Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative Leaf Anatomy and Micromorphology of Thunbergia erecta (Benth.) T. Anderson and Thunbergia laurifolia Lindl. in Peninsular Malaysia

Comparative leaf anatomy and micromorphology study was carried out on two selected species from the genus Thunbergia Retz. of Acanthaceae subfamily Thunbergioideae. These two investigated species were T. erecta and T. laurifolia from Peninsular Malaysia. The leaf anatomical study involve several methods such as cross-section using sliding microtome on the petioles, midribs, lamina and marginal, leaf epidermal peeling, leaf clearing and observation under a light microscope. The leaf micromorphology method involve the observation under a scanning electron microscope (SEM). This study aimed to investigate the taxonomic value of leaf anatomy and micromorphology characteristics of genus Thunbergia. The results have shown that there were five common characteristics present in both species studied and several variable characters that might be useful for species differentiation of T. erecta and T. laurifolia. The five common characteristics recorded were the presence of raphide, sinuous anticlinal walls, diacytic stomata, majority opened and minority closed venation in lamina and the presence of peltate glandular (unicellular terminal) trichome. The variable characteristics included were petiole, and marginal outlines, types of vascular bundles, the presence of druse, marginal venation, stomata occurrence, types of wax, cuticular sculpturing and types of trichomes. In conclusion, findings in this study showed that leaf anatomical and micromorphological characteristics possessed taxonomic value that can be used in the species identification for the genus Thunbergia specifically for T. erecta and T. laurifolia.
Accessibility of Bulgarian Regional Museums Websites

—Web accessibility is an inclusive practise that ensures everyone including people with disabilities can successfully work and interact with websites and use all their functionality. The research in the paper investigates the problem of web accessibility of Regional museums in Bulgaria and the compliance of their websites with the recommendations of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1), published by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The study presents the results of the user experience of people with disabilities regarding the accessibility of museums and exhibits in them. A methodology for automated testing of web accessibility with several software tools is described in the paper. Results from these tests are analysed and visualized with graphical tools. Some important conclusions about most common accessibility problems are given.
Probiotics: The Next Dietary Strategy against Brain Aging

Owing to their long history of safe use, probiotic microorganisms, typically from the genus Lactobacillus, have long been recognized, especially in traditional and fermented food industries. Although conventionally used for dairy, meat, and vegetable fermentation, the use of probiotics in health foods, supplements, and nutraceuticals has gradually increased. Over the past two decades, the importance of probiotics in improving gut health and immunity as well as alleviating metabolic diseases has been recognized. The new concept of a gut-heart-brain axis has led to the development of various innovations and strategies related to the introduction of probiotics in food and diet. Probiotics influence gut microbiota profiles, inflammation, and disorders and directly impact brain neurotransmitter pathways. As brain health often declines with age, the concept of probiotics being beneficial for the aging brain has also gained much momentum and emphasis in both research and product development. In this review, the concept of the aging brain, different in vivo aging models, and various aging-related benefits of probiotics are discussed.
Preservation of Lycopersicum esculentum (Tomatoes) with Extracts of Annona muricata (Soursop) and Hibiscus sabdariffa (Roselle Plant)

Tomatoes are very important vegetable crops in the world but with a perishable nature. Due to its highly perishable nature, various methods have been investigated to increase its shelf life while still preserving its qualities. Therefore, this study investigated the potentials of the parts of Annona muricata and the calyces of Hibiscus sabdariffa in the preservation of tomato fruits. Tomato fruits were washed and treated with powdered, aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the leaves, seeds, bark of the Annona muricata and calyces of Hibiscus sabdariffa at different concentrations of 3%, 5%, 6%, 9% and 12% w/v. The tomato fruits were placed in well-aerated baskets for a period of 35 days during which organoleptic and microbial analysis were carried out. The different treatments with Annona muricata and Hibiscus sabdariffa had significant effects on the preservation of the tomato fruits at p < 0.05. The leaves of Annona muricata proved most effective preserving up to 50% of the tomatoes after the monitoring period. Moreover, 6% (w/v) of the aqueous extract of the leaves of Annona muricata resulted in a preservation rate of 75% of the tomato fruits. The spoilage microorganisms isolated from the tomato fruits are Candida krusei, Candida sp. , Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus sp. The results of this research carried out shows that the extracts of Annona muricata and Hibiscus sabdariffa had significant preservative activities on the tomato fruits (p < 0.05), thus minimising wastes and economic loss to the farmers and country in general.
Enantiomeric Distribution of Terpenoids in Juniperus Essential Oils: Composition of Juniperus horizontalis and Juniperus scopulorum Leaf Essential Oils From Southwestern Idaho

The essential oils from the leaves and twigs of Juniperus horizontalis and Juniperus scopulorum, growing in southwestern Idaho, were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (GC(FID)). The major components in the essential oil of J horizontalis were α-pinene, 16.9%, predominantly ( + )-α-pinene; sabinene, 37.1%, exclusively ( + )-sabinene; myrcene, 5.0%; and terpinene-4-ol, predominantly ( + )-terpinen-4-ol. The essential oil of J scopulorum was rich in sabinene, 29.8%, exclusively ( + )-sabinene; terpinene-4-ol, 13.2%, nearly racemic; α-elemol, 9.7%; and 8α-acetoxyelemol, 6.4%. In addition, 12 commercial Juniperus communis fruit essential oils were analyzed by chiral GC-MS. α-Pinene showed considerable variation in enantiomeric distribution, depending on geographical location. The dominant enantiomer of sabinene in J communis essential oils was ( + )-sabinene.
Performance of Convolutional Neural Networks for Polyp Localization on Public Colonoscopy Image Datasets

Colorectal cancer is one of the most frequent malignancies. Colonoscopy is the de facto standard for precancerous lesion detection in the colon, i.e., polyps, during screening studies or after facultative recommendation. In recent years, artificial intelligence, and especially deep learning techniques such as convolutional neural networks, have been applied to polyp detection and localization in order to develop real-time CADe systems. However, the performance of machine learning models is very sensitive to changes in the nature of the testing instances, especially when trying to reproduce results for totally different datasets to those used for model development, i.e., inter-dataset testing. Here, we report the results of testing of our previously published polyp detection model using ten public colonoscopy image datasets and analyze them in the context of the results of other 20 state-of-the-art publications using the same datasets. The F1-score of our recently published model was 0.88 when evaluated on a private test partition, i.e., intra-dataset testing, but it decayed, on average, by 13.65% when tested on ten public datasets. In the published research, the average intra-dataset F1-score is 0.91, and we observed that it also decays in the inter-dataset setting to an average F1-score of 0.83.
The ‘blemish of the past': (un)usual paths of gentrification in a Mediterranean city throughout history

Contemporary gentrification challenges long-entrenched conceptualizations. In particular, in ‘peripheral’ urban contexts of the Global North, the phenomenon is often interwoven with variegated processes stemming from the specific evolution of their historical centers. This paper scrutinizes the transformations of a marginal central district in a Southern Europe ‘peripheral’ city, Catania, named San Berillo. A series of postwar demolitions and reconstructions, followed by the local community’s forced displacement, fueled socio-economic decline and growing rates of territorial stigmatization. Since the early 2000s, some transformations partially modified narratives about the district. By retracing the evolution of San Berillo I deconstructed the role of the ‘blemish of the past’ in (re)shaping old and current imaginaries upon which the district’s identity is built. The aim is to understand, from an historical perspective, to what extent the Haussmann-like postwar demolition and eviction programme can be judged through the lens of gentrification and urban stigmatization, and if contemporary transformations have been shaping a context at risk of being gentrified (or re-gentrified). In so doing, the paper provides novel theoretical insights about gentrification in Southern Europe by mobilizing the concept of intersection to explain the phantom-like gentrification emerging as a (in)visible repertoire of past memories that loom over the district at different levels: as an operational framework for community-led and/or tourism-based initiatives, as a heterotopic discursive practice, as a buzzword for anti-gentrification counter-narratives.
Influence of individualism and collectivism on talent management practices

As the world becomes more globalized, it is increasingly necessary to be aware of the limitations of a universalistic approach to talent management. Talent management practices are considered to be among the three most important topics explored in talent management literature. However, there is a dearth of studies investigating the influence of national culture on talent management practices. The current article seeks to make a conceptual contribution to talent management practice literature through reviewing previous talent management practices, individualist, and collectivist literature then synthesizes the literature to provide a framework for examining the different talent management practices in individualistic and collectivistic societies. Talent management practices originated in Anglo-Saxon countries and align with their individualistic culture, which leads to the question of whether these practices can be implemented effectively in collectivistic societies. This study attempts to answer this question by exploring talent management practices in individualist and collectivist cultures and providing a framework for effective talent management practices in both. This research opens the door for more research to explore the gaps between what happens in talent management practices and what should happen according to talent management practices theory.
Compliance with WHO Recommended Preventive Measures against COVID-19 among a Nigerian Population Attending a Teaching Hospital

Background: The fright and devastation that accompanied COVID-19 pandemic these past two years cannot be totally quantified. More so, the cycle of fear, panic, uncertainty and attempts at curtailment repeats itself every time the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mutates and produces a new variant. The World Health Organization recommended personal protective measures are very important in slowing down the spread of infection. This study assessed the compliance of a Nigerian population with protective measures recommended by WHO in curbing the spread of COVID-19 infection. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey among patients attending medical outpatient in a Teaching Hospital. Interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data on participants demographics and compliance with WHO recommended preventive measures towards prevention of COVID-19 infection. Data analysis was carried out with Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25(IBM Corp., Armonk, USA). The results were presented as frequency tables and cross-tabulations. Chi-square test was carried out with consideration for statistical significance at P<0.05. Results: One hundred and ninety-six consecutive participants who gave consent were recruited for the study. There was a male predominance. Participants’ age ranged between 18 and 84 years with mean age of 34.92±14.10 years. Median age was 30 years. Half of participants had university education and about one tenth are professionals. About two-fifth earned less than 100 dollars monthly. Though about three-fifth of participants have heard of WHO recommended hand washing techniques for COVID-19 prevention, only two-fifth practice it. One third of participants regularly use face mask in the public and 85.2% do not practice physical distancing. Less than 10 % do not use soap and water or sanitizer to clean their hands. The participants’ attitudinal change to handwashing as a preventive measure for COVID-19 prevention was good. Participants’ most practiced personal preventive measures against COVID-19 were regular washing of hands and boosting immunity with vitamins. The association between participants’ demographics and WHO recommendation for hand washing in the prevention of COVID-19 showed a significant based on sex (p= 0.04). Females paid attention to washing of hands than males. The association between participants’ demographics and use of face masks in the prevention of COVID-19 showed that education was significant in determining use (P=0.04) Conclusion: Awareness of personal preventive measures to COVID-19 washing of hands was increased among participants but there is the need to emphasize the wearing of face masks and physical distancing.
When study capacities are limited and deadline is fixed—How practice type and practice timing influence recall of practiced and unpracticed material.

Addressing a common problem for students – limited study capacities and a fixed deadline – this study investigated how and when selective practice should be implemented to maximize recall of practiced and unpracticed items. In each of three experiments, participants studied a list of items and recalled the material 48 hours later. Immediately after study, 24 hours after study, or shortly before test, participants practiced some of the items through restudy (Experi-ment 1), retrieval practice without feedback (Experiment 2), or retrieval practice plus feedback (Experiment 3). Results showed that, on average, recall was best after retrieval practice plus feedback and worst after retrieval practice without feedback, and it improved from early to late practice. Consistently, recall was highest after late retrieval practice plus feedback. Results also point to pronounced differences between practice types regarding the effects of practice timing and the relative contributions of practiced and unpracticed material to test performance.
A Novel Method for IPTV Customer Behavior Analysis Using Time Series

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) has had a significant impact on live TV content consumption in the past decade, as improvements in the broadband speed have allowed more data volume to be delivered. In addition to existing infrastructure, which is mostly based on the set top boxes, new content providers have emerged, utilizing newly developed proprietary streaming platforms. As the number of IPTV users grew, more volume and variety of data became available for analysis. By analyzing stored user actions, it is possible to create a multivariate time series that represents user behavior over time. The approach presented in the paper is based on multivariate time series generation from user data and determining the similarity between them. Time series are created for each user based on the proposed quantified action sets, grouped in the feature groups and summarized over time. The action sets and feature groups can be adjusted to a certain IPTV platform. The end result of the analysis is the similarity score matrix, generated by calculating the similarities of all users’ time series, where the similarity measure calculation can be chosen arbitrarily.
Influence of ventral fixation techniques on atlantoaxial joint fusion in canine models with dens partial resection

We evaluated the completeness of bony fusion of the atlantoaxial joint (AAJ) through polymethylmethacrylate fixation (PMF) and atlantoaxial plate fixation (APF) using six canine models with dens partial resection. In both groups, the hydroxyapatite content at the AAJ was measured up to 7 months postoperatively using quantitative computed tomography. Histological assessment revealed fibrous fusion in the PMF group. Meanwhile, in the APF group, only one dog achieved fibrous fusion, whereas the remaining three showed bony fusion. To our knowledge, this study was the first to evaluate AAJ fusion histologically after PMF and APF. The present study demonstrates that PMF and APF may stabilize the AAJ without clinical complications. Therefore, PMF and APF are clinically useful fixation methods for atlantoaxial instability.
A Cubic B-Splines Approximation Method Combined with DWT and IBP for Single Image Super-resolution

—The process of converting low-resolution images into high-resolution images by removing noise and estimating high-frequency information is known as image super-resolution. Aliased and decimated versions of the actual scenes are considered low-resolution images. The edges of high-resolution images produced by super-resolution from a single image are typically blurred. This paper proposes an approach to generate high-resolution image with sharp edges by combining a cubic B-Splines approximation, a discrete wavelet transform (DWT), and an iterative back-projection (IBP) edge-preserving weighted guided filter. A two-stage cubic B-Splines approximation, which includes pre-filtering and interpolation, is employed to up-sample the low-resolution image. The pre-filtering approach is used to transform pixel values to B-Splines coefficients. This approach minimizes blurring in the up-sampled image. The lost high-frequency information is then estimated using a one-level discrete wavelet transform based on the db1 wavelet. Finally, using a weighted guided filter, the resulting image is subjected to back-projection to obtain a high-resolution image. The proposed single-image super-resolution approach is applied on RGB colour images. The proposed method outperforms other selected approaches for comparison objectively in terms of PSNR and SSIM and also in visual quality.
Deep Learning-based Detection System for Heavy-Construction Vehicles and Urban Traffic Monitoring

—In this intelligent transportation systems era, traffic congestion analysis in terms of vehicle detection followed by tracking their speed is gaining tremendous attention due to its complicated intrinsic ingredients. Specifically, in the existing literature, vehicle detection on highway roads are studied extensively while, to the best of our knowledge the identification and tracking of heavy-construction vehicles such as rollers are not yet fully explored. More specifically, heavy- construction vehicles such as road rollers, trenchers and bulldozers significantly aggravate the congestion in urban roads during peak hours because of their deadly slow movement rates accompanied by their occupation of majority of road portions. Due to these reasons, promising frameworks are very much important, which can identify the heavy-construction vehicles moving in urban traffic-prone roads so that appropriate congestion evaluation strategies can be adopted to monitor traffic situations. To solve these issues, this article proposes a new deep-learning based detection framework, which employs Single Shot Detector (SSD)-based object detection system consisting of CNNs. The experimental evaluations extensively carried out on three different datasets including the benchmark ones MIO-TCD localization dataset, clearly demonstrate the enhanced performance of the proposed detection framework in terms of confidence scores and time efficiency when compared to the existing techniques.
Going Dutch? The export of sustainable land-use and transport planning concepts from the Netherlands

The Netherlands is often viewed as a world model of urban planning and sustainable transport practices. This article reports on a study which charts the planning policy transfer activity between the Netherlands and other countries. The study reveals that many foreign ‘policy tourists’ are impressed and inspired by Dutch planning achievements. However, policy transfer efforts based on Dutch examples of planning have rarely resulted in concrete actions or hard outcomes abroad. Contextual differences in culture, social setup, language, planning legislation and financial resources, as well as the failure to involve political elites in transfer processes, are potential obstacles to embedding Dutch planning policies elsewhere.
Recovery in the wake of in-line axial-flow rotors

The flow around the rotor of an axial turbine, operating in the wake of an upstream one, is resolved using large-eddy simulation on a cylindrical grid consisting of 3.8 billion points. Three distances from the upstream rotor are considered, ranging from 6 to 10 diameters. The inflow boundary conditions for the simulation of the downstream rotor were generated by a precursor simulation of the upstream one. The impact on the dynamics of the tip vortices and the statistics at their core is compared across cases. Results demonstrate the strong sensitivity of the tip vortices shed by the downstream rotor to the disturbance produced by the wake of the upstream one. The onset of their instability moves very close to the rotor plane and is almost independent of the distance between the upstream and downstream rotors, at least in the range of simulated distances. This makes the development of the wake of the downstream rotors, driven by the instability of the tip vortices, much faster and very similar across distances from the upstream one. The results explain the phenomena of performance stabilization of downstream turbines in linear arrays, recently reported in the literature.
Development and applications of a staggered FEM-BEM methodology for ground vibrations due to moving train loads

This work presents an efficient methodology for the analysis of vibrations in a railroad track system, induced by the passage of conventional and high speed trains. The methodology is based on an efficient coupling of the Boundary Element (BEM) with the Finite Element Method (FEM) in the direct time domain. The BEM is used for the modeling of the soil- tie system and the FEM for the modeling of the flexible rail system. Soil-Structure Interaction and traveling wave effects are inherently accounted for. The proposed methodology allows for selection of different time steps in order to fulfill stability requirements of each solver.