Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Plant materials as green corrosion inhibitors for select iron alloys: A review

The importance of corrosion studies brings to the forefront economic losses, damage, and safety issues of metals deterioration in the construction industry. Although the choice of a material and use of inhibitors can contribute to its resistance to environmental corrosion behavior, the structural deterioration of metals can be exacerbated under operation conditions. In this review, highlights of research findings published in the past five years on the use of plant materials as corrosion inhibitors for variants of steel: carbon steel, mild steel, stainless steel are provided. It elucidates the meaning of green inhibitors and their types. It also presents the methods employed to ascertain the inhibition efficiencies of the plants/plant parts listed and the parameters considered in the corrosion inhibition analyses. The major gaps or limitations identified in the reported research findings include experimentation at constant temperatures and short immersion periods for the alloys. Due to the fact that, if these extracts were to be deployed for industrial use, they'd be subjected to more hazardous conditions, such as higher temperatures, pressures, etc., this paper proposes that their investigations as potential inhibitors on the laboratory/pilot scale be performed at higher temperatures and longer immersion times which may as such provide more comprehensive knowledge on the environmental/climatic requirements for their application. Additional improvement strategies are also suggested. The list of extracts, however, is not exhaustive.
Impact of a plant feed additive containing vitamin C on Holstein cow’s performance under heat stress conditions

A phytobiotic with secondary metabolites and with vitamin C, elaborated with Emblica officinalis and Ocimum sanctum (Polyherbal vitamin C), was evaluated for milk production, reproductive performance, cytokines, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in first calving Holstein cows under heat stress conditions. Two hundred primiparous cows with 20 ± 6 days in milk (initial body weight 521 ± 70.0 kg) were fed a basal diet (19.40% CP; 1.43 Mcal/kg Nel dry matter (DM)) and randomly assigned to one of the treatments: 0 or 20 g/d of the Polyherbal vitamin C was integrated daily into the diet with the fresh total mixed ration directly in the feeder. The experiment lasted 131 days and measurements of production were made daily and milk composition every 30 days. Pregnancy was recorded at the first service and accumulated in the experimental period. Results showed that the production and composition of milk were not affected by the supplementation with Polyherbal vitamin C, however, the accumulated gestation rate improved from 45.74 to 59.34% (P = 0.06), particularly that of the first service (20.21 to 34.06%; P = 0.03). Mastitis problems were reduced from 21.28 to 12.09% (P = 0.09). Polyherbal vitamin C did not modify the production of IL-1β, while the serum levels of IL-6 decreased significantly (P <0.001) compared to the unsupplemtented cows. All these results indicate that the Polyherbal vitamin C can improve the gestation rate of Holstein dairy cattle and have beneficial health effects by reducing mastitis problems. Also, Polyherbal vitamin C can exert an anti-inflammatory effect by lowering IL-6 levels and reducing ROS production.
Plasma Spectroscopy on Hydrogen-Carbon-Oxygen Foam Targets Driven by Laser-Generated Hohlraum Radiation

The laboratory generation and diagnosis of uniform near-critical-density (NCD) plasmas play critical roles in various studies and applications, such as fusion science, high energy density physics, astrophysics as well as relativistic electron beam generation. Here we successfully generated the quasistatic NCD plasma sample by heating a low-density tri-cellulose acetate (TCA) foam with the high-power-laser-driven hohlraum radiation. The temperature of the hohlraum is determined to be 20 eV by analyzing the spectra obtained with the transmission grating spectrometer. The single-order diffraction grating was employed to eliminate the high-order disturbance. The temperature of the heated foam is determined to be T = 16.8 ± 1.1 eV by analyzing the high-resolution spectra obtained with a flat-field grating spectrometer. The electron density of the heated foam is about N e = 4.0 ± 0.3 × 10 20 cm − 3 under the reasonable assumption of constant mass density.
Are You Turned On? A Hierarchical Modeling Approach for Estimating Lighting Hours of Use

When fitting statistical models to data that span multiple geographic areas for an evaluation, the researcher often prefers to provide both an overall regional savings or consumption estimate and a separate estimate for each individual area represented in the data. This works well when each area is represented by a large sample. However, project budgets and time often dictate smaller sample sizes which may be insufficient in some areas. In this scenario, the evaluator is faced with a handful of options about what data to use to report an estimate in the under-represented areas. This paper presents a more attractive alternative using hierarchical regression models to obtain both overall and area-specific estimates for the data structure described above. Under the distributional assumptions of this approach, the model is able to use the information from each area to form the basis for the estimate in that area, while also borrowing information from each of the other areas in the study to help inform the estimate. In this way, the authors obtain more robust estimates than would have been the case had they fit separate models to each area, yet also allowed each area to maintain its own unique characteristics in the model. The study, one of the largest metering studies of its kind, relied on a sample of over 4,600 loggers from 845 homes across four states. Other regional evaluations may wish to consider the approach, increasing opportunities to leverage resources while preserving information on individual areas. Background
Eco-Sustainable Silk Fibroin/Pomegranate Peel Extract Film as an Innovative Green Material for Skin Repair

Skin disorders are widespread around the world, affecting people of all ages, and oxidative stress represents one of the main causes of alteration in the normal physiological parameters of skin cells. In this work, we combined a natural protein, fibroin, with antioxidant compounds extracted in water from pomegranate waste. We demonstrate the effective and facile fabrication of bioactive and eco-sustainable films of potential interest for skin repair. The blended films are visually transparent (around 90%); flexible; stable in physiological conditions and in the presence of trypsin for 12 days; able to release the bioactive compounds in a controlled manner; based on Fickian diffusion; and biocompatible towards the main skin cells, keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Furthermore, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production tests demonstrated the high capacity of our films to reduce the oxidative stress induced in cells, which is responsible for various skin diseases.
Community Nurses' Perspective on Barriers to Effective Utilization of Advance Care Planning for Terminal Care of The Elderly in The Home Environment in Japan: A Systematic Review and Synthesis of Qualitative Studies

ABSTRACT Advance care planning (ACP) allows individuals to plan the health care which dignifies their personal values at the terminal phase of their illnesses. The Japanese government previously endorsed the concept of ACP in the guideline on end-of-life care and community nurses in Japan could play an increased role to improve its utilization by patients. The current study aimed to identify challenges surrounding ACP practice in the home environment in Japan from the community nurses’ perspectives. Semi-structured interview was performed on eleven community nurses working in metropolitan areas in Japan. Qualitative data was collected and analyzed using Braun & Clarke’s six-step framework of thematic analysis (2006). Five themes were identified as barriers to effective ACP utilization: complexity surrounding family power, informed consent and discussion, cultural influence, longer life versus better life, and absence of frameworks and guidelines. The first three themes were further subdivided into subthemes: imbalance in family power and family guilt, inadequate information for decision-making and ‘no one talk about it’, and traditional ways of thinking and taboo surrounding talking about death, respectively. The identified issues surrounding the current ACP practice in Japan were interconnected and reflective of the social, cultural, legal, and ethical aspects of life and care in Japan. This study highlighted the importance of respecting patients’ preferences in care, which should be additionally protected by establishing clear policy and legal frameworks on ACP.
B Cell Response Six Months after SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination in People Living with HIV Under Antiretroviral Therapy

BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines have demonstrated high immunogenicity in healthy subjects and preliminary results for people living with HIV (PLWHIV) are promising too. We have previously reported the persistence of spike-specific circulating IgG and memory B cells in healthy adults up to six months after mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Unfortunately, limited longitudinal data are available for PLWHIV and no evidence of persistent spike-specific B cells have been reported yet. MethodsWe investigated the humoral response and the persistence of spike-specific memory B cells up to six months after vaccination with two doses of mRNA vaccines in 84 PLWHIV under ART and compared them to healthy controls (HCs). Humoral response was analyzed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and with an angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and receptor binding domain (RBD) inhibition assay. PBMCs were analyzed with a cytofluorimetric approach for B cell phenotyping. FindingsSpike-specific IgG peaked 1 month after second dose and persisted up to six months after vaccination with no significant differences compared to HCs. The stratification of patients according to CD4+ T cell count showed a significantly lower IgG response in case of CD4<350/{micro}l, remarking the relevance of immune reconstitution. The ability of IgG of blocking the binding between ACE2 and RBD was detected in 58{middle dot}4% of PLWHIV, compared to 86{middle dot}2% in HCs. The amount of circulating spike-specific memory B cells detected in PLWHIV six months after vaccination was not significantly different from HCs, while there was prevalence of antigen-specific double negative (IgD-/CD27-) cells, compared to controls. InterpretationIn conclusion, the majority of PLWHIV developed spike-specific humoral and B cell responses that persist for at least six months after SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination. However, hints of HIV-dependent immune impairment were revealed by altered spike-specific B cell phenotypes and by reduced spike-specific humoral response in patients with low CD4+ T cell count (<350/{micro}l).
Performance investigation of simplified PWM MPPT approach for direct PV-fed switched reluctance motor in water pumping system

Variable speed drives (VSDs)-based direct photovoltaic (PV) fed water pumping systems (WPS) are of increasing importance for the socio-economic growth in remote areas. Due to the absence of windings and magnets on the rotor, switched reluctance motor (SRM) is emerging as a viable economic alternative in VSD systems. Thus, this study proposes and presents a simplified pulse width modulation-based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control for direct PV-fed SRM-WPS using modified lookup table (MLUT) approach. The proposed control technique offers lesser phase peak, near same phase rms, reduced torque ripple and noise, better efficiency and reduced DC-link current ripple in contrast to single pulse mode technique. In addition, the proposed system does not require an intermediate converter and current sensors. Thus, results in reduced noise, reduced size and hence the cost of WPS. Further, it also provides a reduced memory size due to MLUT and an effective MPPT with the good dynamic response for a change in atmospheric conditions. The proposed system is modelled and simulated in MATLAB/Simulink environment and the prototype is built to validate experimentally using field programmable gate array controller. The performance analysis of the proposed system has been carried out and presented.
Modelling diurnal pattern of relative humidity from daily air temperature and relative humidity data of Hyderabad

This study presents a simple methodology to estimate diurnal patterns in dew point temperature/relative humidity on weekly basis from mean minimum temperature or the morning relative humidity under semi-arid climatic conditions of Hyderabad. The sinusoidal and exponential models for day time and night time temperature pattern have been utilized in working out the diurnal patterns of the relative humidity on weekly basis at Hyderabad. Diurnal variation in dew point has been found to have, by and large, a set pattern depending upon the morning dew point temperature. Diurnal relative humidity patterns have been worked out both from the estimated dew point/relative humidity and the actual recorded relative humidity. This model is expected to be quite useful for long term retrospective agro-climatological studies wherein daily relative humidity and/or diurnal patterns thereof are required as input.
the Blue Gene/L double FPU

This paper presents vectorization techniques tailored to meet the specifics of the two-way single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) double-precision floating-point unit (FPU), which is a core element of the node application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips of the IBM 360-teraflops Blue Genet/L supercomputer. This paper focuses on the general-purpose basic-block vectorization and optimization methods as they are incorporated in the Vienna MAP vectorizer and optimizer. The innovative technologies presented here, which have consistently delivered superior performance and portability across a wide range of platforms, were carried over to prototypes of Blue Gene/L and joined with the automatic performance-tuning system known as Fastest Fourier Transform in the West (FFTW). FFTW performance-optimization facilities working with the compiler technologies presented in this paper are able to produce vectorized fast Fourier transform (FFT) codes that are tuned automatically to single Blue Gene/L processors and are up to 80% faster than the best-performing scalar FFT codes generated by FFTW.
AUTOMATIC MULTI-DISEASES PREDICTION USING MACHINE LEARNING

Disease prediction has become one of the most difficult challenges in medicine in recent years. To eliminate the hazards connected with prediction, it is necessary to automate the process and notify the patient well in advance. The medical database is mostly made up of discrete data. As a result, making decisions using discrete data is a difficult task. Machine learning simplifies the process. The major purpose of this research is to give doctors a tool to diagnose diseases in their early stages. This model includes a user interface that allows users to anticipate ailments such as heart disease, Parkinson's disease, cancer, and diabetes. We utilized SVM and Logistic Regression for classification.
Linking BIM to Power BI and HoloLens 2 to Support Facility Management: A Case Study Approach

Facility lifecycle data captured in BIM during design and construction are very valuable for effective facility operations and maintenance. Traditionally, model authoring and analysis tools have been used to search and query model information. These tools are not well designed to search and display needed data and they require a steep learning curve. In this paper, the authors propose the use of Power BI dashboards to facilitate easy access and display of lifecycle data embedded in the model. The implementation and use of dashboards for facility management are discussed using a case study. The effectiveness and usability of the dashboards are validated using a focus group of six industry experts that were first interviewed then asked to complete a questionnaire. Feedback from interviews indicated that customized dashboards are effective tools to view, analyze and draw insights on data from various sources and can improve facility operations and management. Numerical results from the PSSUQ using fourteen questions indicated positive responses overall with an average score of four or five from the majority of respondents. Finally, the authors tested integration of the Power BI dashboards with the HoloLens 2 to deliver relevant up-to-date facility lifecycle data in near real-time to field staff.
Evaluation of STIR Library Adapted for PET Scanners with Non-Cylindrical Geometry

Software for Tomographic Image Reconstruction (STIR) is an open source C++ library used to reconstruct single photon emission tomography and positron emission tomography (PET) data. STIR has an experimental scanner geometry modelling feature to accurately model detector placement. In this study, we test and improve this new feature using several types of data: Monte Carlo simulations and measured phantom data acquired from a dedicated brain PET prototype scanner. The results show that the new geometry class applied to non-cylindrical PET scanners improved spatial resolution, uniformity, and image contrast. These are directly observed in the reconstructions of small features in the test quality phantom. Overall, we conclude that the revised “BlocksOnCylindrical” class will be a valuable addition to the next STIR software release with adjustments of existing features (Single Scatter Simulation, forward projection, attenuation corrections) to “BlocksOnCylindrical”.
Decomposition and Nutrient Release from Grass Residue in Tropical Conditions

ABSTRACT The use of grasses as ground cover in tropical climate guarantees soil protection against erosion processes, however, its capacity for nutrients mineralization is poorly understood. In this sense, the aim of the study was to evaluate the decomposition of vegetable residues from grasses and the mineralization of macronutrients in tropical conditions. The study was conducted in a randomized block design with four replications, in a 4 × 9 factorial scheme with four cultural residues: sorghum, millet, black oats, and fallow; and nine evaluation times: 0, 14, 28, 42, 56, 70, 84, 98, and 112 days after setting up the study (DAA), in the field. Vegetable residues were disposed on the soil surface for remaining dry matter (RDM), half-life (t1/2) and mineralization rates. Lower decomposition rates were observed in sorghum and millet residues, with RDMs of 40% and 31% when compared to oats and fallow (17% RDM). Thus, the waste mineralization rates decreased in the following order: fallow = oats > millet > sorghum. The mineralization of macronutrients was considered high and decreased in the following order: K > P > N > C > Mg > S > Ca, corresponding to 96, 88, 88, 80, 76, and 74%. The fallow, millet, oat, and sorghum residues released 84, 17, 225, and 17 kg t−1 of N, P, K, and S, with different mineralization rates. The largest fraction of these nutrients was mineralized in the first 30 DAA, what indicates its potential use in agriculture.
The work spouse: a hidden influence agent in personal and household leisure decision-making

ABSTRACT This research investigates how the work spouse, a common yet overlooked close personal relationship, may influence individual and household leisure decisions. We propose and empirically investigate the influence of the work spouse relationships on consumers’ pursuit of a range of leisure activities, including travel, hospitality, and media. To do so, we build on the established literature to theoretically identify areas of personal and household leisure activities where one’s work spouse may serve as a significant agent of knowledge or influence. Our results suggest that work spouses appear to play a significant and previously unknown role in how consumers spend their leisure time. Further, our data indicate that this influence is likely to grow as the work spouse relationship strengthens and the partners grow increasingly comfortable introducing non-work-related topics into their relationship. Finally, we offer conclusions and calls for further research.
TRANSFER PROCESSES IN RHEOLOGICAL MEDIA ACOUSTICS OF A VISCOELASTIC FLUID WITH GAS BUBBLES COATED WITH A VISCOELASTIC SHELL

An equation of radial vibrations of a gas bubble covered with a viscoelastic shell in a viscoelastic ﬂ uid is obtained on the basis of the Kelvin–Voigt and Maxwell rheological models. For a bubble medium subjected to small perturbations, a dispersion equation is written with account for the interphase heat transfer. Based on the indicated rheological models, the in ﬂ uence of the viscoelastic shell of the bubble on the dynamics of the acoustic waves generated by the bubble has been investigated. The results of calculations for particular cases are compared with the experimental data available in the literature.
Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of Launch Vehicles

Optimal design of launch vehicles is a complex multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) problem that has the distinctive feature of integrating a trajectory optimization which is very constrained, difficult to solve and highly coupled with all the other disciplines involved in the design process (e.g. propulsion, aerodynamics, structure, etc.). This PhD thesis is focused on the methods which allow to adequately integrate the optimal control law calculation into the design variable optimization process. A new method, called "Stage-Wise decomposition for Optimal Rocket Design" (SWORD), has been proposed. This method splits up the design process into the different flight phases and transforms the multistage launch vehicle optimization problem into the coordination of the optimizations of each of the stages, which are easier to solve. The SWORD method has been compared to the classical MDO method (Multi Discipline Feasible) in the case of the global optimization of a three-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle. The results show that the SWORD method allows to improve the efficiency of the optimization process concerning the feasible solution space search velocity and the quality of the optimum obtained in a limited calculation time. Moreover, an optimization strategy dedicated to the SWORD method has been developed. It allows to improve the convergence velocity of the method without requiring any a priori knowledge from the user with regard to the initialization and the search space.
Determination of selected biochemical parameters of the haemolymph of free-living Cepaea nemoralis (L.) snails. Preliminary study

The study objective was to determine reference values of selected biochemical parameters of the haemolymph of Cepaea nemoralis snails (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Helicidae). The study determined the activity of aminotransferases (AST and ALT), which was 11.22 ± 10.92 [u/l] and 6.72 ± 3.18 [u/l], respectively, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) at a level of 3.92 ± 2.08 [u/l]. The level of amylase (AMY) in the haemolymph was 2.32 ± 0.74 [u/l], while lipase (LIP) was 0.74 ± 0.79 [u/l]. The concentration of urea (UREA) was established at 2.28 ± 0.48 [mg/dl], creatinine (CREA) at 2.28 ± 0.09 [mg/dl], uric acid (UA) at 0.22 ± 0.16 [mg/dl], calcium (Ca) at 21.24 ± 2.4 [mg/dl], and total protein (TP) at 1.38 ± 0.34 [g/l]. The specific gravity of the haemolymph was 1.0 ± 0.002. The haemolymph was obtained from 211 individuals in the active phase collected from their natural habitat. The biochemical parameters of the haemolymph were determined with a BS 180 apparatus (Mindray), and the specific gravity with a refractometer. The article also desrcibes an intravital technique of collecting haemolymph from C. nemoralis. The results obtained may constitute an aid and a guideline for scientists dealing with the physiology of land molluscs.