Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Xylem and Phloem Formation Dynamics in Quercus ilex L. at a Dry Site in Southern Italy

Quercus ilex L. dieback has been recently reported at numerous Mediterranean sites. Wood and phloem formation dynamics and tree-ring series of anatomical traits can be used to evaluate growth conditions of trees. We monitored cambial activity in Q. ilex trees growing at a site in southern Italy in order to assess how xylem and phloem production are affected by harsh seasonal climatic variation during a dry year. We followed xylogenesis by counting the number of cambial cells and detecting the occurrence of post-cambial cells throughout the year. As phloem did not show clear growth rings and boundaries between them, we followed the development of phloem fibres—their morphological traits during development and the distance from the cambium served as a reference point to evaluate the phloem production during the year. We detected a multimodal pattern in cambial activity, with wood production in three periods of the year and consequent formation of intra-annual density fluctuations (IADFs). The lowest production of xylem cells was observed in the dry late spring and summer period (likely due to the low water availability), while the highest occurred in autumn (the wettest period). Although we could not differentiate between early and late phloem, the analysis of phloem traits was useful to follow the dynamics of phloem production, which is generally difficult in Mediterranean tree species. We found cambial production of phloem throughout the year, even in the periods without xylem production. The results showed that if tree growth was constrained by environmental limitations, the ratio between xylem to phloem cells decreased and, in the most severely affected trees, more cells were formed preferentially in the phloem compared to xylem. We also briefly report the way in which to solve technical problems with tissue preparation due to extreme hardness and to the peculiar structure of Q. ilex wood and outer bark.
Morphological investigation of carbon nanotube reinforced polyurethane foam to analyse its acoustical and non‐acoustical properties

Usually, resonators [1, 2] and flat multi-layered sound absorbers consist of porous material, perforated panel, and air gap are well-known elements for low-frequency absorption [3, 4]. Materials science development has allowed the fabrication of improved sound energy decaying porous materials [5–10]. Physical properties such as density, porosity, and tortuosity are important factors that can influence the acoustical properties of porous materials [7, 8]. Controlling the polymer foam properties by adding the appropriate functional groups can produce porous materials with desired properties without significantly affecting the intrinsic properties of the polymers [7–10]. Due to the extremely large interfacial contact area of carbon nanotube (CNT) with polymer matrix, its high aspect ratio and low mass density, and its vibrational characteristics [11–19] it is an adequate filler used for sound energy damping applications. Polyurethane (PU) foam as a conventional porous material performs optimum in midand high-frequency ranges. According to the literature survey, the optimum sound absorption of the PU foam could be shifted to the desirable low-frequency range by adding an adequate weight percentage (wt%) loading of the carboxylated CNT [7–10]. Therefore, PU has been chosen as an adequate polymer matrix for adding CNT fillers to enhance its sound absorption, especially in low frequencies. However, the study of the correlation between the amount of carboxylic functionalized CNT and the morphological properties of the PU/CNT nanocomposite foam is very limited [7]. There are a few papers such as Ref. [20] that only examine the relationship between the morphological properties of pure polyurethane foam and its acoustical behaviour. According to the literature survey, there is no detailed analytical work concentrated on the correlation of the amount of carboxylic functionalized CNT with the morphological properties of the PU/CNT nanocomposite foam. Therefore, there is no work on the effect of morphological changes on its acoustical and non-acoustical properties. They only have reported the role of nanoparticles on the acoustical properties of the PU foam experimentally [9, 10].
Common drugs causing allergy in patients attending a tertiary care centre in South Kerala

Background: Drugs play an important part in the wellbeing of human life. Adverse drug reactions are also a part of drug administration. Adverse drug reactions mainly manifest in the form of skin lesions such as urticaria or maculo-papular rash. Drug allergy is a common clinical problem and its assessment is important for appropriate management of the condition. Diagnosis of drug allergy relies on a careful history and in some instance’s allergy testing may be required. Aim was to determine the common drugs causing allergy. Methods: After obtaining informed written consent, data was entered in a schedule and an intradermal test was done in the volar aspect of the patient’s forearm with the selected list of twenty-four drugs. Results: The maximum number of study subjects showed positive reactions were for ampicillin, paracetamol, diclofenac and ketorolac. Conclusions: The drugs which are commonly used by the medical practitioners were found to be more allergic to the study subjects.
Experimental Cs and Sr sorption on analcime in rock-buffered systems at 250-300°C and Psat and the thermodynamic evaluation of mineral solubilities and phase relations

Experimental studies on replacement of Na by Cs and Sr in analcime-albite bearing buffered assemblages were carried out at 250–300°C and P sat = 39.7-85.8 bars in pure water and in chloride solution. This investigation shows that such ion exchange of Na for Cs and Sr in analcime changes the Si/Al ratio. The compositions of end members for Cs and Sr analcimes at 250°C are shown to be Cs 0.95 Al 0.79 Si 2.17 O6 and Sr 0.645 Al 1.41 Si 1.62 O 6 . Continuous solid solutions between Cs and Na and Sr and Na do not appear to exist. Based on the composition of the aqueous chloride solutions, the thermodynamic properties of Cs, Sr and Na analcimes were determined and used in thermodynamic simulations in Cs and Sr leaching from albite-(Cs, Sr, Na) analcime assemblages at 250°C. In line with the above, the minimum leachability of Cs and Sr from Cs- and Sr-bearing analcimes occurs at pH values above 8 with an analcime-albite-paragonite buffer. The analcime-albite-paragonite assemblage can, therefore, act as a potential sorption barrier to the migration of Cs and Sr from radionuclide contaminated materials owing to the insolubility of Cs and Sr bearing analcimes. These findings have implications for underground High Level Waste storage facilities designed for maximum safety at moderately elevated temperatures.
Research on structure design of thermocouple junction for spacecraft thermal vacuum tests

This paper investigates the structure design problem for the thermocouple junction in spacecraft thermal vacuum tests. Due to the different configurations during the tests, the length and the number of thermocouples are always different, which would lead to certain cost. As a result, a novel thermocouple integrated junction structure is developed and the thermocouple wire can be re-used. The experiment demonstrates that the proposed design method can save the spacecraft thermal vacuum test cost and considerably improve the test efficiency.
The Road to Developing Economically Feasible Plans for Green, Comfortable and Energy Efficient Buildings

Owing to the current challenges in energy and environmental crises, improving buildings, as one of the biggest concerns and contributors to these issues, is increasingly receiving attention from the world. Due to a variety of choices and situations for improving buildings, it is important to review the building performance optimization studies to find the proper solution. In this paper, these studies are reviewed by analyzing all the different key parameters involved in the optimization process, including the considered decision variables, objective functions, constraints, and case studies, along with the software programs and optimization algorithms employed. As the core literature, 44 investigations recently published are considered and compared. The current investigation provides sufficient information for all the experts in the building sector, such as architects and mechanical engineers. It is noticed that EnergyPlus and MATLAB have been employed more than other software for building simulation and optimization, respectively. In addition, among the nine different aspects that have been optimized in the literature, energy consumption, thermal comfort, and economic benefits are the first, second, and third most optimized, having shares of 38.6%, 22.7%, and 17%, respectively.
Preparation, characterization, and morphology insight of ZnO nanodisk–TiO2‐coated SWCNT thin film composites for catalytic sensor application

The hybrid thin film comprising ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticles deposited on single‐walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) was prepared by sol–gel process on aluminum‐coated silicon wafer. The spin‐coated films were further processed by heat treatment followed by hydrothermal process. The synthesized materials were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), and photoluminescence spectroscopy for band‐gap determination. The coated ZnO formed the nanodisk morphology on the surface of carbon nanotubes with TiO2 nanoparticles incorporated on Al/Si wafer. The FE‐SEM analysis before and after hydrothermal treatment with ZnO–TiO2–SWCNT/Al/Si was conducted. The surface properties of the prepared thin films were analyzed for Zn2p, Ti2p, C1s, and O1s of individual spectra by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. Good reproducibility and quick response time were obtained for ultraviolet (UV) light‐sensing activity with ZnO/SWCNT and ZnO–TiO2/SWCNT nanocomposites exhibiting good hydrogen gas sensing activity.
Highly crystalline PtCu nanotubes with three dimensional molecular accessible and restructured surface for efficient catalysis

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) as candidates for dominant energy conversion devices based on the higher energy densities of liquid methanol show unique advantages over hydrogen-based fuel cells, such as cheapness and ease of storage and transportation. However, the fundamental challenges for electrochemical oxidation of methanol are the sluggish electro-oxidation kinetics and recovery of Pt surfaces to lower costs. Here, we report a mixed solvent strategy to prepare a highly active and durable class of electrocatalysts with connected single crystalline nanoparticles (NPs), forming an open architecture. Each single crystalline NP along PtCu nanotubes (NTs) can be considered as a highly active unit with specific facet and assembles along one-dimensional (1D) direction. The Pt1Cu1–AA NTs achieve a factor of 5.5 and 10.3 enhancement in mass activity (2252 mA mg−1) and specific activity (6.09 mA cm−2) for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) relative to Pt/C catalysts, respectively. Moreover, after long-term stability tests, the activity of the NTs could be recovered via a simple potential cycling process (reactivation process) to the initial value or better. Thus this kind of catalysts would limit the costs to the initial investment and recovery and show potential possibility in real DMFC devices.
Modelamiento y control de un péndulo invertido desde una perspectiva mecatrónica

El objetivo del presente trabajo es modelar y controlar un sistema de pendulo invertido, con actuador y con sistema de trasmision, mediante una perspectiva mecatronica basada en la teoria de diagrama de enlaces. El requerimiento basico de control consiste en desplazar el carro de una posicion a otra, usando una entrada escalon, sin que el pendulo caiga. Se ha aplicado la metodologia conocida de modelamiento mediante diagrama de enlaces, estableciendo las restricciones cinematicas necesarias entre el pendulo y el carro y usando transformadores para relacionar los engranajes entre ellos y con la correa dentada. Se ha utilizado el software 20Sim para establecer automaticamente la causalidad del modelo, para linealizarlo y para simularlo. Se desarrollo un controlador por retroalimentacion de estados a partir del sistema linealizado, se lo probo en el sistema original no lineal encontrando que, para ciertos margenes, este es efectivo manteniendo el pendulo vertical hacia arriba mientras el carro cambia de posicion.
The Effects of supplementing different vegetable oils in the diet of quails on growth, carcass traits and serum biochemical parameters

Alti hafta surdurulen calisma farkli bitkisel yaglarin rasyonlara katilmasinin Japon bildircinlarinda buyume performansi, karkas ozellikleri, bazi kan parametreleri ve oksidatif durum uzerine etkisini belirlemek amaciyla yapildi. Toplam 400 Japon bildircini, her biri uc gunluk ve 100 adetten olusan dort farkli gruba ayrildi. Her bir grup da baslica 20 bildircin iceren bes alt gruba bolundu. Deneme rasyonlarina % 3 duzeyinde soya yagi, aycicegi yagi, aspir yagi ve zeytin yagi ayri olarak katildi. Arastirmada soya yagi, aycicegi yagi, aspir yagi ve zeytin yagi gruplari arasinda buyume performansi, karkas parametreleri ile alkalin fosfataz, alanin aminotransferaz, aspartat aminotransferaz, total protein, trigliserit ve kolesterol duzeyleri uzerinde istatistik fark tespit edilmedi (p>0.05). Buna karsin aspir yagli grupta serum malondialdehit duzeyinin azalirken, serum antioksidan aktivite duzeyinin arttigi belirlendi (p<0.05). Arastirmada bildircin rasyonlarina soya, aycicegi, aspir ve zeytin yagi katiminin buyume performansi, karkas ozellikleri, serum biyokimyasal parametreler ve gogus etindeki antioksidan duruma herhangi bir zarar verici ya da fayda saglayici bir etkisi olmadigi sonucuna varilabilir. Ayrica, bildircinlarda serum lipit oksidasyonunun onlenmesinde aspir yagi katiminin daha etkili olabilecegi de ifade edilebilir.
Analysis of Bus Accessibility Based on GIS and Big Data of Crowd -- Taking Wansheng Economic Development Zone as an example

Public transportation issues are increasingly becoming a key constraint to the sustainable development of urban economic and social development. Based on crowd big data and GIS spatial analysis methods, this article analyzes the accessibility of the public transportation in Wansheng Economic and Technological Development Zone (hereinafter referred to as the development zone). A comprehensive evaluation and analysis was conducted to study the matching relationship between population density and existing public transportation stations, and to propose the optimal suggestions. The results show that the overall public transportation accessibility in the development zone is average level, and the public transportation accessibility is better in the densest crowded areas, but in the east and southeast of the development zone, crowd activities are poorly matched with the public transportation network, and residents’ travel demands can’t get public transportation with timely responses.
Observations of the downwelling far-infrared atmospheric emission at the Zugspitze observatory

Abstract. Measurements of the spectrum of the atmospheric emission in the far-infrared (FIR) range, between 100 and 667 cm−1 (100–15 micron), are scarce because of the detection complexity and of the strong absorption of air at ground level, preventing the sounding of the FIR from low altitude. Consequently, FIR measurements need to be made from high-altitude sites or on board airborne platforms or satellites. This paper describes the dataset of FIR spectral radiances of the atmosphere and snow surface emission, measured in the 100–1000 cm−1 range by the Far-Infrared Radiation Mobile Observation System (FIRMOS) instrument, during a 2-month campaign carried out from ground at 3000 m of altitude, on the top of Mount Zugspitze in the German Alps, in 2018–2019. This campaign is part of the preparatory activity of a new space FIR mission, named Far-infrared-Outgoing-Radiation Understanding and Monitoring (FORUM), which is under development by the European Space Agency (ESA). The dataset acquired during the campaign also includes all the additional measurements needed to provide a full characterisation of the observed atmospheric state and the local atmospheric and surface conditions. It includes co-located spectral measurements in the infrared range from 400 to 1800 cm−1; lidar backscatter profiles; radiosoundings of temperature, humidity and aerosol backscatter profiles; local weather parameters; and snow/ice microphysical properties. These measurements provide a unique dataset that can be used to perform radiative closure experiments to improve modelling parameters that in the FIR are not well characterised, such as water vapour spectroscopy, scattering properties of cirrus clouds and the FIR emissivity of the surface covered by snow. The consolidated dataset is freely available via the ESA campaign dataset website at https://doi.org/10.5270/ESA-38034ee.
Sobrevida a 5 años de pacientes sometidos a gastrectomía por adenocarcinoma gástrico

Introduccion: El cancer gastrico es de los tumores malignos mas comunes en el mundo y es de alta prevalencia en Chile. La tasa de mortalidad anual es de 26/100.000 habitantes para hombres y 12/100.000 para mujeres. La cirugia es el tratamiento con mayor probabilidad de curacion, prolonga la sobrevida global y libre de enfermedad. La sobrevida global a 5 anos reportada a nivel mundial es cercana al 30%. No contamos con datos en la region de Valparaiso sobre la sobrevida en pacientes con cancer gastrico. Objetivo: Caracterizar a los pacientes operados por adenocarcinoma y estimar su sobrevida a 5 anos. Materiales y Metodo: Realizamos un estudio retrospectivo a partir de la revision de fichas clinicas de pacientes sometidos a gastrectomia por adenocarcinoma gastrico. La variable principal analizada fue la sobrevida a 5 anos. Resultados: Se incluyeron 69 pacientes, el promedio de sobrevida fue de 31,7 (DE 25,3) meses y la sobrevida fue de 46% a 5 anos. Encontramos diferencia al comparar grados de compromiso ganglionar segun TNM (p = 0,0001). Segun estadio se obtuvo un valor P cercano a la significancia estadistica (p = 0,083). Otras variables sugieren diferencia en sobrevida sin lograr significancia estadistica. Discusion: Presentamos resultados similares a estudios nacionales, posicionandonos con mejores resultados que paises de occidente, pero aun muy por debajo de la sobrevida reportada en Japon (> 70%). Conclusion: Logramos caracterizar acabadamente a los pacientes operados por adenocarcinoma, su sobrevida a 5 anos, ademas de apoyar la asociacion entre distintos grados de compromiso ganglionar.
The Macroeconomic Costs and Benefits of the Emu and Other Monetary Unions: An Overview of Recent Research

This article provides an overview of recent research into the macroeconomic costs and benefits of monetary unification. We are primarily interested in Europe’s monetary union. Given that unification entails the loss of a policy instrument its potential benefits have to be found elsewhere. Unification may serve as a vehicle for beneficial institutional changes. In particular, it may be a route towards an independent monetary policy, which alleviates the scope for political pressure to relax monetary policy. Unification also eliminates harmful monetary policy spill-overs and competitive devaluations. We explore how disagreement between the monetary and fiscal authorities about their policy objectives can lead to extreme macroeconomic outcomes. Further, we pay considerable attention to the desirability (or not) of fiscal constraints and fiscal coordination in a monetary union. Monetary commitment and fiscal free-riding play a key role in this regard. Similar free-riding issues also feature prominently in the analysis of how unification influences structural reforms. We end with a brief discussion of monetary unification outside Europe. The cost-benefit trade-off of unification may differ substantially between industrialized and less-developed countries, where differences in fiscal needs and, hence, the reliance on seigniorage revenues may dominate the scope for unification.
Fault tolerant control of uav with wing layout based on control allocation

As the flying wing layout unmanned aerial vehicle (uav) extensive research and task environment increasingly complex, Yu Feiyi layout unmanned aerial vehicle (uav) for fault tolerant control gradually become the main technical means of the flight control, using the established mathematical model of the flying wing uav longitudinal layout setting the actuator failure effect, is in the nature of adaptive control allocation fault-tolerant algorithm is given, and MATLAB/simulink simulation is carried out for uav longitudinal motion, realize the rapid and stable, the control command and response to complete the nonlinear fault-tolerant control of flying wing uavs.
Towards to Agile Management Control Systems at the University: Preliminary Research

: Purpose: Little is known about the agile management control systems at public universities, their effects, and limitations in different contexts. This preliminary study addresses this research gap through an empirical study of the management control systems required at Polish universities. Approach/Methodology/Design: This paper's insights have emerged iteratively by considering both theory and the empirical case based on Agile Manifesto and management control systems' requirements at the universities. Findings: A study revealed a need to use Agile concept framing to develop and implement management control systems at public universities. Lack of managerial and employees' self-assessment focused on Agile issues leads to the potentially radical suggestion that decision-makers should change their current approach to management control systems if they want to avoid poor outcomes in different levels and areas of university activity. The findings make two main contributions. First, they contribute to grounding the Agile approach within public management by showing how Agile may use across contexts; Second, this study can form a source for an inquiry process at any university, thus contributing to a better contextual diagnosis of the stage where the university is building the quality of its research, managerial and financial process. Practical Implications: The article brings several valuable pieces of information and provides practical tips. Originality/Value: There are several studies on Agile, management control systems, and university issues; however, the research question – whether the legal framework of the university's management control systems favors agile was without an answer. It is the first such research.
Municipal Solid Waste Characterization and Landfill Gas Generation in Kakia Landfill, Makkah

In many countries, open dumping is considered the simplest, cheapest, and most cost-effective way of managing solid wastes. Thus, in underdeveloped economies, Municipal Solid Wastes (MSW) are openly dumped. Improper waste disposal causes air, water, and soil pollution, impairing soil permeability and blockage of the drainage system. Solid Waste Management (SWM) can be enhanced by operating a well-engineered site with the capacity to reduce, reuse, and recover MSW. Makkah city is one of the holiest cities in the world. It harbors a dozen of holy places. Millions of people across the globe visit the place every year to perform Hajj, Umrah, and tourism. In the present study, MSW characterization and energy recovery from MSW of Makkah was determined. The average composition of solid waste in Makkah city is organic matter (48%), plastics (25%), paper and cardboard (20%), metals (4%), glass (2%), textiles (1%), and wood (1%). In order to evaluate energy recovery potential from solid waste in Kakia open dumpsite landfill, the Gas Generation Model (LandGEM) was used. According to LandGEM results, landfill gas (methane and carbon dioxide) generation potential and capacity were determined. Kakia open dump has a methane potential of 83.52 m3 per ton of waste.