Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High-temperature Mössbauer study of Fe-substituted mullite

Abstract Mössbauer spectra of Fe-substituted 3/2-mullite (10.3 wt% Fe2O3) have been measured from room temperature up to 1200 °C under nitrogen atmosphere. A Voigt-type fit to the spectral line shape is proposed that is based on the assumption of three non-equivalent Fe3+ environments A, B, and C in the mullite structure. The Fe3+ subspectra display quadrupole splittings of about 1.1 (A), 0.7 (B), and 1.3 mm/s (C) where the isomer shifts at room temperature are about 0.3 mm/s for subspectra A and B and about 0.1 mm/s for site C. Subspectra A and B are attributed to two different Fe3+ octahedral sites in mullite coordination, experiencing slightly different quadrupolar interactions; the third site is assigned to ions in tetrahedral coordination. Subspectrum A is assigned to the iron-oxygen octahedra having TO4 tetrahedra as next nearest neighbors, while subspectrum B may correspond to iron-oxygen octahedra having TO4 and T*O4 tetrahedra with associated oxygen vacancies in their vicinity. The quadrupolar splittings of the three subspectra are found to be almost independent of temperature. The temperature dependences of the isomer shifts conform closely to those expected for a harmonic solid at the high-temperature limit. The Mössbauer study gives no support for any temperature-induced redistribution of Fe in mullite.
Concentration measurements of complex mixtures of broadband absorbers by widely tunable optical parametric oscillator laser spectroscopy

The ability to obtain accurate vapour parameter information from a compound’s absorption spectrum is an essential data processing application in order to quantify the presence of an absorber. Concentration measurements can be required for a variety of applications including environmental monitoring, pipeline leak detection, surface contamination and breath analysis. This work demonstrates sensitive concentration measurements of complex mixtures of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using broadly tunable mid wave infrared (MWIR) laser spectroscopy. Due to the high absorption cross-sections, the MWIR spectral region is ideal to carry out sensitive concentration measurements of VOCs by tunable laser absorption spectroscopy (TLAS) methods. Absorption spectra of mixtures of VOCs were recorded using a MWIR optical parametric oscillator (OPO), with a tuning range covering 2.5 μm to 3.7 μm. The output of the MWIR OPO was coupled to a multi-pass astigmatic Herriott gas cell, maintained at atmospheric pressure that can provide up to 210 m of absorption path length, with the transmission output from the cell being monitored by a detector. The resulting spectra were processed by a concentration retrieval algorithm derived from the optimum estimation method, taking into account both multiple broadband absorbers and interfering molecules that exhibit narrow multi-line absorption features. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of the concentration measurements and assess the capability of the spectral processor, experiments were conducted on calibrated VOCs vapour mixtures flowing through the spectroscopic cell with concentrations ranging from parts per billion (ppb) to parts per million (ppm). This work represents as a first step in an effort to develop and apply a similar concentration fitting algorithm to hyperspectral images in order to provide concentration maps of the spatial distribution of multi-species vapours. The reported functionality of the novel fitting algorithm makes it a valuable addition to the existing data processing tools for parameter information recovery from recorded absorption data.
Synthesis, characterization and assembly of BiOCl nanostructure and their photocatalytic properties

In this article, a two-dimensional (2D) nanoplate and a 3D hierarchical structure of BiOCl were synthesized through a simple sonochemical route. Compared with previous preparation methods, the 2D nanoplates can be prepared at a relatively short time (about 30 min) with low energy used. Additionally, these 2D nanoplates can easily assemble into a 3D hierarchical structure with the surfactant reagents. The obtained products were well crystallized and subsequently characterized by a range of methods, such as X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and Raman spectroscopy. A possible mechanical growth route was also proposed based on the experiments. The photocatalytic properties of the prepared samples were further investigated by photocatalytic decomposition of Methene Orange (MO) dye, which indicated that the 3D hierarchical structure can effectively improve photocatalytic activity.
Potential of chlorophyll fluorescence imaging for assessing bio-viability changes of biodeteriogen growths on stone monuments

A systematic study on the use of Chlorophyll Fluorescence (CF) imaging in Pulsed Amplitude Modulated (PAM) for assessing viability changes of biodeteriogen on stone artifacts has been carried out. The experimentation has been performed on different phototrophic organisms of gravestone slabs from the monumental British Cemetery of Florence (Italy). Since the viability of these organisms and then their chlorophyll fluorescence emission is strongly dependent on the environmental conditions, a preliminary study on the effects of local patterns during the season was carried out. The trend of the fluorescence quantum yield (QYmax) at different dark adapted times in different periods of the year was determined. The results achieved in our work proves the effectiveness of the CF-PAM imaging for in situ lichen characterizations in conservation studies and defines an optimized application protocol.
Preparation of Poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether methacrylate) by Homogeneous Aqueous AGET ATRP

A new convenient initiation process for ATRP, activators generated by electron transfer (AGET ATRP), was investigated in homogeneous aqueous solution at ambient temperature (30 °C). Tris[(2-pyridyl)methyl]amine (TPMA)/CuBr2 complex was used as an oxidatively stable Cu(II) precursor. Ascorbic acid was used as a reducing agent to reduce the air-stable Cu(II) complex, resulting in generation of an active catalyst. Two oligo(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether methacrylates (OEOMA) with different pendent OEO chain lengths (OEOMA300 and OEOMA475) were used to demonstrate the broad applicability of aqueous AGET ATRP for the synthesis of well-controlled water-soluble homopolymers and random copolymers at the targeting degree of polymerization (DP) = 300. Concentrations of Cu(II) complex and ascorbic acid as well as ratio of water to macromonomer were varied to produce well-controlled homopolymers of P(OEOMA300) and P(OEOMA475) as well as random copolymer P(OEOMA300-ran-OEOMA474) with DP > 240 and Mw/Mn < 1.3. CuCl.
Biodegradable polymers based on renewable resources. III. copolyesters composed of 1,4:3,6-dianhydro-D-glucitol, 1,1-bis(5-carboxy-2-furyl)ethane and aliphatic dicarboxylic acid units

Various copolyesters were synthesized by bulk polycondensation of the respective combinations of 1,4;3,6-dianhydro-D-glucitol (1) as the diol component and 1,1-bis[5-(methoxycarbonyl)-2-furyl]ethane (3b) and seven dimethyl dialkanoates with methylene chain lengths of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 12 (4a–4g) as the dicarboxylic acid components. Most of the copolyesters were amorphous, while a copolyester composed of 1, 3b, and dodecanedioic acid (4g) (3b:4g = 25:75) units as well as homopolyesters derived from 1 and azelaic acid (4d), sebacic acid (4e), and dodecandioic acid (4g), respectively, were partially crystalline. All these homo- and copolyesters were soluble in chloroform, dichloromethane, pyridine, trifluoroacetic acid, and m-cresol. The number-average molecular weights of these polyesters were estimated to be in the range of 10,000–20,000 by SEC using chloroform as an eluent and standard polystyrene as a reference. The biodegradability of these copolyesters was assessed by enzymatic degradation using four different enzymes in a phosphate buffer solution at 37°C and by soil burial degradation tests in composted soil at 27°C. In general, biodegradability of the copolyesters decreased with increase in the difuran dicarboxylate 3b content. Copolyesters containing sebasic acid 4e units showed higher biodegradability. Soil burial degradation in the soil that was treated with antibiotics, together with electron microscopic observation, indicated that actinomycetes are mainly responsible for the degradation of the copolyesters containing 3b units in the present soil burial test. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 3342–3350, 1999
Criticality in Tropical Rainfall: A Simple Water Budget Model

<p>Deep convective rain events in the tropics represent an essential ingredient of Earth's climate system, acting as a driver of large-scale circulation which distributes energy and moisture. Understanding how they organize remains a challenge. Observational studies indicate that tropical convection may be understood as an instance of self-organized criticality (SOC) [1]:<br>(i) Rain rate vs. column water vapor follows a clear "pickup curve": Essentially no rain is observed in dry areas, while at column moistures above a critical value the rain rate increases sharply. <br>(ii) Rain events and clusters, defined as groups of contiguous rainy points in space and/or time, have size distributions well described by power laws. <br>The first result indicates that the atmosphere undergoes a phase transition, separating a non-raining "inactive" phase from a rainy "active" one. The second result suggests that the system is found close to the critical transition point, where "scale-free" power law distributions are expected. Indeed, observations find typical moisture values to be close to the critical moisture value. &#160;</p><p>SOC theory would suggest that the observational results are an emergent phenomenon, caused by simple local interactions that carry over to larger scales. However, to our knowledge, no simple SOC model linking moisture and rainfall has been suggested that explains how criticality arises from convective processes while also predicting the observed rain cluster sizes. A more complete theory, especially on spatial aspects, is lacking. <br>We therefore present a simple spatiotemporal model of the atmospheric water budget, exploring whether a fuller picture including spatial information can be developed. Each site of the model represents an atmospheric column, where water can enter through surface evaporation, leave as surface rain, or get redistributed among neighboring sites due to convective in- and outflows. We analyse a cloud resolving model simulation in radiative-convective equilibrium, by grouping grid points into three categories: rainy points (convectively active), neighbors of rainy points and others (convectively passive). Tendencies, evolutions and transitions are examined to identify local "rules" to inform the interactions and parameters in our model. <br>Hence, in this project we use a simple model approach to find whether local convection mechanisms of water rearrangements can explain why tropical rainfall seems to show critical characteristics. In addition, this might aid development of convective parameterizations for climate models: Including a few key convective scale interactions, suggested by our model, might help to better capture important effects of subgrid correlations in a simple way. <br>&#160;<br>[1] Peters, O. , and J. D. Neelin (2006), Critical phenomena in atmospheric precipitation, <em>Nat. Phys.</em>, <em>2(6)</em>, 393-396, doi:10.1038/nphys314. </p>
Decoupling gene knockout effects from gene functions by evolutionary analyses

Genic functions have long been confounded by pleiotropic mutational effects. To understand such genetic effects, we examine HAP4, a well-studied transcription factor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that functions by forming a tetramer with HAP2, HAP3, and HAP5. Deletion of HAP4 results in highly pleiotropic gene expression responses, some of which are clustered in related cellular processes (clustered effects) while most are distributed randomly across diverse cellular processes (distributed effects). Strikingly, the distributed effects that account for much of HAP4 pleiotropy tend to be non-heritable in a population, suggesting they have little evolutionary consequences. Indeed, these effects are poorly conserved in closely related yeasts. We further show substantial overlaps of clustered effects, but not distributed effects, among the four genes encoding the HAP2/3/4/5 tetramer. This pattern holds for other biochemically characterized yeast protein complexes or metabolic pathways. Examination of a set of cell morphological traits of the deletion lines yields consistent results. Hence, only some gene deletion effects support related biochemical understandings with the rest being pleiotropic and evolutionarily decoupled from the gene’s normal functions.
Thermogravimetric Analysis of Perhydrous Indian Coals

In the present investigation, pyrolytic behavior of perhydrous Indian coals was evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis from 50 to 1,000°C. The devolatilization was classified into five major regions of thermal activity, i.e., dehydration of water, pre-plastic region, plastic range, secondary devolatilization, and contraction region. The values of activation energies in different regions indicate to follow different mechanisms during pyrolysis. Up to 850°C, different mechanisms, i.e., dehydration, desorption, devolatilization, and thermal degradation (tar and hydrocarbon formation), are the controlling steps. From 850°C, consecutive reactions like dehydrogenation, condensation, and contraction of carbon planes take place. These coals are of sub-bituminous rank; however, their activation energies for various regions are found to lie within the ranges reported for bituminous coals, which is due to their perhydrous nature.
Group II Intron Ribozymes and Metal Ions – A Delicate Relationship

Group II introns are naturally occurring ribozymes in plants, fungi, bacteria, and lower eukaryotes that undergo a fascinating array of reactions. These large molecular machines with a size ranging between 600 and 2500 nucleotides are self-splicing introns also capable of reinserting themselves into RNA or DNA, thus making them mobile genetic elements. The structural information available on group II intron ribozymes is very scarce. So far, only one crystal structure and one NMR solution structure of two domains located in the catalytic core are available. For proper folding and function, each intron requires specific concentrations of monovalent and divalent metal ions. Although most of these metal ions are used for charge screening, some are bound to distinct sites as has been shown by hydrolytic cleavage experiments. These specifically bound ions are crucial for tertiary contact formation and catalysis. This review will discuss the different metal-ion requirements of self-splicing group II introns, the available structural data and information on the binding location and affinity of metal ions, as well as the methods applied to investigate the metal-ion binding properties of these large RNAs. Due to the size of these introns, the richness of local structures, the catalytic versatility and the involvement of metal ions in all of the above-mentioned aspects, group II introns are an ideal target to be studied by combined means from the fields of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Analytical, and (Bio)Inorganic Chemistry. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2005)
A narrative review of minimally invasive liver resections for hepatocellular carcinoma

: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary cancer of the liver and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Liver resection has been widely accepted as the mainstay of HCC treatment, leading to long-term survival in well-selected patients. Over the last two decades, laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) has developed worldwide parallel to technological advancements and increased experience of liver surgeons. Several meta-analyses revealed that LLR for HCC has yielded better short-term outcomes without compromising long-term outcomes, compared to open liver resection (OLR). During treatment of HCC patients with chronic liver disease or liver cirrhosis, LLR decreases blood loss and postoperative complications including refractory ascites, leading to a shorter hospital stay. In the treatment of recurrent HCC, LLR makes subsequent procedures easier by minimizing adhesion formation. The procedure of laparoscopic major liver resection (major LLR) is yet to be standardized and is still in exploration stage according to the Morioka international conference, 2014. Laparoscopic parenchyma-sparing anatomical liver resection (Lap-PSAR) is a novel surgical strategy to resect all malignant tissues while preserving enough liver parenchyma to prevent postoperative liver failure. In conclusion, LLR has many advantages for the treatment of HCC patients and generally results in better short-term outcomes. Further investigations are needed to standardize the procedures of major LLR and Lap-PSAR.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF KNOWLEDGE ON COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY AMONG COPD AND NON COPD PATIENTS

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. Anxiety and depression are common and important co- morbidities of COPD. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a psychological intervention used for managing anxiety and depression. This study was carried out to compare the knowledge level regarding CBT between COPD and non COPD subjects. A case control study was conducted among 59 COPD and 60 NON-COPD patients aged 30-60 years visiting our institution. Beck Depression inventory and Beck Anxiety Scale used to identify the depression and anxiety in COPD and NON-COPD patients. A structured, self administered and validated questionnaire was used to obtain information on the knowledge levels regarding CBT. A highly statistical significant difference was found between the educational status and scores (P 0.05). Anxiety scale in COPD patients shows the higher mean (21.8%) and SD (10.101) when compared to NON-COPD patients. Depression scale in COPD patients shows the higher mean (24.4%) and SD (9.187) when compared to NON-COPD patients. In our study, we observed higher anxiety and depression scale in COPD patients when compared to NON-COPD patients. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) will be helpful in managing COPD patients. Further research is needed to address the impact, early detection, and management of anxiety and depression in COPD. Key words: Anxiety, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Cognitive Behavior therapy, Depression Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:107%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
Structure of Titania Sol−Gel Films: A Study by X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Nanocrystalline anatase thin films prepared by dip-coating from titania sols have been examined by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, UV−vis spectroscopy, and grazing incidence XANES and EXAFS. The original 10 nm particles in the as-prepared films retain their morphology on firing at up to 800 °C. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy show that the crystallinity of the films increases with firing, but the anatase is not converted to rutile at 800 °C. Ti K-edge XANES show the presence of high concentrations of five-coordinate titanium in the as-prepared films; this falls on firing but remains significant even after high-temperature treatment. Ti K-edge EXAFS reveals a local anatase structure around titanium in the as-prepared films which becomes more ordered with increasing firing temperature. The anomalous optical properties of the films are attributed to the presence of high defect concentrations rather than quantum size effects.
Voltammetric Determination of Trace Amounts of 2‐Methyl‐4,6‐Dinitrophenol at a Silver Solid Amalgam Electrode

The voltammetric behavior of 2-methyl-4,6-dinitrophenol was investigated by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) at a nontoxic mercury meniscus-modified silver solid amalgam electrode (m-AgSAE). Conditions have been found for its determination by DPV at m-AgSAE in the concentration range of 0.2 to 1 μmol L−1.
Structure of Sulfonated poly(vinyl fluoride)

Sulfonated poly(vinyl fluoride) (PVF-SA) has been made by chemical sulfonation or radiation-induced sulfonation of commercial poly(vinyl fluoride) (PVF) films. The effects of the irradiation treatment and sulfonation on sulfonic acid distribution, crystallinity, state of water, and molecular organization have been examined. The results indicate that proton irradiation and subsequent sulfonation produce a structure that is different from the ones produced by the sulfonation of nonirradiated or electron beam (EB)-irradiated samples. The water uptake is higher in proton-irradiated samples than in the other samples. In addition, the portion of nonfreezing water is highest in proton-irradiated samples. Infrared spectra of the sulfonated samples indicate that a large part of the freezing bound water is associated with the hydrophobic polymer backbone. However, this portion was smaller in the proton-irradiated sample than in the EB-irradiated sample. The proton-irradiated samples had a small-angle X-ray diffraction maximum with a corresponding Bragg spacing of 70 A, which was taken as evidence for the formation of ion–water cluster domains in the proton-irradiated samples. The ion conductivity was slightly lower in nonirradiated and in EB-irradiated membranes than in the proton-irradiated sulfonated samples in which the highest values were 10–20 mS/cm. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 1273–1284, 1999