Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biobased adhesives, gums, emulsions, and binders: current trends and future prospects

Biopolymers derived from renewable resources are an emerging class of advanced materials that offer many useful properties for a wide range of food and nonfood applications. Current state of the art in research and development of renewable polymers as adhesives, gums, binders, and emulsions is the subject of this review. Much of the focus will be on major biopolymers such as starch, proteins, lignin, oils, and their derivatives found in both natural and modified forms, but other biopolymers of promising commercial interest will also be included where warranted. Polymers produced in nature are remarkably diverse in their chemistry, thermomechanical properties, rheology, plasticity, and chemical reactivity. In particular, their capacity to undergo a wide array of chemical modifications yields materials with tailored properties suitable for use as adhesives, gums, coatings, emulsions, and binders. Many such materials are now widely used in commercial products like building materials, lubricants, sealants, coatings, bonding aids, pharmaceuticals, paper, glues, flocculants, processed and frozen foods, as well as tissue engineering and bone repair products. This review provides a general overview of biobased polymers highlighting their source, availability, properties, and usage in industrial products along with the future prospects, challenges, and opportunities they offer.
Wine for My Generation: Exploring How US Wine Consumers are Socialized to Wine

Abstract This study examined how four different cohorts of core US wine consumers (the Millennials, Gen Xers, Baby Boomers, and Traditionalists) were first introduced to wine, their current wine consumption preferences, and their attitudes about wine and its image. An online survey was used, resulting in 5939 usable responses. Results indicate similarities and differences in cohort preferences. This suggests a difference in motivations, and therefore, a needed difference in marketing and advertising to tap into the stimuli of these diverse cohort groups.
Surface Stability in Liquid-Crystalline Block Copolymers with Semifluorinated Monodendron Side Groups

Block copolymers with semifluorinated monodendron side groups were synthesized by attachment of a first generation 2- or 3-armed monodendron acid chloride to a hydroxylated poly(styrene-b-1,2/3,4-isoprene). A convergent growth strategy was developed to synthesize the monodendron groups in good yield using an approach that could be extended to higher generation monodendrons. High extents of attachment were achieved despite the steric effects of the bulky monodendron side groups. The resulting polymers formed a smectic B mesophase at room temperature as determined by WAXS data. The transition temperatures, mesophase range, and enthalpy of the smectic B−isotropic transition were all affected by side-group structural factors such as flexible spacer length, mesogen length, and monodendron core. The critical surface tensions of the resulting semifluorinated polymers were as low as ∼8 mN/m as determined by Zisman analysis. Surface stability of polymer films in a polar liquid environment was strongly dependent on.
Formulation & in-vitro evaluation of wax incorporated floating beads of silymarin

Among modified-release oral dosage form increasing interest has currently turned to systems designed to achieve prolonged residence at the site of drug delivery. Among different controlled release systems microbeads offer prolonged residence time and controlled release in stomach. Silymarin (SLM) is an effective hepatoprotective drug used in therapeutic practice today. However, its absorption is in stomach and needs to be retained in the same for prolonged period. So Silymarin is suitable candidate to develop into wax incorporated alginate beads. The objective of this study was to formulate and evaluate wax incorporated alginate microbeads loaded with Silymarin. The alginate microbeads of Silymarin with variable concentrations of waxes (White bees wax & Carnauba wax) were prepared by Melt Extrusion-Ionotropic gellation method. The prepared microbeads were characterized for their pre-formulation and post formulation parameters. Compatibility studies proved that there was no interaction between Silymarin and waxes used. Silymarin beads were roughly spherical in nature, which was confirmed by Scanning electron microscopy. Silymarin beads with normal frequency distribution were obtained. A maximum of 94.75% drug entrapment efficiency was obtained. The in-vitro performance of Silymarin beads showed controlled release up to 12 hrs depending on the wax concentration. Finally it can be concluded that the formulated sodium alginate gel beads with white bees wax were more feasible and effective than carnauba wax beads in encapsulating SLM and thereby increasing the effectiveness of the drug.
Análisis de determinantes genéticos de virulencia en cepas del virus dengue tipo 2

El virus dengue (DENV) es el agente etiologico del dengue, una de las enfermedades mas importantes transmitidas por vector y es segun la Organizacion Mundial de la Salud (OMS). Anualmente DENV afecta 50 - 200 millones de personas en el mundo y en Colombia se estima que casi 24 millones son susceptibles a la infeccion con el virus. Durante el periodo 2013 – 2015 se notificaron 669,631 casos de dengue en el pais. Clinicamente, la enfermedad se clasifica como dengue (con y sin signos de alarma) y dengue grave el cual puede ser fatal. Aunque el principal factor asociado a la severidad es la ocurrencia de infecciones secundarias por serotipos heterologos llevando a una potenciacion mediada por anticuerpos, un numero creciente de estudios sugiere la existencia de determinantes geneticos de virulencia en diferentes regiones del genoma viral y asociados a la severidad de la enfermedad. El objetivo fue identificar potenciales determinantes geneticos de virulencia asociados en cambios fenotipicos in vitro en cepas de DENV-2 y en el desarrollo de los diferentes cuadros clinicos de la enfermedad. La estrategia metodologica desarrollada en esta investigacion incluyo seleccion de muestras de suero serotipificadas como DENV-2 y de pacientes con dengue y dengue grave. Posteriormente, se realizo aislamiento viral, amplificacion y secuenciacion del gen de la envoltura y de la region 5’ UTR. Por medio de alineamiento de secuencias y analisis filogenetico se determino el genotipo viral y las relaciones evolutivas entre cepas. Se identificaron estructuras secundarias conservadas de ARN mediante el analisis in silico. Finalmente fueron observadas infecciones in vitro por medio de curvas de crecimiento a diferentes tiempos post-infeccion y tituladas mediante ensayos de placa. Todas las cepas analizadas pertenecen al genotipo Asiatico/Americano y se ubicaron en dos linajes geneticos. Las mismas estructuras secundarias conservadas estuvieron presentes en todas las cepas. En las regiones genomicas analizadas no se identificaron potenciales determinantes geneticos de virulencia y la caracterizacion in vitro no revela que existan diferencias significativas entre las cepas asociadas a los diferentes cuadros clinicos. Se concluye que no es posible establecer ninguna asociacion entre determinantes geneticos de virulencia con las caracteristicas in vitro de las cepas, ni con los distintos cuadros clinicos de la enfermedad, aunque se identifican posibles estructuras secundarias con algun tipo de funcionalidad potencial no conocido hasta el momento.
Experimental and Numerical Modeling of a New Tribo-Electrostatic Separation Process for Granular Plastics Mixtures

The paper aims at optimizing the operation of a free-fall electrostatic separator equipped with a novel tribo-charging device for the processing of granular plastic mixtures. Experiments were performed with a mixture of polycarbonate and polyamide granules (cylinders of 1.5 mm in diameter and 3 mm in length). The samples of granules to be charged were introduced in the gap between the two co-axial cylinders of the tribo-charging device, and were put into turbulent motion for 30 s by two oppositely oriented air jets (pressure: 2 bar). Then, the charged particles were left to fall freely between the vertical plate electrodes of an electrostatic separator. A composite experimental design enabled the modeling and optimization of the tribo-electrostatic separation process as a function of the following control factors: applied high voltage, inter-electrode distance, and the inclination angle of the feeding device. Under optimal conditions, the purity obtained is close to 99%. A numerical model of particle trajectories confirms the conclusions of the experimental study. The simulations point out the effect of each control variable on the outcome of the separation process.
Optimizing water, nitrogen and crop density in canola cultivation using response surface methodology and central composite design

Abstract Optimisation of water and nitrogen use is an effective management tool to conserve resources and reduce environmental pollutions. Response surface methodology (RSM) is defined as a collection of mathematical and statistical methods that are used to develop, to improve or to optimize a product or process. In order to determine optimum levels of water, nitrogen and planting density of canola (Brassica napus L.), a 2-year experiment (2010–2011) was carried out by central composite design as RSM at the research station of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The treatments were designed based on low and high levels of irrigation (1500 and 4000 m3 ha−1), nitrogen (0 and 400 kg N ha−1) and density (50 and 150 plant m−2) as independent variables. Furthermore, seed yield, nitrogen losses, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and water use efficiency (WUE) were measured as response variables in a full quadratic polynomial model. Optimum levels of irrigation, nitrogen and planting density were suggested to achieve the target range of dependent variables based on three scenarios: economic, environmental and eco-environmental. The results showed that increasing irrigation and fertilizer led to an increase in seed yield and nitrogen losses, whereas increasing canola density resulted in an increase in seed yield but a decrease in nitrogen losses. The optimum levels of water, fertilizer and density based on environmental scenario were 1802 m3 ha−1, 11 kg N ha−1 and 122 plant m−2, respectively. To achieve optimum conditions under the economic scenario, it is necessary to use 3411 m3 water ha−1, 178 kg N ha−1 and 119 plant m−2. Amounts of 2347 m3 water ha−1, 92 kg N ha−1 and 114 plant m−2 were found to be the optimum conditions for the eco-environmental scenario. In general, it seems that resource use based on the eco-environmental scenario may be the most favorable cropping strategy for canola production.
Effects of Low Dose Gamma-Radiation on Select Wheat Properties

The effects of space-travel-relevant radiation doses (gamma radiation) on structure, function, and antioxidant properties of select wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.) were investigated. Following radiation treatment, proteins were analyzed using SDS-PAGE, mixograph, and atomic force microscopy methods. Starch granule damage and pasting curve functionality were evaluated; lipid oxidation was determined using a thiobarbituric acid reactive substances method; and antioxidant capacity was measured using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl analyses. Increasing radiation exposure resulted in significant differences between wheat cultivars. Therefore, low-dose gamma-radiation affects wheat, and differences exist between cultivars, so careful consideration is needed when selecting wheat for use in elevated radiation conditions. The Apogee cultivar is likely a better NASA candidate crop than Perigee; however, Yecora Rojo, Parshall, and/or Yavaros 79 cultivars may be more stable to radiation and provide better food functionality traits. Ultimately, wheat should be protected from radiation exposure during space travel, if possible, to maintain quality.
Studies on the Reaction Mechanism for Reductive Nitrosylation of Ferrihemoproteins in Buffer Solutions

Ferrihemoproteins in buffer solutions bind nitric oxide to yield their nitric oxide adducts. Reversible binding of NO was found for ferricytochrome c (CytIII) and metmyoglobin (MbIII) at pH values lower than ca. 7.0. The equilibrium constants were obtained as (1.6 ± 0.1) × 104 M-1 for CytIII and (1.3 ± 0.1) × 104 M-1 for MbIII. At higher pH, the reversible formation of the NO adducts is no longer observed; the NO adduct of CytIII (CytIII−NO) undergoes reduction to ferrocytochrome c, CytII, and that of MbIII (MbIII−NO) to the nitrosyl adduct of MbII (MbII−NO). Methemoglobin (HbIII) reacts readily with NO even at pH < 6 to give the nitrosyl adduct of hemoglobin (HbII−NO). The rates for the formation of CytII, MbII−NO, and HbII−NO were measured as functions of NO and OH- concentrations. Kinetic analysis indicates that CytIII−NO and MbIII−NO undergo nucleophilic attack by OH- at higher pH to yield CytII and MbII, respectively. MbII thus produced further reacts with NO to give MbII−NO. For HbIII, the nitrosyl .
Gas chromatography with atomic absorption detection for the determination of alkyl selenide compounds in the breath of mice after administration of different selenium compounds

Quantitative determination of dimethylselenide and dimethyldiselenide in the breath of mice after addition of different selenium compounds to the drinking water is described. Breath samples are collected with a cryogenic trap and analyzed by gas chromatography with atomic absorption spectrometric detection. Detection limits down to 0.2 ng/100 g body weight are obtained. The pulmonary excretion of selenium metabolites after oral administration via drinking water or after intraperitoneal injection appears to be negligible. The bioconversion of the different selenium species is discussed.
The use of mixed saliva laboratory values for evaluation of periodontal tissue condition

Chronic inflammatory processes in periodontal tissues are accompanied by an abrupt increase in the levels of interleukin-1b, tumor necrosis factor-α, annexin V, matrix-metalloproteinase-1 proenzyme, tissue inhibitor of matrix-metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), the activity of lactatdehydrogenase, aspartataminotranspherase, alaninaminotranspherase, supeoxiddismutase, and some increase in the content of α-defensins in mixed saliva. An acute form of inflammation is characterized by an increased activity of supeoxiddismutase and aspartataminotranspherase, interleikin-6, matrix-metalloproteinase-1 proenzyme accompanied by a significant decrease in TIMP-1 in mixed saliva
Interfacial-related color tuning of colloidal Si nanocrystals

Full control in size distribution and surface chemistry of Si nanocrystals (NCs) allows the high efficiency of visible light emission. The NC synthesis and subsequent surface modification with organic monolayers are performed in a single step by laser chemical method. Interestingly, it is found that the distinct emission in the green and blue range arises from the difference in NC size and molecular coverage of the monolayers.
Nutrient-flux evaluation by the LOICZ Biogeochemical Model in Mediterranean lagoons: the case of Cabras Lagoon (Central-Western Sardinia)

In this study, the Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) budgeting procedure was used to evaluate the main nutrient pathways and ecosystem functions within Cabras Lagoon (Central-Western Sardinia, Italy) in 2004. The results of a simple one-box and one-layer model showed that nutrient accumulation prevailed over mobilisation for both dissolved inorganic phosphorus (annual mean of 675.69 mol d−1) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (mean of 6120.05 mol d−1). Net ecosystem metabolism (NEM) was always positive, implying that production predominated over respiration throughout the year (mean of 3.3 mmol C m−2d−1). Estimates obtained from the model also highlighted the fact that nitrogen fixation prevailed over denitrification (mean of 0.14 mmol m−2d−1). Finally, extended water-residence times (mean of 192 days) were observed in the lagoon, particularly in the summer. An approach based on the improvement of water exchange with the sea would provide a relatively simple and short-term interim strategy, until more comprehensive actions aimed at reducing the anthropogenic nutrient loads in the watershed can be implemented.
Ertim at SemEval-2023 Task 2: Fine-tuning of Transformer Language Models and External Knowledge Leveraging for NER in Farsi, English, French and Chinese

Transformer language models are now a solid baseline for Named Entity Recognition and can be significantly improved by leveraging complementary resources, either by integrating external knowledge or by annotating additional data. In a preliminary step, this work presents experiments on fine-tuning transformer models. Then, a set of experiments has been conducted with a Wikipedia-based reclassification system. Additionally, we conducted a small annotation campaign on the Farsi language to evaluate the impact of additional data. These two methods with complementary resources showed improvements compared to fine-tuning only.
INFLUENCE OF DIETARY MANGANESE SOURCE AND SUPPLEMENTATION LEVEL ON PORK QUALITY DURING RETAIL DISPLAY

Pork loins were used to test the effects of dietary manganese source and supplementation level on pork quality traits during retail display. Chops from pigs fed 350 ppm Mn from Availa-Mn received higher (P < 0.05) Japanese color scores, and, after 4 days of retail display, were less discolored than chops from pigs fed the control diet or diets containing manganese sulfate (MnSO4) (diet × display; P = 0.092). Chops from pigs fed 350 ppm Mn from MnSO4lost less moisture after 2 days of display (diet × display; P = 0.058), and tended to have lower (P < 0.10) thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values than chops from pigs fed the control diets or diets supplemented with 700 ppm Mn from Availa-Mn. The results indicate that feeding an additional 350 ppm Mn may enhance pork quality; however, the dietary inclusion of 700 ppm Mn, regardless of source, had no beneficial effects on pork color or lipid oxidation.
Corrosion Mechanisms for Nickel Exposed to the Atmosphere

The physical and chemical phenomena responsible for the atmospheric corrosion of silver are presented. Corrosion layer formation, morphology, and chemical makeup are discussed in the context of silver-containing minerals and other crystalline structures that thermodynamics and kinetics suggest are likely to be present. The constituents that form during the corrosion process are then described, and the formation pathways of acanthite (Ag 2 S) and chlorargyrite (AgCl), the two minerals most often reported to be present in silver corrosion layers, are shown in schematic diagrams. The presence of these species and the essential absence of sulfate, nitrate, carbonate, or organic salts of silver are shown to be a natural consequence of the thin aqueous layer chemistry that obtains on silver in humid environments. The primary atmospheric agents responsible for the degradation are identified as H 2 S, COS, particulate chloride, and possibly HCl, all acting in the presence of moderate to high humidity. Gaseous hydrogen peroxide, which is sometimes present, strongly accelerates silver corrosion. Comprehensive kinetic simulations of the corrosion process are desirable, but await laboratory determinations of the rates of dissolution, and transformation of silver-containing chemical species.
Biomedical Document Classification with Literature Graph Representations of Bibliographies and Entities

This paper proposes a new document classification method that incorporates the representations of a literature graph created from bibliographic and entity information.Recently, document classification performance has been significantly improved with large pre-trained language models; however, there still remain documents that are difficult to classify. External information, such as bibliographic information, citation links, descriptions of entities, and medical taxonomies, has been considered one of the keys to dealing with such documents in document classification. Although several document classification methods using external information have been proposed, they only consider limited relationships, e.g., word co-occurrence and citation relationships. However, there are multiple types of external information.To overcome the limitation of the conventional use of external information, we propose a document classification model that simultaneously considers bibliographic and entity information to deeply model the relationships among documents using the representations of the literature graph.The experimental results show that our proposed method outperforms existing methods on two document classification datasets in the biomedical domain with the help of the literature graph.
New apparatus for DTA at 2000 bar: thermodynamic studies on Au, Ag, Al and HTSC oxides

A new differential thermal analysis (DTA) device was designed and installed in a hot isostatic pressure (HIP) furnace in order to perform high-pressure thermodynamic investigations up to 2 kbar and 1200 °C. Thermal analysis can be carried out in inert or oxidizing atmosphere up to p(O2) = 400 bar. The calibration of the DTA apparatus under pressure was successfully performed using the melting temperature (Tm) of pure metals (Au, Ag and Al) as standard calibration references. The thermal properties of these metals have been studied under pressure. The values of ΔV (volume variation between liquid and solid at Tm), ρsm (density of the solid at Tm) and αm (linear thermal expansion coefficient at Tm) have been extracted. A very good agreement was found with the existing literature and new data were added. This HIP-DTA apparatus is very useful for studying the thermodynamics of those systems where one or more volatile elements are present, such as high TC superconducting oxides. DTA measurements have been performed on Bi,Pb(2223) tapes up to 2 kbar under reduced oxygen partial pressure (p(O2) = 0.07 bar). The reaction leading to the formation of the 2223 phase was found to occur at higher temperatures when applying pressure: the reaction DTA peak shifted by 49 °C at 2 kbar compared to the reaction at 1 bar. This temperature shift is due to the higher stability of the Pb-rich precursor phases under pressure, as the high isostatic pressure prevents Pb from evaporating.
Bulk and thick films of the superconducting phase YBa2Cu3O7−y made by controlled precipitation and sol‐gel processes

The synthesis of high‐temperature superconducting oxides using solution chemistry has been investigated and physical properties are compared to ceramics obtained by conventional solid‐state reactions. We report on controlled precipitation and sol‐gel processes, both of which produce materials with particle sizes smaller than 5 μm. We find that the superconducting properties of the high Tc ceramics are affected by their manner of preparation, such that the transitions are slightly lower in temperature, but sharper, for samples made by solution rather than solid‐state chemistry. The ability to prepare stable viscous gels provides an opportunity for obtaining large areas of superconducting coatings. For thick films on alumina or silicon substrates, contamination from the substrate is shown to be a problem. Finally, we observe that the sol‐gel process lowers the synthesis temperature by 100 °C.