Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analytical Performance of Hollow Anode-Solution Cathode Glow Discharge-Atomic Emission Spectrometry

Abstract A hollow anode-solution cathode glow discharge (HA-SCGD) was designed as a plasma excitation source for optical emission spectrometry. The operation parameters such as the discharge current, argon flow rate and solution flow rate were investigated. The spatial distribution profiles of normalized results of spectral bands and spectral lines were investigated and analyzed. The detection limits of Na, Li, K, Ca, Mg, Pb, Sr, Mn, Rb, Cs and Zn were 0.22, 0.69, 1.33, 240.37, 21.55, 529, 619.43, 209.51, 2.94, 7.13 and 206.95 µg L−1, respectively. The repeatability, expressed as the relative standard deviation for these elements, was determined to be within the range from 0.53 to 2.70%. The Ca, Fe, K, Mg and Na concentrations in a certified reference material were quantitatively analyzed, and the results obtained by the HA-SCGD system agreed well with the reference values. The results show that the HA-SCGD system accurately and stably determined metals in aqueous solution.
Using an Abstraction of the Supervisor to Solve a Planning Problem in Manufacturing Systems

This paper deals with a production-planning problem in the industrial environment from theperspective of Discrete Event Systems. The use of the solution obtained by applying the Supervisory ControlTheory (SCT) as a search space for the optimization problem, using evolutionary algorithms, has been describedin the literature as the SCO - Supervisory Control and Optimization approach. In the SCO, a string of theclosed-loop behavior that minimizes the makespan for the production of a batch of products is sought. In thepresent work, a heuristic that guarantees the generation of feasible individuals is proposed, aside with the useof an abstraction of the closed-loop behavior as the search universe for the optimization. Lastly, a case study ispresented, for which the optimal solution in all instances in which it is known was found.
Synthesis of a Novel Magnetically Retrievable Nanocomposite with Au Nanocatalysts for Hydration Reaction

Developing efficient catalysts with good recyclability is of great importance for its practical applications. In this study, a novel magnetically retrievable nanocomposite (Au-SiO2@Fe3O4-RGO) was synthesized for catalyzing hydration reaction. Active Au nanoparticles are deposited on core-shell SiO2@Fe3O4, which are further supported by a two-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (RGO) platform. The prepared Au-SiO2@Fe3O4-RGO was proven to be efficient as well as recyclable. An excellent catalytic performance, with 97% yield towards the hydration of phenylacetylene, was achieved for the catalyst in dioxane. Remarkably, the catalyst can be readily recycled through magnetic separation and achieved superior catalyst recovery and stability after seven cycles without any metal leaching. This work provides a strategy to fabricate recyclable and durable catalysts for industrial applications.
Adsorption performances of Methylene blue by poly(vinylidene fluoride)/MWCNT membranes via ultrasound-assisted phase inversion method

In this study, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/MWCNT composite membranes were successfully prepared via an ultrasound-assisted phase inversion process. The influences of the ultrasonic power and ultrasonic time on the variation of membrane morphology, hydrophilicity, porosity and adsorption performances to methylene blue (MB) dye were comprehensively investigated. Scanning electron microscope analysis indicated that low ultrasonic power (60 W) and long ultrasonic time (60 s) are in favour of the formation of finger-like pores, causing super water flux, high porosity and large mean pore size of membranes. A maximum adsorption capacity of the ultrasound treated membrane reached up to 4.4 mg/g, which is higher than the untreated membrane (2.4 mg/g). Furthermore, the kinetics and isotherm models studies indicated that the adsorption of MB followed a pseudosecond-order kinetic model and Freundlich isotherm model.
The Immunobiology of Colitis and Cholangitis in IL-23p19 and IL-17A Deleted dnTGFβRII Mice

dnTGFβRII mice, expressing a dominant negative form of TGFβ receptor II under control of the CD4 promoter, develop autoimmune colitis and cholangitis . We previously observed that deficiency in IL-12p40 led to a marked diminution of inflammation in both the colon and the liver. To distinguish whether IL-12p40 mediated protection acted via the IL-12 or IL-23 pathways, we generated an IL-23p19−/− dnTGFβRII strain deficient in IL-23 but not in IL-12; mice were longitudinally followed for changes in the natural history of disease and immune responses. Interestingly, IL-23p19−/− mice demonstrate dramatic improvement in their colitis but no changes in biliary pathology; mice also manifest reduced Th17 cell populations and unchanged IFN-γ levels. We submit that the IL-12/Th1 pathway is essential for biliary disease pathogenesis, while the IL-23/Th17 pathway mediates colitis. To further assess the mechanism of the IL-23 mediated protection from colitis, we generated an IL-17A−/− dnTGFβRII strain deficient in IL-17, a major effector cytokine produced by IL-23-dependent Th17 cells. Deletion of the IL-17A gene did not affect the severity of either cholangitis or colitis, suggesting that the IL-23/Th17 pathway contributes to the colon disease in an IL-17-independent manner. These results affirm that the IL-12/Th1 pathway is critical to biliary pathology in dnTGFβRII mice while the colitis is caused by a direct effect of IL-23.
Evaluating the performance of extended and unscented Kalman filters in the reverse osmosis process

A Kalman filter (KF) algorithm is a recursive data processing algorithm typically recommended for estimating unmeasured state variables in chemical engineering processes. We studied the performance of a KF algorithm in a range of noise levels as well as indirectly observed data from the process model. For this study, two versions of the KF algorithm widely adopted for a nonlinear system, the extended Kalman filter and the unscented Kalman filter, were applied to 1-year time series data monitored during the operation of the Fujairah seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant. We found that variables indicating the state of fouling, membrane resistance, and solute permeability agreed well with those estimated by the two KF algorithms, specifically in terms of noise reduction and peak detection. When the two KF algorithms were exposed to various noise levels, they showed a corresponding increase in the error rates (for unmeasured state variables) according to the noise levels varying from 10% to 50%, regardless of the algorithms used. The two KF algorithms provided a good prediction performance only for the permeate flow rate rather than for the permeate concentration, out of the two types of measured data. However, the individual KF algorithms still showed different performances in computing estimated and predicted data in the reverse osmosis process. This result calls for further research on the determination of the best KF algorithms for either estimation or prediction of directly and indirectly measured state variables in various chemical processes.
Physicochemical Properties of Foam‐Templated Oleogel Based on Gelatin and Xanthan Gum

In this paper, gelatin and xanthan are applied to produce a foam‐templated oleogel. For this reason, the oleogel is prepared at different concentrations of biopolymers and the properties of solution, cryogel, and related oleogel are determined. The results show that xanthan addition increases viscosity and foam stability of solution. Also, an increment in biopolymer concentration increases cryogel network density (ND) and firmness but has no significant effect on moisture sorption. The oil binding capacity of all oleogels is >92%. In terms of high foam stability (96.87 ± 4.42), low ND (0.016 ± 0.00), and consequently suitable oil sorption (46.10 ± 4.40), the oleogel containing 3% gelatin and 0.2% xanthan is selected as the best sample. Complementary tests exhibit that the oleogel, with thixotropic behavior and 60% structural recovery, can bind the oil at temperature <100 °C. The oleogel network can protect the edible oil from oxidative reaction during 2 month storage. Nonetheless, more studies are needed to attest the application of this oleogel type in food products. Practical Application: Biopolymers of gelatin and xanthan are GRAS and available so that they are applied in many food products. This research shows that the cryogel of these biopolymers, as a hydrophilic oleogelator, can be utilized to structure oil and produce oleogel in an indirect method. This procedure that forms strong gel and keeps oil even at high temperatures can be of interest to scientists who are searching for solid fat substitutes in food products such as cakes, biscuits, and muffins.
Designing an Effective Millirobot for Swarm Behaviour Studies with Human-Swarm Interaction

This thesis presents a novel design of an open-source millirobot utilized for swarm behaviour studies and a novel swarm localization algorithm to enable human-swarm interaction (HSI). Millirobots have increasingly become popular over the past years in swarm robotics research. However, currently existing millirobots for swarm robotics research are typically custom made, with few off-the-shelf components, and exhibit integral design. Furthermore, as these robots have become smaller in size, their sensory capabilities and battery capacities have been reduced. This thesis proposes a new millirobot design that addresses the abovementioned limitations. For swarm robots to be successfully integrated into real world applications, HSI must be enabled; a human supervisor monitors and provides meaningful commands to the robots. One method of enabling HSI is through localization. This thesis proposes a novel localization method to estimate the swarm topology without the use of any external sensors such as overhead cameras monitoring the
Characterizing the Suitability of Granular Fe0 for the Water Treatment Industry

There is a burgeoning interest in reliably characterizing the intrinsic reactivity of metallic iron materials (Fe0) or zero-valent iron materials (ZVI) used in the water treatment industry. The present work is a contribution to a science-based selection of Fe0 for water treatment. A total of eight (8) granular ZVI materials (ZVI1 to ZVI8) were tested. Fe0 dissolution in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA test) and 1,10-Phenanthroline (Phen test) is characterized in parallel experiments for up to 250 h (10 days). 50 mL of each solution and 0.1 g of each Fe0 material are equilibrated in quiescent batch experiments using 2 mM EDTA or Phen. Results indicated a far higher extent of iron dissolution in EDTA than in Phen under the experimental conditions. The tested materials could be grouped into three reactivity classes: (i) low (ZVI4, ZVI6, ZVI7, and ZVI8), (ii) moderate (ZVI1 and ZVI5) and (iii) high (ZVI2 and ZVI3). The order of reactivity was the same for both tests: ZVI2 ≅ ZVI3 > ZVI1 ≅ ZVI5 > ZVI4 ≅ ZVI6 ≅ ZVI7 ≅ ZVI8. Phen results revealed for the first time the time-dependent variation of the kinetics of iron corrosion (corrosion rate) in short-term batch experiments. Overall, the results demonstrated the superiority of the Phen test for evaluating the initial stage of Fe0 dissolution. Long-term column experiments are recommended to deepen the acquired knowledge.
The aqueous extract of the root bark of Psorospermum febrifugum Spach effectively corrects anaemia. Experimental study on Wistar rats

Objectives: Psorospermum febrifugum Spach. (Clusiaceae) is a medicinal plant found in Africa. It root bark was used in Benin to treat anaemia. This work aimed to study the therapeutic efficacy of that root bark extract on anaemia treatment. Methodology and Results: Wistar Rats were anaemic by intraperitoneal injection of phenylhydrazine chloridrate. The rats were then fed either with Psorospermum febrifugum Spach root bark extract at 200 or 300 mg / kg weight / day, or with vitafer® as the reference drug. Non-anaemic rats served as controls. The blood count and osmotic resistance of red blood cells carried out on blood samples of rats at different days (D 0 , D 2 , D 7 , J 10 and D15) showed a correction of anaemia with the extract in two weeks. The extract screening revealed saponosides, reducing sugars, polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins, proteins, anthocyanins and alkaloids. Conclusion and application of results: The extract completely corrected anaemia in two weeks by increased stimulation of hemoglobin synthesis and the production of young red blood cells released into the blood. Its effect seems dose-dependent and at the 300 mg / Kg dose was even more effective than the vitafer. This remarkable efficiency would certainly be linked to its chemical composition, whose elements would act in an isolated or synergistic way to stimulate haematopoiesis. In addition, the extract had no effect on blood thrombocytes suggesting a certain specificity of action on the erythrocyte line. Psorospermum febrifugum Spach root bark had an excellent therapeutic efficacy and could be a good candidate for transformation into improved traditional medicines (ITM) for anaemia treatment, after acute and chronic toxicity tests and appropriate clinical trials. Keywords: Psorospermum febrifugum Spach , anaemia, osmotic resistance
Monopolistic and Game-Based Approaches to Transact Energy Flexibility

The appearance of the flexible behavior of end-users based on demand response programs makes the power distribution grids more active. Thus, electricity market participants in the bottom layer of the power system, wish to be involved in the decision-making process related to local energy management problems, increasing the efficiency of the energy trade in distribution networks. This paper proposes monopolistic and game-based approaches for the management of energy flexibility through end-users, aggregators, and the Distribution System Operator (DSO) which are defined as agents in the power distribution system. Besides, a 33-bus distribution network is considered to evaluate the performance of our proposed approaches for energy flexibility management model based on impact of flexibility behaviors of end-users and aggregators in the distribution network. According to the simulation results, it is concluded that although the monopolistic approach could be profitable for all agents in the distribution network, the game-based approach is not profitable for end-users.
Evaluation of Scanpath Comparison Metrics for Static and Dynamic Tasks

Purpose Automated scanpath comparison metrics should deliver an objective method to evaluate the similarity of scanpaths. The aim of this thesis is an evaluation of seven existing scanpath comparison metrics in static and dynamic tasks in order to provide a guidline that helps to decide which algorithm has to be chosen for a special kind of task. Methods The applicability of the algorithms for a static, visual search task and a dynamic, interactive video game task as well as their constraints and limitations were tested. Therefore, binocular gaze data were recorded by using the eye tracking system The Eye Tribe (The Eye Tribe ApS, Copenhagen/ Denmark). Objective task performance measures from 21 subjects were used in order to create scanpath groupings for which a relevant effect of dissimilarity was to be expected. Objective task performance measures such as task performance time were statistically evaluated and compared to the results gained by the comparison metrics. Results Four of the algorithms being used successfully identified differences for static and dynamic tasks: MultiMatch, iComp, SubsMatch and the Hidden Markov Model. ScanMatch was very sensitive for the static task but not applicable to the dynamic task whereas FuncSim was suitable for dynamic but not for static tasks. Eyenalysis failed to detect any effect. Conclusion The applicability of scanpath comparison metrics depends on the state of the task, respectively on the kind of experimental set up. In future, the application area for eye tracking will expand and an improvement of automated scanpath comparison metrics is therefore required.
Brief insight into the behavior, activity, and interspecific interactions of urban Trimeresurus (Cryptelytrops) albolabris (Reptilia: Squamata: Viperidae) vipers in Bangkok, Thailand

Green Pit Vipers are a widely distributed, diverse group of snakes which occur across a variety of habitats. Little is known about their natural history in anthropogenically modified environments, and no ecological work has investigated their persistence in cities. We non-invasively photo-monitored White-lipped Green Pit Vipers Trimeresurus (Cryptelytrops) albolabris in the metropolis of Bangkok, Thailand (n = 4 individuals, mean = 2,658 minutes per individual). Subsequently, we preliminarily characterize urban green pit vipers as nocturnal predators, displaying ambush-foraging at night, sheltering during the day, and having limited movement in between temporal periods. We recorded two predation events of vipers capturing and ingesting anuran prey. Vipers infrequently displayed tail undulations (239 minutes total), with one event occurring immediately before a predation event. We also document chemosensory, probing, and mouth-gaping behaviors having occurred exclusively at night. Other vertebrates including birds, frogs, geckos, small mammals, and a cobra were photographed interacting with focal vipers or their immediate surroundings (315 minutes total). Knowledge of organisms in tropical urban environments is scarce, and the persistence of venomous snakes in these unique and challenging habitats requires further study.
Plant-canopy Effects on Natural Regeneration in Sites Under Restoration: Do Tree Species Matter?

How does species choice influence ecological restoration outcomes? In order to answer this question, the goal of this study was to assess the community structure and species richness of natural regeneration beneath the canopy of four native species from the Atlantic Forest (Guarea guidonia (L.) Sleumer; Inga edulis Mart; Nectandra membranacea (SW) Griseb; and, Piptadenia gonoacantha (Mart.) J.F. Macbr). The research was carried out in plantations of native tree species at the Guapiaçu Ecological Reserve, in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Our results pointed that abundance, basal area and species richness were significantly higher beneath Inga compared to Nectandra and Guarea. Whereas the lowest values observed in Guarea may suggest its negative effects under natural regeneration. Therefore, we highlighted that the positive or negative biological effects of tree species, instead of their simple response (mortality and initial growth), must be considered in ecological restoration projects.
Alumina Extraction from Coal Fly Ash via Low-Temperature Potassium Bisulfate Calcination

Owing to the depletion of bauxite and increasing demand for alumina, calcination methods for extracting alumina from coal fly ash (CFA) were developed. However, these methods have disadvantages such as the need for high temperatures and the emission of toxic gases. Hence, in this study, Al2O3 was extracted from CFA via low-temperature potassium bisulfate calcination technology. Effects of the potassium bisulfate amount, calcination temperature, and calcination time on the alumina extraction efficiency were investigated using X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetry, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. It was found that this technique could recover alumina efficiently, and potassium bisulfate significantly contributed to the degradation of mullite and corundum phases. Al2O3 in CFA was converted into soluble K3Al(SO4)3. With a KHSO4/Al2O3 molar ratio of 7:1, calcining temperature of 230 °C, and calcining time of 3 h, the alumina extraction efficiency reached a maximum of 92.8%. The Avrami–Erofeev equation showed the best fit with the kinetic data for the low-temperature calcination of CFA with KHSO4. The activation energy was 28.36 kJ/mol.
PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF GINGER OIL AGAINST THIOACETAMIDE- INDUCED LIVER CIRRHOSIS IN MALE RATS.

The viability and efficiency of ginger oil against liver cirrhosis caused by Thioacetamide (TAA) in rats were investigated. Ginger oil having phenolic content of 85.3 mg g -1 as gallic acid, was extracted from dried ginger rhizome. Chemical composition of the oil was identified by GC-Ms . The major compounds were 1,8Cineole 16.58% , Zingiberene 10.94%, αCurcumen 7.66%, β-Sesqu-iphellandrene 6.26%, Camphene 5.93%, Farnesene 4.54%, Linalool 2.76% and β-Myrcene 2.18%. A biological experiment was done at the end. Evaluation of liver and kidney functions were measured. Protein and lipid profiles as well as antioxidant markers were also studied. The obtained results revealed that administration with ginger oil caused positive protective effect against the TAA-induced oxidative damage in liver. keywords:Zingiber officinale Roscoe;Ginger oil,Antioxidant,Thioacetamide, cirrhosis
Exploring the Realm of Possibilities: Trying to Predict Promising Crosses and Successful Offspring through Genomic Mating in Barley

Introducing genomic prediction approaches at an early stage (i.e., selecting the best crosses) is less disruptive than at advanced stages (identifying the best progeny) in terms of the breeding process and resources involved. Here, we tried to assess the reliability of a predictive approach in an applied breeding context. First, we developed a genomic selection model to estimate trait values and validated it on existing progenies. It was then used to predict the mean (µ) and genetic variance (VG) for each cross among a large set of simulated progenies. The degree of agreement between predicted and observed values for key traits indicated that the predictive model provided an adequate degree of accuracy. Crosses predicted to be superior produced progeny that persisted longer in the breeding process suggesting that the predictions are consistent with reality. The predicted correlations between traits known to be correlated (e.g., DON-GYD) were concordant with observed and expected correlations signifying that the properties of these simulated progeny were in line with expectations. Among the 30,000 potential crosses that could be made between lines comprising the training population, only 2.2% were predicted to exhibit a low correlation between DON and GYD and just 0.13% were predicted to produce progeny in which the top lines could combine high GYD with reduced DON. Even in the absence of empirical proof that genomic prediction can outperform classical practice, the results obtained here appear encouraging regarding the potential of such an approach in barley breeding programs.
CNN and RNN Based Neural Networks for Action Recognition

In this paper, we propose a novel approach to recognize human actions. Action recognition from videos has not been addressed extensively and effectively, primarily due to the tremendous variations that result from background and scale, etc. In order to classify the videos, at first we use very deep Convolution Neural Networks(CNNs) to extract the features of the frame in videos. Then, we use multilayerd Recurrent Neural Networks(RNNs) with a type of Long Short-Term Memory(LSTM) units to process the sequence of the extracted features by CNNs. Finally, we integrate both of the CNNs and RNNs for our model. We evaluate the model on UCF-11(YouTube Action) dataset and analyze which type of the model is fit for classify the videos. And the model we trained gets a higher accuracy.