Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biogenic coal-to-methane conversion efficiency decreases after repeated organic amendment

Addition of organic amendments to coal-containing systems can increase the rate and extent of biogenic methane production for 60–80 days before production slows or stops. Understanding the effect of repeated amendment additions on the rate and extent of enhanced coal-dependent methane production is important if biological coal-to-methane conversion is to be enhanced on a commercial scale. Microalgal biomass was added at a concentration of 0.1 g/L to microcosms with and without coal on days 0, 76, and 117. Rates of methane production were enhanced after the initial amendment but coal-containing treatments produced successively decreasing amounts of methane with each amendment. During the first amendment period, 113% of carbon added as amendment was recovered as methane, whereas in the second and third amendment periods, 39% and 32% of carbon added as amendment was recovered as methane, respectively. Additionally, algae-amended coal treatments produced ∼38% more methane than unamended coal treatments and ∼1.
COTEST: uma ferramenta de apoio à replicação de experimentos em nível de código fonte

The aim of this paper is to present an experimentation support tool, named COTEST – Code Testing Experiment Support Tool. This tool was developed aiming at supporting a particular experiment, named InspTestCod-Exper , which has been conducted in the scope of the Readers Project. This experiment compares the techniques Code Reading, Functional Testing and Incremental Testing (composed of criteria from Structural and Error Based techniques) regarding to the effectiveness and efficiency of these techniques. It is expected that the replication activities become easier and the replication cost decreases as well as the uniformity and consistency of the replication activities making the data more reliable. The COTEST Tool supports the replicator’s and subject ’s activities. Some replicator’s activities are: the creation of a replication, the selection of the subjects and the definition of the experimental project. All the subjects activities are supported by the COTEST Tool, that guides them, step by step, throughout the tasks that have to be performed. All the results are recorded online and all the forms and documents are available in the tool. The COTEST Tool was used in a replication with grad students providing evidences of its usefulness.
Lifestyle Factors’ Impact on Sleep of College Students

Transitioning to college is often met with distinct lifestyle factors that differ from those individuals who do not make such a transition. Such factors include alcohol consumption, caffeine consumption, psychostimulant use, dietary habits, class schedules, and physical activity. These lifestyle factors may impact the sleep length and quality of college students, which leads to other outcomes. Research has explored the relationship between some of these factors and sleep among college students with mixed results. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between several lifestyle factors of college students and their impact on the length and quality of sleep. Results indicated that food choice and physical activity are significantly related to sleep quality. Additionally, the amount of caffeine consumed was determined to be related to sleep quality. For sleep length, both amount of caffeine consumed and average hours worked per week were related to sleep length. Although some factors were determined not to predict sleep quality or sleep length, results indicated that there are several specific lifestyle factors associated with being a college student that impact sleep length and sleep quality. Thus, colleges and universities should evaluate the amount and quality of sleep of their students.
Fractal Market Analysis: Applying Chaos Theory to Investment and Economics

The Global Macro Economy and FinanceMultifractal Detrended Analysis Method and Its Application in Financial MarketsChaos Theory in the Financial MarketsFractals and ChaosNew Trading DimensionsMultifractal VolatilityFractals and Scaling in FinanceNonlinear Dynamics, Chaos, and InstabilityInformation Efficiency in Financial and Betting MarketsDynamics with Chaos and FractalsThinking in PatternsTrading ChaosComplexity, Risk, and Financial MarketsQuantum FinanceDoes God Play DiceTrading on the EdgeChaos, Bifurcations and Fractals Around UsFractal Energy TradingThe Beauty of FractalsA Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing (Ninth Edition)Dynamical Systems Approach to TurbulenceThe Econometrics of Financial MarketsChaos Theory TamedThe Pattern BookTrading ChaosFractal Trading13th International Conference on Theory and Application of Fuzzy Systems and Soft Computing — ICAFS-2018Footprints of Chaos in the MarketsCounterexamples in AnalysisFractal Market AnalysisExploring ChaosChaos TheoryNostradamus 2014: Prediction, Modeling and Analysis of Complex SystemsFibonacci AnalysisThe (Mis)Behaviour of MarketsComputers, Pattern, Chaos and BeautyThe Chaos Theory of CareersChaos and Order in the Capital MarketsLouis Bachelier's Theory of SpeculationFractal Approaches for Modeling Financial Assets and Predicting Crises
Passivating electron‐selective contacts for silicon solar cells based on an a‐Si:H/TiOx stack and a low work function metal

In this work, the ATOM (intrinsic a‐Si:H/TiOx/low work function metal) structure is investigated to realize high‐performance passivating electron‐selective contacts for crystalline silicon solar cells. The absence of a highly doped Si region in this contact structure is meant to reduce the optoelectrical losses. We show that a low contact resistivity (ρc) can be obtained by the combined effect of a low work function metal, such as calcium (Φ 2.9 eV), and Fermi‐level depinning in the metal‐insulator‐semiconductor contact structure (where in our case TiOx acts as the insulator on the intrinsic a‐Si:H passivating layer). TiOx grown by ALD is effective to achieve not only a low ρc but also good passivation properties. As an electron contact in silicon heterojunction solar cells, inserting interfacial TiOx at the i‐a‐Si:H/Ca interface significantly enhances the solar cell conversion efficiency. Consequently, the champion solar cell with the ATOM contact achieves a VOC of 711 mV, FF of 72.9%, JSC of 35.1 mA/cm2, and an efficiency of 18.2%. The achievement of a high VOC and reasonable FF without the need for a highly doped Si layer serves as a valuable proof of concept for future developments on passivating electron‐selective contacts using this structure.
Multi-layered graphenic structures as the effect of chemical modification of thermally treated anthracite

ABSTRACT Graphenic materials have been produced from thermally treated highly metamorphosed carbon material – anthracite using two different methods: (1) the improved Hummers method followed by thermal reduction and (2) cycloaddition of azomethine ylide. Distinct differences were found between both anthracite-derived graphenic materials. The oxidation Hummers process resulted in a wide variety of oxygen functional groups incorporated into the carbon layers, while subsequent thermal reduction caused separation of graphene sheets but reduced the oxygen moieties. The cycloaddition of azometine ylide led to the formation of functionalized graphene sheets containing mostly 3,4-bonded N-methyl-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)pyrrolidine groups. The first attempts of application of anthracite-derived fillers to epoxy composites showed the improvement of their mechanical and viscoelastic properties, comparable to composites with graphene nanofillers.
Influência da embalagem e temperatura de armazenamento na vida útil de alface crespa (Lactuca sativa L.)

A alface e um produto de alta perecibilidade, portanto necessita de metodologias que melhorem sua qualidade e diminua suas perdas. A aplicacao de praticas sanitarias, uso de embalagens, e formas mais adequadas de armazenamento nos pontos de distribuicao sao metodologias que melhoram a qualidade do produto disponivel ao consumidor, alem de contribuir para reducao das perdas. Assim, este trabalho teve por objetivo analisar como um sistema de refrigeracao e embalagem pode influenciar na vida util da alface crespa. Em estudo em laboratorio, foi avaliada a influencia da refrigeracao (25°C - controle, 3°C e 1°C) e do uso de embalagem (PEBD-perfurado) na vida util das alfaces. Foram realizadas analises fisico-quimica (pH, acidez titulavel, solidos soluveis e perda de massa) e sensoriais (teste de aceitacao em intervalos de um dia, durante 5 dias). As alfaces na temperatura de 25°C permanecem aptas para o consumo apenas ate o primeiro dia apos a colheita, sendo que as alfaces armazenadas a 3°C tiveram uma melhor aceitacao dos atributos sensoriais avaliados. O uso de embalagem influenciou de maneira mais evidente na aceitacao das folhosas armazenadas a temperatura de 25°C e nas temperaturas de 1 e 3 °C apenas no terceiro dia de avaliacao.
The Influence of Empowerment, Rewards, and Training on Service Recovery Performance among Frontline Hotel Employees in Malaysia

Service recovery performance is very important to the hotel industry because it contributes to customer satisfaction and loyalty. Since the nature of jobs in the hotel industry that is characterized by low pay, long working hours, heavy workloads and inconvenient working schedules can affect the frontline employees’ job performance, knowledge on factors influencing their service recovery performance is crucial. Though many studies on service recovery performance have been carried out in the context of developed countries, little research addressing this issue has been carried out in developing countries. Moreover, studies investigating the role of empowerment, rewards and training in influencing service recovery performance among frontline hotel employees are scarce. Therefore, the present study aims to examine the influence of empowerment, rewards and training on service recovery performance among 4-star and 5-star hotels employees in Malaysia. The data was obtained from the 313 frontline hotel employees throughout Malaysia and analyzed using structural equation modeling – partial least square (SEM-PLS) approach. The results showed that empowerment, rewards and training have a significant positive influence on service recovery performance. The findings indicated that service recovery performance can be enhanced by the proper practice of employee empowerment, establish appropriate employee rewards scheme and provide relevant training. Theoretically, the findings contribute to the existing body of knowledge by confirming the applicability of the social exchange theory for human resource management in the context of the service industry. Practically, it provides insight to hoteliers about the need to administer appropriate practice of empowerment, establishing competitive rewards system and provide training for career advancement.
Effect of Saturation Velocity in Germanium p-i-n Photodetectors

Germanium is living a renaissance in the field of silicon photonics, where it is used as absorption element in waveguide photodetectors. Since a moderate reverse bias is enough to deplete the Ge absorber, pushing the carriers in the velocity saturation regime, we discuss here the main challenges involved in the three-dimensional electrooptical modeling of Ge-on-Si p-i-n detectors taking into account high-electric-field velocity saturation effects.
Proximate composition, provitamin A retention, and shelf life of extruded orange‐fleshed sweet potato and bambara groundnut‐based snacks

Evaluating the effect of processing on nutrient content and shelf life is important when developing new products. Six formulations of orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) and bambara groundnut were extruded at a feed rate of 10.15 kg/hr, screw speed of 30 rpm and at 100 and 130 °C in first and second zones respectively. Proximate composition was determined using standard methods. Provitamin A was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. An untrained panel (n = 73) was used to determine consumer acceptability. Shelf life was predicted by using peroxide values. Concentration of OFSP or bambara groundnut significantly (p < .05) affected proximate composition of the snacks. Moisture (4.79–8.34 g/100 g), carbohydrates (55.53–78.99 g/100 g) and provitamin (0.54–17.33 mg/100 g) contents increased with increase in proportion of OFSP. Protein (4.08–15.03 g/100 g), fat (4.20–12.74 g/100 g), fiber (5.29–6.46 g/100 g), ash (0.09–4.80 g/100 g), and energy (366.13–396.9 kcal/100 g) increased with increasing proportion of bambara groundnut in the formulation. Extrusion significantly (p < .05) reduced provitamin A content from 0.90–20.73 to 0.54–17.33 mg/100 g. Presence of OFSP improved provitamin A retention and consumer acceptability. Predicted shelf life (ranged from 118 to 150 days at room temperature) was inversely proportional to the concentration of bambara groundnut. Practical applications Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is the leading cause of preventable blindness affecting many children and women of reproductive age globally. Provitamin A enriched foods can be developed from locally available provitamin A-rich foods and their consumption promoted to help prevent VAD. In this study, recipes incorporating orange-fleshed sweet potatoes and bambara groundnut were used to develop acceptable and shelf stable vitamin A enriched extruded snacks. The formulations and process used in this study can be adopted at commercial level to produce affordable snacks that can contribute towards reducing the burden of VAD. The results from this study can also be used in similar studies to develop nutrient enhanced extruded snacks.
Quantification of the effectiveness of indolicidin and protegrin-4 by means of analysis of kinetic parameters

Sequences of indolicidin and protegrin-4 were taken from the Data Bank of Nebraska University, USA and were chemically synthesized without terminal amide and nor N Mexican Journal of Biotechnology 2018, 3(1):23-42 Journal homepage:www.mexjbiotechnol. com ISSN:2448-6590
Green Bonds: A Catalyst for Sustainable Development

There is a need to cut down CO 2 emissions by at least 45% by the year 2030 to attain a net zero. There is a need around the globe for a wide ranging shift to a low carbon foot print economy with a view to restrict the rising earth temperature status within 1.5 to 2 degrees. To achieve this objective one needs to support technological shifts and advances as well implementation of government policies on climate controls in the form of carbon taxes, green growth policies. Green bonds are instruments aimed at encouraging sustainability and to help build up on projects focused at environmental protection and implementing other climate related projects. The paper aims at studying comprehensively the global operation of green bond markets and its ongoing development. The result predicts that there is positive impact of these projects on the sustainable development. Use of Renewable Capacity From Solar, Wind And Hydro Technologies has been used that decreases Co 2 Emission and thus significantly impacting the environment.
Stationary and related stochastic processes : sample function properties and their applications, by Harald Cramer and M.R. Leadbetter. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1967. 348 pages. $12.50.

In the c l a s s i c a l p r o p o s i t i o n a l ca lcu lus one can c o n s t r u c t 2 inequiva len t f o r m u l a s out of n g e n e r a t o r s or "p ropos i t i ona l va r i ab l e s 1 1 . F o r the en t i r e in tu i t ion is t ca lcu lus t h e r e a r e known to be an infinite n u m b e r of inequiva len t f o r m u l a s even in one g e n e r a t o r . The p r e s e n t au thor has inves t iga ted the imp l i ca t iona l in tu i t ion is t ca l cu lus , i . e. , tha t f r a g m e n t of the in tu i t ion is t ca lcu lus which dea l s wi th the symbol = > a lone . He has shown that t h e r e exis t only f initely many inequ iva len t f o r m u l a s in n g e n e r a t o r s . (It would have been helpful to the unini t ia ted to give an example in the in t roduc t ion of two imp l i ca t i ona l f o r m u l a s which a r e equivalent c l a s s i c a l l y but not in tu i t ion i s t i ca l ly ) . M o r e i n t e r e s t i n g than this r e s u l t a r e his m e t h o d s . A H i lbe r t a l g e b r a (A,1, ==£> ) c o n s i s t s of a se t A with a fixed e l emen t 1 and a b i n a r y o p e r a t i o n =£> sat isfying the following a x i o m s :
Tumor Response TCF-4/β-Catenin Regulatory Elements for Enhancing Cancer Gene Therapies

TUMOR RESPONSE TCF-4/0-CATENIN REGULATORY ELEMENTS FOR ENHANCING CANCER GENE THERAPIES Saurabh Kumar Gupta Old Dominion University, 2005 Chair: Dr. Richard R. Drake Mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli gene are frequently associated with progression o f colon carcinoma and most other types o f epithelial carcinomas. This usually results in stabilization o f P-catenin protein levels, followed by transactivation o f Tcf-4/ P-catenin responsive genes. The effectiveness o f a Tcf-4/ P-catenin transcriptional enhancer element in combination with a c-fos or carcinoembryonic antigen promoter was tested for it’s ability to act as a tumor specific regulator o f gene expression in a panel o f human tumor and normal cell lines. Luciferase reporter assays indicated enhanced activity o f the Tcf-4/ P-catenin transcriptional element only in tumor cell lines, with minimal activities in normal colon cell lines. The Tcf-4/ P-catenin enhancer and c-fos promoter linked with the herpes virus thymidine kinase suicide gene in combination with ganciclovir was further evaluated in the normal and tumor cell lines. The Tcf-4/p-catenin elements conferred tumor specific expression o f HSV thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) gene, resulting in selective metabolism o f ganciclovir and cell killing o f only tumor cell lines. There was no detectable expression o f HSV thymidine kinase expression in normal colon cell lines. Additionally, recombinant adenoviral constructs were made to deliver the gene expression cassette, containing the HSV-TK expressed from a Tcf-4/c-fos enhancer/ promoter combination, to the tumor cells. No expression was detected in the normal colon cells as opposed to significant levels o f HSV-TK gene expression observed in Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. tumor cells. Furthermore, various chemical and genetic modulators were also screened in an effort to identify newer methods to regulate the activity o f the proposed recombinant enhancer/promoter combinantions. These data suggest that Tcf-4/ P-catenin enhancer can be effectively coupled with a suitable tumor-specific or tumor-related mammalian promoter for selective expression o f therapeutic genes for gene therapy o f epithelial cancers. This approach also offers a potential promoter cassette approach linked with the Tcf-4/ p-catenin enhancer to better individualize treatment to cancer patients. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation is dedicated to my family, especially my parents. Their help and support was very crucial in the completion o f my studies. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Collective Chemotaxis of Retinal Neural Cells from Drosophila Melanogaster in Controlled Microenvironments

results showed that clusters experienced a gradient dependent system, indicating that as the gradient increased, net displacement increased as well. The small and large clusters had significant increase in average net displacement from low to high gradients of 20.9±5.2 to 79.4±19.2 μm and 26.0 ±9.6 to 106.2±12.4 μm, respectively. The clusters also expressed a chemotactic relationship with FGF-8 from the average directionality being greater than 0.5. Future work will focus on introducing a knockdown system for FGF receptor (FGFR), a mammalian homolog to Drosophila breathless (btl) gene, to observe the migration of glia- and neuron-specific btl knockdown. in the visual are subject to many issues that lead to blindness and retinopathies. In this study, we focused on two aims: (1) develop a microenvironment that mimics the role of the optic stalk in Drosophila Melanogaster third in-star larvae, and (2) evaluate the chemotactic relationship in neural cells in a fibroblast growth factor gradient. For the first aim, a novel fluidic system called the micro-optic stalk ( μ OS), was fabricated to model the retinogenesis process in Drosophila . The system satisfied a series of criteria. These included the need to match the dimensions of the optic stalk in Drosophila, efficient for multiple testing, and the condensation of the concentration gradient within the optic stalk. The system was simulated for the FGF-8 gradient from COMSOL MultiPhysics and validated with real data using 20kDa of FITC-dextran. For the second aim, the dissociated neural cells from the Drosophila were tested in different extracellular matrices to ensure viability and adhesion in the fluidic system. Extracellular matrices, such as poly-L-Lysine (PLL), collagen I (col1), concanavalin A (ConA), and laminin (lam), play a significant role in providing a survivable environment for these different cell types. The system was coated with ConA, subjected with the extracted cells, and introduced to explore the chemotactic relationship of the neural cells. The Drosophila primary neural cells were closely examined on how different clusters of glia and neurons migrated in unison in the presence of a growth factor, fibroblast growth factor-8 (FGF-8). From these results, we can have a better understanding of the signaling pathways involved in the retinogenesis process for Drosophila, providing necessary insight in the underlying factors and development of new therapeutic agents for developmental retinal disorders.
Particle Velocities near and along the Electrode during Electrophoretic Deposition: Influence of Surfactant Counter-Ions

Research into the micro-nanostructured coatings process has made a variety of new applications available. Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is an efficient and attractive technique to produce coated materials. Therefore the understanding of the formation and growth mechanism of the coating process continues to be investigated. In this study, a home-made EPD laminar flow cell was used for in-situ investigation of the particle velocity and deposition of micronic particles on a cathode. Monodisperse polystyrene latex particles were functionalized with cationic surfactants: cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) or cetyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (CTAC). The tangential velocity of the particles when they migrated to the electrode, the approach angle and the tangential velocity along the electrode were measured under a DC electric field. From the values of the velocities, the particle-electrode distance was evaluated in CTAB and CTAC solutions. The electrophoretic velocity was calculated from the electrophoretic mobility of the particles and the electric field applied to the particles. All these parameters depend on the type of surfactant counter-ions and influence the growth of the coating. Dense structures were obtained in CTAB solution while open structures were observed in CTAC solution.