Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Organic Fertilizers on Phenolic Profiles and Fatty Acids Composition: A Case Study for Cichorium intybus L.

Radicchio ( Cichorium intybus L.) is an increasingly appreciated leafy vegetable that exhibits great diversity in appearance, including different colored leaves, rosettes, or heads. Varieties of radicchio (‘Treviso’, ‘Verona’ ‘Anivip’, ‘Castelfranco’, and ‘Monivip’) commonly produced in Slovenia were investigated for their phenolic and fatty acid profiles. Plants were grown under organic and/or mineral fertilizer managements in greenhouse conditions. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis was used to study phenolic compounds in radicchio leaf samples. Thirty-three phenolic com‐ pounds were quantitatively evaluated. Significant differences were found between varieties and across different fertilizer managements. The total phenolic amount (TPA) was found in a wide range from 58 to 403 mg/100 g fresh weight (FW). Between varieties, the highest TPA was observed for var. ‘Treviso’ (300 mg/100 g FW) and the lowest TPA was observed for var. ‘Castelfranco’ (125 mg/100 g FW). The main phenolic compounds in radicchio leaves were represented by phenolic acids, chlorogenic acid and cichoric acid, respectively. The fatty acid levels of radicchio leaf samples were determined by the chromatographic analysis of fatty acid methyl esters using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector. The analysis revealed the amounts of C16:0, C18:0, C18:1n9, C18:2n6, C18:3n3, and C20:0 fatty acids. The total fatty acid levels varied from 170 to 500 mg/100 g FW. The highest fatty acid quantity was represented by C18:3n3 (≤63%) followed by C18:2n6 (≤45%) and C16:0 (≤24%). All radicchio samples had a ratio of n -6/ n -3 essential fatty acids below 1 and thus in accordance with the current dietary guidelines. Among different fertilizer managements, the highest total fatty acid levels were found for organic fertilizer (384 mg/100 g FW).
Identification of a New Race and Development of DNA Markers Associated with Powdery Mildew in Melon

Powdery mildew disease caused by an obligatory parasitic fungus Podosphaera xanthii is a serious problem of melon ( Cucumis melo L.) production worldwide. Severity of problem is further associated with emergence of new races over the years. In this study a new race of powdery mildew fungus was discovered from Ibaraki, Japan. The race was different from all other existing races of P. xanthii occurring in Japan. Phenotypic and genetic analysis established the new fungus type as a new race, N5. Ten melon lines were infected with a total of eight fungal races including the new N5 race and it was found that all melon lines had different disease reactions against the new race compared to other seven races. Only four melon genotypes were found resistant out of 42 commercial cultivars and lines were tested. Disease reactions of two sets of F 2 populations and one set of backcross population revealed that two separate epistatic gene loci located in two different linkage groups (LG), LG II and LG XII, interact together for the resistant or susceptible reaction of melon lines. A total of six simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were found polymorphic in melon lines out of 16 tested in response to N5 race. Two different sets of F 2 populations between resistant and susceptible melon lines were assessed with two polymorphic SSR markers located in two different groups, LG II and LG XII. SSR genotyping yielded 78% and 94% expected polymerase chain reaction fragments in favor of resistance or susceptibility of F 2 populations of CM17187×PMR5 and PMR45×PMR5 of melon lines, respectively.
Youth Risk-taking and Leisure: A Multifactorial Model in the Italian Context

Literature on youth and risk has traditionally been dominated by psycho-dynamic explanations of social action, studied within a set of adult discourses and searching for single causes for risk-taking in practices like the abuse of alcohol and drugs, unprotected sex and dangerous driving. To overcome these limitations, we listened to young Italian people through a survey conducted on a sample of 1,175 secondary school students and aimed at collecting their viewpoints on and experiences of the relationship between risk and leisure. With an awareness of a plurality of factors influencing risk-taking among the young, this study hypothesizes a contiguity between voluntary risk exposure and gender, age, sociocultural family status, and leisure activities. Both statistical textual analysis methods and logistic regression models were applied to reach the results. The findings show different semantic dimensions of risk according to different social factors.
SDL Cellular Automaton COVID-19 conceptualization

The digitalization of a phenomenon allows us to understand, discuss, and predict its behavior. In environmental areas, and specifically in a pandemic situation this is not an exception. The language selected to perform this conceptualization must help in the understanding of the phenomenon and must be capable to be executed, if possible, automatically, to simplify the verification process. Also, the language must be an agreement between the different parties involved in the model definition; all the specialist must feel confident with the language to be able to collaborate in a transdisciplinary approach in the model definition. In this paper, we present a conceptualization of the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The model represented in Specification and Description Language allows a detailed parametrization of the pandemic situation and a further expansion of an initial model defined using the System Dynamics approach to Cellular Automaton approach. This expansion of the conceptualization done in SDL simplifies the validation of the different models obtained. Also, the use of SDL simplifies the integration in the model of real-time data to perform the system validations. We detail the conceptualization done using SDL for the Cellular Automaton model.
COMPARATIVE ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF RED AND WHITE DRAGON FRUITS

Objective: Dragon fruits, comes in two varieties; Hylocereus undatus (white dragon fruit) and Hylocereus polyrhizus (red dragon fruit). This fruit is also called as pitahaya and can be found naturally in Malaysia, Vietnam, Central America, Colombia and Nicaragua. Methods: In the present study we carry out the comparative antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of both dragon fruits by using DPPH method. Results: The results showed that the methanolic extract of red dragon fruits showed better antioxidant activity than the methanolic extract of white dragon fruits. Conclusion: In conclusion, the red dragon fruit is a good candidate for further investigation. Keywords: Hylocereus undatus, Hylocereous polyrhizus , Pitaya, Dragonfruit, Antioxidant
ORGANOGÊNESE A PARTIR DE SEGMENT OS FOLIARES E INTERNODAIS DE VIDEIRA CV . MERLOT Organogenesis from leaf segments and internodes of grapevine cv. Merlot

The objective of this work was study the induction of organogenesis on leaf segments and internodes of grapevine cv. Merlot using different types and concentrations of cytokinins. MS half strength culture medium supplemented with 1 µM naftalenoacetic acid (NAA) was used. The treatments consisted of the concentrations of 2.5; 5.0 or 10 µM 6-benzilaminopurine (BAP) or thydiazuron (TDZ). The percentage of buds, callus, oxidation and roots as well as the number of roots and buds were evaluated. After 60 days of in vitro culture it was observed that the concentrations of 2.5-10 µM BAP or TDZ oxidize leaf segments and do not induce oxidation in the internodes. The level of 5 µM TDZ promote the largest formation of buds from internodes and leaf segments do not have capacity to form buds at the levels of 2,5-10 µM BAP or TDZ. The use of BAP at the concentrations of 2.5 and 5 µM promote high rooting percentage of internodes. TDZ at the level of 2.5 µM promotes high rate of callus formation in internodes. Internodes presented larger organogenic capacity than leaf segments.
Temporal Models for History-Aware Explainability

On one hand, there has been a growing interest towards the application of AI-based learning and evolutionary programming for self-adaptation under uncertainty. On the other hand, self-explanation is one of the self-* properties that has been neglected. This is paradoxical as self-explanation is inevitably needed when using such techniques. In this paper, we argue that a self-adaptive autonomous system (SAS) needs an infrastructure and capabilities to be able to look at its own history to explain and reason why the system has reached its current state. The infrastructure and capabilities need to be built based on the right conceptual models in such a way that the system's history can be stored, queried to be used in the context of the decision-making algorithms. The explanation capabilities are framed in four incremental levels, from forensic self-explanation to automated history-aware (HA) systems. Incremental capabilities imply that capabilities at Level n should be available for capabilities at Level n + 1. We demonstrate our current reassuring results related to Level 1 and Level 2, using temporal graph-based models. Specifically, we explain how Level 1 supports forensic accounting after the system's execution. We also present how to enable on-line historical analyses while the self-adaptive system is running, underpinned by the capabilities provided by Level 2. An architecture which allows recording of temporal data that can be queried to explain behaviour has been presented, and the overheads that would be imposed by live analysis are discussed. Future research opportunities are envisioned.
A mixed solvent approach to make poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanofibers with high β-phase using solution blow spinning

The excellent mechanical and piezoelectric properties of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) are its most valuable characteristics, and improving the piezoelectric performance of PVDF is an important subject of the study. However, several existing methodological studies have been regarded as complex and ineffective. The most efficient method to produce PVDF nanofibers with high β-phase contents is still electrospinning; however, this process does not facilitate the mass production of PVDF nanofibers and produces PVDF with a relatively low fraction of β-phase. Both these issues can be solved by solution blow spinning (SBS). This work focused on the optimum ratio of solvents to produce beadless PVDF nanofibers and highlighted the relationship between the spinning solution viscosity and the average diameter of the SBS nanofibers obtained. Using Fourier transform infrared reflection, it was evaluated that the fraction of the β-phase increased after the SBS process, which was calculated to be 85%; this value was considered as a relatively high fraction of β-phase, which was similar to that obtained by electrospinning. Consequently, a simple and convenient alternative to produce PVDF nanofibers with high β-phase contents was achieved.
iContractML: A Domain-Specific Language for Modeling and Deploying Smart Contracts onto Multiple Blockchain Platforms

Smart contracts are immutable digital programs deployed onto blockchain platforms to codify agreements. They enable blockchain technology to play a vital role in many fields, such as finance, health care, and energy. An important aspect of modeling and deploying smart contracts is to define the business process and rules that govern the agreements under which the corresponding actions are executed. Unfortunately, these models use a mix of technical and business-centric terminologies that are different based on the underlying blockchain platform that the smart contract is targeting. To address this issue, in this paper, we followed a feature-oriented domain analysis approach to identify the commonalities and variations between three of the common blockchain platforms that are used to deploy smart contracts; namely IBM Hyperledger Composer, Azure Blockchain Workbench, and Ethereum. Accordingly, we propose a reference model for smart contracts. The reference model is then realized as a modeling framework that enables developers to model and generate the structural code required to deploy a smart contract onto multiple blockchain platforms. The coverage of the proposed reference model was shown through mapping the concepts of the reference models to its corresponding constructs within each blockchain platform. Moreover, we provide three use cases to show how the proposed framework can empower developers to generate the structural code of smart contracts for the target platform through model transformation.
Biofilms and disinfection : development of a microorganism carrier-surface method

La mise au point d'une nouvelle methode d'etude des desinfectants sur les surfaces est presentee. Le developpement de biofilms en 24 h en presence de lait ou de serum de veau a montre une bonne reproductibilite. Application a 6 souches bacteriennes (L.monocytogenes, E.coli, St.aureus, Enterococcus hirae, Ps.aeruginosa, S.typhimurium) et 3 desinfectants (ammonium quaternaire + aldehydes, hypochlorite de sodium, acide peracetique)
Relatedness and dispersal distance of eusocial bee males on mating swarms

Stingless bee males (Hymenoptera: Apidae) aggregate themselves for reproductive purposes. The knowledge of relatedness among the males attending the aggregations and the distance that they disperse from their natal nests to aggregations may provide important data to effectively conserve these bees. Here, we estimated these properties for Tetragonisca angustula (Latreille, 1811) males. Microsatellite molecular markers were used to genotype bees sampled from local nests and in mating swarms in order to identify the nests of origin of males and maternal genotypes of concerning queens. The distances from assigned nests to the mating swarms allowed us to estimate the distances travelled by males. A genetic relationship analysis was conducted to verify whether T. angustula males were closely related to nests where they aggregated. A pairwise relatedness analysis was also performed among all T. angustula males in each mating swarm. Our results demonstrated that T. angustula mating swarms received dozens to hundreds of males from several colonies (up to 70). Only two of the five mating swarms contained any males that were closely related to the bees from the new nests in construction. The relatedness among males was also extremely low. Yet, dispersal distance of T. angustula males ranged hundreds of meters up to 1.6 km, with evidence of reaching 2.25 km according to their flight radius obtained from their foraging area for locality. These data indicate a highly efficient mating system with minimal inbreeding in this bee species, with a great dispersal capability not previously found for stingless bee males.
The mathematical modeling of cell proliferation based on the cell cycle

Cynthia McDonnell Lyles. The Mathematical Modeling of Cell Proliferation Based on the Cell Cycle (Under the direction of Christopher J. Portier) A stochastic two-phase cell cycle model is used to model the type of proliferation data obtained from a general cell proliferation experiment, which combines the standard PCNA staining and BrdU labeling techniques. This model assumes that the durations of the specific phases in the cell cycle for a cell can be described by independent exponential distributions with phase-specific rate parameters. The model accounts for two phases, one phase representing S-G2-M-phases and the other phase representing Go-Gt-phases. Initially, the model assumes there is no cell loss during the experiment, and, the cell population is of constant size. An extension of this model allows for growth by accounting for birth at the end of Mphase and death/differentiation during the Go-G t phase. Distributional properties of both types of proliferation data (prevalence and incidence) are derived under both models considered. The special case of the cell population in a state ofequilibrium is considered. Maximum likelihood techniques and/or the method of moments are described for estimating the cell cycle parameters defining cell proliferation. For the no growth model, maximum likelihood and method of moments are used. Alternatively, no closed form of the likelihoods are available in the growth model, so the method of moments is used for estimation and bootstrap resampling techniques are used for the construction of confidence intervals. Simulation studies are performed to assess the operating characteristics of the statistical methods developed under the two models. These simulations replicate general cell proliferation studies by using time-to-event simulated data to represent the progression of cells through the phases of a cell cycle and by staining and/or labeling the cells based on their movement, resulting in the prevalence and incidence data used for analysis. The application of the developed methods to a real cell proliferation study on the liver tissue in adult male rats will~ presented.
Noninvasive Techniques: Gamete Selection—Sperm

The ultimate aim of any sperm selection method is to provide the best-quality sperm possible so as to maximize the outcome of whatever assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures are to be undertaken. For artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization (IVF), the main requirement is the provision of a sample enriched with progressive motile sperm, because these techniques are dependent on the ability of sperm to find and penetrate the oocyte by themselves. To this end, several preparatory techniques have been developed, the most used of which have been detailed in the preceding chapter. With the advent of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), many of the elements of the aforementioned techniques were circumvented; consequently, the onus for sperm selection shifted from motility to other parameters more influential for ICSI itself, namely, sperm morphology, content, function, and nuclear DNA integrity. The purpose of this chapter is not to list every technique that has been developed or trialed but rather to present the most common clinically used of these methods to describe their underlying principle, detail the procedure, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each. As an adjunct, an exciting new use of a relatively old technique that holds the potential of noninvasive and nondestructive sperm selection is also presented.
CHANGES IN A TEXAS DUNG BEETLE COMMUNITY BETWEEN 1975 AND 1985 (COLEOPTERA: SCARABAEIDAE, SCARABAEINAE)

A quantitative survey of dung beetles in May 1985 at Welder Wildlife Refuge, Sinton, Texas, resulted in 15 species with the two most common species, the introduced African Onthophagus gazella (Fab.) and the native 0. alluvius H. & C. , comprising 49% of the total samples. Neither of these was recorded during a similar survey 10 years previously. Three uncommon species recorded in the earlier survey were not taken in 1985. The appearance at Welder of 0. gazella since 1975 illustrates a successful introduction, whereas the appearance of 0. alluvius seems to be the effect of a well-documented increase
The complete mitochondrial genome of Solenocera crassicornis

Abstract In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the Solenocera crassicornis was amplified and analyzed. The mitogenome is 15,946 bp in length, encoding the standard set of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes and two rRNA genes. The overall A + T content is 67.67%; nucleotide frequency of the mitogenome is as follows: A, 32.00%; C, 11.14%; G, 21.19%; and T, 35.67%. There were 16 non-coding regions throughout the mitogenome of S. crassicornis ranged from 1 to 1,005 bp in size, of which the largest was between tRNAIle and 12S rRNA. The complete mitogenome sequence information of S. crassicornis would play an important part for further studies on molecular systematics and phylogeny.
Stratification and mapping of Ephedra gerardiana Wall. in Poh (Lahul and Spiti) using remote sensing and GIS

The somlata plant (Ephedra gerardiana Wall.) has acquired importance in Indian medicine because it yields alkaloids that are effective in the treatment of asthma and hay fever. Tincture of Ephedra is used for cardiac and circulatory stimulation. Its demand as medicine has intensified the pressure on landscapes bearing this species. This has necessitated bioprospection and active planning to ensure safe conservation of the existing gene pool and sustainable utilization of this land resource. On account of its importance, an attempt has been made, using remote sensing and geographical information system to identify and map Ephedra-dominated sites. IRS 1C/1D LISS-III false colour composite has been used for stratification of E. gerardiana bearing landscape in the present study. Test sites were used to evaluate the mapping results and promising accuracy has been achieved. The study highlights the possibility of mapping E. gerardiana in complex terrain conditions. Through this study it is also emphasized that the methodology can be used for bioprospection of species in the whole Lahul and Spiti district.
Ruminal microbial responses in fermentation characteristics and dry matter degradability to TDN level of total mixed ration

An in vitro trial was conducted to examine the effects of total mixed rations (TMR) on fermentation characteristics and effective degradability (ED) by rumen microbes. Three TMR diets were growing period TMR (GR-TMR, 67% TDN), early fattening period TMR (EF-TMR, 75.4% TDN) and late fattening TMR (LF-TMR, 80% TDN). Three TMR diets (3 g of TMRs in each incubation bottles) was added to the mixed culture solution of stained rumen fluid with artificial saliva (1:1, v/v) and incubated anaerobically for 48 hours at 39℃. The pH in all incubation solutions tended to decrease up to 48h, but the opposite results were found in concentration of total gas production, ammonia-N and total VFA in all incubations.The total gas production (p＜0.05) in LF-TMR was highest compared with those of other diets. Also, concentration of total VFA was tended to increase in LF-TMR compared with other TMR diets in all incubations. The EDDM in both EF-TMR and LF-TMR was tended to high compared with GR-TMR (p=0.100). In this in vitro trials, concentration of propionate in all incubation solution was not affected by increased concentration of TDN. The results of the present in vitro study indicate that TMR may provide more favorable condition for nutrient digestion both in the rumen.
Rapid diagnosis of non-deletion α-thalassemias by reverse dot blot

目的建立一种简便快速筛查非缺失型α-地中海贫血点突变的反向点杂交 (reverse dot blot, RDB) 技术. 方法将生物素直接标记在引物上,选择性扩增人α2珠蛋白基因,将PCR产物与固化在膜条上的寡核苷酸探针杂交,洗膜、显色后分析结果. 结果采用生物素标记的引物Bio-C1和Bio-C3可选择性扩增α2珠蛋白基因,PCR产物长度为1085 bp,该标记片段与固相探针构成的反向点杂交检测体系,可以分辨出中国人群中已知的6种非缺失型α-地中海贫血点突变. 结论该反向点杂交检测体系无需巢式PCR扩增,一步选择性扩增的α2珠蛋白基因产物即可用于杂交;无需进行检测标记物(如生物素)反应,而将生物素直接标记在引物上;无需不同的洗膜条件,故较已报道的同类方法更为简单易行. RDB技术可用于快速诊断中国人非缺失型α-地中海贫血点突变.
Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Dendrobium chrysotoxum Lindl.

The aim of this study was to improve the efficiency of plantlet regeneration and to establish an effective protocol for genetic transformation of Dendrobium chrysotoxum. Seeds successfully germinated on the ND medium amended with 1% potato extract, and further developed into protocorms with high proliferation when transferred to the ND medium containing 1% sucrose. Protocorms produced the maximum number of seven shoots per protocorm in the presence of 1 mg/l BA. For successful genetic transformation of D. chrysotoxum mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 (pCAMBIA 1305.1), carrying antisense ACC oxidase, gus and hpt II genes, the explants were inoculated for 45 min in liquid medium of earlier mentioned bacterial strain followed by co-cultivation and selection on 25 mg/l hygromycin. The results show maximum of 23% transformation. Transformation was confirmed by GUS assay and PCR, indicating successful integration of gene.