Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards a better understanding of socially responsible behavior among young Saudi Arabians: The case of energy saving

Article history: Received 7 April 2021 Received in revised form 27 June 2021 Accepted 1 July 2021 Energy consumption in Saudi Arabia is still almost three times the world average today, and the government is seeking to instill a culture of energy saving in the rising generation. Our research's main objective is to expose young people's explanatory attitude antecedents towards energy saving. Indeed, with reference to the current global context of dwindling resources, it is relevant to identify the levers of action to guide consumers towards socially responsible behavior. A quantitative study among 217 young Saudi Arabians and modeling structural equations highlighted the significant impact of subjective norms, cognitions resulting from awareness campaigns as well as the power of habits and the need to preserve comfort. This research has important implications for a country orienting its strategies towards greater social responsibility.
Design, Synthesis, Characterization, and Antiproliferative Activity of Organoplatinum Compounds Bearing a 1,2,3-Triazole Ring

The syntheses, characterizations, and biological activities of three organoplatinum compounds, each containing a triazole ring, are discussed. These organometallic compounds demonstrate superior cytotoxicity against osteosarcoma and human breast cancer cells relative to cisplatin, a well-known chemotherapeutic agent used for chemotherapy.
Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal
from Sewage in Biofilter – Activated Sludge
Combined Systems

Our paper analyzes nitrogen and phosphorus removal from sewage in a biofilter. The analysis was based on the multi-variant simulations of the combined system: fixed-film – activated sludge performance. An activated sludge ASIM 2d model related with the model of pollutions’ transformations in fixed film was used for the calculations. The results of exploitation analyses performed on the objective treatment plant – average daily rate of wastewater, pH, COD values, total suspended solids, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, total phosphorus, and alkalinity – were used as input parameters for the calculations. The results indicated that there is a possibility of including fixed-film in the activated sludge technology in order to improve nitrogen and phosphorus removal from the sewage. The nitrification process will be performed in fixed-film, whereas nitrogen and phosphorus removal from the sewage will be performed in anoxic chambers, which operate in the activated sludge technology. Denitrifying the dephosphatation process guarantees the high level of total phosphorus reduction (81%) and the 42% total nitrogen reduction, but only if the whole easily decomposable substrate will be consumed by microorganisms in the anoxic chamber and if enough nitrates will be present in the environment.
8-HYDROXY-2' -DEOXYGUANOSINE (8-OHDG) AND RUNX1-RUNX1T1 TRANSLOCATION: POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS FOR LEUKEMOGENESIS IN BENZENE EXPOSED WORKERS

Introduction: Chronic benzene exposure has a detrimental effect on the hematopoietic system, disturbs its genetic material through the enhancement of oxidative DNA damage, increase the incidence of chromosomal aberrations that may result in direct hematotoxicity and an initiating step for leukemogenesis. Aim of work: To study the adverse impact of occupationally benzene exposure on peripheral blood cells, oxidative DNA damage and gene translocation of peripheral mononuclear blood cells through measurement of plasma 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHDG) levels and detection of RUNX1-RUNX1T1 translocation “t(8;21)”. Materials and methods: The study was carried out on 91 subjects classified into two groups; group (I) occupationally benzene-exposed (57 subjects), which was subdivided into two subgroups: (A) “ smokers” (No=41) and (B) “non-smokers” (No =16), Group (II) a control group and is also subdivided into two subgroups, (C) “smokers” (No =13) and (D) “non-smokers” (No =21) apparently healthy individuals not occupationally exposed to benzene. Data was collected using a specially designed questionnaire covering socio-demographic data, personnel and occupational histories. Investigations were done including: Blood cell count (CBC), examination of peripheral blood smears, Plasma 8-OHdG was measured by ELISA system, Translocation (8; 21) was detected. Working index and Smoking index were also calculated. Results: there was a significant increase in the plasma levels of 8-OHdG in the occupationally benzene-exposed group both smokers and non-smokers and in control smokers in comparison to the control non-smoker individuals. The percentage of RUNX1-RUNX1T1 translocation was (3/41) 7.3% in occupationally benzene-exposed smokers, (1/13) 7.7% of control smokers, while it was negative among the non-smokers individuals either exposed to benzene or not.Conclusion: There was an increase of plasma 8-OHDG levels and increased incidence of RUNX1-RUNX1T1 translocation t (8; 21) of mononuclear peripheral blood cells due to chronic benzene-exposure either occupationally or through tobacco smoking with obvious dysplastic features of peripheral blood cells.
New Binding Mode of SLURP Protein to a7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Revealed by Computer Simulations

SLURP-1 is a member of three-finger toxin-like proteins. Their characteristic feature is a set of three beta strands extruding from hydrophobic core stabilized by disulfide bonds. Each beta-strand carries a flexible loop, which is responsible for recognition. SLURP-1 was recently shown to act as an endogenous growth regulator of keratinocytes and tumor suppressor by reducing cell migration and invasion by antagonizing the pro-malignant effects of nicotine. This effect is achieved through allosteric interaction with alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (alpha-7 nAChRs) in an antagonist-like manner. Moreover, this interaction is unaffected by several well-known agents specifically alpha-bungarotoxin. In this work, we carry out the conformational analysis of the SLURP-1 by a microsecond-long full-atom explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations followed by clustering, to identify representative states. To achieve this timescale we employed a GPU-accelerated version of GROMACS modeling package. To avoid human bias in clustering we used a non-parametric clustering algorithm Affinity Propagation adapted for biomolecules and HPC environments. Then, we applied protein-protein molecular docking of the ten most massive clusters to alpha7-nAChRs in order to test if structural variability can affect binding. Docking simulations revealed the unusual binding mode of one of the minor SLURP-1 conformations.
Theoretical and Experimental Study of (Ba,Sr)TiO3 Perovskite Solid Solutions and BaTiO3/SrTiO3 Heterostructures

The results of experimental and theoretical ab initio study of structural and piezoelectric properties of (Ba,Sr)TiO3 perovskite solid solutions are discussed and compared. Experimentally, plate-like (Ba,Sr)TiO3 particles were synthesized by the topochemical conversion in the molten salt from Bi4Ti3O12 template plates. All dimensions (side length ≈1 μm, thickness ≈200–400 nm) were well above the critical size necessary for observation of piezo- and ferroelectricity. The first-principles computations of the structural and electromechanical properties of solid solutions were performed with the CRYSTAL14 computer code within the linear combination of atomic orbitals approximation, using three advanced hybrid functionals of density functional theory. Different chemical compositions are considered for the ferroelectric and paraelectric phases. The calculated structural properties of solid solutions in tetragonal and cubic phases are in very good agreement with experimental data. Experimentally obtained and cal.
Fabrication and in Vitro Evaluation of Nanocomposite Hydrogel Scaffolds Based on Gelatin/PCL–PEG–PCL for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

The self-repair of cartilage tissue is limited. Hydrogels with 3D hydrated polymers have properties that make them a suitable material for cartilage tissue engineering. In this study, a novel nanocomposite hydrogel based on gelatin/polycaprolactone–polyethylene glycol (Gel/PCEC–TGFβ1) was prepared and evaluated for the proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells derived from adipose tissue (h-AD-MSCs). The porosity of the prepared scaffolds was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Swelling behavior and mechanical properties of the prepared hydrogels were evaluated. h-AD-MSCs were cultured on each scaffold for 14 days, and cell attachment was investigated by SEM. The cell viability was studied using MTT assay. Toluidine blue staining was carried out to evaluate the synthesis of proteoglycan. Real-time PCR assay was used to monitor the expression of collagen II and aggrecan genes. The data showed that scaffolds support cell proliferation in comparison to co.
Enhanced antiferroelectric phase stability in La-doped AgNbO3: perspectives from the microstructure to energy storage properties

La-doped AgNbO3 lead-free ceramics were fabricated by conventional solid-state reaction, and the phase stability and energy storage properties were investigated. The temperature- and electric field-dependent dielectric constants show that the antiferroelectric (AFE) phase stability is enhanced via the La doping. Neutron diffraction was performed to obtain insights into the structural evolution with composition and temperature, where the local structural variation is found to involve subtle ion displacement as well as oxygen octahedral tilting, leading to the disruption of the long-range interactions, which is responsible for the enhanced AFE phase stability. As expected, the enhanced AFE phase stability, together with the improved breakdown strength, gives rise to a high energy density of 4.4 J cm−3 and an improved efficiency of 70%, which are achieved in 2 mol% La-doped AgNbO3 ceramics. Our research opens a new way to tailor the macroscopic properties by tuning the microstructure of AgNbO3-based materials.
Detection of Antibiotics in Drinking Water Treatment Plants in Baghdad City, Iraq

Persistence of antibiotics in the aquatic environment has raised concerns regarding their potential influence on potable water quality and human health. This study analyzes the presence of antibiotics in potable water from two treatment plants in Baghdad City. The collected samples were separated using a solid-phase extraction method with hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) cartridge before being analyzed. The detected antibiotics in the raw and finished drinking water were analyzed and assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), with fluorometric detector and UV detector. The results confirmed that different antibiotics including fluoroquinolones andB-lactams were detected in the raw and finished water. The most frequently detected antibiotics were ciprofloxacin with highest concentration of 1.270 μg L−1in the raw water of Al-Wihda plant, whereas the highest concentration of levofloxacin was 0.177 μg L−1, while amoxicillin was not detected in this plant. In contrast, ciprofloxacin was found in both raw water and finished water of Al-Rasheed plant and recorded highest concentration of 1.344 and 1.312 μg L−1, respectively. Moreover, the residual amount of levofloxacin in the raw water was up to 0.414 μg L−1, whereas amoxicillin was shown to be the most detectable drug in the raw water of Al-Rasheed plant, with a concentration of 1.50 μg L−1. The results of this study revealed the existence of antibiotic drugs in raw and finished water and should be included in the Iraqi standard for drinking water quality assessment.
Improved methods for processing dna substrates

The present disclosure describes a method of adapter ligation to the ends of fragmented double-stranded DNA molecules. This novel method overcomes the necessity to add a phosphate group to the 5' ends of DNA fragments. Instead, the 5' terminal bases that are damaged as a result of physical fragmentation of the DNA, are removed. By removal of the damaged base, a ligation compatible base with a 5' phosphate is exposed and adapter ligation efficiency is restored, leading to a significant increase in library yield and the ability to construct libraries from reduced input DNA quantities.
Construction and Analysis of Protein-Protein Interaction Network to Identify the Molecular Mechanism in Laryngeal Cancer

Laryngeal cancer is the most common head and neck cancer in the world and its incidence is on the rise. However, the molecular mechanism underlying laryngeal cancer pathogenesis is poorly understood. The goal of this study was to develop a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network for laryngeal cancer to predict the biological pathways that underlie the molecular complexes in the network. Genes involved in laryngeal cancer were extracted from the OMIM database and their interaction partners were identified via text and data mining using Agilent Literature Search, STRING and GeneMANIA. PPI network was then integrated and visualised using Cytoscape ver3.6. 0. Molecular complexes in the network were predicted by MCODE plugin and functional enrichment analyses of the molecular complexes were performed using BiNGO. 28 laryngeal cancer-related genes were present in the OMIM database. The PPI network associated with laryngeal cancer contained 161 nodes, 661 edges and five molecular complexes. Some of the complexes were related to the biological behaviour of cancer, providing the foundation for further understanding of the mechanism of laryngeal cancer development and progression.
Recent advances on hydrometallurgical recovery of critical and precious elements from end of life electronic wastes - a review

Abstract Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) contains economically significant levels of precious, critical metals and rare earth elements, apart from base metals and other toxic compounds. Recycling and recovery of critical elements from WEEEs using a cost-effective technology are now one of the top priorities in metallurgy due to the rapid depletion of their natural resources. More than 150 publications on WEEE management, leaching and recovery of metals from WEEE were reviewed in this work, with special emphasize on the recent research (2015–2018). This paper summarizes the recent progress regarding various hydrometallurgical processes for the leaching of critical elements from WEEEs. Various methodologies and techniques for critical elements selective recovery (using ionic liquids, solvent extraction, electrowinning, adsorption, and precipitation) from the WEEEs leachates are discussed. Future prospects regarding the use of WEEEs as secondary resources for critical raw materials and its techno-economical and commercial beneficiaries are discussed. AbbreviationsE-Waste Electronic wasteWEEE Waste electrical and electronic equipmentCRM Critical raw materialsPCB Printed circuit boardLCD Liquid crystal displayCRT Cathode ray tubeFl. Lamp Fluorescent lampHDD Hard disk drivesLED Light emitting diodeEU European UnionUNEP United Nations Environmental ProgramREE Rare earth elementITO Indium-tin oxidePM Precious metalNiMH battery Nickel-hydride batteryCPU Central processing unitRAM Random access memoryLiBs Li-ion batteriesSFL Spent fluorescent lamps GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT Pictorial representation of the hydrometallurgical recovery of critical and precious elements from WEEE
Synthesis and crystal structure of Mg-bearing Fe9O11: New insight in the complexity of Fe-Mg oxides at conditions of the deep upper mantle

Abstract A novel Mg-bearing iron oxide Mg0.87(1)Fe4.13(1)2+Fe43+O11 $ \begin{array} {} {\rm{M}}{{\rm{g}}_{0.87(1)}}{\rm{Fe}}_{4.13(1)}^{2 + }{\rm{Fe}}_4^{3 + }{{\rm{O}}_{11}}\end{array} $ was synthesized at 12 GPa and 1300 °C using a large volume press. Rietveld structural analysis was conducted with a laboratory X‑ray diffraction pattern obtained at ambient conditions. The crystal structure, which has one oxygen trigonal prism site and four octahedral sites for the cations, was found to be isostructural with Ca2Fe7O11. The unit-cell lattice parameters are a = 9.8441(5) Å, b = 2.8920(1) Å, c = 14.1760(6) Å, β = 99.956(4)°, V = 397.50(3) Å3, and Z = 2 (monoclinic, C2/m). Mg and Fe cations are disordered on the trigonal prism site and on two of the four octahedral sites, and the remaining Fe is accommodated at the other two octahedral sites. The present structure is closely related to the other recently discovered Fe oxide structures, e.g., Fe4O5 and Fe5O6, by distortion derived either from incorporation (Fe4O5) or removal (Fe5O6) of an edge-shared FeO6 single octahedral chain in their structures. The present synthesis at deep upper mantle conditions and the structural relationships observed between various novel Mg-Fe oxides indicate that a series of different phases become stable above 10 GPa and that their relative stabilities (Fe2+/Fe3+) must be controlled by oxygen fugacity.
Multimodal Structural Characterization of Ge–S–I Glasses by Combination of DFT Calculation and IR and Polarized Raman Spectroscopy

From a dual experimental–theoretical vibrational analysis, we propose a new rationalized structural description of Ge–S–I chalcogenides glasses at the nanoscale. A vibrational multipolar approach based on a simultaneous deconvolution of infrared (IR) and polarized Raman spectra (RS-VV and RS-HV) has been applied on these glasses. According to recent results on the amorphous GeS2 structure by X-Ray and neutron diffraction and to our spectral analyses, we suggest that the local structure of the glass backbone is effectively described by a combination of α-GeS2 nanolayers, edge-sharing GeS4 tetrahedra (ES-Td, ca ∼50%), and corner-sharing GeS4 tetrahedra (CS-Td, ca ∼50%). We have then compared the experimental spectra to the calculated IR and polarized Raman spectra of some selected GexSyIz structural units obtained by density functional theory calculation. The stretching modes of the Ge–S–I occurring in the high frequency spectral range (300–450 cm–1) are essentially those of the GeS2 glass backbone and have.
Effect of salicylic acid seed priming on resistance to high levels of cadmium in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

Cadmium (Cd) is abundant heavy metal with highly toxic effect on plants. The aim of presented study was to investigate the effect of seed priming using salicylic acid on cadmium tolerance in lettuce. The tolerance level was evaluated using germination speed and percentage, fresh and dry seedling weight, water and photosynthetic pigments content. Control seeds were primed using distilled water. In control plants cadmium induced reduction of germination rate, fresh and dry weight, water and chlorophyll content. Seed priming using salicylic acid, on the other hand, induced increased resistance of lettuce to cadmium toxicity. Increase in germination rate, fresh mass and water content were recorded for plants subjected to 5 mM Cd, grown from seeds primed using salicylic acid. Results obtained by this study suggested that salicylic acid can be used as priming agent in order to alleviate Cd toxicity on lettuce.
Managing affordability in concept development of complex product systems (CoPS)

ABSTRACT This study originates in a recognised unsustainable cost escalation for complex defence equipment. In order to understand how such cost escalation for complex product systems (CoPS) can be avoided, this study comparatively explores four different industrial sectors – energy, transportation, healthcare and defence – with and without intergenerational increasing costs, represented by four international companies. The results, collected from studying the development of one of each company’s products, reveal some characteristic differences in market factors between those sectors and companies having problems with intergenerational escalating costs and customer affordability, as compared to other sectors and companies. It is suggested that dependent on market characteristics, it might be necessary to actively manage affordability when CoPS are developed. Efforts made by the companies to make products more affordable were identified, and several factors enabling and disabling the development of less costly products without compromising customer needs were explored. Further, the implications of affordability management in a CoPS setting are elaborated on.
Dietary free sugar and dental caries in children: A systematic review on longitudinal studies

Background: Dental caries, as a multi-factorial problem, is prevalent among children. The aim of this review was to assess the association between dietary free sugars (DFS) consumption and dental caries in 6- to 12-year-old children in the recent longitudinal e vidence. Methods: In this systematic review, database search was performed in PubMed, Embase, ISI Web of Science and Scopus using the keywords "diet", "dental caries" and "school children". We considered the articles published in English from 2004 to 2019. After duplicate removal,title, abstract data basell text of all included papers were assessed by two independent reviewers. The quality of included papers was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Results: From 2122 papers, ten longitudinal studies were included. In the included studies, the consumption of 100% juice (daily), candy (more than once a week), and soft drink and sweet drinks (at bedtime) were highly associated with caries in children. In few studies, daily consumption of water and dairy products was reported to be protective. However, some studies reported non-significant association between consumption of different sugary items and dental caries. The quality of included studies was moderate. Heterogeneity was observed in the measurement of caries outcome, and data collection tool for diet assessment, and statistical measure, which impeded the meta-analysis of data. Conclusion: The methodology and results in the longitudinal studies on the association of dietary free sugar consumption and dental caries in schoolchildren were heterogeneous, which urge the need for further standard research protocols in this area.
Access to Information Law in Brazil: What the Implementation Data Reveal

This article shows the results of a research to evaluate the implementation process of the Access to Information Law in the Brazilian Federal Government using empirical data on the level of user satisfaction published since 2013 until 2020 by the Office of the Comptroller General in its computing system available in the Internet. The main goal of the research was to contribute to a revival of this complex issue for democracy in a sense of reality, using a twofold methodology axis: (i) analysis of an empirical and significant data sample collected from the system with statistics techniques, and (ii) logic assessment of the resulting statistics parameters based in the Expectancy-Disconfirmation Theory. The empirical data about operational process to implement the law revealed, in one hand, that federal agencies and state-owned companies have evolved to improve the access to information and nowadays Brazilian Federal Government’s performance is in a relatively good position amongst developed and developing countries, with some government bodies achieving high rates of access to information granted to the requester citizens, but, in another hand, also revealed that in some areas of government there is still need of a broad communication to the citizens about the scope of the law. Other important conclusion is that an adequate computing system to implement the access to information is a sine qua non requirement to a steady advance beyond the approval of an Access to Information Law.