Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detection of cyclohximide resistant gene in selected pathogenic fungi

Objective To detect the genes that play a role in resistance to cyclohximide by some pathogenic fungi. Methods Isolates of dermatophytic fungi (Trichophyton rubrum, Microsporum canis, Candida albicans and Aspergillus spp.) were isolated from patients with fungal infection attending the AL-Diwaniya Teaching Hospital and identified based on the microscopic and macroscopic characteristics. The effect of cycloheximide and ammonium hydroxide in isolation of these fungi in sabourauds dextrose agar were tested by the quantative transcrptive assay of gene expression (CYH1, CYH2, CDR1, CDR2 and ABC gene ) using real-time PCR. Results The result of this estimation revealed that the amplified DNA (PCR product) were 463 bp for CYH1; 265 bp for CDR1 ; 160 bp for CDR2; 359 bp for CYH2 in the pathogenic fungi C. albicans , T. rubrum, M. canis and A. niger. Conclusion The tested pathogens had resistance genes to cycloheximide such as (CHY1, CHY2, CDR1, CDR2 and HKG).
Characterization of interferon alpha of major histocompatibility complex class I in Punjab urial ( Ovis vignei punjabiensis )

Tanveer HUSSAIN***, Muneeb M. MUSTHAFA*, Masroor Ellahi BABAR, Atiya YASMEEN, Asif NADEEM, Nisar AHMAD, Faiz M.M. T. MARIKAR Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Virtual University of Pakistan, Lahore, Pakistan Institute of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan Department of Livestock Production, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Kandawala Estate, Ratmalana, Sri Lanka
Relationships between Goal Clarity, Concentration and Learning Effectiveness when Playing Serious Games

Serious games are increasingly being integrated into a diverse set of courses and portrayed as a means of helping train individuals to acquire knowledge and professional skills, thereby improving the learning effectiveness. In order to design an effective serious game, academics and practitioners have studied the characteristics of game design that influence learning performance. One of key characteristics, goal clarity, is believed to be an important element for a successful serious game. Thus, we used the flow theory as a theoretical foundation to propose a conceptual model based on the flow theory proposing that the relationships among goal clarity, concentration, and learning effectiveness are moderated by the type of learning environment. In the future, this study plan to use a mixed methods evaluation methodology that incorporate both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the experiment.
Genomic Alterations in Ethanol-Exposed Trophoblast Cell Lines Inducedby Chronic Ethanol Treatment

Background: Ethanol consumption during pregnancy results in a broad spectrum of damage, but the knowledge of its mechanism is lacking. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine ethanol-caused genomic alterations in placental cell lines after a repeated ethanol treatment in order to describe new genomic targets of cell damage. Methods: A model of sustained exposure to standard doses of ethanol on two in vitro human choriocarcinoma cell lines, JEG-3 and BeWo, was used. Chromosomic abnormalities and copy number alterations (CNAs) were assessed by G-Banding cytogenetics and oligonucleotide Single Nucleotide Polymorphism-Array analysis (CytoScan, Affymetrix). Results: Chromosomal abnormalities did not change despite ethanol exposure except for the presence of a derivative chromosome 4 [add(4)(p14)] in exposed BeWo cells. Regarding SNP-Array analysis, a total of 21 CNAs were found to be caused by ethanol exposure, 16 in JEG-3 cell line and 5 in BeWo cell line, which were not found in controls. There was no coincidence between JEG-3 and BeWo regions affected by ethanol. Conclusion: Trophoblast cell lines exposed repetitively to ethanol presented genomic instability resulting in CNAs. However, no region has been equally altered in both models to consider it an ethanol exposure target area. So, further studies involving different models and approaches that target gene regulation are required.
Factors Influencing Employee Engagement: A Study on a Telecommunication Network Provider in Maldives

This paper will strive to examine key factors identified from previous researches that influences employee engagement. A questionnaire was constructed taking in to account past literature. The independent variables to measure employee engagement include communication, team work and collaboration, job role, Company management and learning and development. The study took on descriptive and explanatory research design. Also, cross sectional survey methods was applied for this study using an online survey questionnaire, containing 30 items with Likert Scale (Strongly disagree -1 and 5 for strongly agree). Initially, a pilot test was run on a sample of 50 employees to check data normality and questionnaire/scale reliability. Based on the findings of the pilot test, questionnaire format was revised and sample size narrowed down to full time employees to encourage mature and realistic feedback. Total 300 questionnaire was distributed and a sample of 201 full time employees from Ooredoo Maldives, used. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive means and regression via SPSS.20. The study revealed that the five dimensions of employee engagement, which are, communication, team work and collaboration, job role, company management, and learning and development have a positive and significant effect on employee engagement. Considering that this study was focused on Ooredoo an international Company which is one of the biggest and fastest growing telecommunication network provider in the country, it is expected that this study will benefit and inspire the leaders and managers of all the working sectors in Maldives to unleash the full potential of their workforce, unlock the hidden talent and maximize business performance in order to gain a competitive advantage.
EXPRESSION PROFILING OF SELECTED REPRODUCTION RELATED GENES OF CLARIAS BATRACHUS AT DIFFERENT LIFE STAGES

Indian catfish, Clarias batrachus is an important culture species due to its nutritional superiority. Unlike carps, induced breeding in this species is inefficient owing to the need for sacrificing males to collect milt. Better understanding of the reproductive endocrinology of this species may help in this regard. Partial cDNA sequence of 944 and 178 bp could be identified for C. batrachus 11β hsd and kiss1 genes, respectively. Similarity search of C. batrachus 11β hsd and kiss1 sequence showed 94 and 97% identity with C. gariepinus and C. catla, respectively at both nucleotide and protein level. The C. batrachus kiss1 cDNA sequence reported in the present study is the first report from any catfish. Conserved domain analysis of 11β hsd and kiss1 deduced amino acid sequence revealed the presence of characteristic domains. The C. batrachus kiss1 deduced amino acid sequence had the characteristic kisspeptin-10 decapeptide sequence (YNLNSFGLRY). Expression analysis of selected reproduction related genes namely androgen receptor (ar), P450arom, lhβ, gthα, fshβ, GnRH and StAR was carried out in 6 tissues namely brain, muscle, kidney, liver, testis and heart in 6, 12 and 24 month old C. batrachus. For 1 and 30 day old fish the whole body was taken for expression analysis. Most of the genes studied showed the presence of transcript in almost all the tissues. No expression of these genes could be detected in 1 and 30 day old fish samples. Gonadotropins (GTHα, LHβ and FSH β) showed highest expression in brain while StAR and P450arom were highest in testis. Androgen receptor showed maximum expression in liver and testis. Injection of Ovatide (sGnRH analogue) increased the expression levels of LHβ and FSHβ in brain and testis followed by androgen receptor, P450arom and GTHα in testis. However, further studies are needed to elucidate the role of these genes in maturation and reproduction of catfish.
Generation of transgenic mice producing fungal xylanase in the saliva as a model for improving feed digestibility

The cell wall of animal feed grains contain a high proportion of xylan. Monogastric farm animals lack xylan-hydrolyzing enzymes in their gastro-intestinal tract. The indigestible dietary xylan impairs normal digestive function of single-stomached livestock by preventing efficient breakdown and assimilation of feed nutrients. The digestive capability of simple-stomached animals could be improved by providing them with a foreign xylanase gene for secretion of the enzyme into their digestive tract. In this study, we produced transgenic mice carrying an Aspergillus niger xylanse gene controlled by a salivary glandspecific regulatory element. The fungal xylanase is expressed specifically in the submandibular gland and secreted in the saliva of transgenic mice. The xylanase concentration in the saliva of transgenic mice reached 0.29 ± 0.03 U/ml. Digestibility of nutrients tends to increase in transgenic mice, although it does not differ significantly from that in wild-type controls. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the production of fungal xylanase in the saliva of simple-stomached animals. Results from the present study encourage further investigation of employing transgenic technology to enhance the digestive capability of monogastric agriculture animals by introducing enzyme able to degrade dietary xylan into the digestive tract.
Data integration model for air quality: a hierarchical approach to the global estimation of exposures to ambient air pollution

Air pollution is a major risk factor for global health, with 3 million deaths annually being attributed to fine particulate matter ambient pollution (PM2.5). The primary source of information for estimating population exposures to air pollution has been measurements from ground monitoring networks but, although coverage is increasing, regions remain in which monitoring is limited. The data integration model for air quality supplements ground monitoring data with information from other sources, such as satellite retrievals of aerosol optical depth and chemical transport models. Set within a Bayesian hierarchical modelling framework, the model allows spatially varying relationships between ground measurements and other factors that estimate air quality. The model is used to estimate exposures, together with associated measures of uncertainty, on a high resolution grid covering the entire world from which it is estimated that 92% of the world's population reside in areas exceeding the World Health Organization's air quality guidelines.
New records of Onychiurinae (Collembola: Onychiuridae) for the Iranian Springtail fauna

Corresponding author: Morteza Kahrarian, E-mail: mortezakahrarian@gmail.com Copyright © 2016, Kahrarian et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. New records of Onychiurinae (Collembola: Onychiuridae) for the Iranian Springtail fauna
Women Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh- Challenges and Determining Factors

The aim of this study is to find out the major challenges that hinder smooth operation of women entrepreneurs of Bangladesh. It also finds the reasons behind the success of the women entrepreneurship. Both primary and secondary data have been used to conduct the study. The questionnaire included questions about economic problems, family related issues, social constraints and other limitations faced by women entrepreneurs and the reasons behind their success. Women involved in various small and medium enterprises take on the challenge to work in a male-dominated society, competitive and complex economic and business environment. However, the identified challenges are inadequate capital, sales promotion, getting permission to start-up a business, gender discrimination, illiteracy and lack of knowledge among women, non-availability of training program and technical support, lack of managerial experience, in some cases young people make ill talk about the enterprise and so on. Personal qualities such as hard work and perseverance, management skills and marketing skills, support provided by their spouses or family are the main reasons behind the success of the women entrepreneurs. The level of participation of women in mainstream economic activities remains insufficient and the percentage of women in business is still much below than that of their male counterparts. Journal of Business and Technology (Dhaka) Vol.9(2) 2014; 27-41
A kinetically-constrained FBA-model of the synthesis of aromatic amino acid-derived products in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

During the last decades the research interest for creating a more sustainable and environmentallyfriendly society and industry has increased dramatically. The employment of icroorganisms to create valuable compounds such as fuels and chemicals from renewable resources has gained high popularity. With directed modifications in the metabolism of these microorganisms, metabolic engineering seeks to optimize the properties of these organisms for an efficient bioprocess to produce valuable compounds. One characteristic of metabolic engineering is the extensive use of computational models to predict the behavior of the metabolism and thereby identifying suitable targets for genetic interventions in an in silico to in vivo progress. Flux Balance Analysis (FBA) is a popular analysis method for metabolic models, as it only requires the underlying stoichiometric network of the metabolism modelled. With FBA the optimal flux distribution, given a certain objective to be maximized, can be calculated with linear programming algorithms. As FBA only takes the stoichiometry and reaction directionality into account, further physiological constraints have to be included in the framework to increase the predictive strength of the simulations. In this thesis, an expanded form of FBA, that includes kinetic enzyme parameters as additional constraints on the system, was used to analyze a metabolic model of the popular industrially-used organisms Saccharomyces cerevisiae, that included, additionally to the native metabolism, also recombinant enzymatic steps to form the plant secondary metabolites resveratrol and naringenin from the aromatic amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine. Resveratrol and naringenin have been found to be beneficial to human health by offering anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenesis and anti-oxidant properties. The kinetically-constrained model was successfully used to estimate the impact of introducing recombinant pathways on the protein pool in the cell as well as to identify the enzymatic steps offering the highest control over the flux towards these products. This might be used in metabolic engineering to estimate the efficiency of metabolic pathways in the context of the whole metabolism form a protein cost point of view.
THERAPEUTIC AND DAGNOSTIC USE OF MODIFIED POLYMERIC MICROCAPSULES

3,891,570 6/1975 Fukushima et al. . 252/31633 4 4,138,383 2/1979 Renbaum et al. . 52.5/54.1 X 4,230,685 10/1980 Senyai et al. . 436/526 4,267,234 5/1981 Rembaum et al. . 424/497 X 4,272,398 6/1981 Jaffe . 252/316 4.413,070 11/1983 Rembaum 424/49 X 4,479,911 10/1984 Fong . 264/46 4,492,720 l/1985 Mosier . 427/213.3 4.552,812 11/1985 Margel et al. . 428/402.24 X 4,671,954 6/1987 Goldberg et al. . 424/49 X 4,871,716 10/1989 Longo et al. . 424/49 X 4,931,362 6/1990 Zsifkovits et al. . 428/402.22 4,933,105 6/1990 Fong . aa e s as . 252/303 4,994,281 2/1991 Muranishi et al. . 424/497 5,059,542 10/1991 Hirai et al. 52.5/54.1 X 5,069,936 12/1991 Yen . 424/491 X
EVIDENCE OF LATITUDINAL SEXUAL SEGREGATION AMONG MIGRATORY BIRDS WINTERING IN MEXICO

Abstract Latitudinal sexual segregation during the nonbreeding season, in which males tend to winter farther north than females, is known to occur in many temperate-zone bird species. This pattern, however, has rarely been reported in species wintering in tropical regions. We investigated latitudinal sexual segregation in 45 Nearctic-Neotropical migratory bird species that winter in Mexico, using specimen records from 35 natural-history museums. We found significant latitudinal segregation in nine species: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus), Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata), Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia; aestiva group), Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata; coronata group), Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia), Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla), Wilson’s Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla), and Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea). In most cases, males predominated in the northern part of species’ winter ranges and females in the south, but the trend was reversed in Indigo Buntings. Discovering the frequency of latitudinal sexual segregation in Neotropical migratory birds will influence understanding of avian ecology and migration systems. Evidencia de la Segregación Latitudinal Sexual en Aves Migratorias durante el Invierno en México
Density dependence is prevalent in a heterogeneous subtropical forest

Although negative conspecific density dependence among neighbours is widely studied, the general prevalence of the effects is still poorly understood due to a lack of studies from zonal forests other than the tropics. In addition, the detection of density dependence may be confounded by the influence of habitat heterogeneity. Here we examined the spatial distributions of 47 common tree species (diameter at breast height]1 cm) using the pair-correlation function g(r) in a fully mapped 24-ha subtropical forest in China. We first investigated whether habitat heterogeneity influenced tree distributions, and then examined the conspecific tree patterns and density dependence after removing the effects of habitat heterogeneity. We found that the forest plot exhibited strong large-scale heterogeneity in the distribution of both large adult trees of different growth forms and individual species. After the habitat heterogeneity was accounted for, 39 of the 47 species (83.0%) were found to exhibit density dependence predominantly at close distances among neighbors. Our findings highlight density dependence as a prevalent mechanism for regulating the population spatial structure of most tree species in the species-rich subtropical forest studied here. Furthermore, the occurrence of density dependence is closely associated with species abundance and the strength of conspecific aggregation at local scales. Abundant species with high strength of conspecific aggregation tend to show density dependence.
A Modeling Method of JPEG Quantization Table for QVGA Images

This paper presents a new JPEG quantization table design method for mobile phone images. Although the screen size of mobile phones is very small, the full information of the image should nevertheless be represented. Moreover, the high frequency components of the mobile phone images may contain important information. In order to enhance the performance of mobile JPEG images, these high frequency components should be compensated using an appropriate quantization table. Considering these characteristics, we propose a modeling method of the quantization table for compensating the high frequency components of the mobile images while sacrificing their low frequency components. We select the optimized pre-emphasis factor and bias factor using various sets of 240× 320 images and show that the proposed method improves the performance in terms of size and PSNR.
THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL TEMPERATURE AND SUBSTRATE INITIAL MOISTURE CONTENT ON ASPERGILLUS NIGER GROWTH AND PHYTASE PRODUCTION IN SOLID-STATE CULTIVATION

Aspergillus niger is being used commercially for phytase production utilizing solid-state cultivation; however, no studies have been published that investigated the optimal environmental temperature and initial substrate water content to maximize fungal growth and/or phytase production. Solid-state cultivations of Aspergillus niger on wheat bran and soybean meal were conducted at three temperatures (25°C, 30°C, and 35°C) and three initial moisture contents (50%, 55%, and 60% wet basis) in a split-plot full-factorial experimental design. Fermentations were conducted for 0, 24, 48, 72, and 120 h. The containers were sampled destructively and assayed for phytase activity and glucosamine concentration as an estimate of fungal biomass. Temperature affected phytase activity production, but substrate initial moisture content did not. The highest phytase activity was found at 30°C, 50% to 60% initial moisture content, and 72 h of fermentation. Initial substrate moisture content affected glucosamine production after 72 and 120 h of fermentation. The maximum glucosamine was produced at 35°C, either 50% or 60% initial moisture content, and 120 h of fermentation. The results show that the optimal biomass growth conditions are not the same as the optimal phytase production conditions, suggesting that phytase production is not entirely correlated with fungal growth.
Quantitative measurement of PM 10 by means of X-ray fluorescence spectra

Abstract. We developed an automatic device able to sample and analyze in situ and in real time airborne particulate matter (PM) using the X-ray fluorescence of the chemical species layered on a filter, having atomic numbers between 19 (Potassium) and 82 (Lead). Furthermore, we developed a calibration technique, which gives the parameters for real time automatic determination of the absolute mass of the chemical species present on the sample, with a sensitivity varying from 1 to 100 μg per sample. Our system could represent a simpler alternative to the complex and sophisticated laboratory measurements, such as Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) or Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES), officially used by environmental agencies. A 6 month in-situ test, carried out in collaboration with the local Regional Environmental Agency, showed that our system gives results comparable with the ones obtained using existing techniques, but with smaller errors. The methodology developed has been submitted for a patent.
Causality Between Energy and Output in the Long-Run

Though there is a very large literature examining whether energy use Granger causes economic output or vice versa this literature is fairly inconclusive. Almost all existing studies use relatively short time series or panels with a relatively small time dimension. Additionally, many recent papers continue to use what seem to be misspecified models. We apply Granger causality and cointegration techniques to a Swedish time series data set on energy and economic growth spanning 150 years to test whether increases in energy use and energy quality have driven economic growth. We show that these techniques are very sensitive to variable definition, choice of additional variables in the model, and sample periods. All of the following appear to make a finding that energy causes growth more likely: using multivariate models, defining variables to better reflect their theoretical definition, using larger samples, and including appropriate structural breaks. However, it is also possible that the relationship between energy and growth has changed over time and that results from recent smaller samples reflect this. Energy prices have a significant causal impact on both energy use and output.