Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rheology of Surimi-Based Products from Fatty Fish Underutilized by the Industry

Abstract Different products, like emulsified sausages, can be made from surimi from Argentine croaker (Umbrina canosai). This fish is caught in large amounts in the Southern Brazil coast, but is underutilized and has a low commercial value. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the influence of soy protein, potato starch and heating temperature on the texture of an emulsified sausage processed from this surimi. For this, a factorial design was carried out with gel strength and cohesiveness being the measured processing parameters. It could be concluded that cohesiveness diminishes with the increase in soy protein or increase in potato starch. The heating temperature was the parameter that most affected the gel strength. When the soy protein or potato starch concentrations were increased the gel strength decreased.
Vibrational dynamics in strong glasses: the cases of densified v-SiO2 and v-SiSe2

In this work we will face the problem of the vibrational properties of glasses focusing on the origin and nature of the boson peak (BP). This feature is an universal characteristic of glasses and a fingerprint of the presence of disorder. Two samples have been chosen for this study. The first is permanently densified vitreous SiO$_2$. Permanent densification has been exploited to tune the glassy properties focusing on their evolution. The second sample is a silicon-selenium glass whose low sound velocity allows a detailed study of its dynamics by means of neutron inelastic scattering.
Interface effects on the NLO properties of guest-host materials

Electro-optical properties of silicon carbide (SiC) nano-sized clusters embedded into three different polymeric matrices, i.e., poly(methyl methacrylate, poly-N-vinylcarbazole and polycarbonate were investigated. Electric properties of SiC were calculated using time-dependent DFT methods considering an isolated cluster and environmental effects. The concept of the polymeric influence on optical properties of chromophores was executed by the local electric field approach. Electric field created by charge distribution of the surrounding polymer was calculated using guest–host structures obtained by the molecular dynamics simulations. Optical properties of SiC situated in polymeric environments differ from those of free clusters. It is seen more significantly for the hyperpolarizability than for the polarizability. The spatial distribution of SiC in the matrix depends on the kind of polymer and gives an important influence on the obtained local electric field value. The Si–C distances do not change with variation of the polymeric matrix. The geometry of 3C–SiC is very stable and does not change during MD simulations performed at 300 K.
Dynamic laser light scattering in the study of aggregated proteins and in a DNA fragment containing a bend

We have employed dynamic laser light scattering to investigate the solution behavior of RecA protein from Escherichia coli. RecA is essential for genetic recombination, in vivo, and is the central catalytic protein component of the analogous strand exchange reaction that occurs in vitro between strands of duplex DNA and a homologous single strand. In solution RecA exists in a variety of aggregated forms with sizes and distributions that strongly depend on magnesium concentration, pH, and temperature. With increases in [MgCl2], temperature or addition of sub-stoichiometric amounts of short duplex DNAs, larger aggregates of RecA are formed. In contrast, increasing pH from 7.3 to 9.0 results in formation of protein aggregates with overall smaller dimensions. Our measurements have also revealed the initial aggregation state of RecA and MgCl2 induced aggregation depends on the protein preparation procedure. If extreme care is not taken a significant amount of very large, irreversible aggregates contaminate the preparation. These protein species do not display appreciable amounts of magnesium or temperature induced aggregation.
General acid–base catalysis in the reversible disproportionation reaction of N-chlorotaurine

Third-order rate constants for the general base-catalysed reaction between N-chlorotaurine and its protonated form, kBT (M−2 s−1), and for general acid catalysis of the reverse process, kBH+T (M−2 s−1), have been determined in aqueous solution at 25 °C and I = 0.5 M (NaClO4). The slopes for the Bronsted correlations for the forward and the reverse reactions give β = 0.55 and α = 0.48, respectively. These results suggest that a proton transfer is involved in the rate determining step of the reaction. The high acidity of protonated N,N-dichlorotaurine in aqueous solution rules out the possibility of a stepwise mechanism involving this species as an intermediate. We propose that disproportionation of N-chlorotaurine takes place by a concerted process, where proton and chlorine transfer occur simultaneously in the transition state. This mechanism differs from that found for the transfer of chlorine from a chloramine to an amine.
Propriétés physico-chimiques de capsules d'hydrogel à coeur liquide

Ce travail de these concerne l'etude des proprietes physico-chimiques de capsules millimetriques a cœur liquide possedant une membrane fine d'hydrogel d'alginate. Nous avons dans un premier temps caracterise le transport de molecules a travers la coque d'hydrogel et estime le rayon de coupure de cette membrane semi-permeable. De plus, il est possible de limiter la fuite de petits solutes hydrophiles en ajoutant une couche hydrophobe entre le cœur aqueux et la membrane d'alginate. Nous demontrons alors que le temps caracteristique de fuite est determine par la geometrie du systeme (epaisseur de la couche hydrophobe et rayon de la capsule) ainsi que la solubilite et le coefficient de diffusion du solute dans la phase huileuse. D'autre part, le gonflement d'une capsule soumise a une difference de pression osmotique nous a permis d'identifier les regimes viscoelastique et viscoplastique de la membrane sous etirement. Nous en deduisons un module elastique de l'hydrogel, qui diminue au-dela du seuil de plasticite. A contrario, lors de la compression de capsules, l'hydrogel est concentre par expulsion irreversible de l'eau, ce qui entraine une rigidification de sa structure. Enfin, nous nous sommes interesses a l'ecoulement d'une suspension concentree de capsules a coeur huileux dans l'eau. Il existe une friction entre les capsules qu'il est possible de controler par ajout de tensioactif. Nous avons donc etudie son role dans l'ecoulement de capsules dans une constriction de type sablier. Ainsi, nous demontrons que le flux est constant et qu'il ne depend pas de la friction, mais qu'il est fixe par la taille de l'etranglement. En effet, l'ecoulement est uniquement determine par l'hydrodynamique en phase fluide dans le col du sablier.
A Methacrylated Photoiniferter as a Chemical Basis for Microlithography: Micropatterning Based on Photografting Polymerization

A polymer patterning technology based on photografting polymerization mediated by photoiniferter chemistry is presented as a simple microlithographic technique that affords flexibility in fabricating and subsequently modifying polymer substrates with various chemistries. In principle, the technique relies upon the design and synthesis of a methacrylated photoiniferter, (methacryloyl ethylenedioxycarbonyl) benzyl N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate (HEMA-E-In). This photoiniferter allows the production of micropatterned polymer substrates with surface or internally grafted chemical modifications. The ability to modify surfaces with covalently bound polymer is demonstrated where the thickness of the layer depends on the exposure time. Furthermore, patterning chemical surface modifications was achieved by combining this process with photomasks to produce micron-sized features (approximately 20 μm). The method is quite diverse and enables spatially controlled internal modification of polymer networks as demonstrated h.
Ab initio calculation of phase diagrams of oxides

We show how Monte Carlo simulations with the explicit interchange of cations, the semigrand-canonical ensemble and configurational bias techniques, can be used to calculate phase diagrams for oxides, including both solid and liquid phases. We illustrate our approach with the system CaO/MgO where our techniques take full account of local structural distortion and clustering due to the large mismatch between the sizes of the two cations. All the characteristic features of the MgO/CaO phase diagram, including the eutectic point and the regions of liquid−solid coexistence, are reproduced.
A long-term study of aerosol modulation of atmospheric and surface solar heating over Pune, India

ABSTRACT Implications of aerosol characteristics, observed during a five-year (2004–2009) period over Pune (a tropical urban location), to short-wave radiation budget are reported. A discrete ordinate radiative transfer (DISORT) model with a code, namely, Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (SBDART), has been used to carry out the radiative transfer computations. The validity of the method is demonstrated using independent ground-based remote sensing observations. Uncertainties in the estimates are also quantified. Clear-sky forcing reveals the points that include (1) Large negative bottom-of-the-atmosphere (BOA) forcing (more than−30 Wm−2) in all the months with peaks during October, December and March when the surface forcing exceeds~−40 Wm−2, and (2) Surface forcing values are higher for pre-monsoon months, while they are comparable for winter and post-monsoon months. The top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) forcing is found to be negative during all the seasons. Large differences between TOA and BOA forcing during pre-monsoon, winter and post-monsoon indicate large absorption of radiant energy (~30 Wm−2) within the atmosphere during these seasons, thus increasing atmospheric heating by~1 K/d. These values imply that aerosols have considerable impact on the atmosphere–surface system by causing substantial warming/cooling at the atmosphere/surface. This persistent trend in strong atmospheric absorption is likely to alter atmospheric thermodynamic conditions and thus affects circulation considerably.
Binary Solvent Effects in Capillary Zone Electrophoresis with Ultrasensitive Near-IR Fluorescence Detection of Related Tricarbocyanine Dyes and Dye-Labeled Amino Acids

We have investigated the effects of mixed organic/aqueous carrier buffers on the chromatographic efficiency and detectabilipy of native near-infrared (near-IR) dyes and near-IR dye-labeled amino acids separated using capillary electrophoresis (CE). The near-IR fluorescence detector for this application incorporated a solid-state Ti/sapphire laser for excitation and a single-photon avalanche diode photodetector. The on-column mass detection limits for a series of cationic tricarbocyanine near-IR dyes varied from 350 to 5500 ymol in running buffers comprised of 95/5 methanol/water (pH=9.1). In predominately aqueous running buffers, the detection limits degraded with significant losses in the separation efficiencies. Two near-IR dyes with similar structures but different charges (cationic and anionic) were used to investigate efficiency losses with binary methanol/water running buffers. The results indicated that solute/wall interactions were a major contribution to zone broadening for the cationic dye in high water compositions, resulting in significant losses in the numbers of theoretical plates, while the anionic dye did not exhibit these types of interactions. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of near-IR fluorescence in CE applications, a series of amino acids were labeled with a near-IR fluorescent dye containing an isothiocyanate fuctional group and separated using CE with mixed methanol/water buffers. The fluorescence signal strength and the chromatographic resolution were found to be improved in high methanol compositions in the running buffer
Hybrid technique for plagiarism detection based on text and citation comparison

BSTRACT Plagiarism is a “stealing of academic assets”. In earlier days, numerous text documents are accessible on the web and that are effortless to have an access of it. Appropriate to this large accessibility, still, they have simple contact to the huge records, plus telecommunications in ordinary they have twisted plagiarism into the severe difficulty for the client who publishes their text documents, researchers who study their work as well as learning organizations. As the World Wide Web assist people in every words plus educational frame via giving dissimilar varieties of conversion methods in every cross words plagiarism. Particularly with the educational mechanism, this problem will absolutely influence the scholar’s workings which contain the value of scholar’s coursework plus document mechanism. Educational plagiarism is identified as unsuitable use via scholar of the substance initiated through furthers. Authorized as well as moral structures are distant from basic, and the World Wide Web has brought novel chance for the plagiarists plus novel different exploratory methods for their rivals. Many investigations had illustrated that the coping plus additional verities of the educational stealing is rising between the scholars. This paper presents a hybrid technique which help to detect plagiarism in educational text documents or pdf that integrates detection procedures with semantic word, citations as well as semantic argument structure. It will also implement machine learning algorithm for plagiarism detection technique that gives citation information which assists to identify the plagiarism in the text file or documents.
Proteases and Cartilage Degradation in Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis, the most common joint disease, affecting millions people world-wide, involves the degradation of the articular cartilage which provides frictionless contact between the bones in a joint during movement. To a first approximation, this tissue is composed of two components, a collagen framework and entrapped proteoglycans. The framework consists of type II collagen fibrils built on a type XI collagen core, and decorated with type IX collagen molecules and small proteoglycans. These composite fibrils give the tissue its integrity, tensile strength and ability to retain large proteoglycan aggregates. The extremely large size of the proteoglycan aggregates and their high negative charge endows them with an immense hydration capacity, giving cartilage the ability to absorb compressive loading by the slow displacement of bound water. Partial destruction or loss of the proteoglycans is the first step in the deterioration of cartilage as seen in arthritis. Subsequently, irreversible loss of collagen occurs leading to permanent cartilage degeneration. While glycosylhydrolases and free radicals could also participate, it is believed that proteolytic enzymes are the main agents responsible for the degradation of cartilage components in osteoarthritis. Currently two classes of proteases are thought to be the major mediators of collagen and proteoglycan cleavage. Collagen degradation was thought to be majorly due to the action of MMP (matrix metalloproteinase) collagenases while members of both MMP and ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs) families are important mediators of the degradation of proteoglycans which due to their extended core protein conformation are susceptible to the action of many proteases (Mort and Billington, 2001). Recently however, there is increasing evidence for the role of the cysteine protease cathepsin K in collagen degradation in articular cartilage (Konttinen et al., 2002). The cleavage of cartilage proteins often occurs at specific sites on these molecules depending on the particular protease mediating the event. This results in the generation of characteristic Nand C-terminal epitopes that can be used for the production of antibodies specific for these cleavage products (anti-neoepitope antibodies) (Mort et al., 2003). A series of such antibodies has been produced and their specificities validated. These allow evaluation of the roles of different proteases in the degradation of collagen and proteoglycans in mouse models of osteoarthritis and in human and equine osteoarthritic cartilage using immunohistochemical methods and immunoassays.
Uranium isotope effects in some ion exchange systems involving uranyl–carboxylate complexes

Isotope fractionation between uranyl complexes in aqueous solution and uranyl ions in cation exchange resin was experimentally studied. The isotope separation coefficients e of the uranyl complex systems determined by a chromatographic method were (0.25±0.1)×10−4 (uranyl–chloride system), (0.88±0.1)×10−4 (acetate), (1.03±0.1)×10−4 (glycolate), (1.42±0.15)×10−4 (lactate), and (2.18±0.2)×10−4 (malate) at 25 °C. IR spectroscopic measurements were conducted on the uranyl complexes of which isotope effects were determined. It was found that the separation coefficients are linearly proportional to the shift of the asymmetric stretching vibration ν3 of O=U=O in uranyl complexes. The observed relation is e=4.62×10−6 (960−ν3/cm−1). A theoretical treatment indicated that approximately one third of the observed isotope effects could be attributed to the asymmetric stretching vibration.
Photopolymerization of methyl methacrylate: effects of photochemical and photonic parameters on the chain length

The effects of photochemical and photonic parameters are investigated on the chain length of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) as formed by the free radical photopolymerization process. Different photoinitiators were tested for the photopolymerization of PMMA. The Type II system based on isopropyl thioxanthone (ITX)–ethyl 4-(dimethylamino)benzoate (EDB) gave the best result. The conversion reaches 80% in 20 min contrary to Type I photoinitiators. The decrease of the ITX concentrations from 3 wt% to 0.05 wt% allows the formation of higher chains of PMMA with Mw = 170 000 g mol−1, thanks to the decrease in photogenerated radicals. However, there was almost no influence of light intensity on polymer chains. To optimize the chain length of photopolymerized PMMA, Triazine A (TA) was added to reduce the formation of ketyl radicals arising from the reaction of ITX with EDB. The mechanism of the reaction of this three-component photoinitiating system studied by LFP confirmed the creation of ketyl radicals and their oxidation by TA. Then, the use of this three-component system increases both the kinetics of polymerization and the final conversion by virtue of the decrease in ketyl radicals, which act as terminating agents, and a concomitant increase of initiating radicals as formed from the reduced TA. Moreover, thanks to these new sources of initiating radicals, photopolymerization can take place at lower intensity of light. With TA, it was found possible to photopolymerize under very soft conditions and to allow the formation of longer polymer chains with Mw = 200 000 g mol−1 at 1 mW cm−2.
Backbone Curvature in Polythiophenes

A series of five polymers containing different benzodithiophene isomers copolymerized with alkylated dithiophene have been synthesized and characterized in terms of their semiconducting properties. Because of the different bonding geometry of the benzodithiophene monomers, a varying degree of curvature is introduced into the polymer backbone chain. The influence of this curvature on the solubility, the electronic levels, the morphology in a film, and the charge carrier mobility in organic field-effect transistors has been investigated. It turns out that an increased degree of curvature improves the solubility, but decreases the order in the film. As a result, the polymer with an intermediate degree of curvature yields the highest charge-carrier mobilities. These findings shall serve as guideline for the rational design of other semiconducting polymers.
Do π-dimers of tetrathiafulvalene cation radicals really exist at room temperature?

The longest wave absorption band of the tetramethylthio- tetrathiafulvalene cation radical, which is usually interpreted as a π-dimer band, is shown to be the intrinsic cation radical absorption, all studied cation radicals in solution at room temperature exist as paramagnetic monomers and only tetrathiafulvelene and tetramethyltetrathiafulvalene cation radicals undergo π-dimerization at low temperatures.
DiXP: a Python-based GUI for controlling a powder diffractometer via the Internet

DiXP is a multi-platform data collection program decoupled from low-level basic hardware management and based on the idea of client/server remote control. The main function of DiXP is the sequential coordination of those basic operations, allowing different strategies for the collection, archiving and graphical representation of measured data. DiXP and the control software reside, in general, on different computers and communicate with one another via the Internet using TCP sockets. The disconnection between low-level handling and the measurement process makes DiXP of general use for controlling a two-circle diffractometer, and this approach can be easily extended to more complex goniometers.
Voluntary Environmental Reporting in Romania

Abstract in Undetermined Today, thousands of leading companies issue voluntary environmental, CSR or sustainability reports with Europe holding more than 50 per cent of all reports published world-wide. It seems like voluntary reporting is here to stay for the time being. In contrast to the development and implementation of such practices in Western Europe, we do not have much knowledge about the situation of reporting in transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe. Furthermore, besides the cultural differences, little is known about how eastern companies perceive the value of environmental and social reporting. Identifying this gap in the literature this paper aims to bring some clarification on the issue, by performing an exploratory investigation of Romanian companies. As findings indicate, despite the incipient stages of public disclosure of environmental information, Romanian enterprises are ready to catch up with Western practices. (Less)
The sulfur chain in biogas production from sulfate-rich liquid substrates: a review on dynamic modeling with vinasse as model substrate

Vinasse is a sulfate-rich liquid substrate, from which high levels of hydrogen sulfide in biogas can be obtained due to the sulfate reduction process under anaerobic conditions. Hydrogen sulfide is corrosive and toxic and must be removed for any utilization of the biogas. Mathematical models have been developed to study separately sulfate reduction in anaerobic digestion and sulfide removal from biogas streams. However, the levels of hydrogen sulfide produced in the anaerobic digestion stage have an effect on the sulfide removal processes in the next stage. As a method to study both processes and their interaction, a new approach is introduced and reviewed in the present article: the sulfur chain in biogas production. The necessity of studying the sulfate reduction processes in vinasse as a typical sulfate-rich substrate to predict hydrogen sulfide concentrations in the gas phase, as well as the best model approach to that aim are established here. In addition, the approaches to model sulfide removal based on direct conversion processes, the models' capability to predict the removal of hydrogen sulfide from the biogas (at levels between 20 000 and 30 000 ppmv) as well as the concentration profile of the reactants in this removal processes are discussed. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry