Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retinal Identification System based on Optical Disc Ring Extraction and New Local SIFT-RUK Descriptor

Personal recognition based on retina has been an attractive topic of scientific research. A common challenge of retinal identification system is to ensure a high recognition rate while maintaining a low mismatching FMR rate and execution time. In this context, this paper presents a retinal identification system based on a novel local feature description. The proposed system is composed of three stages, firstly we enhance the retinal image and we select a ring around the optical disc as an interest region by using our recently proposed Optical Disc Ring ODR method. Secondly, in order to reduce the mismatching rate and speed up the matching step, we propose in this paper an original alternative local description based on the Remove of Uninformative SIFT Keypoints, that we call SIFT-RUK. Finally, the generalization of Lowe’s matching technique (g2NN test) is employed. Experiments on the VARIA database are done to evaluate the performance of our proposed SIFT-RUK feature-based identification system. We show that we obtain a high performance with 99.74% of identification accuracy rate without any mismatching (0% of False Matching Rate FMR) and with a low matching processing time compared to existing identification systems.
Produksi Isopulegol dengan Cyclisasi Citronellal Menggunakan Katalis Heterogen ZnBr2/SiO2 untuk Aplikasi Green Medicine

Isopulegol penting sebagai senyawa intermediate dalam pembuatan menthol (C10H20O) yang mempunyai karakteristik bau peppermint dan digunakan secara luas dalam industri farmasi, industri sabun dan pasta gigi. Isopulegol sangat mahal karena banyak digunakan di dunia green medicine. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menghasilkan Isopulegol dengan reaksi cyclisasi citronellal menggunakan katalis heterogen ZnBr2/SiO2. Awalnya dilakukan pembuatan katalis heterogen ZnBr2/SiO2 selanjutnya dilakukan pemisahan fraksi citronellal dari citronella oil dengan destilasi fraksinasi vacuum. Fraksi citronellal yang digunakan diperoleh dari hasil isolasi citronella oil pada tekanan 33 mBarr. Dilakukan reaksi cyclisasi citronellal untuk menghasilkan isopulegol. Beberapa teknik seperti Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) dan Scanning Electron Microscopy Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (SEM-EDX) digunakan untuk karakterisasi katalis. Gas Chromatoghraphy Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) digunakan untuk analisis produksi isopulegol. Reaksi yang dilakukan menunjukkan bahwa katalis sangat selektif terhadap produk yang dihasilkan yaitu isopulegol dengan aktifitas katalis sebesar 95.63 % dan selektifitas terhadap isopulegol sebesar 94.35 %. Regenerasi katalis juga menunjukkan hasil yang baik terhadap produk yang dihasilkan dengan aktifitas sebesar 94.38 %.
The First Record of A Gregarine Pathogen from Altica hampei (Allard, 1867) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Bu calismada Altica hampei (Allard, 1867) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)’den Turkiye’de ilk kez bir gregarine patojeni kaydedildi. Bu bocegin Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. (Asterales : Asteraceae) bitkisi uzerinde onemli derecede zarara sebep olmasi nedeniyle biyolojik kontrol ajani olabilecek patojenlerinin belirlenmesi amaclanmistir. Turkiye’de, 134 Altica hampei ergini 2016 yilinda Nisan -Haziran aylari arasinda Ordu ilinden toplanmistir. Calisma suresince A. hampei erginlerinin bagirsak kisimlari isik mikroskobu ile incelenmistir. Toplam enfeksiyon orani %1,5 tir. Ergin boceklerin orta bagirsaginda gregarine patojenine ait gamont, birlesme formu, trofozoit, kist ve prekist gibi farkli hayat safhalari gozlenmistir. Gorulen patojen bir cephaline gregarindir. Bu calismada gozlenen gregarinin morfolojik ozellikleri, karakteristik olcumleri ve oranlari tur seviyesinde bir tanimlama yapmak icin yeterli degildir. Fakat bugune kadar A. hampei ’den bir gregarine patojeni varligina dair bir kayit yoktur, bu nedenle A. hampei erginlerinde gozlenen gregarine patojeni Turkiye ve dunya literaturu icin ilk kayit olmasi sebebiyle onemlidir. Ayrica bu calismada gozlenen gregarine patojeni, Turkiye’nin patojen biyocesitliligine bir katkidir.
Sampling points optimization deployment for water environment monitoring based on PSO algorithm

In this paper, the problem of deploying the sampling points for water environment monitoring is discussed. The mean square error (MSE) of reconstructing environmental scalar field is used as the evaluation metric of the monitoring performance, and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is applied for obtaining the near-optimal set of sampling locations. The water quality characteristics of the whole area is reconstructed by the limited samples. The simulation results show that the novel method is more efficient than the deployment method of random Gaussian distribution for recovering the aquatic phenomenon, and the reconstructed accuracy of scalar field is obviously improved.
Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of Flavonoid compound (acacetin) Isolated from Gmelina arborea roxb

Aim: The flavonoid compound (Acacetin) isolated from fruits of Gmelina arborea was investigated for its pharmacokinetic evaluation to find out the suitability of this compound to be formulated in any suitable dosage form. Method: The acacetin was administered intravenously and orally in Wistar rats at a dose of 2 and 10 mg/Kg body weight respectively. In a regular interval of specified time, blood samples were collected and bio-analyzed to quantify the drug concentration in the blood sample by using LC-MS. The Cmax, Tmax, T1/2, KE, Ka, and bioavailability (F) of acacetin were determined by mathematically and graphically from plasma concentration-time profile data. Absorption rate constant was determined by the method of residual. Results: From the i.v. Bolus administration data, acacetin had an area under curve (AUC) is 1.542 µg. h/ml, elimination rate constant (KE) is 0.423 h-1, and half-life (T1/2) is two hour. The oral administration of acacetin showed the peak plasma concentration (Cmax) of 1.668 µg/ml, Tmax is 1 h, AUC is 6.44 µg h/ml, KE is 0.416 h-1, T1/2 is 2 h, absorption rate constant (Ka) is 1.6 h and bioavailability of acacetin was found to be 84 %. Conclusion: From the study it could be concluded that the acacetin possessed relatively greater bioavailability; thus this drug exhibited significant satisfactory pharmacokinetic profile which would be helpful for successful designing of a suitable dosage form formulation.
Entanglement of bibliographic database content and data collection practices: Rethinking data integration using findings from a study of European databases for research output

Large-scale research information systems (RIS henceforth) seem to be a characteristic of the day. New systems are implemented; records from existing systems are made interoperable and integrated. Integration of data from specific RIS, namely, bibliographic databases for research output in the social sciences and humanities, is explored also within the COST Action “European Network for Research Evaluation in Social Sciences and Humanities” (ENRESSH), a network launched in 2016 (COST Association 2015). In ENRESSH, it is emphasised that national bibliographic databases can be instrumental in the enhancement of the visibility of research within the social sciences and the humanities. One of the aims of ENRESSH is to design a roadmap for a European database that would include data on research output within SSH from different European countries. Hence the first step towards this end is a study of currently existing databases.
Optimal Feature Selection for Distributed Data-Driven Process Monitoring

Two methods are proposed in this article to address distributed data-driven process monitoring. The first method selects sensors and allocates these sensors among subsystems with the objective of optimizing the diagnostic performance of a pattern recognition method when it is implemented in a distributed configuration subject to constraints that are imposed to meet operational requirements. The second method finds the minimum number of monitoring computers required to implement the methods used for fault detection and diagnosis in a distributed configuration subject to certain operational constraints. It also finds the sensors that need to be transmitted to each of the monitors. The proposed methods rely on concepts and algorithms from graph theory and optimization, and their efficiency is shown through a case study on the benchmark Tennessee Eastman Process.
Multiscale modelling of cancer invasion : the role of dynamic fibre redistribution and matrix-degrading enzymes in tumour progression

Recognised as one of the hallmarks of cancer, cancer invasion is a complex process involving the secretion of matrix-degrading enzymes that have the ability to degrade the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM). Combined with cell proliferation and migration, and changes in cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion, the tumour is able to spread into the surrounding tissue. The ECM constituents are favourably explored by the cancer cells during invasion, and in this context, of particular importance is the special contribution of ECM fibrous proteins components, such as collagen and fibronectin, which play an important part in cell proliferation and migration. In this thesis we consider the two-scale dynamic cross-talk between the cancer cell population and a two-component ECM in the context of the proteolytic dynamics of matrix-degrading enzymes at the leading edge of a growing malignant tumour. We incorporate the two-scale dynamics of cells-ECM interactions by exploring key interlinked tissue-scale and cell-scale aspects contributing directly both to cell-adhesion and to the dynamic rearrangement and restructuring of the ECM fibres within the growing tumour. Finally, this bulk two-scale activity is embedded within a global multiscale moving boundary approach that also crucially accounts for an emerging multiscale dynamics of the matrix degrading enzyme proteolytic processes at the invasive edge of the tumour, which lead to peritumoural ECM degradation and results in changes of the tumour morphology and further cancer spread. xx Chapter
Internationalization of China's English‐language academic journals: An overview and three approaches

This paper presents data regarding the publication of Chinese English‐language journals (CELAJs), building on previously published information to investigate the status, growth, and international penetration of these journals. The article also presents three case studies of CELJs to demonstrate different strategies for achieving internationalization. We find that there has been rapid growth in CELJs between 2006 and 2011 but mostly in the science, technology and medicine disciplines. There are now 435 CELJs, of which 62.3% are published in association with a western publisher. Partnership has been shown to provide immediate benefits to an established successful journal (Cell Research), has helped to relaunch an established title in English (Bamboo and Silk), and has enabled the successful launch of a new journal (Global Health Research and Policy). The authors conclude that there are three criteria for successful international CELJs: increased visibility, good editorial boards, and international publishing partnerships.
De novo assembly of transcriptome and genome data from the Asia I mtCOI genetic clade of Bemisia tabaci

Bemisia tabaci, the whitefly, is an economically important group of cryptic species that pose an ongoing and major threat to global food security. Molecular characterization from at least one of the species in the group is required urgently within whitefly community to define genetic differences across distinct populations and to facilitate the development of more effective insecticides to help farmers. In this thesis, the process of de novo assembly and characterizing transcriptome and genome data of an Asia I population is described along with steps towards the development of a genetic framework for insecticide discovery. A comprehensive transcriptome of adult females of an Asia I population was assembled from 0.864 million reads generated using the Roche 454 sequencing platform. A total of 29,418 contigs produced using CLC Genomics of which 8,563 were assigned putative functions. A draft genome 828 Mbp of the Asia I population was produced through de novo assembly of 206 million 250 bp paired-end reads generated on the Illumina MiSeq 2500 platform using Platanus. They were found to encode 41,981 PCGs and also contained 990 ncRNAs and repetitive elements (45.66%). A selection of 741 full-length genes were studied and found to contain larger intron sizes together with repetitive elements that contribute to the larger Asia I genome size and partly explain the difficulties encountered in genome assembly. Finally, in addition to the B. tabaci Asia I genome, one mitogenome and three endosymbiont genomes representing Portiera, Wolbachia and Arsenophonus were obtained from the same sequence library. The development of a genetic framework is described as a side-project which uses Drosophila essential genes as a reference to identify orthologs in other insects and validates with ChEMBL targets. The ‘omics’ data presented in this thesis provides a comprehensive sequence resource for Asia I populations and demonstrates the workflow of obtaining genetic information of host and its endosymbionts.
CNIFERS: CELL-BASED BIOSENSORS WITH NANOMOLAR SENSITIVITY TO IN VIVO CHANGES IN NEUROMODULATION

Neuromodulators, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, endocannabinoids and neuropeptides, all produce profound effects on circuits that control animal behavior. Perturbation of neuromodulation is implicated in several different brain disorders that include substance abuse and dependence, depression, and severe anxiety. A major obstacle to studying the effect of neuromodulators in the brain has been the inability to detect their release in vivo with sufficient sensitivity, chemical specificity, and spatial and temporal resolution. Here, we describe the development of new tools for detecting neuropeptides and other neuromodulators.
Benchmarking metagenomic marine microbial growth prediction from codon usage bias and peak-to-trough ratios

Growth rates are fundamental to all organisms and essential for characterizing microbial ecologies. Despite this, we do not know the instantaneous nor maximum growth rates of most naturally-occurring microorganisms. Recent reports indicate DNA replication rates can be estimated from metagenomic coverage, and maximum growth rates can be estimated from genomic characteristics. We tested these approaches with native marine bacteria (<0.6 um size fraction) as 10% inoculum grown in unamended virus-free seawater from the San Pedro Channel, California. This allowed microbial growth without grazing and with greatly reduced viral infection. At multiple time points up to 48 h, we sampled for cell abundances and metagenomic analyses. We generated 101 unique Metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) including α, β, and γ Proteobacteria, Flavobacteria, Actinobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Marine Group A/SAR406, MGII archaea, and others. We tracked the growth of each as the fraction of total metagenomic reads mapped to each MAG normalized with length, completeness, and total cell counts. Some MAGs did not grow appreciably, but those we could estimate had growth rates ranging from 0.08 to 5.99 d−1; these are the first reported growth rates for several of the groups. These metagenome-determined growth rates, which often changed within experiments, were compared to (a) DNA replication estimates from the ‘peak-to-trough’ ratio (PTR) as determined by three different approaches, and (b) maximum growth rates predicted from codon usage bias (CUB). For the large majority of taxa, observed growth rates were not correlated to PTR indices (r ~ −0.26 - 0.08), with exceptions being rapidly growing Oceanospirillales and Saccharospirillaceae (r ~ 0.63 - 0.92). However, CUB was moderately well correlated to observed maximum growth rates (r = 0.57). This suggests that maximum growth rates can be reasonably well-estimated from genomic information alone, but current PTR approaches poorly predict actual growth of most marine planktonic bacteria in unamended seawater.
Isolation and morphological identification of some indigenous microalgae from Ethiopia for phycoprospecting

Bioprospecting of microalgae (food, feed, fertilizers, fuel, pigments, fiber, bioremediator and neutraceuticals) are a latest promising industry because of their high photosynthetic efficiency. Microalgae prospects are under limelight not only for its value added applications but also for no competition with food, water and arable land usage. However, the product is still costlier when compared to other organisms which obstruct large-scale phycoprospecting. Indigenous microalgae can improve phycoprospecting and it is on high demand. There is a need to isolate and identify the potential native microalgae for local application with ease, besides biodiversity in Ethiopia is intense and not investigated much on microalgae. Therefore in this research, focused to isolate microalgae from eight different sites in Ethiopia (Akaki pond, Akaki river, Kality pond, Kality Gidb pond, Tuludimtu ditch, Awash lake, Koka lake and Sumit Ditch) and inoculated in Bold’s Basal medium and incubated under natural Sun light at 25°C for 15 days. Then microalgae were purified using agar plate and identified morphologically using light microscope. We identified 18 species from 12 genera namely, Pediastrum sp. , Chlorella sp. , Chlamydomonas sp. , Scenedesmus sp. , Chlorogonium sp. , Oscillatoria sp. , Anabaena sp. , Microcystis sp. , Microspora sp. , Closterium sp. , Synechocystis sp. , and Navicula sp. Among these, 8 genera belong to eukaryotic protist and other 4 comes under prokaryotic cyanobacteria. Further analysis on its molecular identification and potential applications are under process. These Ethiopian native species of microalgae can be used effectively for its value added application locally.
Software abierto para la evaluación de sistemas criptológicos integrados

Cipriano, Marcelo; Malvacio, Eduardo; Estevez, Carlos; Fernández, Darío García, Edith, López, Gabriel; Liporace, Julio; Maiorano, Ariel Vera Batista, Fernando Laboratorio de Investigación en Técnicas Criptográficas y Seguridad Teleinformática. Escuela Superior Técnica, Facultad del Ejército. Universidad de la Defensa Nacional UNDEF 2 Instituto de Investigaciones Científicos y Técnicas para la Defensa – CITEDEF. -)
Lutein-enriched egg production for laying hens

Dietary lutein has received considerable attention in relation to human health because of its preventative effects on various eye diseases. Eggs are considered a good source due to good accumulation and relatively high concentrations of lutein. Therefore, many studies have been conducted to produce lutein-enriched eggs by various dietary regimens. Previous studies reported that purified lutein supplements, at the inclusion levels of up to 1,000 mg/kg, increased concentrations by up to10-fold in eggs. However, a linear increase in lutein concentrations in eggs failed to show further increases at very high inclusion of lutein supplements. The use of feed ingredients high in lutein such as corn co-products, alfalfa meal, marigold flower extracts, algae-derived products, and even food ingredients have successfully increased lutein concentrations in eggs. For instance, inclusion of 20% corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), 7% corn gluten meal, 2% marigold flower extracts, or 2% chlorella products in layer diets showed more than two-fold increase in lutein concentrations in eggs. However, the efficacy of those ingredients for lutein retention in eggs was highly variable and depended on inclusion levels in diets and feeding periods. Finally, non-dietary factors such as management systems, environmental stress, disease, age, and breed may affect the lutein concentrations in eggs; however, limited information is available in this regard.
Proteoma do plasma seminal de touros da raça Gir - Leiteiro (Bos taurus indicus) clinicamente normais e com hipoplasia testicular

A raca Gir Leiteiro e uma excelente opcao para os rebanhos leiteiros no Brasil pelas caracteristicas apresentadas por seus animais, como rusticidade, adaptabilidade e producao de leite expressiva. A hipoplasia testicular causa problemas reprodutivos nos touros podendo levar a subfertilidade ou, em casos mais graves, a infertilidade. No Brasil, a incidencia dessa patologia varia de 5 a 15%. Devido a grande importância que animais da raca Gir Leiteiro tem na pecuaria brasileira e aos impactos negativo, tanto em termos de fertilidade quanto economicamente, causados pela hipoplasia testicular, este trabalho objetivou tracar o perfil proteico diferencialmente expresso entre animais com esta patologia e clinicamente normais. Amostras de semen de 18 animais (9 hipoplasicos e 9 normais) foram coletadas e o plasma seminal foi centrifugado e submetido a eletroforese bidimensional (2-DE). Os geis foram corados com Coomassie Blue G-250, digitalizados e analisados pelo programa PDQuest 2-D Analysis Software para identificacao dos spots. Foram identificados 33 spots diferencialmente expressos entre os dois grupos de animais, sendo 26 mais intensamente expressos em animais hipoplasicos. Os spots foram cortados dos geis e submetidos a espectrometria de massa sendo identificadas 38 proteinas e, dentre estas, o grupo de proteinas conhecidas como Binder of Sperm Proteins (BSP) e a platelet-activating fator acetylhydrolase (PAF AH) foram as mais presentes nos spots identificados nos animais hipoplasicos. Os animais tambem foram submetidos a avaliacao clinico-andrologica e houve diferencas estatisticas quanto ao comprimento, largura e volume testicular, turbilhonamento e defeitos espermaticos (p<0,05).
Implementation of Frequency Aware Distributed Power Flow Simulation and Analysis System for Interconnected Power System based on Multi-Agent System

With the diversified development of power source, power grid and electric load, power system is characterized by integrated transmission & distribution system, hybrid AC/DC transmission and bidirectional power flow, which could be a big challenge for operation and control of interconnected power system. According to the design ideas of Java Agent Development Framework (JADE), a frequency aware distributed power flow simulation and analysis system is implemented based on multi-agent system. The techniques of reactive power-voltage sensitivity analysis and dynamic power flow asynchronous iteration are applied for the proposed system to reflect the voltage support incidence relation of interconnected power system. Frequency regulation characteristics of generations and loads are considered to characterize the frequency change caused by fluctuation of renewable generations and disturbance of loads. Timing simulation of interconnected system is achieved to illustrate the spatial and temporal distribution of energy flow, which can provide an important support for power system operation and control. The validity and effectiveness of the proposed techniques for power flow calculation are tested in the modified IEEE 118-bus system and Shandong provincial power grid of China. The test results verify the applicability and the effectiveness of the proposed system