Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linking Motivation and Employee Engagement through Gamification in Remote Working

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous organizations have shifted to remote work, telework, or work from home (WFH) for the employees’ safety. However, remote work reduces motivation, especially if employees have no choice on where to work. Apart from the motivation of employees, the levels of engagement are also decreasing. With the emergence of telework, numerous challenges are also identified. This research identifies, enumerates, and establishes the need for gamification, a trending concept that uses game elements (or motivational affordances which include points, leaderboards, badges, etc.) to non-game context (marketing/commerce, education, work, etc.) in remote work, to increase the levels of engagement and motivation, as well as to overcome the challenges employees encounter in the new set-up. With the lack of in-depth literature on gamification together with the emergence of work-from-home in the new normal, the researcher used a qualitative design to explore the concept and interviewed 10 employees from the Philippines who were forced to work remotely. The participants for the interview were chosen using the Purposive Sampling method and were asked about their perceptions on motivation, employee engagement, and games, as well as their perception towards implementing gamification in their new workplace. The interviews were done through online interviews (conference call). This research shows a positive response and potential effect on leveraging both motivation and employee engagement through gamification. With the perceptions of the participants toward gamification, this paper could help develop concepts or theories for potential quantitative research, as well as encourage organizations to implement gamification in the workplace to avoid potential problems.
Organizational Citizenship Behavior for the Environment among Undergraduates

The environment is a very valuable gift to human well-being. Humans depend heavily on the natural resources of the earth. An unpolluted environment gives us the atmosphere needed for a healthy and perfect life. If individuals are unaware of the value of the environment, the government's efforts to create infrastructure, legislation, and enforcement will be in vain. The mere act of enforcing the law is insufficient to ensure that pollution instances do not repeat. What's more important is for citizens to understand the value of the environment so that we can establish a sustainable environment for all. One of the concepts related to the desire to preserve the environment among employees or individuals is organizational citizenship behavior for the environment (OCBE). The data of 312 undergraduates was targeted using convenience sampling via a survey questionnaire. The data was then analysed using multiple regression. The results of this study found that students' OCBE was significantly influenced by four variables, namely, personal environmental belief, green value, self-efficacy, and environmental self-identity.
Continuous Glucose Monitoring System Based on Percutaneous Microneedle Array

A continuous blood glucose monitoring system (CGMS) which include a microneedle-array blood glucose sensor, a circuit module, and a transmission module placed in a wearable device is developed in this research. When in use, the wearable device is attached to the human body with the microneedle array inserted under the skin for continuous blood glucose sensing, and the measured signals are transmitted wirelessly to a mobile phone or computer for analysis. The purpose of this study is to replace the conventionally used method of puncture for blood collection and test strips are used to measure the blood glucose signals. The microneedle sensor of this CGMS uses a 1 mm length needle in a 3 mm × 3 mm microneedle array for percutaneous minimally invasive blood glucose measurement. This size of microneedle does not cause bleeding damage to the body when used. The microneedle sensor is placed under the skin and their solutions are discussed. The blood glucose sensor measured the in vitro simulant fluid with a glucose concentration range of 50~400 mg/dL. In addition, a micro-transfer method is developed to accurately deposit the enzyme onto the tip of the microneedle, after which cyclic voltammetry (CV) is used to measure the glucose simulation solution to verify whether the difference in the amount of enzyme on each microneedle is less than 10%. Finally, various experiments and analyses are carried out to reduce the size of the device, test effective durability (approximately 7 days), and the feasibility of minimally invasive CGMS is evaluated by tests on two persons.
Strip‐intercropping of wheat and oilseed rape enhances biodiversity and biological pest control in a conventionally managed farm scenario

1. Conventional agriculture in the global north is typically characterized by large monocultures, commonly managed with high levels of pesticide or fertilizer input and mechanization. Strip intercropping, that is, diversifying cropland by growing strips of different crops using conventional machinery, may be a viable strategy to promote natural predator diversity and associated biological pest control in such conventional farming systems. 2. We tested the influence of strip intercropping of conventionally managed winter wheat with oilseed rape, using common machinery with 27– 36 m broad strips, on arthropod predator diversity and biological pest control. We characterized
Identifying Critical Success Factor for Effective Adoption of Mobile Learning Application: An Empirical Study in Indian Context

The Advent of Advanced Mobile Technology along with supportive strong internet Infrastructure creates an opportunity to educators to use this technology for teaching learning purpose, but still there is hesitancy among educators and students to adopt it for education. In developing countries specially in Indian context M-learning is in its initial stage. The stakeholders involved do not know how to implement M-learning in an efficacious way. In this research critical success factors have been investigated, which may play paramount role in M learning adoption process. To carry out the research data has been collected from students of higher education institutions across the nation by on line mode. The collected data is processed and analyzed using Structured Equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis. Statistical package SPSS and AMOS has been used to analyze the data. Findings of the research indicated that social influence Facilitating condition, Ubiquity, Self-management of learning, Attitude, Government support are critical factors which significantly affect M-learning adoption. Based on these critical success factors a validated model for effective adoption of M learning has been developed.
Nephroprotective Plants: A Review on the Use in Pre-Renal and Post-Renal Diseases

Kidney diseases are expected to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2040. Several physiological failures classified as pre-, intra-, and post-renal factors induce kidney damage. Diabetes, liver pathologies, rhabdomyolysis, and intestinal microbiota have been identified as pre-renal factors, and lithiasis or blood clots in the ureters, prostate cancer, urethral obstructions, prostate elongation, and urinary tract infections are post-renal factors. Additionally, the nephrotoxicity of drugs has been highlighted as a crucial factor inducing kidney injuries. Due to the adverse effects of drugs, it is necessary to point to other alternatives to complement the treatment of these diseases, such as nephroprotective agents. Plants are a wide source of nephroprotective substances and can have beneficial effects in different levels of the physiological pathways which lead to kidney damage. In traditional medicines, plants are used as antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, diuretics, and anticancer agents, among other benefits. However, the mechanism of action of some plants empirically used remains unknown and scientific data are required to support their nephroprotective effects. The present work reviewed the plants with a beneficial effect on kidney diseases. The classification of nephroprotective plants according to the clinical definition of pre-renal, intrinsic, and post-renal factors is proposed to orient their use as complementary treatments.
Hydrolysis of the Borohydride Anion BH4−: A 11B NMR Study Showing the Formation of Short-Living Reaction Intermediates including BH3OH−

In hydrolysis and electro-oxidation of the borohydride anion BH4−, key reactions in the field of energy, one critical short-living intermediate is BH3OH−. When water was used as both solvent and reactant, only BH3OH− is detected by 11B NMR. By moving away from such conditions and using DMF as solvent and water as reactant in excess, four 11B NMR quartets were observed. These signals were due to BH3-based intermediates as suggested by theoretical calculations; they were DMF·BH3, BH3OH−, and B2H7− (i.e., [H3B−H−BH3]− or [H4B−BH3]−). Our results shed light on the importance of BH3 stemming from BH4− and on its capacity as Lewis acid to interact with Lewis bases such as DMF, OH−, and BH4−. These findings are important for a better understanding at the molecular level of hydrolysis of BH4− and production of impurities in boranes synthesis.
Mortality can produce limit cycles in density-dependent models with a predator-prey relationship

We study an interspecific, density-dependent model of two species competing for a single nutrient in a chemostat, allowing for a predator-prey relationship between them. We have previously examined the system in the absence of species mortality, showing that multiple positive steady states can appear and disappear through a saddle-node or transcritical bifurcation. In this paper we include mortality. We give a complete analysis for the existence and local stability of all steady states of the three-dimensional system that cannot be reduced to two dimensional ones. Specializing the forms of the rate functions, we show how mortality destabilizes the positive steady state and that stable limit cycles emerge through supercritical Hopf bifurcations. To describe how the process behaves with respect to the choice of dilution rate and input concentration as control parameters, we determine the operating diagram theoretically and also numerically by using the software package MATCONT. The bifurcation diagram based on the input concentration shows various types of bifurcations of steady states, and coexistence either at a positive steady state or via sustained oscillations.
Positive Effect of α-Asaronol on the Incidence of Post-Stroke Epilepsy for Rat with Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

In the present study, we confirmed that α-asaronol, which is a product of the active metabolites of alpha Asarone, did not affect n-butylphthalide efficacy when n-butylphthalide and α-asaronol were co-administered to rats with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. Our research revealed that the co-administration of α-asaronol and n-butylphthalide could further improve neurological function, reduce brain infarct volume, increase the number of Nissl bodies, and decrease the ratios of apoptotic cells and the expression of the caspase-3 protein for cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury model compared to n-butylphthalide alone. Additionally, α-asaronol could significantly decrease the incidence of post-stroke epilepsy versus n-butylphthalide. This study provides valuable data for the follow-up prodrug research of α-asaronol and n-butylphthalide.
Bubble Dynamics in Stationary Two-phase Flow Through Disordered Porous Media

Two-phase flow through porous media leads to the formation of drops and fingers, which eventually break and merge or may be trapped behind obstacles. This complex dynamical behavior highly influences macroscopic properties such as the effective permeability and it also creates characteristic fluctuations in the velocity fields of the two phases, as well as in their relative permeability curves. In order to better understand how the microscopic behavior of the flow affects macroscopic properties of two phases, we simulate the velocity fields of two immiscible fluids flowing through a two-dimensional porous medium. By analyzing the fluctuations in the velocity fields of the two phases, we find that the system is ergodic for large volume fractions of the less viscous phase and high capillary numbers Ca. We also see that the distribution of drop sizes m follows a power-law scaling, P ( m ) ∝ m − ξ . The exponent ξ depends on the capillary number. Below a characteristic capillary number, namely Ca* ≈ 0.046, the drops are large and cohesive with a constant scaling exponent ξ ≈ 1.23 ± 0.03. Above the characteristic capillary number Ca*, the flow is dominated by many small droplets and few finger-like spanning clusters. In this regime the exponent ξ increases approaching 2.05 ± 0.03 in the limit of infinite capillary number. Our analysis also shows that the temporal mean velocity of the entire mixture can be described by a generalization of Darcy’s law of the form v ̄ ( m ) ∝ ( ∇ P ) β where the exponent β is sensitive to the surface tension between the two phases. In the limit of infinite capillary numbers the mobility term increases exponentially with the saturation of the less viscous phase. This result agrees with previous observations for effective permeabilities found in dissolved-gas-driven reservoirs.
Ceviche-Natural Preservative: Possibility of Microbiota Survival and Effect on L. monocytogenes

Ceviche is a marinated raw fish dish ready for consumption; it is a part of the cuisine of various countries on the Pacific coast and its preparation may differ among them. Although the process uses the traditional method of food preservation by lowering the pH, the exposure time is very limited, so the aim of the study was to determine the viability of bacteria often isolated from fish after the process of preparing traditional ceviche. For this purpose, the traditional plate method and flow cytometry were used, and for pathogenic L. monocytogenes strains, the influence of stress during the preparation of the dish on the pathogenic potential was determined. The study showed that the highest percentage of viable cells was observed in the case of L. monocytogenes and remained at the level of 98.54%, slightly less for L. innocua, 96.93%. For the remaining species the reduction did not exceed 10%, for E. faecalis it was 92.76%, for S. liqefaciens 91.44%, H. alvei 93.68%. In addition, the study of the antibacterial properties of individual ingredients showed that habanero and coriander did not show any bactericidal effect, while for onions the amount of live cells was 99.11%, and for lime juice 97.26%, Additionally, the study of changes in virulence, antibiotic resistance and gene expression showed that the stress during the preparation of ceviche has different effects depending on the strain and may cause virulence potential increase, levofloxacin and daptomycin minimum inhibiotory concentration increase and some crucial virulence gene expression induction; therefore, it is important to take care of the quality of the products used to prepare the ceviche and accurate pretreatment.
ERK-mediated Cytoplasmic Retention of USP11 Contributes to Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation by Stabilizing Cytoplasmic p21

Breast cancer ranks as the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women worldwide. Elevated cytoplasmic p21 levels are often found in breast cancer tissues and related to a poor prognosis. However, the underlying mechanisms that lead to the stabilization of cytoplasmic p21 protein, which normally has a very short half-life, remain obscure. In this study, we found that there was a strong correlation between p21 and USP11 in the cytoplasm of breast cancer tissues and cells. Furthermore, we revealed that ERK1/2 phosphorylated USP11 at the Ser905 site, which promoted the cytoplasmic localization of USP11. In the cytoplasm, USP11 colocalized and interacted with p21. As a result, USP11 catalyzed the removal of polyubiquitin chains bound to cytoplasmic p21 and resulted in its stabilization. Functionally, USP11-mediated stabilization of cytoplasmic p21 induced breast cancer cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Our findings provide the first evidence that ubiquitinated p21 in the cytoplasm can be recycled through USP11-mediated deubiquitination, and we identified the USP11-p21 axis in the cytoplasm as a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer control.
Gladiolus Growth and Flowering: Impact of Chemicals And Plant Growth Regulators

To study the growth and flowering of gladiolus by using different chemicals and PGR, an experiment was conducted at the research field of the Department of Horticulture, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur from September 2019 to May 2020. Medium sized (3.5-4.5 cm) corms of the variety BARI gladiolus-3 were planted at about 6-9 cm depth in a unit plot of 1.8 m X 1.2 m maintaining a spacing of 30 cm X 20 cm following Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 3 replications. Foliar spray with 3 levels of GA3 (150, 200 and 250 ppm), 2 levels of KNO3 (1 and 2%) and 2 levels of Ca(NO3)2 (1 and 2%) along with control (only tap water) was done at 30, 45 and 60 days after planting (DAP). Results revealed that although, the tallest plant (62.9 cm) was observed in T3; where, GA3 was applied at the highest concentration (250 ppm) but it was statistically at par with the height recorded in T2 (60.7 cm) and T4 (59.4 cm); where, GA3 was applied @ 200 ppm and KNO3 was applied @ 1%, respectively. Although, Spike length in T3 (85.7 cm) varied statistically with T2 (75.9 cm) but rachis length in T3 (57.4 cm) was statistically similar with T2 (56.8 cm). Floret length and breadth in T2 (11.3 cm and 11.3 cm, respectively) were higher than T3 (10.7 cm and 10.8 cm, respectively). Number of floret per spike was statistically similar in all treatments except T4 (12.7) and T7 (12.4). The highest leaf area was recorded in T5 (189.5 cm2); where, KNO3 was applied @ 2% and this was statistically similar to all other treatments except T6 (148.9 cm2); where Ca(NO3)2 was applied @ 1%. On overall consideration, gibberellic acid (GA3) @ 250 ppm may be used for better growth and flowering of gladiolus. Ann. Bangladesh Agric. (2021) 25 (1) : 67-78
Development of a Highly Sensitive and Specific Monoclonal Antibody Based on Indirect Competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for the Determination of Zearalenone in Food and Feed Samples

Zearalenone (ZEN) contamination in food and feed is prevalent and has severe effects on humans and animals post-consumption. Therefore, a sensitive, specific, rapid, and reliable method for detecting a single residue of ZEN is necessary. This study aimed to establish a highly sensitive and specific ZEN monoclonal antibody (mAb) and an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) for the detection of ZEN residues in food and feed. The immunogen ZEN-BSA was synthesized via the amino glutaraldehyde (AGA) and amino diazotization (AD) methods and identified using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), a high-resolution mass spectrometer (HRMS), and an ultraviolet spectrometer (UV). The coating antigens ZEN-OVA were synthesized via the oxime active ester (OAE), formaldehyde (FA), 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether (BDE), AGA, and AD methods. These methods were used to screen the best antibody/antigen combination of a heterologous icELISA. Balb/c mice were immunized with a low ZEN-BSA dose at long intervals and multiple sites. Suitable cell fusion mice and positive hybridoma cell lines were screened using a homologous indirect non-competitive ELISA (inELISA) and an icELISA. The ZEN mAbs were prepared by inducing ascites in vivo. The immunological characteristics of ZEN mAbs were then assessed. The standard curves of the icELISA for ZEN were constructed under optimal experimental conditions, and the performance of the icELISA was validated. The two ZEN-BSA immunogens (conjugation ratios, 11.6:1 (AGA) and 9.2:1 (AD)) were successfully synthesized. Four hybridoma cell lines (2B6, 4D9, 1A10, and 4G8) were filtered, of which 2B6 had the best sensitivity and specificity. The mAb 2B6-based icELISA was then developed. The limit of detection (LOD), the 50% inhibitive concentration (IC50), and the linear working range (IC20 to IC80) values of the icELISA were 0.76 μg/L, 8.69 μg/L, and 0.92–82.24 μg/L, respectively. The cross-reactivity (CR) of the icELISA with the other five analogs of ZEN was below 5%. Three samples were spiked with different concentrations of ZEN and detected using the icELISA. The average intra-assay recoveries, inter-assay recoveries, intra-assay coefficients of variations (CVs), and inter-assay CVs were 93.48–99.48%, 94.18–96.13%, 12.55–12.98%, and 12.53–13.58%, respectively. The icELISA was used to detect ZEN in various samples. The results were confirmed using high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) (correlation coefficient, 0.984). The proposed icELISA was highly sensitive, specific, rapid, and reliable for the detection of ZEN in food and feed samples.
Glucose Oxidase, an Enzyme “Ferrari”: Its Structure, Function, Production and Properties in the Light of Various Industrial and Biotechnological Applications

Glucose oxidase (GOx) is an important oxidoreductase enzyme with many important roles in biological processes. It is considered an “ideal enzyme” and is often called an oxidase “Ferrari” because of its fast mechanism of action, high stability and specificity. Glucose oxidase catalyzes the oxidation of β-d-glucose to d-glucono-δ-lactone and hydrogen peroxide in the presence of molecular oxygen. d-glucono-δ-lactone is sequentially hydrolyzed by lactonase to d-gluconic acid, and the resulting hydrogen peroxide is hydrolyzed by catalase to oxygen and water. GOx is presently known to be produced only by fungi and insects. The current main industrial producers of glucose oxidase are Aspergillus and Penicillium. An important property of GOx is its antimicrobial effect against various pathogens and its use in many industrial and medical areas. The aim of this review is to summarize the structure, function, production strains and biophysical and biochemical properties of GOx in light of its various industrial, biotechnological and medical applications.