Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MULTI-RESPONSE OPTIMIZATION OF TRANSESTERIFICATION PARAMETERS OF COTTON SEED OIL USING GREY RELATIONAL ANALYSIS IN TAGUCHI METHOD FOR QUENCHING APPLICATION

The present investigation involves Taguchi Grey relational analysis-based optimization of transesterification process parameters such as methanol to oil molar ration, catalyst loading and temperature and their effect on both per cent fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield and heat transfer coefficient (HTC) of transesterified cotton seed oil (TC). A Taguchi L9 orthogonal array was designed and nine experimental runs were conducted based on the designed experiments. The FAME (ester) yield and HTC were recorded for each experiment. Based on the average responses computed from Taguchi grey relational analysis, methanol to oil molar ration of 9:1 (32.6 wt% of methanol), catalyst loading of 0.5 wt% and temperature of 60 oC were identified to be the optimal parameters. Confirmation test conducted using the optimal parameters setting demonstrated an improvement of 0.3% in grey relational grade. Methyl ester group was detected in TC on 1438.8 cm-1 by FTIR spectra. Cooling curve analysis of the TC from the confirmation experiment indicated outstanding quenching performance compared to raw cotton seed oil (FC) and SAE40.
Diatom bloom‐derived bottom water hypoxia off the Changjiang estuary, with and without typhoon influence

During the summers of 2009 and 2013, seawater pH and concentrations of dissolved oxygen, inorganic carbon, and nutrients were measured off the Changjiang estuary in the East China Sea. The 2009 cruise captured the effects of Typhoon Morakot; the 2013 cruise sampled more typical conditions (no typhoon). Data from both years indicate a close correlation between high primary productivity in surface waters and hypoxia in bottom waters. Based on these observations, we developed a conceptual model to guide an exploration of processes contributing to the formation of summertime bottom hypoxia. A mixing‐model analysis of the 2009 data identified a surface diatom bloom as the major (70–80%) source of the organic carbon that decomposed and ultimately led to bottom water hypoxia. Within the Changjiang River plume, depth‐integrated net biological production in the water column was 1.8 g C m−2 d−1, indicating strong autotrophic production, which in turn led to a high respiration rate of 1.2 g C m−2 d−1 in the bottom water. During both cruises, strong surface‐to‐bottom physical and metabolic coupling was evident. In 2009, storm‐driven inputs of nutrients from elevated river discharge and strong vertical mixing helped to fuel the rapid development of a surface diatom bloom. Afterwards, stratified conditions re‐established, newly formed labile organic matter sank, and bottom water oxygen was quickly consumed to an extent that hypoxia and acidification developed. To our knowledge, the observed rate of hypoxia and acidification development (within 6 d) is the fastest yet reported for the Changjiang River plume.
EST-SSR based analysis revealed narrow genetic base of in-use cotton varieties of Pakistan

Genetic improvement of cotton relies on extent of variation in germplasm. The in-use cultivars of Pakistan have been selected to assess genetic dissimilarities. A total of 44 cotton varieties/cultivars were selected for molecular analysis. These varieties were screened by 100 EST-SSR primers, selected on the basis of wider genome coverage. Analysis showed that the range of bands per primer varied from one to six. The average number of bands was 2.23 per primer. The range of PIC value varied from 0.28 to 0.94. The maximum PIC value of 0.95 was recorded for NAU-2503, considered as highly informative marker. A large number of markers, 73.07%, showed PIC value higher than 0.60 and considered highly informative. The results of dendogram showed that the in-use cotton varieties of Pakistan had very narrow genetic base. High similarity index existed among BT varieties as well. We observed very low genetic diversity in the selected varieties which are commonly grown in the country. There is need to include wide range of variation for genetic improvement in cotton. There is need to Introduce exotic varieties, Inter-specific hybridization, mutation breeding etc. may be used to avoid genetic bottle neck.
Long-term follow up of varus osteotomy of the femur in patients with Perthes` disease in Erbil City

1 Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Iraq. * Correspondence: Zainababdulwahab@yahoo.com Introduction Legg-Calve-Perthes syndrome is a disorder of the hip in young children. It was described independently in 1910 by Legg, Calve, Perthes, and Waldenstrom. Over one hundred years have passed since the first three reports on Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease (LCPD) were published. It is a disease mostly affecting children between 4 to 12 years old, but the disease's etiology has not been established, and there is no consensus on the optimal treatment. Males are affected 4-5 times more often than females, and about 5% of all the diagnosed cases develop the disease bilaterally. LCPD is idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head that may lead to femoral head deformity and osteoarthritis. There is no reliable way to predict the prognosis due to the great variation in the disease behavior in different hips. Perthes’ disease is Background and objective: Perthes disease is a condition in which a self-limiting avascular problem affects the capital epiphysis of the femur with a variable course and outcomes. There are patients who definitely benefit from different treatment courses, either surgical or non-surgical, but better with surgical. This study aimed is to determine the outcome of varus derotational osteotomy procedure in the management of Perthes disease. Methods: In this retrospective study, which was conducted in the orthopedic department of Erbil teaching hospital, 21 patients (22 hips) with Perthes` disease were enrolled over the period of 10years, from 2008 to 2018. Varus derotational osteotomy to proximal femur was done for all 22 hips affected by Perthes disease in different radiological stages. Results: Among the patients, 81.0% were males and right side of the hip was the most predominant (52.4%) affected side. Partial limitation of hip movements with +ve Trendelenburg sign were the main clinical findings (52.4%), especially among those aged ≤8 years, males and left side affected patients (54.5%, 72.7%, and 63.6%, respectively). Subluxation and metaphyseal resorption were the main radiological findings of the head of the femur (36.4% and 31.8%, respectively). Radiological stages of the patients mainly showed early fragmentation, late fragmentation, and early healing stages (27.3%, 27.3%, and 22.7%, respectively). Postoperatively, 59.0% of the patients had a good prognosis (Stulberg grades 1 and 2), while 31.9% had a fair prognosis. Those aged ≤8 years had a better prognosis with a significant statistical association between Stulberg classification and those with lateral pillar B & B/C and early three radiological stages (P = 0.01 and 0.005). Conclusion: Open wedge varus femoral osteotomy is the treatment of choice and gives good results. The strongest predictor of outcomes is Stulberg classification in relation to age, lateral pillar classification, and preoperative radiological stages of the disease.
The complete mitochondrial genome of Neoris haraldi Schawerda (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

Abstract As an important insect pest on desert vegetation, Neoris haraldi has already brought great damage on Populus euphratica that was a key plant in the desert areas. Here, the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of N. haraldi has been sequenced with 15,383 bp in length. The mitogenome has a base composition of A (39.4%), T (40.3%), C (12.4%), and G (7.9%), and consists of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and an A + T-rich region. The phylogenetic relationships among the saturniid species were (Neoris haraldi+ ((Attacus atlas+ (Samia cynthia + (Samia canningi + Samia ricini))) + ((Eriogyna pyretorum + Saturnia boisduvalii) + ((Actias artemis + Actias selene) + (Antheraea assama+ (Antheraea frithi + (Antheraea pernyi Antheraea yamamai))))))), which was supported by a high bootstrap value of 100% and a posterior probability of 1.00.
Niche conservatism determines the occurrence of allopatric populations of Hyla meridionalis in different biogeographical scenarios

Niche conservatism controls the distribution of many amphibians during both speciation and invasion processes. In a few species it is possible to investigate the ecological divergence between isolated populations. Hyla meridionalis is an anuran with a distribution pattern of one group of alien populations in southwestern Europe and two allopatric groups of populations in northern Africa that have been diverging for an estimated period of between 2 and 12 million years. In this study we tested the hypothesis that niche conservatism determines the occurrence of a species on two distinct niche scales and in separate geographical regions. Our results indicate that H. meridionalis in some places occupies aquatic habitats that are suboptimal for other anuran species. This fact may have favoured its persistence in this niche and establishment in regions where no equivalent species occur. The two lineages of H. meridionalis overlap extensively in the climate space, even though the western lineage has spread into more marginal niches. Overall, our results support the hypotheses that niche conservatism controls the dispersal and distribution of populations and that a species’ niche can be stable on an evolutionary time scale
geoorigins: A new method and r package for trait mapping and geographic provenancing of specimens without categorical constraints

Biologists often seek to geographically provenance organisms using their traits. This is typically achieved by defining spatial groups using distinct patterns of trait variation. Here, we present a new spatial provenancing and trait boundary identification methodology, based on correlations between geographic and trait distances that require no a priori group assumptions. We apply this to three datasets where spatial provenance is sought: morphological rat and vole dentition data (human commensal translocation datasets); and birdsong data (cultural transmission dataset). We also present the results of cross‐validation testing. Spatial provenancing is possible with differing degrees of accuracy for each dataset, with birdsong providing the most accurate geographic origin (identifying an average spatial region of 0.22 km2 as the area of origin with 99.9% confidence). Our method has a wide range of potential applications to diverse data types—including phenotypic, genetic and cultural—to identify trait boundaries and spatially provenance the origin of unknown or translocated specimens where trait differences are geographically structured and correlated with spatial separation.
Supporting Policy Design for the Diffusion of Cleaner Technologies: A Spatial Empirical Agent-Based Model

Renewable energy resources and energy-efficient technologies, as well as building retrofitting, are only some of the possible strategies that can achieve more sustainable cities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Subsidies and incentives are often provided by governments to increase the number of people adopting these sustainable energy efficiency actions. However, actual sales of green products are currently not as high as would be desired. The present paper applies a hybrid agent-based model (ABM) integrated with a Geographic Information System (GIS) to simulate a complex socio-economic-architectural adaptive system to study the temporal diffusion and the willingness of inhabitants to adopt photovoltaic (PV) systems. The San Salvario neighborhood in Turin (Italy) is used as an exemplary case study for testing consumer behavior associated with this technology, integrating social network theories, opinion formation dynamics and an adaptation of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Data/characteristics for both buildings and people are explicitly spatialized with the level of detail at the block scale. Particular attention is given to the comparison of the policy mix for supporting decision-makers and policymakers in the definition of the most efficient strategies for achieving a long-term vision of sustainable development. Both variables and outcomes accuracy of the model are validated with historical real-world data.
Limited protection of the parasitoid Pachycrepoideus vindemiae from Drosophila suzukii host‐directed spinosad suppression

Laboratory trials were conducted to determine whether the spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), puparium can provide an effective physical barrier to protect immature stages of the pupal parasitoid Pachycrepoideus vindemiae (Rondani) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) from spinosad treatments. Spinosad insecticides are currently an important suppression strategy for D. suzukii in organically managed fruit orchards although they are well known to cause mortality in hymenopteran parasitoids. High adult P. vindemiae female mortality (83%) occurred within 24 h of exposure to D. suzukii pupae treated with 10 mg a.i. l−1 spinosad and female parasitoids did not avoid the pupae treated with similar low levels of spinosad in choice tests that included untreated pupae. Pachycrepoideus vindemiae develops as an idiobiont ectoparasitoid on host fly pupa within the sclerotized host puparium. Significant P. vindemiae survival and emergence was recorded when parasitized D. suzukii puparia were exposed to field treatment levels of spinosad; however, the parasitoid survival was dependent on the time of the spinosad treatment of the host post‐parasitization. Significant parasitoid survival occurred when the host puparia were treated at 2 weeks when the parasitoid was in the pupal stage but did not occur when the host puparia were treated at 1 week post‐parasitization, when the parasitoids were still in a larval stage. The parasitoid adults consumed or otherwise came in contact with residual degrading spinosad when they exited the treated host, and consequently high and low adult parasitoid mortality occurred when the adults emerged from puparia treated at 2 and 1 week(s), respectively. Our study indicates that generally the integration of P. vindemiae parasitism into a sustainable D. suzukii management program is not compatible with spinosad treatments, although P. vindemiae in the pupal stage inside sclerotized host puparia appear to be minimally impacted by spinosad treatments, provided that the spinosad degrades before parasitoid emergence.
Activity patterns of frugivorous phyllostomid bats in an urban fragment in southwest Amazonia, Brazil

The habitat fragmentation modifies the pattern of animal activity. This study aimed to determine the activity pattern of frugivorous bat species in an urban forest fragment in southwestern Amazonia. The study was conducted from August 2013 to September 2014 with 10 mist nets (9m x 2.5m), opened at ground level throughout all the night and totaling 64,800 m2.hour/net. Two hundred and sixty-one captures of bats from 28 species were recorded. The period with the highest capture rate and species of bats was the first period of the night (until 00:00). The species with the highest incidence of catches were, in ascending order, Carollia brevicauda (Schinz, 1821), Carollia perpicillata (Linnaeus, 1758), Artibeus planirostris (Spix, 1823), and Artibeus lituratus (Olfers, 1818). The species of Carollia had activity peaks between the first four hours after sunset; they also showed a reduction of its activities during the subsequent hours. The bats of the genus Artibeus presented a pattern of bimodal activity and they do not seem to respond to the effects of fragmentation, since the pattern of bimodal activity was described for studies in fragments and continuous forest. Thus, we suggest that Artibeus has a high adaptive plasticity, and it is able to exploit the resources offered by the environment. Meanwhile, Carollia has two peaks of activity in continuous forest areas, probably this pattern of activity may be related to the spatial distribution of the resources used by these animals.
Development of a Tissue-Engineered Oral Mucosa Model to Investigate the Role of Tumour-Associated Macrophages in Oral Cancer Progression

Tumour-associated macrophages (TAM) represent a prominent component of the leukocytic infiltrate of human tumours and their accumulation in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has been shown to be a predictor of poor prognosis. Evidence suggests that the tumour microenvironment drives TAM into a pro-tumour phenotype which exacerbates tumour growth. Three-dimensional (3D) models are gaining in popularity as they can replicate complex in vivo environments without the regulatory or financial barriers presented by in vivo experiments, whilst improving clinical relevance. The research described in this thesis addresses a lack of oral mucosa models containing human macrophages or tools with which to analyse cells cultured within 3D models by developing (i) a 3D model of the oral mucosa containing primary human macrophages, and (ii) an optimised multi-colour flow cytometry panel to quantitatively measure the expression of CD14, CD36, CD45, CD80, CD86, CD163 and CD206 on macrophages cultured within the tissue-engineered oral mucosa. An oral mucosa model containing FNB6 epithelial cells and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) was developed and characterised using immunohistochemistry; E-cadherin, AE1/3 and Ki67 were visualised in the epithelium and CD68 staining was visualised in the connective tissue. The expression of vimentin and collagen IV was also analysed. In addition, flow cytometry confirmed the viability of MDM cultured within this model, and ELISA detected a significant increase in IL-6 release following LPS challenge. The use of 8-colour flow cytometry and rheometry provided preliminary results to demonstrate that models containing the OSCC cell line, H357, contained an increased number of CD163+ MDM and a stiffer extracellular matrix compared to those models cultured with normal oral keratinocytes or immortalised keratinocyte cell line, FNB6. These results demonstrate that the macrophage-containing oral mucosa model and molecular tools presented in this thesis will be useful in improving understanding of the role macrophages play in oral cancer progression.
Assessment of Machine Learning Techniques for Building an Efficient IDS

Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) are the systems that detect and block any potential threats (e.g. DDoS attacks) in the network. In this project, we explore the performance of several machine learning techniques when used as parts of an IDS. We experiment with the CICIDS2017 dataset, one of the biggest and most complete IDS datasets in terms of having a realistic background traffic and incorporating a variety of cyber attacks. The techniques we present are applicable to any IDS dataset and can be used as a basis for deploying a real time IDS in complex environments.
Genetic diversity for yield and its component traits in pearlmillet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.]

Pearlmillet is an important cereal crop of the semi arid-tropical region. As a result the crop productivity is challenged in most cultivable regions. In order to enhance the productivity in dry regions, breeders need access to diverse material in their breeding programmes. In the present study, an attempt was made to assess the genetic divergence among the 243 germplasm lines using Mahalanobis D² statistic. Based on the genetic distance (D2 value), the 243 genotypes were grouped into 16 different clusters indicating diverse nature of material studied. Cluster I was the largest with 129 genotypes followed by cluster III (49 genotypes) and cluster V (24 genotypes) while clusters II and VI, VII, VIII and X to XVI were solitary indicating the grouping of exotic collections in definite groups. Among the various characters, seed yield (27.45%), panicle girth (18.16 %), leaf length (12.20 %) contributed maximum towards the divergence. Cluster IX (9 genotypes) showed the maximum mean value for seed yield. The intra and inter cluster divergence among the genotypes were varying in magnitude. The intra-cluster distance was maximum in cluster IX followed by clusters IV and V. The widest inter cluster distance was noted between cluster V and XVI giving scope for hybridization programme for improvement of Pearl millet genotypes. The distance between clusters II and V was minimal indicating close relationship between those clusters.
Effects of substrate availability and competing vegetation on natural regeneration of white spruce on logged boreal mixedwood sites

Given a seed source, the quality of available substrates is a key factor in determining the success of white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) natural regeneration. We examined the influence of substrate and competing vegetation on survival and growth of natural regeneration of white spruce up to four years following harvesting in deciduous-dominated upland boreal mixedwood sites. Feather moss, thick soil surface organic layers, litter, and solid wood were poor substrates for establishment. Early successional mosses establishing on mineral soil, thin organics, and rotten wood were generally favourable microsites but were not highly available on post-harvest sites. Mineral soil substrates were not as suitable as expected, likely because on a post-logged site they are associated with unfavourable environmental characteristics (e.g., low nutrient availability, exposure). There was some evidence that survival and growth of seedlings were improved by surrounding vegetation in the first years but heavy compet.
Description of the final stadium larva of Erythrodiplax media (Odonata: Libellulidae) with preliminary key to known South American larvae in the genus

The larva of Erythrodiplax media is described and illustrated based on two exuviae of reared larvae and one final stadium larva collected in Xangri-lá, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The larva of E. media can be distinguished from other species of Erythrodiplax by the presence of lateral spines on S8 and S9, the number of premental setae (n = 22), palpal setae (n = 7) and by the mandibular formula. We also provide a preliminary key to known South American larvae in the genus.