Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Obese Foveal Avascular Zone Assessed by Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography of the Retina: Is There a Relation to Comorbities?

Purpose: To investigate the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) in obese by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) and to evaluate the findings of structural optical coherence tomography (OCT) and their relations with comorbidities. Methods: It was included 35 obese (study group) and 30 normal individuals (control group). Patients with retinal diseases and retinal treatments were excluded. The images were obtained using the Topcon ® . Results: The mean areas of FAZ in superficial plexus (FAZ-SP) and deep plexus (FAZ-DP) were significantly greater in the study group: FAZ-SP was 405.0 ± 136.4 µm 2 in the obese group and 307.3 ± 78.6 µm 2 in the control group and in the left eye (LE) 477.1 ± 124.4 µm 2 in the obese group and 384.0 ± 88.7 µm 2 in the control group. This difference was statistically significant (RE: p = 0.0014 and LE: p = 0.0012). The mean area of the FAZ-DP was 491.0 ± 124.4 µm 2 (Right eye—RE) in the obese group and 384.4 ± 88.7 µm 2 in the control group and in the left eye (LE) was 497.9 ± 124.1 µm 2 in the obese group and 484.9 ± 92.7 µm 2 in the control group. There were no correlations regarding FAZ-SP and FAZ-DP in both eyes with fasting blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol and fractions and triglycerides. A significant association between enlargement of FAZ-DP and type 2 diabetes mellitus (p = 0.0160) was observed. Conclusion: The FAZ areas in superficial and deep plexus achieved significantly greater values in the study group. There was a significant association between a larger deep FAZ area and type 2 diabetes mellitus. It is necessary an evaluation with a larger sample size to corroborate the findings.
Reconstructions and predictions of the global carbon cycle with an emission-driven Earth System Model

<p>The global carbon budget including CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes among different reservoirs and atmospheric carbon growth rate vary substantially in interannual to decadal time-scales. Reconstructing and predicting the variable global carbon cycle is of essential value of tracing the fate of carbon and the corresponding climate and ecosystem changes. For the first time, we extend our prediction system based on the Max Planck Institute Earth system model (MPI-ESM) from concentration-driven to emission-driven taking into account the interactive carbon cycle and hence enabling prognostic atmospheric carbon increment. &#160;</p><p>By assimilating atmospheric and oceanic observational data products into MPI-ESM decadal prediction system, we can reproduce the observed variations of the historical global carbon cycle globally. The reconstruction from the fully coupled model enables quantification of global carbon budget within a close Earth system and therefore avoids the budget imbalance term of budgeting the carbon with standalone models. Our reconstructions of carbon budget provide a novel approach for supporting global carbon budget and understanding the dominating processes. Retrospective predictions based on the &#160;emission-driven hindcasts, which are initiated from the reconstructions, show predictive skill in the atmospheric carbon growth rate, air-sea CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes, and air-land CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes. The air-sea CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes have higher predictive skill up to 5 years, and the air-land CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes and atmospheric carbon growth rate show predictive skill of 2 years. Our results also suggest predictions based on Earth system models enable reproducing and further predicting the evolution of atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentration changes. The earth system predictions will provide valuable inputs for understanding the global carbon cycle and supporting climate relevant policy development. &#160;</p>
Crime Rate in Zamboanga City: Before and During Quarantine Period

This study was conceptualized to compare the crime rate of Zamboanga City before and during the quarantine period. Thus, covering the month of March until October of 2016 to 2020. Secondary data analysis was utilized in the obtained data from Zamboanga City Police Office. The findings indicate that the volume of crime in the city gradually decreases from 2016 to 2020. Non-index crimes is more prevalent than index crimes in the city. In details, theft recorded as the highest index crime volume, followed by robbery and physical injury. In contrast, the volume of other non-index crime was higher than those in violation of special laws. When data were grouped according to gender, most of the crimes were committed by males. In terms of age group, culprits were ages from 30-39. Most of the crimes were committed in streets, residential places and commercial establishments. Barangays in urban areas in the city recorded with the highest crime incidents. This study may help the law enforcers to improve their security strategies. In addition, there should be crime information drive in the community using different platforms to boost awareness and create self-strategies and self-protections among citizens.
A rational model of people’s inferences about others’ preferences based on response times

There's a difference between someone instantaneously saying "Yes! " when you ask them on a date compared to "…yes. " Psychologists and economists have long studied how people can infer preferences from others' choices. However, these models have tended to focus on what people choose and not how long it takes them to make a choice. We present a rational model for inferring preferences from response times, using a drift diffusion model to characterize how preferences influence response time, and Bayesian inference to invert this relationship. We test our model's predictions for three experimental questions. Matching model predictions, participants inferred that a decision-maker preferred a chosen item more if the decision-maker spent less time deliberating (Experiment 1), participants predicted a decision-maker's choice in a novel comparison based on inferring the decision-maker's relative preferences from previous response times and choices (Experiment 2), and participants could incorporate information about a decision-maker's mental state of cautious or careless (Experiments 3, 4A, and 4B).
Visual Tea Leaf Disease Recognition Using a Convolutional Neural Network Model

The rapid, recent development of image recognition technologies has led to the widespread use of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in automated image classification and in the recognition of plant diseases. Aims: The aim of the present study was to develop a deep CNNs to identify tea plant disease types from leaf images. Materials: A CNNs model named LeafNet was developed with different sized feature extractor filters that automatically extract the features of tea plant diseases from images. DSIFT (dense scale-invariant feature transform) features are also extracted and used to construct a bag of visual words (BOVW) model that is then used to classify diseases via support vector machine(SVM) and multi-layer perceptron(MLP) classifiers. The performance of the three classifiers in disease recognition were then individually evaluated. Results: The LeafNet algorithm identified tea leaf diseases most accurately, with an average classification accuracy of 90.16%, while that of the SVM algorithm was 60.62% and that of the MLP algorithm was 70.77%. Conclusions: The LeafNet was clearly superior in the recognition of tea leaf diseases compared to the MLP and SVM algorithms. Consequently, the LeafNet can be used in future applications to improve the efficiency and accuracy of disease diagnoses in tea plants.
Effect of Oral Administration of Potassium Iodide on Clinical Status and Metabolic Profile in Sheep

| The present article discussed the relationships between thyroidal hormonal changes, rumen functions and metabolism, serum biochemicals assays, electrolytes and blood pictures in sheep in Egypt either before or after potassium iodide (KI) adding to their rations through long term study extended for successive 65 days. The study was conducted on fattening Osimi sheep (n=19) with ages ranging between 6-11 months. Animals were supplied with KI salts dissolved in distilled water in the morning with a dose of 0.15 mg/kg in addition to 0.093 mg iodine /kg DM/ day for successive 65 days. The examined sheep were undergoing thorough investigations included clinically, laboratory, rumen functions and body gain estimation according to the following schedule; zero, 15th, 30th and 65th days. The study reported significant changes in rumen metabolic functions through the remarkable improvement in each of the protozoal ciliate density and TVFAs, and reduced ruminal ammonia as well as maintaining normal pH. Most of blood picture indices showed clear improvement particularly red blood corpuscles and haemoglobin concentration. Thyroid functions were clearly affected with long-term 65 days KI supplementation as thyroid hormones were significantly reduced in their concentrations and reached their lowest values at day 65, however, they were still not lower than their reference values. Serum biochemicals showed no changes except for glucose that showed significant improvement. Long-term KI supplementation had a great impact on serum blood urea nitrogen and alkaline phosphatase through their significant serum concentrations reduction. A significant improvement in body weight gain was reported in treated sheep during the current study with a reported highest body weight gain at the 65th day. In Conclusion, long-term 65 days KI supplementation induced variable significant changes in sheep mainly rumen metabolic functions, blood picture indices, thyroid hormones functions and body weight gain.
Investigation of Green Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles Using Aqueous Leaf Extract of Artemisia Argyi for Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Potentials

The current study employs green synthesis to acquire silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Artemisia argyi and appraise their antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials. AgNPs were synthesized using aqueous leaf extract of Artemisia argyi by sunlight irradiation. They were characterized using UV-visible spectrophotometer, FESEM, FTIR and XRD. The antioxidant capacity of AgNPs were evaluated using ABTS, DPPH, iron chelation, FRAP and NO radical scavenging methods. Antimicrobial activities of AgNPs were tested against Esherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus using disc diffusion method. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to identify significant relationship between antioxidant activities of AgNPs. The synthesized AgNPs exhibited brown color light scattering and absorbed maximum wavelength of light at 450 nm. The synthesis of AgNPs was optimum at 0.01 M AgNO3. The green synthesized AgNPs were spherical in shape with size ranging from 16 nm to 32 nm. The FTIR analysis revealed the presence of proteins, phenolic and polar nitrile compounds in the AgNPs. The purified AgNPs possessed a face centered cubic structure with coexistence of silver chloride crystals. The total phenolic and flavonoid of AgNPs were found to be 77.45 mg GAE/g AgNPs and 205.29 mg GAE/g AgNPs respectively. The radical scavenging activity (EC50) showed highest activity for NO (31.33 μg/ml) followed by ABTS (128.82 μg/ml), DPPH (263.03 μg/ml) and Fe2+ (1445.44 μg/ml) with a FRAP value of 1.22 mmol Fe2+ /mg dry weight. AgNPs possessed inhibitory effect against both strains of bacteria in concentration dependent manner. This study discovered that green synthesized AgNPs using Artemisia argyi are promising sources of effective antioxidants and antimicrobial agents with a high surface area catalytic activity.
Recent Advances in Potentiometric Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy

Since the invention of Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy (STM) in 1981 by Binnig and Rohrer, surface analysis has seen tremendous growth. The fact that they received the Nobel Prize in 1986, only five years later, is an indication of the importance of their pioneering work. STM was but the first of a family of techniques, called Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM), with many more to come in the following years. Their basic element is a local experiment, which is repeated sequentially at the pre-defined points of a raster grid. Then, the gathered information is presented by plotting the measured parameter as a function of their coordinate. The most important advantage of them over the conventional optical microscopy is their incredible resolution. Even individual atoms can be ”seen”, because they are not limited by Abbes’ formula. Modifications of the original STM followed quickly. For instance, Atomic Force Microscopy was invented in 1982 by the same researchers. In 1989, not long after the introduction of the STM, electrochemists invented the Scanning Electrochemical Microscope (SECM), the electrochemical version of SPM. It is based on the same concept, except the scanning probe is a microelectrode. With this technique, highly resolved chemical information can be gathered about a wide range of surfaces. One of the biggest disadvantages of the SPM techniques in general is their low speed, due to the scanning process. The entire image is recorded with the same measuring tip, as opposed to optical techniques, where there is usually a sensor array. As a consequence of this, the more data points are in an image, the longer it will take to record it. This is especially a problem in the potentiometric operation mode of the SECM. The response time of the measuring cell is determined by the RC time constant, which in turn, depends mainly on the resistance of the measuring microelectrode. Due to the small size of the microelectrodes, their resistance can even reach the GΩ range, resulting in imaging times that can be measured in minutes. Other SPM techniques have received significant improvement during the last few decades, and their imaging speed can even reach video framerates. Low speed, however, is an often overlooked limitation of the SECM, and prevents the quick recording of highly resolved images. That is, one has to choose between high resolution and quick imaging. The image will either be quickly completed but distorted, or high quality but asynchronous, because the points of the image will not only have different spatial, but different temporal coordinates as well. My thesis is mostly devoted to the investigation of this problem, and three possible solutions to it.
Nanostructural characterization and sorption isotherm analysis of spray-dried date powder

ABSTRACT Dates are naturally rich in antioxidants and other bioactive molecules. To enhance the shelf life and market value of these bioactive molecules, free flow spray-dried date powder was produced in a pilot scale spray drier. To better understand the rheological properties of the spray-dried date powder produced by different carrier materials (maltodextrin (MD) and gum Arabic (GA)), different drying temperatures (150 and 170°C) and different flow rates of the atomizer (25 and 40 mL/min), a microstructural characterization of the scanning electron microscopy images of the date powder was performed using the graphical user interface design environment and image analysis toolbox in MATLAB. Also, the fundamental rheological characteristics of deformation and flow of particulate solids (i.e., packing, permeability, and strength) were obtained using an advanced rheometer and helium pycnometer. The microstructural and rheological properties of the date powders were significantly affected by the processing conditions used in this study. The date powder produced with MD had smooth, regular-shaped spherical particles along with good agglomeration and packing characteristics. Date powder with GA had irregular-shaped relatively smaller particles with dented surfaces with poor agglomeration and packing properties. Moreover, the rheological quality of the date powders was inversely proportional to the temperature and flow rate. The Guggenheim–Anderson–de Boer model for sorption isotherms was a suitable fit for the date powder. The monolayer moisture content for gum Arabic was twice that of the maltodextrin carrier material, whereas the monolayer heat of sorption was higher for maltodextrins. Using maltodextrin as the carrier material and drying at 150°C with a flow rate of 25 mL/min produced a free flowing less caking product as depicted by the sorption isotherms.
Correlation studies in clusterbean as influenced by varieties and foliar appplication

A field experiment was conducted during the rainy season 2014-15 to assess effect of foliar application of iron and to evaluate performance of clusterbean [Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub] varieties. The twenty treatment combinations consisting of five clusterbean varieties (RGC-986, RGC-1003, RGC-1033 RGC-1055 and RGC-1066) and foliar sprays treatment of 0.5% FeSO4 (control branching, flowering and branching + flowering) were tested in randomized block design with three replications. Results revealed that variety RGC-1033 proved significantly superior and economically profitable compared to rest of varieties in respect of dry matter accumulation, growth indices like CGR, RGR and LAI, pods/plant, seeds/pod and test weight. Similar, the seed yield (1816 kg/ha), stover yield (3787 kg/ha) and biologicalyield (5602 kg/ha) were also significantly higher with variety RGC-1033. Among the correlation studies the maximum correlation found between N uptake and seed yield.
Investigating the Role of Glycogen Accumulation in Neurodegeneration and Brain Aging

It has been shown that neurons under normal conditions do not store glycogen however accumulation of glycogen up to a certain level can be protective to neurons under stress. On the other hand, recent studies have demonstrated that aberrant accumulation of glycogen in neurons can lead to premature aging and neurodegeneration in both flies and mice. Moreover, inhibiting glycogen synthase, which prevents glycogen accumulation, increases the lifespan of flies and mice. Here, I show that 10 days of glycogen accumulation, by overexpression of a constitutively active glycogen synthase in neurons, was beneficial for flies under oxidative stress and no difference in sensitivity was observed at 20 days. Further studies are still needed for a more indepth understanding of the contribution of glycogen accumulation to neurodegeneration and determining whether there is a threshold level of glycogen, which leads to pathogenic effects.
Evaluation of Phytotoxic and Clastogenic Potential of Phenolic Pollutant Bisphenol A and its Bioremediated Product in Triticum aestivum, Cicer arietinum and Allium cepa

Bisphenol A (4,4 propane-2,2-diyl) diphenol commonly known as BPA is a phenolic plasticizer used as a hardening agent in the making of polycarbonate and resin. These materials are widely used in production of plastic bottles including baby bottles, food cans, electronics items, and digital media equipment (Mikolajewska et al., 2015). The global BPA consumption was estimated 7.7 million metric tons in 2015, and its expected compound growth rate is 4.8%, that means its consumption can reach up to 10.6 million tons International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 10 Number 02 (2021) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
Chemical Constituents, Antibacterial and Coagulation Activity of the Essential Oil from the Stem of Artemisia argyle H. Lév.

Corresponding Author: Hongli Zhou School of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Jilin Institute of Chemical Technology, Jilin 132022, PR China E-mail: zhouhongli@jlict.edu. cn Abstract: Artemisia argyle H. Lév. (A. argyle) is a plant of historical importance known as the "mother of herbs" in the Middle Ages. As the leaves of A. argyle have been studied more, but the stems has not been reported. This paper explores the chemical constituents, antibacterial and coagulation activities of the Essential Oil from the Stems of A. argyle (EOSAA) for better exploitation and utilization of resources. EOSAA was extracted by hydrodistillation and its chemical constituents were determined by GC-MS. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus pumilus were used as test microbial strains to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of EOSAA. Three indicators of Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT), Prothrombin Time (PT) and Thrombin Time (TT) were used to evaluate the coagulation activity. The extraction rate was 0.20% and 36 compounds were identified, accounting for 93.75% of the total content. Among the identified compounds, 41.72% belong to oxiterpenes, 21.31% belong to sesquiterpenes and terpenoids are extremely abundant. The main constituents were as follows: 3Biphenylmethanol (16.01%), 2,6-Dimethyl-8-(tetrahydropyran-2yloxy)-octa-2,6-dien-1-ol (9.22%), Germacrene D (7.22%), α-Bisabolol (5.85%), L(-)-Borneol (5.75%), Eucalyptol (5.71%) and so on. EOSAA exhibited certain inhibitory effects against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus pumilus, the minimum inhibitory concentrations were 40, 42 and 48 mg/mL, respectively. Compared with Yunnan Baiyao, APTT, PT and TT time of high concentration (60 mg/mL) EOSAA were shortened by 28.83, 42.86 and 68.99%, respectively. The experimental results show that EOSAA is a natural coagulant with antibacterial effect and has a broad application prospect.
Tax Compliance among Ghanaian SMEs: How impactful is Taxpayer Education?

Taxes are major sources of government revenue required to finance state machinery. However, the Ghanaian economy, recognised as an emerging market, is predominantly characterised by the informal sector and largely dominated by small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), is not properly regulated resulting in poor and delayed tax compliance culture. This phenomenon adversely affects the needed revenue for developmental projects. Consequently, a need arose to educate taxpayers about their civic obligations of paying taxes. This paper, thus, aimed at testing the effect of tax education on tax compliance among SMEs within the Techiman Municipality of Ghana. This paper used an online survey to collect valid responses from 297 respondents using purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Partial Least Square – Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) approach was adopted in assessing the measurement and structural models. This study reports that electronic media taxpayer education positively (β = 0.523, t-value = 4.466, P-value = 0.000) affects tax compliance; print media taxpayer education significantly (β = 0.230, t-value = 2.232, P-value = 0.026) influence tax compliance; and stakeholder sensitisation programmes significantly (β = 0.236, t-value = 1.991, P-value = 0.047) impact on tax compliance. The researchers thus recommend that tax authorities within the Techiman Municipality should intensify taxpayer education amongst SMEs as they tend improving tax compliance to shore up government revenue. This study will provide government feedback concerning policies that should be carried out and the requisite education or training that needs to be embarked on to enhance voluntary tax compliance among SMEs in Ghana.