Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Carbapenemase Producers among Gram Negative Bacteria from Environmental and Clinical Samples in Makurdi, Nigeria

Carbapenem-resistant Gram negative bacteria in healthcare setting is an important medical problem and a major threat. These Gram negative bacteria are rapidly spreading worldwide. Clinical bacteria isolates were obtained from clinical samples Urine, High Vaginal Swab (HVS), Wound Swab (WS), Stools, Ear Swab (ES), Endocervical Swab (ECS), Sputum and Blood, from two tertiary hospitals. Environmental samples were also collected from both hospitals using standard sampling techniques. Multiple drug resistant (MDR) patterns were determined using disc diffusion technique. Biochemical tests were used in the identification. Antibiotics sensitivity of clinical and environmental isolates was verified using disc diffusion method. Detection of carbapenemase producing bacteria was done using double disc synergy test and modified Hodge test. Data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics. Clinical bacteria (403) obtained were distributed 271 Federal Medical Centre(FMC) and 132 Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) out of which 299 were confirmed Gram negative, 218 (FMC) and 81 (BSUTH), respectively. Thirty-nine Gram negative bacteria were also isolated from the environmental samples. A higher percentage of carbapenemase producers (12.8%) were found in environmental Original Research Article Omoregbe and Fagade; JAMB, 20(3): 11-20, 2020; Article no.JAMB. 54854 12 isolates compared to 2.7% in clinical isolates. Any levels of resistance to carbapenems calls for the need to reduce the indiscriminate use of this group of antibiotics and monitoring both in the hospitals and environment.
Redesigning a sustainable bioenergy system using a multi-platform application

This article is a concept that arranges and expands the bioenergy system paradigm that has been widely published by renewable energy experts. The new paradigm is based on the principle of the energy system where all factors must be identified and included because they affect the sustainability of the system’s process, performance and results. The target of this concept is structuring a more holistic and effective analytical technique to guide policymakers, entrepreneurs, and researchers in making decisions and implementing bioenergy projects. The literature review is used as an analytical tool to build this concept and the results of a study indicate that the bioenergy system is all key components that can be grouped into policy and regulation subsystems; the subsystem of the production and bioenergy utilization chain, the bioenergy management subsystem; and the bioenergy infrastructure subsystem. To get sustainability, bioenergy system is necessary to link and identify key materials that are related and interact with the economic, social and environmental pillars that support the sustainable development system. Future prospects are translating the concept of bioenergy system and their constituent components into mathematical models, making a research guide in the future based on agro-industry and regional agro-bioenergy system in Indonesia.
HLA DQA1-0501 AND DQB1-0201 ALLELES IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) system is the loci of genes that encode for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in humans. The expression of HLA Class II molecules on most cell types in later stages of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is both a hallmark of activation and indicates the significance of these molecules in the onset and progression of RA. In the current study an attempt is made to check any possible association between HLA DQA1-0501 and DQB1-0201 alleles and progress of RA in South Indian population. The study was conducted on 154 subjects of which 84 are RA patients and 70 age and sex matched controls. HLA DQA1-0501 and DQB1-0201 alleles were amplified using sequence specific primers. The amplified product for different samples were separated by a 1.5% agarose gel stained with ethidium bromide and then photographed. All statistical analyses were carried out using SYSTAT 12 software. Fifty seven RA patients expressed HLA DQA1-0501 allele and 66 expressed HLA DQB1-0201. In controls, of the total seventy, 42 expressed HLA DQA1-0501 and 53 expressed HLA DQB1-0201 allele. The results of X2 analysis suggests no significant heterogeneity between patients and controls. Odds ratio was also calculated for the two alleles which suggests no significant association between HLA DQA1-0501 & HLA DQB1-0201 alleles and RA. It is concluded that HLA DQA1-0501 & HLA DQB1-0201 alleles are not associated with progression of RA.
Potential Risks of Plant Invasions in Protected Areas of Sri Lanka under Climate Change with Special Reference to Threatened Vertebrates

There is substantial global concern over the potential impacts of plant invasions on native biodiversity in protected areas (PAs). Protected areas in tropical island countries that host rich biodiversity face an imminent risk from the potential spread of invasive alien plant species. Thus, the aim of this study was to gain a general understanding of the potential risks of multiple plant invasions in PAs located in the tropical island of Sri Lanka under projected climate change. We conducted a further analysis of a multi-species climate suitability assessment, based on a previous study using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling approach, and tested how species invasion may change in protected areas under climate change. We evaluated how the climate suitability of 14 nationally recognized invasive alien plant species (IAPS) will vary within PAs and outside PAs by 2050 under two climate change scenarios, representative concentration pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5. Our findings suggest that there will be increased risks from multiple IAPS inside PAs and outside PAs in Sri Lanka in the future; however, the potential risk is comparatively less in PAs. We provide an overview of the species richness of selected threatened vertebrate groups, which can be potentially impacted by IAPS in PAs. The findings of this study highlight important implications for the strategic management of plant invasions in PAs in order to safeguard native biodiversity, with special reference to vertebrates.
Extreme districts, moderate winners: Same-party challenges, and deterrence in top-two primaries

Abstract In an effort to break the link between districts' lack of competitiveness and the election of ideologues, Washington and California recently adopted the “top-two” primary election system. Among other features, the top-two primary allows members of the same party to run against one another in the general election. Although proponents argue that this system encourages the election of more moderate candidates in highly partisan districts, early reports have uncovered mixed evidence of this effect. This study addresses this puzzle by first disentangling the conditions under which one should expect such primaries to encourage the election of more moderate candidates. Using election returns data from the 2008 through 2014 elections, I find that districts facing same-party general-election competition do elect more moderate legislators than similar districts not subject to same-party competition. However, using an application of a common regression discontinuity diagnostic test, I also find that elite actors appear able to strategically avoid this kind of competition—partially explaining why broader effects of the top-two have not been uncovered. The findings contribute not only to ongoing debates about the effectiveness of the top-two primary, but also to our understanding of how political elites may maneuver institutional changes to their own benefit.
A K-Band Frequency Tripler Using Transformer-Based Self-Mixing Topology With Peaking Inductor

This article presents a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-band frequency tripler with bandwidth enhancement techniques. A transformer-based self-mixing topology with peaking inductor (TSM-PI) is introduced to settle the drawbacks in DC distortion, bandwidth, and output voltage of the conventional self-mixing structure. Theoretical analyses compared with the conventional one are proposed, which shows the TSM-PI structure improves performances significantly. With these techniques, a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-band ultrawideband frequency tripler is designed and implemented in a 0.11-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. It achieves a 50.6% fractional bandwidth from 17.7 to 29.7 GHz. With a very low-power consumption of 7.2 mW, the saturation output power and efficiency are 0.28 dBm and 15.2%, respectively.
Effect of Two Chronic Exercise Protocols on Pre-Atherosclerotic and Anti-Atherosclerotic Biomarkers Levels in Obese and Overweight Children

Background: Obesity is an independent risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis and arterial malformations. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 12-week high-intensity interval training (HIIT) vs. continuous Aerobic training on pre-atherosclerotic and anti-atherosclerotic biomarkers levels in obese and overweight children. Methods: This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. Forty-five obese and overweight children (age: 11.06 ± 0.98 years, BMI: 25.12 ± 1.28 kg/m2) were randomly assigned to a HIIT group (n = 15, 3 sessions per week, 100% - 110% MAS intensity), aerobic group (n = 15, 3 sessions per week, 40% - 70% HRR intensity) and control group (no exercise, n = 15), which participated in the study for 12 weeks. Physical, physiological and blood variables measured at the beginning and end of the 12-week study. Descriptive statistics used to describe the variables and inferential statistics were used to data analysis Results: The results showed a significant increase in serum levels of salusin-α and NO in both training groups, but the contribution of HIIT was more significant in the intergroup review. Also, the levels of salusin-β, body weight, BMI, %BF, WHR and TG/HDL ratio were significantly decreased in both training groups, which were more significant in the HIIT group. Conclusions: According to our findings, the use of HIIT seems to be considered as an important factor in preventing chronic diseases of passive lifestyle for obese and overweight children. Therefore, to improve cardiometabolic health in obese and overweight children, we recommend regular physical activity with greater emphasis on HIIT.
Reflective Single-Pixel Terahertz Imaging Based on Compressed Sensing

The investigation of single-pixel terahertz (THz) imaging opens up a new research direction for the development of THz imaging technology. In this work, we exploit a reflective single-pixel THz imaging system based on photoinduced dynamic masks. By combining the compressed sensing and inverse Fresnel diffraction algorithms, a reflective THz spectral image is accurately reconstructed and the morphology of a sample is clearly observed. Three application potentials of the THz imaging system are fully proved, including time-of-flight measurement of a sample with multiple interfaces, noninvasive testing of a hidden object, and spectral identification of different chemical substances. The reflection-type measurement mode effectively improves the practicability of single-pixel THz imaging.
Rediscovery and re-description of the holotype of Lygosoma vittigerum (= Lipinia vittigera ) Boulenger, 1894

We report about the rediscovery of the holotype of the Southeast Asian striped skink Lipinia vittigera and provide a detailed redescription together with photographs and drawings. The species was first described by George Albert Boulenger in 1894 as Lygosoma vittigerum based on a specimen collected by Elio Modigliani on the island of Sereinu (= Sipura), west of Sumatra. The original type specimen was considered to be lost for more than a century and was recently rediscovered in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale “Giacomo Doria” (MSNG) in Genova, Italy.
Rate Adaption for Secure HARQ-CC System with Multiple Eavesdroppers

In this paper, we studied the secure transmission of a hybrid automatic repeat request with chase combining (HARQ-CC) system, under the existence of multiple eavesdroppers and limited latency. First, we analyzed some critical performance metrics, including connection outage probability (COP), secrecy outage probability (SOP) and effective secrecy throughput (EST). Then, to maximize the EST, three optimization problems of rate adaption were discussed: (i) optimizing the code rate with a given secrecy redundancy rate by a parameterized closed-form solution; (ii) optimizing the secrecy redundancy rate with a given code rate by a fixed-point method; (iii) optimizing both code rate and secrecy redundancy rate by an iterative optimization algorithm. We also considered COP and SOP constraints among the problems while corresponding solutions were deduced. Finally, numerical and simulated results verified our conclusions that the approximated SOP matches well with Monte–Carlo simulation for a strict reliable constraint, and that the optimized transmitting rate enhances EST efficiently with multiple eavesdroppers and retransmissions. Moreover, the influence of the number of eavesdroppers on secrecy performance was analyzed. Briefly, secrecy performance inevitably deteriorates with increasing number of eavesdroppers due to raised information leakage.
AUTOMATED WEED REMOVAL SYSTEM USING CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK

Weeds are very annoying for farmers and also not very good for the crops. Its existence might damage the growth of the crops. Therefore, weed control is very important for farmers. Farmers need to ensure their agricultural fields are free from weeds for at least once a week, whether they need to spray weed herbicides to their plantation or remove it using tools or manually. The aim of this research is to build an automated weed control system. The system consists of motors, Raspberry pi and a camera which we use to capture the image of the crops and weeds. An automated image classification system has been designed to differentiate between weeds and crops. For the image classification method, we employ the convolutional neural network algorithm to process the image of the object. Deep learning is used to analyze the relevant features from the agricultural images. The dataset is trained for the classification of weed and crop. Therefore, by the use of technology, farmers can reduce the amount of workload and workforce they need to monitor their plantation. In addition, this technology also can improve the quality of the crops.
Low Enthalpy Geothermal Systems in Structural Controlled Areas: A Sustainability Analysis of Geothermal Resource for Heating Plant (The Mondragone Case in Southern Appennines, Italy)

In this study, the sustainability of low-temperature geothermal field exploitation in a carbonate reservoir near Mondragone (CE), Southern Italy, is analyzed. The Mondragone geothermal field has been extensively studied through the research project VIGOR (Valutazione del potenzIale Geotermico delle RegiOni della convergenza). From seismic, geo-electric, hydro-chemical and groundwater data, obtained through the experimental campaigns carried out, physiochemical features of the aquifers and characteristics of the reservoir have been determined. Within this project, a well-doublet open-loop district heating plant has been designed to feed two public schools in Mondragone town. The sustainability of this geothermal application is analyzed in this study. A new exploration well (about 300 m deep) is considered to obtain further stratigraphic and structural information about the reservoir. Using the derived hydrogeological model of the area, a numerical analysis of geothermal exploitation was carried out to assess the thermal perturbation of the reservoir and the sustainability of its exploitation. The effect of extraction and reinjection of fluids on the reservoir was evaluated for 60 years of the plant activity. The results are fundamental to develop a sustainable geothermal heat plant and represent a real case study for the exploitation of similar carbonate reservoir geothermal resources.
An attempt to determine variability of RNA/DNA ratios during Dicentrarchus labrax larval development. Aproximació a la determinació de la variabilitat de la relació DNA/RNA durant el desenvolupament larval del llobarro Dicentrarchus labrax

RNA and DNA content of seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) larvae were determined from day 10 to day 60 after hatching in an aquaculture facility. Our results show a two-phase modulation ofthe RNAlDNA ratio throughout seabass larvae development. From day 10 after hatching there is an increase in the RNAIDNA ratio reaching maximal values at day 30 of age. Then, the RNAlDNA ratio decreased reaching minimal values at day 60 after hatching. These results are consistent with a high rate of protein synthesis during the first 30 days of seabass development compared with the rest of the developmental period stu­ died. The results are compared with that of otolith growth carried out for the same spe­
Formal and Informal Social Support Systems for Migrant Domestic Workers

Informal social support from family and friends has often been highlighted as the key form of support for migrants under different forms of transnational movement, particularly for female migrants. Drawing on the findings from qualitative and quantitative studies on Filipino and Indonesian migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong, this article applies the intersectionality framework to explore how migrant domestic workers approach different forms of support systems based on their multiple identities of gender, ethnicity, and religion. A clear distinction on help-seeking behavior is drawn between approaching formal and informal support systems with migrant domestic workers directly approaching formal support when the problem is employment related but turning to informal support when having emotional needs. Such distinction is found to be related to migrant domestic workers’ perceptions toward gender role and religious practices under transnational movements.
Comparative taxonomic structure of the floras of two Mediterranean‐climate regions: Iberia and California

Two major events were invoked to understand recent biodiversity patterns in Mediterranean floras: northern hemisphere glaciations and historical human impacts. These two events were considered in this work, where we investigated general patterns in plant species richness and rarity attributes in two different Mediterranean regions: California and Iberia. Our goal was to assess whether comparisons of this sort provided evidence of different extinctions rates, making an effort to decouple anthropogenic from ice age‐related effects in both regions.
Approaches to determining the three-dimensional structure and dynamics of bacterial chromosomes

The information in genomes is only partially contained in the linear sequence of their nucleotides. Their folding into dynamic three-dimensional structures creates spatial relationships between loci that likely play important functional roles. Yet so far only the broad outlines of this spatial organization have been discerned. In chapter 2 of this thesis I describe a general constraint-based framework for defining the configuration space of chromosomes. Analogous to protein structure determination through NMR, such a framework allows the quantitative reduction of the conformation space down to the level of a single structure or an ensemble of structures. It is compatible with both experimentally determined and theoretical constraints, particularly those motivated by evolutionary optimality. In chapter 3. , I describe the first method to search for signals of large-scale threedimensional structure in genome sequences. The results suggest that there is strong selection for three-dimensional relationships within the chromosome, particularly those related to transcription. The signals generated recapitulate both known structural data from microscopy and functional data on genome-wide transcription levels. Moreover, a detailed analysis of these signals in E. coli suggests previously unknown structural features including chromosome-long periodic looping and an axis of high transcriptional activity. There are immediate applications to other bacteria and potentially to eukaryotes. Thesis Supervisor: George M. Church Title: Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School
Differential metabolic response of barley genotypes, varying in resistance, to trichothecene‐producing and ‐nonproducing (tri5−) isolates of Fusarium graminearum

Resistance of barley to Fusarium graminearum was studied using a pair each of resistant and susceptible black and yellow barley lines. The spikelets were inoculated with a trichothecene-producing isolate, a trichothecene-nonproducing isolate (tri5−), or a mock solution. Spikelets were collected 72 h after inoculation and metabolites were analysed using a LC-hybrid MS system. Metabolite abundances were used to identify the constitutive (RRC) and induced resistance-related metabolites (RRI). The pathogen virulence factor, DON, and its plant detoxification product, DON-3-O-glucoside (D3G), were also identified and designated as resistance-indicator (RI) metabolites. The RRC, RRI and RI metabolites were putatively identified. Jasmonic acid was significantly induced in barley following inoculation with a trichothecene-producing isolate, but not with a tri5− isolate. The former isolate reduced the induction of both the number and amount of RR metabolites. The metabolites cinnamic acid, sinapoyl alcohol, coniferin, catechin and naringin were identified only in response to the inoculation with a tri5− mutant. The abundances of p-coumaric acid, coniferaldehyde and sinapaldehyde increased more in response to the tri5− mutant than to the trichothecene-producing isolate. The total amount of DON synthesized and its conversion to D3G varied greatly between the resistant and susceptible black barley, but not in yellow barley. Interestingly, an increase in the amount of total DON produced was associated with a decrease in the conversion of DON to D3G. The roles of RRC, RRI and RI metabolites in plant defence and their further use as potential biomarkers in screening are discussed.