Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Studying the Complexity of Biomass Derived Biofuels

Biofuel produced from biomass pyrolysis is a good example of a highly complex mixture. Detailed understanding of its composition is a prerequisite for optimizing transformation processes and further upgrading conditions. The major challenge in understanding the composition of biofuel derived from biomass is the wide range of compounds with high diversity in polarity and abundance that can be present. In this work, a comprehensive analysis using mass spectrometry is reported. Different operation conditions are studied by utilizing multiple ionization methods (positive mode atmospheric pressure photo ionization (APPI), atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) and negative mode ESI) and applying different resolving power set-ups (120 k, 240 k, 480 k and 960 k) and scan techniques (full scan and spectral stitching method) to study the complexity of a pyrolysis biofuel. Using a mass resolution of 960 k and the spectral stitching scan technique gives a total of 21,703 assigned compositions for one ionization technique alone. The number of total compositions is significantly expanded by the combination of different ionization methods.
Synthesis of Spinal Mg1.5Mn0.25Ti0.5O3 by a Solid State Reaction Method and Study of Its Exchange for Li

Spinel-type metal oxides, magnesium-manganese- titanium oxide (Mg1.5Mn0.25Ti0.5O3) was prepared by a solid state reaction crystallization method. The acid treatments of MgMn0.25Ti0. 75O3 caused Mg 2+ extractions of more than 74%, while the dissolutions of Mn 4+ and Ti 4+ were less than 9.0%. The experimental results have proved that the acid-treated sample has a capacity of exchange 12.6mmol·g-1 for Li + in the solution.
Optimization of the co-axial dispensing nozzle of a 3D bioprinter for the fabrication of tubular structures with micro-channel encapsulation

The 3D bio-printing has been developed as an effective approach to artificially create tubular tissue structures, which have been frequently found in body and organ systems. China Agricultural University (CAU) has developed a laboratory 3D bio-printer that can create tubular structures with the encapsulation of microfluidic channel. In order to create a tubular structure with more effective micro-channel encapsulation for better nutrient delivery and chemical stimulation, this work presents a design optimization of co-axial dispensing nozzle of this 3D bio-printer. In this study, an experimentally validated two-phase flow computational fluid dynamics modeling tool based on ANSYS CFX has been developed to analyze the microfluidic domain of fluid channels inside the nozzle. The simulations on the extrusion and encapsulation process of bio-inks have been conducted. Based on the response surface method, the simulation work has established an equation to predict the volume fraction of the encapsulating layer against a variety of influencing factors including the size of extrusion nozzle, pneumatic pressure condition and the dynamic viscosity of the bio-ink. This equation has been used to recommend optimal solutions of printing parameters for the CAU bio-printer, which is expected to improve the quality of bio-printed tubular structure with an encapsulation.
CVD grown Graphene Microfilms as a Promising Microscaled Solid Lubricant for the Lubrication of Silicon MEMS Devices

Friction, wear, stiction, adhesion, and absence of suitable lubrication methods are important challenges, severely restricting and limiting the expeditious development of Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology. This paper aims to explore the potential of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) grown graphene microfilms for the lubrication of sliding silicon MEMS devices to reduce friction and wear problems. A novel silicon-based pin-on-disk friction-pair is designed to mimic sliding MEMS working conditions. Pure graphene-based microfilms are fabricated on the Cu substrate via a CVD method and transferred to the silicon substrate via the PMMA transfer method. To investigate microfilms' surface quality and morphology, microfilms are characterized via Raman spectroscopy, AFM, and SEM. For the tribological performance evaluation, different tribological tests were conducted using the microtribometer. Results show that microfilms remarkably reduced the friction coefficient and wear in the MEMS devices; however, microfilms' tribological performance depends on the roughness and the number of films on the specimen. This remarkable tribological performance suggests that graphene microfilms have the potential to increase the reliability and wear lifespan of MEMS devices. It is foreseeable that this lubrication method can be a step towards the expeditious industrial development of silicon MEMS devices.
Absolute configuration of the antimalarial erythro-mefloquine – vibrational circular dichroism and X-ray diffraction studies of mefloquine and its thiourea derivative

The long-standing discussion of the absolute configuration of erythro-mefloquine is revisited, showcasing the strength of a combination of experimental and calculated vibrational circular dichroism spectroscopy. The resulting assignment of one of the most important antimalarials is subsequently confirmed by electronic circular dichroism spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction-based structure elucidation of thiourea derivatives, adding to the amount of evidence on the absolute configuration that had long remained a matter of debate.
Short-term feeding behaviour sound classification method for sheep using LSTM networks

A deep learning approach using long-short term memory (LSTM) networks was implemented in this study to classify the sound of short-term feeding behaviour of sheep, including biting, chewing, bolus regurgitation, and rumination chewing. The original acoustic signal was split into sound episodes using an endpoint detection method, where the thresholds of short-term energy and average zero-crossing rate were utilized. A discrete wavelet transform (DWT), Mel-frequency cepstral, and principal-component analysis (PCA) were integrated to extract the dimensionally reduced DWT based Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (denoted by PW_MFCC) for each sound episode. Then, LSTM networks were employed to train classifiers for sound episode category classification. The performances of the LSTM classifiers with original Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC), DWT based MFCC (denoted by W_MFCC), and PW_MFCC as the input feature coefficients were compared. Comparison results demonstrated that the introduction of DWT improved the classifier performance effectively, and PCA reduced the computational overhead without degrading classifier performance. The overall accuracy and comprehensive F1-score of the PW_MFCC based LSTM classifier were 94.97% and 97.41%, respectively. The classifier established in this study provided a foundation for an automatic identification system for sick sheep with abnormal feeding and rumination behaviour pattern. Keywords: sheep behaviour, short-term feeding behaviour, acoustic analysis, Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients, long-short term memory networks DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe. 20211402.6081 Citation: Duan G H, Zhang S F, Lu M Z, Okinda C, Shen M X, Norton T. Short-term feeding behaviour sound classification method for sheep using LSTM networks. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2021; 14(2): 43–54.
Photochemistry of a Series of Weakly Coupled Dinuclear Ruthenium(II) Complexes

An improved synthetic method was developed for symmetric ruthenium(II) polypyridine complexes with the form L2Ru(diphen)RuL2. The scope of the reaction was investigated in regards to the ligands, bridging ligands, and starting materials. Several ligands were successful in the synthesis, including 2,2’-bipyridine (bpy), 4,4’-dimethyl-2,2’-dipyridyl (dmb), 1,10phenanthroline (phen), 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (dpphen), and 3,4,7,8-tetramethyl-1,10phenanthroline (tmphen). Ligands that did not react to form symmetric dimeric complexes were 2,2’-bipyrazine, bpz, and 2,2’-bipyrimidine, bpm. Dpp, 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)-pyrazine, effectively replaced diphen as the bridging ligand to produce (phen)2Ru(dpp)Ru(phen)2 . However, replacing the [Ru(CO)2Cl2]n with Ru(DMSO)4Cl2 did not prove successful. The newly developed synthesis was also applied to the synthesis of monomeric complexes with the form Ru(phen)L2 for comparison. The spectroscopic and electrochemical data collected for the dimeric complexes was similar to the data for the monomeric complexes indicating that the dimers are weakly coupled. The photochemistry of the complexes was then studied to confirm that the dimers were weakly coupled. UV-vis tracking of the reaction of (phen)2Ru(diphen)Ru(phen)2 4+ implied a photosubstitution reaction took place in which a phen ligand was replaced by bromines. Several failed attempts were made to replace the bromines with a ligand that would allow the complex to be analyzed via ESI-MS. The photosubstitution products were never identified. The photoredox reactions for the complexes were investigated as well. The effect of the oxidative quencher Fe on the excited lifetimes of the complexes was analyzed. The kq values found for Ru(bpy)3 , Ru(phen)(bpy)2 , and (bpy)2Ru(diphen)Ru(bpy)2 4+ were all comparable. This supports the classification of the dimeric complexes used in this study as weakly coupled. The back reaction that follows the quenching reaction and the yield of the oxidized ruthenium complexes were studied. The determined kback values for both quenchers, Fe 3+ and Cu, were in the expected range and similar among both the monomers and dimers. This suggests that the dimeric complexes are weakly coupled.
Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on commuting

We carried out an international online survey about changes in everyday mobility during the COVID-19 outbreak in 21 languages, collecting more than 11,000 responses from more than 100 countries. In this paper, we present our analysis about commuting travels of the responses between 23 March and 12 May 2020 from the fourteen countries with 100 or more responses, namely Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Thailand, and the UK. Home office is used typically by between 40% and 60% of working respondents. Among people with workplaces with possibility for home office, the percentage is between 60% and 80%. Among people with workplaces where presence is essential, the percentage does not typically go beyond 30%. This result potentially implies an ultimate magnitude of a strong home office measure. Among those who continued to commute but switched commuting transport modes from public transport to others, the COVID-19 infection risk in public transport is the reason that is most often referred to, but many of those who changed to private cars and to bicycles report reduced travel time, too. Measures to encourage the use of active travel modes where possible are strongly recommended, as this would potentially mitigate undesirable modal shift towards private motorized modes triggered by perception of infection risks while travelling with public transport.
The influence of five selected processing and formulation variables on the release of riboflavin from pellets produced in a rotary processor

Une experimentation factorielle a ete mise en oeuvre afin d'etudier l'influence de deux parametres de formulation et de trois parametres de fabrication sur la liberation de la riboflavine a partir de pellets prepares par granulateur rotatif a grande vitesse. Les parametres de formulation sont la concentration en cellulose microcristalline et le rapport entre l'eau ajoutee et la cellulose microcristalline dans le melange de poudre. Les parametres de formulation sont la vitesse du rotor, le temps de spheronisation et la vitesse d'addition de l'eau. Les resultats des essais de dissolution ont ete interpretes par l'equation de Higuchi et l'equation de Rosin-Rammler-Sperling-Bennett- Weibull. Il apparait que la riboflavine est liberee lentement a partir des microspheres de cellulose microcristalline et que la cinetique de dissolution des premiers 80% est bien decrite par l'equation de Higuchi. Une bonne correlation lineaire est observee entre le diametre geometrique moyen des pellets et le parametre temps de la distribution Rosin-Rammler-Sperling- Bennett-Weibull, qui est caracteristique de l'ensemble de la cinetique de dissolution. Par ailleurs, une analyse statistique a revele que la teneuren cellulose microcristalline avait elle aussi une influence sur la cinetique de liberation. En outre, le parametre forme de la distribution Rosin-Rammler-Sperling-Bennett- Weibull montre que la liberation varie avec la taille des pellets. Un debut de liberation relativement lent est obtenu avec les plus petits pellets, qui sont caracterises par une vitesse de liberation globalement rapide. Ce resultat est attribue au temps necessaire au gonflement des pellets et au temps necessaire a la formation des pores par dissolution lente du lactose.
Forgiveness and redemption: A study on the impact of employees’ participation in the restoration of corporate brand image in a crisis

ABSTRACT Extant research on the negative effects of corporate brand image crisis and corresponding strategies on brand image restoration have received wide academic attention. This research predominantly values employee participation as a critical bridge to obtain consumer forgiveness and subsequently contributes to repairing corporate brand image in a crisis. Through undertaking a positivist study, the findings indicate that employee participation positively influences the restoration of corporate brand image. Consumer forgiveness (both individual and group level) plays the mediation role in predicting corporate brand image. Last, employee’s cognitive capital moderates the relationship between group forgiveness and the restoration of corporate brand image.
On the Use of 'Glyphmaps' for Analysing the Scale and Temporal Spread of COVID-19 Reported Cases

Recent analysis of area-level COVID-19 cases data attempts to grapple with a challenge familiar to geovisualization: how to capture the development of the virus, whilst supporting analysis across geographic areas? We present several glyphmap designs for addressing this challenge applied to local authority data in England whereby charts displaying multiple aspects related to the pandemic are given a geographic arrangement. These graphics are visually complex, with clutter, occlusion and salience bias an inevitable consequence. We develop a framework for describing and validating the graphics against data and design requirements. Together with an observational data analysis, this framework is used to evaluate our designs, relating them to particular data analysis needs based on the usefulness of the structure they expose. Our designs, documented in an accompanying code repository, attend to common difficulties in geovisualization design and could transfer to contexts outside of the UK and to phenomena beyond the pandemic.
Using aortic arch short axis views during transesophageal echocardiographic examination facilitates right ventricular assist device imaging

Given the increased need for mechanical circulatory support and subsequent development of right ventricular assist devices (RVAD), appropriate imaging needs to be described to facilitate care in patients with cardiogenic shock and heart failure. We present three cases in which the upper esophageal aortic arch short axis (UE AA SAX) view on transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was utilized to effectively image RVADs: to confirm normal positioning, to detect and guide repositioning, and to visualize malfunction. These cases support the importance of the UE AA SAX TEE view in RVAD outflow imaging and, when obtainable, should be included in routine RVAD assessment.
Estrategias y resistencias ante el despojo y el desplazamiento forzado de las comunidades garífunas en Honduras. El caso de la bahía de Trujillo

El articulo analiza las migraciones humanas tomando como referencia el desplazamiento forzado como concepto que mejor define lo que ha estado sucediendo en Honduras en los ultimos anos. Para ello, se profundiza en el caso del despojo al que se han visto sometidas las comunidades garifunas residentes en la zona atlantica de Honduras para el desarrollo de proyectos turisticos. Se analizan los objetivos, estrategias e impactos del despojo y, a traves del caso de la comunidad de Guadalupe, se ejemplifican dichas practicas y se examinan los mecanismos de resistencia que se han desarrollado. A partir de una investigacion con base comunitaria, se examinan diversas tipologias de despojo que tienen en comun el uso de instrumentos legislativos acompanados de practicas tendentes a la ruptura del tejido social y a la instauracion de un ambiente de miedo y desconfianza entre la poblacion local. Con respecto a las formas de resistencia se destacan las conexiones de las comunidades locales con organizaciones nacionales e internacionales —aprovechando el transnacionalismo—, el uso de las redes sociales, las practicas de reapropiacion de las tierras y tacticas psicojuridicas.
Pattern of Lower Limb Doppler Ultrasonography Requests and Findings in a Tertiary Institution in Makurdi; North-Central Nigeria

Background: Doppler ultrasound scan (DUS) is a valuable, cost effective, and relatively rapid diagnostic technique that provides a non-invasive assessment of the vascular circulation in the lower limb. Aims: To determine the pattern of lower limbs Doppler requests in our environment and to evaluate the Doppler findings. Study Design: Retrospective study Place and Duration of Study: Radiology department of Benue state university Teaching Hospital over a one-year period from January 2018 to December 2018. Methods: We included 200 patients that had lower limb Doppler ultrasound for various indications. Data on age, gender, indications and findings was retrieved from departmental cards and case Original Research Article Msuega et al.; JAMMR, 33(7): 45-57, 2021; Article no.JAMMR. 65813 46 notes, then collated and analyzed using SPSS software version 23, with the P value taken as =. 005. Results: Two hundred patients were scanned;106 males and 94 females with age range of 10-109 years. Their mean age was 34.2 ±13.5 years. Most patients 48(24.0%), who presented for Doppler sonography of the lower limb had diabetic foot ulcer (DFU), followed by left leg swelling in 42(21.0%) patients. DVT alone was indicated in 33(16.5%) patients. Both DFU and DVT were more in the male patients with a M:F ratio of 26:22 and 21:12 respectively. The indications for lower limb doppler ultrasound scan are seen to generally increase with increasing age, with the least among those less than 40years 32(16.0%) and highest among the greater than 60years age groups 89(44.5%). At doppler ultrasound, there are more patients with Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) 104(52.0%). Normal study and peripheral vascular disease (PVD) have equal incidence respectively in 48(24%) of the patients. DVT and PVD were more in the male group with a M: F ratio of 55:49 and 27:21 respectively while normal studies were seen equally in both sexes (M: F=24:24). Conclusion: Doppler ultrasound has been shown to be a cost-effective and valuable non-invasive tool for the diagnosis of lower limb vascular diseases.
Measurement of effective thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity for assessing the integrity of fiber to matrix bond in natural fiber composite

Thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of pineapple leaf reinforced phenol formaldehyde composite have been studied with special reference to chemically treated fibers using the transient plane source (TPS) technique, at room temperature and normal pressure. All the composites were made of 40% fiber by weight. The fibers were treated with alkali, silane and toluene diisocyanate. It was found that, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of the composites increase after chemical treatment. The thermal conductivity of alkali treated fiber was found to be maximum in the present study. The thermal conductivity of treated and untreated fibers was calculated theoretically by Bruggman's model. The results of model calculation showed an increase of thermal conductivity of treated fiber over the thermal conductivity of untreated fiber.
Impact of Leukofiltration on Microparticles Generation and Phosphatedylserine Exposure in Stored Red Blood Units

Microparticles released during red cell storage lead to irreversible membrane damage and are transfused into the recipients. Old red cells undergoing eryptosis or self destruction expose phosphatedylserine on their membrane. Transfused red cell units were previously categorized according to storage days to, new ≤14 days, intermediate 15-27 days, and old ≥ 28 days. The study aims to evaluate effect of leukofiltration and storage period length on microparticles generation and other storage lesions. Materials and Methods: Twenty red cell units were donated in Al-Zahraa hospital of AL-Azhar university Group I (n=10) underwent leukofiltration. Group II (n=10) left unmodified. Flow-cytometry was used for estimation of microparticles generation in the units at day-0, -14, -21, -28 and annexin V bound cells due to phosphatedylserine exposure at day-28. Potassium leak, mean corpuscular volume, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration were assessed at day-0, -14, -21, -28 in the stored units. Results: Group II showed statistically significant increase in mean values of microparticles x10 5 /uL at day-0, -14, -21,-28; (P=0.05), (P<0.0001), (P<0.0001), and (P<0.0001) respectively. Also Group II showed significant increase in mean percentage of annexin V bound cells (P<0.0001). Correlation of annexin bound cells percentage and other parameters at day-28 revealed direct correlation with potassium leak in Group I (r=0.7; P =0.03), and with microparticles generation in Group II (r=0.5; P=0.05). Conclusions: Pre-storage leukofiltration reduced microparticles release, potassium leak and annexin V binding due to phosphatedylserine exposure. Storage period length influenced microparticles generation and potassium leak, which was sharply noticed after 14 days of storage and may be relevant for clinical practice to avoid transfusion adverse out comes accompanying old units transfusion.
Vitellogenesis and Vitellogenin Uptake into Oocytes

The yolk proteins found in the oocyte of oviparous animals are synthesized by the liver as a large lipophosphoglycoprotein precursor, vitellogenin (Vtg), which represents a vital, sole source of nutrient for the developing larvae. Vitellogenesis underlies early development of oviparous animals. The Vtg gene is extremely sensitive to estrogen and other steroid hormones. Thus, vitellogenesis is a useful model for studying hormonal regulation of eukaryotic gene expression. The Oreochromis aureus vitellogenin, OaVtg gene spans 9 kb and contains 34 exons. Although the OaVtg promoter has a nonconsensus TATA, this promoter is capable of driving basal transcription. Two imperfect estrogen response elements, EREp (proximal) and EREd (distal), located in the promoter at 532 and 1352 elicit a significant increase in estrogen-dependent reporter gene activity. Competition gel mobility shift assays have demonstrated that EREp and a novel EREexon2 (located within exon 2) exhibit specific binding of estrogen receptor. Thus, nonconsensus OaVtg EREs contribute to the estrogen-dependent regulation of the OaVtg gene in vivo. During estrogen-induced vitellogenesis, the massive rate of transcription and translation of Vtg followed by its secretion into the blood makes this a major circulating protein that is taken up by membrane-bound vitellogenin receptors (VtgR) found on oocytes. The VtgR, which belongs to the low density lipoprotein receptor family, interacts with the N-terminal region of Vtg B185-Ch08 12/30/04, 12:22 PM 254 Vitellogenesis and Vitellogenin Receptor 255 via electrostatic attraction. Once in the oocytes, Vtg is cleaved into yolk proteins (lipovitellin and phosvitin), which are stored as nutrients for the developing embryo.