Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Possibility of Piezoelectric Sensor to Monitor Onshore Pipeline in Real Time Monitoring

Transportation oil and gas mostly used pipelines transportation. The condition of a pipeline must be continually monitored to ensure that defects do not cause it to fail and operate optimally. Pipeline has the possibility to experience defects during operations such as general corrosion, fatigue, crack, and others. Defects that occur in the pipeline during operation have serious consequences including loss of property, personal injury, or even loss of lives and serious ecological pollution. Awareness of the importance of conducting pipeline monitoring and safety issues for workers and residents around the pipeline site, emphasizes the importance of developing a technology for conducting pipeline monitoring activities in real time. The new technology for detecting metal defects is by using piezoelectric material. Based on laboratory scale, piezoelectric sensor can be applied to monitor pipeline defect. However, it is necessary challenges to scaling up in real application are following: (1) financial investment, (2) human behavior surrounding pipeline area, (3) receiving signal in long distance, (4) protection of piezoelectric sensor, (5) combination survey for future development.
Environmental Fate and Toxicity of Three Brominated Flame Retardants in Aquatic Mesocosms

ENVIRONMENTAL FATE AND TOXICITY OF THREE BROMINATED FLAME RETARDANTS IN AQUATIC MESOCOSMS Benjamin Patrick de Jourdan Advisors: University of Guelph, 2012 K.R. Solomon D.C.G. Muir M.L. Hanson P.K. Sibley Tradtional brominated flame retardants (BFRs), namely the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), have persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic properties that have resulted in the phase out of their production and their be banned in certain jurisdictions. To meet regulatory flame retardancy requirements, non-PBDE BFRs have entered the marketplace. Much remains unknown regarding the environmental fate and toxicity of these emerging BFRs. The objective of this thesis was to use outdoor mesocosms to examine the fate and toxicity of three emerging BFRs; bis(tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), tetrabromobisphenol A bis(dibromopropyl ether) (TBBPA-DBPE), and BZ-54, which consists of two BFRs, ethylhexyl-tetrabromobenzoate (EHTeBB) and bis(ethylhexyl)tetrabromophthalate (BEHTBP). While it was difficult to accurately determine degradation rates because of fluctuating concentrations, the estimated half-lives indicated these compounds are persistent (> 60 days in sediments). The partitioning of the compounds between the particulates and the sediment resulted in differential degradation rates (greater in the particulates), and products formed; those formed on the particulates were consistent with photodegradation products. The effects of these emerging BFRs on Hyalella azteca and the benthic macroinvertebrate community were assessed through the use of in situ exposure and sampling techniques. The in situ Hyalella cages showed a high degree of variability for most endpoints, regardless of their placement (e.g., water column vs. sediment) in the mesocosm. BTBPE accumulated in the H. azteca (0.03 – 1.4 ng/g ww), however this was not associated with any changes in growth or reproduction. There was high variability in abundance and diversity between the mesocosms, which limited the ability to detect statistically significant differences. Interestingly, the BZ-54 treated mesocosms had the greatest abundance, and the least amount of community diversity. This thesis examined the bioaccumulation potential of these compounds in fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), as well as the associated effects on growth and development as measured through physical and biochemical endpoints. There was considerable uptake and persistence of BTBPE and TBBPA-DBPE, as well as indication of metabolism of these compounds, but limited physical effects observed. There were indications of increased oxidative stress in the BZ-54 treatment, and increased induction of vitellogenin in fathead minnow from the BTBPE treatment.
Future projections of precipitation and temperature extremes at Sohra (Cherrapunji) using Statistical Downscaling Model

The Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM 4.2) is used to project the future precipitation and maximum and minimum temperatures at Sohra, one of the extreme places on earth, using the predictors of the Second-Generation Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM2). The SDSM was calibrated with daily precipitation and temperature data from 1979 to 2005 and validated from 2006 to 2020. Future scenarios generated under the three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5 are divided into three future periods, Near Future (2021-2040), Mid Future (2041-2071), and Far Future (2071-2100). It is found that the precipitation and maximum/minimum temperature at Sohra are influenced mainly by the major global predictors; specific humidity at 850 hPa height (s850) and mean temperature at 2 m (temp)/near surface specific humidity (shum), respectively. The downscaled result reveals an increase in Monsoon precipitation in the range of 266-1543 mm under various RCPs compared with the base periods 1985-2005 during the Near Future and 1979-2008 during the Mid and Far Future. Also, annual maximum and minimum temperature increases in the range of 1-2.8 °C and 1.2-3.6 °C for all RCPs in the future.
Catalytic Ring-Opening Polymerisation of Cyclic Ethylene Carbonate: Importance of Elementary Steps for Determining Polymer Properties Revealed via DFT-MTD Simulations Validated Using Kinetic Measurements

The production of CO2-containing polymers is still very demanding in terms of controlling the synthesis of products with pre-defined CO2 content and molecular weight. An elegant way of synthesising these polymers is via CO2-containing building blocks, such as cyclic ethylene carbonate (cEC), via catalytic ring-opening polymerisation. However, to date, the mechanism of this reaction and control parameters have not been elucidated. In this work, using DFT-metadynamics simulations for exploiting the potential of the polymerisation process, we aim to shed more light on the mechanisms of the interaction between catalysts (in particular, the catalysts K3VO4, K3PO4, and Na2SnO3) and the cEC monomer in the propagation step of the polymeric chain and the occurring CO2 release. Confirming the simulation results via subsequent kinetics measurements indicates that, depending on the catalyst’s characteristics, it can be attached reversibly to the polymeric chain during polymerisation, resulting in a defined lifetime of the activated polymer chain. The second anionic oxygen of the catalyst can promote the catalyst’s transfer to another electrophilic cEC monomer, terminating the growth of the first chain and initiating the propagation of the new polymer chain. This transfer reaction is an essential step in controlling the molecular weight of the products.
Chapter 10. A variational theory of specialization in acquisition and diachrony

This article presents an empirical case study in the diachronic specialization of morphosyntactic forms for different syntactic contexts, and uses it to develop a theory of variational specialization. This theory links specialization in diachrony to specialization in language acquisition, sociolinguistic coordination in a speech community, and a general understanding of evolutionary dynamics. The case study illustrates these relationships with the specialization of melted and molten in Early Modern English, and tests the hypothesis that even diachronic specialization in a lexical domain will not take the same trajectory for different speakers, but that the community will nevertheless coordinate on a direction of specialization given multiple generations. In doing so, it answers a question referred to as Yang’s Paradox: how can we reconcile diachronic results showing that specialization is slow, with experimental results on acquisition showing that it’s fast? The study ultimately shows that specialization in a speech community is orders of magnitude slower than specialization for an individual child in an experimental setting, due to the problem of coordinating the dimension and direction of specialization among many speakers. I also show how Yang’s (2000) variational grammar learning model can be extended to the problem of specialization, and that children plausibly do not play an active role in specializing linguistic forms: they only need to identify potential contexts that the forms could specialize for, and the learning analog of natural selection does the rest.
Reflection of Water Literacy in the Environmental Education and Climate Change Course Teaching Program

In this research, in the Environmental Education and Climate Change Course (6th, 7th or 8th grades) Curriculum; What specific goals, skills, achievements, topics/concepts related to water literacy are included and their place in the program are investigated. Document review, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. The research was based on the Environmental Education and Climate Change Curriculum revised in 2022. The document examined in the context of the research was analyzed with descriptive analysis. As a result of the research, water literacy is indirectly included in the special purpose dimension of the Environmental Education and Climate Change Course Curriculum; directly in the skill dimension; It has been determined that it is included directly and indirectly in the dimension of achievement and subject/concepts. It is seen that the achievements and topics/concepts that may be important for the reflection of water literacy in the curriculum are included in the "Environmental Problems" and "Sustainable Development and Environmentally Friendly Technologies" units. Within the scope of the results obtained, it can be said that the 2022 Environmental Education and Climate Change Course Curriculum includes content aimed at raising awareness and awareness about water literacy. The inclusion of water literacy in different teaching programs can be determined.
A 0.5-V Four-Stage Amplifier Using Cross-Feedforward Positive Feedback Frequency Compensation

This paper presents a low-voltage CMOS four-stage amplifier operating in the subthreshold region. The first design technique includes the cross-feedforward positive feedback frequency compensation (CFPFC) for obtaining better bandwidth efficiency in a low-voltage multi-stage amplifier. The second design technique incorporates both the bulk-drain-driven input stage topology in conjunction with a low-voltage attenuator to permit operation at a low voltage, and improves the input common-mode range (ICMR). The proposed circuit is implemented using TSMC-40 nm process technology. It consumes 0.866 μW at a supply voltage of 0.5 V. With a capacitive load of 50 pF, this four-stage amplifier can achieve 84.59 dB in gain, 161.00 kHz in unity-gain bandwidth, 96 deg in phase margin, and 5.7 dB in gain margin whilst offering an input-referred noise of 213.63 @1 kHz, small-signal power-bandwidth FoMss of 9.31 (MHz∙pF/μW), and noise-power per bandwidth-based FoMnpb of 1.15 × 10−6 (()·µW/Hz). Compared to the conventional bulk-driven input stage design technique, it offers improved multi-parameter performance metrics in terms of noise, power, and bandwidth at a compromising tradeoff on ICMR with respect to bulk-driven amplifier design. Compared with conventional gate-source input stage design, it offers improved ICMR. The amplifier is useful for low-voltage analog signal-processing applications.
Reuse Distance-Aided Resource Selection Mechanisms for NR-V2X Sidelink Communication

Cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) facilitates direct communication between vehicles and other user equipment (UE) to improve the efficiency of the Internet of vehicles communication through sidelink. In addition, in the new radio vehicle-to-everything (NR-V2X) Mode 2, users can automatically select resources using the conventional sensing-based semi-persistent scheduling (SB-SPS) resource selection algorithm. This mechanism allows users to generate a list of available resources after a sensing window, after which the users can randomly select resources, and the resource can be used continuously over multiple periods before reselection. However, during the sensing window, neighbors may generate a similar list of available resources, and random selection may lead to resource conflicts. This phenomenon may lead to deteriorated communication performance and increased latency due to incorrect reception. Therefore, this paper proposes a reuse distance-aided resource selection (RD-RS) method which integrates resource reuse distance judgement with SB-SPS to mitigate resource conflicts and interference caused by random selection. Moreover, the reuse distance judgement is performed before the final resource selection, and whether the user will select the current resource depends on the reuse distance between that user and other occupiers. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed scheme is compared with other algorithms. Simulation results show that the proposed RD-RS not only achieves a higher packet reception ratio (PRR) but also effectively reduces the inter-packet gap (IPG). Moreover, in specific scenarios, the proposed method outperforms conventional schemes by 9% in terms of PRR and 70% in terms of Range.
Electrophoretic Methods for Identifying the Species of Seafood and Its Derivatives

The identification of the species of seafood and their products, whether they are fresh or cooked, is one of the key concerns of food regulations in many countries that have a significant intake of seafood. In point of fact, a commercial fraud happens when a species that is less value is intentionally substituted for a species that is more valuable, and a sanitary fraud takes place when a product that is potentially harmful is introduced into the market. A primary responsibility of veterinary inspection of seafood products is the detection of harmful species with the aim of removing them from the retail trade (Council Directive 91/493/ECC). Two efficient methods for seafood species identification are molecular biology methods and protein electrophoresis. Classic electrophoretic methods have been used for a long time to authenticate seafood; they are simple, accurate, and inexpensive compared to molecular biological methods, which are the wave of the future in food safety labs. The purpose of this article is to offer an overview of the electrophoretic methods commonly used to identify different species of seafood, including sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE), native or urea-isoelectric focusing electrophoresis (IEF), two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), and capillary electrophoresis (CE).
A Review of The Potential Applications of Propolis in The Malaysian Poultry Industry

Antibiotics are used in the poultry industry as feed additives to improve growth, prevent disease, treat sick animals, stabilize intestinal microflora, and improve growth performance. Due to the risks regarding long-term antibiotic resistance development of pathogenic bacteria in humans, the utilization of synthetic antimicrobials in livestock feed has been banned in most animal production practices. However, antibiotic prohibition in livestock can result in poor performance of the animals in terms of yield of production, quality, and health status. Therefore, it is important to find natural alternatives such as propolis to substitute for antibiotic usage in livestock feed. Propolis is a natural resin produced by honeybees. There are over 300 beneficial compounds found in propolis. It contains various bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, and others which contribute to its antimicrobial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties. Various studies have been carried out to determine the biological and chemical activities of propolis as well as its function as an alternative natural feed additive. Thus, this review focuses on propolis composition, the potential of stingless bee propolis in Borneo, its potential as an antioxidant with antimicrobial properties, and the potential of propolis as a natural feed additive for poultry.
Production Optimization of Chlorophyll Herbs Spice Powder from Tapak Liman (Elephantopus scaber) Leaves with Response Surface Method

Jamu is a herbal drink obtained from the processing of plant parts which are non-toxic and do not have side effects. One way to extend the shelf life of herbal medicine is by changing the form of herbal medicine into powder. The method that can be used is foam mat drying which involves an emulsifying agent in the form of maltodextrin and a foam agent in the form of tween 80. Generally, herbal medicine is made from raw materials such as ginger. Ginger contains gingerols and shogaols as phenolic antioxidant components. Improving the quality, characteristics, attractiveness of herbal spice powders can be done by adding green coloring from chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a photosynthetic pigment in plants that can absorb blue, red and purple light and reflects green in plants. Tapak liman leave (Elephantopus scaber) is one of the weeds that has a deep green color and can be used as medicine. The characteristics of herbal spice powders with chlorophyll are influenced by factors in each process, such as the mixing and drying processes. Optimizing the final result requires process engineering with one of the methods, namely the Response Surface Methodology. This study used the Behnken Box Design with 3 factors in the form of mixing time, drying time and power with a design that produced 15 treatments. Optimization response parameters used consist of response to chlorophyll content and response to water content. Optimum treatment conditions were obtained in the treatment with 26 minutes of stirring time, 10 minutes of drying time at 400 Watt power. The chlorophyll response is 14.138 ppm and the water content response is 2.5%. Analysis of herbal powder containing chlorophyll supporting optimum treatment conditions can be carried out by measuring color, pH and TDS. The L* value owned by is 73.7 which tends to be brightness. Meanwhile, the a* value is -2.5 and the b* value is 6.5. The degree of acidity or pH at is 6.03 with a total dissolved solids value of 7.75 °Brix.
Comparison of Volatile and Nonvolatile Metabolites in Black Tea under Four Second-Drying Methods Using Widely Targeted Metabolomics

Second-drying has an impact on the development of flavor and aroma in black tea. However, the effect of the shape changes of the tea leaves during second-drying on the quality of black tea has yet to be evaluated. In this study, GC-TOFMS and UPLC-HRMS identified 411 volatile metabolites and 253 nonvolatile metabolites. Additionally, 107 nonvolatile compounds and 21 different volatiles were screened. Significant alterations (p < 0.01) were found in 18 amino acid derivatives, 17 carbohydrates, 20 catechins, 19 flavonoids, 13 phenolic acids, and 4 organic acids. The content of certain amino acids and carbohydrates correlated with the shape of black tea. Furthermore, sweet aroma compound formation was facilitated by hot-air second-drying while the remaining second-drying approaches encouraged the formation of the fruity aroma compound. The results of the study provide a theoretical basis and technical instructions for the accurate and precise processing of premium black tea.
The contribution of glacial isostatic adjustment to projections of sea‐level change along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America

We determine the contribution of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) to future relative sea‐level change for the North American coastline between Newfoundland and Texas. We infer GIA model parameters using recently compiled and quality‐assessed databases of past sea‐level changes, including new databases for the United States Gulf Coast and Atlantic Canada. At 13 cities along this coastline, we estimate the GIA contribution to range from a few centimeters (e.g., 3 [−1 to 9] cm Miami) to a few decimeters (e.g., 18 [12–22] cm, Halifax) for the period 2085–2100 relative to 2006–2015 (1−σ ranges given). We provide estimates of uncertainty in the GIA component using two different methods; the more conservative approach produces total ranges (1−σ confidence) that vary from 3 to 16 cm for the cities considered. Contributions from ocean steric and dynamic changes as well as those from changes in land ice are also estimated to provide context for the GIA projections. When summing the contributions from all three processes at the 13 cities considered along this coastline, using median or best‐estimate values, the GIA signal comprises 5–38% of the total depending on the adopted climate forcing and location. The contributions from ocean dynamic/steric changes and ice mass loss are similar in amplitude but with spatial variation that approximately cancels, resulting in GIA dominating the net spatial variability north of 35°N.
Regional likelihood of very large wildfires over the 21st century across the western United States: Motivation to study individual events like the Rim Fire, a unique opportunity with unprecedented remote sensing data

Studies project that a warming climate will likely increase wildfire activity in many areas (Westerling and others 2002; Flannigan and others 2005, 2009; Littell and others 2009). These analyses are often of aggregate statistics like annual area burned, which are insufficient for analyzing changes in seasonality of fire events, the temporal resolution useful for fire management and understanding what drives individual events. Stavros and others (in press, a) show that very large wildfires (VLWFs >20,234 ha ~50,000 ac) may account for only the top two percent of all fires burned in the western contiguous United States, but they constitute a substantial fraction (approximately 33 percent) of aggregate area burned from 1984 to 2010, thus providing strong motivation for understanding what drives them. Using composite records of mean and 95% confidence interval of climate indices for individual fires within a region vs. these same indices the weeks leading up to, including, and post ignition, Stavros and others (in press, a) investigate the spatial and temporal variability of the VLWF climate space. The VLWF climate space was used to define explanatory variables for logistic regression models of the probability of VLWF occurrence with high accuracy of area under the curve (AUC) > 0.80. Assessments of this climate space show that relationships between climate and aggregate area burned may be driven by how VLWFs respond to climate, and that climate and weather both before and after ignition determine fire growth to VLWF size.