Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Aerobic Methanotrophy and Nitrification: Processes and Connections

Ammonia and methane are structurally similar molecules. Not surprisingly therefore, microorganisms that use methane as a sole energy source (methanotrophs) and microorganisms that use ammonia as a sole energy source (ammonia oxidisers or nitrifiers) share many similarities. They have several key enzymes in common, most especially the ammonia monooxygenase/particulate methane monooxygenase enzyme family. The two groups are proposed to have a common evolutionary history. They occupy similar ecological niches, and compete for nitrogen. Enzymatically, nitrifiers are capable of methane oxidation, and methanotrophs are capable of nitrification. Microbial ecologists have attempted to find specific inhibitors for either group in order to study their respective roles in the environment. The contribution of ammonia oxidisers to methanotrophy in natural systems appears to be very minor, however methanotrophs may sometimes have important roles in the nitrogen cycle. Key Concepts: Some bacteria and archaea are capable of using methane or ammonia as energy sources. Methanotrophs and ammonia oxidisers are each highly specialised to living on their particular substrate. Methanotrophs and ammonia oxidisers have several key enzymes in common, and may share a common evolutionary history. Both groups must cope with toxic by-products of ammonia oxidation. Methanotrophs may be important in the environmental nitrogen cycle, but ammonia oxidisers do not affect the methane cycle. Ammonia oxidising archaea appear to outcompete ammonia oxidising bacteria under ammonia-limiting and acidic conditions. Keywords: methane; ammonia; nitrification; methanotrophy; ammonia oxidation; nitrous oxide; denitrification; chemolithotrophy; biogeochemistry
Development of simulation software of the number of theoretical plates in a continuous distillation column

In this work we have developed a software for the simulation of the number of theoretical plates in a continuous distillation column, based on the equations of vapor-liquid equilibrium and mass balance in the different sections of the column, by an iterative calculation tray by tray. Using an interactive graphical interface, the software can determine the compositions of the vapor and liquid fractions and temperature on each plate, and the liquid and vapor flow rates in the two sections of the column, it can even represent these balances graphically to determine the number of theoretical stages using the McCabe and Thiele method. The compilation results for the distillation of a binary mixture of benzene - toluene (F = 11.84 Kmol/h; Xf = 0.444, Tm = 91.5
Emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide from short- and long-term organic farming Andosols in central Japan

Here we have investigated the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) from long- and short-term organic farming Andosols in Matsumoto city of Nagano, in central Japan. We focus on three upland plots in Matsumoto, distinguished by how long they had each experienced continuous organic farming (OF)—in these three cases, since 1971, 2009, and 2010 (plots hereafter termed M39-OF, M1-OF, and M1F-OF, respectively). Since 2001, in M39-OF, mainly rye (Secale cereale L., as green manure) and soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merril, as crop] were cultivated, in winter and summer respectively, without tillage, other fertilizers and agro-chemicals. In contrast, from 2001 to 2008 in M1-OF, and from 2001 to 2009 in M1F-OF, these plots underwent conventional farming of some vegetables with tillage, fertilizer and agro-chemicals. Soils sampled from M39-OF and M1-OF in August 2009 were incubated for 4 weeks in darkness at 25°C. During these 4 weeks, M39-OF emitted 8.0 times more CO2 and 274 times more N2O than M1-OF. Less than 2 µg carbon (C) kg–1 dry soil of CH4 was emitted from both soils. From February 2010 until January 2011, CO2, CH4, and N2O emission rates of M39-OF and M1F-OF were measured almost monthly, using a closed-chamber method. Annual CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions were 317, –1.7, and 27 g CO2-C equivalent m–2 in M39-OF, and 138, –0.2, and 21 g CO2-C equivalent m–2 in M1F-OF, respectively. The rye yield in M39-OF was 334 g C m–2. Soybeans in M39-OF and M1F-OF yielded 290 and 286 g C m–2, and withdrew 230 and 224 g C m–2, respectively. Greenhouse gas (GHG) balance was calculated at –52 and 97 g CO2-C equivalent m–2 in M39-OF and M1F-OF, respectively. Negative GHG balance indicated that M39-OF was acting as a GHG sink, with higher CH4 absorption than M1F-OF. Further, this beneficial function for global warming was thought to be based on its cultivation system, which had included green manure application since 2001. The difference in gas exchange between incubation and field experiments was considered a reason for the difference in N2O emission between incubation and field experiments.
Consistent analysis of the boundary layer of a Saha plasma

The non-equilibrium boundary layer of a Saha plasma contacting material walls or electrodes is analysed in the parameter regime λD<<λCX<<λi, where λD is the Debye length, λCX is the mean free path for charge exchange collisions and λi is the ionization length. According to this scaling, the boundary layer is split up into the separate model zones of: (i) a space-charge zone (scale λD); (ii) a Knudsen layer (scale λCX); (iii) a transition layer (scale λi). The collision dominated transition layer is analysed in the mobility-diffusion approximation. The Knudsen layer, which is characterized by strong inhomogeneities and by strong deviations from an equilibrium distribution, is treated kinetically. The model zones are related to each other by a consistent matching procedure. Handy formulae for overall quantities are supplied for convenient applications.
COMMENTARY 120 years of Hippocampal Schaffer Collaterals

Karoly Schaffer (1864-1939) was a Hungarian neurolo- gist who distinguished himself through original discoveries in human neuropathology. At the beginning of his scientific carrier, he described the cellular and fiber structure of the hippocampus, earning him a high reputation in neuroscience. Schaffer (1892) described the so-called ''collateral fiber system'' that connects the CA3 and CA1 regions of the hippocampus, known today as Schaffer collaterals. To decipher the his- tory of this well-known eponym, we review Schaffer's original German publication and follow the impact of his research in the contemporary literature. V C 2012 Wiley Periodicals Inc.
Electro-Optic Modulators.

Abstract : The experimental work described in this report concerns the crystal growth of cinnabar, proustite, and lead-cesium-chloride by the Traveling Heater Method (THM). Also described is experimental work in the HgS-HgI2 phase diagram which leads to the conclusion that a ternary compounds Hg3S2I2 which is isomorphous with gamma Hg3S2Cl2 exists. Theoretical work reported concerns the calculation of electrooptic coefficients for compounds with zincblende structure using Phillips electronegativities, crystallographic data and electronic polarizability of the atoms in the lattice as basic parameters. The method used here is believed to be generally applicable to other structure types and can probably also be further extended to cover other electroptic properties. (Author)
Rôles et mécanismes d’action de la protéine Epac dans l’hypertrophie cardiaque

Les catecholamines induisent la synthese d’AMPc par une stimulation des recepteurs β-adrenergiques et controlent ainsi la fonction cardiaque en activant une pleiade de voies de signalisation intracellulaires. Les proteines Epac sont des facteurs d’echange pour les petites proteines G et sont directement actives par l’AMPc. Devant l’importance de la voie β-adrenergique dans la physiopathologie cardiaque et dans le but de mieux comprendre la regulation des processus cellulaires dependants de l’AMPc dans le cœur, il apparait essentiel de caracteriser le role des facteurs d’echange Epac dans le myocarde. Dans une premiere partie, cette etude demontre que les effets de Epac sur l’hypertrophie des cardiomyocytes ventriculaires de rats nouveaux nes requierent les GTPases H-Ras et Rap2B. Epac active la voie PLC/IP3/Ca2+ qui est necessaire pour l’activation de H-Ras. Au niveau transcriptionnel, Epac induit l’export nucleaire de HDAC4 permettant l’activation d’un programme genique d’hypertrophie. Dans une deuxieme partie, cette etude revele l’implication de Epac1 dans l’hypertrophie des cardiomyocytes in vivo, chez la souris. La deletion de Epac1 protege du remodelage cardiaque induit par l’activation prolongee des recepteurs β-adrenergiques et ameliore la fonction cardiaque. La surexpression de Epac1 specifiquement dans le myocarde entraine une hypertrophie des cardiomyocytes. Par ailleurs, la voie β-AR/Epac1 induit l’accumulation de proteines ubiquitinylees et provoque l’activation du processus d’autophagie in vitro et in vivo. L’autophagie protege des effets deleteres de la voie β-adrenergique/Epac en participant a l’elimination des agregats proteiques et en contrant les effets hypertrophiques de Epac1. Ces resultats ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives pour le traitement de l’hypertrophie et de l’insuffisance cardiaque.
A New Ultra-Lightweight Cement With Super Strength

A new ultralightweight slurry, that contains hollow glass bubbles to reduce its density to as low as that of fresh water, can cement casing in wells that extend through formations with very low fracture gradients. These bubble slurries are applicable mainly when a density of less than 12 lbm/gal is required or when higher stength development is needed at densities comparable with conventional low-density cements. Field tests have demonstrated that the slurry can be mixed at a density as low as 8.8 lbm/gal; laboratory tests, as low as 7.5 lbm/gal. The bubble cement has a high early strength development at 95/sup 0/F and a satisfactory 24-hr development at 55/sup 0/F, its permeability to water is insignificant at densities as low as 9.5 lbm/gal, and the slurry's thickening time can be adjusted adequately with calcium chloride or seawater. In an offshore Gulf of Mexico well, a 9.5 lbm/gal slurry has performed full-scale cementing jobs successfully.
Influence de l'adsorption de protéine (BSA) sur le comportement électrochimique et la composition de surface d'un alliage Fe-17Cr en solution aqueuse

ABSTRACT: The aim of this work was to study the interactions between a model protein, the bovine serum albumin (BSA), and the surface of a ferritic stainless steel, Fe-17Cr, during the initial stages of oxide layer formation in aqueous solution. Different parameters have been tested: potential (corrosion potential Ecor and passive potential), pH (values ranging from 1.3 to 10), and absence/presence of chloride ions in solution. For this purpose, electrochemical methods (polarization curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were coupled. In the absence of chlorides, impedance measurements reveal a corrosion inhibition by the BSA at pH 1.3 and Ecor. XPS analyses show that the BSA layer adsorbed on the stainless steel surface (chemically intact molecules; thickness of about 4 nm) has no influence either on the chemical composition or on the thickness of the oxide and hydroxide layers. Thus, the corrosion inhibition effect evidenced at pH 1.3 and Ecor is due to the protein and not to a change in the chemical composition and/or thickness of the surface layers. In the presence of chlorides (NaCl 0.5M), the protein accelerates the localized corrosion of the passivated Fe-17Cr alloy at pH 5.5; moreover, the pitting potential Ep is lower when passivation and exposure to the BSA are simultaneous. The pitting potential is all the more cathodic as the amount of adsorbed protein is large.
Energy-Based Modeling of the Feedback Control of Biomolecular Systems With Cyclic Flow Modulation

Energy-based modelling brings engineering insight to the understanding of biomolecular systems. It is shown how well-established control engineering concepts, such as loop-gain, arise from energy feedback loops and are therefore amenable to control engineering insight. In particular, a novel method is introduced to allow the transfer function based approach of classical linear control to be utilised in the analysis of feedback systems modelled by network thermodynamics and thus amalgamate energy-based modelling with control systems analysis. The approach is illustrated using a class of metabolic cycles with activation and inhibition leading to the concept of Cyclic Flow Modulation.
Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Storage Technology: Fundamental Research for Optimization of Hydrogen Storage and Utilization

Design and development of improved low-cost hydrogen fuel cell catalytic materials and high-capacity hydrogenn storage media are paramount to enabling the hydrogen economy. Presently, effective and durable catalysts are mostly precious metals in pure or alloyed form and their high cost inhibits fuel cell applications. Similarly, materials that meet on-board hydrogen storage targets within total mass and volumetric constraints are yet to be found. Both hydrogen storage performance and cost-effective fuel cell designs are intimately linked to the electronic structure, morphology and cost of the chosen materials. The FCAST Project combined theoretical and experimental studies of electronic structure, chemical bonding, and hydrogen adsorption/desorption characteristics of a number of different nanomaterials and metal clusters to develop better fundamental understanding of hydrogen storage in solid state matrices. Additional experimental studies quantified the hydrogen storage properties of synthesized polyaniline(PANI)/Pd composites. Such conducting polymers are especially interesting because of their high intrinsic electron density and the ability to dope the materials with protons, anions, and metal species. Earlier work produced contradictory results: one study reported 7% to 8% hydrogen uptake while a second study reported zero hydrogen uptake. Cost and durability of fuel cell systems are crucial factors in their affordability. Limits on operatingmore » temperature, loss of catalytic reactivity and degradation of proton exchange membranes are factors that affect system durability and contribute to operational costs. More cost effective fuel cell components were sought through studies of the physical and chemical nature of catalyst performance, characterization of oxidation and reduction processes on system surfaces. Additional development effort resulted in a new hydrocarbon-based high-performance sulfonated proton exchange membrane (PEM) that can be manufactured at low cost and accompanied by improved mechanical and thermal stability. « less
Effects Of Carbamate And Pyrethroid Insecticides On Microbial Numbers And On Leucaena Decomposition In Soil

The effects of lannate (a carbamate) and karate (a pyrethroid) on the decomposition of Leucaena green manure were evaluated after establishing the inhibitory effects of these insecticides in vitro, on the heterotrophic micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes). In this study, the manure, loosely-packed in perforated plastic litter bags, was buried (10 cm) in soil contained in wooden troughs (450 x 35 x 20 cm) and the insecticides in aqueous solution, were applied on the soil surface at the final concentrations of 0.5 and 1.5 ppm for lannate or 0.5 and 1.0 ppm for karate. The decomposition process was monitored at 0,1,3,5, and 7 weeks of incubation using various parameters, namely, residual dry matter, residual organic carbon and residual total nitrogen of the incorporated manure. The total heterotrophic microbial count was also determined in the treated soil at each sampling time. Results of these investigations indicated that when evaluated in vitro, lannate and karate each at 0.5 ppm concentration, depressed the growth of the heterotrophs. However, this inhibitory effect was surprisingly not evident at much higher (10x) insecticide concentrations. It was further observed that the two insecticides, when applied to soil even up to 2-3 times of their respective field recommended rates, did not affect the populations of the decomposer micro-organisms, nor did they influence the rates and magnitude of the Leucaena decomposition, regardless of the parameters used in assessing the decomposition process. It was, therefore, concluded that this type of insecticides could be used even at much higher concentrations, without upsetting the ecological balance or activity of the soil heterotrophic micro flora. TJFNC Vol. 76 2007: pp. 50-58
Microgels 4: The preparation of novel microgels and their applications†

This paper describes studies on the formation of microgels from high functionality mixtures of monomers which are able to polymerise by a step-growth process to polyurethanes in the specially selected solvent butan-2-one. Using the reactants poly(ethylene glycol) 6000, 1,2,6-hexanetriol and biscyclohexylmethane-4,4'-diisocyanate in formulations made to comprise exactly one isocyanate group per hydroxyl, it was found that microgels of number average molecular weight, as determined by Get Permeation Chromatography,of less than 20,000 were obtained up to the Critical Gelation Concentration which ranged from w/w reactant to solvent concentrations of from ∼0.24 to 0.74 at PEG/HT ratios of 1 :4 to 4 :4 respectively. These polymerisations surprisingly, went to complete conversion without gelation and produced 95 - 99% yields of microgel product after precipitation into a non-solvent. Intrinsic viscosity determinations on the microgels dissolved in chloroform were determined and used to obtain estimates of the swollen coil densities at infinite dilution from which the critical packing concentration of these swollen coils in the solvent used for the solvent could be estimated. The critical packing concentration was in all cases well below the Critical Gelation Concentration. It was thus clearly demonstrated that the formation ofsoluble microgels is progressing in spite of the system being critically packed. This is a surprising observation and especially so when it is combined with the very low measured weight average molecular weights and high conversions of the products in the critically packed region. The GPC molecular weights decreased at the higher concentrations which is contrary to expectations. The ability to form microgels above critical packing confirms the results obtained and reported previously by us, that a similar phenomenom occurs in the case of the polymerisation of polyfunctional free-radically polymerised monomer systems. These observations will need to be taken into account when formulating mathematical analyses of the gelation process. This class of products are able to be crystallised from organic solvents and are soluble in water. They are potentially useful as components of pharmaceutical formulations for the controlled release of drugs, high molecular weight active materials and living microorganisms.
Hyperbranched polysiloxysilane nanoparticles for nonviral gene delivery vectors and nanoprobes

We report an approach to produce predefined surface charge tunable gene delivery vectors using siloxysilsane-based polymer for gene delivery studies. To obtain nonviral vectors, new series of hyperbranched polysiloxysilane (HBPS) were synthesized, and the end groups in polymer structures have modified with hydrophilic molecules; in other words, carboxylic acid and quaternary ammonium groups were employed into terminal structures to give the amphiphilicity. The novelty of these amphiphilic HBPS polymers lies in the fact that nanoparticles with different zeta potential (surface charge density) can be easily tailored and functionalized. These polymeric nanoparticles which containing various chemical groups on the surface indicated altered surface charge distributions (from -40 to +64mV). Finally, the use of these nanoparticles as efficient gene delivery vectors was demonstrated by means of in vitro transfection study using β- galactosidase plasmid and pEGFP-N1 plasmid, and the most efficient combination was obtained using HBPS-CN30:70.
Free radical Co‐ and terpolymerization of styrene, hydrogenated cardanyl acrylate, and cardanyl acetate

Hydrogenated cardanyl acrylate (HCA) and cardanyl acetate (CACE) were synthesized from cardanol. The copolymerizations of HCA, CACE, and styrene (S) with methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) and cobalt salt as the initiator were studied by FTIR. Based on FTIR results the reactivity ratios of the three copolymerization systems S-HCA, S-CACE, and HCA-CACE were determined by three different methods (Mayo-Lewis, Fineman-Ross, and Kelen-Tudos). Results obtained from the three methods are in good agreement. Instantaneous compositions and compo- sition shift as a function of conversion is calculated for the S-HCA-CACE system with different feed compositions. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 1399 -1409, 2003
Nitrogen based flame retardants for nitrogen containing polymers

The future aspects of Nitrogen based flame retardants in Nitrogen containing polymers are promising, as they contain no other chemical element than already present in the polymers. Sucessful applications are: * Melamine in Combustion Modified High Resilient Foam * Melamine in B-1 rigid foam * Melamine Cyanurate in Polyamides * Melamine and Melamine salts in intumescent paints * Melamine Cyanurate in thermoplastic Polyurethanes.
Nonlocal Effects in the Plasmons of Strongly Interacting Nanoparticles, Dimers, and Waveguides

Spatial nonlocality in the optical response of noble metals is shown to produce significant blue shift and near-field quenching of plasmons in nanoparticle dimers, nanoshells, and thin metal waveguides. Compared with a local description relying on the use of frequency-dependent dielectric functions, we predict resonance shifts as large as 10% and field-intensity reduction of an order of magnitude at interparticle distances or metal thicknesses below 2 A, although sizable effects are already observed for dimers separated by 2 nm. The calculation method (a combination of the specular-reflection model and a suitable nonlocal extension of measured local dielectric functions) is simple to implement and can be easily generalized to arbitrarily complex nanostructures.
Photolysis of chlorinated dioxins in organic solvents and on soils

Photoreduction of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) to 2,3,7-trichlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TrCDD) in isooctane was found to account for approximately 10% of the loss of TCDD and is thus a minor photolysis pathway. The remainder undergoes conversion by other pathways, which may involve carbon-oxygen cleavage. One new photoproduct of TCDD, formed by a reductive rearrangement, is 4,4{prime},5,5{prime}-tetrachloro-2,2{prime}-dihydroxybiphenyl, as demonstrated by mass spectrometry. Photolysis of TCDD on soils is slow relative to solution photolysis. TCDD on soils is slow relative to solution photolysis. Organic solvent added to the soil enhances the extent of photolysis. Evidence is presented that transport of TCDD to the surface in the organic solvent film is primarily responsible for the increased photolysis, rather than an effect from addition of a reducing hydrogen source. In the unamended soils, photochemical loss of TCDD was observed only for the first 5 days of a 15-day irradiation. In soils containing hexadecane, more than twice the amount of TCDD was lost, and photochemical loss continued at both 10 and 15 days of irradiation. This observation suggests that transport of the light-exposed soil/air interface is occurring. Octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) undergoes photoreduction on soil surfaces to the lower chlorinated congeners.