Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gene pro fi ling of antimicrobial peptides , complement factors and MHC molecules from the skin transcriptome of Channa striatus and its expression pattern during Aeromonas hydrophila infection

Channa striatus is one of the economically important freshwater fish with high demand in Southeast Asia for its nutritional and medicinal values. The unique composition of skin mucus of murrel provides immunity against pathogens; however, they are susceptible to few bacterial pathogens especially Aeromonas hydrophila. Although few immune molecules such as antimicrobial peptides have already been identified from the murrel mucus, there is no report on the complete gene profile of the skin and mucosal immunity. Therefore, in this study we applied transcriptome approach to identify the mRNA sequences of various immune molecules such as antimicrobial peptides, complement factors and adaptive immune molecules from the skin tissue. Transcriptome wide search revealed unique mRNA sequences of 13 antimicrobial peptides, 11 complement components, 2 major histocompatibility complex proteins and its receptor, 6 butyrophilins, 2 leptins and its receptor. Brief bioinformatics analysis of the identified mRNA sequences and their respective putative protein sequences were performed to understand molecular information of those immune components. Further, we analysed the differential expression pattern of selected 13 mRNA sequences representing each immune group using qRT-PCR technique which highlighted the role of those genes during A. hydrophila challenge. Overall, this study revealed the complex immune response of murrel skin and the involvement of various innate and adaptive immune molecules against A. hydrophila infection.
Food Safety Knowledge , Handling Practice and Associated Factors among Food Handlers of Hotels / Restaurants in Asosa Town , North Western Ethiopia

Thousands of millions of people became ill as a result of eating unsafe food and many die due to less knowledge and practice on the part of food handlers. Food contamination in developing countries is caused by many factors including traditional food processing methods, inappropriate handling of food, holding temperatures, and poor personal hygiene of food handlers, the safety of food handlers is therefore one of the most important health and safety issues facing most developing countries since it leads to both public health and social Problems [6]. Research Article
Solving two-dimensional nonlinear mixed Volterra Fredholm integral equations by using rationalized Haar functions in the complex plane

We present a method for calculating the numerical approximation of the two-dimensional mixed Volterra Fredholm integral equations, using the properties of the rationalized Haar (RH) wavelets and the matrix operator. Attaining this purpose, first, an operator and then an orthogonal projection should be defined. Regarding the characteristics of Haar wavelet, we solve the integral equation without using common mathematical methods. An upper bound and the convergence of the mentioned method have been proved, by using the Banach fixed point. Moreover, the rate of the convergence method is $O(n(2q) ^n)$. Finally, several examples of different kinds of functions are presented and solved by this method.
Exploring the Effect of Rhythmic Interventions on First-and Second-Grade Music Students ’ Oral Reading Fluency

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of rhythmic interventions (e.g., steady beat, rhythm production, and rhythm discrimination activities) on oral reading fluency scores of firstand second-grade music students. This study was guided by the following research questions: (1) What is the psychometric quality of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) used in the context of measuring the oral reading fluency of firstand second-grade general music students? (2) What is the effect of rhythmic interventions on firstand second-graders’ oral reading fluency scores? and (3) What is the interaction effect between rhythmic interventions and fluency achievement? Participants included two first-grade and two second-grade elementary music classes (N = 72; male, n = 37; female, n = 35). Participants were randomly assigned into control and treatment groups in each class for first-grade (N = 34; control, n = 17; treatment, n = 17) and second-grade (N = 38; control, n = 19; treatment, n = 19). All participants were administered the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) to measure oral reading fluency ability as a pretest and posttest. Treatment groups underwent rhythmic interventions throughout seven, 45-minute sessions. After controlling for differences in students’ pretest scores, results indicated an overall statistically significant treatment effect for first-grade students and a statistically significant interaction effect for the core grouping of second-grade students. The researchers discuss Implications for implementation and advocacy.
Effect of coral Goniopora Sp scaffold application on human osteoblast-like MG-63 cell activity in vitro

Background: Coral is an osteo-conductive biomaterial that can act as an alternative scaffold for osteogenesis. In this in vitro study we analyzed the activity of osteoblast-like cells after treatment with the coral Goniopora. Methods: Human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells were incubated in α-minimal essential medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and 300 ng/mL amphotericin B plus 1% penicillin-streptomycin and stored in a 5% CO2 incubator at 37°C. The Goniopora were smashed into size A (20 mesh), B (1–2 mm), and C (200 mesh) particles, sterilized using gamma radiation and applied to cells. Protein and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) concentrations were evaluated after incubation for 24 and 48 h. Results: The protein assay of 24 h and 48 h cultured osteoblasts illustrated that treated cells, whether with coral size A, B and C exhibited a lower mean value compared to the untreated cells. For ALP levels there were statistically significant differences at 48 h between B and C (p = 0.004), and A and C (p = 0.09). Conclusions: No significant differences in total protein concentrations were found among all groups after 24 and 48 h. Smaller coral size and longer incubation time tended to facilitate osteogenesis. These results require further empirical validation.
Investigation of slurry flows in rectangular pressurized pipe flow by means of ultrasonic velocimetry

Ultrasonic velocimetry was used to study flow and turbulence characteristics in both clear water and slurry flows with different sediment transport regimes. The velocity and turbulence profiles were investigated in the vertical plane at the centreline of a rectangular channel. Reference measurements in clear water delivered the vertical distribution of velocity components and turbulence characteristics in rectangular cross section. Strong symmetrical secondary currents were observed and evaluated. Those flow structures affect the velocity and the Reynolds stress vertical distribution as presented. Experiments with solid particles provided the information about the influence of solids concentration on flow and turbulence properties at different transport regimes. An attenuation of the velocity fluctuation with increasing solids concentration was observed. A critical aspect of experiments seems to be an attenuation of ultrasonic signal by solid particles especially at higher concentration rates.
Critical factors influencing problem-solving ability in online learning environments

The purposes of the present study were to investigate the factors influencing problem solving ability skills in an online learning environment and to figure out which of these factors were significantly related to problem solving ability. Surveyed were 273 undergraduate students taking an ‘educational technology’ course at National Open University in Seoul, Korea. Based on the results of literature review, validation by experts and factor analysis, 46 items were developed. The results were as follows: First, exploratory factor analysis showed eight factors influencing problem-solving ability in an online learning environment. Second, multiple regression showed that the first four factors among the eight factors (learners’ cognitive strategies, learners’ meta-cognitive strategies, providing necessary resources and tools for problem solving in an online learning environment, and learners’ self-confidence in problem solving) were significant predictors of problem solving ability. The results showed that learners’ cognitive strategies are the most closely related to problem-solving ability. This result implied that online learning environments should provide learners with supports to consider a goal and sub-goals of problem-solving and to break down big problem-solving tasks into sub-goals.
Improving Scalability of Evolutionary Robotics with Reformulation

Creating systems that can operate autonomously in complex environments is a challenge for contemporary engineering techniques. Automatic design methods offer a promising alternative, but so far they have not been able to produce agents that outperform manual designs. One such method is evolutionary robotics. It has been shown to be a robust and versatile tool for designing robots to perform simple tasks, but more challenging tasks at present remain out of reach of the method. In this thesis I discuss and attack some problems underlying the scalability issues associated with the method. I present a new technique for evolving modular networks. I show that the performance of modularity-biased evolution depends heavily on the morphology of the robot’s body and present a new method for co-evolving morphology and modular control. To be able to reason about the new technique I develop reformulation framework: a general way to describe and reason about metaoptimization approaches. Within this framework I describe a new heuristic for developing metaoptimization approaches that is based on the technique for co-evolving morphology and modularity. I validate the framework by applying it to a practical task of zero-g autonomous assembly of structures with a fleet of small robots. Although this work focuses on the evolutionary robotics, methods and approaches developed within it can be applied to optimization problems in any domain.
Syntactic Complexity and Productivity : A Study of Early Verbs in L 1 Acquisition of Mandarin Chinese ∗

An issue in the study of language acquisition that has attracted much attention is the nature of early syntax. At around 2, children start to combine words. Such multi-word combinations are characteristic of telegraphic speech. The nativist approaches to language acquisition believe that these early multi-word combinations are quite complex, with basic grammar of the ambient language already in order, including those structures whose subtle and sophisticated properties are not easily detected in the linguistic input. It is suggested that language acquisition is guided by innate linguistic mechanisms, in the form of Universal Grammar (Chomsky 1981; also see Pinker 1984, 1989, Crain 1991, Wexler 1998). Children’s syntax is rule-governed and develops fast and catastrophically. Following this view, young children have access to syntactic categories, including both lexical categories such as nouns and verbs and functional categories from early on. In other words, grammatical categories are expected to be operative when the child starts to produce sentences. Thus, the superficially simple and sometimes erroneous sentences in early language development are in fact constrained by linguistic principles. The usage-based accounts of language acquisition, on the other hand, challenge the nativist view (Tomasello 1992, 2000, 2003; see also Lieven et al 1997, Pine and Lieven 1993, Pine et al 1998). The major tenet of such accounts is that early syntactic development is characteristic of item-based learning and takes place gradually and in piecemeal fashion, driven by the input data the child is exposed to. Language acquisition is supposed to be guided by general cognitive principles rather than innate language-specific principles such as UG. The present study is an attempt to explore the nature of early syntax by looking at early verbs in Mandarin Chinese. The next section is a brief review of the usage-based view of early verbs. We will then present our findings. Discussion and conclusion will come in the last section.
Low Overhead Localized Routing in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Mobile Opportunistic Networks (OppNets) are infrastructure-less networks consisting of wireless mobile nodes and have been a focus of research for years. OppNets can be scaled up to support rapid growth of wireless devices and technologies, especially smartphones and tablets. Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs), one of OppNets technologies, have a high potential to be used for facilitating an extension for the Internet and a backup communication platform in disaster situation. However, a connection disruption due to node mobility and unreliable wireless links is possible to trigger a flooding operation of route repair process. This results in transmission delay and packet loss. The flooding of routing packets is an expensive operation cost in MANETs which affects network reliability and wastes limited resources such as network bandwidth and node energy. These are obstacles to practical implementation of MANETs in real-world environment. In this paper, we propose Low Overhead Localized Flooding (LOLF), an efficient overhead reduction routing extension based on Query Localization (QL) routing protocol. The purpose of this work is to control the propagation of routing packets in the route discovery and route repair mechanisms while incurring only a small increase in the size of control information in the packet. Simulation results from extensive experiments show that our proposed method can reduce overall routing overhead, energy consumption, and end-to-end delay without sacrificing the packet delivery ratio compared to existing protocols.
The Predictive Ability of Self-Control and Differential Association on Sports Fans’ Decision to Engage in Cyber Bullying Perpetration against Rivals

A sample of 318 students from two Iranian universities was employed to conduct a test of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s self-control theory and elements of Akers’ social learning theory. Specifically, we sought to determine whether these theories are capable of explaining the decision to cyber bully members and fans of rival sports teams. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze these data. Findings suggest that individuals with low levels of self-control are more likely to engage in cyber bullying perpetration. Similarly, those who associate with delinquent peers are more likely to engage in cyber bullying perpetration. Additionally, we found that ineffective parenting has an indirect effect on cyber bullying perpetration through its direct effect on self-control and differential association. Lastly, we found that self-control and differential association interact to more fully explain cyber bullying perpetration. Theoretical implications are discussed. _____________________________________________________________________________________
IMPOSTOR PHENOMENON IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) career fields have been criticized for their lack of diversity. Frequently, the lack of female representation in STEM fields was blamed on widely publicized issues such as the glass ceiling, work life balance, and unfair pay. One area never researched, but potentially an alternative concern, was the Impostor Phenomenon (IP). IP is an experience of intellectual fraudulence despite measured success manifesting in denial of one’s competencies, fear of failure, perfectionism, and difficulty owning and enjoying success. This study investigated potential differences of the IP among IT professionals within specific categories of demographics such as gender, age, and level of education. Using a quantitative, non-experimental, causal-comparative design, this research study provided comparisons on the dependent variable of IP between the specific independent variable groups of (a) gender, (b) age, and (c) level of education. In addition, a three-way (2x4x4) ANOVA examined group comparisons further by including analysis of the interactions between the groups of these three variables. The only independent variable that provided statistically significant results was age. The categories for age were 30 to 44, 45 to 60, and over 60. Based on the data, as an IT employee became older and gained expertise, the employee experienced less episodes of doubt, to include fear of failure. Based on the results of this study, the four areas of importance for a successful organization, as it relates to managing IT professionals, were determined to be motivation, confidence, acceptance, and communication.
Quality assessment of different types of Croatian honey between 2012 and 2016

In this study, a total of 227 honey samples of varying types were collected from different areas in Croatia. All samples were subjected to pollen analysis and assorted into several groups including rare honey types such as amorphous, sunflower, Christ’s thorn, bearberry, heather, mandarin, willow, goldenrod, lavender, sage, rape and hawthorn. The following groups of honey were also analysed: acacia, floral, chestnut, meadow, lime, honeydew. The following physicochemical properties were tested: electrical conductivity, diastase number, water content and hydroxymethylfurfural content. All samples met the criteria for moisture content (< 20%) and ranged from 14.1% to 20.0%. Hydroxymethylfurfural concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 62.1 mg/kg and two samples did not meet the prescribed value (< 40 mg/kg). Electrical conductivity ranged from 0.10 to 2.16 mS/cm. Increased conductivity was determined for chestnut and honeydew honey, with average values of 1.33 and 1.14 mS/cm, which meets the requirements (> 0.8 mS/cm). In all other honey types, except lime, heather and bearberry, values must be below the prescribed 0.8 mS/cm, and only two samples did not meet the prescribed criteria. The lowest mean conductivity of 0.10 mS/cm was determined for acacia honey.
Bioactivity of enzymatically prepared eel ( Monopterus sp . ) protein hydrolysate at different molecular weights

This study determined the antioxidant and angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity of fractionated (3, 5, 10kDa) eel protein hydrolysate (EPH), which was prepared enzymatically using alcalase. The bioactivities observed were reducing power, metal chelating activity, 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, and ACE inhibitory activity. The results showed that the EPH at 5 kDa had significantly (p<0.05) higher reducing power, metal chelating activity and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity compared to the 3kDa and 10kDa EPH fractions. Meanwhile, the 10 kDa EPH fraction showed significantly (p<0.05) higher DPPH scavenging activity compared to the 3 kDa and 5 kDa fractions. In terms of ACE inhibitory activity, EPH at 3 kDa showed the highest inhibition ability (71.90%) significantly (p<0.05) and the ACE inhibitory activity decreased with the increase in the molecular weight (MW) of the EPH. The results obtained showed that EPH possessed potential bioactivity and antioxidant and antihypertensive properties, and that the activity was highly affected by the molecular size in hydrolysate production using alcalase. The EPH produced also showed the potential for the use of EPH in the food and nutraceutical industry.
Interpreting Metaphors in Real-time : Cross-modal Evidence for Exhaustive Access

Natural language is replete with figurative expressions like my lawyer is a shark, and listeners are expected to intuitively understand the intended, rather than the literal, meaning of such expressions. But what cognitive resources are involved in attaining meaning for such sentences? Most research into metaphor comprehension has employed offline reading tasks that provide no insight into the time-course of metaphor processing. In order to investigate the moment-by-moment on-line processes involved in metaphor comprehension, the present study used a naturalistic cross-modal lexical decision paradigm (Swinney, 1979) with novel brief masked target presentations during and after the vehicle word (shark). Results obtained from a preliminary sample demonstrated priming of related target words across conditions, but no significant differences between conditions. These results may best be interpreted as supporting an exhaustive-access account of metaphor interpretation, which suggests that literal and metaphorical interpretations are simultaneously accessed during the early stages of metaphor/simile interpretation.
OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030

The OECD Learning Compass 2030 defines core foundations as the fundamental conditions and core skills, knowledge, attitudes and values that are prerequisites for further learning across the entire curriculum. The core foundations provide a basis for developing student agency and transformative competencies. All students need this solid grounding to fulfil their potential to become responsible contributors to and healthy members of society. The international stakeholders of the OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 project highlight three foundations as particularly important:
Voice quality and segmental reduction differences between sarcastic and neutral utterances

The presented production experiment analyzes the phonetic differences between neutral (i.e. sincere) and sarcastically ironic utterances in German. Results show in line with previous studies that sarcastic irony is expressed by longer utter-ance durations, lower and flatter F0 contours, and a lower intensity level. Moreover, extending previous findings, sarcastic irony is also characterized by a more variable (in tendency breathier) voice quality and a higher degree of segmental reduction, probably reflecting the speakers’ dissociation from the wording of their utterances.
Learning and Parenting in Spanish Environments: Prosocial Behavior, Aggression, and Self-Concept

The psychology of sustainability and sustainable development is related to improvements in people’s quality of life in different environments, including the family. Based on this theoretical approach, this study explores the relationships between parenting styles (maternal and paternal support, control, and neglect) and prosocial behavior, aggression, and self-concept of children from Spain aged 4–7 years (M = 5.81; DS = 1.05). Participants were 635 boys and girls (53.7% boys; 46.3% girls) from Valencia and Castellón (Spain). Most parents had low educational levels and low-qualified, temporary jobs. Over 82% of participants were from Spain. The other participants were from Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. The results indicate that maternal support and control have the strongest relationships with children’s prosocial behavior, aggression, and self-concept, fundamentally as predictors of self-concept and aggression. According to children’s perceptions, maternal parenting plays a more prominent role than paternal parenting. Authoritarian and neglectful parenting at these ages seems to be perceived less negatively than at other ages, and the effects of such parenting may arise at a later age. Furthermore, prosocial behavior and self-concept curb aggression. These results can support the design of interventions in childhood.