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Pre-swirl energy saving device in marine application
PublicationThis paper covers topics of energy saving device (ESD) with application to marine propulsors. The form of ESD, considered in this paper, consists of fixed lifting foils mounted in front of the screw propeller (the pre-swirl stator/guide vanes). An algorithm for designing propulsion systems, consisting of guide vanes and screw propeller, is presented. The proposed method relies on hybrid lifting line (guide vanes)-lifting surface...
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Role of quantitative chest perfusion computed tomography in detecting diabetic pulmonary microangiopathy
PublicationAims: Aimof the study was to determine the role of perfusion chest computed tomography(pCT) in evaluation of pulmonary diabetic angiopathy.Methods: 18 never-smoking patients (10 diabetic patients and 8 healthy controls) underwentchest high resolution CT (HRCT) and then pCT scanning. In both groups, blood tests,biochemical analysis, fibrinogen, HbA1c, spirometry, diffusion capacity for carbonmonoxide(DLCO) and body pletysmography...
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Process Control and Investigation of Oxidation Kinetics of Postoxidative Effluents Using Gas Chromatography with Pulsed Flame Photometric Detection (GC-PFPD)
PublicationThis article presents the results of investigations on the use of headspace analysis and gas chromatography with pulsed flame photometric detection (HSA-GC-PFPD) to evaluate the effectiveness of oxidation of postoxidative effluents from the production of bitumens. Samples of effluents from the bitumen oxidation unit were used in the experiments. In addition, the kinetics of effluent oxidation was also investigated. The content...
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Distinguishing of cocrystals from simple eutectic mixtures: phenolic acids as potential pharmaceutical coformers
PublicationThe multiparameter model comprising 1D and 2D QSPR/QSAR descriptors was proposed and validated for phenolic acid binary systems. This approach is based on the optimization of regression coefficients for maximization of the percentage of true positives in the pool of systems comprising either simple binary eutectics or cocrystals. The training set consisted of 58 eutectics and 168 cocrystals. The solid dispersions collection used...
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Objectivization of Audio-Visual Correlation analysis
PublicationSimultaneous perception of audio and visual stimuli often causes the concealment or misrepresentation of information actually contained in these stimuli. Such effects are called the ''image proximity effect'' or the ''ventriloquism effect'' in literature. Until recently, most research carried out to understand their nature was based on subjective assessments. The Authors of this paper propose a methodology based on both subjective...
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Instrumented end notched flexure - Crack propagation and process zonemonitoring Part II: Data reduction and experimental
PublicationA mode II instrumented end notched flexure three point bending (ENF) adhesion test is described. The adhesive joint consists of two aluminium alloy (AW7075-T6) plates bonded with a structural epoxy adhesive (Hysol EA 9395™). Strain gauges are attached to the outer surface (backface) of the substrates in the lengthwise direction to measure local surface strain during crack propagation. Simultaneously, load/displacement measurements...
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Homoisocitrate dehydrogenase from Candida albicans: properties, inhibition, and targeting by an antifungal pro-drug
PublicationThe LYS12 gene from Candida albicans, coding for homoisocitrate dehydrogenase was cloned and expressed as a His-tagged protein in Escherichia coli. The purified gene product catalyzes the Mg2+- and K+-dependent oxidative decarboxylation of homoisocitrate to alpha-ketoadipate. The recombinant enzyme demonstrates strict specificity for homoisocitrate. SDS-PAGE of CaHIcDH revealed its molecular mass of 42.6±1 kDa, while in size-exclusion...
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Structure and Molecular Dynamics in Renewable Polyamides from Dideoxy-Diamino Isohexide
PublicationThe chemical structure, the conformation, andthe flexibility of the polymer chain fragments present in thepolyamides synthesized from 2,5-diamino-2,5-dideoxy-1,4;3,6-dianhydrosorbitol, 1,4-diaminobutane, and either sebacic orbrassylic acid have been studied by liquid-state 2D NMRspectroscopy viz. correlation spectra (COSY) and heteronuclearmultiple-bond correlation spectra (gHMBC), by 13Ccross-polarization/magic-angle spinning...
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An MTA-phosphorylase gene discovered in the metagenomic library derived from Antarctic top soil during screening for lipolytic active clones confers strong pink fluorescence in the presence of rhodamine B.
PublicationIn this work, we present the construction of a metagenomic library in Escherichiacoli using the pUC19 vector and environmental DNA directly isolated fromAntarctic topsoil and screened for lipolytic enzymes. Unexpectedly, the screeningon agar supplemented with olive oil and rhodamine B revealed one unusual pinkfluorescent clone (PINKuv) out of 85 000 clones. This clone harbored a plasmid,pPINKuv, which has an insert of 8317 bp that...
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Identification and molecular modeling of a novel lipase from an Antarctic soil metagenomic library.
PublicationIn this work, we present the construction of a metagenomic library in Escherichia coli using pUC19 vector and environmental DNA directly isolated from Antarctic topsoil and screened for lipolytic enzymes. The screening on agar supplemented with olive oil and rhodamine B revealed one clone with lipolytic activity (Lip1) out of 11,000 E. coli clones. This clone harbored a plasmid, pLip1, which has an insert of 4722 bp that has been...
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Remote learning among students with and without reading difficulties during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic
PublicationThis article presents the results of a survey on yet under-researched aspects of remote learning and learning difficulties in higher education during the initial stage (March – June 2020) of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 2182 students from University of Warsaw in Poland completed a two-part questionnaire regarding academic achievements in the academic year 2019/2020, living conditions and stress related to learning and pandemic,...
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Fertility rebound and economic growth. New evidence for 18 countries over the period 1970-2011.
PublicationLong-run impact of economic growth on fertility trends is ambiguous and sensitive for in-time variations. Noticeably, over last decades, economic growth has led in many countries to significant falls in total fertility rates. However, recently, in high-income economies a kind of ‘fertility rebound’ emerged (Goldstein, 2009; Luci and Thevenon, 2011; Day, 2012), which supports the hypothesis that reversal trends in total fertility...
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Separation of C6 hydrocarbons on sodium dithionite reduced graphene oxide aerogels
PublicationThe ability of reduced graphene oxide aerogels (rGOAs) for challenging gas-phase separation was investigated with hexane isomers and benzene (C6 hydrocarbons) using inverse gas chromatography (IGC). For the first, rGOAs were synthesized with sodium dithionite (DTN) as a reductant. Experiments revealed that the most optimal DTN to graphene oxide mass ratio was 2:1, resulting in the highest specific surface area of 432.3 m2 g−1 and...
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A fast start-up of the organotrophic anammox process inoculated with constructed wetland sediment
PublicationOrganotrophic anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria can utilize small volatile fatty acids with nitrate as electron acceptors with less energy consumption and no biomass production. To achieve a faster and stable start-up of organotrophic anammox process, in this study, the growth of organotrophic anammox bacteria seeded from hybrid constructed wetland (CW) sediment under different TOC/TN ratios and different chloramphenicol...
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Active Site Architecture and Reaction Mechanism Determination of Cold Adapted beta-D-galactosidase from Arthrobacter sp. 32cB
PublicationArthbetaDG is a dimeric, cold-adapted beta-D-galactosidase that exhibits high hydrolytic and transglycosylation activity. A series of crystal structures of its wild form, as well as its ArthbetaDG_E441Q mutein complexes with ligands were obtained in order to describe the mode of its action. The ArthbetaDG_E441Q mutein is an inactive form of the enzyme designed to enable observation of enzyme interaction with its substrate. The...
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Tailoring of Optical Properties of Methacrylate Resins Enriched by HPHT Microdiamond Particles
PublicationDiamond particles have great potential to enhance the mechanical, optical, and thermal properties of diamond–polymer composites. However, the improved properties of diamond–polymer composites depend on the size, dispersibility, and concentration of diamond particles. In the present study, diamond–polymer composites were prepared by adding the microdiamond particles (MDPs) with different concentrations (0.2–1 wt.%) into polymers...
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A stochastic approach for the solution of single and multi – objective optimisation problems of biological processes in sequencing batch reactor
PublicationThis paper investigates the impact of implementing single and multi-optimisation solutions on the biological treatment process in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The research is based on a case study of the water resource recovery facility (WRRF) in Swarzewo, Northern Poland. The paper introduces the adaptive extremum seeking control (ESC) method for dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration control and places it in a layered control structure....
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Fracture surface topography measurements analysis of low-alloyed corrosion resistant steel after bending-torsion fatigue tests
PublicationIn this paper, an assessment of a topography measurement method for fracture surfaces of 10HNAP steel after bending-torsion fatigue tests was performed. Surface roughness was measured by using a non-contact Focus Variation Microscopy (FVM) technique in which the non-measured points (NMPs) and outliers (spikes) were removed by the application of general methods. The results revealed, that the optical measurement method introduced...
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Gold(III) complexes with chloride and cyanopyridines: Facilitated hydrolysis of nitrile ligand to amide and antibacterial activity
PublicationA range of novel simple gold(III) compounds has been synthesized in their monocrystalline form, including two previously unknown chloro-complexes of Au3+ with 2-cyanopyridine or 3-cyanopyridine, respectively. Our investigations have revealed the intricate nature of the reaction between 2-cyanopyridine and tetrachloroauric acid, yielding at least three distinct products. The main product, obtained in high yield, is a salt featuring...
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The impact of slowly biodegradable organic compounds on the oxygen uptake rate in activated sludge systems
PublicationThe hydrolysis process of slowly biodegradable substrate (Xs) have impact on the efficiencies of nutrient removal in activated sludge systems. Measurement of OUR and corresponding COD is accepted as a very useful tool to reflect the consumption of biodegradable substrates. The influence of the readily biodegradable substrate (Ss) in biological wastewater treatment systems has been extensively investigated, but little is known about...
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The impact of slowly biodegradable organic compounds on the oxygen uptake rate in activated sludge systems
PublicationThe hydrolysis process of slowly biodegradable substrate (Xs) have impact on the efficiencies of nutrient removal in activated sludge systems. Measurement of OUR and corresponding COD is accepted as a very useful tool to reflect the consumption of biodegradable substrates. The influence of the readily biodegradable substrate (Ss) in biological wastewater treatment systems has been extensively investigated, but little is known about...
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4-Point beam tensile test on a soft adhesive
PublicationAn adhesive butt joint with a soft bondline has been studied. A series of experiments was conducted on test pieces constituted of aluminium adherends bonded with a low modulus epoxy adhesive, ScotchWeld™ 2216. The joint was subjected to four point bending, in tension/compression loading, under constant deflection rate, with the bondline being parallel to the applied load. The objective was to examine and evaluate crack nucleation...
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Distillery Fusel Oil as an Alternative Carbon Source for Denitrification – from Laboratory Experiments to Full-Scale Applications
PublicationIndustrial waste products may be a viable alternative to commercial external carbon sources, such as ethanol. In this study, the properties of fusel oil (distillery waste product) were investigated in terms of temperature dependency of denitrification, acclimation period, and the effects on NO2-N and PO4-P behavior. Furthermore, results obtained during three different full-scale trials were used to verify similarities and differences...
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Waterborne polyesters partially based on renewable resources
PublicationA new experimental approach for preparing biobased, water-soluble polyesters via titanium(IV) n-butoxide-catalyzed bulk polycondensation is presented. In the described method polymers were obtained from isosorbide, maleic anhydride and poly(ethylene glycol). The chemical structure of the synthesized polyesters was confirmed using 2D NMR spectroscopy and by titration methods. Careful analysis of 2D NMR spectra viz. Correlation Spectra...
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Bacterial community succession in an Arctic lake–stream system (Brattegg Valley, SW Spitsbergen)
PublicationThe factors affecting prokaryotic and virus structure dynamics and bacterial commu-nity composition (BCC) in aquatic habitats along a ca. 1500 m of the Brattegg Valley lake–stream system (SW Spitsbergen) composed of three postglacial lakes created by Brattegg Glacier meltwater were examined. A high number of small-volume prokaryotic cells were found in the recently-formed, deep, upper,...
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Influence of separation gap on the response of colliding models of steel structures under seismic and paraseismic excitations
PublicationAs a result of high urbanization, the need to erect closely-spaced buildings forces designers to consider collisions between structures taking place during ground motions. Experimental and numerical studies have confirmed that such collisions (often referred to as structural pounding) may cause serious damage to the structural elements and even lead to total collapse of colliding structures. The main reason of earthquake-induced...
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Expedited Simulation-Driven Multi-Objective Design Optimization of Quasi-Isotropic Dielectric Resonator Antenna
PublicationMajority of practical engineering design problems require simultaneous handling of several criteria. Although many of design tasks can be turned into single-objective problems using sufficient formulations, in some situations, acquiring comprehensive knowledge about possible trade-offs between conflicting objectives may be necessary. This calls for multi-objective optimization that aims at identifying a set of alternative, Pareto-optimal...
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The Impact of Homogeneity of High Modulus Asphalt Concrete Layer on Low-Temperature Cracking
PublicationDuring winter season of 2012 numerous transverse cracks developed in high-modulus asphalt concrete (HMAC) base of newly constructed motorway. Pavement cracked both in transverse joint locations and in the area between them. Research which was conducted during investigation of the causes and mechanisms of cracking consisted of: field examination, laboratory testing of specimens cored out of the existing pavement, computational analyses...
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Weldability of pipe grade polyethylenes as realized from thermal and mechanical properties assessments
PublicationSince polyethylene (PE) has been widely accepted for the production of high-pressure fluid conveying pipelines, studies devoted to weldability of PE connections were always of major importance. In this study, two industrial PE grades designed for pipe production, namely PE80 and PE100, were injection molded, cut, and then welded as PE100-PE100, PE100-PE80, and PE80-PE80. The heat-welded joints were assessed by differential scanning...
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Untargeted Lipidomics Reveals Differences in the Lipid Pattern among Clinical Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus Resistant and Sensitive to Antibiotics
PublicationStaphylococcus aureus resistance to antibiotics is a significant clinical problem worldwide. In this study, an untargeted lipidomics approach was used to compare the lipid fingerprints of S. aureus clinical isolates that are resistant and sensitive to antibiotics. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry was employed to rapidly and comprehensively analyze bacterial lipids. Chemometric...
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Studies of the separation performance of silanized silica gel for simulated distillation
PublicationWe present the results of investigations of the chromatographic (sorptive) properties of silanized silica gel as a stationary phase for gas chromatography used for simulated distillation. Commercially available silanized sorbent (particle diameter range 63–200 m, average pore size 60 Å) was sieved to obtain the 80–100 mesh fraction (180–150 m). The obtained results revealed that silanized silica gel allows the complete separation...
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Implication of the disulfide bridge in trypsin inhibitor SFTI-1 in its interaction with serine proteinases
PublicationFourteen monocyclic analogues of trypsin inhibitor SFTI-1 isolated from sunflower seeds were synthesized by the solid-phase method. The purpose of this work was to establish the role of a disulfide bridge present in inhibitor's side chains of Cys3 and Cys11 in association with serine proteinases. This cyclic fragment was replaced by the disulfide bridges formed by L-pencillamine (Pen), homo-L-cysteine (Hcy), N-sulfanylethylglycine...
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Synthesis, Molecular Structure, Metabolic Stability and QSAR Studies of a Novel Series of Anticancer N-Acylbenzenesulfonamides
PublicationA series of novel N-acyl-4-chloro-5-methyl-2-(R1-methylthio)benzenesulfonamides 18–47 have been synthesized by the reaction of N-[4-chloro-5-methyl-2-(R1-methylthio) benzenesulfonyl]cyanamide potassium salts with appropriate carboxylic acids. Some of them showed anticancer activity toward the human cancer cell lines MCF-7, HCT-116 and HeLa, with the growth percentages (GPs) in the range from 7% to 46%. Quantitative structure-activity relationship...
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Green TPUs from Prepolymer Mixtures Designed by Controlling the Chemical Structure of Flexible Segments
PublicationThis study concerns green thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) obtained by controlling the chemical structure of flexible segments. Two types of bio-based polyether polyols—poly(trimethylene glycol)s—with average molecular weights ca. 1000 and 2700 Da were used (PO3G1000 and PO3G2700, respectively). TPUs were prepared via a two-step method. Hard segments consisted of 4,4?- diphenylmethane diisocyanates and the bio-based 1,4-butanodiol...
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Partial inhibition of borohydride hydrolysis using porous activated carbon as an effective method to improve the electrocatalytic activity of the DBFC anode
PublicationCarbon materials are commonly used catalyst supports in various types of fuel cells. Due to the possibility of designing their properties, they seem to be attractive and functional additives. In Direct Borohydride Fuel Cells (DBFCs), the electrooxidation reaction of borohydride competes with the undesirable hydrolysis reaction, therefore our work aimed to modify anodes based on a multi-component hydrogen storage alloy with a small...
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Cooperativity of Halogen- and Chalcogen-Bonding Interactions in the Self-Assembly of 4‑Iodoethynyl- and 4,7-Bis(iodoethynyl)benzo-2,1,3-chalcogenadiazoles: Crystal Structures, Hirshfeld Surface Analyses, and Crystal Lattice Energy Calculations
PublicationSeveral new 4-iodoethynyl- and 4,7-bis- (iodoethynyl)benzo-2,1,3-chalcogenadiazoles were prepared, and a comprehensive analysis of the most prominent secondary bonding interactions responsible for the crystal self-assembly was performed using X-ray diffraction. The presence of both the iodoethynyl and chalcogenadiazole moieties allows an evaluation of the preference of these molecules to aggregate through either chalcogen- or halogen-bonding...
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Ultrasound-assisted wet-impregnation of Ag–Co nanoparticles on cellulose nanofibers: Enhanced catalytic hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol
PublicationIn this study, a novel nanocomposite of bimetallic Ag–Co nanoparticles supported on cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) was synthesised using the ultrasound-assisted wet-impregnation method for catalytic applications. CNFs were prepared from cellulose acetate using the electrospinning technique. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis confirmed the successful synthesis of CNFs. Further, scanning electron microscopy (SEM)...
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The Impact of Spatiotemporal Changes in Land Development (1984–2019) on the Increase in the Runoff Coefficient in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq
PublicationNowadays, geospatial techniques are a popular approach for estimating urban flash floods by considering spatiotemporal changes in urban development. In this study, we investigated the impact of Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) changes on the hydrological response of the Erbil basin in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). In the studied area, the LULC changes were calculated for 1984, 1994, 2004, 2014 and 2019 using the Digital Elevation...
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Detection and size estimation of crack in plate based on guided wave propagation
PublicationThe paper presents results of the comprehensive theoretical and experimental investigation of crack detection in metallic plate using guided wave propagation. The main aim of the paper is to develop the novel method which would allow for linear crack size estimation with the use of minimal number of the transducers. In general, there exists the relation between length of the propagation path and the wave amplitude value. However,...
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Effects of UV light irradiation on fluctuation enhanced gas sensing by carbon nanotube networks
PublicationThe exceptionally large active surface-to-volume ratio of carbon nanotubes makes it an appealing candidate for gas sensing applications. Here, we studied the DC and low-frequency noise characteristics of a randomly oriented network of carbon nanotubes under NO2 gas atmosphere at two different wavelengths of the UV light-emitting diodes. The UV irradiation allowed to sense lower concentrations of NO2 (at least 1 ppm) compared to...
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Real-time monitoring of the emission of volatile organic compounds from polylactide 3D printing filaments
PublicationEstablishing the emission profile of volatile organic compounds generated during fused deposition modeling 3D printing using polymer filaments is important in terms of both understanding the processes taking place during thermal degradation of thermoplastics, and assessing the user's exposure to potentially harmful volatiles. However, obtaining detailed, real-time qualitative and quantitative results poses a challenge. In this...
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Superconductivity and appearance of negative magnetocaloric effect in Ba1–xKxBiO3 perovskites, doped by Y, La and Pr
PublicationRecently, substantial attention is given to the bismuth-based perovskites for variety of electronic applications. The perovskites are used for quantum dots displays (QLED), photovoltaic systems and superconducting (HTS) devices. In this paper comprehensive studies of Ba1–xKxBi1–yREyO3 bismuth perovskites (REBKBO, RE = Y , La or Pr) are reported. Apart from structural anomalous behavior at low temperatures, the electronic properties...
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Determining horizontal curvature of railway track axis in mobile satellite measurements
PublicationThe article discusses the applicability of a novel method to determine horizontal curvature of the railway track axis based on results of mobile satellite measurements. The method is based on inclination angle changes of a moving chord in the Cartesian coordinate system. In the presented case, the variant referred to as the method of two virtual chords is applied which consists in manoeuvring with only one GNSS (Global Navigation...
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Performance of extended Lagrangian schemes for molecular dynamics simulations with classical polarizable force fields and density functional theory
PublicationIterative energy minimization with the aim of achieving self-consistency is a common feature of Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) and classical molecular dynamics with polarizable force fields. In the former, the electronic degrees of freedom are optimized, while the latter often involves an iterative determination of induced point dipoles. The computational effort of the self-consistency procedure can be reduced by re-using...
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Deep eutectic solvent based method for analysis of Niclosamide in pharmaceutical and wastewater samples – A green analytical chemistry approach
PublicationThe paper presents a simple, but very effective and sensitive spectrophotometric method for trace analysis of Niclosamide based on liquid–liquid microextraction using deep eutectic solvents (DESs) prior to its quantification. Here, different DES systems, such as Choline chloride (ChCl) + Urea, ChCl + Citric acid, ChCl + Ethylene glycol and ChCl + Phenol, were synthesized and evaluated at different molar ratios, selecting ChCl + Phenol...
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Electrostatic Zipping Actuators—Analysis of the Pull-In Effect Depending on the Geometry Parameters
PublicationContinuous work on a new generation of actuators, referred to as artificial muscles, resulted in the initiation of work on electrostatic zipping actuators, the concept of which is derived from micro electro-mechanical devices. Despite partial knowledge of their basic operating parameters, a question remains whether electrostatic zipping actuators are able to meet the expectations in the context of generated forces and control possibilities....
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Copper(I) halide cluster-based coordination polymers modulated by chiral ditopic dithiodianthranilide ligands: synthesis, crystal structure and photoluminescence
PublicationReaction of copper(I) halides with chiral dithiodianthranilidesmdtaandbdtaafforded polymeric complexeswhere polynuclear CuX clusters were linked together by ditopic bridging ligands into 1D chains or 2D layerstructures. In the case of racemic ligands double stranded chain polymers were formed where the Cu4X4(X = I or Br) cores are connected by enantiomeric pairs of the ditopic ligands. In contrast, a homochiralmdtaligand created...
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Untargeted Lipidomics Analysis of the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803: Lipid Composition Variation in Response to Alternative Cultivation Setups and to Gene Deletion
PublicationCyanobacteria play an important role in several ecological environments, and they are widely accepted to be the ancestors of chloroplasts in modern plants and green algae. Cyanobacteria have become attractive models for metabolic engineering, with the goal of exploring them as microbial cell factories. However, the study of cyanobacterial lipids’ composition and variation, and the assessment of the lipids’ functional and structural...
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Removal of Arsenic from Wastewater Using Hydrochar Prepared from Red Macroalgae: Investigating Its Adsorption Efficiency and Mechanism
PublicationArsenic (As) is a prominent carcinogen component produced via both geogenic and anthropogenic processes, posing serious risks to human health. This study aimed to investigate the potential of hydrochar prepared from red macroalgae for removing As from synthetic wastewater. The hydrochar was produced through 5 h hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) treatment at 200 °C, and then, chemically activated with ferric chloride hexahydrate...
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Fabrication of high-density nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center-enriched diamond particles through methyl trityl amine (C20H19N) seeding
PublicationDiamond particles (DPs) show promise for advanced applications in bioimaging and quantum sensing due to the presence of defect centers. This work reports a unique growth process for diamond particles composed of nitrogen-vacancy centers (NV-DPs) using a methyl trityl amine (C20H19N) diamondoid seed, which acts as a nitrogen source for NV creation. Growth was performed via microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition in a...