Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Analysis of Metallic Elements in Tobacco and Tobacco Ash by Calibration Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Cigarette smoking may be a substantial source of intake of some hazardous elements to the human health. In this work calibration-free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy technique was employed to investigate the trace metallic elements (Fe, Ca, Al, Cu, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Sr, Ti, and Zn) concentration in tobacco and tobacco ash. Moreover, variation of metallic elements mass concentration between tobacco and tobacco ash has been observed.
Spectroelectrochemical Determination of the Redox Potential of P700 in Spinach with an Optically Transparent Thin-layer Electrode

Optimization of experimental conditions for spectroclectro-chemistry with an optically transparent thin-layer electrode allowed us to determine the redox potential of spinach P700, the primary electron donor of photosystem I, to be +469 mV vs. SHE with significantly high reproducibility (′2 mV for 12 independent samples).
Böden, Soziologie, Ausbreitung und Überlebenschancen des Alpen-Mannstreu (Eryngium alpinum)

R i a s s u n t o Allo scopo di determinare le caratteristiche pedologiche nelle stazioni con presenza o meno della Regina delle Alpi (Eryngium alpinum) sono stati eseguiti diversi profi li di suoli in distinti siti delle Alpi Carniche e analizzati i parametri edafi ci pH, contenuto calcareo, N, P, K, Mg, humus e granulosità. Si è costatata la prevalenza di suoli argillosi, decalcifi cati, con dotazione in humus e azoto relativamente alto. I suoli all’interno e al di fuori dei popolamenti di E. alpinum non si distinguono in modo signifi cativo. I rilievi fi tosociologici, eseguiti in ciascun sito in corrispondenza dei ©Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein für Kärnten, Austria, download unter www.biologiezentrum. at
Scanning microradiographic and microtomographic studies of remineralisation of subsurface enamel lesions

Scanning microradiography (SMR) and X-ray microtomography (XMT) were used to study remineralisation of subsurface enamel lesions quantitatively at a resolution of about 10 µm. With SMR, the mineral changes during de- and re-mineralisation could be measured as a function of time and position in the same tooth section. The results showed that remineralisation occurred in ten out of the 17 enamel sections; it essentially stopped after eight weeks and complete repair was never seen, even after 14 weeks. The amount of mineral gained in the subsurface maximum and subsurface minimum for each were very similar, but differed between sections. XMT also showed partial remineralisation, but again no complete repair. There was no evidence of a ‘barrier’ to remineralisation caused by nearly complete remineralisation of the surface enamel.
Influence of the Type of Surfactant on the Formation of Calcium Phosphate in Organized Molecular Systems

Organized molecular systems (OMS) have been widely used in the formation of mineral solids to control their composition, morphology, and dimensions. In this paper, we synthesized tricalcium phosphate by mixing two microemulsions, one containing calcium in its aqueous phase, the other containing phosphate. The microemulsions were stabilized either with the nonionic surfactant, Brij 30, or with the ionic surfactant, AOT, in n-decane. In the presence of Brij 30, the amorphous tricalcium phosphate gel formed was composed of spherical clusters and its crystallization into apatite used a process comparable to that observed in aqueous or water−alcohol medium. In contrast, the presence of AOT induced the production of a directly crystallized solid containing organic material, which could be due to AOT molecule preorganization at the oil−water interface. The growth of crystallites occurred in a preferential direction, and the crystals obtained were analogous in shape and size to particles of bone mineral. We devel.
Electrical switching and Mott transition in VO2

In this paper the problem of the Mott metal-insulator transition in vanadium dioxide driven by an external electric field is considered. Delay time (td) measurements have shown that the experimental value of td is almost three orders of magnitude lower than the theoretical value, calculated in a simple electrothermal model. This suggests that under non-equilibrium conditions (in high electric fields) electron correlation effects contribute to the development of the insulator to metal transition. The extra-carrier injection from Si into VO2 was carried out in the structures Si-SiO2-VO2 on p-type silicon with ρ = 0.1 Ω cm and a SiO2 thickness 70 nm. It has been shown that the metal-insulator transition in VO2 can be initiated by injection, i.e. by the increase of the electron density. The value of the critical density was found to be of the order of the electron density in VO2 in the semiconducting phase, approximately 1018-1019 cm-3. This confirms that the metal-insulator transition in VO2 is the purely electronic Mott-Hubbard transition.
Cathodoluminescence degradation of SiO2:Ce,Tb powder phosphors prepared by a sol-gel process

Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to study the CL intensity degradation of SiO2:Cb,Tb powder phosphors prepared by a sol-gel process. The AES and the CL data were collected simultaneously when the powders were bombarded for 10h with a beam of electrons of current density of 54mA∕cm2, accelerated by 2kV in a vacuum chamber containing either 1×10−8 or 1×10−7Torr O2. A decrease of CL intensity was simultaneous with desorption of oxygen (O) from the surface, i.e., there is a correlation between the degradation of CL intensity and desorption of O. The AES and the XPS data suggest that a nonluminescent oxygen-deficient layer of SiOx (x<2) that could decrease the CL intensity was formed on the surface. Mechanisms by which oxygen desorption leads to a reduction of the CL intensity are discussed.
A comparative study of the anisotropy of lattice strain induced in the crystals of DL-serine by cooling down to 100 K, or by increasing pressure up to 8.6 GPa. A comparison with L-serine

Summary The anisotropy of lattice strain in the crystals of DL-serine (P21/n) on cooling down to 100 K and with increasing hydrostatic pressure up to 8.6 GPa was studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In contrast to L-serine undergoing pressure-induced phase transitions at about 5 and 8 GPa, no phase transitions were observed in DL-serine at least up to 8.6 GPa (the highest pressure reached in the experiment). The anisotropy of strain in DL-serine on cooling was shown to be radically different from that with increasing pressure. The response of the crystal structure of DL-serine to cooling and to increasing pressure was considerably different from that of L-serine.
Substitution effect on the coloration quantum yield of a photochromic bisbenzothienylethene

Introduction of isopropyl substituents to 2 and 2′ positions of benzothiophene rings of bis(1-benzothiophen-3-yl)hexa-fluorocyclopentene increased the population of anti-parallel conformation, and enhanced the quantum yield of the cyclization reaction.
Linking Fantasy to everyday life: Patterns of orientation and connections to reality in the case of The Hobbit

How do viewers of fantasy link this symbolic material to their everyday lives? Starting from theoretical approaches that regard popular culture as a resource for coping with challenges of social circumstances and of everyday life we develop the argument that different patterns of orientation towards cultural products go along with different references to reality. We take The Hobbit as a particular case of a popular product and the World Hobbit Project with its global data on viewers’ reactions to these films as the basis for our research. Based on standardised indicators for viewers’ interest in The Hobbit itself, in Tolkien’s world, in the genre of fantasy, and in ‘big cinema’ in general we identify distinct patterns of orientation that go along with differences regarding film appreciation and perceived functions of fantasy. By means of a qualitative analysis of open answers from Austria and Germany regarding broader issues and aspects of personal relevance that are raised by the film we identify relevant ways and topics, by which viewers link the film to their everyday life, e.g. the current refugee crisis. Based on that, we conduct a quantitative analysis showing that the patterns of orientation go along with different references to the real world.
Chance correlation in non-invasive glucose measurement using near-infrared spectroscopy

Although the non-invasive glucose measurement technique based on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has been an active research area for over twenty years, a reliable monitoring method has not been established yet. The key problem is that the spectral variations due to glucose concentration are extremely small compared to that from other biological components. In addition, there are also some ambiguous time-dependent physiological processes, which make the explanation of the model more difficult, especially in the universal calibration. Therefore, in order to produce a model that is related to the actual spectral variation of glucose, reproducible measurements and clinical validation experiments that improve the selectivity and signal to noise ratio of glucose measurement are needed. In this paper, chance correlation in spectroscopy analysis is investigated, which is one of the obstacles to achieving successful NIR spectroscopy analysis, especially in in vivo measurement. The reasons for chance correlation in the in vitro and in vivo experiments are analysed. Methods to avoid it are suggested accordingly and verified with the in vitro experiments. We also investigate the chance correlation for the in vivo NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy monitoring blood. Results show that there is significant signal variation after glucose is taken, and the potential chance correlation factors including the instrument-related and physiology-related variations during the in vivo experiments do not contribute to the multivariate model for glucose concentration.
On the genuineness of citrus essential oils. Part XL. The composition of the coumarins and psoralens of Calabrian bergamot essential oil (Citrus bergamia Risso)

The content of bergamottin, 5-geranyloxy-7-methoxycoumarin, citropten and bergapten in Calabrian bergamot essential oil was determined by HPLC. 128 genuine bergamot essential oils, cold-pressed during the year 1992, were analysed; for each sample the date and area of production of the fruits is known. The percentage of bergamottin ranges between 1.02% and 2.75%. 5-geranyloxy-7-methoxycoumarin between 0.08 and 0.22%, citropten between 0.14% and 0.35%, bergapten between 0.11 and 0.32%. The mean content of bergamottin and 5-geranyloxy-7-methoxycoumarin did not vary during the production period, while that of citropten and bergapten decreased considerably from January to March. There does not seem to be any evident correlation between the production areas of the fruits and the coumarin composition. The presence of some peaks absent in genuine bergamot essential oils, has been detected in three bergamot oils, available on the market, probably because of lime oil addition.
Multiple pulse NMR in rotating solids.

An analysis of magic angle sample spinning (MASS) and multiple pulse/MASS NMR experiments is presented. The approach relies on an examination of magnetization vectors of individual crystallites during the experiments, and is similar in spirit to the vector model employed in liquid state spectroscopy. Many features of MASS and multiple pulse/MASS experiments can be understood with this approach. For instance, it is easy to illustrate that vectors from the spin packets refocus once every rotor cycle leading to the formation of rotational echo trains. Furthermore, an examination of the magnetization’s path during a rotor cycle suggests a method to generate spin echoes in a rotating sample which involves two π pulses separated by a rotor period TR. A similar analysis leads to an explanation of the four pulse cycle used to suppress sidebands in MASS spectra (the so‐called TOSS experiment) and to multiple π‐pulse trains which generate echoes every second through fifth rotor period. In addition, it is shown that.
Combustion Measurements of Fuel‐Rich Aluminum and Molybdenum Oxide Nano‐Composite Mixtures

Fuel rich nano-composite powders of aluminum and molybdenum oxide were tested for ignition and combustion behind the incident and reflected shock waves in a shock tube. The powders consisted of approximately 10 μm particles, each of which contained Al and MoO3 mixed by mechanical alloying on the nano-scale. These powders were aluminum rich with composition ratios of 4 : 1, 8 : 1, and 16 : 1 Al : MoO3 by mass. Ignition tests were performed behind incident shocks for temperatures in the range of 900 to 1500 K. From these tests, ignition delay times were obtained, and some information on combustion duration was also derived. Samples were tested in air at 0.2 MPa, and compared against nano-Al, 2.7 μm Al, and 10 μm Al baselines. Ignition results for the baseline Al cases were as expected: 10 μm Al not igniting until 2000 K, 2 μm Al igniting down to ∼1400 K, and n-Al igniting as low as 1150 K. The thermite samples showed considerable improvement in ignition characteristics. At the lowest temperature tested (900 K), both the 8 : 1 and 4 : 1 samples ignited within 250 μs. The 16 : 1 sample (94% Al) ignited down to 1050 K – which represents an improvement of roughly 1000 K over baseline Al with only a small energetic penalty. In all cases, the ignition delay increased as the amount of MoO3 in the composite was reduced. The 4 : 1 nano-composite material ignited as fast or faster than the n-Al samples. Ignition delay increased with decreasing temperature, as expected. Emission spectra and temperature data were also taken for all samples using high-speed pyrometry and time-integrated spectroscopy. In these cases, measurements were made behind the reflected shock using end-wall loading, though the conditions (temperature, pressure, and gas composition) were identical to the incident shock tests. Spectroscopy showed strong AlO features in all the samples, and the spectra fit well to an equilibrium temperature. Broadband, low resolution spectra were also fit to continuum, gray body temperatures. In general, the observed temperatures were reasonably close to 3500 K, which is similar to the combustion temperatures of pure aluminum under these conditions.
Nanocrystal Preparation: Low-Energy Precipitation Method Revisited

Nanocrystals have the potential to address the challenges of delivering drugs with low aqueous solubility. In this study, the use of low energy anti-solvent precipitation for producing nanocrystals has been investigated. Stable nanocrystals with uniform particle size were prepared for the three model compounds, glyburide, ibuprofen, and artemisinin, which are all practically insoluble in water and have diverse molecular structures and crystal packings. The choice of crystal growth inhibitors/stabilizers was found to be critical and specific for each drug. The effect of the process variables, temperature, stirring rate, and the solute solution infusion rate into the antisolvent, was rationalized in terms of how these factors influence the local supersaturation attained at the earliest stages of precipitation. The dissolution of the nanocrystals in aqueous media under physiological conditions was shown in all cases to occur almost instantaneously, being markedly more rapid than that observed for micronized .
Obtaining structural information from the atomic pair distribution function

Abstract The knowledge of the detailed atomic structure of modern materials is the key to understanding the their macroscopic properties. The atomic pair distribution function (PDF) reveals short-range and medium-range structural information. In this paper we present an overview of refinement and modelling techniques. In short, we will be trying to answer the question: What can I learn from my PDF?
A Novel Chemogenomics Knowledge-Based Ligand Design Strategy—Application to G Protein-Coupled Receptors

In the frame of the discussion of monoamine-related GPCRs, a novel knowledge-based ligand design strategy is presented. The strategy is founded on the integration of both, the deconvolution of known ligands into their component fragments and the structural bioinformatics comparison of the binding sites for the individual ligand fragments. Positioning analyses of monoamine-related GPCRs in 1) the sequence space of the seven transmembrane domains of the receptors, and 2) in the sequence spaces of the previously identified three distinct ligand fragment binding regions of the monoamine GPCRs, are carried out in the perspective to characterize orphan receptors and monoamine receptors for which no specific ligands are yet known. Compared to the commonly accepted strategy to analyze the overall sequence identity of the seven transmembrane domains in order to find starting points for lead finding and ligand design programs, the strategy to localize the sequence homology to the different ligand fragment binding sites clearly enhances the identification of putative similarities for the orphan receptors. Correspondingly, in the ligand space, by the analysis of both, the ligand architectures and the structures of the component “one-site filling” fragments of known GPCR ligands, it is then possible, by referring to the locally most directly related and characterized receptors, to identify those component ligand fragments which based on the binding site similarities are potentially best suited for the design of ligands tailored to the new target receptor. Predictions are made for several orphan GPCRs, including GPR7, GPR8, GPR14, GPR24, GPR57, GPR58 and AF021818, as well as for the 5HT1E and 5HT5 serotonin receptors for which no specific agonists and antagonists are yet known. Although the method is herein discussed with a focus on GPCRs, it is expected that such chemogenomics knowledge-based strategies – bridging the chem- and bioinformatics worlds – should open novel perspectives in drug discovery for orphan targets revealed by the human genome project belonging to other therapeutic target families.
OH Surface Density of SiO 2 and TiO 2 by Thermogravimetric Analysis

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) is investigated for determination of the OH surface density (OH/nm2) and carbon content of silica and titania powders made by flame aerosol and sol−gel processes. It is shown that it is possible to distinguish between physically adsorbed and chemically bound water and to rapidly determine the OH surface density even of small powder samples (<0.2 g) by TGA calibrated with LiAlH4 titration data. The high accuracy of the OH surface density determination by TGA is confirmed further with additional LiAlH4 titration data of silica powders and by comparison with the specifications of commercially available silica Aerosil and titania P25 powders. Furthermore, by connecting a CO2 sensor or a mass spectrometer to the TGA balance, it is possible to verify the carbon content and determine other components (organic residues) of the powders. Thereby, it is shown that flame-made powders have high purity while the preparation conditions of sol−gel powders greatly affect their purity. At a.
Steady state behaviour of three phase air lift bioreactors – an integrated model and experimental verification

Beneckea natriegens growing both in suspension and immobilised on diatomaceous earth (silica) support particles, in a 3 dm three phase air lift bioreactor (TPALB), was employed to demonstrate the relationship between substrate loading rate and immobilised biomass loading at steady state. Sterile conditions were maintained during the experiments, while the hydraulic conditions and the inlet flowrate remained constant. The experiment ran for 12 days, whilst the inlet substrate (n-propanol) concentration was varied both upwards and downwards between 250 and 750 mg dm−3. The bulk liquid substrate concentration and the immobilised biomass loading were found to vary between 6–120 mg dm−3 and 71–159 mg(dry biomass) g−1 (silica), respectively. The experimental results demonstrated that there is a positive relationship between substrate loading and immobilised biomass loading. A mathematical model is proposed to calculate biofilm thickness and bulk liquid substrate concentration (for steady state) using the inlet flowrate and the inlet substrate concentration as input parameters. The model was able to predict both biofilm thickness and immobilised biomass loading for the lower substrate loading rates applied. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry
Optimal feed distribution in a packed-bed membrane reactor: The case of methanol oxidative dehydrogenation

For catalytic methanol oxidative dehydrogenation to formaldehyde, the packed-bed membrane reactor (PBMR) productivity is enhanced by modifying the oxygen feed distribution. An experimentally validated PBMR model is used for this purpose. The optimal membrane feed distribution is calculated by both conventional Euler−Lagrange and local optimization approaches. The latter offers a significant reduction in the number of equations to be solved, allowing one to identify the important factors influencing the optimal distribution profile. Both approaches produce identical distribution patterns and demonstrate the superiority of variable versus uniform permeability membranes. The calculated optimal permeability profiles provide higher oxygen feed at the reactor entrance, where elevated methanol concentration allows for increased reaction rate, as compared to regions downstream. The analysis confirms that the variation in the reaction rates, caused by consumption and/or dilution of the directly fed reactant (metha.