Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Lactobacillus kefiri and manganese peroxidase‐producing bacteria for decolorization of melanoidins and reduction of chemical oxygen demand

Thirteen bacterial isolates from a bioreactor treating a mixture of municipal and molasses wastewater were investigated for their potential to degrade and decolorize melanoidins. All isolates were initially screened for manganese peroxidase activity and growth potential in the presence of four synthetic melanoidins solutions at concentrations ranging from 3 to 7 g/L/L. Three isolates of potential manganese peroxidase‐producing bacteria two Klebsiella sp. (B2–B3) and Escherichia coli (B4) and one strain of Lactobacillus kefiri (B1) showed high synthetic melanoidin tolerance. The 16S rDNA sequence showed that they were closely related to E. coli and Klebsiella sp. The most significant degree of decolorization was observed on day 1, reaching 60–67%. Furthermore, the tested strains reduced the chemical oxygen demand by more than 50% or more than 70% of the initial value with or without additional supplementation of the reaction mixture, respectively. All tested isolates showed increased ability for reducing the organic matter content of a raw melanoidin solution exceeding 65%, favouring, therefore, the utilization potential of the isolated strains for the biological processing of molasses wastewaters. Thus, microbial decolorization could be an innovative wastewater treatment for environmental protection purposes.
A Vertical InGaN/GaN Light-Emitting Diode Fabricated on a Flexible Substrate by a Mechanical Transfer Method Using BN

We have successfully released an InGaN/GaN light-emitting diode (LED) from a sapphire growth substrate and transferred it to a piece of commercially available adhesive tape using a mechanical transfer method called “MeTRe” (Mechanical Transfer using a Release layer). By this method, a 3-nm-thick hexagonal BN (h-BN) layer inserted between the sapphire substrate and the GaN-based layer acts as both a buffer layer for the growth of a high-quality GaN-based layer and a release layer in the transfer process. A very thin (<0.1 mm) vertical LED prototype wrapped with two pieces of adhesive tape emitted violet-blue light.
Contracts to Govern the Transition towards Sustainable Production: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Analysis in the Durum Wheat Sector in Italy

The increasing request for food sustainability is affecting the pasta sector in Italy. This phenomenon introduces different sources of uncertainties that, in turn, put pressure on all the stages of the supply chain, with a consequent emerging need for a higher level of coordination. Based on the Transaction Costs Theory approach, the paper is aimed at verifying whether contract design—revolving around the negotiation of contractual attributes with different functions in terms of safeguard, adaptability, and coordination—plays a crucial role in aligning sources of uncertainty surrounding transactions with the allocation of property and decision rights. To this aim, a sample of durum wheat producers is interviewed for expressing their preferences about some contractual features, such as price, production and quality rules, sustainable environmental techniques, and advisory services. Using a discrete choice analysis through a multinomial logit model, results reveal that, thanks to the presence of attributes able to ensure coordination and adaptability, contracts are able to steer towards elements of sustainability related to food quality and safety, whereas further efforts are needed to share environmental goals with farmers.
Fission product release from TRIGA-LEU reactor fuels

The release of fission products, both gaseous and volatile metals, from TRIGA fuel is important for the analysis of possible accident conditions related to reactor operation and the design of future TRIGA fuel systems. Because of present national concerns over nuclear proliferation, it has become clear that future reactor fuels will, of necessity, utilize low-enriched uranium (LEU, enrichment <20%). This will require increasing the total uranium loading per unit volume of the higher-loaded TRIGA fuels for the purpose of maintaining the appropriate fissile loading. Because of these new developments, tests were conducted to determine the fractional release of gaseous and metallic fission products from typical uranium-zirconium hydride TRIGA fuels containing 8.5 to 45 wt % uranium.
Digestion procedures for determining reduced sulfur species in bacterial cultures and in ancient and recent sediments

A detailed study was made to determine the recovery of different sedimentary metal sulfide minerals, polysulfides and elemental sulfur by digestion procedures. This was a part of an investigation into the influence of bacterial sulfate reduction on the formation of authigenic pyrite and other sulfide minerals in the geological record. The recovery of different varieties of metal sulfide and forms of reduced sulfur from both artificial compounds, sediments and mineral specimens, indicates that hot AVS digestions, and cold followed by hot chromous chloride digestions produce the best recoveries combined with the greatest separation of sulfur pools for both ancient and Recent samples. The reaction time required to recover pyrite (up to 4 hours) is much greater than that previously reported (2 hours), especially when applied to Recent sediments and minerals. Recoveries of different sulfide minerals and elemental sulfur indicate that there may be an over-estimation of components used in degree of pyritization and sulfidation ratios. The application of the standardized methods to cultures of sulfate-reducing bacteria demonstrates that pyrite can be formed within three days. This method is also capable of producing accurate divisions of sulfur pools in sediments and sedimentary rocks.
Simulations of electrical parameters in high current busbars

The requirements for high-current circuits, contact systems, switchboards and electrical apparatuses differ from the typical requirements for devices with a low current load, not only because those are more complex, but also because new requirements arise due to the fact that the size of the designed devices and power systems is constantly growing, both their breadth and diversity. Streszczenie. Wymagania stawiane wielkoprądowym torom, układom stykowym, rozdzielnicom i aparatom elektryczny, różnią się od typowych wymagań dla urządzeń o niewielkim obciążeniu prądowym nie tylko tym, że są trudniejsze, ale pojawiają się wymagania nowe wynikające z tego, że ustawicznie rośnie wielkość projektowanych urządzeń i systemów elektroenergetycznych, ich rozległość i różnorodność. Symulacja parametrów elektrycznych torów wielko prądowych Słowa kluczowe: projektowanie, rozkład temperatury, rozdzielnice i aparaty elektryczne, siły elektrodynamiczne.
Clinging to Guns and Religion? A Research Note Testing the Role of Protestantism in Shaping Gun Identity in the United States

Abstract How does social identity shape Protestant attitudes about guns in the United States? Numerous studies show that religion shapes attitudes about guns, but the role of Protestantism in forming those attitudes is undertheorized and undertested. We draw from the extensive literature on religion-as-identity and the burgeoning literature of gun-ownership-as-identity to test the theory about the role of Protestant religion in cultivating a gun identity. We argue that for many Protestants, gun ownership has taken on the characteristics of a distinctive social identity, but that there are clear differences between different types of Protestants—notably, evangelicals and mainliners—that render the expansive category of “Protestant” largely irrelevant as an explanatory variable. While that finding might seem straightforward to scholars of religion and politics, the broad categorical approach—that is, treating “Protestant” as explanatory—has proven surprisingly durable in studies of gun ownership and attitudes about gun control. The analysis uses a recent Pew survey with batteries of questions about gun identity, gun policy, and religion. While this research note does not fully test why this relationship between Protestantism and gun identity exists, we do show that the relationship not only exists but also affects gun policy attitudes.
Change of car driver`s stress index during different periods of the day in urban traffic conditions

Nowadays, the transport industry plays an important role in human well-being and the functioning of any settlement. Transport systems are involved in almost all areas of production and services. Therefore, any failure in its operation can lead to significant material costs. One of the most important such systems is “driver - vehicle - road - environment”. It should be noted, that the main link in it is “driver”. The correctness and duration of decision-making in different road situations depend on the driver`s functional state. This directly affects the level of traffic safety. Consequently, the tasks of modern transport research are the introduction of methods of the vehicle driver`s conditions monitoring and the detection of his fatigue in its early stages. That`s why the actuality of studying the human operator role in the transport process and the creation of modern means of driving assistance are increasing now.
Vehicle Trajectory Prediction by Knowledge-Driven LSTM Network in Urban Environments

An accurate prediction of future trajectories of surrounding vehicles can ensure safe and reasonable interaction between intelligent vehicles and other types of vehicles. Vehicle trajectories are not only constrained by a priori knowledge about road structure, traffic signs, and traffic rules but also affected by posterior knowledge about different driving styles of drivers. The existing prediction models cannot fully combine the prior and posterior knowledge in the driving scene and perform well only in a specific traffic scenario. This paper presents a long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network driven by knowledge. First, a driving knowledge base is constructed to describe the prior knowledge about a driving scenario. Then, the prediction reference baseline (PRB) based on driving knowledge base is determined by using the rule-based online reasoning system. Finally, the future trajectory of the target vehicle is predicted by an LSTM neural network based on the prediction reference baseline, while the predicted trajectory considers both posterior and prior knowledge without increasing the computation complexity. The experimental results show that the proposed trajectory prediction model can adapt to different driving scenarios and predict trajectories with high accuracy due to the unique combination of the prior and posterior knowledge in the driving scene.
Thermodynamic Constraints on the Non-Baryonic Dark Matter Gas Composing Galactic Halos

To explain rotation curves of spiral galaxies through Newtonian orbital models, massive halos of non-baryonic dark matter (NBDM) are commonly invoked. The postulated properties are that NBDM interacts gravitationally with baryonic matter, yet negligibly interacts with photons. Since halos are large, low-density gaseous bodies, their postulated attributes can be tested against classical thermodynamics and the kinetic theory of gas. Macroscopic models are appropriate because these make few assumptions. NBDM–NBDM collisions must be elastic to avoid the generation of light, but this does not permit halo gas temperature to evolve. If no such collisions exist, then the impossible limit of absolute zero would be attainable since the other available energy source, radiation, does not provide energy to NBDM. The alternative possibility, an undefined temperature, is also inconsistent with basic thermodynamic principles. However, a definable temperature could be attained via collisions with baryons in the intergalactic medium since these deliver kinetic energy to NBDM. In this case, light would be produced since some proportion of baryon collisions are inelastic, thereby rendering the halo detectable. Collisions with baryons are unavoidable, even if NBDM particles are essentially point masses. Note that <0.0001 × the size of a proton is needed to avoid scattering with γ-rays, the shortest wavelength used to study halos. If only elastic collisions exist, NBDM gas would collapse to a tiny, dense volume (zero volume for point masses) during a disturbance—e.g., cosmic rays. NBDM gas should occupy central galactic regions, not halos, since self-gravitating objects are density stratified. In summary, properties of NBDM halos as postulated would result in violations of thermodynamic laws and in a universe unlike that observed.
Frequent burning maintained a stable grassland over four decades in the Drakensberg, South Africa

The mesic montane grasslands of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg, which produce cured flammable fuel, have evolved under and are sustained by recurrent fires. The Brotherton burning trial (12 replicated treatments) was established at Cathedral Peak (1 890 m asl) in 1980 to understand how burn season and frequency control the composition and diversity of the montane catchment grassland. Multivariate methods were used to examine the long-term (almost 40 years). compositional stability under different burning regimes. The species composition deviated steadily and markedly from the initial state (Bray–Curtis dissimilarity) by 43.4 ± 9.32% with quinquennial burning (alternating autumn/spring) and by 64.6 ± 2.24% with attempted fire exclusion (three unplanned burns). Composition was rapidly transformed (by 53.1 ± 4.6%) by biennial summer burning (discontinued in 1991). Dominance shifted from Themeda triandra to other grasses (Stiburus alopecuroides, Tristachya leucothrix, Harpochloa falx) with biennial summer and infrequent burning. In contrast, regular dormant season burning annually or biennially (in autumn, winter, or spring) maintained a stable grassland close to the original composition (mean deviation 23.08%). Burning homogenised the composition, overriding the initial extant small-scale spatial variation. Results support the current practice to burn biennially in the dormant season to maintain stable grassland in the Drakensberg catchments.
Reproductive responses of the male Brandt’s vole, Lasiopodomys brandtii (Rodentia: Cricetidae) to tannic acid

Tannins are polyphenols that are present in various plants, and potentially contain antioxidant properties that promote reproduction in animals. This study investigated how tannic acid (TA) affects the reproductive parameters of male Brandt’s voles, Lasiopodomys brandtii (Radde, 1861). Specifically, the anti-oxidative level of serum, autophagy in the testis, and reproductive physiology were assessed in males treated with TA from the pubertal stage. Compared to the control, low dose TA enhanced relative testis and epididymis weight and sperm concentration in the epididymis, and significantly increased the level of serum superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). mRNA levels of autophagy related genes LC3 and Beclin1 decreased significantly with low dose TA compared to the control. However, compared to the control, high dose TA sharply reduced the levels of serum SOD, GSH-Px, CAT, serum testosterone (T), and mRNA level in steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) in the testis. Both sperm abnormality and mortality increased with high dose TA compared to the control and low dose TA. Collectively, this study demonstrated that TA treatment during puberty had a dose-dependent effect on the reproductive responses of male Brandt’s voles. TA might mediate autophagy in the testis, through both indirect and direct processes. TA mainly affected the reproductive function of male Brandt’s voles by regulating anti-oxidative levels. This study advances our understanding of the mechanisms by which tannins influence reproduction in herbivores.
Social justice, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development in South Africa

South Africa is a country that is still in the transitioning process of providing an equal, equitable and just society for its previously disadvantaged people. The country faces several socio-economic developmental challenges, ranging from inadequate housing, high crime rates, violence against women and children, ineffectual health facilities, a slowing economy and high youth unemployment, which invariably affect the business community. If South Africa is to achieve sustainable economic transformation, the business community along with other stakeholders must participate in ensuring social justice and socio-economic development for its previously disadvantaged people. This article contributed to the discourse on the assertion that social justice and socio-economic development are central for sustainable development in any society. The article called for the assistance and participation of other stakeholders, particularly the business community, to help build a just, healthy and robust environment, which translates into a strong community and portends a sustainable environment for businesses. Contribution: This article assessed the effectiveness of legislating social justice and corporate social responsibility. The article adopted the European Union’s Better Regulation evaluation methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the country’s social justice and corporate social responsibility legislation and the influence of the legislations on the socio-economic developmental challenges affecting the country.
Photoeffects on the Reduction of Carbon Tetrachloride by Zero-Valent Iron

While reduction of chlorinated hydrocarbons by zero-valent iron in water is strongly influenced by the oxide layer at the metal−water interface, the role of the oxide in the dechlorination mechanism has not been fully characterized. In this paper, we investigate the semiconducting properties of the oxide layer on granular iron and show how the electronic properties of the oxide affect electron transfer to aqueous CCl4. Specifically, we determine whether conduction-band electrons contribute to the reduction of CCl4 by using light to increase the number of conduction-band electrons at the oxide surface and measuring how this treatment affects the rate and products of CCl4 degradation. We find that photogenerated conduction-band electrons do degrade CCl4 and, more importantly, shift the product distribution to more completely dechlorinated products that are indicative of two-electron transfer with a dichlorocarbene intermediate. Since the photogenerated electrons give different reduction products than the da.
A computationally efficient method for probabilistic local warming projections constrained by history matching and pattern scaling, demonstrated by WASP–LGRTC-1.0

Abstract. Climate projections are made using a hierarchy of models of different complexities and computational efficiencies. While the most complex climate models contain the most detailed representations of many physical processes within the climate system, both parameter space exploration and integrated assessment modelling require the increased computational efficiency of reduced-complexity models. This study presents a computationally efficient method for generating probabilistic projections of local warming across the globe, using a pattern-scaling approach derived from the Climate Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) ensemble, that can be coupled to any efficient model ensemble simulation of global mean surface warming. While the method can project local warming for arbitrary future scenarios, using it for scenarios with peak global mean warming ≤2 ∘C is problematic due to the large uncertainties involved. First, global mean warming is projected using a 103-member ensemble of history-matched simulations with an example reduced complexity Earth system model: the Warming Acidification and Sea-level Projector (WASP). The ensemble projection of global mean warming from this WASP ensemble is then converted into local warming projections using a pattern-scaling analysis from the CMIP5 archive, considering both the mean and uncertainty of the local to global ratio of temperature change (LGRTC) spatial patterns from the CMIP5 ensemble for high-end and mitigated scenarios. The LGRTC spatial pattern is assessed for scenario dependence in the CMIP5 ensemble using RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, and spatial domains are identified where the pattern scaling is useful across a variety of arbitrary scenarios. The computational efficiency of our WASP–LGRTC model approach makes it ideal for future incorporation into an integrated assessment model framework or efficient assessment of multiple scenarios. We utilise an emergent relationship between warming and future cumulative carbon emitted in our simulations to present an approximation tool making local warming projections from total future carbon emitted.
Evaluation of Seven Part-of-Speech Taggers in Tagging Building Codes: Identifying the Best Performing Tagger and Common Sources of Errors

As the number, size and complexity of building construction projects increase, code compliance checking becomes more challenging because of the time-consuming, costly, and error-prone nature of a manual checking process. A fully automated code compliance checking would be desirable in facilitating a more efficient, cost effective, and human error-proof code checking. Such automation requires automated information extraction from building designs and building codes, and automated information transformation to a format that allows automated reasoning. Natural Language Processing (NLP) is an important technology to support such automated processing of building codes, because building codes are represented in natural language texts. Part-of-speech (POS) tagging, as an important basis of NLP tasks, must have a high performance to ensure the quality of the automated processing of building codes in such a compliance checking system. However, no systematic testing of existing POS taggers on domain specific building codes data have been performed. To address this gap, the authors analyzed the performance of seven state-of-the-at POS taggers on tagging building codes and compared their results to a manually-labeled gold standard. The authors aim to: (1) find the best performing tagger in terms of accuracy, and (2) identify common sources of errors. In providing the POS tags, the authors used the Penn Treebank tagset, which is a widely used tagset with a proper balance between conciseness and information richness. An average accuracy of 88.80% was found on the testing data. The Standford coreNLP tagger outperformed the other taggers in the experiment. Common sources of errors were identified to be: (1) word ambiguity, (2) rare words, and (3) unique meaning of common English words in the construction context. The found result of machine taggers on building codes calls for performance improvement, such as error-fixing transformational rules and machine taggers that are trained on building codes
“Don’t buy” or “do not buy”? How negation style in online reviews influences consumer product evaluations

ABSTRACT We investigate how different negation styles – that is, contracted (e.g., “isn’t”) versus full negations (e.g., “is not”) – in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) influence consumers’ evaluations of and willingness to pay for target products. We find that consumers evaluate products more positively when reviews contain contracted negations, as compared to full negations. This occurs because consumers perceive a reviewer who uses contracted negations as warmer and thus more competent than one who uses full negations; these positive perceptions increase consumers’ product evaluations. This research identifies a novel social pathway underlying consumers’ information processing in reviews and highlights the social aspects of eWOM.