Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Isolation and characterization of a molybdenum-reducing and orange G-decolorizing Enterobacter sp. strain Zeid-6 in soils from Sudan

Chemical toxins and organic contaminants such as hydrocarbons and dyes are major global contaminants with countless tones of those chemicals are created yearly with a significant amount release to the environment. In this work we screen the ability of a molybdenum-reducing bacterium isolated from contaminated soil to decolorize various azo and triphenyl methane dyes independent of molybdenum reduction. Biochemical analysis resulted in a tentative identification of the bacterium as Enterobacter sp. strain Zeid-6. The bacterium was able to decolorize the azo dye Orange G. The bacterium reduces molybdate to Mo-blue optimally at pH between 5.5 and 8.0 and temperatures of between 30 and 37 oC. Other requirements include a phosphate concentration of 5 mM and a molybdate concentration of 20 mM. The absorption spectrum of the Mo-blue produced was similar to previous Mo-reducing bacterium, and closely resembles a reduced phosphomolybdate. Molybdenum reduction was inhibited by copper, lead, mercury and silver which showed 36.8, 16.9, 64.9 and 67.6% inhibition to Mo-reducing activity of Enterobacter sp. strain Zeid-6, respectively. The resultant molybdenum blue spectrum closely resembles the spectrum of molybdenum blue from the phosphate determination method. The ability of this bacterium to detoxify molybdenum and decolorize azo dye makes this bacterium an important tool for bioremediation.
Secondary metabolite profiling of four host plants leaves of wild silk moth Attacus atlas L.

Secondary metabolites may affect insect herbivores’ host plant preferences. Attacus atlas L. larvae are known have a wider variety of host plants compared with other members of the Attacus genus. This research compared the metabolic profiles of four A. atlas host plants: keben ( Barringtonia asiatica (L.) Kurz), dadap ( Erythrina lithosperma Miq.), gempol ( Nauclea orientalis L.), and soursop ( Annona muricata L.). Leaves were collected from Sawit Sari Research Station, Yogyakarta. Terpenoid was extracted by macerating the leaves in ethyl acetate and subjecting them to GC-MS analysis, while alkaloid, tannin, and flavonoid were extracted through percolation. Total alkaloids, tannins, and flavonoids were measured using spectrophotometric analysis. Multivariate data analysis using PAST ver. 3.0 was performed on the GC-MS data. Based on the PCA scatter plot of the GC-MS data, keben leaves were clustered separately from the other three leaves by PC1. Dadap and gempol leaves were clustered together due to the phytol content while caryophyllene was detected only in soursop leaves. Neophytadiene was detected in all of the leaves, suggesting that this terpenoid may serve as a signal to locate the host plants. Keben leaves contained the lowest alkaloids and highest tannins and flavonoids compared with the other leaves. These secondary metabolites may determine the host plant suitability for culturing the A. atlas.
Coordination between Bradyrhizobium and Pseudomonas alleviates salt stress in soybean through altering root system architecture

ABSTRACT It is a well accepted strategy to improve plant salt tolerance through inoculation with beneficial microorganisms. However, its underlying mechanisms still remain unclear. In the present study, hydroponic experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 110 with salt-tolerant Pseudomonas putida TSAU1 on growth, protein content, nitrogen, and phosphorus uptake as well as root system architecture of soybean (Glycine max L.) under salt stress. The results indicated that the combined inoculation with USDA 110 and TSAU1 significantly improved plant growth, nitrogen and phosphorus contents, and contents of soluble leaf proteins under salt stress compared to the inoculation with the symbiont alone or compared to un-inoculated ones. The root architectural traits, like root length, surface area, project area, and root volume; as well as nodulation traits were also significantly increased by co-inoculation with USDA 110 and TSAU1. The plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) P. putida strain TSAU1 could improve the symbiotic interaction between the salt-stressed soybean and B. japonicum USDA 110. In conclusion, inoculation with B. japonicum and salt-tolerant P. putida synergistically improved soybean salt tolerance through altering root system architecture facilitating nitrogen and phosphorus acquisition, and nodule formation.
Cloud solutions in DMS, the application and the reality

One of the current approaches to performance management is based on examination of organisational performance through measurement and evaluation of the processes. Processes provide an excellent basis for the arrangement of a measurement system and performance management. The application of the process approach in performance management is based on the evaluation of processes rather than on the output results. Based on our research, we bring findings about approaches to process performance evaluation of companies operating in Slovakia. The aim of our research is to assess current approaches for evaluation of process performance in the context of application of process orientation in companies operating in Slovakia. We used questionnaires to collect data. Our sample consists of 137 companies from various sectors, sizes and age to obtain a broader overview. The results show the level of utilisation of process management and approaches to evaluation of process performance towards process improvement.
Fining Technology of Al-50% Si Powder - A Material for Hermetically- Sealed Casing of Multichip Subsystem

A material for hermetically-sealed casing of multichip subsystem needs the characteristics such as high thermal conductivity, low density, low thermal expansion coefficient, automatic sealing, simplicity and convenience of subsequent application workmanship . The material that is mostly suitable to be used is Al-50% Si compound material prepared by the spray deposition method. The powder metallurgy process (PM) was studied for preparing the Al-Si compound material in this paper.The median particle size of the Al-Si powder must be less than 5μm. The ball-milling technique was adopted to reduce the particle size of Al-Si powder. The result shows: the change in ball-milling speed affects the particle size of Al-50 Si powder greatly and the increase of rotating speed can facilitate powder fining and homogenization. By determining other process parameters, it is found the ball-milling time is the major factor affecting the particle size. As the ball-milling time extends, the particle size reduces. Compared to the dry milling process, the alcohol wet milling process can improve the fine powder output, reduce particle size distribution range, avoid powder agglomeration and get good homogenization. Less particle size also result in higher density and less Si phase particle size in Al-50 Si compound. In the following condition, namely the ratio of grinding media to material is 5:1, the rotating speed 350 rpm and ball-milling time 20 hrs, the median particle size of Al-50 Si powder is 4. 64μm.
Optimization of Enzymatic Pretreatment for the Production of Fermented Ginseng using Leaves, Stems and Roots of Ginseng

This study sought to optimize the extraction and enzymatic treatment conditions of Panax ginseng leaves, stems, and roots for the production of fermented ginseng. The optimization enhanced the extraction of total saccharide, a nutrient and growth-activating factor for Lactobacillus bacteria. The hydrolysis of ginseng leaves, stems, and roots was tested with eight enzymes (Pentopan, Promozyme, Celluclast, Ultraflo, Pectinex, Ceremix, Viscozyme, and Tunicase). The enzymatic hydrolysis conditions were statistically optimized by the experimental design. Optimal particle size of ginseng raw material was ＜0.15 ㎜, and optimal hydrolysis occurred at a pH of 5.0? 5.5, a reaction temperature of 55? 60℃, a Ceremix concentration of 1%, and a reaction time of 2 hr. Ceremix produced the highest dry matter yield and total saccharide extraction. Ginseng leaves were found to be the most suitable raw material for the production of fermented ginseng because they have higher carbohydrate and crude saponin contents than ginseng roots
Molecular Phylogenetic Taxonomy of Some Parrotfish Species (Perciformes, Scaridae) From the Red Sea Using -Actin Gene

a--actin gene (ACTA 1) was studied as a potential phylogenetic marker for selected members of Subfamily Scarinea (Scaridae, Perciformes). The samples collected from the Red Sea. The nucleotide sequences of six parrotfish (Scarus niger, Scarus fuscopurpureus, Scarus ferrugineus, Scarus psittacus, Chlorurus gibbus and Hipposcarus harid)were analyzed with respect to their molecular evolution and phylogenetic relationships among themselves and other related percoid species depending on available sequence data. a-skeletal muscle actin gene segments isolated from the skeletal muscle of the six species that were sequenced and recorded in gene bank with the Accession number for the first time. The six-nucleotide sequences compared to fourteen other percoid sequences from Gene Bank/NCBI, altogether comprising 20 percoid sequences and 3 outgroup sequences (Order Scoraeniformes). The scores of p-distance and sequence divergence of the alpha-skeletal muscle actin gene among the tested species were calculated. Studied A+T of the six sequence rates were variant between 44.4 and 52.4 % for all species. The phylogenetic trees for 23 species (6 parrotfish and 14 sequences of other percoid families from GeneBank together with 3 fishes as outgroup) were developed using actin gene and 5 different analytical approaches: Neighbour Joining (NJ), Minimum Evolution (ME), Maximum Parsimony (MP), Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference method (BI). The analysis revealed a monophyletic origin for the five tested species of the scarinea, which was the principal subfamily investigated (87, 92, 100, 88 and 100% support in our NJ, ME, MP, ML and BI analyses, respectively). While the sixth species Scarus fuscopurpureus of the tested fishes formed a complete separate clade that indicates this species more related to genus labrus than genus scarus . The phylogenetic implications of actin gene or other phylogenetic markers in the family Scaridae or even all families of Order Perciformes until now were shortly discussed.
Thermal ecology and spatio-temporal distribution of the Mediterranean lizard Psammodromus algirus

We studied summer activity patterns and thermoregulation in the Mediterranean lizard Psammodromus algirus in a holm oak wood in Central Spain. The circadian rhythm curve was bimodal, with a pronounced peak after sunrise, a minimum at noon and a second lower peak in the afternoon. Increased activity in the morning could be explained by insolation levels, whereas the midday low was caused by the rise in temperature. There was a strong positive correlation between body temperature and both air and ground temperatures. Nevertheless, there was no significant correlation between body and air temperatures when the effect of radiation was removed, which was done by considering only individuals in the shade at high temperatures. Activity showed a bell-shaped relationship with body and air temperatures, with maximum activity at 24.5"C (air temperature) and 31.4"C (body temperature). The spatial distribution pattern of P. algirus (selection of sunny areas and distance to the vegetation edge) reflects the environmental temperatures that are optimal for activity; the lizards show a strong preference for sunny patches when air temperature is lower than the optimum. We conclude that heliothermy is the only viable thermoregulation pattern in Mediterranean forest environments, with heat conduction playing a negligible role.
PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT AND ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL

The present study was conducted to identify the mediating role of psychological capital in the relationship between Perceived Organizational Support (POS) and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) among employees of multimedia organizations in Malaysia. Data collection was done through personally administered questionnaires from 350 employees. The statistical analysis namely Correlation analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling were executed. Results found positive and significant relationship between POS and OCB, a positive relationship between POS and psychological capital, and psychological capital towards OCB. Finally, psychological capital fully mediated the relationship between POS and OCB. The study makes a significant and unique contribution to literature by showing the mediation effect of psychological capital in the relationship between POS and OCB. Present study's results demonstrated that the employees’ perception of organization support, can enhance employee's psychological capital which in turn effect OCB. Keywords : psychological capital, perceived organizational support, organizational citizenship behavior
Indirect Solution for Optimal Control Problems with a Pure State Constraint

This paper presents an algorithm that provides a regularization for the costate dynamics of state constrained optimal control problems with a scalar constraint under the assumption that the Hamiltonian is convex in the control and the state dynamics equation of the constrained state is monotonically increasing in the control variable. The algorithm is demonstrated with a classical optimal control problem.
37-element solar adaptive optics for 26-cm solar fine structure telescope at Yunnan Astronomical Observatory

A 37-element solar adaptive optics (AO) system was built and installed at the 26-cm solar fine structure telescope of Yunnan Astronomical Observatory. The AO system is composed of a fine tracking loop with a tip/tilt mirror and a correlation tracker, a high-order correction loop with a 37-element deformable mirror, a correlating Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor based on the absolute difference algorithm, and a real time controller. The system was completed on Sep. 28, 2009 and was used to obtain AO-corrected highresolution solar images. The contrast and resolution of the images are clearly improved after wavefront correction by AO. To the best of out knowledge, this system is the first solar AO system in China.
Increased nitrogen enrichment and shifted patterns in the world's grassland: 1860–2016

Abstract. Production and application to soils of manure excreta from livestock farming significantly perturb the global nutrient balance and result in significant greenhouse gas emissions that warm the earth's climate. Despite much attention paid to synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer and manure N applications to croplands, spatially explicit, continuous time-series datasets of manure and fertilizer N inputs on pastures and rangelands are lacking. We developed three global gridded datasets at a resolution of 0.5∘ × 0.5∘ for the period 1860–2016 (i.e., annual manure N deposition (by grazing animals) rate, synthetic N fertilizer and N manure application rates), by combining annual and 5 arcmin spatial data on pastures and rangelands with country-level statistics on livestock manure, mineral and chemical fertilizers, and land use information for cropland and permanent meadows and pastures. Based on the new data products, we estimated that total N inputs, the sum of manure N deposition, manure N application and fertilizer N application to pastures and rangelands, increased globally from 15 to 101 Tg N yr−1 during 1860–2016. In particular during the period 2000–2016, livestock manure N deposition accounted for 83 % of the total N inputs, whereas manure and fertilizer N application accounted 9 % and 8 %, respectively. At the regional scale, hotspots of manure N deposition remained largely similar during the period 1860–2016 (i.e., southern Asia, Africa and South America); however, hotspots of manure and fertilizer N application shifted from Europe to southern Asia in the early 21st century. The new three global datasets contribute to the filling of the previous data gaps of global and regional N inputs in pastures and rangelands, improving the abilities of ecosystem and earth system models to investigate the global impacts of N enrichment due to agriculture, in terms of associated greenhouse gas emissions and environmental sustainability issues. Datasets are available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.892940.
Growth response and soil-plant water relations of 4 dominant psammophyte species with soil moisture in central Inner Mongolia

Soil-plant water relations are crucial for understanding the mechanisms by which plants adapt to their environments. An experiment was conducted to understand the responses of 4 dominant psammophyte shrub species to different sandy environments. Pots were filled with tap water or sand, and pots planted with different species and filled with sand with and without pot covers were kept in 4 growth cabinets at 15/25 °C and with a water supply of 75 mm per month. Soil water content; dry weights of roots, shoots, and leaves; and leaf area were measured. The relative growth rate (0.039-0.042 g g-1 day-1) was higher for the 2 Artemisia Krasch. species and lower for Caragana korshinskii Kom. and Hedysarum laeve Maxim. (0.016-0.023 g g-1 d-1). The final soil water content of the 2 Artemisia species (1.3%-2.7%) was lower than that of H. laeve and C. korshinskii (14.7%-18.4%). Soil water content increased from the top of the profile to deeper levels for H. laeve and C. korshinskii. However, for the 2 Artemisia species, soil water was lower in the deeper profile compared with the upper profile. Considering water consumption, the 2 Artemisia species were similar while C. korshinskii and H. laeve were similar; this result was different from our hypothesis.
Improving the conductance of carbon nanotube networks through resonant momentum exchange

We present a mechanism to improve the conductivity of carbon nanotube (CNT) networks by improving the conductance between CNTs of different chirality. We argue generally that a weak perturbation can greatly improve the inter-tube conductance by allowing momentum-conserving tunnelling. The mechanism is verified with a tight-binding model, allowing an investigation of its impact for a network containing a range of chiralities. We discuss practical implementations, and conclude that it may be effected by weak physical interactions, and therefore does not require chemical bonding to the CNTs.
Reconstruction of RGB composite CT lung image by blind de-convolution for various blurring functions

A competent and flexible tool to optimize inverse problems related to image reconstruction by restoration is Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) with the knowledge of known blur. This method is later modified to perform Blind Image De-blurring (BID) of unknown blur on original image by using some function of regularization. But, in real world for de-blurring, the prior knowledge of blurring filter is important. In this research work, estimates of the image and blurring operator are obtained by considering significant image edges. An ADMM iteration criterion forms the base for which whiteness measurement parameter estimation which includes auto-correlation, auto-covariance. Using these parameters best ISNR is taken as input resulting from the iterations. Different degradation conditions are considered in the analysis to estimate the performance and to bring a conclusion to the degradation and restoration pair by processing composite and component images of the input RGB-CT lung image.
Fractal Dimension for the Characterization of Asphalt Mixture Properties

In the design of asphalt mixtures for paved roads, the shape of solid elements has a great importance. In asphalt concrete, the shape of aggregate particles influences the resistance, durability, stiffness, fatigue response and the required binder content of the mixture. Fractal geometry is more suitable to describe the irregularity of the shape of aggregate particles. This paper describes the influence of fractal dimension on the proprieties of asphalt concrete. Following an analytical and an experimental study, it was possible to find a correlation between Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) mechanical proprieties and the fractal characteristics of the aggregate mixtures. The proposed approach allows to determine the optimal fractal dimension in order to select an appropriate aggregate gradation for the specific use. This fractal approach could be employed for predicting the characteristics of asphalt concretes, given as input the fractal dimension of the aggregate mixtures of the concrete materials.
Environmental temperature sensing using Raman spectra DTS fiber‐optic methods

Raman spectra distributed temperature sensing (DTS) by fiber‐optic cables has recently shown considerable promise for the measuring and monitoring of surface and near‐surface hydrologic processes such as groundwater–surface water interaction, borehole circulation, snow hydrology, soil moisture studies, and land surface energy exchanges. DTS systems uniquely provide the opportunity to monitor water, air, and media temperatures in a variety of systems at much higher spatial and temporal frequencies than any previous measurement method. As these instruments were originally designed for fire and pipeline monitoring, their extension to the typical conditions encountered by hydrologists requires a working knowledge of the theory of operation, limitations, and system accuracies, as well as the practical aspects of designing either short‐ or long‐term experiments in remote or challenging terrain. This work focuses on providing the hydrologic user with sufficient knowledge and specifications to allow sound decisions on the application and deployment of DTS systems.
Assembly Pathway of a Designed a-Helical Protein Fiber

Interest in the design of peptide-based fibrous materials is growing because it opens possibilities to explore fundamental aspects of peptide self-assembly and to exploit the resulting structures—for example, as scaffolds for tissue engineering. Here we investigate the assembly pathway of self-assembling fibers, a rationally designed a-helical coiled-coil system comprising two peptides that assemble on mixing. The dimensions spanned by the peptides and final structures (nanometers to micrometers), and the timescale over which folding and assembly occur (seconds to hours), necessitate a multi-technique approach employing spectroscopy, analytical ultracentrifugation, electron and light microscopy, and protein design to produce a physical model. We show that fibers form via a nucleation and growth mechanism. The two peptides combine rapidly (in less than seconds) to form sticky ended, partly helical heterodimers. A lag phase follows, on the order of tens of minutes, and is concentration-dependent. The critical nucleus comprises six to eight partially folded dimers. Growth is then linear in dimers, and subsequent fiber growth occurs in hours through both elongation and thickening. At later times (several hours), fibers grow predominantly through elongation. This kinetic, biomolecular description of the folding-and-assembly process allows the self-assembling fiber system to be manipulated and controlled, which we demonstrate through seeding experiments to obtain different distributions of fiber lengths. This study and the resulting mechanism we propose provide a potential route to achieving temporal control of functional fibers with future applications in biotechnology and nanoscale science and technology.