Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Isolation, biochemical and molecular characterization of 2-chlorophenol-degrading Bacillus isolates

Pure cultures of 2-chlorophenol degrading bacteria were isolated from a natural enrichment that may be adapted to chlorophenols in the industrial zone at Umm-Saied city (Qatar). The bacteria were identified by 16S rDNA analysis, using PCR with universal primers. Comparative analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence (~ 550 bp) in the GenBank database revealed that these bacteria are related to the genus Bacillus. Molecular heterogeneity among 2-chlorophenol-degrading bacteria was investigated using REP-PCR chromosomal fingerprinting and correlated with antibiotic profile analysis. REP-PCR results strongly confirmed that the bacterial isolates from different Qatari soils produced different fingerprinting patterns. The distribution of phenol hydroxylase catabolic gene among examined isolates revealed that three isolates out of six yielded positive PCR products. Degradation of 2-chlorophenol was studied using theses cultures in liquid medium under aerobic conditions, at initial concentrations of 0.25 – 2.5 mM 2-chlorophenol. Undegraded 2-chlorophenol was quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Degradation rates by isolates could be determined at concentrations up to 1.5 mM. However, higher concentrations of 2-chlorophenol (2.5 mM) were inhibitory to cell growth.
THE EVALUATION APPROACH OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL INTERGRITY BY USING FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

In Korea, the storage capability for Spent Nuclear Fuel(SNF) in the nuclear power plants will be expected to be saturated in the near future. SNF have to transfer from spent pool in the plants to another area by using the safety way. Handling and transportation of SNF are common key processes for the SNF management. During this activity, SNF is required to evaluate structural integrity by using the proven evidences of the tests or other reliable methodologies. The SNF test, however, is accompanied by very high cost and safety issues because of handling irradiation object. Alternatively, the computational methodologies(ex: Finite Element Method, Numerical Method, etc.) are usually employed as a technical solution based on the information of other effects. In this paper, the simulations for analyzing the fuel integrity is conducted by using verified finite element model during the regulated normal and postulated conditions. At first, the model is designed as the many beam elements considering full size. Second, the verification process was performed for having the mechanical properties and dynamic characteristic at the model. At the end, SNF drop was simulated at the several conditions. In the result of this paper, SNF has stress within elastic zone at 0.3 m drop but SNF is expected to be damaged result from free drop simulation of 9.0 m.
OPTIMIZING COGNITIVE EFFICIENCY OF EMOTIV EPOC AND CONTROLLING WHEELCHAIR THROUGH IT. A Thesis

Brain Computer Interface (BCI) has opened a new era in the field of neuroscience. It has the potentiality to improve the quality of life of severely disabled patients. It allows them to regain the power of moving things by their affective, cognitive and expressive brain activities. Emotiv EPOC head set is a safe and comfortable BCI system which contains a number of advanced electrode sensors. It can detect and process the user’s thoughts, feelings and expressions in real time. A prototype of two wheeler robot is implemented and experimented which was controlled by the thought of human being. In average 72.65% accuracy is observed in the experiment for different aged people from 14 to 30 years old where the accuracy for the physically challenged people is 82% in average. Firstly the prototype software has to be trained by a specific user then it controls a wireless robot by the person’s thought for driving the robot in forward, backward, left and right directions. This robot can be stopped by a specific facial expression which does not need any training. The article also investigated the shortcomings and reviews on the reliability of the cognitive output efficiency of Emotiv EPOC EEG device, based on user comments and related researches. It has extended its possibilities to such an extent that now it has become possible to use BCI in the field of robotics and bio-medical systems. In the recent year the world has experienced some miraculous advancement of BCI due to advancement in the algorithm of EEG data extraction. Moreover, now a day the device architecture is also showing revolutionary development. These devices are efficient enough to be used in robotics but are very costly. It will be very inefficient to release a robotic product for the mass people considering the relatively high cost. Hence a EEG extraction device with law price and satisfactory performance is a need in the current context. This paper contains research works on building BCI based wheel-chair. The electrical wheelchair has been designed from the scratch and has been integrated with the BCI based device Emotiv EPOC. The paper describes how a wheelchair can be designed so that it works efficiently with the medium category EEG data extraction devices.
Effect of Transinoculation of Goat Rumen Liquor on Degradation and Metabolism of Mimosine in Sheep Fed with Leucaena leucocephala Leaves

The effect of transinoculation of goat rumen liquor into sheep rumen on mimosine toxicity was studied. One adult Kutchi male goat having higher mimosine degradation capacity than sheep was gradually adapted to Leucaena leucocephala (Leucaena) leaves by feeding increasing level of eucaena leaves supplementation for 1 month. Six Bharat Merino rams (12-18 months of age) were divided into two equal groups with (group I) or without (group II) infusion of 200 ml of goat rumen liquor per animal. The mimosine degradation in groups I and II were 3.04 and 2.31; 3.90 and 3.73 mg per day per 10 ml rumen liquor respectively after 1 and 2 weeks of leucaena feeding leaves. Total rumen bacterial population in RGCA medium and in a selective medium containing iron showed an increasing trend in both groups, while the bacterial population growing in the presence of cellulose showed a decreasing trend. Animal performance data did not show any adverse effect. Results revealed that transinoculation of rumen liquor from leucaena leaves adapted goat to sheep rumen did not help to improve mimosine degradation in the sheep. The sheep transinoculated with goat rumen liquor displayed no in vivo improvements in nutrient utilization vis-a-vis mimosine metabolism.
In!ation forecast uncertainty

We study the in! ation uncertainty reported by individual forecasters in the Survey of Professional Forecasters 1969 –2001. Three popular measures of uncertainty built from survey data are analyzed in the context of models for forecasting and asset pricing, and improved estimation methods are suggested. Popular time series models are evaluated for their ability to reproduce survey measures of uncertainty. The results show that disagreement is a better proxy of in! ation uncertainty than what previous literature has indicated, and that forecasters underestimate in! ation uncertainty. We obtain similar results for output growth uncertainty. c
ELASTIC MICROSTRAINS DURING TENSION AND CREEP OF SUPERALLOYS: RESULTS FROM IN SITU NEUTRON DIFFRACTION

In situ neutron diffraction experiments were conducted to monitor elastic microstrains during tension and creep of a directionally solidified (DS) superalloy PWA1422 and a single crystal (SX) alloy PWA 1484. The rationale was to obtain ins ight on internal stress evolution, and thereby improved understanding of deformation mechanisms. The misfit between the gamma (γ) and gamma-prime (γ') phases were determined as a function of temperature and deformation. The microstrains in the tensio n test were used to obtain the critical resolved shear stress ( CRSS) of the phases. Results show a dramatic increase in the CRSS o f the γ-phase compared to the bulk, and are consistent with dislocatio ns bowing (Orowan type) between narrow γ-channels. A threshold stress is calculated for dislocation activity in the horiz ontal channel, and is suggested as a minimum stress for initiat ing any creep or rafting. Microstrains from the creep test at 900 °C/425 MPa are consistent with the formation of dislocation networ ks, but the data do not suggest that the CRSS is exceeded for c utting of the γ'. Rather, rafting is suggested for the onset of tertiary creep. At 1092°C/120 MPa, the far-field creep strain exhibits an unusual behavior in the pre-steady-state low strain (<0.5%) regime. This is also accompanied with creep acceleration and decrease of elastic strain in γ'. The response is accompanied with the formation of a completely rafted microstructure. An explanation is provided in terms of deposition of actual misfit dislocations preferentially on the vertical interfaces.
Consistency Test of Reliability Index in SEM Model

The main objective of this present study is to demonstrate the application of reliability tests and their consistency on any constructs of patient loyalty model using SEM appproach. There are three reliability tests implemented here, i.e Coefficient of Reliability (CR), Coefficient of Reliability Composite Score McDonald’s ω, and Coefficient of Reliability Construct Weighted �� ��. After implementing those three reliability tests to the data, this empirical study found that all reliability tests result almost the same values. The consistency of all three reliability test are then checked by simulation study. The simulation study prove that all reliability tests are consistence as well, the values of reliability index are almost the same for various size of samples. It is concluded here that any constructs in proposed model of patient loyalty is reliable and the coresponding proposed model could be accepted.
Considering Bipolarity of Attributes With Regards to Objectives in Decisions Evaluation

Many decision problems in engineering, economics, and management consist of selecting and/or ranking alternatives that are characterized by multiple attributes in order to satisfy multiple and possible antagonist objectives. Besides this double multiplicity aspect, decision making mainly in engineering economics (decision problems where potential solutions of a problem must be economically viable along with some technical aspects) generally necessitate to cope with many stakeholders opinion regarding the importance to assign to each attribute and/or each objective as well as uncertainty that can impact any of these components (attributes values, objectives measurement and stakeholders statements). Decision processes in this context go through some steps such as 1) definition of the overall decision goal (find the best sustainable site to build a waste management facility for instance), this goal can further be split into many objectives to satisfy; 2) identification of potential alternatives; 3) elicitation and evaluation of attributes that characterize alternatives; 4) and finally evaluate alternatives to recommend the “good enough” alternative to implement. The aim of the research undertaken in this paper is to address the question raised in the third and fourth points by exploiting the bipolar nature of attributes with regards to objective to elicit and assess attributes and to build a final recommendation procedure. Indeed, we will highlight the bipolar nature of attributes with regards to pursued objectives (given an objective, there will be attributes that act in the sense of realization of this objective, that we refer to as supporting attributes and those working against the achievement of this objective, referred to as rejecting attributes) to derive a framework for elicitation and assessment of attributes values. Finally, relying on the bipolar nature of obtained attributes, satisficing game approach is used as a tool to support the evaluation and final recommendation process. The approach is applied to a real world problem which aim is to select the best sustainable site to build a waste management facility.
Natural Ventilation of Smoke Subject to Wind Pressure Within Fire Safety Engineering Approach

This paper presents an analytical model able to explore the design method of natural smoke evacuation through an exhaust vent subject to wind pressure. The proposed model can be used to determine the flow rate of smoke and the optimal section of the exhaust vent according to the geometric parameters of the room, the heat release rate and the pressure exerted by the wind forces at the exhaust vent. The numerical resolutions of the mathematical equations of the model were performed using the dichotomy method. The proposed analytical approach is built progressively by, (i) the examination of interaction forces between buoyancy forces and wind pressure forces, (ii) a numerical validation of the analytical model using the numerical simulation software Fire Dynamics Simulator, and (iii) proposal of a method of approximation of the optimal section of the exhaust vent for a maximum smoke evacuation rate. The results show very satisfactory and provide adequate prediction of the optimal size of the exhaust vent between the theoretical approximation and various configurations of numerical simulation. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach lead to an accurate and reliable analytical model able to analyze the influence of the size of natural smoke evacuation vents subjected to the pressure of wind forces.
Effect of benzo-thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester (BTH) treatment on the resistant substance in postharvest mango fruits of different varieties

Nang klangwan and Tainong mango fruits were treated with benzo-thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid Smethyl ester (BTH). The effect of BTH treatment on the resistant substance in postharvest fruits was evaluated to explore the enhanced disease-resistance mechanisms of mango fruits by BTH from different varieties. Results indicate that the main resistant substance such as total phenolic, flavonoid, ligin and hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein (HRGP) content were obviously increased by BTH treatment in different varieties. However, the increase in resistant substances of Tainong mango fruit was higher than that in Nang klangwan fruit. At the same time, Tainong fruit without BTH treatment had relatively higher level of these resistant substances than Nang klangwan mango fruit, especially in the contents of phenolic compounds and lignin.
On a new class of data depths for measuring representativeness

Data depth provides a natural means to rank multivariate vectors with respect to an underlying multivariate distribution. The conventional notion of a depth function emphasizes a centre-outward ordering of data points. While useful for certain statistical applications, such emphasis has rendered most classical data depths insensitive to some distributional features, such as multimodality, of concern to other statistical applications. To get around the problem we introduce a new notion of data depth which seeks to rank data points according to their reepresentativeness, rather than centrality, with respect to an underlying distribution of interest. We propose a general device for defining such depth functions, based essentially on a choice of goodness-of-fit test statistic. Our device calls for a new interpretation of depth more akin to the concept of density than location. It copes particularly well with multivariate data exhibiting multimodality. In addition to providing depth values for individual data points, the new class of depth functions derived from goodness-of-fit tests also extends naturally to provide depth values for subsets of data points, a concept new to the data-depth literature. Applications of the new depth functions are demonstrated with both simulated and real data.
Resolving the stellar activity of the Mira AB binary with ALMA

Aims. We present the size, shape, and flux densities at millimeter continuum wavelengths, based on ALMA science verification observations in Band 3 (similar to 94.6 GHz) and Band 6 (similar to 228.7 GHz), from the binary Mira A (o Ceti) and Mira B. Methods. The Mira AB system was observed with ALMA at a spatial resolution down to similar to 25 mas. The extended atmosphere of Mira A and the wind around Mira B sources were resolved, and we derived the sizes of Mira A and of the ionized region around Mira B. The spectral indices within Band 3 (between 89-100 GHz) and between Bands 3 and 6 were also derived. Results. The spectral index of Mira A is found to change from 1.71 +/- 0.05 within Band 3 to 1.54 +/- 0.04 between Bands 3 and 6. The spectral index of Mira B is 1.3 +/- 0.2 in Band 3, in good agreement with measurements at longer wavelengths; however, it rises to 1.72 +/- 0.11 between the bands. For the first time, the extended atmosphere of a star is resolved at these frequencies, and for Mira A the diameter is similar to 3.8 x 3.2 AU in Band 3 (with brightness temperature T-b similar to 5300 K) and similar to 4.0 x 3.6 AU in Band 6 (T-b similar to 2500 K). Additionally, a bright hotspot similar to 0.4 AU, with T-b similar to 10 000 K, is found on the stellar disk of Mira A. The size of the ionized region around the accretion disk of Mira B is found to be similar to 2.4 AU. Conclusions. The emission around Mira B is consistent with emission from a partially ionized wind of gravitationally bound material from Mira A close to the accretion disk of Mira B. The Mira A atmosphere does not fully match predictions with brightness temperatures in Band 3 significantly higher than expected, potentially owing to shock heating. The hotspot is very likely due to magnetic activity and could be related to the previously observed X-ray flare of Mira A.
Interspecific Interactions as a Factor of Limitation of Geographical Distribution: Evidence Obtained by Modeling Home Ranges of Vole Twin Species Microtus Arvalis – M. Levis (Rodentia, Microtidae)

Abstract Based on the maximum entropy modeling algorithm and using 12 environmental variables, we modeled the distribution of the vole twin species Microtus arvalis and M. levis, with particular attention to regions where the species overlap. For both species models performances were considered “excellent” (AUC > 0.9), although some occurrences appeared in areas of low habitat suitability, whereas in some areas of predicted high habitat suitability there were no occurrences. Apparently, both species do not fully occupy areas predicted to be favorable in terms of habitat suitability and persistence. Th e cause for such restriction are not the considered factors (including bioclimatic), but competitive interactions that prevent individuals of one species from expanding within the home range of the other. Contributions of the considered environmental variables for generating the potential distribution prediction were distinguished: for M. arvalis net primary production alone made the largest contribution (42 %), whereas for M. levis there was a cumulative effect of a number of factors.
Phantom-less CT bone mineral density is accurate in assessing bone stock: use in metal-on-metal total hip replacement

Poster: "ECR 2015 / C-0783 / Phantom-less CT bone mineral density is accurate in assessing bone stock: use in metal-on-metal total hip replacement" by: "M. F. Boomsma1, I. Slouwerhof1, J. van Dalen1, M. A. Edens1, D. Mueller2, J. Milles3, A. Vlassenbroek3, M. Maas4; 1Zwolle/NL, 2Hamburg/DE, 3Best/NL, 4Amsterdam/NL"
Feasibility of using dried plant specimens for DNA barcoding. A case study of the Juncaceae

Background. Phylogenetic and barcoding studies usually employ fresh parts of plants as the source of DNA. Successful DNA amplification has been achieved in such investigations for different regions. However, there is need for the utilization of dried samples, due to frequent inaccessibility of fresh precious plants or their parts for genetic analyses or barcoding studies. Difficulties in obtaining amplifiable DNA have appeared as one of the major pitfalls that resulted in slowdown of the use of herbarium specimens for DNA analyses. Methods. Recent study highlights the crucial issues that are being faced by comparison of herbarium and fresh plants for barcoding purposes. We analyzed the performance of samples from herbarium specimens of different age and fresh plants in PCR reaction and sequencing of seven regions (cpDNA: rbcL, rpoC1, trnL-F intergenic spacer, trnL intron, psbA-trnH, mtDNA: atp1 and nrDNA: ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) with a combination of twenty-eight primers. Conclusions. We show that herbarium specimens may be successfully applied both for phylogenetic as well as for barcoding purposes. In comparison with fresh samples, working with dried herbarium specimens is more complicated, but may lead to amplification and sequencing success in almost all cases when appropriate internal primers are designed or optimization methods are used. Both attempts are useful for this aim: using the set of universal primers recommended by CBOL and design specific primers for a particular group of interest. We found limited detrimental effect of specimen age and length of the amplicon on the amplification success in most of the tested regions in the Juncaceae.
Satellite Retrievals of Aerosol Optical Depth over a Subtropical Urban Area: The Role of Stratification and Surface Reflectance

ABSTRACTWe explore the relationship between satellite retrievals of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and surface aerosol mass concentrations over a subtropical urban area, namely, Santiago, Chile (33.5°S, 70.6°W, 500 m.a.s.l.). We compare 11 years of AOD from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) with in situ particulate matter mass concentrations (PM). MODIS AOD reaches its maximum in summer and minimum in winter, the opposite of the annual cycle of surface PM. To improve our understanding of the relevant governing processes, we use a simple model that estimates the boundary layer (BL) AOD based on measured PM, relative humidity and BL height (BLH) as well as best estimates of aerosol composition, size distribution, and optical properties. Model results indicate that a weak annual AOD cycle is due to the opposite annual cycles in BLH and PM, which is largely supported by the Aerosol Robotic NETwork (AERONET) data collected in 2001 and 2002 in Santiago. We identify a possible bias linked to the operational estimate of surface reflectance that may lead to a spurious summer maximum in MODIS AOD over Santiago. This misfit in surface reflectance appears to affect not only Santiago but also a significant area of the semi-arid Southern South America. Sensitivity experiments with the simple model indicate an underestimate of simulated AOD as compared to AERONET data. This underestimate points to the possible role of residual aerosol layers in the AOD measured at the surface (not included in the simple model). Cirrus clouds appear not to play a significant role in explaining the MODIS AOD seasonality. The need for improved characterizations of aerosol properties and their temporal and spatial distribution in cities such as Santiago is emphasized.