Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nitrogen Dynamics and Losses in Direct‐Drilled Maize Systems

Abstract The knowledge of nitrogen (N) losses in direct‐drilling agrosystems is essential to develop strategies to increase fertilizer efficiency and to minimize environmental damage. The objectives were i) to quantify the magnitude of N volatilization and leaching simultaneously as affected by different urea fertilization rates and ii) to evaluate the capacity of these specific plant–soil systems to act as a buffer to prevent nitrate leaching. Two experiments were conducted during 2001/02 and 2002/03 growing seasons in Alberti, Argentina. The crop was direct‐drilled maize and the soil a Typic Argiudoll. Ammonia losses, N uptake by crop at flowering and harvest, grain yield, N in previous crop residues, and soil nitrate content up to 2‐m depths were determined. Nitrogen availability, soil nitrate (NO3)‐N up to 1 m plus fertilizer N, was linearly and highly associated with crop N uptake at flowering (R2=0.93, P<0.01) and at harvest (R2=0.852, P<0.01). Around 17.5% of fertilizer N was lost by volatilization in 10 days. The obtained values of residual nitrate N up to the 150‐cm depth were associated (R2=0.960, P<0.001) with those predicted by the nitrate leaching and economic analysis package (NLEAP) model. Maize in the direct‐drilling system was able to cycle N from the previous crop residues, N from soil organic matter, and N from fertilizers with few losses.
Long-Term Explosive Contamination in Soil: Effects on Soil Microbial Community and Bioremediation

Explosive contamination in soil is a great concern for environmental health. Following 50 years of munitions manufacturing and loading, soils from two different sites contained ≥ 6,435 mg 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), 2,933 mg hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and 2,135 mg octahydrol-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX) kg− 1 soil. Extractable nitrate-N was as high as 315 and ammonium-N reached 150 mg N kg− 1 soil. Water leachates in the highly contaminated soils showed near saturation levels of TNT and RDX, suggesting great risk to water quality. The long-term contamination resulted in undetectable fungal populations and as low as 180 bacterial colony forming units (CFU) g–1 soil. In the most severely contaminated soil, dehydrogenase activity was undetectable and microbial biomass carbon was very low (< 3.4 mg C mic kg–1 soil). The diminished biological activity was a consequence of long-term contamination because short-term (14 d) contamination of TNT at up to 5000 mg TNT kg–1 soil did not cause a decline in the culturable bacterial population. Natural attenuation may not be a feasible remediation strategy in soils with long-term contamination by high concentrations of explosives.
XPS and SEM characterization of wheel/workpiece interface in grinding of superalloy

An investigation is reported of the physical and chemical reactions at the wheel/workpiece interface during grinding of a nickel‐based superalloy K417. The temperature at the wheel/workpiece interface was measured using a workpiece–foil thermocouple and the forces were detected using a dynamometer. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine deformations on ground workpiece surfaces and wear characteristic of abrasive grits. The chemical composition, of the ground surfaces, the depth chemical composition and the thickness of oxide layers were determined by XPS and its depth profile technique. A different burning colour was found on the ground workpiece surfaces when temperatures at the wheel/workpiece interface are >990 °C. Along with the emergence of a burning colour, adhesion occurs between the abrasive grits and the workpiece, causing plastically deformed coatings to appear and gradually spread on the ground workpiece surfaces. A physical model was proposed to account for the wear process of abrasive grits and the formation of plastically deformed coatings on the workpiece ground surfaces. Analysis by XPS reveals that chemical reactions take place on the workpiece surfaces due to the high temperatures generated in grinding, and transfer films composed of such oxides as Ni2O3, TiO2, Cr2O3 and A12O3 are formed on the workpiece surfaces. The colour generated on the ground workpiece surfaces depends on the thickness of the transfer films, which was found to be closely related to the interface temperature. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Magnetically Excited Plasma Oxidation of Si

High-quality Si dioxide was successfully grown at room temperature using a magnetically excited plasma oxidation technique. Helicon waves were probably excited under the growth conditions used. Excellent capacitance-voltage characteristics were obtained after annealing of these oxide films in oxygen ambient for 15 min at 300°–500°C. The growth rate was somewhat low. However, the film thickness increased substantially with annealing. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic studies indicated that high-quality Si oxides without suboxides were grown even at room temperature.
A comparison, under controlled environmental conditions, of a Lolium multiflorum selection bred for high dry-matter content and non-structural carbohydrate concentration with a commercial cultivar

The nutritional value of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) selection 121, bred for a high dry-matter content and a high concentration of total non-structural carbohydrate (TNC), was compared with that of Westerwolds ryegrass (L. multiflorum ssp. Westerwoldicum) cv. Midmar in a controlled environment. The concentration of neutral-detergent fibre (NDF), acid-detergent fibre (ADF), acid-detergent lignin (ADL), nitrogenous compounds, minerals and in vitro digestibility were investigated as characteristics of nutritive value. The anatomical features of selection 121 and the Midmar cultivar were studied to determine possible structural differences. Thirty pots each of selection 121 and Midmar containing four plants per pot were arranged in a randomized block design in a controlled environment chamber. There were two temperature regimes during the study, the first being a warm regime (30 °C/20 °C) for 7 weeks followed by a cold regime(20 °C/7 °C) of a further 7 weeks. In the warm regime, the dry-matter (DM) content and the TNC concentration of selection 121 were 0·17 and 0·16 higher, respectively, than Midmar. The NDF concentration was significantly (P < 0·01) higher in Midmar than in selection 121. When grown under warm conditions, Midmar had significantly (P < 0·001) higher concentrations of Mg, K, Na and Mn than selection 121. In the cold regime, the DM content and TNC concentration of selection 121 were 0·25 and 0·22 higher, respectively, than Midmar. No significant differences in the anti-quality factors investigated were found between the two ryegrasses. In the cold regime, Midmar had significantly (P < 0·001 and P < 0·01) higher Ca, Mg, K, Na, Zn, Mn and P concentrations than selection 121. The results from this controlled environment study suggest that selection 121 is superior to Midmar in terms of the quality characteristics DM and TNC, and that these characteristics are not positively linked to anti-quality factors associated with forage species.
Kinetics and catalysis of consecutive isocyanate reactions. Formation of carbamates, allophanates and isocyanurates

Organic isocyanates (I) react with alcohols and phenols (HX) in a sequence of reactions to give Carbamates, allophanates and Isocyanurates. Rate and equilibrium constants of the individual steps have been determined. The partitioning of the reaction products predominantly depends on the I : HX ratio and the nature of the catalyst applied. At equimolar I : HX ratios, the carbamate is the dominating product in the absence and in the presence of catalysts like tin carboxylates and common tertiary amines including 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2. 2]octane (DABCO). In these cases, the rate constant of carbamate formation (k1) is larger than those of allophanate and isocyanurate formation (k2 and k3). With catalysts such as aminals, aminoalcohols, amidines and carboxylate, phenolate and alkoxide anions, however, the isocyanurate is mainly formed. With these catalysts the ratio of rate constants is k1 < k2≈k3. For base catalysts, the k1 : k2 : k3 ratios depend on the mechanism of catalysis. Tertiary amines react in the alcohol-isocyanate reaction by a concerted termolecular mechanism, whereas the anionic catalysts react by a stepwise mechanism via alcoholate anions. In the reactions of the Isocyanate with phenols, Carbamates and allophanates, all base catalysts react by the stepwise anionic mechanism, but the anionic ones are more efficient because their conjugate acids form hydrogen-bonded homoassociate complexes in higher extend.At high I : HX ratios, the isocyanurate is the only final product formed via the carbamate and allophanate as detectable intermediates. The kinetics of cyclotrimerisation is mainly governed by the k1 : k2 : k3 ratios and the magnitude of the equilibrium constants K1, K2 and K3. The kinetic order with respect to Isocyanate may vary from 1 to 3.
Effects of Natural Fallow and Pig Slurry Drip Irrigation on Phosphorus Accumulation and Fractionation in a Coastal Saline Soil

Organic inputs are believed to be able to increase soil phosphorus (P) availability. Natural fallow and pig slurry amendments are the two important organic inputs for agricultural soils. The purposes of the study are to investigate P accumulation and to compare the differences of P fractionation patterns as affected by natural fallow and pig slurry drip irrigation in a coastal saline soil. The study showed that P accumulation occurred mainly in upper soil profiles and that natural fallow or pig slurry drip irrigation alone would not significantly influence total P distribution in soil profiles. However, soil P fractionation demonstrated that, from bottom to top, bioavailable P content and percentage increased whereas residual P percentage declined. The percentage of extractable inorganic P was almost twice as much as that of extractable organic P. In comparison with natural fallow conditions, under pig slurry drip-irrigation conditions, the transformation efficiency of superphosphate fertilizer HCl Pi into residual P was lower whereas the transformation efficiency of superphosphate fertilizer HCl Pi into bioavailable P was higher. The higher bioavailable P percentage and lower average Corg/P ratio in a long-term pig slurry drip-irrigation plot than those in other plots indicated that long-term pig slurry drip-irrigation was more efficient in improving soil P availability than natural fallow and short-term pig slurry drip irrigation.
Early dewetting stages of thin polymer films initiated by nanoindentation

We study the effect of nanoindentation induced defects on thin (h = 50 nm) and thick (h = 100 nm) polystyrene (PS) films, spin cast on nonwettable silicon (Si) substrates. Indents with depths of penetration higher than the film thicknesses were imposed. Upon heating above the bulk glass transition temperature (Tg) of PS, some of the indents healed, resulting in a flat polymer surface, and some grew laterally and dewetted the substrate. Our goal is to establish a criterion that can predict the final result (healing or growing) of the indent evolution. We find that the applied force during the nanoindentation and the substrate area exposed to the air after the imposition of an indent can only be used as crude rules, since they do not provide a “cutoff” border, that distinguishes the growing from the healing indents. On the contrary the excess surface energy (ΔFγ) of the system, that is added to the initially flat coating with the formation of an indent, provides a clear critical value, ΔFγ,crit, which separ.
Reduction of Computation Time of Dynamic Time Warping Based Methods used for Cropland Mapping

The efficiency of cropland mapping is an essential criterion for the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices and crop monitoring. With the increasing spatial and temporal resolution of satellite images, efficient cropland mapping calls for the satellite image time series (SITS) classification methods that are both accurate and fast. Dynamic time warping (DTW) and its variations showed significant advantages in coping with the irregular time series data. This MSc thesis evaluates the performances of DTW, time-weighted DTW (TWDTW), weighted derivative DTW (WDDTW) and non-isometric transform DTW (NTDTW) in terms of accuracy and computation time for time series classification. The TWDTW achieved the highest overall accuracy which was 88.3%, and was the most time-consuming method. Warping path window was used to accelerate the computation of DTW-based methods. The TWDTW was selected to define the warping path window for reducing the computation time. Without the overall accuracy changing, the computation time of TWDTW reduced by 56.5%. Another method for reducing computation time called pattern decomposition was applied on both the TWDTW and TWDTW with warping path window. With a slightly changed overall accuracies, the computation time reduced 67.7% and 75.4% respectively.
Self-Organization into 2D and 3D Superlattices of Nanosized Particles Differing by Their Size

Self-assembly of silver sulfide, Ag2S, nanoparticles is reported for different particles sizes. Monolayers of particles organized in a hexagonal network are formed over very large domains. Small or large aggregates can also be produced. The observations indicate that the formation of self-assemblies of nanoparticles strongly depends on the preparation conditions of the samples. It is also shown that in the aggregates the particles are highly organized and form pseudocrystals with a face-centered cubic structure for various particles sizes.
Application of Suspension Array for Simultaneous Detection of Antibiotic Residues in Raw Milk

Suspension array technology enjoys great potential in simultaneous detection of drug residues in the field of food safety. A monoclonal antibody against gentamycin was produced and a bead-based indirect competitive fluorescent immunoassay was developed using the suspension array system for the simultaneous detection of antibiotic residues such as gentamycin and kanamycin in raw milk. The limit of detection (LOD) for kanamycin and gentamycin were 0.5 ng/mL and 4.1 ng/mL in a phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), 2.2 ng/mL and 12.2 ng/mL in milk. The monoclonal antibodies used for the multiplexed assays showed no significant cross-reactivity with other aminoglycoside antibiotics. To validate the method, milk samples spiked with gentamycin or kanamycin were detected using suspension array technology and conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in parallel. The good correlation between the obtained results showed that the method is feasible in actual application, and it also laid a firm foundation for establishing a multi-target assay for more actual application.
Theoretical study of HCl+ : Potential curves, radiative lifetimes, and photodissociation cross sections

Configuration interaction wave functions and potential energy curves have been calculated for the four lowest states of 2Π and 2Σ+ symmetry and the lowest state of 4Σ−, 2Σ−, 2Δ, and 4Π symmetry for the molecular ion HCl+. Dipole moment functions of the X 2Π and A 2Σ+ states are presented as well as dipole moments for transitions from the X state to dipole‐allowed excited states. The electronic wave functions were constructed to give a balanced description of Rydberg–valence interactions. The computed radiative lifetime of the X 2Π(v=1) is found to be in good agreement with previous theoretical and experimental values. Oscillator strengths, transition probabilities, and radiative lifetimes are calculated for the A 2Σ+–X 2Π transition for vibrational levels v’≤6 and compared to previous theoretical and experimental results. Vibrational levels v’≥7 of the A 2Σ+ state are predissociated by the 4Π, 4Σ−, and 2Σ− states. Theoretical photodissociation cross sections are calculated showing that photodissociation occurs primarily through absorption into the (3) 2Π and (3) 2Σ+ states in the wavelength region λ 100 nm.
Qualitative Analysis of Oil Sand Slurries Using On-Line NIR Spectroscopy

The development of a reliable on-line method to monitor process streams is important for improved process control in oil sand extraction plants. The suitability of diffuse reflectance near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for this purpose has been tested in a pilot plant environment. Spectra of a feed slurry flowing through a pipe were measured with the use of an on-line fiber-optic probe. Data were collected throughout a nine-hour period during which ore type and slurry water content were varied. The feasibility of monitoring feed stream conditions is demonstrated by principal component analysis of the measured spectra. Clustering of these spectra according to ore type and water content enables the detection of deviations from and transitions between steady-state conditions of the process. Estimates are given of characteristic times for the process to reach a steady state after a change in condition has been initiated. The use of artificial neural networks for classifying spectra on the basis of ore type is also illustrated.
Sonochemical nanoplungers : crystalline gold nanowires by cavitational extrusion through nanoporous alumina

Rapid, simple, catalyst-free, room-temperature sonochemical fabrication of long (up to 30 mm), ultra-thin (about 20 nm), crystalline gold nanowires on nanoporous anodic alumina membranes is reported. It is demonstrated that the nanowires nucleate and grow inside the nanosized pores and then form a dense network on the bottom side of the membrane. A growth mechanism is proposed based on the formation of through channels in the Al2O3 membrane by sonochemical etching, followed by nanowire nucleation in the channels and their further extrusion out of the pores by acoustic cavitation. This process can be used for the fabrication of metal nanowires with highly controllable diameter and density, suitable for numerous applications such as nanoelectronic, nanofluidic, and optoelectronic components and devices.
The Arbutus Berry: Studies on its Color and Chemical Characteristics at Two Mature Stages

This study aims at the determination of some physical and chemical characteristics of strawberry-tree fruit (Arbutus unedo L.), a typical Mediterranean climate species, namely of the Portuguese region of Algarve. It intends to be a contribution to its valorization and other applications following research by other scientists and local development associations as far as a better quality of alcoholic distillate of arbutus berry is concerned. Arbutus berry appears to be a good source of vitamins, namely niacin, ascorbic acid and β -carotene (content of 9.1, 346.3 and 70.9 mg/100 g, respectively), organic acids (nearly 9%), total sugars (c. 42%) and tannins (1.75 mg g−1).
Numerical Simulation of Elastic Stress Wave Re- fraction at Air-Solid Interfaces

Elastic wave refraction at the air-solid interface and wave propagations in the vicinity of the air-solid interface are numerically studied. The modified ghost fluid method (MGFM) and isobaric fix methods are combined to solve the fluid and solid statuses at the air-solid interface and construct a continuous boundary condition for the air-solid interface. The states in the ghost domain are evaluated by the MGFM-algorithm. The solid governing equations are solved with second order spatial discretization. Numerical tests verify the correctness of the presented continuous boundary condition and show that the combined method is convergent in the vicinity of the air-solid interface. The 3D numerical results by the combined method are close to those of the ArbitraryLagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method. The combined method is robust when applied for multi-dimensional problems. A compression stress wave impacting on the air-solid interface result in a compression wave in air. A tension stress wave impacting on the air-solid interface result in an expansion wave in air.
Role of N2 molecules in pulse discharge production of I atoms for a pulsed chemical oxygen–iodine laser

A pulsed electric discharge is the most effective means to turn chemical oxygen–iodine laser (COIL) operation into the pulse mode by fast production of iodine atoms. Experimental studies and numerical simulations are performed on a pulsed COIL initiated by an electric discharge in a mixture CF3I : N2 : O2(3X) : O2(a 1Δg) flowing out of a chemical singlet oxygen generator. A transverse pulsed discharge is realized at various iodide pressures. The model comprises a system of kinetic equations for neutral and charged species, the electric circuit equation, the gas thermal balance equation and the photon balance equation. Reaction rate coefficients for processes involving electrons are repeatedly re-calculated by the electron Boltzmann equation solver when the plasma parameters are changed. The processes accounted for in the Boltzmann equation include direct and stepwise excitation and ionization of atoms and molecules, dissociation of molecules, electron attachment processes, electron–ion recombination, electron–electron collisions and second-kind collisions. The last processes are particularly important because of a high singlet oxygen concentration in gas flow from the singlet oxygen chemical generator. A conclusion is drawn about satisfactory agreement between the theory and the experiment.
New Neutral Schiff Base and Its Metal Complexes Derived from Mannich Base, N-(1-Morpholinobenzyl)acetamideRaman, N.

New neutral Schiff base complexes of Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) derived from 4-aminoantipyrine and N-(l-morpholinobenzyl)acetamide (Mannich base) have been synthesized. The structural features of the complexes havebeen confirmed by microanalytical data, IR, UV-Vis. , NMR, EPR, and CV techniques. Electronic absorption spectra of the complexes indicate an octahedral geometry around the metal ion. Their magnetic susceptibility measurements and low conductance data provide evidence for the monomeric and neutral natures of the complexes respectively. The electrochemical behaviour, the anodic and cathodic potential and the number of electrons transferred were calculated using cyclic voltammogram. The X-band EPR spectrum of copper complex in DMSO at 300 K and 77 K was recorded and its salient features are reported. The antimicrobial activity of the ligand and its complexes has been extensively studied on microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the fungi Aspergillus niger and Rhizoctonia bataicola by well-diffusion technique using DMF as solvent. It has been found that all the complexes have higher activity than the free ligand and the standard.