Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bactericidal effect of gentamicin conjugated gold nanoparticles

The authors explored the antibacterial activity of gentamicin conjugated gold nanoparticles against Escherichia coli bacteria by using the disk diffusion method. Gold nanoparticles were prepared by the reduction of tetrachloroauric acid with sodium citrate. Experiments were performed with relatively lower and higher doses of gentamicin, gold nanoparticles, and gentamicin conjugated gold nanoparticles. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of the bacterial colonies with and without treatment were taken. Results show that gentamicin used alone in a lower range of doses did not cause any growth inhibition, but when used in conjugation with gold nanoparticles, clear inhibition zones were visible. The ratios of inhibition areas of gold nanoparticles with gentamicin to only gentamicin were more in case of bigger sized gold nanoparticles. AFM images of the bacterial colonies also showed that gentamicin conjugated gold nanoparticles were more effective than other groups in inhibiting bacterial growth.
Biodiversity of indigenous tussock grassland sites in Otago, Canterbury and the Central North Island of New Zealand VI. Coleoptera biodiversity, community structure, exotic species invasion, and the effect of disturbance by agricultural development

Abstract The diversity of Coleoptera communities in tussock grassland at two sites in Otago, one in Canterbury and one in the central North Island, was compared. The impact of agricultural disturbance on the communities was compared between native tussock, tussock oversown with exotic pasture species and cultivated sown pasture. Coleoptera were heat-extracted from turf samples taken in summer in two consecutive years. In native and oversown treatments, Staphylinidae and Curculionidae predominated in abundance at three of the four sites, and in species richness at all sites and treatments. Carabidae were more species-rich than Curculionidae in cultivated treatments at most sites. The mean density of Coleoptera in native tussock treatments ranged between 654/m2 and 97/m2. Carnivores were the predominant trophic group followed by herbivores. Species diversity was higher in the native or oversown treatments and the Otago sites were the most diverse overall, and the least disturbed. A total of 19 exotic species were found but there was no relationship with treatment, although their density was higher in cultivated treatments. There was no evidence to suggest that modified vegetation provides a source of exotic Coleoptera species to invade native tussock.
Flow velocity effect on leaf litter breakdown in tufa depositing system (Plitvice Lakes, Croatia).

Considerable amount of riparian leaf litter is annually supplied to the cascade Plitvice Lakes and trapped on tufa barriers where it decays together with aquatic macrophytes. These barriers are the sites of heavy calcite precipitation that can widely differ in terms of current velocity. We conducted a leaf- bag experiment at sites differing in flow velocity and tufa deposition rate. Decomposition of Petasites spp. and Fagus sylvatica was higher under high current (0.80 m/s) and high tufa deposition areas than in low current (< 0.20 m/s) and low tufa deposition areas (k = 0.085 vs. 0.021 for Petasites spp. and 0.009 vs. 0.002 for Fagus sylvatica). We concluded that although tufa deposition could interfere with decomposition by obstructing physical abrasion and also restricting microbial conditioning, thin calcite crusts developed on the surface of the leaves made them more fragile and thus accelerated their decomposition. High current velocity probably magnified this effect by supporting higher tufa deposition and coarser type of tufa fabrics.
Strategies for Rational Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Among Healthcare Providers During the COVID-19 Crisis

As the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) began spreading globally with no clear treatment in sight, prevention became a major part of controlling the disease and its effects. COVID-19 spreads from the aerosols of an infected individual whether they are showing any symptoms or not. Therefore, it becomes nearly impossible to point exactly where the patient is. This is where personal protective equipment (PPE) comes in. These are masks, respirators, gloves, and in hospitals where the contact with the infected and confirmed patient is direct, also gowns or body covers. The PPEs play a major role in the prevention and control of the COVID-19. The PPE is able to prevent any invasion of the virus particles into the system of an individual which is why it is an essential item to have for healthcare workers. Due to the high demand for PPEs all around the world, it is important to optimize the use of protective gear and ration the supplies so that the demand are met. However, there are guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to maintain the supply in the wake of this increased demand of PPE, how the manufacturers should track their supplies, and how the recipients should manage them. Various strategies can be used to increase the re-use of PPEs during the COVID-19 pandemic that has modified the donning and doffing procedure.
Mechanical properties of the fiber cell wall in Bambusa pervariabilis bamboo and analyses of their influencing factors

The cell wall mechanical properties are an important indicator for evaluating the overall mechanical properties of natural bamboo fibers. Using the nanoindentation technique, the variation of the mechanical properties of the fiber cell wall of Bambusa pervariabilis culms with different ages and different positions (both radial and longitudinal) was studied. Moreover, x-ray diffraction (XRD) was employed to measure the microfibril angle (MFA), and the correlation between the MFA and the mechanical properties of the fiber cell wall. The results showed that there was a remarkable difference in the fiber cell wall mechanical properties at different ages and at different radial and longitudinal positions. However, at different ages and at different positions, the absolute value of variation of MFA was less than 1° and was very minor. Furthermore, there was no significant correlation between the fiber cell wall mechanics and MFA, indicating that the mechanical property of the fiber cell walls might be synergistically affected by many factors.
Genetic and Phenotypic Parameters for Age and Speed at the Beginning of Racing Career in Trotters

Abstract Genetic and phenotypic parameters for age at first qualifying start (AFQ), passed qualifying start (APQ), and first race (AFR), and for corresponding time records and best time of early career were estimated for Finnish Standardbred (SBT) and Finnhorse (FHT) trotters using REML with the sire model. The age traits and corresponding time records were recorded for 2–6-year-old SBT and 3–7-year-old FHT. Best career time was recorded for 3–5-year-old SBT and 4–6-year-old FHT. The heritability (h 2) estimates for AFQ, APQ and AFR were very low, those for FHT being even lower than for SBT. The traits AFQ, APQ and AFR were highly correlated both genetically and phenotypically. Generally, the h 2 estimates obtained for time records were high in Standardbred trotters, considerably higher than in Finnhorses. It is likely that the h 2 estimates for SBT were overestimated and those for FHT underestimated. The highest h 2 estimate for both breeds was obtained for the time record in the first race. In SBT, a po.
Studies on the Chromosomes of the Scallop Pecten Maximus (L.) and Related Species

A number of species of the family Pectinidae (Lamellibranchia, Mollusca) are of considerable commercial importance in many parts of the world. Many of these are being reared in laboratories and hatcheries and this has made easier studies of cytogenetics using eggs and embryos, and ultimately will make studies of their genetics feasible. Recently, simple squash techniques have provided a fast and reliable method for obtaining chromosome numbers from eggs and embryos of several bivalves including Mercenaria spp. (Menzel & Menzel, 1965), Ostrea lurida and Crassostera gigas (Ahmed & Sparks, 1967), Mytilus spp. (Ahmed & Sparks, 1970), and Crassostrea spp. (Menzel, 1968). In 1967, Longwell, Stiles & Smith published the karyotype of Crassostrea virginica obtained from embryos which had been treated with colchicine.
Effect of conventional degumming methods on Eri silk fibers produced in Kenya

This paper aims to determine the best conventional degumming technique for use by rural farmers practicing Eri silk fiber production in Kenya. ,Three conventional silk degumming methods (water, soap and alkali) were analyzed under the factors, namely, time, pressure and degumming media, following the multilevel factorial design of experiments. The effect of variables on degumming weight loss was determined. The effects of the conventional degumming methods that produced complete sericin removal on chemical structure, surface morphology, thermal properties, crystallinity and fiber strength on Eri silk fibers produced in Kenya were then determined. The optimal degumming condition was then evaluated. ,Soap and water degumming led to incomplete sericin removal. Alkali degumming media had the most effect, especially when pressure cooked at 103 kPa. Increasing time during alkali degumming beyond 30 min did not to have any major difference on degumming loss (at p 0.05). There were no major changes in chemical and thermal properties after degumming. However, the tensile strength and elongation deteriorated especially on alkali medium. Decreasing degumming time in alkali medium from 120 min to 30 min reduced the strength loss from 45% to 33%. Optimal degumming was found to be in an alkali media at 103 kPa for 30 min.,There is very little information available on Eri silk fibers produced in Kenya. Results of this study provide an optimized conventional degumming procedure suitable for small scale farmers in rural areas practicing Eri silk fiber production.
Encoding Information From Rotations Too Rapid To Be Consciously Perceived as Rotating: A Replication of the Motion Bridging Effect on a Liquid Crystal Display

Abstract A ring of points that is rotated so rapidly is perceived as a stationary outline circle that can induce an illusory rotation with the same spin direction in a subsequently presented ring of stationary points. This motion bridging effect (MBE) demonstrates that motion information can be conveyed by temporal frequencies generally thought to exceed the processing capabilities of the human visual system. It was first described in displays shown with an analog oscilloscope, but the rapid rotation rates needed to produce the MBE have heretofore prevented it from being investigated with conventional raster scan monitors. Here, we demonstrate the MBE can be reliably generated using the new generation of 240 Hz LCD gaming monitors, and exhibits basic characteristics similar to those reported previously. These monitors therefore provide a readily available resource for research on the MBE and the studies of the visual processing rapid motions in general.
A 340 nW/Channel 110 dB PSRR Neural Recording Analog Front-End Using Replica-Biasing LNA, Level-Shifter Assisted PGA, and Averaged LFP Servo Loop in 65 nm CMOS

This paper presents an 8-channel energy-efficient analog front-end (AFE) for neural recording, with improvements in power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) and dynamic range. The input stage in the low noise amplifier (LNA) adopts low voltage supply (0.35 V) and current-reusing to achieve ultralow power. To maintain a high PSRR performance while using such a low-voltage supply, a replica-biasing scheme is proposed to generate a stable bias current for the input stage of the LNA despite large supply interference. By exploiting the signal characteristics in the tetrode recording, an averaged local field potential (A-LFP) servo loop is introduced to extend the dynamic range without consuming too much extra power and chip area. The A-LFP signal is generated by integrating the four-channel PGA outputs from the same tetrode. Furthermore, the outputs of the programmable gain amplifier (PGA) are level shifted to bias the input nodes of the amplifier through large pseudo resistors, thus increase the maximum output range without distortion under the low-voltage supply. The proof-of-concept prototype is fabricated in a 65 nm CMOS process. Each recording channel including an LNA and a PGA occupies 0.04 mm<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^2$</tex-math></inline-formula> and consumes 340 nW from the 0.35 V and 0.7 V supply. Each A-LFP servo loop, which is shared by four recording channels, occupies 0.04 mm<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^2$</tex-math></inline-formula> and consumes 190 nW. The maximum gain of the AFE is 54 dB, and the input-referred noise is 6.7 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>V over the passband from 0.5 Hz to 6.5 kHz. Measurement also shows that the 0.35 V replica-biasing input stage can tolerate a large interferer up to 200 mVpp with a PSRR of 74 dB, which has been improved to 110 dB with a silicon respin that shields critical wires in the layout.
Free polyamine contents and decarboxylase activities during tomato development and ripening

The levels of free polyamines (PAs) and the activities of arginine decarboxylase (ADC), ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) were measured in pericarp tissues of tomato fruit (Lycopersicon esculentum cv. Indalo) during development and ripening. Putrescine (Put) was the predominant PA during the early stages of growth (less than 1 g weight), while contents of spermidine (Spd) and spermine (Spm) were lower. The PA concentration clearly increased at the early stage of development, reaching a peak in fruits weighing 10 mg. ADC, ODC, and SAMDC activities also all peaked in fruits with 10 mg of fresh weight. The initial increase in PA levels occurred concomitantly with a rise in these decarboxylases. During ripening, levels of Spd declined and no pronounced changes in Put occurred. Given that these variations did not reflect decarboxylase activities, which increased slightly at the pink stage, PA catabolism or conjugation might be involved in the ripening of this tomato .
Parasites and Disease Associated with Larvae of Beet Armyworm Spodoptera Exigua (Lepidoptera: Notuidae), Infesting Processing Tomatoes in Sinaloa, Mexico

The impact of six species of parasites and a polyhedrosis virus on larvae of beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hubner), was investigated in processing tomato in the Guasave and Del Fuerte Valleys of Sinaloa, Mexico. The Polyhedrosis virus was the most important mortality factor; several epizootics occurred during the course of the study. Cotesia marginiventris (Cresson) was the most common parasite, followed by Meteorus laphygmae Viereck and Pristomerus spinator (F.). Disease and parasitization reduced beet armyworm to non-injurious levels during the seedling stage of the crop and thus should be considered as important components of the recently implemented IPM program on processing tomatoes in this area.
Memristor-Based Analog Recursive Computation Circuit for Linear Programming Optimization

Linear programming optimization is central to engineering designs, logistics management, and decision-making in every sector of the economy. Traditional hardware using CPU and GPU platforms for this purpose is severely limited by the scaling of the transistor technology. In this article, we design an analog in-memory computation circuit for accelerating linear programming optimization problems. The scheme includes a memristive crossbar array and analog peripheral circuits that do not require DAC/ADC between each algorithm iteration. In addition, several key parameters related to nonideal device characteristics and interconnect parasitics are discussed for providing practical guidelines. Furthermore, three design schemes are proposed to alleviate the computation error caused by the interconnect resistance for a large-scale crossbar array implementation. Optimal design parameters are quantified under a given number of array size and memristive resistance. Finally, the proposed hardware accelerator and error mitigation techniques are applied to six real-world power system optimization problems. The results show that the average error of generator power and the overall cost is less than 3%. It is demonstrated that the proposed accelerator achieves area, delay, and energy consumption reductions of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim 151\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim 33\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim 21\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, respectively, compared with the CMOS digital circuits at the 16-nm technology node for a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1000\times1000$ </tex-math></inline-formula> array with 6-bit precision.
Community Dynamics of Seed Rain in Mixed Evergreen Broad‐leaved and Deciduous Forests in a Subtropical Mountain of Central China

Seed dispersal is a key process within community dynamics. The spatial and temporal variations of seed dispersal and the interspecific differences are crucial for understanding species coexistence and community dynamics. This might also hold for the mixed evergreen broadleaved and deciduous forests in the mountains of subtropical China, but until now little existing knowledge is available for this question. In 2001, we chose to monitor the seed rain process of our mixed evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous forest communities in Mount Dalaoling National Forest Park, Yichang, Hubei Province, China. The preliminary analyses show obvious variations in seed rain density, species compositions and timing of seed rain among four communities. The average seed rain densities of the four communities are 2.43 ± 5.15, 54.13 ± 182.75, 10.05 ± 19.30 and 24.91 ± 58.86 inds. /m 2 , respectively; about one tenth the values in other studies in subtropical forests of China. In each community, the seed production is dominated by a limited number of species, and the contributions from the others are generally minor. Fecundity of evergreen broadleaved tree species is weaker than deciduous species. The seed rain of four communities begins earlier than September, and stops before December, peaking from early September to late October. The beginning date, ending date and peak times of seed rain are extensively varied among the species, indicating different types of dispersal strategies. According to the existing data, the timing of seed rain is not determined by the climate conditions in the same period, while the density of seed rain may be affected by the disturbances of weather variations at a finer temporal resolution.
Phylogenetic relationships of genus Eriobotrya Lindl. (Rosaceae), based on nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS) sequence

The phylogenetic relationships of genus Eriobotrya Lindl. (Rosaceae) was evaluated based on the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacers (ITS) sequence using 22 wild species of Eriobotrya, and 4 closest genera were used as an outgroup (Mespilus germanica L., Malus sieboldii (Regel) Rehder, Photinia beauverdiana C.K Schneid. and Rhaphiolepis indica (L.) Lindl. ). Our results supported the view that the Eriobotrya species were monophyletic and suggested that E. condaoensis, E. henryi and E. seguinii as the most primitive group of Eriobotrya. Our results also suggest that E. grandiflora considered as a valid species and have close relationship to E. fragrans. We reported here three more taxa of the genus for the first time, E. hookeriana have close relationship with E. petiolata; E. bengalensis f. contractahave close relationship with E. malipoensis and E. bengalensis var. intermedia have close relationship to E. salwinensis and E. tengyehensis. Furthermore, it was also resolved that E. malipoensis have close relationship to E. bengalensis var. contracta. In addition, E. cavaleriei and E. fragrans were found to be distantly related to each other.
Projected Kernel Least Mean $p$ -Power Algorithm: Convergence Analyses and Modifications

Sparsified kernel adaptive filters (SKAFs) is an attractive filtering solution with low memory and computational complexity. Most of existing SKAFs are based on the mean square error (MSE) criterion under Gaussian noise assumption for its simplicity and convenience. When the assumption deviates largely from the underlying truth, the performance of these methods could degrade significantly. In this paper, we propose a novel SKAF, named as projected kernel least mean $p$ -power algorithm (PKLMP), based on the mean $p$ -power error (MPE) criterion and vector projection (VP) method. We provide convergence analyses in terms of the stead-state MSE, based on a Taylor expansion method, and derive the lower and upper bounds for the steady-state excess MSE. We also conduct mean convergence analysis for PKLMP, and derive convergence conditions. To exploit the information in the desired outputs, we further derive a modified PKLMP by smoothing the desired signal. Finally, a simple and effective online variable kernel centers strategy is proposed to improve the filtering performance of the proposed KAFs. Simulation results under a static function estimation, a chaotic time-series prediction, and two real-world time-series predictions are conducted and validate the effectiveness of the proposed PKLMP algorithms.
Development of Brain and Behavior in Birds

ABSTRACT Sex differences in brain and behavior are widespread across vertebrates. Birds exhibit remarkable examples of these types of parallels between structure and function. For example, only male zebra finches sing, and the brain areas and muscles controlling the learning and production of these vocalizations are greatly enhanced in males compared to females. These sex differences are permanently established in development. Some songbirds, unlike zebra finches, change their songs seasonally. In a number of these species, the brain regions exhibit changes in neuron loss and incorporation across these periods. The mechanisms involved in these types of sexual differentiation and adult plasticity are described—they likely involve both steroid hormones and genetic (protein) factors. The strength of the relationships between morphology and behavior, as well as many other factors, has made birds outstanding models for the investigation of numerous functions. These include the mechanisms regulating vocal learn.
E-Government Development & Digital Economy: Relationship

The main objective of this examine is to explore the elements that influencing the digital economic system and E-government courting. Commonly, the examiner is to analyze the impact of demographic variables are gender and schooling stage; as well as digital infrastructure, virtual readiness, virtual content material, and offerings on the digital economy in Malaysia. A minimum overall of 384 questionnaires could be disbursed to the goal respondents to collect the sample information. Four hypotheses helping to the developed to survey the particular targets of the examiner. Demographic variables expected to have a high-quality enormous relationship with the virtual financial system. Last however now not least, the findings of the look at shall offer statistics to E-government to understand what factors will affect the virtual economic system. Except, it shall additionally provide useful information for E-government to higher fit their people’s needs. The elements decided to boom high-quality dating among Egovernment and virtual financial system in Malaysia.