Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
cDNA Cloning and Characterization of the House Dust Mite Allergen Sui p 2

Suidasia pontifica (Sp) is a House Dust Mite (HDM) species found in tropical urban residential areas which causes sensitization of up to 75% of allergic patients. Cloning of allergens from Sp is a significant initial step in understanding the clinical significance of this HDM species. The study describes the cloning and in silico characterization of the group 2 allergen gene from Sp (Sui p 2) with significant homology to Myeloid Differentiation 2 (MD-2) lipid-binding (ML domain) protein allergens. Sui p 2 gene was amplified by Reverse Transcription – PCR using gene-specific primers designed from known HDM group 2 allergens. The amplicons were characterized using NCBI BLAST, ExPASy, MEGA7 and Chimera. Sui p 2 cDNA gene exhibits percent identity to Tyrophagus putrescentiae (65.84%), Aleuroglyphus ovatus (65.69%) and Blomia tropicalis (62.98%). Sui p 2 gene contains 405 bp open reading frame with untranslated regions on its 5’ and 3’ end. Furthermore, structure-based percent identity of Sui p 2 to the group 2 allergen of D. farinae and D. pteronyssinus is 47.62% and 46.83%, respectively. Predicted protein structure reveals a putative immunoglobulin fold consisting of preserved cysteine residues, hydrophobic core and two antiparallel β-sheets containing several TLR4, LPS and IgE binding sites. The results suggest that Sui p 2 may play an important role in HDM induced allergy and may be involved in the induction of the innate immune system. Characterization of Sui p 2 is important to evaluate properly its use for allergy component resolved diagnosis and allergen-specific immunotherapy.
Instantaneous Signal Collision Detection Using In-Band Full-Duplex: Machine Learning VS Domain-specific Knowledge

Collision detection (CD) is a key capability of carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) based medium access control (MAC) protocol. Applying CD, the transmitter can abort transmission immediately so that the power can be saved. This technique does not need the peer receiver to give feedback on whether there is a packet collision, and hence, the overall overhead is significantly low. The challenge, however, is to operate in transmit time and instantly detect the week colliding signal in the presence of strong self-interference (SI). This paper investigates two CD methods. The first technique trains a convolutional neural network (CNN) model which operates on raw baseband samples, without the need for pre-decoding. The second method treats the SI as a normal signal and estimates the signal to noise ratio (SNR): low SNR implies there is a collision because the pure SI is expected to have high SNR. Both models are evaluated by IEEE 802.15. 4-like measured and simulated signals. The results show that collisions up to 30 dB below the SI signal can be detected precisely within $20 \mu \mathrm{s}$, while the proposed models can deliver acceptably low false alarm rate $\lt 1.5$ %.
Does Plastic Mulch Improve Crop Yield in Semiarid Farmland at High Altitude

Crop yields have increased greatly due to the use of plastic-film mulching in dryland areas of China at low to mid-altitudes. However, its effect at high altitude remains unknown. We studied the effect of ridge-furrow with plastic-mulching practices on crop yields in semiarid farmland at high altitude (2400 m) from 2010 to 2011. The three treatments were as follows: (i) flat plot with no mulching (CK); (ii) alternating ridges (60-cm wide, 15-cm high) and furrows (60-cm wide) without plastic film (RF); and (iii) alternating ridges (60-cm wide, 15-cm high) and furrows (60-cm wide), with the ridges mulched with plastic film (RFM). Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) crops were planted in 2010 and 2011, respectively. The RFM treatment did not increase potato yields, but significantly increased the ratio of large tuber to total tuber yields (RBT). The RBTs for CK, RF, and RFM were 44.0, 46.8, and 66.7%, respectively. In 2011, the RFM treatment had significantly higher maize yield than the CK and RF treatments, and maize yield was mainly affected by temperature in May. In conclusion, ridge-furrowing with plastic film did not increase the total yield of potato crops compared with non-mulching treatments, but did increase large tuber yield. The increase in soil temperature in May caused by mulching was important for improving maize yield in semiarid farmland at high altitude.
Increase in okra production with the addition of nitrogen

Introduction: Growth, yield and quality of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) are related to fertilizer application, being nitrogen (N) the most outstanding, due to its direct relationship with photosynthesis and vegetative growth of the plant. Objective: The objective was to evaluate the agronomic and productivity characteristics of okra as a function of N dose. Materials and methods: The study was conducted at the experimental area of Campus Gurupi, the Universidad Federal de Tocantins (UFT), Brazil, in two planting periods (autumn/winter and spring/summer). The experimental design used was randomized block design (RBD) with six treatments (50, 100, 150, 150, 200 and 250 kg N ha-1) and four replications. Urea was used as a source of N. The characteristics evaluated were: productivity, average fruit mass, height and plant chlorophyll index. Results: Productivity and plant height were superior in the fall/winter crop. Mean fruit mass and chlorophyll index were not influenced by planting time. For productivity, a linear response was obtained with increasing dose up to the limit of the N dose used (250 kg ha-1), with a mean value higher than 14 t of fruit. Mean mass and plant height responded linearly to increasing N dose. Nitrogen affected the chlorophyll index, with maximum values of 45.96 and 47.19, observed in the two evaluation periods. Conclusion: Planting time and N content in the soil interacted with plant height, being favorable in the period without precipitation. N influenced all the characteristics, demonstrating the importance of nitrogen fertilization in the development of okra plants.
Isolation and identification of Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) from diarrheatic calves in Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt

In the current study, a total of 107 fecal samples were collected from diarrhetic calves from 1 day to 3 weeks of age from different localities in Dakahlia governorate, Egypt (Gamasa, Belkas, Sherbin, Nabaroh, Talkha, Almanzala, Algamalia, and Aga) during the period from year 2015 to year 2018. These calves were suffering from watery diarrhea, dehydration, weakness and recumbency. All samples were taken from calves which were born from vaccinated cows. The fecal samples from 107 cases were screened for the presence of BCoV by using Ag-ELISA and RT-PCR. From ELISA and PCR positive identified samples, we visualized the Coronavirus particles when negatively stained by transmission electron microscopy. From ELISA and PCR positive identified samples, virus isolation was done via MDBK tissue culture, six passages were carried out followed by identification of BCoV in harvested tissue culture via DFA test and indirect immunoperoxidase technique. Furthermore, nucleotide sequence analysis of amplified N gene of the identified BCoV nucleic acid was done and compared with published reference sequences on GeneBank. The results of ELISA and RT-PCR revealed that: out of 107 tested fecal samples, 4 samples showed positive results (3.7%) and 103 samples showed negative results (96.2%). The viral particles showed pleomorphism with characteristic radial projections forming a corona, by transmission electron microscopy. All tested samples gave positive results with DFAT as yellowish green coloration was detected in stained MDBK cells which increased gradually with increased passages. All tested samples gave positive results with IP as brownish coloration was detected in stained MDBK cells which increased gradually with increased the period of incubation. further studies is required for better understanding the genetic diversity among BCoV circulating in Egyptian farms based on full genome sequencing.
The novel SNPs of the IGFBP3 gene and their associations with litter size and weight traits in goat (Brief report)

Abstract. The insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 ( IGFBP-3 ) gene is a structural gene responsible for the multiple effects of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) playing a key role in mammalian growth, development and reproduction (BALE et al., 1992; HASTIE et al., 2004). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been described in the bovine IGFBP3 gene which was associated with production traits, as well as in the buffalo (MACIULLA et al., 1997; PADMA et al., 2004). No polymorphism was detected in the sheep IGFBP3 gene (KUMAR et al., 2006). In present experiment most of the coding region and part of introns of IGFBP3 were scanned for SNPs in predominant goat breeds of China. Associations of SNPs of IGFBP3 with litter size and weight traits were analyzed.
A Review of Serverless Use Cases and their Characteristics

The serverless computing paradigm promises many desirable properties for cloud applications - low-cost, fine-grained deployment, and management-free operation. Consequently, the paradigm has underwent rapid growth: there currently exist tens of serverless platforms and all global cloud providers host serverless operations. To help tune existing platforms, guide the design of new serverless approaches, and overall contribute to understanding this paradigm, in this work we present a long-term, comprehensive effort to identify, collect, and characterize 89 serverless use cases. We survey use cases, sourced from white and grey literature, and from consultations with experts in areas such as scientific computing. We study each use case using 24 characteristics, including general aspects, but also workload, application, and requirements. When the use cases employ workflows, we further analyze their characteristics. Overall, we hope our study will be useful for both academia and industry, and encourage the community to further share and communicate their use cases. This article appears also as a SPEC Technical Report: this https URL The article may be submitted for peer-reviewed publication.
Modified Group Decision Algorithm for Performance Appraisal of Indian Premier League Cricketers

Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) is a major technique in the field of performance appraisal. In time to time numerous MCDM procedures are proposed to solve multi criteria problems. The different methods may provide different results on the same problem, which is the major fault of MCDM. To overcome this our proposed technique namely as Modified Group Decision Analysis (MGDA) plays the vital role. Indian Premier League (IPL) T-20 cricket tournament dataset is to be considered for applying MGDA. The assessment of the players by using four different MCDM techniques considered as an input of group decision method and the output produces the rank of the players. The result shows that proposed model yields more realistic way to judge the players and resolve deficiency of MCDM process. Key-Words: Group Decision, IPL, MCDM method, Performance Appraisal, Spearman Ranking
How to estimate carbon sequestration on small forest tracts.

International climate change agreements may allow carbon stored as a result of afforestation and reforestation to be used to offset CO2 emissions. Monitoring the carbon sequestered or released through forest management activities thus becomes important. Estimating forest carbon storage is feasible even for nonindustrial private forestland (NIPF) owners, and the necessary tools are available.We developed a methodology for estimating forest carbon storage at the management unit scale and tested the impacts of hypothetical management scenarios on carbon sequestration over time. We demonstrate the procedure on two military installations in the southeastern United States and discuss some practical considerations.
Does Coastal Foredune Stabilization with Ammophila arenaria Restore Plant and Arthropod Communities in Southeastern Australia?

In this study we examine whether stabilization of denuded coastal foredunes in southeastern Australia with the exotic grass species Ammophila arenaria (marram grass) restores plant and ground‐active arthropod assemblages characteristic of undisturbed foredunes. Vascular plants and arthropods were sampled from foredunes that had been stabilized with marram grass in 1982, and from foredunes with no obvious anthropogenic disturbance (control dunes). All arthropods collected were sorted to Order, and ants (81.5% of all specimens) were further sorted to morphospecies. Abundance within arthropod Orders, as well as richness, composition, and structure of the plant and ant assemblages from control and stabilized dunes, were compared. The abundance of Diptera was significantly greater on stabilized dunes, while the abundance of Isopoda was significantly greater on control dunes. There were no significant differences in morphospecies richness or composition of ant assemblages on the two dunes types, although some differences in the abundances of individual morphospecies were observed. By contrast, stabilized dunes exhibited lower plant species richness and highly significant differences in plant species composition, due mainly to the large projected foliage cover of marram grass. The study revealed that after 12 years, the vegetation composition and structure of stabilized dunes was still dominated by marram grass and, as a result, invertebrate assemblages had not been restored to those characteristic of undisturbed foredunes.
Effect of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) illumination on postharvest quality and bioactive compounds in yellow bell pepper fruit ( Capsicum annuum L.) during storage

The effects of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) illumination on postharvest quality and bioactive compounds of yellow bell pepper during refrigerated storage were investigated. The yellow bell pepper fruit were illuminated with three different UV-C dosages, 2.2, 4.4 and 6.6 KJ m -2 and then stored at 12 ± 1°C for 15 days. UV-C illumination at 6.6 kJ m -2 showed the best results in maintaining firmness and reducing the increase in weight loss and electrolyte leakage (EL) throughout storage. No significant differences in both weight loss and firmness were detected in the fruit illuminated with UV-C at 2.2, 4.4 kJ m -2 and the control fruit over storage. UV-C illumination had no effect on the changes in tristimulus colours (lightness, L* value, and yellowness, b* value), ascorbic acid (AsA) and total phenol (TP) contents of the yellow pepper fruit and these remained constant over storage. UV-C illumination at 6.6 kJ m -2 enhanced total carotenoid (TC), total flavonoid (TF) contents, antioxidant capacity and the activities of antioxidant enzymes including catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (G-POD) and ascorbate peroxidase (AsA-POD) when compared to the control fruit. In conclusion, UV-C illumination prevented the loss of firmness, weight and EL increase and enhanced biologically active compounds, especially, antioxidants, in yellow bell pepper fruit.
PRESSURE LOSS THROUGH THE BOTTOM END PIECE OF A NUCLEAR FUEL ASSEMBLY

A study was conducted on the fluid dynamic characteristics of the bottom end piece of a nuclear fuel assembly. A commercial CFD code was used to simulate water flows through perforated plates in a square duct to evaluate both turbulence models and mesh refinement. Perforated plates with different diameter holes and one similar to the plate of the bottom end piece were simulated. The numerical results with the optimized mesh and SST k-ω turbulence model showed a good agreement when compared with a conventional methodology (Idelchik). With the same mesh criteria and the SST k-ω turbulence model were accomplished simulations in a standard bottom end piece, with some geometric simplifications. Experiments were also carried out to determine the pressure drop through the bottom end piece. The agreement between the numerical simulations and experimental results can be considered satisfactory but suggests further numerical investigations with bottom piece under real conditions of the experiment, without the geometric simplifications and with a gap between the piece and the wall of the flow channel. Additionally, other turbulence models should be appraised for this complex geometry.
High resolution numerical study of wind, thermal effects and pollution dispersion in an urban neighborhood in Toulouse

Detailed, high resolution, 3D numerical simulations are used to study short episodes of local urban climate and pollution dispersion in the neighborhood of Bordelongue in Toulouse in the framework of the French ANR project EUREQUA [1]. These urban areas consist of various types of buildings and obstacles: house districts, tower blocks, highway, some local streets, vegetation areas, etc. The 3D geometry of this urban area was constructed with an in house tool developed around the opensource geometry and mesh generator Salome P latform, based on the available geophysical data SIG from the French geographical institute (IGN). The open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code Code Saturne, with the atmospheric option developed at CEREA, was used to carry out the simulations. The atmospheric model already implemented solving the Navier-Stokes equation with a k− turbulent model is used to compute the air flow in the urban area. The vegetation, principally composed with trees, is considered as a porous layer which induces a drag force to the air flowing through it. The same porous approach is used to model the surrounding neighborhoods as well. The pollutants of the local traffic emissions are considered as passive scalars, which are solved by the transport equations, transported by local winds and dispersed by local turbulence. The global meteorology condition is taken into account using results from mesoscale simulations performed over the region by using the Meso-NH code and the TEB urban parameterization. The simulation results of the air flow and pollution dispersion are compared with the various measurements obtained with fixed stations especially set up in the area during the campaigns. These measurements and simulation results will also be compared with sociologically analyzed results based on the subjective perceptions of the environment (based on questionnaires) by the local residents during the campaigns. The numerical tool and collected results can be used for future studies of urban renewal scenarios.
Joint Reduction of PMEPR and Sidelobe in Multicarrier Radar Signals using ZC and SC Method

Employing the multitone waveforms for radar applications has attracted many authors in recent days. Several researchers have investigated the use of multitone waveform and challenges associated while implementation. The serious drawback of using multicarrier waveforms is the high Peak to Mean Envelope Power Ratio (PMEPR) values recorded and large sidelobes. To overcome PMEPR and sidelobe drawbacks a novel method is suggested for reducing sidelobe levels. The projected method applies zad-off chu phase sequence for multicarrier complementary phase coded (MCPC) signals. The comparison of integrated sidelobe ratio and peak sidelobe is obtained. Autocorrelations and complex envelope of the MCPC signal is obtained from the above methods are analyzed with extensive simulations. It is also possible to reduce the PMEPR and sidelobe simultaneously by using secondary user method. The suggested technique results with reduction in sidelobe and PMEPR levels.
Short-term Storage of Almond Pollen

Almond (Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb) breeding programs require successful techniques for pollen storage. We studied the pollen viability of two almond cultivars, 'Ramillete' and 'Desmayo Largueta', during 8 weeks of storage, in conditions that simulated standard situations including storage at 4, 22, and 4 °C alternating with 22 °C (4 °C/22 °C). Viability remained at 60% or more for 2 weeks under all three conditions. After the second week, germination capacity decreased rapidly at 22 °C, but remained above 50% for as long as 8 weeks at 4 °C or 4 °C/22 °C. of ≈0.5 g were stored for 8 weeks in hermeti- cally sealed 25-mL glass vials (RH ≈30%) at 4 °C, 22 °C, or at 4 °C for 18 h and 22 °C for 6 h (4 °C/22 °C) each day. In vitro germination of pollen. Pollen samples were taken weekly during 8 weeks of storage. A fine paint brush was used to deposit the pollen on the surface of the agar in a petri
Preliminary validation analysis of the GlobSnow2 database over Eastern Canada

The European Space Agency (ESA) Data User Element (DUE) funded GlobSnow-2 project released a Version 2.0 dataset for the Northern Hemisphere in 2013. Intended for climate research purposes, this dataset provides information on two essential snow parameters: snow water equivalent (SWE) and areal snow extent (SE). Here, we present an analysis of the SWE data product for a 30-year period (1980-2009).
Aloha: A Machine Learning Framework for Engineers

The process of deploying machine learnt models to production systems can be difficult, time consuming, and prone to many engineering and data-related risks. Here, we present Aloha 1 , a model representation framework that mitigates many of these risks. In Aloha, feature expansion and reporting are subsumed within the model boundary, allowing Aloha to read user-defined , rather than framework-defined data types, which eases integration in preexisting engineering pipelines. Aloha’s reporting functionality has a variety of use cases including data anomaly detection and hierarchical model output logging. The latter benefit enables simple A/B testing and is also useful in classification scenarios when offline analysis on raw model scores is desirable. Feature expansion and reporting are performed non-strictly to avoid unnecessary computation.
A Landsat-era (1985-2015) Sierra Nevada (USA) Snow Reanalysis Dataset

This work presents a newly developed state-of-the-art snow water equivalent (SWE) reanalysis dataset over the Sierra Nevada (USA) based on the assimilation of remotely sensed fractional snow covered area data over the Landsat 5-8 record (1985-2015). The method (fully Bayesian), resolution (daily, 90-meter), temporal extent (31 years), and accuracy provide a unique dataset for investigating snow processes to ultimately improve real-time streamflow predictions of snow-dominated regions. The reanalysis dataset was used to characterize SWE climatology to provide a basic accounting of the stored snowpack water in the Sierra Nevada over the last 31 years. The ongoing California drought contains the lowest snowpack years (water years 2014 and 2015) and three of the four driest years over the reanalysis record. In particular, water year 2015 was a truly extreme (dry) year, with range-wide peak snow volume characterized by a return period of over 600 years.
Heat and Mass Transfer on MHD Jeffrey-Hamel Flow in Presence of Inclined Magnetic Field

In this study, a magnetohydrodynamic Jeffrey-Hamel flow of a viscous, fluid that conducts electricity and is incompressible through a divergent conduit in presence of inclined variable magnetic field with heat and mass transfer has been investigated. The solutions of the governing equations of the MHD flow are obtained numerically since they are non-linear. The numerical scheme used is implemented in a computer software program and the results presented in graphical form. The velocity profile, the temperature profiles, the effect of variable magnetic field and of varying various dimensionless numbers on the flow are analyzed. Jeffrey-Hamel flows are also applied in the diffuser development. Some of the systems include; the channel between the compressor and gas turbine engine burner, the canal at departure from a gas turbine linked to the jet pipe, the canal subsequent to the impellor of a centrifugal compressor, wind tunnels with closed circuits, and water turbine draft tubes among several others. The results provide significant information for the improvement of proficiency and performance of technologies in aerospace, chemical, civil, environmental, industrial and mechanical applications.