Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gene Expression Mediated Antiproliferative Potential and Safety of Selected Medicinal Plants Against Cancerous and Normal Cells

Globally, approximately 13% of all deaths annually are attributed to cancer. Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are the current treatment techniques for cancer, however these methods are expensive, have high failure rates and have been associated with detrimental side effects. Plant derived products could be good candidates in alleviating challenges being experienced with these current methods. This study aimed at evaluating the phytochemistry, antiproliferation potential, and probable mechanism of action of Albizia gummifera, Rhamnus staddo and Senna didymobotrya plant extracts. Phytochemical screening was done as per standard procedures. The common 3– (4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) -2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium (MTT) dye was used in the determination of the antiproliferative activity of the extracts. Extracts induction of VEGF (angiogenesis) and p53 (apoptosis) genes’ expression was evaluated using Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction. Phytochemical screening revealed presence of alkaloids, tannins, glycosides, flavonoids, terpenes, phenolics and saponins in the plants extracts. A. gummifera’s stem bark methanol: dichloromethane extract had the highest activity against the cancerous cell lines tested: HCC1395 (IC50 6.07±0.04μg/ml), DU145 (IC50 3.34±0.05μg/ml), CT26 (IC50 5.78±0.08μg/ml) and Hep2 (IC50 7.02±0.01μg/ml). R. staddo root bark methanol: dichloromethane extract had an IC50 value of 15.71±0. 04μg/ml on HCC, 9.81±0. 09μg/ml on Hep2 and 11.14±0. 39μg/ml on CT26. S. didymobotrya root bark methanol: dichloromethane extract inhibited HCC with an IC50 of 65.06±0. 07μg/ml, CT26 with an IC50 of 15.71±0. 04μg/ml and Hep2 with an IC50 of 62.10±0. 11μg/ml. From the results obtained, the plants exhibited selective toxicity to cancer cells while sparing the normal cells (SI ≥ 3). A. gummifera and S. didymobotrya and R. staddo plant extracts upregulated p53 and down-regulated VEGF genes. In conclusion, this study confirms that these plant extracts could be potential candidates for development of drugs for the management of breast, prostrate, colorectal and throat cancer.
HEALTH ENGAGED ARCHITECTURE IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19

In the context of the COVID-19, this article reveals the potential of architecture and urbanism in the prevention and control of epidemics and in playing an active role in human health. The historical approach shows that the same space-controlled measures against pandemics were used for centuries to combat leper or plague: quarantine, isolation and confinement. The fight against tuberculosis led, from the 1830s, to the hygiene movement which facilitated current principles for a healthy architecture regarding sunlight and ventilation. In the 1920s, hygienic concepts constituted the foundation for modernist architecture and urbanism. With the advent of antibiotics, in the 1940s, medicine was emancipated from architecture. In the 1970s, the criticism of the social modernist shortcoming led to the New Urbanism or Urban Village movements and environmental issues to Green Architecture and Urbanism. The paper investigates how the present pandemic confirms the last decades warnings and the previous concerns about the correspondence between population density and mortality rates. The article examines the linkages between scale in the built environment, epidemiology and proxemics. The goal is to determine the place of architecture and urbanism in social resilience management during pandemics. Solutions for health engaged architecture and urbanism are indicated at different scales: object scale—hygiene; people scale—distancing and isolation; interior spaces—air control by ventilation, filtering and humidifying; residential—intermediate housing, public spaces between buildings—the key for social interactions; working—telecommuting, size and dispersion; shopping—proximity and downscaling; transportation—walking, bicycling, shared mobility and robo-taxies; and higher scale-mixed use neighborhoods. Architectural certifications such as BREAM and LEED may need to implement similar guidelines for public health. Healthy building movements like Fitwel and WELL Building Standard have already taken steps to foster healthy urbanism, and LEED for Neighborhood Development addresses health related issues. In the context of the COVID-19 and the concern of future pandemics, research in these areas will need to be expanded.
Scheduling Elective Surgeries in Multiple Operating Rooms

This thesis focuses on the problem of designing appointment schedules in a surgery center with multiple operating rooms. The conditions under which overlapping surgeries in the surgeons’ schedule (i.e. parallel surgery processing) at the lowest cost are investigated with respect to three components of the total cost: waiting time, idle time, and overtime. A simulation optimization method is developed to find the near-optimal appointment schedules for elective surgical procedures in the presence of uncertain surgery durations. The analysis is performed in three steps. First, three near-optimal operating room schedules are found for different cost configurations based on the secondary data of surgery durations obtained from the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Second, these near-optimal appointment schedules are used to test a parallel scheduling policy where each surgeon has overlapping surgeries scheduled in two operating rooms for the entire session (480 minutes) and only attends the critical portions of surgeries in the two operating rooms. Lastly, another parallel scheduling policy is tested where each surgeon has overlapping surgeries scheduled for half of the session duration (240 minutes) and only has surgeries scheduled in one operating room for the remaining time. These two policies are tested using simulation with scenarios for parallelizable portions of surgeries varying from 0.1 to 0.9 at 0.1 increments and three cost configurations. In the simulated scenarios, the total cost is calculated as the weighted sum of patient waiting time, surgeon idle time, surgeon overtime, operating room idle time, and operating room overtime. Out of the nine scenarios for each policy and each cost configuration, the parallelizable portion of surgeries that result in the lowest total cost is identified. The results from both policies indicate that implementing parallel scheduling policies for surgery types with higher parallelizable portions results in surgeons remaining idle for longer periods during the session. This idle time cost is justified by a decrease in other cost components for surgeries with parallelizable portions 50% or less; however, the total cost is higher for surgeries with parallelizable portions over 50%. In addition, it has been observed that overlapping surgeries with lower parallelizable portions is more expensive than overlapping those over with 50%. Therefore, it is concluded that the surgery types that allow parallel surgery scheduling policies to be implemented at the lowest cost have 50% of their duration parallelizable.
Novel techniques for kinetic model identification and improvement

Physics-based kinetic models are regarded as key tools for supporting the design and control of chemical processes and for understanding which degrees of freedom ultimately determine the observed behaviour of chemical systems. These models are formulated as sets of differential and algebraic equations where many state variables and parameters may be involved. Nonetheless, the translation of the available experimental evidence into an appropriate set of model equations is a time and resource intensive task that significantly relies on the presence of experienced scientists. Automated reactor platforms are increasingly being applied in research laboratories to generate large amounts of kinetic data with minimum human intervention. However, in most cases, these platforms do not implement software for the online identification of physics-based kinetic models. While automated reactor technologies have significantly improved the efficiency in the data collection process, the analysis of the data for modelling purposes still represents a tedious process that is mainly carried out a-posteriori by the scientist. This project focuses on how to systematically solve some relevant problems in kinetic modelling studies that would normally require the intervention of experienced modellers to be addressed. Specifically, the following challenges are considered: i) the selection of a robust model parametrisation to reduce the chance of numerical failures in the course of the model identification process; ii) the experimental design and parameter estimation problems in conditions of structural model uncertainty; iii) the improvement of approximated models embracing the available experimental evidence. The work presented in this Thesis paves the way towards fully automated kinetic modelling platforms through the development of intelligent algorithms for experimental design and model building under system uncertainty. The project aims at the definition of comprehensive and systematic modelling frameworks to make the modelling activity more efficient and less sensitive to human error and bias.
Dopamine beta-hydroxylase deficiency

Dopamine beta (β)-hydroxylase deficiency is a condition that affects the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary body processes such as the regulation of blood pressure and body temperature. Problems related to this disorder can first appear during infancy. Early signs and symptoms may include episodes of vomiting, dehydration, decreased blood pressure (hypotension), difficulty maintaining body temperature, and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
Generalizations of the Ruzsa-Szemerédi and rainbow Turán problems for cliques

Considering a natural generalization of the Ruzsa–Szemerédi problem, we prove that for any fixed positive integers r, s with r < s, there are graphs on n vertices containing $n^{r}e^{-O\left(\sqrt{\log{n}}\right)}=n^{r-o(1)}$ copies of Ks such that any Kr is contained in at most one Ks. We also give bounds for the generalized rainbow Turán problem ex (n, H, rainbow - F) when F is complete. In particular, we answer a question of Gerbner, Mészáros, Methuku and Palmer, showing that there are properly edge-coloured graphs on n vertices with $n^{r-1-o(1)}$ copies of Kr such that no Kr is rainbow.
Tumors escape immunosurveillance by overexpressing the proteasome activator REGγ

The success of CD8+ T cell based cancer immunotherapy emphasizes the importance of understanding the mechanisms of generation of MHC-I peptide ligands and possible pathways of tumor cell escape from immunosurveillance. Recently, we showed that peptides generated in the nucleus during the pioneer round of mRNA translation (pioneer translation products, or PTPs) can be a potentially important source of tumor specific peptides, given the presence of aberrant splicing and transcription associated with oncogenesis. Here we show that cancer cells up-regulation of the REGγ proteasome regulator results in increased destruction of PTP-derived peptides in the nucleus thus subverting immunosurveillance. These findings add to understanding of the role of REGγ in antigen processing and identify it as a druggable target for improving the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Significance With the clear success of CD8+ T cell based immunotherapy, it is critical to understand i) how tumor cells generate MHC-I peptide antigens? and ii) the various mechanisms used by cancer cells to evade immunosurveillance. One of them is to up-regulate the REGγ proteasome regulator which results in an increase destruction of MHC-I peptides in the nucleus thus subverting immunosurveillance.
Chloroplasts alter their morphology and accumulate at the pathogen interface during infection by Phytophthora infestans

Upon immune activation, chloroplasts switch off photosynthesis, produce anti-microbial compounds, and associate with the nucleus through tubular extensions called stromules. Although it is well-established that chloroplasts alter their position in response to light, little is known about the dynamics of chloroplasts movement in response to pathogen attack. Here, we report that chloroplasts accumulate at the pathogen interface during infection by the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans, associating with the specialized membrane that engulfs the pathogen haustorium. Chemical inhibition of actin polymerization reduces the accumulation of chloroplasts at the pathogen haustoria, suggesting this process is partially dependent on the actin cytoskeleton. However, chloroplast accumulation at haustoria does not necessarily rely on movement of the nucleus to this interface and is not affected by light conditions. Stromules are typically induced during infection, embracing haustoria and interconnecting chloroplasts, to form dynamic organelle clusters. We found that infection-triggered stromule formation relies on BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE 1-ASSOCIATED KINASE 1 (BAK1) mediated surface immune signaling, whereas chloroplast repositioning towards haustoria does not. Consistent with the defense-related induction of stromules, effector mediated suppression of BAK1 mediated immune signaling reduced stromule formation during infection. On the other hand, immune recognition of the same effector stimulated stromules, presumably via a different pathway. These findings implicate chloroplasts in a polarized response upon pathogen attack and point to more complex functions of these organelles in plant-pathogen interactions.
Analysis of Vanilla Compounds in Vanilla Extracts and Model Vanilla Ice Cream Mixes Using Novel Technology

Vanilla is an important flavor for many foods. Vanilla beans have been shown to contain over 200 compounds, which can vary in concentration depending on the region where the beans are harvested. Several compounds including vanillin, phydroxybenzaldehyde, guaiacol, and anise alcohol have been found to be important for the aroma profile of vanilla. Because of the complexity of the vanilla aroma profile there are many gaps in the current understanding of how vanilla compounds are volatilized in food systems. Several novel analytical technologies are under investigation for their ability to aid in analyzing compounds in vanilla extracts and in model ice cream mixes. Although several methods are currently available, a need exists for a more rapid and sensitive method to analyze the concentration of important compounds in vanilla beans and extracts. Selected ion flow tube mass spectroscopy (SIFT-MS) and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy are two methods that have potential for rapid discrimination and characterization of vanilla extracts. Vanilla extracts made with beans from different countries of origin including Uganda, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, and India were analyzed using both methods of analysis. Pirouette statistical software, a multivariate data analysis tool, was utilized to determine the differences between samples. Differentiation between samples was observed for all extracts, with Papua New Guinea and Indonesian samples differing the most from other
Deep evolutionary origin of limb and fin regeneration

Significance Salamanders and lungfishes are the only lobe-finned vertebrates where appendage regeneration after endoskeleton amputation has been demonstrated. Here we show that paired-fin regeneration after endoskeleton amputation occurs in living representatives of all major actinopterygian clades: the American paddlefish (Chondrostei), the spotted gar (Holostei), and in 2 cichlid and 1 cyprinid species (Teleostei). Through comparative transcriptome analysis of blastemas, we demonstrate that axolotl and Polypterus deploy a similar genetic program during regeneration. Furthermore, we show that early blastemas in both species activate a common regeneration-specific genetic program. Collectively, our findings support a deep evolutionary origin of limb and fin regeneration and highlight the strengths of a comparative approach to identify genetic signatures of vertebrate appendage regeneration. Salamanders and lungfishes are the only sarcopterygians (lobe-finned vertebrates) capable of paired appendage regeneration, regardless of the amputation level. Among actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes), regeneration after amputation at the fin endoskeleton has only been demonstrated in polypterid fishes (Cladistia). Whether this ability evolved independently in sarcopterygians and actinopterygians or has a common origin remains unknown. Here we combine fin regeneration assays and comparative RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of Polypterus and axolotl blastemas to provide support for a common origin of paired appendage regeneration in Osteichthyes (bony vertebrates). We show that, in addition to polypterids, regeneration after fin endoskeleton amputation occurs in extant representatives of 2 other nonteleost actinopterygians: the American paddlefish (Chondrostei) and the spotted gar (Holostei). Furthermore, we assessed regeneration in 4 teleost species and show that, with the exception of the blue gourami (Anabantidae), 3 species were capable of regenerating fins after endoskeleton amputation: the white convict and the oscar (Cichlidae), and the goldfish (Cyprinidae). Our comparative RNA-seq analysis of regenerating blastemas of axolotl and Polypterus reveals the activation of common genetic pathways and expression profiles, consistent with a shared genetic program of appendage regeneration. Comparison of RNA-seq data from early Polypterus blastema to single-cell RNA-seq data from axolotl limb bud and limb regeneration stages shows that Polypterus and axolotl share a regeneration-specific genetic program. Collectively, our findings support a deep evolutionary origin of paired appendage regeneration in Osteichthyes and provide an evolutionary framework for studies on the genetic basis of appendage regeneration.
Gait recognition using histograms of temporal gradients

In this paper, we present a gait recognition method using convolutional features and histograms of temporal gradients. The method comprises three stages, namely the convolutional stage, temporal gradient stage and classification stage. In the convolutional stage, the video frames are convolved with a set of pre-learned filters. This is followed by the temporal gradient stage. In this stage, the gradient of each convolved frame in time axis is calculated. Unlike histograms of oriented gradients that accumulate the gradients in the spatial domain, the proposed histogram of temporal gradients encodes the gradients in the spatial and temporal domain. The histogram of temporal gradients captures the gradient patterns of every pixel over the temporal axis throughout the video sequence. By doing so, the feature encodes both spatial and temporal information in the gait cycle. Finally, in the classification stage, a majority voting classification with Euclidean distance is performed for gait recognition. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.
The Influence of Privacy and Trust on the Adoption of Internet Banking in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, the expansion of Internet banking is beset with several infrastructural, institutional, and regulatory constraints. Despite the constraints, efforts by the Bangladesh Bank in modernizing the country’s payment system and commitment by the government in building ‘Digital Bangladesh’ have brought competition among the scheduled banks to improve banking services and rapidly adopt Internet banking on a wider scale. However, several opinion polls have revealed that many clients are found reluctant in adopting banking via the Internet because of their concerns about the privacy of the personal information they provide to online. Using the theory of planned behaviour as its theoretical basis, this study examined the relationships among beliefs about Internet privacy and trust, along with beliefs about perceived behavioural control and the expectations of important others and online banking behaviour. Data were collected from 327 university students. Analysis of the data indicates that beliefs about trust and privacy positively affect attitudes toward Internet banking, but attitude is found not to significantly affect Internet banking behaviour. Normative beliefs positively affect subjective norms which in turn affect Internet banking behaviour. Similarly, beliefs about self-efficacy regarding Internet banking positively affect perceived behavioural control, which in turn affects actual online banking behaviour.
The Effect of the Success Information Technologyon the Quality of Working Life of the Staff in Industrial Organizations in Iran

We examined the influence of the success of Information Technology (IT) on the Quality of Working Life (QWL). We first explored the success dimensions of IT/IS and also dimension of QWL. Then, we proposed a new model – managing IT for improving QWL model to explain and predict the influence of IT’s success on employees’ QWL. Drawing on the previous literature, and the results of a series of case studies, the managing of IT to improve the QWL model, integrates several sets of factors that are influencing the improvement of QWL: organizational factors; quality of IT; employees’ attitudes to IT; employees’ use of IT; perceived usefulness of IT and QWL. These sets of factors are drawn from well-established frameworks (IS’s implementation, IS’s success and TAM models). Results from a survey involving 299 IT users in semnan province (Iran) indicate that a positive relationship exists between IT’s success and QWL. The analysis provided strong support for the model, with 15 of 17 hypotheses which are supported. Path analysis was also used to test the research model. The study used theoretical and empirical evidence to propose a model and then validate it by using quantitative data from industrial organizations in Semnan. Finally the model was validated by path analysis.
Poisson GSTAR model: spatial temporal modeling count data follow generalized linear model and count time series models

This paper discusses the formation of one temporal spatial model, the Generalized Space Time Autoregressive (GSTAR) model, if the data of model is count data. The development of the GSTAR model is an update or problem completion of the count data which tends to be stationary and non-normal / Gaussian data, because GSTAR model is assumed normal distributed and stationarity. GSTAR modelling for count data refers to the Time series model for count data, which are the Generalized Autoregressive Moving Average (GARMA) model and modeling Count Time Series which has the Generalized Linear Model (GLM) concept. The model formed is called the Poisson GSTAR model