Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vertically integrated electronic circuits via a combination of self-assembled polyelectrolytes, ink-jet printing, and electroless metal plating processes

The advantages of polymers are the fabrication and patterning of ultra-large-area coatings. In this paper, an approach which combines self-assembled polyelectrolytes, ink-jet printing, and electroless metal plating technologies for the fabrication of vertically integrated electronic circuits is successfully demonstrated. Through these processes, several layers of metal integrated circuits were deposited sequentially with polymer layers sandwiched between each layer of wires. Hence, one can build vertically integrated electronic components consisting of diodes, capacitors, resistors, and inductors with a relatively simple and low-cost technology.
Investigating and harnessing T-cell functions with engineered immune receptors and their ligands

T-cells are an essential component of the immune system that provide protection against pathogen infections and cancer and are involved in the aetiology of numerous autoimmune and autoinflammatory pathologies. Their importance in disease, the relative ease to isolate, expand and manipulate them ex vivo have put T-cells at the forefront of basic and translational research in immunology. Decades of study have shed some light on the unique way T-cells integrate extrinsic environmental cues influencing an activation program triggered by interactions between peptide-MHC complexes and the antigen-recognition machinery constituted of clonally distributed T-cell receptors and their co-receptor CD4 or CD8. The manipulation of these molecular determinants in cellular systems or as recombinant proteins has considerably enhanced our ability to understand antigen-specific T-cell activation, to monitor ongoing T-cell responses and to exploit T-cells for therapy. Even though these principles have given numerous insights in the biology of CD8+ T-cells that translate into promising therapeutic prospects, as illustrated by recent breakthroughs in cancer therapy, they have proven more challenging to apply to CD4+ T-cells.This Research Topics aims to provide a comprehensive view of the recent insights provided by the use of engineered antigen receptors and their ligands on T-cell activation and how they have been or could be harnessed to design efficient immunotherapies.
Theory of mixed valence: Metals or small gap insulators (invited)

Mixed valence systems exhibit an interesting variety of low temperature electronic phenomena, in particular, a remarkable division of the known mixed valence compounds into metallic and insulating groups, exemplified respectively by CePd3 and SmB6. We show that for Sm compounds it is appropriate to use a two‐band Hubbard Hamiltonian comprised of a narrow f band with a large Coulomb interaction U, a wide d band with negligible interactions, and f‐d hybridization, Coulomb, and exchange interactions. Using the Green’s function decoupling methods of Hubbard, we show that intersite correlations profoundly affect states near the Fermi energy and may lead to a small insulating gap if the two bands contain an even integral number of electrons per rare earth ion, as in stoichiometric SmB6. Magnetic phase transitions are discussed in terms of exchange vs. hybridization energies, and a first order transition from a paramagnetic insulator to a ferro‐ or ferrimagnetic metal is predicted within the mixed valence regime.
New beamline dedicated to solution scattering from biological macromolecules at the ESRF

The new bio-SAXS beamline (ID14-3 at the ESRF, Grenoble, France) is dedicated exclusively to small-angle scattering experiments of biological macromolecules in solution and has been in user operation since November 2008. Originally a protein crystallography beamline, ID14-3 was refurbished, still as a part of the ESRF Structural Biology group, with the main aim to provide a facility with 'quick and easy' access to satisfy rapidly growing demands from crystallographers, biochemists and structural biologists. The beamline allows manual and automatic sample loading/unloading, data collection, processing (conversion of a 2D image to a normalized 1D X-ray scattering profile) and analysis. The users obtain on-line standard data concerning the size (radius of gyration, maximum dimension and volume) and molecular weight of samples which allow on-the fly ab-inito shape reconstruction in order to provide feedback enabling the data collection strategies to be optimized. Automation of sample loading is incorporated on the beamline using a device constructed in collaboration between the EMBL (Grenoble and Hamburg outstations) and the ESRF. Semi/automated data analysis is implemented following the model of the SAXS facility at X33, EMBL Hamburg. This paper describes the bio-SAXS beamline and set-up characteristics together with the examples of user data obtained.
Crystal Lamellae of Mutually Perpendicular Orientations by Dissecting onto Interiors of Poly(ethylene adipate) Spherulites Crystallized in Bulk Form

Three-dimensional dissecting onto interior lamellar structures of spherulites in poly(ethylene adipate) (PEA) in bulk forms crystallized at 28 ± 3 °C were studied in correlation with thin-film forms. Interior morphology in bulk PEA samples revealed onion-like alternating shells. Interior spherulites clearly exposes that the lamellae within the shell interior are composed of stacked plate lamellae in radial direction while the shell surface region are arranged by tangential lamellae. Shell interior and surface correspond to the valley and ridge of ring-banded on the top surface, respectively. Morphology characterization on fracturing patterns further evidence that the shells could be cleaved apart along the shell surface, indicating weak physical connection between these two perpendicularly oriented shells. Further thermal analysis and X-ray results also supported existence of highly ordered lamellar packing into two mutually perpendicular chain orientations in the 28 °C-crystallized PEA bulks, which diffe.
Late-Stage C–H Bond Arylation of Spirocyclic σ1 Ligands for Analysis of Complementary σ1 Receptor Surface

Direct C–H bond arylation in the α- and β-positions of spirocyclic thiophenes containing various functional groups (amine, ether, acetal, lactone) was accomplished. Selective phenylation in the α-position of the thiophene ring was achieved by using the catalytic system PdCl2/bipy/Ag2CO3. The introduction of phenyl moieties to the β-position was performed with the catalytic system PdCl2/P[OCH(CF3)2]3/Ag2CO3. Even the five-membered lactone 10 with an electron-withdrawing carbonyl moiety directly attached to the thiophene ring was arylated. Spirocyclic thiophenes substituted with a phenyl moiety in position A (top position) or B (left position) display low nanomolar σ1 affinities (e.g., 4a: Ki = 1.6 nM; 5a: Ki = 2.4 nM), indicating an additional hydrophobic pocket on the complementary σ1 receptor protein. A phenyl moiety in position C (at the bottom position) is not tolerated by the σ1 receptor (e.g., 12: Ki = 483 nM). However, an additional phenyl moiety in position A is able to compensate at least partially the unfavorable effects of the phenyl moiety in position C.
Classical transition state theory: A lower bound to the reaction probability

We derive a rigorous lower bound to the microcanonical reaction probability in classical collinear atom–diatom collisions. This lower bound complements the upper bound provided by transition state theory, and the information needed to calculate the bound is acquired automatically in the search for the periodic orbit dividing surfaces that are possible transition states for the reaction. Numerical calculations for F+H2 and H+Cl2 over a wide energy range show that the lower bound provides the best available estimate of the reaction probability, short of a full dynamical calculation.
Screen-printed electrodes incorporated in a flow system for the decentralized monitoring of lead, cadmium and copper in natural and wastewater samples

Mercury-based screen-printed electrodes (SPE) combined with square-wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) techniques for the analysis of copper, cadmium, lead, and zinc in different water samples have been applied. The detection system has been implemented in a flow cell and different experimental conditions have been tested in view of its application for in-situ monitoring. In particular, an acetate buffer together with a low chloride concentration (0.025 M NaCl) provided best performance and reproducible results. Additionally, the flow system was validated for the first time in terms of limits of detection, linearity, repeatability and recovery. Limits of detection of 2.8 µg L−1, 4.1 µg L−1, and 7.5 µg L−1 for cadmium, lead and copper respectively and repeatabilities lower than 10% (as RSD) were found. Good recoveries have been obtained for the three cations and in particular for copper, even in the presence of zinc. Finally, the method has shown its efficiency for the rapid screening of lead, cadmium and copper contained in both natural waters and wastewater samples.
Fabrication of a pressure-resistant microfluidic mixer in fused silica using Selective Laser-Induced Etching

We report a microfluidic mixer fabricated in a solid block of fused silica using Selective LaserInduced Etching (SLE). The micromixer contains herringbone grooves (HG) that induce mixing based on chaotic advection, as investigated in our previous work. The chip was designed for utilization in the interface between two columns in a multidimensional liquid chromatography system, which implies the utilization of pressure-resistant devices. Our first chips were hybrid devices made from poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and glass. These devices could not withstand pressures higher than 10 bar, due both to the elastic properties of PDMS and a lack of a robust bond between PDMS and glass. We therefore opted for utilization of a relatively new technique, namely Selective Laser-Induced Etching (SLE), as a route to making monolithic devices in a single block of a rigid material. Our material of choice was a block of fused silica. This eliminates the need to bond a structured chip to a chip acting as the lid for a microfluidic device. Moreover, fused silica is four orders of magnitude more rigid than PDMS and can thus withstand higher pressures. We aimed to fabricate in silica, for the first time, microfluidic mixers with channels up to 33 mm long containing arrays of microgrooves. Fabrication proved challenging, as removing laser-modified silica from the patterned channels by the introduction of etchant from the channel ends meant longer exposure to etchant at the beginning and end of the mixing channel. This resulted in overetching of the channel and grooves in the end regions with an accompanying loss of groove resolution. In order to solve these fabrication issues and to account for differences in etch progression in different device regions, we have made use of an adjusted design that provided improved mixing performance. The pressure tests showed that the fused-silica chips can withstand pressures of up to 85 bar and can be used in the interface between two columns of a multidimensional liquid chromatography system to facilitate the fast adjustment of mobile phase composition.
Soil sampling size estimates for soils under teak (Tectona grandis Linn. F) plantations and natural forests in Ashanti Region, Ghana

The variability of forest soil properties and the number of samples required to achieve desired levels of precision for estimation of property means have received little attention in the tropics. Highly variable forest soil properties require more intensive sampling and often have less predictive value for site assessment purposes. Sites at Offinso and Juaso Forest Districts in the Ashanti region, Ghana, were used to study the variability patterns for selected physical and chemical properties. Sites selected for this study were in the moist semi-deciduous forest zone and had nearly identical physiographic characteristics. A simple random sampling procedure was used to obtain soil samples at each site. In each of three natural forest stands and three teak plantations, 16 soil pits were examined and soil samples from the 0- to 20-cm (major rooting depth) and 20- to 40-cm depths were analyzed for selected chemical and physical properties. In the 0- to 20-cm depth, coefficients of variation varied from 8% (pH.
Quantitative analysis of trace elements in carbonates using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry has been applied to the analysis of carbonate materials. Multi-element synthetic standards, prepared both as pressed powders and fused glass discs, were used for calibration. The elements Mg, Mn, Sr, Ba and Pb were added to the pressed powder standards and these elements, together with U, were added to the fused glass standards. Calibration graphs, which are linear over at least three orders of magnitude, were produced using both types of standard but the fused glass discs gave better precision. The accuracy of the technique was evaluated using reference materials. Acceptable values were obtained using the pressed powders [e.g. BCS 393 (limestone) certified values of 905 ppm (Mg), 77 ppm (Mn) and 160 ppm (Sr)], but better accuracy was achieved with fused glass discs [e.g., BCS 393; 957 ppm (Mg), 79.6 ppm (Mn) and 167 ppm (Sr)]. The technique is applied to the analysis of carbonate shell material and demonstrates its potential in environmental monitoring.
Growth of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles by the Reaction of Zinc with Ethanol

A novel approach has been described for the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles by a very simple reaction of zinc metal with ethanol at 100oC. The diameters of the nano-particles range from 50–100nm. The reaction involves the cleavage of C-O bond of the alcohol, which occurs readily on zinc metal surface. Addition of ethylenediamine to the reaction yields nanorods, thus acting as a shape directing agent. A plausible mechanism is proposed for the formation of these nanostructures and is expected that this synthetic technique can be extended to obtain other metal oxides.
A method for measuring tomato fruit firmness using a modified shear press

Summary Tomato fruit firmness was measured with a modified shear press by compressing individual fruit by 5 mm between two flat surfaces. the system was calibrated with a spring balance and the relationship between applied force and proving ring deformation was linear over the range tested. The correlation coefficient between tomato fruit firmness as measured by a finger feel panel and the shear press was 0.988. Minimum shear press firmness values for acceptability of fruit for sale at retail level and use in the home were obtained by matching the panel and shear press data. Tests showed that from fifteen to twenty-five fruit should be tested per 12-lb box to get a good estimate of the average firmness of the lot. the spread of firmness values on either side of the mean was considerable in the nineteen lots tested and it is important to quantify this and quote it, in addition to the mean firmness value, to give a complete picture of tomato fruit firmness. The system described is useful for carrying out firmness tests on tomato fruit cultivars at time of picking and during storage in order to obtain an estimate of potential shelf-life during wholesaling and retailing.
Development of an Efficient Algorithm for the Calculation of Two-Phase Flash Equilibria

This paper details the development of an efficient algorithm for the calculation of two-phase equilibrium in multicomponent hydrocarbon systems with an equation of state (EOS). A number of numerical solution algorithms are evaluated for speed and robustness. To ensure generality, the compositions used in the study range from a synthetic 3-component fluid to a real 20-component reservoir fluid, and the calculations are performed at different positions on the fluid-phase diagram. The results of the study are used in the construction of a stable and efficient algorithm. Although the method was developed with reservoir engineering applications in mind, it should also be applicable in chemical, process, and petroleum engineering.
RAPID METHOD FOR ISOLATION OF ANDROGRAPHOLIDE FROM AERIAL PARTS OF ANDROGRAPHIS PANICULATA USING MICROWAVE-ASSISTED EXTRACTION AND ITS QUANTIFICATION BY NORMAL PHASE HIGH-PERFORMANCE TLC

Andrographolide (AD) is the most important bioactive phytoconstituent of Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Ness and exhibits antitumor metastasis, anti-HIV, antibacterial, antiinflammatory, antimalarial, antidiabetic activities etc. In this study, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) technique was employed for rapid isolation of andrographolide from the aerial part of Andrographis paniculata and simultaneously HPTLC was carried out for the quantification of andrographolide in various solvent polarity based extracts. Effects of several experimental parameters on the extraction efficiencies of andrographolide, such as type and volume of extraction solvents, microwave power and extraction times were evaluated. The optimal extraction conditions were found to be 25 mL of a mixture of chloroform/methanol, 50:50; preleaching time, 10 min; microwave power, 450 W; temperature, 50 ο C; and microwave irradiation time, 8 min. Under the optimum conditions, the percentage of andrographolide was quantified to be 0.05 ± 0.021 to 2.24 ± 0.016% in the MAE extracts of aerial parts. Rapidly andrographolide was isolated from the chloroform/methanol MAE extracts with 1.4% yield and 62.5% recovery by precipitation process. The purity of AD was found ≥97.0%. MAE is a faster, convenient, and appropriate
Polyethylene Terephthalate Waste Recycling and Application Possibilities: a Review

This paper presents a review of works that cover PET post-consumer waste recycling and application during last twenty years. It is shown that physically recycled PET can be used in the blends with other polymers, such as high and low density polyethylene, polycarbonates, polyvinyl chloride, etc. The compatibilizers and other additives often are used to obtain valuable blends of recycled PET with virgin or other plastics. Molecular weights of blended polymers must be similar to obtain the compatible blends of recycled PET with other plastics, therefore, additional processes are needed for the lowering average molecular weights of the polymers. Chemically recycled PET by esterifying the polyester with an excess of reactant such as diols, diamines, alcohols, or water can be used as starting ingredients for synthesis of other polymers. A focus on the production of oligoesters coming from the glycolysis of PET waste that have been introduced as a starting material in the manufacture of polyurethanes, unsaturated polyesters and saturated polyester plasticizers is done. A possibility of new application of acrylate/methacrylate PET oligomers for UV curable coatings, useful for wood surfaces, paints and other applications is decribed.
Validated RP-HPLC Method for the Estimation of Atomoxetine in Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms

A simple, rapid, precise, specific and accurate RP-HPLC method has been developed for the determination of Atomoxetine, a drug used in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage forms. Chromatography was performed on an Inertsil C18 column (150 x 4.6 mm), packed with 5µm particles using mobile-phase as a combination of Phosphate Buffer and Acetonitrile (60:40 v/v) at a flow rate of 1.2 mL/min. UV detection was performed at 270 nm and the Rt of 3.59 min to elute the atomoxetine was achieved successfully. Results of analysis were validated statistically according to ICH guidelines with respect to accuracy, precision, linearity, specificity and robustness. Linear calibration plots were obtained between 10-200 µg/mL and the percentage RSD of the method was found to be less than 2%. The suggested method can be successfully employed for the routine estimation of atomoxetine, in solid dosage forms and the excipients present in the formulations do not interfere with the assay procedure.
The Development and Validation of the Emporium Model Motivation Scale (EMMS)

The purpose of this research study was to begin the development and validation of a new survey instrument; the Emporium Model Motivation Scale (EMMS). The instrument is designed to be used as part of a more holistic evaluation of non-traditional student-centered mathematics courses or programs redesigned using the Emporium Model (E-Model). Research suggested that the design of the E-Model environment was better suited to help students become more autonomy-natured (Williams, 2016). The present research was rooted in Self-determination Theory (SDT), which asserted that all individuals had a natural desire to strive for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in their social environments (Ryan & Deci, 2000; 2017). The research study consisted of a random sample of n = 463 respondents from both a U.S. community college and 4-year public university. Results of an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) produced four parsimonious factor solutions that showed potential to be valid, highly reliable with (ω > .70) and replicable across other samples or populations. The factors were analyzed using Polychoric correlations, with Unweighted Least Squares (ULS) extraction and Promax rotation. Correlational analysis, MANOVA, ANOVA, and Standard Multiple Regression were performed with accurate and reliable standardized factor score estimates. Overall results revealed statistically significant differences between the two institutions of higher learning across levels of the EMMS factors. Further analyses revealed that age was a statistically significant predictor of the EMMS factors and that older respondents were more autonomous and receptive of the E-Model design for course instruction.
A Novel Device for Single Particle Light Scattering Size Analysis and Concentration Measurement at High Pressures and Temperatures

Based on the findings of previous work, a novel instrument was developed for the size analysis and concentration measurement of particles dispersed in gases at high temperatures (600 °C) and pressures (16 bar). The main motivation for the construction of this device was a measurement requirement at the conditions of a pressurized pulverized coal combustion (PPCC) test installation in Dorsten, Germany. The development of a high efficiency (> 50 %), coal based, combined cycle process, and specifically, the development of efficient gas cleaning technology for gas combustion under demanding conditions (1400 °C and 16 bar) was the main target. A suitable measurement technique was required for the determination of particle size and concentration downstream of the gas cleaning equipment, which is able to operate close to the given conditions. The performance of the novel device was tested in several measurement series with various monodisperse aerosols at ambient conditions as well as in high pressure, high temperature situations with very satisfactory results, i.e., the lower detection limit (50 % counting efficiency at ca. 0.3 μm) and resolution of the novel device are comparable to state of the art instruments (of the same principle) intended for room temperature operation.
Wavelengths and Energy Level Classifications of Magnesium Spectra for All Stages of Ionization (Mg I through Mg XII)

Wavelengths and their classifications are compiled for the spectra of magnesium. Selections of data are based on the critical evaluations in the compilation of energy levels by Martin and Zalubas [1980, J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 9, 1–58], with some updating from the more recent literature. All classifications have been verified with predictions made by differencing the energy levels. In addition to the spectra ordered by ionization state, two finding lists are included, one containing Mg I to Mg III and the other Mg IV to Mg XII.