Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fluorescence Detection of Hydrazine Hydrate Using Carbon Nanodots Synthesized from Mandarin Rind

Hydrazine hydrate is a highly toxic chemical widely used in agricultural and pharmaceutical industries. Exposure to hydrazine can induce an irritation of respiratory tract, blindness, damage of the DNA and central nervous system. In this paper, we will show the hydrazine hydrate (N2H4) detection using fluorescence carbon nanodots synthesized from mandarin rind, the so-called R-CNDs. Highly sensitive detection can be seen by naked eyes in a fluorescence red-shifting and by analyzing absorption spectra in case of micromolar concentrations of hydrazine hydrate solution.
The roles of suberin biopolymer and associated waxes in protecting plants against abiotic stresses

Plants have various hydrophobic barriers that protect against environmental stresses. Suberin is one such extracellular lipid-based barrier that is deposited in various tissues in terrestrial plants. It is a complex aliphatic and aromatic heteropolymer that plays important roles in controlling water and ion movement. The precise mechanisms of suberin in defending against abiotic stresses (e.g. drought, salinity and heavy metals) are currently. In this thesis, I explore some of the specific roles of root suberin and seed coat suberin in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana in relation to abiotic stress tolerance. Physio-chemical responses and stress tolerance as a result of alterations in suberin were investigated using several suberin-altered mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana. Drought-induced suberin reduced water loss through the root periderm. The amount of water loss in roots was inversely correlated to the amount of total suberin. Suberin lamellae structure was important in reducing water loss under drought stress. Salt stress responses in suberin-altered mutants indicate suberin composition or lamellae structure are essential in barrier function of root suberin against uncontrolled Na uptake into the plant. Mutants of Arabidopsis defective in various seed coat polymeric substances (suberin, cutin, mucilage, or proanthocyanidins) were tested for changes in germination and viability after stratification and imbibition in a range of mining environment-relevant chromium Cr(III) concentrations. Seeds reduced in total seed coat suberin were strongly affected by increasing Cr3+ concentrations, affecting both germination and embryo viability. This provides evidence for the effective barrier function of seed coat suberin on the imposition of impermeability to Cr3+. Although proanthocyanidin mutants displayed reduced germination in the presence of chromium, their embryo viability was only partially affected by higher levels of Cr3+. Overall, these results reveal the risks associated with Cr3+ toxicity on the existence of plants with reduced seed coat suberin content in environments contaminated with high levels of chromium. The findings presented in this thesis helps to clarify how suberin content, composition, and lamellae structure relate to tolerance against drought, salinity, and chromium (Cr3+) toxicity. Further, these findings shed light on future directions in manipulating suberin genes for the development of stress-tolerant high-value crops.
On the consistency and the robustness in model selection criteria

Abstract In the model selection problem, the consistency of the selection criterion has been often discussed. This paper derives a family of criteria based on a robust statistical divergence family by using a generalized Bayesian procedure. The proposed family can achieve both consistency and robustness at the same time since it has good performance with respect to contamination by outliers under appropriate circumstances. We show the selection accuracy of the proposed criterion family compared with the conventional methods through numerical experiments.
IDENTIFICATION OF A NOVEL CELL TYPE IN PERIPHERAL LYMPHOID ORGANS OF MICE

Dendritic cells are morphologically distinct cells isolated in vitro from peripheral lymphoid organs of mice. They have a buoyant density of less than 1.082 and can be enriched 7–20-fold by isopycnic centrifugation in albumin columns. Surface adherence of enriched populations may yield cultures containing 50% dendritic cells—preparations which can then be studied in more detail. By functional tests, dendritic cells do not represent morphological variants of either lymphocytes or macrophages. They lack lymphocyte surface differentiation markers and do not exhibit the endocytic capacities of macrophages. In tissue culture, they do not differentiate into macrophages. Dendritic cells have a low labeling index in vitro (1.5–2.5%) following administration of [3H]thymidine, and this property distinguishes them from large lymphocytes and promonocytes. Dendritic cells also do not possess the functional properties of other types of reticular cells proposed to exist in lymphoid organs, i.e., they do not synthesize collagen-like macromolecules, they are not stem cells for erythroid and myeloid colony formation, and they do not retain antigens or immune complexes on their cell surface. Dendritic cells thus represent a novel cell type on both functional and morphological grounds.
A Simple Way to Produce Gold Nanoshells for Cancer Therapy

Gold nanoshells (GNSs), formed by a silica core surrounded by a gold shell, present a shift on their surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to the near-infrared (NIR) part of the electromagnetic spectrum when synthesized with specific dimensions. This chapter presents a simple method to prepare the nanoshells, a step-by-step characterization, as well as their absorbance spectrum. For the synthesis, silica spheres, with approximately 190 ± 5 nm in diameter, were prepared using the Stöber method and then functionalized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The gold nanoparticles (GNPs), with a diameter of 7 ± 3 nm, were produced by the reduc-tion of chloroauric acid. Then, the silica was seeded with the GNPs to later grow a gold shell with the help of Au(OH) 4 ¯ ions and formaldehyde. UV-Vis spectroscopy results showed an increase of absorbance starting at 520 nm. It reached its maximum around 600 nm and kept absorbing all through 1200 nm. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) images suggest that the absorption peak movement coincided with the completion of the shell. Furthermore, when the sample was irradiated with an 820 nm wavelength/3.1 mW laser, its temperatures increased by 6.3°C in 2 min, showing its absorbance in the NIR.
A review of the condition monitoring of capacitors in power electronic converters

Capacitor is one of the reliability critical components in power electronic systems. In the last two decades, many efforts in the academic research have been devoted to the condition monitoring of capacitors to estimate their health status. Industry applications demand more reliable power electronics products with preventive maintenances. Nevertheless, most of the developed capacitor condition monitoring technologies are rarely adopted by industry due to the complexity, increased cost and other relevant issues. An overview of the prior-art research in this area is therefore needed to justify the required resources and the corresponding performance of each of the key method. It serves to provide a guideline for industry to evaluate the available solutions by technology benchmarking, as well as to advance the academic research by discussing the history development and the future opportunities. Therefore, this paper firstly classifies the capacitor condition monitoring methods into three categories, then the respective technology evolution from 1993 to 2015 is summarized. Remarks on the state-of-the-art research and the future opportunities targeting for practical industry applications are given.
Payload pendulation and position control systems for an offshore container crane with adaptive‐gain sliding mode control

When container ports are not available for heavy ships, the offshore ship‐to‐ship transfer operation is an alternative method to an inland container terminal. This process is performed between a large container ship and a smaller ship, which is equipped with a container crane, called the mobile harbor or the ship‐mounted crane. The sea‐state condition is a crucial factor in open‐sea operations. The presence of waves, wind, and current disturbances excite the pendulum oscillations of the crane's hanging container. In this study, the problem of payload pendulation and container position for an offshore container crane using an adaptive‐gain sliding mode control (SMC) scheme is investigated. The primary control task during the loading and unloading process is to keep the container in the desired region under the harsh oceanic environment. The proposed control architecture incorporates an adaptive‐gain SMC with a compensation part and a prediction mechanism. Therein, a sliding surface is design to combine the desired sway motion of the payload with the desired trolley trajectory. Furthermore, a varying control gain is proposed in the sliding control, obtained by an adaption law that transitions the system into sliding mode. By constructing an appropriate Lyapunov function, we show that the proposed control law ensures the asymptotic stability of the ship‐mounted crane. Numerical simulations are presented to show the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control system.
Assessment of Display and Events of Agro-Healing Experience Center for Visitors Satisfaction and Revisit Intention:

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the exhibition displays and events of the Agro-healing Experience Hall in the Agricultural Technology Exhibition 2018 on satisfaction and revisit intention of visitors. A survey was conducted on visitors of the Agro-healing Experience Hall and the responses of 274 visitors excluding 26 cases with inappropriate responses were analyzed. For psychological measurement, the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS), Profile of Mood States (POMS), level of plant gardening experience, satisfaction and loyalty were measured. There was a significant difference among age groups in all four factors of the PRS (repose, fascination, coherence, and legibility). In the case of education level, there was a significant difference in the three factors (repose, fascination, and legibility). In addition, average monthly income showed a significant difference among groups in the two factors (fascination and coherence). As a result of analyzing the mood states of visitors for the exhibition events of the Agro-healing Experience Hall, there was a significant difference among age groups only in the case of vigor (p < .05). As a result of analyzing the correlation between the level of plant gardening activities (3 factors) and PRS (4 factors) in the exhibition events of the Agro-healing Experience Hall, plant preference tendency and plant-related event showed a high positive correlation of 0.5 or more with repose of the PRS factors. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of the level of plant gardening activities, PRS and POMS on the satisfaction and loyalty of visitors. As a result, it was found that in terms of relative explanatory power over independent variables affecting satisfaction and revisit intention, fascination had the greatest effect, followed by vigor, fatigue, and occupation (company employee). The results of this study suggest that exhibition events of the Agro-healing Experience Hall affect repose, fascination or vigor of visitors, and thus can be used positively to increase satisfaction and revisit intention of visitors.
New insights in sources of the sub-micrometre aerosol at Mt. Zeppelin observatory (Spitsbergen) in the year 2015

Abstract In order to evaluate the potential impact of the Arctic anthropogenic emission sources it is essential to understand better the natural aerosol sources of the inner Arctic and the atmospheric processing of the aerosols during their transport in the Arctic atmosphere. A 1-year time series of chemically specific measurements of the sub-micrometre aerosol during 2015 has been taken at the Mt. Zeppelin observatory in the European Arctic. A source apportionment study combined measured molecular tracers as source markers, positive matrix factorization, analysis of the potential source distribution and auxiliary information from satellite data and ground-based observations. The annual average sub-micrometre mass was apportioned to regional background secondary sulphate (56%), sea spray (17%), biomass burning (15%), secondary nitrate (5.8%), secondary marine biogenic (4.5%), mixed combustion (1.6%), and two types of marine gel sources (together 0.7%). Secondary nitrate aerosol mainly contributed towards the end of summer and during autumn. During spring and summer, the secondary marine biogenic factor reached a contribution of up to 50% in some samples. The most likely origin of the mixed combustion source is due to oil and gas extraction activities in Eastern Siberia. The two marine polymer gel sources predominantly occurred in autumn and winter. The small contribution of the marine gel sources at Mt. Zeppelin observatory in summer as opposed to regions closer to the North Pole is attributed to differences in ocean biology, vertical distribution of phytoplankton, and the earlier start of the summer season.
Initial respiratory specimen bacteriology and isolates susceptibility to antimicrobials in promptly intubated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease adults - single-center two-year experience

Introduction/Objective. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation is mostly triggered by infectious agents and seriously compromises the patient? s quality of life and predicts a poor outcome of the disease as well. If the signs of the probable bacterial cause of COPD exacerbation are presented in an intubated patient, initial antimicrobial management must be launched. Depending on the results of the respiratory system sample cultures, the initial antimicrobials can be changed or continued. The objective of this study is to present in-hospital suggestions regarding the use of the initial antimicrobial management of urgently intubated COPD adults with the probable bacterial cause of exacerbations, considering the source of bacterial acquisition (i.e. facility- or community-acquired bacteria). Methods. The cross-sectional study covered 51 patients urgently intubated on admission to the medical Intensive Care Unit of the Zemun Clinical Hospital Center during 2015/2016. The patients were divided into two groups: community-acquired (n = 26) and facility-acquired infection group (n = 25). The respiratory system samples were processed in the Microbiology Laboratory. Results. Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas spp. were the most frequently isolated bacteria in both groups, followed by Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella spp. as the third most frequent bacteria in the community- and facility-acquired group, respectively. The parallel use of tigecycline and aminoglycosides proved to cover a sensitive microbial spectrum in 52% of examinees of the community-acquired and 32% of examinees of the facility-acquired group. Conclusion. The present study suggests the initial management of intubated adults with probable bacterial infection-induced COPD exacerbation by the parallel use of tigecycline and aminoglycosides.
AESA upgrade option for Eurofighter Captor Radar

The Euroradar Consortium has successfully developed and demonstrated an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology upgrade for the Eurofighter Typhoon Captor Radar. This technology demonstrator, designated Captor Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar (CAESAR), enables E-scan capability to be fully exploited by the existing Captor radar, while retaining all features and capabilities of the original system. Advanced waveforms, designed and optimized for electronically-scanned radar systems, have been evaluated in recent CAESAR flight trials. Production of the CAESAR system will address repackaging of the AESA and associated components to minimize mass and volume, reduce cost, and ensure ease of supportability. CAESAR has demonstrated that AESA benefits can be provided within the existing Captor framework, enhancing sensor capability while retaining existing Eurofighter Typhoon interfaces.
Downy Brome (Bromus tectorum) Density and Relative Time of Emergence Affects Interference in Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Field experiments over 3 yr at Lethbridge, Alberta, determined the effect of various downy brome densities and times of its emergence on winter wheat biomass and seed yield. Downy brome reduced wheat biomass up to 59% and seed yield up to 68%. Time of downy brome emergence relative to wheat affected the magnitude of these yield reductions more than the density of downy brome. At comparable densities, downy brome caused 2- to 5-fold greater reductions in yield when it emerged within 3 wk after winter wheat than when it emerged 6 wk after wheat or in early spring. Late-emerging downy brome caused significant wheat yield or biomass losses only at densities of 200 to 400 plants m-2. Late-emerging downy brome plants were strongly shaded (70 to 90%) by winter wheat throughout much of the growing season.
Carrier dynamics in intermediate states of InAs/GaAs quantum dots embedded in photonic cavity structure

We have studied time-resolved intraband transition from the intermediate state to the continuum state of the conduction band in InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) embedded in a one-dimensional photonic cavity structure using a two-color photoexcitation spectroscopy. The photonic gap was tuned to enhance the excitation from the intermediate state to the conduction band, whose energy is selected to be less than the interband transition energy between the intermediate state and the quantized hole state. The photoluminescence intensity was observed to be dramatically reduced by selectively pumping carriers in the intermediate state. This effect has been analyzed by modeling detailed carrier relaxation process.
Peripheral glucagon-like peptide-1 and satiation

Peripheral glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a hormone secreted by mucosal cells of the gut. It affects glucose metabolism and gastrointestinal functions, but has also been proposed to take part in the control of food intake. Exogenous GLP-1 administration has been shown to decrease food intake under various conditions. However, the physiological site of action of intestinal GLP-1 to reduce food intake is still unclear. We therefore performed studies in rats to investigate the effects of intraperitoneal (IP) GLP-1 administrations on food intake and to identify the afferent signalling pathway and the brain areas involved. We found that 10, 30 and 90 nmol/kg GLP-1 reduced meal size, but not in a clearly dose-related manner. As the eating-inhibitory effect of IP GLP-1 was attenuated by subdiaphragmatic vagal deafferentation, we conclude that vagal afferents are involved. To determine the brain regions activated by IP GLP-1, we applied c- Fos immunohistochemistry and found neuronal activation in the caudomedial part of the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) and in the caudal part of the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). The NTS activation by GLP-1 supports a role of vagal afferents in the mediation of GLP-1’s satiating effect. Whether the CeA activation reflects satiation or aversion remains to be identified. To better understand the signalling pathways and to clarify the physiological relevance of peripheral GLP-1 in satiation, however, further investigations are required. Peripheres Glucagon-like Peptide-1 und Sattigung Peripheres Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) wird von Mucosazellen des Darmes sezerniert. Es beeinflusst den Glucosestoffwechsel und gastrointestinale Funktionen, soll aber auch zur Steuerung des Verzehrs beitragen. Die parenterale Verabreichung von GLP-1 reduziert den Verzehr unter verschiedenen Bedingungen. Der physiologische Wirkungsort von intestinalem GLP-1 ist bisher jedoch unbekannt. Wir fuhrten Studien an Ratten durch, um die Effekte von intraperitoneal (IP) appliziertem GLP-1 auf den Verzehr zu untersuchen und die involvierten afferenten Signalwege und Hirnareale zu identifizieren. Dabei reduzierten 10, 30 und 90 nmol/kg GLP-1 die Mahlzeitengrosse, ohne dass eine klare Dosisabhangigkeit dieses Effekts feststellbar war. Da der verzehrshemmende Effekt von IP infundiertem GLP-1 nach subdiaphragmatischer vagaler Deafferentation abgeschwacht war, sind offenbar vagale Afferenzen involviert. Mit c-Fos Immunohistochemie fanden wir, dass IP appliziertes GLP-1 Neuronen im caudomedialen Teil des Nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) und im caudalen Teil des zentralen Nucleus der Amygdala (CeA) aktiviert. Die NTS- Aktivierung durch GLP-1 spricht ebenfalls fur eine Rolle der vagalen Afferenzen bei der Vermittlung des Sattigungseffekts. Ob die CeA-Aktivierung Sattigung oder Ubelkeit widerspiegelt, bleibt zu untersuchen. Um die Signalwege besser zu verstehen und die physiologische Relevanz von peripherem GLP-1 fur die Sattigung zu klaren, sind weitere Studien notig.
IMPACT OF HAZARD MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE AMONG SELECTED FIRMS IN NNEWI, ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

This paper examined the impact of hazard management practices on organizational performance, involving four dimensions of improved management/employees safety practices; enhanced productivity; increased profitability; and reduced accident rates in three Companies (Cutix Plc.; Chicason Group; and Ibeto Cement) in Nnewi, Anambra State. Hazard management through job analysis represents a process of identifying potential hazards in job activities and assessing the potential effects on employees, organizational assets, and the environment generally. It takes anchorage on the theory that effective hazard management through sound job hazard analysis at the task level in organizations has an influence not only on employee performance, but also, on organizational performance through enhancement of productivity and profitability, as well as reduction of accident rates. The paper posits that if organizations foster and maintain an effective hazard management practices through comprehensive job hazard analysis, there is likely to be an improvement in organizational performance. To accomplish this, organizational employees must be in a position to efficiently and effectively discharge their respective tasks. This, to a great extent, depends on the level of institutionalized safety practices in the workplace.