Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stable Sulfonic MCM-41 Catalyst for Furfural Production from Renewable Resources in a Biphasic System

An MCM-41-SO3H catalyst with 14 wt% S was successfully synthesized to be used in furfural production from xylose and hemicellulose in a biphasic n-butanol/water system. The precursor MCM-41 and the acid-functionalized MCM-41-SO3H catalyst were characterized by XRD, FTIR, TEM, N2 physisorption, ICP-MS, TPD-NH3, and XPS. The characterization results indicated that the sulfonic process partially decreased the ordered mesoporous structure and increased the acid strength of the initial MCM-41. The catalytic performance of the xylose conversion was evaluated in a batch-type reactor using different biphasic ecological and renewable n-butanol/water ratios (1:1, 1.5:1, 2:1, and 2.5:1) as dissolvent at 170 ◦C. The effect of the dissolvent mixture was clearly seen from the larger initial reaction rate and TOF values for the 1.5:1 ratio. This catalytic behavior indicated that a proper proportion of n-butanol/water dissolvent mixture enhanced the solubility of the substrate in the n-butanol-rich mixture and prevented the deactivation of acidic sulfonated surface groups. To achieve transformation of lignocellulosic raw material to value-added products, the MCM-41-SO3H catalyst was also used for the production of furfural. The recycling evaluation tests indicated that for the recovered catalyst submitted to a sulfonation process, the yield of furfural was closer to the fresh catalyst.
Weight Change over Ten Years Predicts Biological Aging in a Random Sample of 3070 U.S. Adults

This investigation was designed to study the relationship between weight change over 10 years and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in a large sample of 3070 randomly selected U.S. adults, 36–70 years old. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data were used to examine the relationship between percent weight change and LTL. Potential mediating variables were controlled using partial correlation. After adjusting for age, race, year, and housing status, the association between percent weight change over 10 years and LTL was significant in women (F = 6.9, p = 0.0138). Adjusting for the demographic and several other covariates weakened the relationship slightly (F = 4.7, p = 0.0392). With all the covariates controlled, for each one percentage point increase in weight over the previous 10 years, telomeres were, on average, 3.48 base pairs (bp) shorter in women. Given that each one-year increase in age was associated with telomeres that were 15.0 bp shorter in women, the median weight change in U.S. women over the previous 10 years (an increase of 10.4%) was predictive of LTLs that were 36 bp shorter, on average, or an increase of 2.4 years of biological aging. Percent weight change over 10 years was not associated with LTL in U.S. men. Percent weight change over 10 years is a strong predictor of biological aging in U.S. women, but not in men.
Effects of Salicylic Acid and Macro- and Micronutrients through Foliar and Soil Applications on the Agronomic Performance, Physiological Attributes, and Water Productivity of Wheat under Normal and Limited Irrigation in Dry Climatic Conditions

Ensuring food security with severe shortages of freshwater and drastic changes in climatic conditions in arid countries requires the urgent development of feasible and user-friendly strategies. Relatively little is known regarding the impacts of the co-application (Co-A) of salicylic acid (SA), macronutrients (Mac), and micronutrients (Mic) through foliar (F) and soil (S) application strategies on field crops under arid and semiarid climatic conditions. A two-year field experiment was designed to compare the impacts of seven (Co-A) treatments of this strategy, including a control, FSA + Mic, FSA + Mac, SSA + FMic, SSA + FSA + Mic, SSA + Mic + FSA, and SSA + Mic + FMac + Mic on the agronomic performance, physiological attributes, and water productivity (WP) of wheat under normal (NI) and limited (LMI) irrigation conditions. The results reveal that the LMI treatment caused a significant reduction in various traits related to the growth (plant height, tiller and green leaf numbers, leaf area index, and shoot dry weight), physiology (relative water content and chlorophyll pigments), and yield components (spike length, grain weight and grain numbers per spike, thousand-grain weight, and harvest index) of wheat by 11.4–47.8%, 21.8–39.8%, and 16.4–42.3%, respectively, while WP increased by 13.3% compared to the NI treatment. The different Co-A treatments have shown a 0.2–23.7%, 3.6–26.7%, 2.3–21.6%, and 12.2–25.0% increase in various traits related to growth, physiology, yield, and WP, respectively, in comparison to the control treatment. The SSA+ FSA + Mic was determined as the best treatment that achieved the best results for all studied traits under both irrigation conditions, followed by FSA + Mic and SSA + Mic + FSA under LMI in addition to FSA + Mac under NI conditions. It can be concluded that the Co-A of essential plant nutrients along with SA accomplished a feasible, profitable, and easy-to-use strategy to attenuate the negative impacts of deficit irrigation stress, along with the further improvement in the growth and production of wheat under NI conditions.
Ethnic Issues and Disparities in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: What Can We Learn from the Arab Population in Israel?

Inflammatory bowel diseases are increasing among different ethnic groups. We aimed to compare the clinical characteristics, complications, and outcomes among Arab and Jewish people sharing the same healthcare system. All patients older than 18 years with a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) between the years 2000 and 2021 were included. Data regarding demographics, disease characteristics, extraintestinal manifestation, treatment, comorbidities, and mortality were retrieved. A total of 1263 (9.8%) Arab CD patients were compared with 11,625 Jewish CD patients, and 1461 (11.8%) Arab UC patients were compared to 10,920 Jewish patients. Arab CD patients were younger at diagnosis, 36.11 ± 16.7 compared to 39.98 ± 19.4 years, p < 0.001, 59.5% males compared to 48.7%, p < 0.001; in addition, Arab CD patients had a higher rate of anal fissure, perianal abscess, erythema nodosum, diabetes mellitus, obesity, liver cirrhosis, and male infertility. Arab CD patients were less frequently treated with azathioprine or mercaptopurine compared with Jewish patients. No significant difference was found in the rate of anti-TNF treatment, but a higher rate of steroids treatment was found. The all-cause mortality of CD patients was lower among Arab patients (8.4% vs. 10.2%, p = 0.039). Significant differences were found regarding disease characteristics, course, comorbidities, and treatment among Arab and Jewish patients with IBD.
Baricitinib Lipid-Based Nanosystems as a Topical Alternative for Atopic Dermatitis Treatment

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory skin disorder which causes a significant clinical problem due to its prevalence. The ongoing treatment for AD is aimed at improving the patient’s quality of life. Additionally, glucocorticoids or immunosuppressants are being used in systemic therapy. Baricitinib (BNB) is a reversible Janus-associated kinase (JAK)-inhibitor; JAK is an important kinase involved in different immune responses. We aimed at developing and evaluating new topical liposomal formulations loaded with BNB for the treatment of flare ups. Three liposomal formulations were elaborated using POPC (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycero-3-phosphocholine), CHOL (Cholesterol) and CER (Ceramide) in different proportions: (i) POPC, (ii) POPC:CHOL (8:2, mol/mol) and (iii) POPC:CHOL:CER (3.6:2.4:4.0 mol/mol/mol). They were physiochemically characterized over time. In addition, an in vitro release study, ex vivo permeation and retention studies in altered human skin (AHS) were also performed. Histological analysis was used to study the tolerance of the formulations on the skin. Lastly, the HET-CAM test was also performed to evaluate the irritancy capacity of the formulations, and the modified Draize test was performed to evaluate the erythema and edema capacity of the formulations on the altered skin. All liposomes showed good physicochemical properties and were stable for at least one month. POPC:CHOL:CER had the highest flux and permeation, and the retention in the skin was equal to that of POPC:CHOL. The formulations exhibited no harmful or irritating effects, and the histological examination revealed no changes in structure. The three liposomes have shown promising results for the aim of the study.
A Mathematical Framework for Enriching Human-Machine Interactions

This paper presents a conceptual mathematical framework for developing rich human–machine interactions in order to improve decision-making in a social organisation, S. The idea is to model how S can create a “multi-level artificial cognitive system”, called a data analyser (DA), to collaborate with humans in collecting and learning how to analyse data, to anticipate situations, and to develop new responses, thus improving decision-making. In this model, the DA is “processed” to not only gather data and extend existing knowledge, but also to learn how to act autonomously with its own specific procedures or even to create new ones. An application is given in cases where such rich human–machine interactions are expected to allow the DA+S partnership to acquire deep anticipation capabilities for possible future changes, e.g., to prevent risks or seize opportunities. The way the social organization S operates over time, including the construction of DA, is described using the conceptual framework comprising “memory evolutive systems” (MES), a mathematical theoretical approach introduced by Ehresmann and Vanbremeersch for evolutionary multi-scale, multi-agent and multi-temporality systems. This leads to the definition of a “data analyser–MES”.
Measuring Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) Computer-Based and Paper-Based: Examining the Mode Effect in Reading Accuracy and Reading Fluency

Internationally, teachers use oral reading fluency (ORF) measurements to monitor learning progress in reading and adapt instruction to the individual needs of students. In ORF measures, the child reads aloud single syllables, words, or short passages, and the teacher rates in parallel at which items the child makes a mistake. Since administering paper-based ORF requires increased effort on the part of teachers, computer-based test administration is available. However, there are still concerns about the comparability of paper-based and computer-based test modes. In our study, we examine mode effects between paper-based and computer-based test scores for both reading speed and reading accuracy using a German-language ORF assessment for progress monitoring. 2nd- and 3rd-year-students (N = 359) with and without special education needs participated in the study. Results show comparable and high reliability (r > 0.76) and no differential item functioning for both test modes. Furthermore, students showed significantly higher reading speed on the paper-based test, while no differences were found in reading accuracy. In the absence of differential item functioning, we discuss how mean differences can be accounted for, how teachers can be trained to use the different test modes, and how computer-based tests can be safeguarded in practice.
Metabolomic Analysis of Vitamin E Supplement Use in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial

The effects of vitamin E supplementation on cancer and other chronic diseases are not clear. We compared the serum metabolomic profile of differing vitamin E dosages in order to re-examine the previously observed changes in a novel C22 lactone sulfate compound, androgenic steroids, and other metabolites. A total of 3409 women and men previously selected for metabolomics studies in the PLCO Cancer Screening Trial were included in this investigation. Serum metabolites were profiled using ultrahigh-performance liquid and gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Seventy known metabolites including C22 lactone sulfate and androgens were significantly associated with vitamin E supplementation. In the sex-stratified analysis, 10 cofactors and vitamins (e.g., alpha-CEHC sulfate and alpha-CEHC glucuronide), two carbohydrates (glyceric and oxalic acids), and one lipid (glycocholenate sulfate) were significantly associated with vitamin E dose in both males and females (FDR-adjusted p-value < 0.01). However, the inverse association between C22 lactone sulfate and daily vitamin E supplementation was evident in females only, as were two androgenic steroids, 5-androstenediol and androsterone glucuronide. Our study provides evidence of distinct steroid hormone pathway responses based on vitamin E dosages. Further studies are needed to gain biological insights into vitamin E biochemical effects relevant to cancer and other chronic diseases.
Husband's Support, Anxiety and Maternal-Fetal Attachment in Pregnant Women: a Scoping Review

MFA is an emotional bond that develops between mother and fetus. Maternal-fetal attachment is based on cognitive representations such as thoughts, feelings, and behaviors representing a pregnant mother's affection for her fetus. Husband's support and anxiety are factors that influence the quality of MFA and birth outcomes. Objective: to analyze husband's support, anxiety level and MFA level. Method: Scoping review using the PRISMA Scr framework. Using the PICO Framework, the search strategy was searched using keywords in the Scopus, Ebsco, Pubmed, ScienceDirect and Proquest databases. Critical Assessment is done with JBI. Results: 14 articles were obtained that were screened using the PRISMA ScR framework, 50% came from developing countries and 50% from developed countries. Articles with cross-sectional research methods, cohort and longitudinal studies each 28.6% and case control studies 14.2%. JBI results from 14 articles resulted in a score of > 50% so it was accepted. Conclusion: MFA is influenced by husband's support and anxiety which impacts birth outcomes and infant development. Efforts are needed to increase MFA through MFA training for pregnant women and constructive anxiety management
THE UPWIND FINITE ELEMENT SCHEME FOR NONLINEAR CONVECTION-DIFFUSION EQUATION

In this paper, a kind of upwind finite element scheme is studied for two-dimensional nonlinear convection diffusion equation. Nonlinear convection term approximated by finite volume type method considered over a mesh dual to the triangular grid, whereas the nonlinear diffusion term approximated by Galerkin method. Under some assumption the discrete maximum principle and the convergence of the approximated solution are proved.
The Mathematical Theory of Thin Film Evolution

DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to my wife, Semra. Tech. I will never forget his help and support. In this respect, I want to thank Professors M. Akhmet and O. Celebi for their support during my studies there. Many special thanks to my loving wife Semra. She has encouraged me, pushed me and put up with me during my studies. I feel very lucky to have such a partner. I also want to thank both of our families for their continuous support and encouragement. All of the faculy at GA Tech who taught me and discussed math with me deserve many thanks. I also thank Ms. Cathy Jacobson for her help to improve my English and Ms. Rena Brakebill for her help and support in my teaching. SUMMARY We try to explain the mathematical theory of thin liquid film evolution. We start with introducing physical processes in which thin film evolution plays an important role. Derivation of the classical thin film equation and existing mathematical theory in the literature are also introduced. To explain the thin film evolution we derive a new family of degenerate parabolic equations. We prove results on existence, uniqueness, long time behavior, regularity and support properties of solutions for this equation. At the end of the thesis we consider the classical thin film Cauchy problem on the whole real line for which we use asymptotic equipartition to show H 1 (R) convergence of solutions to the unique self-similar solution.
Development of a Machine-Learned Cruise Guide Indicator for Rotorcraft

This paper presents a machine-learned virtual cruise guide indicator (vCGI) for Chinook helicopters. Two temporal neural networks were trained and evaluated on measured data from 55 flight tests, one for the fore rotor and another for the aft rotor, to predict a vCGI value, which protects 23 components from fatigue damage during steady-state conditions. Three different classes of machine learning architectures were evaluated for prediction of the vCGI from time sequences: a temporal convolutional neural network with 1D dilated causal convolutions, a long short-term memory recurrent neural network, and an attention-based transformer architecture. The final average model accuracy on unseen flight data is currently greater than 93% for CGI values which could result in fatigue damage and 90% for normal operation CGI values. Model accuracy was improved through a series of advancements in: (1) selection of optimal training data using temporal collective variables and unsupervised learning, (2) dataset augmentation with maximum-entropy temporal collective variables, and (3) implementation of a mixture-of-experts classification-regression approach using an adversarial classification approach to assign maneuver labels. The results are presented for each advancement in model development along with lessons learned in training machine learning models on real-world, time-dependent rotorcraft data.
Institutional Quality, Employment, Trade Openness on Environment (Co2) Nexus From Top Co2 Producing Countries; Panel ARDL Approach

This study aims to examine the impact of Institutional quality, Employment, and trade openness on the environment (CO2 emission in metric tonnes) for the period between 2002 and 2021, using data from the top ten CO2-producing nations (China, United States, India, Russia, Japan, Germany, Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia). We employ the panel-based Auto Regressive Distributive Lags (ARDL) model that includes a unit root test to examine the stationarity properties of the data. The findings shows that the Employment and Trade openness are at level of first difference and other Institutional Quality was on level which shows the mixed stream results. The long run equation regressors indicated that the environment (CO2) has been affected due to all other predictors trade openness, employment labor and institutional quality. After finding substantial cointegration, the long-term and short-term ARDL coefficients for the models are estimated. The model has negative and statistically significant lagged Error Correction Term indicating an extremely stable long-run link between attributes. In long run & short run the panel ARDL results shows that Institutional Quality has the significant impact on CO2 emissions as and when institutional quality improves CO2 emission diminishes and the other variables Employment and Trade openness has significant impact on CO2 environment. The results are more important for policy makers in setting up policies to protect environment.
Robust Beamforming Optimization Design for RIS-Aided MIMO Systems With Practical Phase Shift Model and Imperfect CSI

The ideal phase shift model and the acquisition of channel state information (CSI) are practically difficult to realize in reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) assisted communication systems. Therefore, these have greatly troubled the beamforming design of multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) systems via RIS. This article presents a robust beamforming design framework in the RIS-enhanced MIMO communication networks in the presence of considering practical phase shifts for the RIS and imperfect CSI of the cascade channels. More specifically, we propose an alternative optimization framework and adopt the distributed alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMMs) method to solve the sum-rate maximization problem by combining the true environment model (TEM) and the mismatch environment model (MEM) with beamforming. In particular, the proposed scheme is also used for the MEM scenario. It shows that the sum rate of the ADMM scheme with MEM under low SNR is about 3 bps/Hz more than the barrier function penalty method, approximately 6 bps/Hz more than the accelerated projected gradient method. Next, when the SNR is 5 dB, the above three schemes are greater than the semidefinite relaxation (SDR) method. But, the above methods are smaller than the SDR method in MEM. Then, the sum rate of the SDR method with the TEM is approximately 1.6 times of the MEM, while the CPU time of both is consistent with the computational complexity. Therefore, the differences between the two models affect the performance achieved by different methods. The proposed approach sheds a light to engineers working in wireless communication on enhancing the transmission robustness of existing wireless networks.
Improved ADRC With a Cascade Extended State Observer Based on Quasi-Generalized Integrator for PMSM Current Disturbances Attenuation

Traditional active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) is not adequately capable to deal with current disturbances, including periodic harmonics of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). Thus, an improved ADRC with a cascade extended state observer (CESO) based on quasi-generalized integrator (QGI) is proposed to attenuate the periodic and aperiodic disturbances in the current loop. In the proposed strategy, a CESO with two cascaded levels is designed to enhance the estimation accuracy of aperiodic disturbances and decrease the steady-state observation error of periodic harmonics. The QGI is embedded into the second cascade level of CESO to improve its estimation accuracy of harmonic disturbances. With the periodic harmonics accurately estimated, the subsequent improved ADRC based on feedback control law can effectively enhance the rejection of such disturbances. The theoretical analysis is comprehensively conducted to investigate the disturbances estimation performance, stability, disturbances rejection capability, and robustness, while the parameter tuning strategy is studied based on the control bandwidth. Finally, the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed scheme are verified on a PMSM bench through the experiments.
TRANSITIVITY ANALYSIS: GENDER REPRESENTATION IN TWO ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS FOR TENTH GRADE STUDENTS

Textbook is learning material that can affect student’s perspective and thinking. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to several things such as gender equality contained in the textbook, either explicitly or implicitly. This paper concerns gender representation in two English textbooks assessed by the National Education Standards Agency and Cambridge University Pers. The framework of systemic functional linguistics proposed by Halliday & Matthiessen (2014) is utilized in this study. The research used a qualitative descriptive analysis focusing on the textual data obtained from the 10 selected texts related with the gender roles of the characters. The result indicates that male was found to be more frequently represented in roles of Participants, Process and Circumstantial. In this case, females are almost invisible and marginalized in both textbooks. Four types of transitivity were found in the first book and they represented male as characters whose activities related to business or industry with high desires, rational and a traveler whereas female represented as characters whose activities related to education and household. The second book contains six types of transitivity process, it is represented male as strength, attentive, talk much and female as a nurturing, beautiful, complaisant and cheerful. In summary, there is unequal representation between male and female in both textbooks.