Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Agronomic traits associated with genetic gains in maize yield during three breeding eras in West Africa.

Studies on genetic gains in grain yield in maize (Zea mays L) is crucial to identify traits of potential value and the necessary modifications in breeding methodologies and strategies for increased progress in future breeding efforts. Fifty early-maturing maize cultivars developed during three breeding eras were evaluated for 2 yr in two field experiments involving 16 multiple stress (drought, Striga-infested, and low soil nitrogen) environments and 35 optimum environments to determine the changes in agronomic traits associated with the genetic gains in grain yield over three breeding eras. The average rate of increase in grain yield was 30 kg ha–1 yr-1 corresponding to 1.59% annual genetic gain across multiple stresses. Among the agronomic traits under stress, only ears per plant (0.32% year-1), ear aspect (-0.51% year-1), plant aspect (-0.24% year-1) and days to anthesis (0.11% year-1) changed significantly (P<0.05 or <0.01) during the three eras. The increase in grain yield from the first to the third generation cultivars across stress environments was associated with significant improvements in plant and ear aspects, increased ears per plant and stay green characteristic. Under optimal growing environments, the increase in grain yield from the first to the third generation cultivars was 1.24% per annum and the gain was associated with significant improvements in plant and ear heights, plant and ear aspects, husk cover, and increased ears per plant. The results indicated that substantial progress has been made in breeding for cultivars with combined tolerance/ resistance to the three stresses during the past 22 years.
Does Institutions Matter for Economic Development? Evidence for ASEAN Selected Countries

Abstract The theoretical and applied issues of the relationship between institutions and economic growth have thoroughly been examined in ASEAN countries. This study revisits the issue and tests the role of institutions in the economic growth using the World Governance Indicators (WGI) and uses a new method to examine the impact of the various institutions on the economic growth. We used dynamic panel using GMM panel data for 10 ASEAN countries over the period 1996–2014. The empirical analysis confirms a positive relationship between a composite WGI and the economic growth in the selected ASEAN countries. So, there is a positive impact of Voice and Accountability, Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism, Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law, and Control of Corruption on economic growth in the selected countries. Other control variables showed that human capital, and physical capital have a significant influence on the growth as the theory predicts. This study also found that there is a bidirectional causality effect between the both variables.
Implementation of New VLSI Architecture of Multiplier and Accumulator using Carry Save Adder

In this paper, we proposed a new architecture of multiplier-and-accumulator (MAC) for high-speed arithmetic. By combining multiplication with accumulation and devising a hybrid type of carry save adder (CSA), the performance was improved. Since the accumulator that has the largest delay in MAC was merged into CSA, the overall performance was elevated. The CSA propagates the carries to the least significant bits of the partial products and generates the least significant bits in advance to decrease the number of the input bits of the final adder. Also, the proposed MAC accumulates the intermediate results in the type of sum and carries bits instead of the output of the final adder, which made it possible to optimize the pipeline scheme to improve the performance. Based on the theoretical and experimental estimation, we analyzed the results such as the amount of hardware resources, delay, and pipelining scheme.
The Cobweb Effect in Balancing Markets withDemand Response

—Integration of renewable energy sources (RES) like wind into the power system is a high priority in many countries, but it becomes increasingly difﬁcult as renewables reach a signiﬁcant share of generation. Demand response (DR) can potentially mitigate some of these difﬁculties, but the best way to control and integrate DR into the power system remains an open question. Integration into existing electricity markets is one option, but dynamic pricing with DR has been observed to be unstable, resulting in oscillations in supply and demand. This so-called Cobweb effect is presented here using the market structure and measurements from the EcoGrid EU demonstration, where ﬁve minute electricity pricing is sent to 1900 houses. A new tool for quantifying volatility is presented, and the causes for volatility are investigated. A key outcome of this study shows that increases in social welfare due to DR appear to be limited by the cost of volatility in existing market structures.
Laboratory surface astrophysics experiment

In this article we describe the design and construction of a laboratory astrophysics experiment that recreates the harsh conditions of the Interstellar Medium (ISM) and is used to study the heterogeneous chemistry that occurs there. The Nottingham Surface Astrophysics Experiment is used to determine, empirically, accurately, and usually for the first time, key physical and chemical constants that are vital for modeling and understanding the ISM. It has been designed specifically to investigate gas–solid interactions under interstellar conditions. The pressure regime is ideally matched to molecular densities in dusty disks in protostellar or protoplanetary regions. The ultrahigh vacuum system is routinely capable of obtaining pressures that are only three orders of magnitude above those in the ISM, with similar relative concentrations of the two most abundant gases in such regions, H2 and CO, and an absence of any other major gas components. A short introduction describes the astronomical motivation behind this experiment. In Sec. II we then give details of the design, construction, and calibration of each component of the experiment. The cryostat system has far exceeded design expectations, and reaches temperatures between 7 and 500 K. This is comparable with the ISM, where dust temperatures from 10 K have been observed. Line-of-sight mass spectrometry, reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy, and quartz crystal microbalance mass measurements were combined into a single instrument for the first time. The instrument was carefully calibrated, and its control and data acquisition system was developed to ensure that experimental parameters are recorded as accurately as possible. In Sec. III we present some of the experimental results from this system that have not been published elsewhere. The results presented here demonstrate that the system can be used to determine desorption enthalpies, ΔdesH, bonding systems, and sticking probabilities between a variety of gases and ices common to the ISM. This instrument will greatly facilitate our understanding of surface processes that occur in the ISM, and allow us to investigate “mimic” ISM systems in a controlled environment. In this article we illustrate that laboratory surface astrophysics is an exciting and emerging area of research, and this instrument in particular will have a major impact through its contributions to both surface science and astronomy.
Observational methods for biomechanical risk assessment in workers: a systematic review

Introduction: Among the methods of measurement of the biomechanical risk factors available in the literature, the observational methods have greater applicability in occupational practice. Objective: To identify observational methods used in Brazilian workers to identify and to evaluate their translation/cross-cultural adaptation procedures and measuring property tests. Methods: Three search strategies were used in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, LILACS and SCIELO. After a review of titles and abstracts, potential articles were read in full for inclusion and subsequent extraction of data related to translation, cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties of the observational methods. Results: 5349 potential studies were found and 29 were eligible for inclusion. The methods used in Brazilian workers were: AET, NIOSH, OCRA, OWAS, QEC, RARME, REBA and RULA. All procedures regarding the translation and cross-cultural adaptation were positive for the QEC and REBA. The translation, synthesis of the translations and review committee procedures were doubtful for the OCRA method. The QEC measuring properties showed negative reliability, doubtful internal consistency, and positive agreement and construct validity. The REBA showed negative reliability and agreement. The RARME presented positive reliability and negative construct validity. Conclusion: For most observational methods used in Brazilian workers, the translation and cross-cultural adaptation procedures were not performed and their measurement properties were not performed, highlighting the need to perform these procedures before using them.
Threat modeling in web applications

Todays competitive and profit-driven online environment needs a web application to be much secure as it is going to be tested in all possible ways by the attackers for any sign of vulnerability which can be converted into a big success for him to gain control to the maximum of the software. In order to produce a secure application, it has to be securely built right from the design phase throughout the software development life cycle. The most effective methodology of implementing this is threat modeling. There have been a lot of improvements and researches on the process of threat modeling and its approaches. Following these, Some tools are developed by some Enterprises to support the process of systematic threat modeling. In this thesis, the most widely accepted process of threat modeling, that has been proposed by Microsoft, is explained along with other approaches for it. Two industrial projects, with the support of Microsoft SDL tool for Threat modeling have been threat modeled and discussed. Towards the end, some modifications to the hybrid approach of threat modeling have been proposed and have been implemented on the open source workbench supporting that approach.
Development of a high frequency ultrasound microbeam system for cancer cell manipulation and characterization

최근 고주파 초음파 마이크로빔을 이용하여 다양한 의료응용을 목적으로 초음파집게, 초음파 현미경, 단일 세포 자극 시스템 등이 다수 개발되고 있다. 본 논문에서 30MHz 단일 초음파 변환자를 이용하여 암세포를 조작하고 그 분자 특성을 분석 하기위한 고주파 초음파 마이크로빔 시스템을 개발함. 이 시스템에서 사용된 단일 소자 LiNbO3 초음파 변환자의 센터 주파수는 30MHz, f-number 값은 0. 7로 세포를 조작하기 위해 초음파를 강력하게 집속할 수 있도록 설계되었다. 초음파를 발생시키기 위해 함수 발생기로부터 펄스화 된 사인파를 발생시키고 이를 10MHz 에서 60MHz 사이로 동작하는RF 증폭기를 통해 증폭 후 초음파 변환자에 인가함. 초음파 변환자는 3축 모터제어 스테이지와 함께 IX73 도립 현광 현미경에 부착함. 모터제어 스테이지는 정밀하게 초음파 빔 초점을 조절하기 위한 프로그램으로 제어됨. 또한, 형광 현미경 기술을 사용하여 세포를 관찰하고 정량화 할 수 있는 시스템을 구성함. 구성된 초음파 집게의 성능을 평가하기 위해 마이크로비드를 각기 투명한 용액과 혼탁한 용액 안에서 포획하고 그 성능을 평가하고 비교함. 실험 결과 10um 마이크로비드가 그 용액 안에서 성공적으로 초음파집게에 잡히는 것을 확인하였고, 혼탁한 미디어내에서 그 초음파 집게 성능이 약화 되는 현상을 관찰함. 더불어, 이 초음파 집게 시스템을 의료용으로 유용하게 응용될 수 있도록 암세포를 조작하고 정량화하는데 적용하였음. 높은 침습성을 가진세포와 낮은 짐습성을 가진 유방암 세포들을 초음파 집게를 이용해 포획 시 그 세포들의 형태학적, 분자적 즉 칼슘 반응을 정량화해서 분별 될 수 있는지 조사함. 여기서 높은 칩슴성을 가진 세포 (MDA-MB-231)는 낮은 침습성을 가진 세포 (MCF7)과 달리 낮은 전압에서 강한 칼슘 반응을 나타내는 경향을 보임. 더욱이, 높은 침습성을 가진 유방암 세포는 낮은 침습성을 가진 유방암 세포에 비해 초음파 집게의 음압 하에서 더 크게 형태가 변화하는 모습을 보임. 그러므로, 이러한 결과들은 다른 표현형을 가진 유방암 세포들이 그들의 초음파빔의 포획에 의한 형태학적, 분자적 반응을 정량화함으로써 그 특성들을 파악할 수 있다는 것을 나타냄. 이러한 결과들은 이 시스템의 암세포 조작 및 정량적 분석이 가능한 생물리학 장비로써의 그 잠재성을 나타냄. ⓒ 2016 DGIST
Application of Nanoemulsion Technology for Preparation and Evaluation of Intranasal Mucoadhesive Nano- In-situ Gel for Ondansetron Hcl

Objective: Developing more effective and promising in situ gel nasal preparation for ondansetron HCl (OND-HCl) using nanoemulsion (NE) technology and study all the parameters that can optimize the final formula. Method: Screening of oils, surfactants and co-surfactants was performed on the basis of OND-HCl solubility and NE area of emulsifier ratio (Smix), respectively. Pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were constructed by aqueous titration method. Twelve NE formulas were prepared by ultrasonic emulsification and characterized for droplet size, zeta potential, polydispersity index, separation, conductivity, TEM, % transmittance, dilution and visual transparency. The best NE formulation was selected and applied to prepare nano -in situ gel (NIG) using poloxamer 407 as thermoreversible polymer, chitosan and HPMC E15 as mucoadhesive polymers. The six NIG formulas were evaluated for pH, drug content, osmolarity, gelation temperature, mucoadhesive force, viscosity and in vitro drug release. Results: The mean droplet size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, conductivity and % transmittance for the selected NE formula (F11) were found to be 64.87 nm, 0.544, - 0.146, 210 μS/cm, and 99.08% respectively. The gelation temperatures, pH, drug content, osmolarity and mucoadhesive force for the selected NIG formula (NIG6) were 33 oC, 5.8, 99.215%, 106.06 mOsmol/l (0.62%), 7372.21 dyne/cm² respectively. The in vitro drug release study of NIG6 showed 100% after 6h. Conclusion: The results of this work indicated the possibility of application of NE technology in the formulation of NIG that has good mucoadhesive force to prolong the preparation residence time in the nose. Keywords: Chitosan, Nano-in situ gel, HPMCE15, Nanoemulsion, Ondansetron HCl.
Knowledge Diffusion within the Datang Sock-manufacturing Cluster in China

Zhang G. , Xu Q. and Liu X. Knowledge diffusion within the Datang sock-manufacturing cluster in China, Regional Studies. In this paper, a cognitive community-based analytic framework is established to investigate intra-cluster knowledge diffusion. The results from both a case study on a sock-manufacturing cluster in China and an agent-based simulation indicate that the initial pattern of knowledge distribution has a significant impact on the process of knowledge diffusion in a cluster. A cluster with a higher knowledge level but lower knowledge heterogeneity enjoys higher efficiency of knowledge diffusion.
Strand-specific Composition Bias in Bacterial Genomes

In 1950, Chargaff experimentally found that nucleotides of G and C (or T and A) have the same abundance values when analyzing two DNA strands together (Chargaff, 1950). Three years later, Watson and Crick (1953) published the DNA double helix model and the basepairing rule in the model explained such equivalent frequencies. This is called the first rule of Chargaff or parity rule 1. Surprisingly, Lin and Chargaff (1967) observed approximately equivalent frequencies of complementary nucleotides within each single DNA strand. This is called the second rule of Chargaff or parity rule 2. The rule 2 is theoretically explained as follows. When mutation and selection are symmetric with respect to the two strands of DNA, parity rule 1 holds the following six pairs of substitution rate to be equal, rGC=rCG, rTA=rAT, rGA=rCT, rAG=rTC, rCA=rGT, rAC=rTG, where, rGC means the substitution rate of G to C in a specific strand and so on (Lobry, 1995). Having the six pairs of equal substitution rates, it is formally derived that complementary nucleotides within each strand have the same occurrence frequencies. Indeed, parity rule 2 only exists when there are not any strand biases of mutation or selection. Therefore, parity rule 2 is a natural derivation of parity rule 1 at the equilibrium state between two strands. And any deviation from parity rule 2 implies substitutional strand biases: the result of different mutations (and or repair) rates, different selective pressures, or both, between the two strands of DNA (Lobry and Sueoka, 2002). In the past two decades, these deviations from intra-strand equimolarities have been extensively studied in eukaryotes (Niu et al., 2003) and their organelles (Krishnan et al. 2004), viruses (Mrazek and Karlin, 1998), particularly in bacteria and archaea (Necsulea and Lobry, 2007). In bacteria, the observed deviations switch sign at the origin and terminus of replication. This chapter reviews the subject of strand-specific composition bias in bacterial genomes, varying strength of it in different species, the underlying mechanisms and the analyzing methods.
A COLOUR BASED APPROACH FOR FACE SEGMENTATION FROM VIDEO IMAGES UNDER LOW LUMINANCE LEVELS

For tracking head motions from a sequence of video images, segmentation of faces usually takes place first to locate head positions. Although a plethora of methods have been developed to segment faces, each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages depending on the properties of collected video clips, especially under low luminance level (i.e. lower than 10 cd/m 2) . This study extends a traditional approach based on skin colour to segment faces, and has arrived at a mixed-colour-space algorithm, which takes viewing illumination and post position into consideration and shows very promising segmentation results with fewer false regions. The procedure includes obtaining colour attributes that are selected from varying colour spaces/models in order to detect the regions of interest (ROIs), which maximises the characteristics of faces. Colour edges are then applied to classify ROI into faces.
Voices and values in shaping the subjectivity of pedagogical content knowledge

Abstract Pedagogical content knowledge involves subjective decisions on the parts of teachers in making the content comprehensible to learners. This paper is concerned with the formation of this subjectivity and asks: how do (pre-service) teachers come to know and decide upon the best approach to making the content instructional for learners? In answering this question, this study draws upon data obtained from one pre-service mathematics teacher’s microteaching and retrospective interviews. The data were examined through the lenses of the Bakhtinian notion of voice. The findings suggest that the pre-service teacher’s understanding of pedagogy is formed and transformed, to an important extent, by the voices of others who are not necessarily physically present within the immediate instructional setting and who might be distant in space and time. Assimilation of those voices enacts particular value judgments, which in turn shapes and hence forms the subjectivity of the pre-service teacher’s pedagogical practices.
A sedimentation model for particulate suspensions in liquid–solid fluidized beds with inclined channels

: The motion characteristics of mineral particles in a modified fluidized bed (mFB) with inclined plates have been studied both theoretically and experimentally. A particulate sedimentation model is built on the fluidization superficial velocity, terminal settling velocity, the device dimensions, the particle properties, and the volume fraction of the particulate suspensions in the inclined channel, which is to describe the motion behavior of particles in mono-disperse suspensions. The experimental particles are a mixture of silica and sand particles with the sizes in the range of 425 - 710 μm and 710 - 880 μm, respectively. Further, the model is extended to describe bi-disperse suspensions. The experimental system is established to be consistent with the theoretical arrangements, aiming to provide more accurate measurements. Specifically, the prediction results are in good agreement with the experimental data with the absolute deviation less than 11%. The results showed that the average solid volume fraction in the inclined channel fluctuates slightly for a given total solid inventory. The theoretical model is of certain practical significance for applications of this system to the classification, separation, and desliming of minerals.
Transverse behaviour of the LHC proton beam in the SPS: an update

During the 1999 SPS run, strong transverse instabilities were observed with the LHC beam. Both the instability characteristics and the identical threshold current as for beam-induced electron multipacting led to consider the interaction of the beam with the electron cloud as a likely source. In 2000, we have measured the dependence of beam motion, beam loss, and emittance growth on bunch intensity, number of bunches, octupole strength, chromaticity, and gaps in the bunch train. We report on these recent studies and compare the beam observations with simulations of electron cloud build up and electron-induced single-bunch instabilities.
A Review on Business Intelligence and Big Data

Improvement of data generating, processing, storing and networking technologies has made storing, capturing and sharing of data easier and cheaper than before and has enabled organizations to handle huge volume of data at high velocity and variety, named as big data. Big data offers many opportunities when the associated difficulties are addressed properly. Business Intelligence (BI) basically focuses on transforming raw data into usable, valuable and actionable information for decision-making. It can be classified as a kind of data-driven decision support system. Although big data related papers have increased for last fifteen years, there are not sufficient papers that directly overviews big data impact on BI. As data is growing exponentially, storage, process and analytics tools and technologies become more important for BI solutions. With the advent of big data, BI’s concept, architecture and capabilities are meant to be changed. Unlike a decades before, BI now is to be extract value from huge data ocean by using big data tools as well as classical ones. So, an interclusion has emerged between big data and BI. This paper overviews the current state of the art of BI and big data, and discuss how big data era affects BI solutions in general context.
Patterns of paralytic shellfish toxicity in the St. Lawrence region in relationship with the abundance and distribution of Alexandrium tamarense

Shellfish toxin data from 11 years and Alexandrium tamarense abundance during 6 of those years are analysed. Comparison of PSP toxicity in Mytilus edulis with PSP toxicity in Mya arenaria shows a significant correlation (r2=0.61), with M. edulis being five times more toxic. The results support using M. edulis as a sentinel species for shellfish toxicity in the St. Lawrence region. High interannual variability was found in the PSP and A. tamarense data, but no trends were manifest. Correlation analysis revealed clearly defined geographical station groups. These groups were characterised by seasonal distributions and outbreak times, and were associated with the surface seawater circulation. The results indicate blooms spreading from the open Gulf, upstream toward the Estuary. Since the spring bloom also spreads upstream, we hypothesise that the A. tamarense bloom is just one of the steps in the traditional phytoplankton succession diatoms-dinoflagellates-small flagellates, which is controlled by the classic oceanographic processes of nutrient depletion and water column stratification. A. tamarense distribution over the entire sampled area was similar to the PSP toxicity in M. edulis. In 1993, 59% of PSP variability was explained by A. tamarense . Furthermore, mussel toxin rises with increasing A. tamarense concentration. Shellfish contamination starts as soon as A. tamarense is present in the water. In addition, detoxification starts when A. tamarense decreases below the level of detection. However, the most important finding of this study is that only 1000 A. tamarense cells per litre are sufficient to raise the toxin in the mussels to the level (80 µg STX eq/100 g tissue) at which the closure of shellfish harvesting activities is obligatory.