anti-lipid peroxidation methods. TPC (mg pyrogallol/g extract) and TFC (mg quercetin/g extract) were measured by colorimetric methods. Results: The findings showed that both CAE and CRE were rich in phenolic and flavonoid compounds. TPC (40.12 ± 1.2) and TFC (20.22 ± 0.62) were higher in CAE compared to CRE (TPC = 25.01 ± 0.85, TFC = 15.11 ± 0.71). Likewise, both CAE and CRE showed significant scavenging effects on DPPH, O2˙ˉ, and NO radicals and the effects of CAE was more potent (P < 0.05) compared to that of CRE. Also, plant extracts significantly inhibited lipid peroxidation in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). Furthermore, CAE exhibited a more potent ferric reducing activity compared to CRE (510.21 ± 8.2 vs. 450.2 ± 9.3 μM Fe+2/g extract, respectively) (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Based on the study findings, both CAE and CRE could be considered as potential sources of antioxidants and CAE was more effective than CRE.
Synthesis of Bi0.5Li0.5TiO3 Nanoparticles by Sol-Gel Method for Photocatalytic Methylene Blue Degradation and Antibacterial Activity

Facile synthesis of nanomaterials for advanced characterization and application is gaining interest from many researchers. In this study, Bi0.5Li0. 5TiO3 nanoparticles were synthesized through the sol-gel method. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized Bi0.5Li0. 5TiO3 was investigated for degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV irradiation. A photocatalytic efficiency of 74% was found at 150 min when the degradation was performed in the basic media, and the kinetic rate constant was calculated equal to 0.0093 min-1. The antibacterial activity of Bi0.5Li0. 5TiO3 nanoparticles was evaluated against E. coli, and the results showed considerable efficiency.
Keeping Quality of Wheat-Groundnut Protein Concentrate Flour

Keeping the quality of wheat-groundnut protein concentrate flour was investigated. Groundnut was processed into groundnut protein-concentrate (GPC) and blended with wheat flour (WF) at ratios 100:0, 95:5, 90:10, 85:15 and 80:20 (WF:GPC). The blends were packaged in high-density polyethylene bags and were stored at ambient conditions for eight weeks during which the proximate composition and functional properties were determined using standard methods. There was a significant decrease in protein (30.58-18.71) and fat content (10.00-6.00) during storage while the crude fiber significantly increased (0.99-0.89). The ash content (1.50-1.51) and moisture content (6.75-7.75) show no significant difference throughout the period of storage. The bulk density showed a significant decrease (0.61-0.52) during storage. Water and oil absorption capacity showed no significant difference (1.30-1.20). Storage period has a significant effect on most of the analyzed parameter.