Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PLANT TISSUE CULTURE IN MUNTINGIA CALABURA IN VITRO CLONAL PROPAGATION, CALLUS INDUCTION AND GERMPLASM CONSERVATION OF ‘CERECILLO’ MUNTINGIA CALABURA L. (MUNTINGIACEAE)

Muntingia calabura L. (Muntingiaceae) is a fast-growing tree native to tropical America, abundant in the seasonally dry forest of the north coast of Peru. Tissue culture is an effective procedure to produce healthy plants, rapid clonal propagation and several morphogenic process. The objective of this study was to formulate an efficient method for micropropagation, morphogenesis callus induction and germplasm conservation of this species. In this study, seeds, shoot-tips and nodal segments of seedlings were used as explants, inducing various morphogenic processes in different combinations of growth regulators and osmoregulatory substances. In vitro seeds germination was 100% up to four months after the ripe fruits were collected and after 12 months the germination rate was 0.0%. The highest elongation of shoot was observed with 0.5 mg L-1 2iP (3.11 cm) although the highest number of shoots formed (18.0 and 16.5) was observed with 0.5 mg/L KIN or TDZ, respectively, after 30 days of culture. The best callus induction was obtained in 0.5 and 1.0 mg L-1 TDZ, 1.0 and 2.0 mg L-1 2,4-D, 2.0 mg L-1 NAA or 2.0 mg L-1 NAA with 0.1 and 0.5 mg L-1 BAP, after 45 days of culture period. Shoot regeneration (> 10 shoots/explant) was observed with 0.1 to 2.0 mg L-1 NAA. Root induction was observed in all shoots cultured in various concentrations of IBA and NAA-GA3, after 30 days of culture. After two months, well rooted plantlets were transplanted in greenhouse conditions, however, the survival rate was less than 10%. Only in treatment with mannitol 2.0% in explants without roots, the highest in vitro conservation rate (50%) was reached, after 6 months of culture, while in the control treatment in culture medium without ABA and mannitol, but supplemented with 0.02-0.02 mg L-1 (IAA-GA3), the conservation rate reached 100%. The results demonstrated the applicability of tissue culture in the micropropagation and in vitro germplasm conservation of M. calabura.
Flax/basalt/E-glass Fibers Reinforced Epoxy Composites with Enhanced Mechanical Properties

ABSTRACT Mechanical properties of flax/basalt/E-glass fibers reinforced epoxy composites were studied in this paper. Vacuum bagging technique was adopted for the fabrication of hybrid composite laminates. The effects of fibers relative amounts and stacking sequence on the tensile, flexural and impact properties were investigated. Results showed that the developed hybrid composites display enhanced tensile, flexural, and impact performance as compared to flax fiber/epoxy composite. The tensile, flexural, and impact strengths increase when partial laminas from flax fiber/epoxy laminate are replaced by basalt and/or glass fiber reinforced epoxy laminas. Incorporating high strength fibers to the composite outer layers leads to improved flexural and impact resistances, whilst the opposite was noticed for tensile properties. The fabricated hybrids show economical and specific mechanical properties benefits. Fibers relative amounts and stacking sequence have noticeable effects on the studied mechanical properties.
Comparison of the Particle Swarm Optimization with the Genetic Algorithms as a Training for Multilayer Perceptron Technique to Diagnose Thyroid Functional Disease

Background: Thyroid is a gland that controls body key functions. Since thyroid hormones are responsible for controlling metabolism, the thyroid glands are one of the major organs in the body. Disruption of the glands causes thyroid disease, which is one of the most common endocrine diseases worldwide. Early diagnosis of thyroid disease is difficult since early symptoms are easily confused with those of other illnesses. In recent years, the employment of computer techniques to utilize data mining and intelligent algorithms accelerates the early diagnosis of the disease. Objectives: The current study aimed at evaluating the role of the new automatic method according to a multilayer perceptron (MLP) in the diagnosis of thyroid disease. Methods: The study aimed at comparing the particle swarm optimization (PSO) with the genetic algorithms (GA) as training for MLP technique used to diagnose thyroid functional disease. The data were collected for three classes: 150 cases of euthyroidism, 30 cases of hypothyroidism, and 35 cases of hyperthyroidism. MLP was used to elucidate the pattern in the data and species responsible for separating the classes. Furthermore, improved PSO and GAs were used to train the system, and the sensitivity and specificity of the model were studied in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. All analyses were performed using MATLAB software. Results: For the proposed model, the simulations results showed that the GA algorithm had a higher performance than the PSO algorithm in the diagnosis of functional thyroid disease, and the means of classification accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were 95%, 96%, and 96%, respectively. Conclusions: The results of real data indicated that the GA-MLP can be used with high diagnostic accuracy as an effective tool to clinically diagnose thyroid functional disease. The current study was a step towards prototype system development of the classification of knowledge in this area with a much lower computational cost.
Solitary and shocklike wave solutions for the Gardner equation in dusty plasmas

The propagation of dust ion acoustic waves (DIAWs) for two-temperature ions with isothermal electrons in dusty plasmas has been investigated. Using the reductive perturbation method, the Gardner equation is derived. Many analytical solutions have been presented for small but finite amplitude acoustic waves, e.g. solitary and shocklike waves. The effects of many parameters on the feature of the shocklike waves have been studied for the dusty plasma system. The results of this study could be helpful for understanding the existence of nonlinear potential structures those are observed in various cosmic dust-laden plasmas, such as Saturn's E-ring, noctilucent clouds, Halley's comet and interstellar molecular clouds.
Biodegradation of leather tanned with inorganic salts

This paper aims to evaluate the physical, chemical and biological processes associated with the deterioration of leather tanned with inorganic salts. The samples of leather were exposed during eight months to outdoor weathering, and then their properties were evaluated. The results indicate that biodegration starts with dehydration, a partial scission of the protein chain of the collagen, detanning and a loss of oils due to volatilization and/or decomposition.
Open Humans: A platform for participant-centered research and personal data exploration

Background Many aspects of our lives are now digitized and connected to the internet. As a result, individuals are now creating and collecting more personal data than ever before. This offers an unprecedented chance for fields of human subject research ranging from the social sciences to precision medicine. With this potential wealth of data come practical problems - such as how to merge data streams from various sources - as well as ethical problems - how can people responsibly share their personal information? Results To address these problems we present Open Humans, a community-based platform that enables personal data collections across data streams, enables individuals to take control of their personal data, and enables academic research as well as patient-led projects. We showcase data streams that Open Humans combines - such as personal genetic data, wearable activity monitors, GPS location records and continuous glucose monitor data - along with use cases of how that data is used by various participants. Conclusions Open Humans highlights how a community-centric ecosystem can be used to aggregate personal data from various sources as well as how these data can be ethically used by academic and citizen scientists.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sustainability in Victoria Falls: Focus on Hotels, Tour Operators and Related Attractions

ABSTRACT This study investigates sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Victoria Falls town and the treatment of sustainability issues thereof. Making use of a survey, interviews and field observations for data generation, the results show that Victoria Falls town hosts a wide range of GHG emitting and ecologically sensitive hospitality infrastructure, including hotels and tour operators. The primary sources of GHG emissions come from the hospitality subsector, followed by the use of road transport, which is dominated by old Japanese vehicles. The study recommends a raft of measures to curb carbon emissions, including the use of renewable energy.
Over expression of stress responsive Pennisetum glaucum 47 helicase (PG47) improves stress tolerance in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L)

RNA helicases function as molecular motors that rearrange RNA secondary structure, potentially performing roles in any cellular process involving RNA metabolism in an ATP-dependent manner and play an important role in protein synthesis. Pennisetum glaucum 47 (PG47) RNA helicase overexpressed in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivar GPBD-4 improved drought tolerance. The transgenics plants were confirmed for presence, expression and stable integration by Kanamycin screening, genomic DNA PCR, RT-PCR and Southern analyses respectively. In T3 generation, the promising transgenic events were identified based on stress tolerance and improvement in productivity. The transgenic events showed enhanced stay-green phenotype and increased chlorophyll stability under drought stress. The transgenics also showed reduced chlorophyll retardation under NaCl, PEG and etherel-induced stress conditions. Transgenic plants showed increased yield than wild type under stress conditions. Results suggested that PG47 RNA helicase contributing for enhanced drought-adaptive traits and improved productivity under water-limited conditions.
A Scale to Measure the Attitude of Famers towards ICTs

The aim of this study is to develop an attitude scale to measure the attitude of farmers towards ICTs. It has been a long time need for a proper scale to measure the attitude of farmers towards ICTs, it was thought necessary to construct a scale for the purpose. Keeping this in view, an attempt has been made to develop a scale for measuring the attitude of farmers towards ICTs. Method of summated rating scale, by Likert (1932) was used. Thirty four statements were selected from 66 statements for which ‘t’ values were worked out, whose values were highest i.e., with t-values more than 1.75.
Factors Determination MOOCs Continuance Intention: A Proposed Conceptual Framework

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) recently start to gain its popularity at most universities and the number of MOOC has increased. Despite its popularity, previous study shown that low course completion rate and limited amount of studies in examining antecedents which influence students’ continuation intention in using MOOCs. Thus, this study aims to propose a conceptual framework to figure out the factors determinant of MOOCs continuance intention among students in Malaysian higher education. By reviewing the related studies, factors namely perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude, motivation and continuance intention were identified.
Opportunities in Functional Genomics: A Primer on Lab and Computational Aspects

ABSTRACT As computational and sequencing technologies continue to flourish, the barrier for those interested in complementing traditional ecological and physiological studies with functional genomics is easier to overcome. Here, an overview of transcriptome sequencing and DNA methylation analyses in shellfish is provided, primarily for those with fundamental interests and training in a different domain. The approaches covered here can provide valuable information on how organisms respond to their environment and also be used to evaluate evolutionary relationships. First, biological and technological background is provided, highlighting studies in shellfish that have applied these approaches. This is followed by practical methods and tools for conducting this work at the laboratory bench and in front of a computer. In an effort to provide educational resources and the ability to update computational and analytical resources as they become available, a supplementary repository for this work has been created and is available at https://github.com/sr320/fun-gen.
Decadal effects of landscape‐wide enrichment of dead wood on saproxylic organisms in beech forests of different historic management intensity

European temperate forests have lost dead wood and the associated biodiversity owing to intensive management over centuries. Nowadays, some of these forests are being restored by enrichment with dead wood, but mostly only at stand scales. Here, we investigated effects of a seminal dead‐wood enrichment strategy on saproxylic organisms at the landscape scale.
Bone Density and Marginal Bone Loss around Implants Post Ultraviolet A and Ultraviolet C Irradiation

The aim of this paper was to evaluate marginal bone loss (MBL) and bone density (BD) in the alveolar bone surrounding the titanium implants with or without ultraviolet (UV) pre-treatment at different wavelengths in vivo. Randomized control trial conducted at the CMH Lahore Medical College, Institute of Dentistry. This interventional study enrolled patients undergoing replacement of missing teeth. Sixty-six Dio UFII implants with hybrid sandblasted and acidetched (SLA) surface treatments were divided equally into three groups. Control Group A was not irradiated, while implants in groups B and C were irradiated with UVA (382 nm, 25 mWcm2) and UVC (260 nm, 15 mWcm2), respectively. MBL and BD in the surrounding bone were evaluated at day 0 (baseline) and 8th and 26th week. SPSS 20.0 was used for data analysis. Repeated measure ANOVA followed by One-way ANOVA, Tukey’s test and Paired t-test were used for comparison. p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Both UVA and UVC treated groups showed minimal MBL compared to control group, with no significant difference between the two experimental groups. Meanwhile, there was a steady increase in BD in all groups over time, with UVC showing a significant improvement between the 8th and 26th week. MBL was reduced and BD was increased in both UV treated groups. However, UVC irradiation has the potential to control MBL and produce denser bone in SLA coated implants.
A data‐based private learning framework for enhanced security against replay attacks in cyber‐physical systems

This article develops a data‐based and private learning framework of the detection and mitigation against replay attacks for cyber‐physical systems. Optimal watermarking signals are added to assist in the detection of potential replay attacks. In order to improve the confidentiality of the output data, we first add a level of differential privacy. We then use a data‐based technique to learn the best defending strategy in the presence of worst case disturbances, stochastic noise, and replay attacks. A data‐based Neyman‐Pearson detector design is also proposed to identify replay attacks. Finally, simulation results show the efficacy of the proposed approach along with a comparison of our data‐based technique to a model‐based one.
Architectured Cu–TNTZ Bilayered Coatings Showing Bacterial Inactivation under Indoor Light and Controllable Copper Release: Effect of the Microstructure on Copper Diffusion

A Ti–23Nb–0.7Ta–2Zr–1.2O alloy (at %), called “gum metal”, was deposited by direct-current magnetron sputtering (DCMS) on an under layer of copper. By varying the working pressure during the deposition, columnar TNTZ (Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr) nanoarchitectures were obtained. At low working pressures, the upper layer was dense with a coarse surface (Ra = 12 nm) with a maximum height of 163 nm; however, the other samples prepared at high working pressures showed columnar architectures with voids and an average roughness of 4 nm. The prepared coatings were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM) for surface topography, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) for atomic mapping, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for cross-section imaging, contact angle measurements for hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance of the prepared surfaces, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for the crystallographic structures of the prepared coatings. The morphology and the density of the prepared coatings were seen to influence the hydrophilic properties of the surface. The antibacterial activity of the prepared coatings was tested in the dark and under low-intensity indoor light. Bacterial inactivation was seen to happen in the dark from samples presenting columnar nanoarchitectures. This was attributed to the diffusion of copper ions from the under layer. To verify the copper release from the prepared samples, an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) was used. Additionally, the atomic depth profiling of the elements was carried out by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for the as-prepared samples and for the samples used for bacterial inactivation. The low amount of copper in the bulk of the TNTZ upper layer justifies its diffusion to the surface. Recycling of the antibacterial activity was also investigated and revealed a stable activity over cycles.
2-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)-4-(2-(4-nitrophenyl)hydrazono)-4H-chromene-3,5,7-triol

On the basis of the knowledge from traditional herbal and folk medicine, flavonoids are among the most studied chemical classes of natural compounds for their potential activity as phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors. We here describe the preparation of a semi-synthetic hydrazone derivative of quercetin, 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-4-(2-(4-nitrophenyl)hydrazono)-4H-chromene-3,5,7-triol, that was obtained via a single-step modification of the natural compound. The product was characterized by NMR, mass spectrometry and HPLC. Preliminary molecular modeling studies suggest that this compound could efficiently interact with PDE5.
Static and dynamic functional connectivity analysis of cerebrovascular reactivity: An fMRI study

The human brain, as a finely-tuned system, needs a constant flow of oxygen to function properly. To accomplish this, the cerebrovascular system ensures a steady stream of oxygenation to brain cells. One tool that the cerebrovascular system uses is cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), which is the system’s ability to react to vasoactive stimuli. Understanding CVR can provide unique information about cerebrovascular diseases and general brain function. CVR can be evaluated by scanning subjects with blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they periodically inhale room air and CO2-enriched gas, a powerful and widely-used vasodilator. Our goal is to understand the effect of vasodilation on individual intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs), as well as how functional network connectivity (FNC) adapts to the same vasodilation. To achieve this goal, we first developed an innovative metric to measure the effect of CVR on ICNs, which contrasts to the commonly used voxel-wise CVR. Furthermore, for the first time, we studied static (sFNC) and dynamic (dFNC) FNC in the context of CVR. Our results show that network connectivity is generally weaker during vascular dilation, and these results are more pronounced in dFNC analysis. dFNC analysis reveals that participants did not return to the pre-CO2 inhalation state, suggesting that the one-minute period of room-air inhalation is not enough for the CO2 effect to fully dissipate in humans. Overall, we see new relationships between CVR and ICNs, as well as how FNC adapts to vascular system changes.
Induction of Variability in Three Nigerian Pepper Varieties using Gamma Irradiation

This study was aimed at inducing mutation on three cultivars of Capsicum annuum L. to source for new and favourable genetic variations that could be exploited for better agronomic traits. The mutation was induced by exposing the seeds of Shombo, Tatase and Nsukka yellow pepper to varied dosages (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 Gy from Co source) of gamma irradiation. The study was conducted in the Botanic Garden of the University of Nigeria. Seeds exposed to 50Gy produced significantly (P < 0.05) the highest number of fruits per plant, highest fruit yield and improved morphological traits in Shombo. Higher dosages of irradiation gave lower fruits per plant and yields than untreated seeds in Shombo. Tatase irradiated with 150 Gy had significantly the highest single fresh fruit weight. Generally in Tatase 50, 100 and 150Gy increased some morphological traits significantly (P < 0.05). Although 50 Gy gave highest number of fruits per plant, 100, 150 and 200Gy had significantly higher fruit yield with yield increasing as dosage increased. For Nsukka yellow, irradiation did not show a consistent pattern in improving morphological traits. But 200Gy produced significantly the highest number of fruits per plant and highest yield. Gamma irradiation dosage of 50 – 200 Gy can be exploited to create variability for improvement of morphological and yield traits in pepper plants. Original Research Article Abu et al.; JEAI, 42(4): 111-119, 2020; Article no.JEAI. 51703 112
Good Corporate Governance Practices in Family Business: A Case Study in Indonesia

Good corporate governance (GCG) practices have been broadly acknowledged in both industry and government these days. In general, good execution and practice of good corporate governance indicate thehealth of corporations. The awareness of good corporate governance practice developed among familybusiness regardless the size of the business. Thus, this research aims to explore the general perception offamily business towards the good corporate governance practices and the importance of good corporategovernance in their business. The focus of this study is family business in Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia.This research uses descriptive and quantitative model. Every data that was obtained from the respondents willbe described in detail and explained with quantitative model to analysis the implementation of good corporategovernance in SMEs. The results from 60 family businesses show that mostly the SMEs understand thatcompany financial and non-financial report should be reported on regular basis (mean= 2.83) they alsodiscloses the internal salary system to the employee (mean= 2.68) it might be due to the directcommunication by the owner or management to the employees. SMEs agree that detailed job description isnecessary (mean= 2.97) as well as standard operational procedure document (mean= 2.67). Also, most ofSMEs agree that a regular payment period is important (mean= 3.58) and reporting the tax on time(mean=3.27). SMEs agree that the owners or family members should be independent in recruiting employees(mean=2.55) and deciding company strategies (mean=2.43) and SMEs perception of fairness showed thatfamily member have limited opportunity to work at the company (mean=3.30).