Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Marine flora and fauna of the northeastern United States.

This report includes an account of the five species of Sipuncula living in shallow waters (down to 200 m) from Maine to Virginia. Four of these are widespread elsewhere in the world — Golfingia eremita. G. margaritacea, G. minuta. and Phaseolion strombi. PhaacolopsU gouldi is endemic to the east coast of North America. An introduction to their biology, an annotated systematic list, selected bibliography, and an illustrated key are presented.
TY-Net: Transforming YOLO for Hand Gesture Recognition

Hand gesture recognition is a rapidly expanding field with diverse applications, and the use of skeleton-based methods is gaining popularity due to their potential for lightweight execution on embedded devices. However, ensuring robustness and accuracy in both gesture classification and temporal localization is critical for any gesture recognition system to be successful. In this paper, we propose a novel skeleton-based approach to online gesture recognition that draws inspiration from the YOLO object detection model. Specifically, we propose a transformer-based architecture for online gesture recognition that directly predicts both gesture classes and gesture boundaries from a sliding window input. The model is trained in an end-to-end manner using a proposed loss function that focuses on samples containing gesture centers and learns to predict boundaries in the temporal domain analogous to object centers and spatial bounding boxes in YOLO object detection. To evaluate the effectiveness of our method, we conduct experiments on two publicly available continuous hand gesture datasets: SHREC’22 and IPN Hand. Our results outperform the results of skeleton-based approaches from the SHREC’22 online gesture recognition contest. Moreover, our approach obtained competitive results compared to the approaches utilizing alternative input modalities on the IPN Hand dataset.
Triceps surae muscle hypertrophy is greater after standing versus seated calf-raise training

Background: The triceps surae muscle plays important roles in fundamental human movements. However, this muscle is relatively unresponsive to resistance training (difficult to hypertrophy) but prone to atrophy with inactivity compared with other muscles. Thus, identifying an effective training modality for the triceps surae is warranted. This study compared triceps surae muscle hypertrophy after standing/knee-extended versus seated/knee-flexed plantarflexion (calf-raise) training, where the gastrocnemius is lengthened and shortened, respectively. Methods: Fourteen untrained adults conducted calf-raise training with one leg in a standing/knee-extended position and the other leg in a seated/knee 90°-flexed position at 70% of one-repetition maximum. Each leg performed 10 repetitions/set, 5 sets/session, 2 sessions/week for 12 weeks. Before and after the intervention, magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained to assess muscle volume of each and the whole triceps surae. Results: Muscle volume significantly increased in all three muscles and the whole triceps surae for both legs (p ≤ 0.031), except for the gastrocnemius muscles of the seated condition leg (p = 0.147–0.508). The changes in muscle volume were significantly greater for the standing than seated condition leg in the lateral gastrocnemius (12.4% vs. 1.7%), medial gastrocnemius (9.2% vs. 0.6%), and whole triceps surae (5.6% vs. 2.1%) (p ≤ 0.011), but similar between legs in the soleus (2.1% vs. 2.9%, p = 0.410). Conclusion: Standing calf-raise was by far more effective, therefore recommended, than seated calf-raise for inducing muscle hypertrophy of the gastrocnemius and consequently the whole triceps surae. This result and similar between-condition hypertrophy in the soleus collectively suggest that training at long muscle lengths promotes muscle hypertrophy.
Service Compact (SERVICOM) and Service Delivery in the Nigerian Public Sector: A Study of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki

This study was carried out to examine the effect of SERVICOM on service delivery in public institutions in Nigeria with particular reference to Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki. Specifically, the research among others sought to ascertain the extent to which SERVICOM has enhanced timely response to patients’ complaints in AE-FUTHA; to examine the extent to which SERVICOM has improved quality healthcare delivery in AE-FUTHA. The study was anchored on New Public Management Theory by Hood (1991). A descriptive survey design was adopted with a sample size of 380. Data for the study were obtained from the structured questionnaire, which were presented in frequency distribution tables for purpose of analysis. The findings of the study revealed among others - that there was significant positive relationship between SERVICOM and timely response to patients’ complaints in AE-FUTHA; that there was significant positive relationship between SERVICOM and improved quality healthcare delivery in AE-FUTHA. The implication of the findings is that SERVICOM is very strategic to entrenching efficient service delivery in the health facility. Therefore, the following recommendations among others were proffered: that SERVICOM unit in the health sector should be strengthened to always ensure reduction to delays in addressing the health and other related complaints of patients in the hospital; that there should be regular capacity building of the staff of the SERVICOM unit in the health institution to enable them sustain quality healthcare delivery in the hospital
Optimization of CMOS Miller OTA using Differential Evolutionary Algorithm

The circuit parameters of CMOS based analog and mixed-signal circuits conventionally are achieved by skilled engineers. Due to the progress of Moore’s assumption and the growing complication of physical MOSFET models, the attention towards automation of CMOS based analog circuit design is increased. The issue of the automatic design of analog circuit has been tracked in the academy and industry since more than last two decades. In this paper, application of differential evolution (DE) algorithm is presented for the optimization of CMOS Miller Operational Transconductance Amplifier (OTA). DE algorithm has been developed using C language to optimize the CMOS Miller OTA. The error function of optimization for this circuit depends on desired specifications like voltage gain, phase margin (PM), unit gain bandwidth (UGB), power consumption, common mode rejection ratio (CMRR), slew rate (SR), power supply rejection ratio (PSRR), and a total MOS transistor area. Ngspice circuit simulator has been used as an error function creator and evaluator. BSIM3v3 MOSFET models with 0.18 µm and 0.35 µm CMOS technology have been used to simulate this circuit. The simulation results of this work are presented and compared with previous works reported in the literature
Tuning Fatty Acid Profile and Yield in Pichia pastoris

Fatty acids have been supplied for diverse non-food, industrial applications from plant oils and animal fats for many decades. Due to the massively increasing world population demanding a nutritious diet and the thrive to provide feedstocks for industrial production lines in a sustainable way, i.e., independent from food supply chains, alternative fatty acid sources have massively gained in importance. Carbohydrate-rich side-streams of agricultural production, e.g., molasses, lignocellulosic waste, glycerol from biodiesel production, and even CO2, are considered and employed as carbon sources for the fermentative accumulation of fatty acids in selected microbial hosts. While certain fatty acid species are readily accumulated in native microbial metabolic routes, other fatty acid species are scarce, and host strains need to be metabolically engineered for their high-level production. We report the metabolic engineering of Pichia pastoris to produce palmitoleic acid from glucose and discuss the beneficial and detrimental engineering steps in detail. Fatty acid secretion was achieved through the deletion of fatty acyl-CoA synthetases and overexpression of the truncated E. coli thioesterase ‘TesA. The best strains secreted >1 g/L free fatty acids into the culture medium. Additionally, the introduction of C16-specific ∆9-desaturases and fatty acid synthases, coupled with improved cultivation conditions, increased the palmitoleic acid content from 5.5% to 22%.
Ponatinib Improved the Prognosis of Philadelphia Chromosome-Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Japanese Single-Center Cohort Study

Introduction The overall survival (OS) of Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ALL) has improved with the combination of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) with intensive chemotherapy. In recent years, there has been increased interest in the possibility of long-term survival without allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or maintenance therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of treatment and the resultant outcomes in Ph+ALL patients using real-world data. Methods We performed a single-center retrospective analysis utilizing Akita University Hospital data (Akita, Japan) from November 2000 to June 2023 to evaluate the outcomes of TKI with intensive chemotherapy for Ph+ALL. Results Twenty-three patients with Ph+ALL were treated with intensive chemotherapy combined with TKI, including six imatinib, four dasatinib, and 13 ponatinib. The median patient age was 53 years (range; 28-67). Eighteen patients (78%) achieved complete molecular remission (CMR) within three months. HSCT was performed in 16 patients (70%), all of whom did not receive post-transplant TKI maintenance therapy. Six of the seven patients who did not undergo HSCT received maintenance therapy with ponatinib after intensive chemotherapy. The three-year OS was 81%. Ponatinib treatment resulted in a much higher OS rate than imatinib/dasatinib (100% vs. 60%; P=0.011). CMR within three months was identified as a prognostic factor for molecular relapse-free survival (hazard ratio (HR)=0.22; P=0.027). CD20 positivity was identified as a risk factor for hematological relapse (HR=5.2, P=0.032). Conclusion Even in a single-center cohort study, ponatinib, as a combination TKI with intensive chemotherapy or maintenance therapy, may improve the prognosis of Ph+ALL. Patients with CMR within three months might not necessarily need to receive HSCT, but a subsequent treatment-free status could have been achieved only by HSCT. Furthermore, CD20 positivity may be a useful biomarker for future treatment decisions in patients with Ph+ALL.
Nix confers heritable sex-conversion in Aedes aegypti and myo-sex is needed for male flight

A dominant and hemizygous male-determining locus (M locus) establishes the male sex (M/m) in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Nix is a male-determining factor (M factor) in the M locus and its transient expression in females (m/m) results in partial masculinization. Here, we show that the Nix transgene alone was sufficient to convert females into fertile males, which continued to produce sex-converted progeny in subsequent generations. However, assisted mating with wild-type females was necessary, as the converted m/m males could not fly. Knockout of myo-sex, a myosin heavy chain gene and the only other protein-coding gene reported in the M locus, rendered wild-type males flightless. Thus, Nix alone converts female Ae. aegypti to fertile males and myo-sex is required for male flight. Only female Ae. aegypti mosquitoes bite and transmit disease-causing viruses. Nix-mediated female-to-male conversion is 100% penetrant and stable over many generations, indicating great potential for mosquito control.
Novel Miniaturized Circularly Polarized Inverted-F Antenna With Planar Configuration

This letter proposes a novel miniaturized circularly polarized (CP) planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) based on complementary sources. Different from the conventional 3-D CP antennas, a pair of planar complementary sources (electric-dipole/E-dipole and magnetic-dipole/M-dipole) are cleverly explored to realize CP radiation. To reduce size, a PIFA radiator and an L-shaped quarter-wavelength slot are integrated into a planar single-layer structure. Here, the PIFA radiator works as an E-dipole, and the L-shaped slot is considered an M-dipole, so two orthogonal components are obtained. Owing to the far-field characteristics of the complementary sources, a stable 90° phase difference is naturally obtained. Thus, a good CP wave is obtained. To validate the presented concept, a planar CP PIFA with a compact size of 0. 17λ0 ×0. 58λ0 (single-layer) is implemented at the 2.40 GHz WiFi band. The measured −10 dB impedance bandwidth and 3 dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidths are 2.34–2.56 GHz (9.0%) and 2.44–2.72 GHz (10.9%), respectively. Besides, this design shows good characteristics of CP coverage (Omnidirectional CP) and radiation efficiency (>85.5%). It is a good candidate for Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
Effect of soil shrinkage on runoff generation in micro and mesoscale catchments

Catchments dominated by clay rich soils might show distinct seasonality over several spatial scales. We present a microscale catchment study in southern Germany which gives an understanding of the hydrological processes dominating clay soil catchments. Shrinkage and swelling of soils lead to a highly nonlinear threshold behaviour of individual events, strongly dependent on the respective soil moisture state. With understanding the microscale catchment processes, we are able to find links to the behaviour of larger clay soil catchments as well. Thus, mesoscale catchment studies in the Kostroma basin, Russia, show a very similar system response and seasonality due to dominant clay rich soils, though the climatic pattern varies with some respect. We think that the impact of clay soils in runoff generation is observable over several hydrological scales, indicating the importance of integration of specific soil properties in mesoscale runoff investigation.
Impact of Foliar Spray with Gibberellic Acid GA3 and Nauta Fertilizer on the Some Vital and Mineral Components of Three Cultivars of Grape (Vitis vinifera L.)

The University of Mosul’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Design / College of Agriculture and Forestry vineyard hosted this study. During the growing season 2022, to study the effects of foliar fertilization with Nauta fertilizer containing amino acids and seaweed extracts in three concentrations (0, 250, and 500 mg l-1) and foliar spraying with gibberellic acid in three concentrations (0, 50, and 100 mg l-1) on three table grape varieties, Halwany Lebanese, Kamali, and Black Khalili, and their interactions and effects on some It is possible to summarize the most important results obtained: According to this study, Halwany surpassed Kamali and Black Khalili in petiole iron concentration and grape variety superiority. Halwany and Kamali were over the Black Khalili variety in the average concentration of potassium in the petioles, just as the grape varieties were over the Halwany variety in the average protein and phosphorus concentrations. The Black Khalili variety also outperformed the Halwany and Kamali varieties in zinc content and carbohydrate percentage. In leaf petioles, nitrogen content increased significantly after foliar application of Nauta organic fertilizer at 250 mg l-1. In addition to the superiority of foliar spraying at 500 mg l-1 of the same fertilizer in main stem carbohydrates, protein, phosphorus, and iron in leaf petioles. Foliar spraying with gibberellic acid, especially at a concentration of 100 mg l-1, led to a significant increase in the average of protein and the concentration of phosphorus, potassium, zinc and iron in the leaf petioles.
Effect of Adding Kojic Acid and Sodium Alginate to Semen Extender of Buffalo Bulls on some Biological and Bacteriological Parameters

This experiment examined the effects of adding sodium alginate and Kojic acid as substitutes for conventional antibiotics to Skim milk extender on the characteristics of cryopreserved and frozen buffalo bull semen, as well as the evaluation of their additions as antibiotics that help lower the microbial load. Following the collection and dilution of the Skim milk extender, the experimental treatments were separated into five groups, as follows: T1: (control-) without adding any antibiotics; T2: (control+) adding the conventional antibiotics Gentamicin 0.4 IU and Tylosin 0.08 IU per 100 ml; T3: adding Kojic acid at (0.06 g/L) T4: adding sodium alginate at (0.6 mg/mL)T5: adding a combination of Kojic acid (0.06 g/liter) with sodium alginate (0.6 mg/ml) The diluted semen was cryopreserved in accordance with the recommended procedure, and the characteristics of the cryopreserved semen were then assessed. These characteristics included plasma membrane integrity and individual motility, as well as bacteriological tests that measured the total number of bacteria in the treatments, the total number of E. coli bacteria, and the total number of Staphylococcus bacteria for both cooled and frozen semen after 2 hours, 48 hours, 2 months, and 3 months post cryopreservation. The results of the study revealed There were significant enhancement differences (p 0.05) for the treatments T3, T4, and T5 in the percentages of individual motility and viability in comparison to the two control groups, as well as a significant reduction (p 0.05) in the total number of bacteria and the total number of E. coli and Staphylococcus bacteria for treatments T3, T4, and T5 after all periods of cooling and freezing in comparison with the two control groups. It is concluded from the current experiment that the addition of sodium alginate and kojic acid as an alternative substitute for commonly used antibiotics to the semen extender has a significant role in enhancing some characteristics of the buffalo bulls’ semen and helping to reduce the microbial load to a minimum.
Iraqi Awassi Lambs Performance Fed Nano Clay Minerals

This study aimed to investigate the effects of adding natural and Nano clay minerals on the digestibility, rumen characteristics, blood parameters, and meat muscle in Iraqi Awassi lambs. The study was conducted at the animal farm of the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad, using 25 lambs aged between 3 and 4 months, with an average weight of 16 kg. The animals were divided into five groups, each containing five lambs. The first group served as the control group (T1) and did not receive any supplement to their food. The diets of the other groups (T2, T3, T4, and T5) contained clay minerals in proportions of 2% and 4% natural clay, and 2.4 g of nano-clay minerals per animal per day, respectively. To provide a balanced diet, alfalfa hay was introduced as a roughage feed, and concentrate feed was added at 3% of the lambs’ body weight. The feed intake was measured weekly for a duration of 90 days. The study showed significant differences in organic digestibility, no significant in the pH and concentration of ammonia. Volatile fatty acids showed significance (P≤0.05) in Group T3. Moreover, significant differences (P≤0.01) were found in glucose levels and (P≤0.05) in cholesterol and triglyceride levels (mg/dl). The chemical analysis of muscle indicated a significant increase (P≤0.01) in protein percentages.
A study of the Effect of the Interaction Between the Secretions of the Roots of some Plants of the Cruciferous Family and the Biocontrol Factor Trichoderma spp. in Controlling fusarium wilt Disease on Okra Plants

This study surveyed, identified, and biologically controlled fusarium wilt on okra plants. The field survey found fusarium wilt on okra farms in Najaf, Diwaniyah, and Babylon. 18-73% were infected. Six Fusarium spp. isolates were found in wilted plants. Besides spore shapes and colours, the separated fungus differed in culture colour and growth rate. Fusarium spp. isolates also have different okra plant pathogenicities. However, isolate F2 (Abbasiya isolate) was the most harmful and adopted in following trials as the most virulent. The example isolate was PCR-diagnosed using rDNA-ITS marker. Fusarium solani. Thus, GenBank registered OQ729824. The effect of evaporated and non-evaporated compounds secreted from the tissues of cruciferous plants (Cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower) on the culture medium P.S. A 1/4 showed that the compounds secreted from the roots of cabbage and broccoli inhibit and prevent the diagonal growth of the pathogenic fungus F. solani at an average rate of 0.00 cm compared to other treatments. Trichoderma spp. biological isolates tolerate cruciferous plant tissues better. The field experiment to assess the efficiency of the interaction between the root secretions of cruciferous family plants (Cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower) and okra plants in the presence of the bioagent factor T. longibrachiatum T2 showed a significant increase in okra plant growth and production. The interaction treatments between the roots of cabbage or broccoli plants in soil contaminated with the pathogenic fungus F. solani, with or without the biological fungus T2, completely protected the okra plants from disease during growth and harvest. Control treatment had 83.33% infection.
Effect of Pollinator, Number of Pollination Times and Organic Fertilizer on Leaf Mineral Content and Yield of Barhi Date Palm

The experiment was conducted in 2022 in one of the date palm orchards of Barhi cultivar cultivated at Dawar palm station, Ministry of Agriculture / Horticultural Department, to study the effects of pollinator cultivar and decomposed organic fertilizer on yield and leaf mineral content of 54 drip-irrigated 7-year-old cultivar dates. A disease- and insect-free palm tree of consistent height and age, Factors of the study included adding two pollinator cultivars, Ghanaami Akhdar (P1) and local cultivar (P2), three times (N1), two (2 days after first pollination) (N2), and three times (3 days after first and 3 days after second) (N3). Decomposed organic fertilizer (sheep manure) was added in three levels (0, 20, and 40 kg.date-1), denoted by M0, M1, and M2. The factorial experiment in an RCBD employed 54 trees since treatments were reproduced three times (one date palm tree per experimental unit). The experimental results revealed that local cultivar pollinator (P2) enhanced fruit dry weight by 77.71% but did not affect leaf nitrogen, phosphor content, or fruit weight. Results revealed that pollination number did not substantially affect leaf nitrogen or phosphor content, but once (N1) showed considerable superiority in fruit dry weight of 78.10 % and fruit weight of 104.14 g. At 40 kg sheep dung, leaf nitrogen and phosphor increased considerably.date-1 (M2) had the maximum leaf nitrogen and phosphor content of 1.548% and 0.380 %, and fruit weight of 107.00 g. M1 had the highest fruit dry weight percentage of 78.95%. Triple interactions between study parameters strongly influenced all attributes.