Search results for: CONTRAST
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Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of fermented beverages obtained from fruit pomace
PublicationFruit pomace should not be considered as a waste product but as a by-product as it contains a lot of valuable components such as dietary fiber, bioactive compounds and a source of nutrients. The reasonable way to utilize these by-products, both fresh or dried, could be the fermentation of its extracts, leading to beverages with functional properties. In our research, we checked the possibility of using chokeberry, apple and...
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Emulsification alters simulated gastrointestinal proteolysis of β-casein and β-lactoglobulin
PublicationWe have studied the effect of the adsorption of milk proteins at the oil-water interface on their digestibility in simulated gastrointestinal environment. The investigations aimed to characterize how both the breakdown of the adsorbed proteins and the interactions with physiological surfactants, phosphatidylcholine (PC) and bile salts (BS), influence structural transformations of model, protein-stabilized food emulsions in the...
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Acid-aided epoxy-amine curing reaction as reflected in epoxy/Fe3O4 nanocomposites: Chemistry, mechanism, and fracture behavior
PublicationThis work seeks to answer the question whether or not the presence of acid functional groups accelerate epoxyamine curing reaction. Epoxy/Fe3O4 nanocomposite was considered as a case, where discussions are based on chemistry, mechanism behind curing reactions and fracture behavior influenced by acid assistance to crosslinking. Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with nanosilica decorative layer (B-MNP) were synthesized and subsequently...
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Gamma oscillations precede interictal epileptiform spikes in the seizure onset zone
PublicationOBJECTIVE: To investigate the generation, spectral characteristics, and potential clinical significance of brain activity preceding interictal epileptiform spike discharges (IEDs) recorded with intracranial EEG. METHODS: Seventeen adult patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy were implanted with intracranial electrodes as part of their evaluation for epilepsy surgery. IEDs detected on clinical macro- and research microelectrodes...
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Genetic and biochemical characterization of yeasts isolated from Antarctic soil samples
PublicationThe Polish Arctowski Station is situated in the maritime Antarctic on the western shore ot' Admiralty Bay and encompasses terrestrial habitats which are not perma-nently covered by ice, in contrast to morę than 90% of the island's surface area. Over the past several decades, stud-ies exploring the soils of those habitats have revealed a considerable diversity of bacteria, filamentous fungi, and, to a lesser extent, yeasts; however,...
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Modeling of TEC Variations Based on Signals from Near Zenith GNSS Satellite Observed by Dense Regional Network
PublicationCurrently the substantial successes in high-resolution ionospheric mapping is declared in many publications. Nevertheless, up to now there are no examples of dynamic visualization of TEC disturbances on regional scale with as high resolution as tropospheric models. Over the years, ionosphere has been modeling basing on the simple assumption, that it is a thin layer, which surrounds the Earth at some arbitrary height. However, the...
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Trace elements content of surface peat deposits in the Solovetsky Islands (White Sea)
PublicationPeatlands form environmental archives of trace element deposition. In this regard they are particularly valuable for areas such as the Arctic, where regular pollution monitoring is either impossible or extremely costly. The aim of this study was to assess pollution in the Solovetsky Islands (65° 05' N, 35° 53' E) by examining the spatial variability in trace element content of the uppermost layer of peat, immediately below the...
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Interactions between bioactive components determine antioxidant, cytotoxic and nutrigenomic activity of cocoa powder extract
PublicationNumerous studies have shown, rather disappointingly, that isolated bioactive phytochemicals are not as biologically effective as natural plant products. Such a discrepancy may be explained by the concept of food synergy, which was verified in this research for cocoa extract versus its major components with regard to cancer chemoprevention. The evaluation embraced the relationship between redox properties evaluated in cell-free systems...
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Highly Conserved Homotrimer Cavity Formed by the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein: A Novel Binding Site
PublicationAn important stage in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) life cycle is the binding of the spike (S) protein to the angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) host cell receptor. Therefore, to explore conserved features in spike protein dynamics and to identify potentially novel regions for drugging, we measured spike protein variability derived from 791 viral genomes and studied its properties by molecular...
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Comparison of hydrochemistry and organic compound transport in two non-glaciated high Arctic catchments with a permafrost regime (Bellsund Fjord, Spitsbergen)
PublicationAn increase in air temperature related to climate change results in the retreat of glaciers, the degradation of permafrost, and the expansion of glacier-free areas in the polar regions. All these processes lead to changes in the Arctic landscape. They influence the hydrochemistry of streams and rivers fed by glaciers and thawing permafrost. In this study, we examine eighty two water samples from two non-glaciated catchments with...
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THRIVING AND JOB SATISFACTION IN MULTICULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS OF MNCS
PublicationPurpose of the article The aim of the paper is to analyze the relationship between thriving and job satisfaction in multicultural environments of multinational corporations (MNCs). Methodology/methods The quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted on the sample of 128 individuals from subsidiaries of various MNCs located in Poland involved in intercultural interactions. Scientific aim The aim of this study was to examine...
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A novel analytical approach in the assessment of unprocessed Kaffir lime peel and pulp as potential raw materials for cosmetic applications
PublicationVolatile fraction of fruits is a rich source of bioactive and aroma compounds, which can be used in the cosmetics industry after meeting relevant criteria. This is particularly evident in citrus fruits, especially in Citrus hystrix, in which the headspace consists mainly of terpenes. Due to the insufficient sensitivity of analytical methods, essential oils are used in investigations in contrast to fresh fruits. Therefore, a novel...
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Fluconazole resistant Candida auris clinical isolates have increased levels of cell wall chitin and increased susceptibility to a glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase inhibitor
PublicationIn 2009 Candida auris was first isolated as fungal pathogen of human disease from ear canal of a patient in Japan. In less than a decade, this pathogen has rapidly spread around the world and has now become a major health challenge that is of particular concern because many strains are resistant to multiple class of antifungal drugs. The lack of available antifungals and rapid increase of this fungal pathogen provides an incentive...
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Sustainable nitrogen removal in anammox-mediated systems: Microbial metabolic pathways, operational conditions and mathematical modelling
PublicationAnammox-mediated systems have attracted considerable attention as alternative cost-effective technologies for sustainable nitrogen (N) removal from wastewater. This review comprehensively highlights the importance of understanding microbial metabolism in anammox-mediated systems under crucial operation parameters, indicating the potentially wide applications for the sustainable treatment of N-containing wastewater. The partial...
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Functional fluorine-doped tin oxide coating for opto-electrochemical label-free biosensors
PublicationSensors operating in multiple domains, such as optical and electrochemical, offer properties making biosensing more effective than those working in a single domain. To combine such domains in one sensing device, materials offering a certain set of properties are required. Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) thin film is discussed in this work as functional optically for guiding lossy modes and simultaneously electrochemically, i.e....
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Between therapy effect and false-positive result in animal experimentation
PublicationDespite the animal models’ complexity, researchers tend to reduce the number of animals in experiments for expenses and ethical concerns. This tendency makes the risk of false-positive results, as statistical significance, the primary criterion to validate findings, often fails if testing small samples. This study aims to highlight such risks using an example from experimental regenerative therapy and propose a machine-learning...
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Gender as a Moderator of the Double Bias of Mistakes – Knowledge Culture and Knowledge Sharing Effects
PublicationThere is no learning without mistakes. The essence of the double bias of mistakes is the contradiction between an often-declared positive attitude towards learning from mistakes, and negative experiences when mistakes occur. Financial and personal consequences, shame, and blame force desperate employees to hide their mistakes. These adverse outcomes are doubled in organizations by the common belief that managers never make mistakes,...
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Characterization of two aminotransferases from Candida albicans
PublicationAminoadipate aminotransferase (AmAA) is an enzyme of α-aminoadipate pathway (AAP) for l-lysine biosynthesis. AmAA may also participated in biosynthesis or degradation of aromatic amino acids and in d-tryptophan based pigment production. The AAP is unique for fungal microorganisms. Enzymes involved in this pathway have specific structures and properties. These features can be used as potential molecular markers. Enzymes catalyzing...
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How to meet when you forget: log-space rendezvous in arbitrary graphs
PublicationTwo identical (anonymous) mobile agents start from arbitrary nodes in an a priori unknown graph and move synchronously from node to node with the goal of meeting. This rendezvous problem has been thoroughly studied, both for anonymous and for labeled agents, along with another basic task, that of exploring graphs by mobile agents. The rendezvous problem is known to be not easier than graph exploration. A well-known recent result...
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New Chalcones Derivatives With Potent Antitumor Activity And Their Metabolism In Vitro
PublicationChalcone derivatives exhibit a broad range of biological activities, with antioxidant and cytotoxic properties among the most studied. Despite numerous reports on chalcones as cytotoxic, and potentially anticancer agents, very little is know on their actual mechanism of activity. Generally, chalcones are considered as antimitotic agents, which interfere with tubulin assembly.We have recently developed a new class of chalcones with...
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The relationship between standard reduction potentials of catechins and biological activities involved in redox control
PublicationRedox homeostasis involves factors that ensure proper function of cells. The excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) leads to oxidative stress and increased risk of oxidative damage to cellular components. In contrast, upon reductive stress, insufficient ROS abundance may result in faulty cell signalling. It may be expected that dietary antioxidants, depending on their standard reduction potentials (E°), will affect both scenarios....
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Membrane Sterols Modulate the Binding Mode of Amphotericin B without Affecting Its Affinity for a Lipid Bilayer
PublicationMembrane-active antibiotics are known to selectively target certain pathogens based on cell membrane properties, such as fluidity, lipid ordering, and phase behavior. These are in turn modulated by the composition of a lipid bilayer and in particular by the presence and type of membrane sterols. Amphotericin B (AmB), the golden standard of antifungal treatment, exhibits higher activity toward ergosterol-rich fungal membranes, which...
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PARP inhibition potentiates the cytotoxic activity of C-1305, a selective inhibitor of topoisomerase II, in human BRCA1-positive breast cancer cells
PublicationTwo cellular proteins encoded by the breast and ovarian cancer type 1 susceptibility (BRCA1 and BRCA2) tumor suppressor genes are essential for DNA integrity and the maintenance of genomic stability.Approximately 5-10% of breast and ovarian cancers result from inherited alterations or mutations in these genes.Remarkably, BRCA1/BRCA2-deficient cells are hypersensitive to selective inhibition of poly(ADPribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1),...
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Carotid Artery Stenting and Blood–Brain Barrier Permeability in Subjects with Chronic Carotid Artery Stenosis
PublicationFailure of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a critical event in the development and progression of diseases such as acute ischemic stroke, chronic ischemia or small vessels disease that affect the central nervous system. It is not known whether BBB breakdown in subjects with chronic carotid artery stenosis can be restrained with postoperative recovery of cerebral perfusion. The aim of the study was to assess the short-term effect...
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Improved finite element method for flow, heat and solute transport of Prandtl liquid via heated plate
PublicationIn the current study, a vertical, 3D-heated plate is used to replicate the generation of heat energy and concentration into Prandtl liquid. We discuss how Dufour and Soret theories relate to the equations for concentration and energy. In order to see how efectively particles, interact with heat and a solvent, hybrid nanoparticles are used. It does away with the phenomena of viscous dissipation and changing magnetic felds. The motivation...
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Exchange-traded products in Germany: development and substitution of exchange-traded funds, exchange-traded commodities and exchange-traded notes.
PublicationResearch background: Exchange-traded products (ETPs) are one of the most rapidly growing categories of financial products. Their fast development has been boosted by innovative features. Three main categories of ETPs are exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange-traded commodities (ETCs) and exchange-traded notes (ETNs). ETCs and ETNs remain least known, even though their number on some stock exchanges is high. In Europe, Germany...
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Modelling the impact of the agricultural holdings and land-use structure on the quality of inland and coastal waters with an innovative and interdisciplinary toolkit
PublicationThe changes taking place in the marine coastal zones are extremely important, as about 40% of the human population currently lives in the coastal areas (within 100 kilometres of the coastline) increasing anthropogenic pressure on the marine ecosystems. Agriculture is a significant source of nutrients to the marine environment that increase hypoxia, eutrophication and may pose a threat to the services provided by ecosystems. In...
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Correlation between the Reactivity and Spectroscopic Properties of N-Substituted Secondary Thioamides. New Intramolecular N• •H+• •N Binding Approach and Proton Complexes Based on Thioamide Ligation
PublicationFrom a comparison of chem. shifts and wavenumbers of several secondary thioamides and amides having monocationic substituents attached to thiocarbamoyl or carbamoyl groups by a polymethylene chain, new intramol. unconventional N···H+···N H bonding effects were discovered. It is argued that the CH2-N rotation is hindered and two +H···NHMe nonequiv. protons occur in a proton spectrum of hydrochloride RCH2C(S)NH(CH2)3NHMe-HCl...
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Spatial Heterogeneity Impacts of Bilateral Foreign Direct Investment on Green Energy Efficiency in China
PublicationAt present, green energy transformation and climate policy are increasingly connected. The need to improve national competitiveness and implement climate and energy strategies means that an energy-consuming country like China must rapidly enhance its green energy efficiency (GEE) and energy consumption structure. The following paper contributes to the existing literature by analyzing the effects of bilateral FDI on GEE from...
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Cooperation areas between universities and industry - case studies in the area of civil engineering
PublicationThe paper describes the areas of cooperation between universities and industry in the area of civil engineering. Presented examples are related to didactics, research grants and commissioned works. On the basis of the authors own experiences the mutual benefits of cooperation in different areas are described. As well as the assessment criteria of the areas of cooperation by the scientific community. The first area of cooperation...
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Conversion of waste biomass to designed and tailored activated chars with valuable properties for adsorption and electrochemical applications
PublicationWaste biomass, a renewable energy source, is inexpensive material that has great potential in sorp-tion and electrochemical application. The selected waste materials (corncobs, coconut shells, wal-nuts, and pistachio husks) allow to close the production cycle and enable material recycling, which are important aspects in the hierarchy of waste management. The proposed methodology for pro-duction and activation of biochars can be...
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Catheter-induced coronary artery and aortic dissections. A study of the mechanisms, risk factors, and propagation causes
PublicationBackground: Only the incidence, management, and prognosis of catheter-induced coronary artery and aortic dissections have been systematically studied until now. We sought to evaluate their mechanisms, risk factors, and propagation causes. Methods: Electronic databases containing 76,104 procedures and complication registries from 2000– –2020 were searched and relevant cineangiographic studies adjudicated. Results: Ninety-six dissections...
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The searchlight problem for road networks
PublicationWe consider the problem of searching for a mobile intruder hiding in a road network given as the union of two or more lines, or two or more line segments, in the plane. Some of the intersections of the road network are occupied by stationary guards equipped with a number of searchlights, each of which can emit a single ray of light in any direction along the lines (or line segments) it is on. The goal is to detect the intruder,...
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Prime-Boost Vaccination with Toxoplasma Lysate Antigen, but Not with a Mixture of Recombinant Protein Antigens, Leads to Reduction of Brain Cyst Formation in BALB/c Mice
PublicationIntroduction Infection with the ubiquitous parasite Toxoplasma gondii is a threat for immunocompro- mised patients and pregnant women and effective immune-prophylaxis is still lacking. Methods Here we tested a mixture of recombinant T . gondii antigens expressed in different develop- mental stages, i.e., SAG1, MAG1 and GRA7 (SMG), and a lysate derived from T . gondii tachyzoites (TLA) for prophylactic vaccination against cyst formation....
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Changing Attitudes in Cross Cultural Diversity through International Senior Capstone Projects
PublicationIn this global world, today’s engineer is likely to have to work in global international teams with colleagues from other nationalities. The challenge for many engineering curricula is how to include, in a realistic way, this global dimension and increase the student’s awareness of the issues that are encountered. In the Purdue University Engineering Technology program, an international capstone project was created to increase...
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New Unsymmetrical Bisacridine Derivatives Noncovalently Attached to Quaternary Quantum Dots Improve Cancer Therapy by Enhancing Cytotoxicity toward Cancer Cells and Protecting Normal Cells
PublicationThe use of nanoparticles for the controlled drug delivery to cells has emerged as a good alternative to traditional systemic delivery. Quantum dots (QDs) offer potentially invaluable societal benefits such as drug targeting and in vivo biomedical imaging. In contrast, QDs may also pose risks to human health and the environment under certain conditions. Here, we demonstrated that unique combination of nanocrystals core components...
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Comparing the permeability of human and porcine small intestinal mucus for particle transport studies
PublicationThe gastrointestinal mucus layer represents the last barrier between ingested food or orally administered pharmaceuticals and the mucosal epithelium. This complex gel structure plays an important role in the process of small intestinal absorption. It provides protection against hazardous particles such as bacteria but allows the passage of nutrients and drug molecules towards the intestinal epithelium. In scientific research, mucus...
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Effects of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 and Ag electrodes on bismuth-oxide-based low-temperature solid electrolyte oxygen generators
PublicationIn this study, La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 (LSM) was used as the ceramic electrode in a (Bi1.50Y0.50)0.98Zr0.04O3+δ (BYO)-based solid electrolyte oxygen generator (SEOG) and its performance was compared with that of a previously studied high-fire Ag electrode. Among La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3, LaNi0.6Fe0.4O3, Cu1.4Mn1.6O4, and LSM materials, only LSM materials did not trigger any chemical reaction or interdiffusion with BYO at temperatures up to...
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Use of a wastewater recovery product (struvite) to enhance subtropical seagrass restoration
PublicationSeagrasses are in decline worldwide, and their restoration is relatively expensive and unsuccessful compared to other coastal systems. Fertilization can improve seagrass growth in restoration but can also release nutrients and pollute the surrounding ecosystem. A slow-release fertilizer may reduce excessive nutrient discharge while still providing resources to the seagrass's rhizosphere. In this study, struvite (magnesium ammonium...
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Using Container Structures in Architecture and Urban Design
PublicationAbstract. The paper presents the use of shipping containers in architecture and urban design. Even today, houses and apartments are still too expensive. Since 1923 architects have been improving the living conditions of citizens by building very simple, repeatable forms. With prefabrication technology it became possible to build quicker, causing house prices to decrease. Apartments in block of flats became affordable to more and...
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Review on robust laser light interaction with titania – Patterning, crystallisation and ablation processes
PublicationTitanium dioxide is regarded as a very promising semiconducting material that is widely applied in many everyday-use products, devices, and processes. In general, those applications can be divided into energy or environmental categories, where a high conversion rate, and energy and power density are of particular interest. Therefore, many efforts are being put towards the elaboration of novel production routes, and improving the...
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Escherichia coli K-12 suppressor-free mutants lacking early glycosyltransferases and late acyltransferases. Minimal lipopolysaccharide structure and induction of envelope stress response.
PublicationTo elucidate the minimal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) structure needed for the viability of Escherichia coli, suppressor-free strains lacking either the 3-deoxy-d-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid transferase waaA gene or derivatives of the heptosyltransferase I waaC deletion with lack of one or all late acyltransferases (lpxL/M/P) and/or various outer membrane biogenesis factors were constructed. Δ(waaC lpxL lpxM lpxP) and waaA mutants exhibited...
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Topic 1: Transformations / Spatial form design, scale 1:1
e-Learning CoursesBrief description: The subject matter of the spatial form design classes is transformation. First, a black square becomes a flat graphic composition, which is then converted to color. The final stage of the transformation process is a spatial object, which is by assumption devoid of any utilitarian functions. Course content / classes schedule: 1. Graphic. The task is to create an achromatic flat composition in the contrast...
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A perfect hashing incremental scheme for unranked trees using pseudo-minimal automata
PublicationWe describe a technique that maps unranked trees to arbitrary hash codes using a bottom-up deterministic tree automaton (DTA). In contrast to other hashing techniques based on automata, our procedure builds a pseudo-minimal DTA for this purpose. A pseudo-minimal automaton may be larger than the minimal one accepting the same language but, in turn, it contains proper elements (states or transitions that are unique) for every input...
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Mathematical model to assess energy consumption using water inflow-drainage system of iron-ore mines in terms of a stochastic process
PublicationPurpose is to develop a unified mathematical model to assess energy efficiency of a water inflow-drainage process as the real variant of stochastic method for water pumping from underground workings of iron-ore mines. Methods. The research process was based upon the methods of probability theory as well as stochastic modelling methods. The stochastic function integration has been reduced to summation of its ordinates and further...
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Group-9 Transition-Metal Suboxides Adopting the Filled-Ti2Ni Structure: A Class of Superconductors Exhibiting Exceptionally High Upper Critical Fields
PublicationTi2Ni and the related η-carbide structure are known to exhibit various intriguing physical properties. The Ti2Ni structure with the cubic space group Fd3̅m is surprisingly complex, consisting of a unit cell with 96 metal atoms. The related η-carbide compounds correspond to a filled version of the Ti2Ni structure. Here, we report on the structure and superconductivity in the η-carbide-type suboxides Ti4M2O with M = Co, Rh, and Ir....
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Molecular transformation of dissolved organic matter in manganese ore-mediated constructed wetlands for fresh leachate treatment
PublicationThe organic matter (OM) and nitrogen in Fresh leachate (FL) from waste compression sites pose environmental and health risks. Even though the constructed wetland (CW) can efficiently remove these pollutants, the molecular-level transformations of dissolved OM (DOM) in FL remain uncertain. This study reports the molecular dynamics of DOM and nitrogen removal during FL treatment in CWs. Two lab-scale vertical-flow CW systems were...
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Degradation of cefadroxil drug by newly designed solar light responsive alcoholic template-based lanthanum ferrite nanoparticles
PublicationIn this work, lanthanum ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized via a simple co-precipitation method. Two different templates, namely sorbitol and mannitol, were used in this synthesis to tune the optical, structural, morphological, and photocatalytic properties of lanthanum ferrite. The synthesized lanthanum ferrite-sorbitol (LFOCo-So) and lanthanum ferrite-mannitol (LFOCo-Mo) were investigated through Ultraviolet–Visible (UV–Vis),...
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From Scores to Predictions in Multi-Label Classification: Neural Thresholding Strategies
PublicationIn this paper, we propose a novel approach for obtaining predictions from per-class scores to improve the accuracy of multi-label classification systems. In a multi-label classification task, the expected output is a set of predicted labels per each testing sample. Typically, these predictions are calculated by implicit or explicit thresholding of per-class real-valued scores: classes with scores exceeding a given threshold value...
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Hydration of N-Hydroxyurea from Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations
PublicationN-Hydroxyurea (HU) is an important chemotherapeutic agent used as a first-line treatment in conditions such as sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia, among others. To date, its properties as a hydrated molecule in the blood plasma or cytoplasm are dramatically understudied, although they may be crucial to the binding of HU to the radical catalytic site of ribonucleotide reductase, its molecular target. The purpose of this work...