Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A catalytic aldol condensation system enables one pot conversion of biomass saccharides to biofuel intermediates

Producing bio-intermediates from lignocellulosic biomass with minimal process steps has a far-reaching impact on the biofuel industry. We studied the metal chloride catalyzed aldol condensation of furfural with acetone under conditions compatible with the upstream polysaccharide conversions to furfurals. In situ far infrared spectroscopy (FIR) was applied to guide the screening of aldol condensation catalysts based on the distinguishing characteristics of metal chlorides in their coordination chemistries with carbonyl-containing compounds. NiCl2, CoCl2, CrCl3, VCl3, FeCl3, and CuCl2 were selected as the potential catalysts in this study. The FIR results further helped to rationalize the excellent catalytic performance of VCl3 in furfural condensation with acetone, with 94.7% yield of biofuel intermediates (C8, C13) in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl) solvent. Remarkably, addition of ethanol facilitated the acetal pathway of the condensation reaction, which dramatically increased the desired product selectivity over the furfural pathway. Most significantly, we demonstrate for the first time that VCl3 catalyzed aldol condensation in acidic medium is fully compatible with upstream polysaccharide hydrolysis to monosaccharide and the subsequent monosaccharide isomerization and dehydration to furfurals. Our preliminary results showed that a 44% yield of biofuel intermediates (C8, C13) can be obtained in one-pot conversion of xylose catalyzed by paired metal chlorides, CrCl2 and VCl3. A number of prior works have shown that the biofuel intermediates derived from the one-pot reaction of this work can be readily hydrogenated to biofuels.
Teaching early numeracy to students with autism using a school staff delivery model

Mathematics is one of the core school subjects in the UK and an emphasis is placed on developing pupils’ mathematical competencies throughout all key stages. Despite that, the attainment of students with disabilities in mathematics remains low. The current study explored ways in which the Teaching Early Numeracy to children with Developmental Disabilities (TEN-DD) programme could be implemented by teaching staff in a special school in the UK to improve the numeracy skills of students with autism. Adaptations to the delivery of the programme were made during the study as a result of continued collaboration with the participating school. The findings suggest that it may be feasible to implement the TEN-DD programme using a school staff delivery model and it may help learners improve their early numeracy skills. Practical aspects of TEN-DD’s implementation highlighted the need to incorporate more systematic adaptations for minimally verbal students, as well as for learners who might need additional training with prerequisite skills.
Stationary Bootstrap Based Multi-Step Forecasts for Unrestricted VAR Models

This paper proposes a new asymptotically valid stationary bootstrap procedure to obtain multivariate forecast densities in unrestricted vector autoregressive models. The proposed method is not based on either backward or forward representations, so it can be used for both Gaussian and non-Gaussian models. Also, it is computationally more eﬃcient compared to the available resampling methods. The ﬁnite sample performance of the proposed method is illustrated by extensive Monte Carlo studies as well as a real-data example. Our records reveal that the proposed method is a good competitor or even better than the existing methods based on backward and/or forward representations. optimal lag order is determined by the AIC since it is proposed to determine the best model for forecasting, and the results show that VAR(3) model is the optimal according to AIC.
Assessment of the Genetic Diversity of Joha Rice Germplasms by using Simple Sequence Repeat Markers

Background: Joha Rice are aromatic rice landraces, having small to medium grain size, indigenous to Assam, India. Due to the introduction of high yielding hybrid varieties, many endemic rice landraces including Joha Rice, are in a verge of extinction, as these can only be conserved and maintained by repetitive cultivation. As there is a conflict of local names for these landraces, many landraces with similar morphological characters have been reported from various parts. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers with longer perfect repeats have earlier proved successful and essential in studying the genetic diversity among rice cultivars. The present study is aimed to evaluate the genetic relationship among fifteen (15) aromatic Joha rice landraces endemic to Upper Brahmaputra Valley, Assam.Methods: In the present investigation, different landraces of Joha rice were surveyed during 2016-2019. 15 landraces were selected, based on their morphological characters and local data. The collected germplasm of Joha rice was grown in the experimental plots and DNA from young, healthy leaves were isolated which were further used for determination of genetic diversity using SSR markers. Thirty-eight SSR markers were used to evaluate the genetic relationship among the fifteen aromatic rice landraces.Result: A total of 110 polymorphic alleles were detected by 34 markers across all the landraces, with an average of 3.25 per locus. The Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) ranged from 0.24 to 0.83, with an average of 0.5 for each marker. The marker RM154, RM454 and RM489 produced maximum six alleles showing PIC value of 0.82, 0.82 and 0.83, indicating a high polymorphism. UPGMA cluster analysis using Jaccard’s similarity index produced a dendrogram clustering the rice landraces in three major groups and five subgroups. Group II, which consisted of five sub-groups and 12 landraces, showed diverse genotypes. These landraces showed significant genetic similarities.
Identifying and sensing emotional quotient weightage in the outcome using Speech Dialogue

Emotion is a very important part of any interaction whether it is human-human or human- computer interaction as an emotion conveys the essence of the interaction. Decision making is also influenced by the emotional state of a person. If we can capture emotions from a human-computer interaction then it will be very beneficial for the computer to learn from that interaction. It can be efficiently used by an artificial intelligence system to understand and give response accordingly. The method proposed in this paper uses a machine learning based approach to detect emotion from the text obtained from the speech dialogue.
“It’s really geniuses that live in the hood”: Black urban youth curricular un/makings and centering Blackness in slavery’s afterlife

Abstract Curriculum within the US was birthed in a context of antiblackness and continues to operate as anti-Black through imagining Black youth as less than and uneducable. However, despite the ways educational space has historically worked to image Black children and communities through deficit lenses, the creation of non-traditional Black curricular spaces has long served as a strategy of resistance. In this paper, I examine the ways Black urban youth leveraged a co-created non-traditional curricular space, grounded in centering Blackness to make sense of their educational experiences. I draw from an academic yearlong (2016–2017) critical ethnography, centered in Black Critical Theory (BlackCrit), to examine what is revealed about Black living and learning and curriculum, through centering Blackness in a non-traditional curricular space. Theoretically framed through BlackCrit and Sharpe’s (2016) concept of wake work, I analyze critical literacy artifacts and interview data to examine how centering antiblackness, a strength-based positioning, facilitated Black curricular un/makings that worked to: 1) center Black empowerment and 2) affirm Black knowledge. I use the term curricular un/makings to represent the ways the Black youth leveraged their life-worlds to disrupt or abandon nation-state curriculum (unmake anti-Black curricular space) to compose new ideations of curriculum and curricular space (make curriculum anew by centering Blackness). Black curricular un/makings represent the intentional process of deconstructing anti-Black curriculum through an unapologetic centering of a Black ethos.
Regulation of Abnormal Expression of hsa_circRNA_0127523 on Proliferation, Migration and Invasion and miR-515-5p Expression in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Circular RNA (circRNA) play an important role in many biological processes of occurrence and development of cancers. In this research, we established an animal model by DMBA-induced buccal sac tissue and discovered the differential expression of circRNAs by the second-generation sequencing. Models were identified by HE staining and ultrastructural observation. We found total of 3485 circRNAs were differentially expressed which the top 8 different expression circRNAs in sequencing results were confirmed by qRT-PCR. GO and KEGG analyses showed that differently expressed circRNAs function and pathway. Moreover, the axis relationship of circRNA-miRNA was predicted by miRanda. Silencing hsa_circ_0127523 significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells by RNAi, CCK-8, transwell migration and invasion assays. Furthermore, bioinformatics databases suggested that hsa_circ_0127523 might function by sponging miR-515-5p to regulate the expression of TRIP13. It was subsequently identified that hsa_circ_0127523 may inhibit miR-515-5p expression and increase TRIP13 expression in the OSCC cells. In summary, the results of the present study revealed that OSCC tissues have abundant circRNAs and we firstly explore the role of the hsa_circ_0127523 in the behavior regulation of OSCC cells. Its demonstrating that hsa_circ_0127523 may be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target of OSCC.
Information system “Graded coatings”

Functionally graded coatings are widely used to protect structures and machine parts from damage caused by mechanical and thermal loads. The information system “Graded coatings” was developed to help the researchers to design such coatings and also for expanding of the availability of tools for calculating and analysing of experimental data. The system was constructed for interactive data preparation and multi-parametric analysis of the results of numerical-analytical solution of mixed boundary value problems of crack theory and theory of elasticity and thermoelasticity for continuously inhomogeneous coatings of complex structure
A capsule-based collision detection approach of irregular objects in virtual maintenance

Virtual maintenance simulation is of great importance to help designers find and avoid design problems. During its simulation phase, besides the high precision requirement, collision detection must be suitable for all irregular objects in a virtual maintenance environment. Therefore, in this paper, a collision detection approach is proposed based on encapsulation for irregular objects in the virtual maintenance environment. ,First, virtual maintenance simulation characteristics and several commonly used bounding boxes methods are analyzed, which motivates the application of encapsulation theory. Based on these, three different encapsulation methods are oriented to the needs of simulation, including encapsulation of rigid maintenance objects, flexible maintenance objects and maintenance personnel. In addition, to detecting collisions accurately, this paper divides the detection process into two stages. That is, in the first stage, a rough detection is carried out and then a tiny slice space is constructed to generate corresponding capsule groups, which will be redetected in the secondary stage. At last, several case studies are applied to illustrate the performance of the methodology. ,The automatic construction algorithm for bounding boxes can be adapted to all forms of objects. The number of detection primitives are greatly reduced. It introduces the reachable space of the human body in maintainability as the collision search area. ,The advantages of virtual maintenance simulation could also be advantageous in the industry with further studies. The paper believes this study is of particular interest to the readers of your journal.
(±)‐Hippolide J – A Pair of Unusual Antifungal Enantiomeric Sesterterpenoids from the Marine Sponge Hippospongia lachne

A pair of enantiomeric sesterterpenoids, (±)-hippolide J (1a and 1b), were isolated from the marine sponge Hippospongia lachne collected from the South China Sea. The racemic mixture was resolved into a pair of enantiomers, (–)-1a and (+)-1b, by chiral HPLC separation. The structures of the enantiomers were determined through ESI-HRMS and NMR spectroscopic analysis, and their absolute configurations were determined by comparison between the calculated and experimental electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. Hippolide J (1) features an unusual bicyclo[4.2. 0]octene core and contains three functional groups, namely, a hydroxymethyl group, an α,β-unsaturated γ-lactone fragment, and a characteristic prenyl side-chain. The evaluation of the antifungal activity of (–)-1a and (+)-1b revealed that both show potent antifungal activity against three strains of hospital-acquired pathogenic fungi, namely, Candida albicans SC5314, Candida glabrata 537, and Trichophyton rubrum Cmccftla, with MIC50 (minimum concentration to give 50 % inhibition) values of 0.125–0.25 µg/mL.
School space selection preferences: Architectural perspective toward formal school

School space plays an essential role in creating a pleasurable learning atmosphere. The tendency of everyone to choose a school space also varies. By knowing this trend pattern, schools can be designed to improve student learning effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to find out which school spaces students choose to study, what kind of room criteria are needed, and distribution patterns of students' preference choices. This research used both the qualitative exploratory and quantitative methods using an open-ended question questionnaire for data collection. Data analysis techniques used qualitative analysis methods consisting of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. The results showed that the library, mosque, and multimedia laboratory were the most preferred space for students to study at school. Some factors that influence the selection include thermal comfort, completeness of supporting facilities, and acoustic comfort.
Perception towards Nursing Profession among Nurses Working in Public Hospitals in Central Ethiopia: A Mixed-Method Study

Background: Nurses' perceptions guide them in maintaining their nursing profession and are dependent on different factors. Although a good perception can help lead a successful profession, many nurses leave the profession in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to assess the nurses’ perception towards their profession and factors associated with it among nurses working in public hospitals in the west Shewa zone, Oromia, Central Ethiopia.Methods: An institutional based cross-sectional study, a concurrent mixed-methods approach was conducted among randomly selected nurses working in public hospitals in the west Shewa zone from May 25-June 20, 2020. Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained using interview techniques. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 and the qualitative was analyzed through thematic analysis. The strength and direction of the statistical association were measured according to the odds ratio and the 95% confidence interval. The statistically significant level was reported at p < 0.05. Results: In this study, 54.6% [95%CI (48.0%, 61.0%)] had a good perception towards nursing profession. Nurses who had Bachelor degree (BSc) [AOR: 3.00 (95% CI: (1.55-5.80)], those who earn a monthly salary of ≥ 6194 ETB [AOR: 2.28 (95% CI: 1.01-5.16)], those working in primary hospitals [(AOR: 4.39 (95%CI: (1.39-9.95)] and general hospitals [(AOR:6.09(2.84,13.01) were more likely to have good perception towards nursing profession than their counter parts.Conclusions: Nearly six in ten nurses in the study area had a good perception towards nursing profession. Nurses’ level of education, monthly salary scale and type of hospital the nurses were working in should be considered for improving nurses’ perception towards their profession and thereby to keep the experienced nurses in their profession.
Positioning of cassava cultivars in space management and use of biostimulant

Cassava plays a fundamental role in food, economy, culture and in Brazilian society. Because it is a rustic crop, tolerant to drought and acidic soils, with high adaptive capacity and low production cost, it has become the main source of carbohydrate in much of the world. Due to this and other factors, the presumed work aims to evaluate four cassava genotypes, transplanted in two different densities with the use of a biostimulant for root growth. The present study was carried out in the experimental area of Regional University of Northwest Rio Grande do Sul, in the county of Augusto Pestana – RS, Brazil. The treatments consisted of three cassava cultivars, FEPAGRO-RS 13 Vassourinha, BRS CS01, Iapar - 19 Pioneira with two planting densities, 10 and 20 buds per linear meter, with and without the use of plant biostimulator Sturdy®. The evaluations were carried out throughout the crop cycle, post-harvest and processing. Where the following variables were evaluated: plants emerged at 30, 60 and 90 days, plants that tuberized, starch, plant height, stem diameter, total root length, lignified part of the root, commercial root length, mean root diameter, number of leaves, branching of the stems, roots that tuberized and not tuberized, mass of tuberized roots, fresh mass of commercial tuber with peel, fresh mass of commercial tuber without peel, mass of partially dry peeled tuber. Regarding the density, the one that showed a better performance in the productive character was the density 10 buds per linear meter, which presented the highest averages of the commercial fresh mass without peel. Taking into account the cultivars, the one with the highest fresh mass production was BRS CS01 and Iapar-19 Pioneira. However, FEPAGRO-RS 13 Vassourinha presented a higher percentage of starch. The application of the biostimulant of root growth showed significant effect mainly for the characteristics of productivity. The increase in the number of branches decreases the final productivity of the crop. Another point to consider, the larger the average root diameter, the greater the percentage of starch in the root. By the method of Annicchiarico it can be pointed out that in general the percentage of starch and the dry matter of the roots had a better behavior in density 10 with biostimulant and density 20 with biostimulant.
Overcoming the Barriers to Entry of Newcomer Sustainable Farmers: Insights from the Emergence of Organic Clusters in Japan

The growing concern for sustainability in agri-food systems and the parallel decrease in the number of people engaged in agriculture, especially in the Global North, is starting to draw attention to new entrant farmers from non-farming backgrounds (“newcomer” farmers). Newcomers, however, especially if interested in sustainable agriculture, face considerable barriers to entry, and their support needs are often not adequately met by conventional agricultural institutions and support structures. Several studies have highlighted the importance of formal and informal farmer-to-farmer networks and communities of practice for newcomers to receive support, but such networks are usually geographically dispersed. Dynamics of spatial clustering of sustainable farmers, on the other hand, have so far received less attention, particularly in relation to their role in supporting the establishment of newcomers. This study examines the barriers to entry faced by newcomer organic farmers in Japan and the relevance of geographically proximate “clusters” of organic farmers to address such barriers. The results highlight the environmental and social factors that can facilitate the formation of organic clusters in the first place, and how spatial proximity facilitates different forms of cooperation among newcomers. The paper concludes by discussing the potential role of clusters in scaling sustainable agri-food practices.
A novel approach for measuring the black level of the ship smoke

With the development of the economy, more and more attentions have been paid to the air pollution in China. As a vital means in transportation, the inland-waterway and sea ships possess many incomparable advantages. In the meanwhile, the air pollution caused by ships brought great troubles to the coastal environment. China has begun to strengthen environmental monitoring along the coastline. As a major form of air pollution, the black smoke exhausted by ships bothers the living environment. In this paper, a novel approach is proposed to measure the black level of ship smoke. Moreover, the proposed method is running on the App installed on Android mobile operating platform, which could reach the goal of black level measurement via a precise and convenient manner. Therefore, the proposed approach cloud well facilitates environmental monitoring and protection.
Hydrodynamic Modeling and Design of Robotic Fish using Slender Body Theory

Design of bio-inspired robotic fish has been an important area of research for applications such as water quality monitoring, aquatic animal behavioral study and underwater exploration. The modeling of robotic fish requires high dimensional analysis, which increases the design complexity. To address this complexity, approximate models are preferred and frequently used in the design of robotic fishes. The accuracy of these models mainly relies on various hydrodynamic parameter identification of which drag coefficient estimation is highly challenging. This paper utilizes a simple deceleration motion model to estimate the drag coefficient effectively so that the linearization error is reduced. The non-linearity in the deceleration model is simplified and mapped as a linear model to predict the drag coefficient. The estimated drag coefficient is used for dynamic modeling of robotic fish using slender body theory. The dynamic model is validated through experimental setup using accelerometer and visual sensor data. The maximum swimming speed of 0.32 ms-1 is achieved at 1.2 Hz caudal fin oscillations.
A Comparative Assessment of Total Polyphenols, Antioxidant Activity and Free Radical Scavenging Activity of the Root Barks of Oroxylum indicum (L.) Vent. and Its Two Allied Species

182 DOI: 10.37398/JSR.2021. 650123 Abstract: Oroxylum indicum (L.) Vent. is an important medicinal plant of Bignoniaceae family, whose root bark is authentically used in many Ayurvedic preparations. The increased demand for this plant in the herbal drug market resulted in the substitution of the original plant parts with the parts of two ethno medicinal plantsPajanelia longifolia (Willd.) K. Schum and Radermachera xylocarpa (Roxb.) K. Schum. , belonging to the same family. In the present study the total polyphenol content, DPPH free radical scavenging efficiency and total antioxidant activity of the root barks of the above mentioned three plant species were evaluated and compared. The estimation of total phenolic content revealed that Oroxylum indicum has the maximum phenolic content, than the other two species. Also there was a positive correlation between the total phenolic content and radical scavenging activity. It was observed that root bark of Oroxylum idicum has the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50 value 50), followed by Radermachera xylocarpa (IC50 value 150) and Pajanelia longifolia (IC50 value 253). The total antioxidant activity was also higher for Oroxylum indicum, equivalent to 0.34 mg of ascorbic acid, when compared to the other two species. Methanol found to be the best solvent for extraction.