Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of downy mildew in grapevine using computer vision and fuzzy logic. Development and validation of a new method

Downy mildew is a major disease of grapevine. Conventional methods for assessing crop diseases are time-consuming and require trained personnel. This work aimed to develop and validate a new method to automatically estimate the severity of downy mildew in grapevine leaves using fuzzy logic and computer vision techniques. Leaf discs of two grapevine varieties were inoculated with Plasmopara viticola and subsequently, RGB images were acquired under indoor conditions. Computer vision techniques were applied for leaf disc location in Petri dishes, image pre-processing and segmentation of pre-processed disc images to separate the pixels representing downy mildew sporulation from the rest of the leaf. Fuzzy logic was applied to improve the segmentation of disc images, rating pixels with a degree of infection according to the intensity of sporulation. To validate the new method, the downy mildew severity was visually evaluated by eleven experts and averaged score was used as the reference value. A coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.87 and a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 7.61 % was observed between the downy mildew severity obtained by the new method and the visual assessment values. Classification of the severity of the infection into three levels was also attempted, achieving an accuracy of 86 % and an F1 score of 0.78. These results indicate that computer vision and fuzzy logic can be used to automatically estimate the severity of downy mildew in grapevine leaves. A new method has been developed and validated to assess the severity of downy mildew in grapevine. The new method can be adapted to assess the severity of other diseases and crops in agriculture.
Bioavailability of Rosehip (Rosa canina L.) Infusion Phenolics Prepared by Thermal, Pulsed Electric Field and High Pressure Processing

In this study, the in vitro bioavailability of rosehip infusion phenolics, mainly catechin, as a response to conventional and non-thermal treatments by combining gastrointestinal digestion and a Caco-2 cell culture model, was investigated. After application of thermal treatment (TT, 85 °C/10 min), high pressure (HPP, 600 MPa/5 min) or pulsed electric field (PEF, 15 kJ/kg) processing, all samples were subjected to simulated gastrointestinal digestion. Then, the amount of maximum non-toxic digest ratio was determined by the cytotoxicity sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Next, Caco-2 cells were exposed to 1:5 (v/v) times diluted digests in order to simulate the transepithelial transportation of catechin. Results showed that non-thermally processed samples (5.19 and 4.62% for HPP and PEF, respectively) exhibited greater transportation across the epithelial cell layer compared to than that of the TT-treated sample (3.42%). The present study highlighted that HPP and PEF, as non-thermal treatments at optimized conditions for infusions or beverages, can be utilized in order to enhance the nutritional quality of the final products.
Moderating Role of Investment Efficiency between Board Diversity and Dividend Policy: Evidence from Pakistan

The purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding in debate of governance demographics by investigate the impact of board diversity on dividend policy and moderating effect of corporate investment efficiency on dividend policy. The sample incorporated in this study comprises of panel data of 77 firms listed in Karachi stock exchange (KSE) during the period of 2012-2019. This study performs a parametric technique regression analysis to measure the investment efficiency and Panel least square models to investigate the association between board diversity and dividend policy. Furthermore, hierarchical explained the results for interaction effect of investment efficiency. This study adds a new finding in the corporate governance through empirical an investigation on the association between board diversity and dividend policy. Results support the interaction effect of investment efficiency between board diversity and dividend policy. Our study suggests that firms involve in high level of efficient investment with diverse ethnic backgrounds and gender in corporate board significantly associated with dividend policy. This study explains the practical implications for the corporate boards in the south Asian culture who enhance the investment efficiency that main goal of finance to enhance the wealth maximization of shareholders in terms of dividends.
Air quality impact of diesel back-up generators (BUGs) in Nigeria’s mobile telecommunication base transceiver stations (BTS)

Purpose The introduction of mobile telecommunication services in Nigeria led to the development of base transceiver stations (BTS) across the country. Inadequate power supply from the national grid has led to massive use of diesel-fueled back-up generators (BUGs). The purpose of this paper is to attempt to quantify and inform relevant stakeholders about air quality implications of BTS BUGs. Design/methodology/approach Seven major telecommunication network operators were identified. Emission factor approach was used to estimate the quantity of important air pollutants such as NOx, CO, SO2, PM10, PM2.5, PAH and TVOC that are emitted from the use of the BUGs based on fuel consumption rate and generators’ capacity. Fuel-based emission inventory and emission factor from the United States Environmental Protection Agency AP-42 and National Pollution Inventory were used to estimate pollutants emission from diesel-powered generators used in the BTS sites and amount of diesel consumed. Land distribution and per capita dose of the estimated pollutants load were calculated. Findings The study showed that the deployment of BUGs will lead to increase emissions of these air pollutants. The states that are most affected are Lagos, Kano and Oyo, Katsina and Akwa Ibom states with respective total air pollutants contribution of 9,539.61, 9,445.34, 8,276.46, 7,805.14 and 7,220.70 tonnes/yr. Originality/value This study has estimated pollutant emissions from the use of diesel-fueled BUGs in mobile telecommunications BTS sites in Nigeria. The data obtained could assist in policy making.
Family–level phylogeny of infraorder Systellognatha (Insecta: Plecoptera) inferred from mitochondrial genomes

Systellognatha is a monophyletic group within stoneflies containing seven families in two superfamilies. However, the family–level phylogeny within Systellognatha is largely unresolved, with some controversial hypotheses generated by molecular data. In this study, we sequenced one complete and three nearly complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) representing three systellognathan families (including one newly described family), to recover the phylogeny of all seven extant systellognathan families. We tested the effect of heterogeneous sequence divergence within mitogenome sequences on phylogenetic reconstruction. To study incongruent topologies supported by different datasets, we also utilized four–cluster likelihood mapping to elucidate these phylogenetic questions. We found a low degree of compositional heterogeneity in systellognathan mitogenomes. Our results showed that phylogenetic analyses with various datasets under site–homogeneous models failed to recover the Perloidea and Pteronarcyoidea as monophyletic groups. However, Bayesian inference with a site–heterogeneous model (CAT + GTR) recovered Perloidea as monophyletic. Our results confirm a sister–group relationship between Chloroperlidae and Perlodidae. Despite all phylogenetic analyses failed to recover the Pteronarcyoidea as monophyletic, the analyses with site–heterogeneous model based on PCG12, PCG12R and PCGR datasets reconstructed the same relationships among Pteronarcyidae, Peltoperlidae, Styloperlidae and Perloidea. Our study shows the power of the site–heterogeneous models in resolving phylogeny within Systellognatha and provides a new insight into the phylogeny of this group.
Commuting varieties and cohomological complexity theory

In this paper we determine, for all r$r$ sufficiently large, the irreducible component(s) of maximal dimension of the variety of commuting r$r$ ‐tuples of nilpotent elements of gln$\mathfrak {gl}_n$ . Our main result is that in characteristic ≠2,3$\ne 2,3$ , this nilpotent commuting variety has dimension (r+1)⌊n24⌋$(r+1)\lfloor \frac{n^2}{4}\rfloor$ for n⩾4$n\geqslant 4$ , r⩾7$r\geqslant 7$ . We use this to find the dimension of the (ordinary) r$r$ th commuting varieties of gln$\mathfrak {gl}_n$ and sln$\mathfrak {sl}_n$ for the same range of values of r$r$ and n$n$ . Our principal motivation is the connection between nilpotent commuting varieties and cohomological complexity of finite group schemes, which we exploit in the last section of the paper to obtain explicit values for complexities of a large family of modules over the r$r$ th Frobenius kernel (GLn)(r)$(\operatorname{GL}_n)_{(r)}$ . These results indicate an inequality between the complexities of a rational G$G$ ‐module M$M$ when restricted to G(r)$G_{(r)}$ or to G(Fpr)$G(\mathbb {F}_{p^r})$ ; we subsequently establish this inequality for every simple algebraic group G$G$ defined over an algebraically closed field of good characteristic, significantly extending the main theorem of Lin and Nakano, Inventiones Mathematicae, 138 (1999), 85–101.
PENGEMBANGAN MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN BERBASIS APLIKASI LECTORA INSPIRE UNTUK MATA PELAJARAN DASAR DAN PENGUKURAN LISTRIK KELAS X DI SMK SWASTA IMELDA MEDAN

Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian pengembangan, yang bertujuan untuk menghasilkan sebuah produk yaitu media pembelajaran interaktif dasar dan pengukuran listrik pada materi pokok pengukuran besaran lsitrik. Media pembelajaran termasuk hal yang sangat penting dalam proses pembelajaran, media pembelajaran yang baik sangat efektif digunakan dalam proses belajar mengajar. Penulis mencoba mengembangkan media pembelajaran berbasis multimedia yang dapat digunakan dalam bentuk software media pembelajaran yang dibuat menggunakan Lectora Inspire. Penulis mengembangkan media pembelajaran bertujuan untuk memudahkan siswa dalam memahami pelajaran dan juga memudahkan pengajar dalam menyampaikan pelajaran. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di SMK Swasta Imelda Medan,Jalan Bilal No:52 Pulo Brayan Kec.Medan Timur , Sumatera Utara di kelas X TITL SMK Swasta Imelda Medan pada bulan Februari Desember 2016. Variabel dalam penelitian ini adalah Pengembangan Media Pembelajaran Dasar dan Pengukuran Listrik. Sedangkan sample penelitian ini adalah 20 orang siswa kelas X Teknik Instalasi Tenaga Listrik SMK Swasta Imelda Medan . Secara umum, penelitian ini merupakan penelitian yang bertujuan untuk mengembangkan media pembelajaran. Prosedur penelitian pengembangan ini menggunakan model pengembangan ADDIE (Analisys, Design, Develovment, Implementation, Evaluation) denganlangkah-langkah mengunakan metode penelitian Reasearch and Development (R&D). Pengertian penelitian dan pengembangan tertuju pada proses, penelitian tidak menghasilkan objek, sedangkan pengembangan menghasilkan objek yang dapat dilihat dan diraba. Dari data yang diperoleh melalui angket yang ada, secara keseluruhan responden menilai software media pembelajaran sangat menarik, kreatif juga terstruktur dan memenuhi indikator kelayakan sebesar 4,4 dari para ahli media, 4,3 dari ahli materi dan 4,23 dari para siswa atau dalam kriteria Sangat Baik. Dengan demikian pengembangan media pembelajaran sangat baik dilakukan melihat dari penilaian para responden dan juga tanggapan positif dan mendukung untuk media pembelajaran berbasis software media pembelajaran ini. Para siswa menyukai pembelajaran dengan menggunakan media pembelajaran Dasar dan Pengukuran Listrik.
The impact of anti‐monoclonal antibody drugs on healthcare economics in the treatment of multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders

The launch of highly efficacious anti‐monoclonal antibody (mAb) drugs has profoundly changed the therapeutic strategy for multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD). However, the newly developed anti‐mAb drugs, especially those used in treating NMOSD, are quite expensive, resulting in a significant medical and economic burden. Early use of these drugs is expected to reduce the frequency of relapse and the accumulation of disability, preserve the quality of life of patients, and improve their life expectancy. In selecting therapeutic drugs, it is necessary not only to consider the efficacy and safety of the drugs, but also to consider the cost‐effectiveness of each drug for each patient, considering the economic aspects of health care. However, the cost‐effectiveness of anti‐mAb drugs in treating multiple sclerosis and NMOSD has not been fully verified. Japan is rapidly emerging as a hyper‐aged society, unlike any other in the world, and the rising cost of medical care is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed and resolved. Out‐of‐pocket expenses of individual patients are not a major issue in Japan as medical, costs for multiple sclerosis and NMOSD are subsidized by public medical insurance; however, the judicious use of anti‐mAb drugs is required to ensure cost‐effectiveness.
Fiscal Expenditure Structure, Vertical Fiscal Imbalance and Environmental Pollution

Based on China’s provincial panel data from 2007 to 2019, the authors of this paper conducted an empirical test on the direct effect of China’s fiscal expenditure structure on the reduction in environmental pollution with the use of a fixed effect model. We also creatively added an interaction item comprising vertical fiscal imbalance and the expenditure structure to further study the impact of vertical fiscal imbalance on reducing environmental pollution and its effect on the fiscal expenditure structure. The study results show that a structure in favor of expenditure on people’s welfare noticeably reduces environmental pollution. However, after the introduction of the vertical fiscal imbalance indicator, the pollution reduction effect decreases. That is, the vertical fiscal imbalance weakens and distorts the impact of the fiscal expenditure structure on the reduction in environmental pollution. Therefore, it is possible to further motivate local governments with incentive measures, such as fiscal decentralization and the centralization of administrative responsibilities, and regulate the environmental pollution of local governments through use of restrictive measures, such as the “green GDP” evaluation mechanism to further improve the fiscal expenditure structure of local governments, enhance the environmental pollution reduction capability of fiscal expenditure.
Culture Dimensions And Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure

This study examines the effect of national culture on corporate social responsibility reporting by country. We aim to enhance our understanding of the level of corporate social responsibility disclosure in different countries by focusing on the impact of national culture variables in general and by using the degree of financial freedom and the level of international financial reporting standards adoption as control variables. Based on published data for 30 countries and by employing the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) study model, which considers nine cultural dimensions, the results indicate that human orientation, assertiveness and performance orientation significantly impact corporate social responsibility disclosure. In addition, a country’s financial freedom has a significant effect as a control variable. This study provides insight into the corporate social responsibility literature by documenting that cultural variable influence the degree of disclosure in general and corporate social responsibility disclosure specifically and by adding two new variables to the model: financial freedom and the level of international financial reporting standards adoption.
Satisfactory medium-long term patient reported outcomes after laparoscopic single-mesh sacrohysteropexy

Background There is scarce information on the effectiveness of the laparoscopic single mesh sacrohysteropexy (smSHP). Attachment of a single sheet of flat mesh posteriorly to the cervix provides less mesh use and a less invasive distal mesh fixation. Objectives To assess medium to long-term follow-up results of patients who underwent laparoscopic smSHP utilising a less invasive technique with single sheet flat mesh. Materials and Methods In the present retrospective cohort study, the data of 71 women who underwent laparoscopic smSHP for apical uterine prolapse with or without colporrhaphy (anterior and/or posterior) at the urogynaecology unit of a university hospital between January 2008 and January 2020 was reviewed. Data was collected on demographics, presenting symptoms, preoperative findings, surgery, and postoperative outcomes. Main outcome measures Medium to long-term patient-reported outcomes. Results The median age of the study population was 44 years. Median follow-up duration was 5 years (1-12). Symptomatic recurrence over time and repeat surgery rates were 13.1% and 3.1% respectively. Comparison of the pre-operative and medium to long-term evaluation scores of the pelvic floor distress inventory-20 (PFDI-20) and assessment of the patient global impression of improvement (PGI-I) revealed long-standing improvement in pelvic floor dysfunction. Conclusions Laparoscopic smSHP appears to be successful and safe with low recurrence and complication rates and provides satisfactory patient reported outcomes. What's new? Medium to long-term patient-reported outcomes based on PFDI-20 and PGI-I surveys are satisfactory following smSHP.
18p Deletion Syndrome Originating from Rare Unbalanced Whole-Arm Translocation between Chromosomes 13 and 18: A Case Report and Literature Review

18p deletion (18p-) syndrome is a rare chromosome abnormality that has a wide range of phenotypes, with short stature, intellectual disability, and facial dysmorphism being the main clinical features. Here, we report the first case in Korea of a 16-year-old male adolescent with 18p- syndrome resulting from de novo unbalanced whole-arm translocation between chromosomes 13 and 18 (45, XY, der(13;18)(q10:q10)). Three rare clinical findings were discovered that had not been reported in the previous literature; morbid obesity without other hormonal disturbances, rib cage deformity leading to the direct compression of the liver, and lumbar spondylolisthesis at the L5-S1 level. This case expands the phenotypic spectrum of 18p- syndrome and highlights the importance of considering chromosomal analysis, since this syndrome can be easily overlooked in a clinical setting, especially without distinctive symptoms of other organs, due to its nonspecific but typical features of short stature and mild intellectual disability with a mildly dysmorphic face. Moreover, since not all cases of 18p- syndrome with unbalanced translocation (13;18) show the same phenotype, multidisciplinary examinations and follow-up seem to be important to monitor evolving and developing clinical manifestations and to predict prognosis in advance associated with the specific genes of 18p breakpoint regions.
Behavior and Removal of Radionuclides Generated in the Cooling Water of a Proton Accelerator

Radionuclides such as {sup 7}Be, {sup 60}Co, {sup 65}Zn, and {sup 54}Mn are present in the magnet cooling water of a proton accelerator. These nuclides may be dissolved or bound to colloids and pass through micrometric filters below 100 nm. A cooling water purification strategy is discussed. The most efficient procedure uses a cation exchanger in H{sup +} form.
A LES study on gravity currents propagating over roughness elements

Approved: ____________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________ Title and Department ____________________________________ Date 1 A LES STUDY ON GRAVITY CURRENTS PROPAGATING OVER ROUGHNESS ELEMENTS by Talia Ekin Tokyay A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa
The Sesquiterpene Lactone Cynaropicrin Manifests Strong Cytotoxicity in Glioblastoma Cells U-87 MG by Induction of Oxidative Stress

Cynaropicrin has shown a wide range of pharmacological properties, such as antitumor action. Here, we showed the inhibitory effect of Cyn on human glioblastoma cell U-87 MG growth. According to the IC50 values, Cyn 4, 8 and 10 µM displayed a significant cytotoxicity, as confirmed by the cell count and MTT assay. Furthermore, Cyn completely abolished the ability of U-87 MG to form colonies and induced drastic morphological changes. Interestingly, pretreatment with ROS scavenger N-acetylcysteine 3 mM reversed the cytotoxicity induced by Cyn 25 µM and preserved the cells by morphological changes. Therefore, oxidative stress induction was evaluated at low 8- and high 25-µM concentrations in U-87 MG, as demonstrated by the quantitative and qualitative analysis of ROS. A prolonged increase in ROS generation under Cyn 25 µM exposure was followed by the loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential in treated U-87 MG cells. An acute treatment with Cyn 25 µM induced Cyt c release, as revealed by immunofluorescence staining and the activation of cell death pathways, apoptosis and autophagy. On the other hand, chronic treatment with Cyn 8 µM induced senescence, as revealed by the increase in SA-β-Gal activity. Moreover, at this concentration, Cyn led to ERK dephosphorylation accompanied by a relevant reduction of the NF-κB p65 subunit. Finally, the combined effect of TMZ and Cyn resulted in synergistic cytotoxicity, as evaluated by the Bliss additivity model. The strong cytotoxicity of Cyn was also confirmed on IDH1 mutant U-87 MG cells and patient-derived IDH wild-type glioblastoma cell lines NULU and ZAR. In conclusion, given the high toxicity at minimal concentrations, the high inhibition of tumor cell growth and synergy with the standard drug for glioblastoma TMZ, Cyn could be proposed as a potential adjuvant for the treatment of glioblastoma.
Crustal Imbrication in an Alpine Intraplate Mountain Range: A Wide‐Angle Cross‐Section Across the Spanish‐Portuguese Central System

Intraplate ranges are topographic features that can occur far from plate boundaries, the expected position of orogens as described in the plate tectonics theory. To understand the lithospheric structure of intraplate ranges, we focused on the Spanish‐Portuguese Central System (SPCS), the most outstanding topographic feature in the central Iberian Peninsula. The SPCS is an Alpine range that exhumes Precambrian‐Paleozoic rocks and is located at >200 km from the northern border of the Iberian microplate. Here, we provide a P‐wave velocity model based on wide‐angle seismic reflection/refraction data of the central SPCS (Gredos sector). Our results show: (a) a layered lithosphere characterized by three major interfaces: Conrad, Mohorovicic, and Hales discontinuities, (b) an asymmetry of the crust‐mantle boundary under the SPCS, (c) the extent of the Variscan batholith forming the main outcrops of Gredos, and (d) the thinning of the lower crust toward the south. This model suggests that the exhumation of the SPCS basement was driven by a south‐vergent thick‐skinned thrust system, developed in the southern part of the SPCS and that promoted crustal imbrication and a Mohorovicic discontinuity's offset under the SPCS. Thus, the deformation mechanisms of the crust seem to be controlled by the presence of the late‐ to post‐Variscan granitoids that assimilated the Variscan mid‐crustal detachment creating a new rheological boundary. This tectonic structure allowed the formation of Alpine crustal‐scale thrust systems that eased coupled deformation of the upper and lower crust, leading to limited underthrusting of both crustal layers.