Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of exogenous phosphatase and phytase activities on organic phosphate mobilization in soils with different phosphate adsorption capacities

This study evaluated the effects of exogenous LASAP2 for acid phosphatase (APase) and LASAP3 for phytase of white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) on phosphorus (P) accumulation from organic P in soils. The potential for LASAP2-overexpressing tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) to increase organic P in soil was examined in our previous study. However, LASAP2 has low specificity for phytate, the predominant form of unavailable P in the brown lowland soil. For the present study, we isolated the full length of LASAP3 cDNA and introduced it into tobacco plants using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Transgenic tobacco plants were grown in two different soils (Andosols and Regosols; high and low P-adsorption capacity, respectively) supplemented with either inorganic phosphate (+Pi) or phytate (Po) as the sole P source, or control conditions that lacked phosphorus (No P). Dry matter production and P content of the transgenic line was higher than that of wild type in all treatments. The ratio of P accumulation increase by exogenous enzymes was found to be dependent on the P treatment and soil type. In all lines, the increase in +Po was less than that in +Pi, but higher than in No P. The P uptake ability of plants in Regosols was higher than in Andosols for all treatments, suggesting that the P utilization efficiency of both Pi and Po is dependent on the solubility. In no soil type or P treatment was a significant difference found between LASAP2- and LASAP3-overexpressing lines. These results demonstrate that introducing an APase and phytase gene such as LASAP2 and LASAP3 into tobacco by genetic transformation is a promising strategy for improving P mobilization in soil, although the bottleneck for mobilization of phytate-P is not the specificity of the enzyme but its solubility in soils.
Continuous chromatographic process based on SMB technology

section 4 to section 1, should contain nothing but the desorbent. These conditions have been shown to be necessary for the complete separation of the feed stream into streams S and (M, W), and for the (M, W) stream into strciiinh A1 diid W. If this is so, the recycled solid and Puid streams of the two TCC units can be connected as suggested by the dotted lines shown in this figure. With such a connection, these two foursection TCC units are then linked into a singlc cight-section TCC unit, as illustrated in Figure 3. As there are two ways to operate the two SMB units in series, there will be two ways to combine the TCC units. They differ only in the ordering of the input and output junctions. For both cases, there will be two input junctions for the de
A U.K. Approach To Counter Declining Enrollment in Chemistry and Related Disciplines at the University Level

A steady supply of qualified scientists and engineers is essential to ensure continued economic growth in developed nations. In recent years, many such countries have observed declining uptake of science and engineering degrees by young people. This article details the approach taken by the U.K. government to address the issue of recruitment of students to these disciplines, with a particular focus on chemistry.
Molecular dynamics simulation of alkali-metal diffusion in alkali-metal disilicate glasses

Long-timescale molecular dynamics simulations of duration 150–250 ps have been performed on alkali-metal disilicate glasses at 1400 K with the general formula M 2 Si 2 O 5 (M=Na, K, or an equiatomic mixture of the two). The simulations are long enough to analyse the diffusive behaviour of the alkali-metal ions in detail. The calculated diffusion coefficients show the mixed alkali-metal effect when systems having different alkali-metal contents are treated at the same pressure, but not when they are treated at the same volume (and therefore at higher pressure). There is no evidence for curvature in the time-dependent mean-square displacements of the alkali-metal ions over the 10–60 ps range, which suggests the absence of long-time memory effects. The van Hove correlation functions confirm the hopping mechanism for diffusion, though there is only partial evidence for the existence of a selection effect in the alkali-metal mobility in the mixed glass.
Removing Spikes from Voltammetric Curves in the Presence of Random Noise

The presence of noises and spikes in the experimental curve generates problems in the process of visualization and interpretation of the data. The procedure for spikes removal from voltammetric curves which are additionally distorted by random noise of different amplitude is proposed. The developed method bases on the assumption that spikes are measuring points corrupted by the gross errors. The statistical tests for detecting such errors are applied. Recognized spikes are replaced by points obtained by polynomial interpolation. The method eliminates close to 100% of spikes and reconstructs the ideal curve shape better than other algorithms. The considered new procedure gives the improvement of analytical parameters and may be applied for the set of curves in voltammetric experiment. Because the method is statistically valid it may be used for automatic spikes removal in intelligent computerized measuring systems in analytical chemistry.
The Effect of Adjacent Layers Such as Biofilms on Mass Transport Through Nanofiltration Membranes

The membrane process of nanofiltration is situated between ultrafiltration on one hand and reverse osmosis on the other hand. The characteristic feature of nanofiltration membranes is their ability to separate multivalent ions from monovalent ions in aqueous solutions. This selectivity is caused by ionic groups, which are integrated in the membranes’ polymeric structure. Mass transfer through a NF-Membrane is commonly described by the model of fine pores based on an extended Nernst-Planck equation [1,2], but this model only describes transport through the membrane itself. Precipitation on the membrane surface as well as feed-sided concentration polarisation effects are neglected. Sometimes corrected feed concentrations are used on the membrane model. These are estimated by approximations valid for uncharged species, which are not interacting with each other. In this paper we present an alternative method, differing from this approach. A hydrodynamic boundary layer, which is always present on the membrane surface in crossflow filtration processes, as well as a feed-sided biofilm which often occurs in practice is incorporated into the membrane model [3].
Characterization of water adsorbed on bituminous coals

Isothermal water vapor adsorption and desorption on eight Australian bituminous coals, varying in rank, was measured as a function of vapor pressure. The isotherms were measured within the temperature range of 15 °C to 40 °C and at relative vapor pressures up to ca. 0.9. These data enabled the effects of high- and low-pressure hysteresis to be separated and quantified, and the calculation of the net heat of water adsorption as a function of water coverage. High-pressure hysteresis is attributed to “ink bottle” type pore structure, which diminishes as coal rank increases. Application of a model to isothermal adsorption data has enabled the relative amounts of water binding to primary and secondary adsorption sites on coal to be quantified. Proximity of the primary sites to one another and the distribution of water between primary and secondary adsorption sites provide an explanation for the changes in the net heat of water adsorption as a function of the water coverage on coal.
FTIR, Raman, and CARS microscopic imaging for histopathologic assessment of brain tumors

The contribution demonstrates how the molecular contrast of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Raman and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopic imaging can be applied for the histopathological assessment of brain tumors. Human brain tissue specimens were obtained from patients undergoing neurosurgery. Thin sections of control brain tissue from an epilepsy patient and tumor tissue from a meningioma patient were prepared on calciumfluoride slides which were appropriate substrates for data acquisition in transmission and reflection mode. All CARS images correlate well with the FTIR and Raman images. Whereas CARS images were collected within seconds, exposure times were minutes for FTIR imaging and hours for Raman imaging. CARS images in the interval 2750-3000 cm-1 mainly probed spectral contributions of lipids which are important diagnostic markers of brain tumors. It was demonstrated that the CARS profile in the interval 2750-3000 cm-1 differed between the control sample and meningioma. Full spectral information could be extracted from Raman and FTIR images that enabled to distinguish different tissue types in brain tumors. Based on the current results we suggest a complementary application of FTIR, Raman and CARS imaging. FTIR and Raman imaging defines spectral regions and spectral markers that are essential for tissue classification. CARS images at different Stokes shifts or in the multiplex mode probe these spectral descriptors at video-time frame rates.
EFFECT OF SPRAY MIXTURE ON DROPLET SIZE

ABSTRACT spray droplet size is a major concern to herbicide applicators because: 1) most post-emergence herbicides must be applied uniformly and give complete coverage of target plants for greatest efficacy; and 2) spray drift to non-target areas must be minimized. The effects of rice herbicide formulations, concentrations, and tank mixtures; surfactants; polymers; and spray nozzle orientation in an airstream was determined in relation to the size of spray droplets produced by hollow cone nozzles. Several droplet-size statistics were significantly affected by herbicide formulations, tank mixtures, and polymer concentrations. Increasing the concentration of herbicide in the spray mixture or changing the nozzle orientation from 0 to 45° with respect to the airstream affected droplet size less than mixture type or polymer concentration.
The role of energy denominators in self‐consistent field (SCF) calculations for open shell systems

The transformation of the molecular orbitals (MO’s) of open shell systems during a self‐consistent field iteration step is compared for two different approaches: the usual procedure of iterative diagonalization of a Fock matrix and a simplified direct approach using the gradient and the one‐electron Hessian matrix in a space of orbital rotation parameters. It is shown that the frequent failure of the former is due to inappropriate energy denominators given by the difference of MO energies. In contrast to closed shell systems, the elements of the one‐electron Hessian matrix cannot be represented consistently by such differences in the case of open shell systems. The results of numerical calculations support this finding.
Determination of Imidacloprid and Triadimefon in White Pine by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry

Imidacloprid is one of a new class of highly systemic chloronicotinyl insecticides with significant activity against a wide range of insects. The triazole fungicides, triadimefon and triadimenol, are also systemic and highly effective in controlling a variety of economically important fungal diseases. A sensitive and reliable method for the determination of these compounds by GC/MS has been developed. Imidacloprid was converted to the heptafluorobutyryl derivative, whereas triadimefon and triadimenol were determined directly. Quantitation of all three analytes in white pine foliar extracts was performed in selected ion monitoring mode, by comparison with an external standard in sample matrix. Limits of quantitation were 0.01 ppm (10 pg injected) for imidacloprid and 0.1 ppm (100 pg injected) for both triadimefon and triadimenol. Overall mean recovery was 85.78 ± 5.20% (6.06%). This method has been successfully applied to quantify in-planta residues after treatment of white pine seedlings with a controlled.
Oxidative Degradation of Fentanyl in Aqueous Solutions of Peroxides and Hypochlorites

Fentanyl widely used in clinics as practices is potentially utilised as an incapacitant in countering terrorism and its analogues would be used as an addictive drug, so the degradation of these compounds need to be investigated for protecting environment and human health. In this work, the degradation of fentanyl was examined in a series of oxidant aqueous solutions. Meanwhile, the degradation pathways of fentanyl in the oxidant solution were discussed according to all products identified by GC/MS and LC/MS. Defence Science Journal, 2011, 61(1), pp.30-35 , DOI:http://dx.doi. org/10.14429/dsj.61. 68
Synthesis and characterization of chiral smectic side-chain liquid crystalline polysiloxanes and ionomers containing sulfonic acid groups

The synthesis of new chiral smectic A (S-A) side-chain liquid crystalline polysiloxanes (LCPs) and ionomers (LCIs) containing 4-allyloxy-benzoyl-4-(S-2-ethylhexanoyl) p-benzenediol his ate (ABB) as mesogenic units and 4-[[4-(2-propenyloxy)phenyl] azo]benzensulfonic acid (AABS) as nonmesogenic units is presented. The chemical structures of the monomers and polymers are confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy or H-1-NMR. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), optical polarizing microscopy, and X-ray diffraction measurements reveal that all the polymers P-I-P-IV and ionomers P-V-P-VI exhibit S-A texture. The results seem to demonstrate that the tendency toward the S-A-phase region increases with increasing sulfonic acid concentration, and the thermal stability of the S-A phase is determined by the flexibility of the polymer backbones and the interactions of sulfonic acid groups. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Solidification/stabilization of metal polluted sediment of Krivaja river

The Krivaja River is the longest natural water body (109 km) that flows completely within the borders of Serbian province of Vojvodina. In the absence of national legislation, the sediment quality was assessed in accordance with the Dutch classification methodology. It was found that the river sediment is highly contaminated with copper and zinc (192 mg kg-1 and 1218 mg kg-1 respectively), and as such is an extreme risk to the environment and human health. The solidification/stabilization (S/S) treatment with local clay, that has high capacity of cation exchange 70.2 meq/100 g and specific surface area of 630 m2 g-1, was employed for remediation of the contaminated sediment. The sequential extraction procedure showed that the copper and zinc have medium risk for the environment, with the percentage in the carbonate fraction of 18 and 22% respectively. The results of sequential extraction are not in full agreement with the results of pseudo-total metal concentration in the sediment, which only confirms that the total metal concentration is not sufficient to define the real danger to the environment. Based on the pseudo-total metals concentration, the sediment is of Class 4 (Dutch standards). However, judging from the results of sequential extraction, the metals show medium risk. Obviously, these results have to be taken into account in the assessment of the sediment quality, remediation procedures and sediment disposal in general. After the treatment, the proportion of these two metals in the first fraction is significantly reduced (Cu less than 2%, Zn 10%) in most of samples. In order to determine the long-term behavior of S/S mixtures, leaching tests were conducted in accordance with semi-dynamic ANS diffusion test for 90 days. The results indicated that clay can effectively immobilize Cu and Zn: the cumulative leached fraction of copper in mixtures with clay was in the range from 0.001% (mixture with 80% clay) to 0.15% (mixture with 10% clay), and the cumulative leached fraction of zinc in the range of 0.06% (mixture with 80% clay) to 0.10% (mixture with 10% clay). The diffusion coefficients, ranging from 1.5×10-12 cm2s-1 to 3.7×10-14 cm2s-1, showed an effective immobilization of both metals which suggests that these metals are practically immobilized in S/S mixtures even if the level of clay is low. From the point of LX values, all S/S mixtures can be used for the controlled utilization, because the leaching indices ranged from 11.8 to 13.4 for both metals. In all clay and sediment mixtures the dominant leaching mechanism is diffusion (slope values of 0.35 to 0.60), which once again confirms the effectiveness of the applied treatment and can be expected that only a very small amount of contaminants would leach into the environment over time. Future research is heading in the direction of troubleshooting the accumulation of used natural adsorbent after treatment, the possibility of permanent disposal, its regeneration or the possibility of its application as construction material.
Kinetics of DCE and VC mineralization under methanogenic and Fe(III)- reducing conditions

The kinetics of anaerobic mineralization of DCE and VC under methanogenic and Fe(III)-reducing conditions as a function of dissolved contaminant concentration were evaluated. Microorganisms indigenous to creek bed sedi ments, where groundwater contaminated with chlorinated ethenes continuously discharges, demonstrated significant mineralization of DCE and VC under methanogenic and Fe(III)-reducing conditions. Over 37 days, the recovery of [1,2-14C]VC radioactivity as 14CO2 ranged from 5% to 44% and from 8% to 100% under methanogenic and Fe(III)-reducing conditions, respectively. The recovery of [1,2-14C]DCE radioactivity as 14CO2 ranged from 4% to 14% and did not vary significantly between methanogenic and Fe(III)-reducing conditions. VC mineralization was described by Michaelis−Menten kinetics. Under methanogenic condi tions, Vmax was 0.19 ± 0.01 μmol L-1 d-1 and the half-saturation constant, km, was 7.6 ± 1.7 μM. Under Fe(III)-reducing conditions, Vmax was 0.76 ± 0.07 μmol L-1 d-1 and km was 1.3 ± 0.5 μ.
Impact of Membrane Surface Modification on the Treatment of Surface Water

New polyethersulfone (PES) based membranes for ultrafiltration (UF) were developed by blending a surface-modifying macromolecule (SMM) in the casting solution, in an attempt to minimize the impact of fouling. Fouling was evaluated using concentrated Ottawa River water (CORW), either unfractionated or fractionated via UF. These membranes also included some polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), a pore forming additive. A statistical analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of some variables on the treatment of the surface water. The independent variables included PVP/PES ratio in the casting solution, with and without SMM, and the nature of the feed CORW [low molecular weight (LMW) fraction, unfractionated, high molecular weight (HMW) fraction]. The performance variables studied were total organic carbon (TOC) removal, the foulant accumulation at the membrane surface after filtration, the flux reduction, and the final permeate flux. The most important variable was the feed water. Filtration of LMW had a higher f.
OHMIC BLANCHING EFFECTS ON DRYING OF VEGETABLE BYPRODUCT

ABSTRACT Ohmic blanching could be used as an alternative fast blanching method in vegetable processing. Artichoke is a vegetable that is a good source of natural antioxidants. In this study, artichoke byproduct was pretreated with ohmic blanching (25 and 40 V/cm at 85C) and water blanching (at 85 and 100C). The ohmic blanching (40 V/cm) at 85C was able to show similar peroxidase inactivation times (310 ± 2 s) with the water blanching at 100C (300 ± 2 s). The retention of vitamin C and the total phenolic content was found to be highest in the byproduct blanched ohmically by 40 V/cm voltage gradient at 85C. Blanched artichoke byproducts were then dried in the fluid-bed drier. The drying process was optimized by using response surface methodology. Optimum drying parameters were obtained as 80C, 0.8 m/s and the pretreatment of ohmic blanching at 40 V/cm voltage gradient. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Residues can form up to 60–65% of the harvested vegetable material in the industries. These residues are very perishable products that are difficult to manage because of environmental problems. Vegetable byproducts have valuable components and should be used in the preparation of functional foods. One of these is artichoke byproducts having high amounts of phenolic substances. The use of artichoke byproduct extracts have been reported in the application of functionalization of soups and bakery products. Main processes in the treatment of artichoke and its byproduct are blanching and drying. There is no study ever done that explains theoptimization of drying of artichoke products in open literature, according to the author's knowledge. Ohmic heating is a fast and homogeneous electrical heating method inactivating enzymes faster than conventional methods in addition to preserving valuable compounds. It could also enhance the drying performance of vegetable products. The results of this study give information about the drying conditions of artichoke byproducts and the use of ohmic blanching in industrial vegetable processing.
Improvements in Decay Resistance Based on Moisture Exclusion

Abstract Moisture content has an effect on the biological decay of wood. The literature states that serious decay occurs when the moisture content of wood is above the fiber saturation point (FSP), which is the measurement of the moisture content of wood when the cell walls are saturated and the cell cavities free from water (average 30%). We can chemically modify wood hydroxyls by various treatments (i.e., acetylation, isocyanates, and epoxides) which result in the lowering of the FSP. If we modify the availability of water in the cell wall, we can reduce or eliminate biological degradation. So is biological protection as simple as removing a water molecule at the glycosidic hydrolysis site required by the degrading enzyme? Investigations are underway to chemically modify wood and fiber samples and evaluate them biologically by the soil block test, as well as by the FSP and the equilibrium moisture content (EMC). EMC is the moisture content of wood at any given relative humidity and temperature. Potential correlation between moisture exclusion and biological protection will be discussed.
Controllable functionalized carbon fabric for high-performance all-carbon-based supercapacitors

Research is currently being carried out to develop high-performance solid-state supercapacitors (SCs) with high energy density. One effective method to improve the energy density of the solid-state SC devices is enlarging their operating voltage. Organic electrolytes and asymmetric structure have been employed in supercapacitors to increase their operating voltage. However, they usually suffer from high cost, high toxicity, poor ionic conductivity and complicated manufacturing processes. Herein, a simple oxidation and annealing method is introduced to fabricate functionalized carbon fabric (FCF) electrodes. The as-prepared FCF electrode exhibits a high areal capacitance of 155.8 mF cm−2 and 143.4 mF cm−2 at negative potential and positive potential, respectively. Furthermore, a high-performance and flexible solid-state supercapacitor with high operating voltage (1.6 V) is successfully developed using functionalized carbon fabric as both positive and negative electrode. The FCF-based device has a high capacitance of 134.8 F cm−2 (or 2.41 F cm−3). The maximum volumetric energy density and volumetric power density are 0.83 mW h cm−3 and 1.58 W cm−3, respectively, which are higher than most previously reported CF-based SCs. The proposed FCF electrodes demonstrate exciting possibilities of developing high-performance solid-state supercapacitors with high operating voltage for efficient energy storage.