cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
LID-Free PERC + Solar Cells with Stable Efficiencies Up to 22.1%
Creators: name: Lim, B.
name: Merkle, A.
name: Peibst, R.
name: Dullweber, T.
name: Wang, Y.
name: Zhou, R.
Publisher: name: WIP
Year: 2018
Subjects: Silicon Cells
Homojunction Solar Cells

description: 35th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 359-365
description: We evaluate the potential of advanced B-doped Cz-Si with extremely low oxygen concentration ([Oi])
of 2.6 ppma as well as Ga-doped Cz-Si to avoid light-induced degradation (LID) in state-of-the-art bifacial PERC+
solar cells. We compare these materials to current industry standard B-doped Cz-Si with [Oi] between 12 and 16 ppma..
We measure the solar cell efficiency and the lifetime of samples processed in parallel to the solar cells in three important
states: as-processed, after illumination at room temperature (degraded), and after illumination at elevated temperature
(regenerated). In the as-processed state, the low [Oi] as well as the Ga-doped solar cells yield 0.2%abs to 0.3%abs higher
efficiencies than the industrial B-doped Cz-Si. In addition, their efficiency is stable under illumination at room
temperature. Furthermore, the measured bulk lifetimes are used as input parameters in a device simulation.
Subsequently, we compare the simulated solar cell efficiencies to the measured efficiencies. For the industry standard
B-doped Cz-Si, the simulation predicts 0.7%abs loss due to LID, which fits to the experimental result. After regeneration,
the device simulation predicts an increase by 0.4%abs compared to the as-processed state, whereas the measured PERC+
efficiency improves only to the as-processed level. We discuss possible reasons for this discrepancy.
Fibrillar form of α-synuclein-specific scFv antibody inhibits α-synuclein seeds induced aggregation and toxicity
Creators: name: Gupta, Vijay
name: Salim, Safa
name: Hmila, Issam
name: Vaikath, Nishant N.
name: Sudhakaran, Indulekha P.
name: Ghanem, Simona S.
name: Majbour, Nour K.
name: Abdulla, Sara A.
name: Emara, Mohamed M.
name: Abdesselem, Houari B.
name: Lukacsovich, Tamas
name: Erskine, Daniel
name: El-Agnaf, Omar M. A.
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: Medical biochemistry and metabolomics

description: Synucleinopathies including Parkinson’s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA) are characterized by pathological accumulation of α-synuclein (α-syn). Amongst the various approaches attempting to tackle the pathological features of synucleinopathies, antibody-based immunotherapy holds much promise. However, the large size of antibodies and corresponding difficulty in crossing the blood-brain barrier has limited development in this area. To overcome this issue, we engineered single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) against fibrillar α-syn, a putative disease-relevant form of α-syn. The purified scFvs showed specific activity towards α-syn fibrils and oligomers in comparison to monomers and recognized intracellular inclusions in human post-mortem brain tissue of Lewy body disease cases, but not aged controls. In vitro studies indicated scFvs inhibit the seeding of α-syn aggregation in a time-dependent manner, decreased α-syn seed-induced toxicity in a cell model of PD, and reduced the production of insoluble α-syn phosphorylated at Ser-129 (pS129-α-syn). These results suggest that our α-syn fibril-specific scFvs recognize α-syn pathology and can inhibit the aggregation of α-syn in vitro and prevent seeding-dependent toxicity. Therefore, the scFvs described here have considerable potential to be utilized towards immunotherapy in synucleinopathies and may also have applications in ante-mortem imaging modalities.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-65035-8
Optimization of Inline Processes for the Production of Freestanding Epitaxially Grown Thin Films for Solar Cells
Creators: name: Ivanov, A.
name: Sorgenfrei, R.
name: Gust, E.
name: Barth, P.
name: Van Nieuwenhuysen, K.
name: Kühnhold-Pospischil, S.
name: Riepe, S.
name: Janz, S.
Publisher: name: WIP
Year: 2018
Subjects: Silicon Cells
Thin Film and Foil-Based Si Solar Cells

description: 35th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 309-313
description: In this publication we discuss inline aspects of fabricating freestanding epitaxially grown thin silicon for solar cells. Especially the inline electrochemical porosification and its limitations are discussed and homogeneity improvements achieved with aid of electric simulations are presented. Different types of inhomogeneity for porous silicon layers lead to difficulties when forming a proper separation layer through reorganization and the detachment yield of the epitaxial thin film is affected. One of the solutions to ensure good detachment of the films is to form several local separation layers in a kind of puff pastry like structure where detachment of epitaxial film might proceed in any of the separation layers thus increasing yield. However, in case of too high porosity of the highly porous layer, large cavities without smaller supporting silicon pillars can collapse during reorganization and the surface layer can re-attach to the substrate making detachment of this area impossible. Additionally, local warping of the reorganized template before epitaxy can lead to detrimental defects like stacking faults.
Isolation of large dense-core vesicles from bovine adrenal medulla for functional studies
Creators: name: Birinci, Yelda
name: Preobraschenski, Julia
name: Ganzella, Marcelo
name: Jahn, Reinhard
name: Park, Yongsoo
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: Medical biochemistry and metabolomics

description: Large dense-core vesicles (LDCVs) contain a variety of neurotransmitters, proteins, and hormones such as biogenic amines and peptides, together with microRNAs (miRNAs). Isolation of LDCVs is essential for functional studies including vesicle fusion, vesicle acidification, monoamine transport, and the miRNAs stored in LDCVs. Although several methods were reported for purifying LDCVs, the final fractions are significantly contaminated by other organelles, compromising biochemical characterization. Here we isolated LDCVs (chromaffin granules) with high yield and purity from bovine adrenal medulla. The fractionation protocol combines differential and continuous sucrose gradient centrifugation, allowing for reducing major contaminants such as mitochondria. Purified LDCVs show robust acidification by the endogenous V-ATPase and undergo SNARE-mediated fusion with artificial membranes. Interestingly, LDCVs contain specific miRNAs such as miR-375 and miR-375 is stabilized by protein complex against RNase A. This protocol can be useful in research on the biological functions of LDCVs.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64486-3
Computational Insights on the Electrocatalytic Behavior of [Cp*Rh] Molecular Catalysts Immobilized on Graphene for Heterogeneous Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
Creators: name: Bani-Yaseen, Abdulilah Dawoud
name: Elbashier, Elkhansa
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Applied computing
subject: Nanotechnology
subject: FOS: Nanotechnology

description: The heterogeneous metal-based molecular electrocatalyst can typically exhibit attractive features compared to its homogeneous analogue including recoverability and durability. As such, it is necessary to evaluate the electrocatalytic behavior of heterogenized molecular catalysts of interest toward gaining insights concerning the retainability of such behaviors while benefiting from heterogenization. In this work, we examined computationally the electrochemical properties of nanographene-based heterogenized molecular complexes of Rhodium. We assessed, as well, the electrocatalytic behavior of the heterogenized molecular catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Two electrochemical pathways were examined, namely one- and two-electron electrochemical reduction pathways. Interestingly, it is computationally demonstrated that [RhIII(Cp*)(phen)Cl]+-Gr can exhibit redox and electrocatalytic properties for HER that are comparable to its homogeneous analogue via a two-electron reduction pathway. On the other hand, the one-electron reduction pathway is notably found to be less favorable kinetically and thermodynamically. Furthermore, molecular insights are provided with respect to the HER employing molecular orbitals analyses and mechanistic aspects. Importantly, our findings may provide insights toward designing more efficient graphene-based molecular heterogeneous electrocatalysts for more efficient energy production.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-62758-6
Carbon Nanoparticles-Decorated Carbon Nanotubes
Creators: name: Awadallah-F, Ahmed
name: Al-Muhtaseb, Shaheen
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Nanotechnology
subject: FOS: Nanotechnology

description: Multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were decorated by activated carbon nanoparticles of resorcinol-formaldehyde aerogels. Carbon nanospheres and MWCNTs were mixed by equal mass ratios for different durations. The products were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, nanoscanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. The results indicated that a significant decoration with carbon nanoparticles occurred onto the MWCNTs.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61726-4
Die Teilnahme von Kindern an der Heiligen Kommunion nach dem Urteil der Lutherischen Bekenntnisschriften
Creators: name: Martens, Gottfried
Publisher: name: Lutherische Beiträge
Year: 1970

description: Lutherische Beiträge, Bd. 7 Nr. 2 (2002): Lutherische Beiträge, Band 7, Heft 2
The Use of Harmonic Information in the Optimal Synthesis of Mechanisms
Creators: name: Connor, Andy M.
name: Douglas, Steve S.
name: Gilmartin, Mike J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Optimization and Control (math.OC)
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: This paper reviews several uses of harmonic information in the synthesis of mechanisms and shows that such information can be put to even greater use in this field. Results are presented for both single and multi-degree of freedom systems which support this claim. In both cases, the inclusion of harmonic information into the objective function aids the search to locate high quality solutions.
Effect of induced hypoglycemia on inflammation and oxidative stress in type 2 diabetes and control subjects
Creators: name: Kahal, Hassan
name: Halama, Anna
name: Aburima, Ahmed
name: Bhagwat, Aditya M.
name: Butler, Alexandra E.
name: Graumann, Johannes
name: Suhre, Karsten
name: Sathyapalan, Thozhukat
name: Atkin, Stephen L.
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: Clinical sciences

description: Intensive diabetes control has been associated with increased mortality in type 2 diabetes (T2DM); this has been suggested to be due to increased hypoglycemia. We measured hypoglycemia-induced changes in endothelial parameters, oxidative stress markers and inflammation at baseline and after a 24-hour period in type 2 diabetic (T2DM) subjects versus age-matched controls. Case-control study: 10 T2DM and 8 control subjects. Blood glucose was reduced from 5 (90 mg/dl) to hypoglycemic levels of 2.8 mmol/L (50 mg/dl) for 1 hour by incremental hyperinsulinemic clamps using baseline and 24 hour samples. Measures of endothelial parameters, oxidative stress and inflammation at baseline and at 24-hours post hypoglycemia were performed: proteomic (Somalogic) analysis for inflammatory markers complemented by C-reactive protein (hsCRP) measurement, and proteomic markers and urinary isoprostanes for oxidative measures, together with endothelial function. Between baseline and 24 -hours after hypoglycemia, 15 of 140 inflammatory proteins differed in T2DM whilst only 1 of 140 differed in controls; all returned to baseline at 24-hours. However, elevated hsCRP levels were seen at 24-hours in T2DM (2.4 mg/L (1.2–5.4) vs. 3.9 mg/L (1.8–6.1), Baseline vs 24-hours, P < 0.05). In patients with T2DM, between baseline and 24-hour after hypoglycemia, only one of 15 oxidative stress proteins differed and this was not seen in controls. An increase (P = 0.016) from baseline (73.4 ng/mL) to 24 hours after hypoglycemia (91.7 ng/mL) was seen for urinary isoprostanes. Hypoglycemia resulted in inflammatory and oxidative stress markers being elevated in T2DM subjects but not controls 24-hours after the event.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61531-z
Optimal Margin Distribution Machine
Creators: name: Zhang, Teng
name: Zhou, Zhi-Hua
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Machine Learning (cs.LG)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Support vector machine (SVM) has been one of the most popular learning algorithms, with the central idea of maximizing the minimum margin, i.e., the smallest distance from the instances to the classification boundary. Recent theoretical results, however, disclosed that maximizing the minimum margin does not necessarily lead to better generalization performances, and instead, the margin distribution has been proven to be more crucial. Based on this idea, we propose a new method, named Optimal margin Distribution Machine (ODM), which tries to achieve a better generalization performance by optimizing the margin distribution. We characterize the margin distribution by the first- and second-order statistics, i.e., the margin mean and variance. The proposed method is a general learning approach which can be used in any place where SVM can be applied, and their superiority is verified both theoretically and empirically in this paper.
description: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1311.0989
Checking Interval Properties of Computations
Creators: name: Molinari, A.
name: Montanari, A.
name: Murano, A.
name: Perelli, G.
name: Peron, A.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Logic in Computer Science (cs.LO)
subject: Computational Complexity (cs.CC)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Model checking is a powerful method widely explored in formal verification. Given a model of a system, e.g., a Kripke structure, and a formula specifying its expected behaviour, one can verify whether the system meets the behaviour by checking the formula against the model. Classically, system behaviour is expressed by a formula of a temporal logic, such as LTL and the like. These logics are "point-wise" interpreted, as they describe how the system evolves state-by-state. However, there are relevant properties, such as those constraining the temporal relations between pairs of temporally extended events or involving temporal aggregations, which are inherently "interval-based", and thus asking for an interval temporal logic. In this paper, we give a formalization of the model checking problem in an interval logic setting. First, we provide an interpretation of formulas of Halpern and Shoham's interval temporal logic HS over finite Kripke structures, which allows one to check interval properties of computations. Then, we prove that the model checking problem for HS against finite Kripke structures is decidable by a suitable small model theorem, and we provide a lower bound to its computational complexity.
description: In Journal: Acta Informatica, Springer Berlin Heidelber, 2015
Temperature Dependence of Slow Minority Carrier De-Trapping in Czochralski Silicon with High Concentrations of Thermal Donors
Creators: name: Siriwardhana, M.
name: Zhu, Y.
name: Hameiri, Z.
name: Heinz, F.
name: Macdonald, D.
name: Rougieux, F.E.
Publisher: name: WIP
Year: 2018
Subjects: Silicon Cells
Feedstock, Crystallisation, Wafering, Defect Engineering

description: 35th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 337-341
description: The slow de-trapping characteristics of defects related to thermal donors have been studied with transient photoconductance measurements in Cz monocrystalline silicon wafers. The temperature dependent photoconductance decay curves were analyzed to extract de-trapping time constants for a range of Cz-grown wafers. These included an as-cut wafer with a moderate concentration of pre-existing thermal donors, a wafer with a high concentration of thermal donors (High TD sample) which was annealed at 450C for 72 hours, and a sample with no thermal donors (No TD sample) annealed at 650C for 30 minutes to destroy the pre-existing thermal donors. The de-trapping time constants were measured at four temperatures (12C, 30C, 60C and 80C) using photoconductance decay measured up to 10 minutes after the illumination was turned off. We find that the de-trapping time constants of the as-cut sample are higher than those of the High TD sample for all the temperatures studied. Also, in both samples, the de-trapping time constants decrease with temperature, indicating that trapped minority carriers are released back into the bands more rapidly at higher temperatures. De-trapping was not observed in the samples without thermal donors. We also estimate the energy level of the significant traps using Arrhenius plots and found that in n-type Cz silicon, the as-cut wafers mostly contain traps close to the valence band, whereas the High TD sample has much deeper traps.
SDSS-II Supernova Survey: An Analysis of the Largest Sample of Type Ia Supernovae and Correlations with Host-Galaxy Spectral Properties
Creators: name: Wolf, Rachel C.
name: D'Andrea, Chris B.
name: Gupta, Ravi R.
name: Sako, Masao
name: Fischer, John A.
name: Kessler, Rick
name: Jha, Saurabh W.
name: March, Marisa C.
name: Scolnic, Daniel M.
name: Fischer, Johanna-Laina
name: Campbell, Heather
name: Nichol, Robert C.
name: Olmstead, Matthew D.
name: Richmond, Michael
name: Schneider, Donald P.
name: Smith, Mathew
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Using the largest single-survey sample of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) to date, we study the relationship between properties of SNe Ia and those of their host galaxies, focusing primarily on correlations with Hubble residuals (HR). Our sample consists of 345 photometrically-classified or spectroscopically-confirmed SNeIa discovered as part of the SDSS-II Supernova Survey (SDSS-SNS). This analysis utilizes host-galaxy spectroscopy obtained during the SDSS-I/II spectroscopic survey and from an ancillary program on the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) that obtained spectra for nearly all host galaxies of SDSS-II SN candidates. In addition, we use photometric host-galaxy properties from the SDSS-SNS data release (Sako et al. 2014) such as host stellar mass and star-formation rate. We confirm the well-known relation between HR and host-galaxy mass and find a 3.6σ significance of a non-zero linear slope. We also recover correlations between HR and host-galaxy gas-phase metallicity and specific star-formation rate as they are reported in the literature. With our large dataset, we examine correlations between HR and multiple host-galaxy properties simultaneously and find no evidence of a significant correlation. We also independently analyze our spectroscopically-confirmed and photometrically-classified SNe Ia and comment on the significance of similar combined datasets for future surveys.
description: Accepted for publication in ApJ
Velocity dependent up-winding scheme for node control volume finite element method for fluid flow in porous media
Creators: name: Abd, Abdul Salam
name: Abushaikha, Ahmad
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Materials engineering
subject: FOS: Materials engineering

description: We present a novel velocity based up-winding scheme for the node control volume finite element (NCVFE) method. The NCVFE method solves for the pressure at the vertices of elements and a control volume mesh is constructed around them; where the advection of fluids is modelled. Therefore, each element shares several control volumes, and traditionally the fluid saturations used in calculating the mobilities over each element − hence updating pressure − are arithmetically weighted. In this paper, we use the velocity vector to allocate the upstream direction of the fluid flow in each element and use the upstream fluid saturation in calculating the mobility needed for the pressure equation. We test his novel approach using triangle and tetrahedron elements, and we show that it produces more accurate fluid saturation profiles than the traditional approach. The method can easily be implemented in current NCVFE simulators.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61324-4
Electrochemical and thermodynamic study on the corrosion performance of API X120 steel in 3.5% NaCl solution
Creators: name: Shahzad, Khuram
name: Sliem, Mostafa H.
name: Shakoor, R. A.
name: Radwan, A. Bahgat
name: Kahraman, Ramazan
name: Umer, Malik Adeel
name: Manzoor, Umair
name: Abdullah, Aboubakr M.
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Materials engineering
subject: FOS: Materials engineering

description: The present work studied the effect of temperature on the corrosion behavior of API X120 steel in a saline solution saturated with CO2 in absence and presence of polyethyleneimine (PEI) as an environmentally safe green inhibitor. The effect of PEI on the corrosion behavior of API X120 steel was investigated using destructive and non-destructive electrochemical techniques. The overall results revealed that PEI significantly decreases the corrosion rate of API X120 steel with inhibition efficiency of 94% at a concentration of 100 μmol L−1. The adsorption isotherm, activation energy and the thermodynamic parameters were deduced from the electrochemical results. It is revealed that the adsorption of PEI on API X120 steel surface follows Langmuir adsorption isotherm adopting a Physi-chemisorption mechanism. Finally, the samples were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques to elucidate the effect of aggressiveness of corrosive media on the surface morphology and the corrosion performance of API X120 steel. The surface topography result indicates that the API X120 steel interface in PEI presence is smoother than CO2 with Cl− ions or Cl− ions only. This is attributed to the compact protective film limits the aggressive ions transfer towards the metallic surface and reduces the corrosion rate. Moreover, PEI inhibition mechanism is based on its CO2 capturing ability and the PEI adsorption on the steel surface beside the siderite layer which give the PEI molecules the ability to reduce the scale formation and increase the corrosion protection due to capturing the CO2 from the brine solution.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61139-3
Metabolic GWAS of elite athletes reveals novel genetically-influenced metabolites associated with athletic performance
Creators: name: Al-Khelaifi, Fatima
name: Diboun, Ilhame
name: Donati, Francesco
name: Botrè, Francesco
name: Abraham, David
name: Hingorani, Aroon
name: Albagha, Omar
name: Georgakopoulos, Costas
name: Suhre, Karsten
name: Yousri, Noha A.
name: Elrayess, Mohamed A.
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: Clinical sciences

description: Genetic research of elite athletic performance has been hindered by the complex phenotype and the relatively small effect size of the identified genetic variants. The aims of this study were to identify genetic predisposition to elite athletic performance by investigating genetically-influenced metabolites that discriminate elite athletes from non-elite athletes and to identify those associated with endurance sports. By conducting a genome wide association study with high-resolution metabolomics profiling in 490 elite athletes, common variant metabolic quantitative trait loci (mQTLs) were identified and compared with previously identified mQTLs in non-elite athletes. Among the identified mQTLs, those associated with endurance metabolites were determined. Two novel genetic loci in FOLH1 and VNN1 are reported in association with N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate and Linoleoyl ethanolamide, respectively. When focusing on endurance metabolites, one novel mQTL linking androstenediol (3alpha, 17alpha) monosulfate and SULT2A1 was identified. Potential interactions between the novel identified mQTLs and exercise are highlighted. This is the first report of common variant mQTLs linked to elite athletic performance and endurance sports with potential applications in biomarker discovery in elite athletic candidates, non-conventional anti-doping analytical approaches and therapeutic strategies.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-56496-7
Enhancing the corrosion resistance of reinforcing steel under aggressive operational conditions using behentrimonium chloride
Creators: name: Radwan, A. Bahgat
name: Sliem, Mostafa H.
name: Yusuf, Noor S.
name: Alnuaimi, Nasser A.
name: Abdullah, Aboubakr M.
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Materials engineering
subject: FOS: Materials engineering

description: Aggressive operational conditions e.g. saline media and acidic gases, e.g., CO2 can increase the corrosion rate of reinforcing steel. Accordingly, the necessity to protect the steel under the above conditions without affecting the mechanical properties of the concrete is growing. Herein, the inhibition efficiency of a new corrosion inhibitor, behentrimonium chloride (BTC, C25H54ClN), is explored in a simulated-concrete pore solution (SCP) with 3.5 wt.% NaCl at different pH using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and polarization methods. Using only a 50 μmol L−1 of BTC, we are able to measure an inhibition efficiency of 91, 79, and 71% in SCP solution with 3.5% NaCl at pH of 12.5, 10 and 7, respectively without showing any effect on the mechanical properties on the cured mortars. Temkin isotherm is used to describe the physisorption of BTC inhibitor on the steel surface. Also, the adsorption and influence of the inhibitor on the metal surface are characterized using the scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In conclusion, this new inhibitor shows high corrosion inhibition efficiencies under different aggressive conditions and can be used in concrete to reduce the corrosion rate of reinforcing steel without decreasing the mechanical properties of the concrete.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-54669-y
Kinetics of alkoxysilanes hydrolysis: An empirical approach
Creators: name: Issa, Ahmed A.
name: El-Azazy, Marwa
name: Luyt, Adriaan S.
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Materials engineering
subject: FOS: Materials engineering

description: Alkoxysilanes and organoalkoxysilanes are primary materials in several industries, e.g. coating, anti-corrosion treatment, fabrication of stationary phase for chromatography, and coupling agents. The hydrolytic polycondensation reactions and final product can be controlled by adjusting the hydrolysis reaction, which was investigated under a variety of conditions, such as different alkoxysilanes, solvents, and catalysts by using gas chromatography. The hydrolysis rate of alkoxysilanes shows a dependence on the alkoxysilane structure (especially the organic attachments), solvent properties, and the catalyst dissociation constant and solubility. Some of the alkoxysilanes exhibit intramolecular catalysis. Hydrogen bonding plays an important role in the enhancement of the hydrolysis reaction, as well as the dipole moment of the alkoxysilanes, especially in acetonitrile. There is a relationship between the experimentally calculated polarity by the Taft equation and the reactivity, but it shows different responses depending on the solvent. It was found that negative and positive charges are respectively accumulated in the transition state in alkaline and acidic media. The reaction mechanisms are somewhat different from those previously suggested. Finally, it was found that enthalpy–entropy compensation (EEC) effect and isokinetic relationships (IKR) are exhibited during the hydrolysis of CTES in different solvents and catalysts; therefore, the reaction has a linear free energy relationship (LFER).Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-54095-0
Expression of microRNA in follicular fluid in women with and without PCOS
Creators: name: Butler, Alexandra E.
name: Ramachandran, Vimal
name: Hayat, Shahina
name: Dargham, Soha R.
name: Cunningham, Thomas Keith
name: Benurwar, Manasi
name: Sathyapalan, Thozhukat
name: Najafi-Shoushtari, S. Hani
name: Atkin, Stephen L.
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: Reproductive medicine

description: Several studies have shown the expression of small non-coding microRNA (miRNA) changes in PCOS and their expression in follicular fluid has been described, though the number of studies remains small. In this prospective cohort study, miRNA were measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in 29 weight and aged matched anovulatory women with PCOS and 30 women without from follicular fluid taken at the time of oocyte retrieval who were undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF); miRNA levels were determined from a miRNA data set. 176 miRNA were detected, of which 29 differed significantly between normal women and PCOS women. Of these, the top 7 (p < 0.015) were miR-381-3p, miR-199b-5p, miR-93-3p, miR-361-3p, miR-127-3p, miR-382-5p, miR-425-3p. In PCOS, miR-382-5p correlated with age and free androgen index (FAI), miR-199b-5p correlated with anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) and miR-93-3p correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP). In normal controls, miR-127-3p, miR-382-5p and miR-425-3p correlated with the fertilisation rate; miR-127-3p correlated with insulin resistance and miR-381-3p correlated with FAI. Ingenuity pathway assessment revealed that 12 of the significantly altered miRNA related to reproductive pathways, 12 miRNA related to the inflammatory disease pathway and 6 were implicated in benign pelvic disease. MiRNAs differed in the follicular fluid between PCOS and normal control women, correlating with age, FAI, inflammation and AMH in PCOS, and with BMI, fertilization rate (3 miRNA), insulin resistance, FAI and inflammation in control women, according to Ingenuity Pathway Analysis.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-52856-5
Optical orientation of hole magnetic polarons in (Cd,Mn)Te/(Cd,Mn,Mg)Te quantum wells
Creators: name: Zhukov, E. A.
name: Kusrayev, Yu. G.
name: Kavokin, K. V.
name: Yakovlev, D. R.
name: Debus, J.
name: Schwan, A.
name: Akimov, I. A.
name: Karczewski, G.
name: Wojtowicz, T.
name: Kossut, J.
name: Bayer, M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The optically induced spin polarization in (Cd,Mn)Te/(Cd,Mn,Mg)Te diluted-magnetic-semiconductor quantum wells is investigated by means of picosecond pump-probe Kerr rotation. At 1.8 K temperature, additionally to the oscillatory signals from photoexcited electrons and Manganese spins precessing about an external magnetic field, a surprisingly long-lived (up to 60 ns) nonoscillating spin polarization is detected. This polarization is related to optical orientation of equilibrium magnetic polarons involving resident holes. The suggested mechanism for the optical orientation of the equilibrium magnetic polarons indicates that the detected polaron dynamics originates from unexcited magnetic polarons. The polaron spin dynamics is controlled by the anisotropic spin structure of the heavy-hole resulting in a freezing of the polaron magnetic moment in one of the two stable states oriented along the structure growth axis. Spin relaxation between these states is prohibited by a potential barrier, which depends on temperature and magnetic field. The magnetic polaron relaxation is accelerated with increasing temperature and in magnetic field.
description: 9 Figures, 11 pages
Micro-scale modelling of the urban wind speed for air pollution applications
Creators: name: Ottosen, Thor-Bjørn
name: Ketzel, Matthias
name: Skov, Henrik
name: Hertel, Ole
name: Brandt, Jørgen
name: Kakosimos, Konstantinos E.
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Environmental engineering
subject: FOS: Environmental engineering

description: Modelling wind speeds in urban areas have many applications e.g. in relation to assessment of wind energy, modelling air pollution, and building design and engineering. Models for extrapolating the urban wind speed exist, but little attention has been paid to the influence of the upwind terrain and the foundations for the extrapolation schemes. To analyse the influence of the upwind terrain and the foundations for the extrapolation of the urban wind speed, measurements from six urban and non-urban stations were explored, and a model for the urban wind speed with and without upwind influence was developed and validated. The agreement between the wind directions at the stations is found to be good, and the influence of atmospheric stability, horizontal temperature gradients, land-sea breeze, temperature, global radiation and Monin-Obukhov Length is found to be small, although future work should explore if this is valid for other urban areas. Moreover, the model is found to perform reasonably well, but the upwind influence is overestimated. Areas of model improvement are thus identified. The upwind terrain thus influences the modelling of the urban wind speed to a large extent, and the fundamental assumptions for the extrapolation scheme are fulfilled for this specific case.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50033-2
Vertical distribution and radiological risk assessment of 137Cs and natural radionuclides in soil samples
Creators: name: Ahmad, Ayesha Y.
name: Al-Ghouti, Mohammad A.
name: AlSadig, Ibrahim
name: Abu-Dieyeh, Mohammed
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Environmental engineering
subject: FOS: Environmental engineering

description: The aims of this study were to investigate the vertical distributions of natural radionuclides 232Th, 226Ra and 40K as well as anthropogenic radionuclide 137Cs in soil samples and to analyze the correlation among the radioactivity of these radionuclides and the physiochemical characteristics of soil samples namely pH, grain size, carbonate content and organic matter. Risk assessment of the radiological hazard has also been estimated. Forty-four soil samples were collected from eleven locations in Qatar at four depth levels from 0 to 16 cm. The average concentrations of 232Th, 226Ra, 40K and 137Cs in the soil depth of 16 cm were 10, 17, 201 and 4 Bq/kg, respectively, which were within the reported world mean. The external absorbed gamma dose rate, the annual effective dose, the mean radium equivalent activity, the external hazard index and the lifetime cancer risk were 22 nGy/h, 0.027 mSv/y, 47 Bq/kg, 0.125 and 0.096 × 10−3, respectively. These values were far below the minimum recommended international values. The level of radioactivity concentrations in the soil was affected by the physiochemical characteristics of the soil. The positive correlation with highest R2 value was found among the radioactivity concentrations of 232Th and 40K and the soil clay content. Total organic carbon was also positively correlated for 226Ra and 137Cs activity concentrations, whereas, carbonate content was negatively correlated with the radioactivity concentrations of 232Th and 40K. As far as soil moisture content is concerned, the positive correlation with highest R2 value was obtained for 226Ra activity concentrations.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48500-x
CD56 expression in breast cancer induces sensitivity to natural killer-mediated cytotoxicity by enhancing the formation of cytotoxic immunological synapse
Creators: name: Taouk, Ghina
name: Hussein, Ola
name: Zekak, Moussa
name: Abouelghar, Ali
name: Al-Sarraj, Yasser
name: Abdelalim, Essam M.
name: Karam, Manale
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: Oncology and carcinogenesis

description: We examined the potential value of the natural killer (NK) cell line; NK-92, as immunotherapy tool for breast cancer (BC) treatment and searched for biomarker(s) of sensitivity to NK-92-mediated cytotoxicity. The cytotoxic activity of NK-92 cells towards one breast precancerous and nine BC cell lines was analyzed using calcein-AM and degranulation assays. The molecules associated with NK-92-responsiveness were determined by differential gene expression analysis using RNA-sequencing and validated by RT-PCR, immunostaining and flow cytometry. NK-target interactions and immunological synapse formation were assessed by fluorescence microscopy. Potential biomarker expression was determined by IHC in 99 patient-derived BC tissues and 10 normal mammary epithelial tissues. Most (8/9) BC cell lines were resistant while only one BC and the precancerous cell lines were effectively killed by NK-92 lymphocytes. NK-92-sensitive target cells specifically expressed CD56, which ectopic expression in CD56-negative BC cells induced their sensitivity to NK-92-mediated killing, suggesting that CD56 is not only a biomarker of responsiveness but actively regulates NK function. CD56 adhesion molecules which are also expressed on NK cells accumulate at the immunological synapse enhancing NK-target interactions, cytotoxic granzyme B transfer from NK-92 to CD56-expressing target cells and induction of caspase 3 activation in targets. Interestingly, CD56 expression was found to be reduced in breast tumor tissues (36%) with strong inter- and intratumoral heterogeneity in comparison to normal breast tissues (80%). CD56 is a potential predictive biomarker for BC responsiveness to NK-92-cell based immunotherapy and loss of CD56 expression might be a mechanism of escape from NK-immunity.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-45377-8
Neoplastic Transformation of Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Mediated via LIN28B
Creators: name: Vishnubalaji, Radhakrishnan
name: Elango, Ramesh
name: Al-Toub, Mashael
name: Manikandan, Muthurangan
name: Al-Rikabi, Ammar
name: Harkness, Linda
name: Ditzel, Nicholas
name: Atteya, Muhammad
name: Hamam, Rimi
name: Alfayez, Musaad
name: Aldahmash, Abdullah
name: Kassem, Moustapha
name: Alajez, Nehad M.
Publisher: name: Manara - Qatar Research Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: Clinical sciences

description: Bone marrow stromal (Mesenchymal) stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent bone cells capable of differentiating into mesoderm-type cells, such as osteoblasts and adipocytes. Existing evidence suggests that transformation of MSCs gives rise to sarcoma. In order to identify the molecular mechanism leading to spontaneous transformation of human bone marrow MSCs (hBMSCs), we performed comprehensive microRNA (miRNA) and mRNA profiling in the transformed hBMSC-Tum line compared to the parental clone. As a result, we identified multiple dysregulated molecular networks associated with the hBMSC transformed phenotype. LIN28B was upregulated 177.0-fold in hBMSC-Tum, which was associated with marked reduction in LET-7 expression and upregulated expression of its target HMGA2. Targeted depletion of LIN28B or exogenous expression of LET-7b suppressed hBMSC-Tum proliferation, colony formation, and migration. On the other hand, forced expression of LIN28B promoted malignant transformation of parental hBMSC cells as shown by enhanced in vitro colony formation, doxorubicin resistance, and in vivo tumor formation in immunocompromised mice. Analysis of LIN28B and HMGA2 expression levels in cohorts from The Cancer Genome Atlas sarcoma dataset revealed a strong inverse-relationship between elevated expression and overall survival (OS) in 260 patients (p = 0.005) and disease-free survival (DFS) in 231 patients (p = 0.02), suggesting LIN28B and HMGA2 are important regulators of sarcoma biology. Our results highlight an important role for the LIN28B/LET-7 axis in human sarcoma pathogenesis and suggest that the therapeutic targeting of LIN28B may be relevant for patients with sarcoma.Other Information Published in: Scientific Reports
 License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44536-1
Diffusion in Pulsar Wind Nebulae: An Investigation using Magnetohydrodynamic and Particle Transport Models
Creators: name: Porth, O.
name: Vorster, M. J.
name: Lyutikov, M.
name: Engelbrecht, N. E.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study the transport of high-energy particles in pulsar wind nebulae (PWN) using three-dimensional MHD (see Porth et al. (2014) for details) and test-particle simulations, as well as a Fokker-Planck particle transport model. The latter includes radiative and adiabatic losses, diffusion, and advection on the background flow of the simulated MHD nebula. By combining the models, the spatial evolution of flux and photon index of the X-ray synchrotron emission is modelled for the three nebulae G21.5-0.9, the inner regions of Vela, and 3C 58, thereby allowing us to derive governing parameters: the magnetic field strength, average flow velocity and spatial diffusion coefficient. For comparison, the nebulae are also modelled with the semi-analytic Kennel & Coroniti (1984) model but the Porth et al. (2014) model generally yields better fits to the observational data. We find that high velocity fluctuations in the turbulent nebula (downstream of the termination shock) give rise to efficient diffusive transport of particles, with average Péclet number close to unity, indicating that both advection and diffusion play an important role in particle transport. We find that the diffusive transport coefficient of the order of $\sim2\times 10^{27} (L_{\rm s}/0.42\rm Ly) cm^{2}s^{-1}$ ($L_{\rm s}$ is the size of the termination shock) is independent of energy up to extreme particle Lorentz factors of $γ_{p}\sim10^{10}$.
description: submitted to MNRAS
A Proposal of Improved CZ Growth Technique of Monocrystalline Silicon for PV Cells
Creators: name: Fukuda, T.
name: Horioka, Y.
name: Fujiwara, K.
name: Tanahashi, K.
name: Shirasawa, K.
name: Takato, H.
Publisher: name: WIP
Year: 2018
Subjects: Silicon Cells
Feedstock, Crystallisation, Wafering, Defect Engineering

description: 35th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 314-317
description: Currently, monocrystalline CZ silicon ingots manufactured as photovoltaic applications are all those having long straight bodies. After heat treatments in cell fabrication process, ring-type defects, well-known to lower cell efficiency, are often observed in wafers taken from seed-side position of the long crystals. On the other hand, lower density of defects in wafers taken from tail-side position is observed. The difference in the defect density results from that of thermal history during the crystal growth process in a CZ puller. We have developed special silica crucible (called liquinert crucible) whose inner surface has non-wettable property at high temperatures. Using the liquinert crucible, we have challenged the growth of “massive silicon” characterized by the diameter of more than 0.7 times the crucible diameter and the very short body-length with the expectaion of reduced thermal history. Currently, using a small CZ puller, we started to grow small “massive silicon” from the melt (3 kg) in a liquinert crucible with the diameter of 165 mm. In order to clarify the effect of thermal history, we measured lifetime of each of the seed-side and the tail-side in both conventional silicon having the diameter (~80 mm) and the “massive silicon” having the large diameter (116 – 120 mm).
Multicrystalline Informatics to Realize Ideal Crystalline Silicon for Solar Cells
Creators: name: Usami, N.
name: Hayama, Y.
name: Muramatsu, T.
name: Tajima, K.
name: Kamibeppu, S.
name: Kutsukake, K.
name: Matsumoto, T.
name: Kudo, H.
Publisher: name: WIP
Year: 2018
Subjects: Silicon Cells
Feedstock, Crystallisation, Wafering, Defect Engineering

description: 35th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 323-325
description: We introduce our multidisciplinary scientific approach, “multicrystalline informatics”. The fundamental idea is to integrate data science with experimental science, theory, and computation in order to enable a paradigm shift in development of materials. Especially, we apply this methodology to realize ideal block-cast silicon by clarifying structural and electrical properties of crystal defects and controlling mechanisms in complicated multicrystalline silicon. The usefulness of multicrystalline informatics is shown by various aspects including analysis of nucleation sites using weighted Voronoi diagram and 3D visualization of generation, propagation, and annihilation of crystal defects.
Das bischöfliche Lehramt des Superintendenten am Beispiel Joachim Mörlins
Creators: name: Diestelmann, Jürgen
Publisher: name: Lutherische Beiträge
Year: 1970

description: Lutherische Beiträge, Bd. 7 Nr. 2 (2002): Lutherische Beiträge, Band 7, Heft 2
Chemistry in AGB stars: successes and challenges
Creators: name: Millar, T. J.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Emission and absorption line observations of molecules in late-type stars are a vital component in our understanding of stellar evolution, dust formation and mass loss in these objects. The molecular composition of the gas in the circumstellar envelopes of AGB stars reflects chemical processes in gas whose properties are strong functions of radius with density and temperature varying by more than ten and two orders of magnitude, respectively. In addition, the interstellar UV field plays a critical role in determining not only molecular abundances but also their radial distributions. In this article, I shall briefly review some recent successful approaches to describing chemistry in both the inner and outer envelopes and outline areas of challenge for the future.
description: To appear in the refereed proceedings of the 11th Pacific Rim Conference on Stellar Astrophysics held in Hong Kong, Dec.14-17, 2015, Sun Kwok (editor). 10 pages, 2 figures