Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Valorizing omics visualization for discovery

Scientists from diverse backgrounds are joining the field of data science. This leads to advances in data science being actualized in the context of many different domains. Conclusions from datasets using innovative algorithms are obvious aspects but advances in data science can take on many different forms such as new methods for data interpretation, new data integration and processing technologies, or as will be the topic of this editorial, data visualization techniques. The parity and complementary relationship between techniques from all domains provide ways to improve discovery although quantifying the contributions to discovery process from each technique can be elusive. The experiences described here come from visualizing life science multi-omics data, but most of the remarks can be associated with visualization methods in general. From the perspective that visualization serves as an important method for shaping data science interpretations, this paper sets out: 1) some of the necessary requirements for visualization tools due to the nature of multi-omics datasets and, 2) some of the difficulties encountered in creating and valorizing new visualization implementations for scientific discovery.
Biochemical and Microbiological Analysis of Different Organic Manures: Their Effect on Germination of Coriandrum sativum (Cilantro) and Solanum melongena (Eggplant)

Agriculture sector is observing a rise in the usage of organic fertilizers that are prepared from waste generated in farm, kitchen and other agro-industries. We studied the influence of 4 liquid organic manures (OM) on the germination of egg plant and coriander seeds. These organic fertilizers were prepared by using raw materials that are readily available in the fields and nearby sugar industry, thus providing the farmers with an option for preparation of cheap organic. Microbial analysis of these OM showed a rich microbial consortia comprising of nitrogen fixers, phosphate solubilizers, Lactobacilli, altogether providing enhancement in plant growth. In this study, we tested the efficacy of these OM on seed germination in red-, black- soil and coco peat. Application of OM resulted in improved seed germination for egg plant seeds. But we did not observe any significant effect for coriander germination in comparison to the controls, although it had positive effect on leaf coloration in field. To understand the biochemicals in these OM on positive effect on plant growth, we performed metabolomic studies using GC-MS and NMR spectroscopy. Analysis of biochemical cycles revealed that nitrogen metabolic pathways followed by carbohydrates and vitamins pathways were crucial. The need of the hour is to design OM that are suited for different crops along with few designed specifically for their growth in different soil conditions. We present importance of metabolomic approaches for understanding the efficacy of biochemicals in customizing preparations of OM.
Integrin Alpha-V Beta-3-Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), Cross-Talk

The present study aimed to detect comparative expression of integrin αVβ3 and its involvement in expression and activation of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in 25 malignant human breast tumor and adjacent normal breast tissues from different clinical TNM stages (DCIS to T4) of the disease and possible involvement of known regulating parameters of MMP-2 like TIMP-2, MT1-MMP and EMPRIN. Integrin αVβ3 was highly expressed in tumors than adjacent normal breast tissues. Pro-MMP-2(72-KD) was mainly expressed in adjacent normal tissues compared to tumors. The mature forms of MMP-2 (68 KD and 64 KD) were found only in tumors. Appreciable expression of TIMP-2 and induction of MT1-MMP and EMPRIN in T2-T4 stages suggested their possible role in MMP-2 activation. Over expression Integrin αVβ3 in tumors than adjacent normal breast tissues was an indication of cancer progression with involvement of integrin signaling. We conclude that, the co-precipitation of MMP-2 with αvβ3 by anti-αv antibody is a strong indication that integrin αvβ3 is a surface receptor for MMP-2 and αvβ3-MMP-2 complex on the surface of tumor cells may play a very important role in determining the invasive property and malignant behavior of tumor tissues. The positive expression of endogenous inhibitor of MMP-2, TIMP-2 may have an appreciable role in activation of this protease and risk of malignancy in advanced stage of the disease. The enhanced expression of MT1-MMP and EMPRIN suggested a role for these factors in gelatinase regulation. However the exact mechanism(s) remains to be investigated. Finally, evaluation of integrin αVβ3 associated MMP-2 expression and activity may add valuable information and can possibly be therapeutic target. The clinical exploitation of integrins will provide oncologists with novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of malignancy in breast cancer.
Plant and forest dynamics in response to nitrogen availability

Theories and mathematical models were derived to analyse and predict plant and forest response to soil nitrogen (N) availability and atmospheric CO2 concentration. Soil carbon accumulation in response to long-term fertilisation was studied using measured soil C and 14C of the organic layer in a pine forest in Northern Sweden. Fertilisation increased forest growth and drastically reduced long-term litter decomposition through effects on the decomposers. In 100 years, twice as much carbon would be accumulated in the forest soil where N addition is high as where no N addition occurs. Root:shoot allocation of small plants was modelled using maximisation of relative growth rate, with and without explicit inclusion of N based maintenance respiration. The results agreed qualitatively with experimental data from birch and tomato plants and the agreement was considerably improved by the inclusion of maintenance respiration. Senescence and resorption as mechanisms of maximising photosynthetic production were used to predict LAI and resorption efficiency in relation to canopy N. This theory explained the observed LAI for four investigated plant species: red amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus), soybean (Glycine max), rice (Oryza sativa), and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). Analytical expressions for forest photosynthesis, NPP, growth, LAI, root:leaf allocation and leaf N concentration were derived using a principle of maximal growth and optimisation of canopy N. Whole forest responses to N availability and atmospheric CO2 were predicted from basic physiological parameters. The results agreed well with results of elevated CO2 FACE experiments for sweetgum and loblolly pine trees. Finally, the findings of reduced decomposition and increased growth in response to fertilisation and elevated CO2 were evaluated in the context of the global carbon balance. A simple model of the responses of global carbon fluxes and pool turnover rates combined with a future scenario of CO2 emissions was subjected to a strong fertilisation effect on the boreal forest components. The results indicate that massive fertilisation could temporarily halt the rising of the atmospheric CO2.
Pseudodidymium cryptomastigophorum gen.n., sp.n., a Hyperamoeba or a slime mould? A combined study on morphology and 18S rDNA sequence data

Summary. The Hyperamoeba-like amoeboflagellate (Wi7/2-PE) has been isolated from a hydrotherapy pool inside a hospital at Wildbach/ Germany. Based on combined morphological and molecularbiological data we conclude that this isolate can neither be assigned to the genus Hyperamoeba nor to any of the myxogastrean slime moulds, which are the closest relatives of Hyperamoeba. We thus considered describing this isolate within a new genus, Pseudodidymium, as a new species, Pseudodidymium cryptomastigophorum. As observed by phase contrast microscopy the gross morphology and size of the three stages - trophozoite, cyst, and flagellate stage - is comparable to respective characters of Hyperamoeba as described by Karpov and Mylnikov (1997). However, in contrast to these characters they have in common with Hyperamoeba, the features of the flagellate stage shown by electron microscopy revealed marked differences to the previously described Hyperamoeba. In addition to the anterior flagellum responsible for the locomotion a second recurrent flagellum could be observed which is tightly attached to the cell membrane of the flagellate by a desmosome-like connection zone. Both flagellae are anchored to the tapered frontal part of the cell by kinetosomes with accessory structures located at an acute angle to each other. While the frontal flagellum is as long or even longer than the cell body the second one has a length of about one third of the cell and appears barren. This tight attachment of the inactive flagellum is the reason for its invisibility by means of light microscopy. All three stages possess mitochondria with a dense central core as known from Hyperamoeba, which are characteristic for myxogastrean slime moulds as well. However, various attempts to induce the formation of fruiting bodies in order to show a putative relationship to certain slime moulds remained unsuccessful. In 18S rDNA sequencing our isolate did not show highest identity to the only hitherto sequenced strain of Hyperamoeba sp. , but, as also a undescribed strain of Hyperamoeba, to a strain of Didymium nigripes, a myxogastrean slime mould. However, this strain of Didymium shows an insertion, which our isolate does not have. In conclusion, it is neither possible to assign this Hyperamoeba-like isolate to the genus Hyperamoeba nor to the genus Didymium as it differs fundamentally from both genera in several aspects.
Comparative Analysis of ANN based Intelligent Controllers for Three Tank System

Three tank liquid level control system plays a significant role in process industries and its behavior is nonlinear in nature. Conventional PID controller generally does not work effectively for such systems. This paper deals with the design of three intelligent controllers namely model predictive, model reference and NARMA-L2 controllers based on artificial neural networks for a three tank level process. These controllers are simulated using MATLAB/SIMULINK. The performance indices of intelligent controllers are compared based on the time domain specifications. The performance of NN predictive controller shows superiority over other controllers in terms of settling time.
DIET QUALITY OF WOMEN WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME : A 1 CASE-CONTROL STUDY 2 3

1 Background & Aims: Food intake is one of the factors that contributes to 2 overweight/obesity in women with PCOS. The aim of the present study was to 3 investigate the food intake, nutritional status and body composition of women with 4 and without PCOS. 5 Methods: Women with PCOS (n=34) according to Rotterdam criteria were 6 compared to controls (n=29) matched by body mass index (BMI) and age. 7 Anthropometric assessment included weight and height to calculate BMI, and 8 waist and hip circumference. The body composition was evaluated by 9 Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) and Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry 10 (DXA) methods. The food intake was evaluated by 24-hour food recall, used to 11 compare to recommendation of Adapted Food Pyramid and for calculate the 12 Adapted Healthy Eating Index (AHEI). 13 Results: Obese PCOS women had lower fiber consumption when compared to 14 healthy weight PCOS and healthy weight controls (p = 0.011). For the other food 15 groups of the Adapted Food Pyramid there were not found significant differences. 16 PCOS women presented lower score for the fruit group in the AHEI when 17 compared to women in the control group (p = 0.029). For overall score, both 18 groups were classified as diet that “need improvement”. 19 Conclusions: For PCOS patients the routine adoption of a balanced diet should 20 be included in the primary treatment of the disease. Special emphasis should be 21 given to the increase in the fiber and fruit consumption. 22
Nordic ringtest on INDF content and NDF degradation characteristics in three feeds

NDF and indigestible NDF (INDF) content in barley, rapeseed meal and grass silage was measured in fi ve research laboratories. NDF content (%DM) was similar for grass silage (50-52%), but varied from 21 to 25% in barley and from 19 to 31% in rapeseed meal. The variation in INDF content was also high, mainly due to differences in NDF analysis of the residue. Differences in effective rumen NDF degradability were also high for grass silage (52-64%), barley (50-70%) and rapeseed meal (38-56%), respectively. This ringtest underlines the need for standardization of the NDF analysis and of in situ procedures.
A decision theoretical approach to identify optimal risk mititgation strategies

Communities living in mountain areas are increasingly affected by considerable damage to infrastructure and property as a consequence of flood impacts. The conception of effective flood risk mitigation strategies and their subsequent implementation is therefore essential for a continuing sustainable development in mountain areas. Effective flood risk mitigation strategies can be assessed by their expected utility, which allows the selection of optimal management strategies from a normative point of view. The objective of this paper is to present the underlying procedure, and to derive formal expressions to measure risk mitigation performance starting from the basic theorem of rational choice under risk. Moreover, an overview of existing economic valuation approaches to attach monetary values to the elements at risk is provided.
AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTS OF QUALITY, VALUE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ON CONSUMER BEHAVIORAL INTENTIONS IN FOOD EVENTS

Food and wine tourism has become increasingly competitive in Italy; however, little is known about the current state or potential for wine tourism development in this country, despite the fact that millions of tourists, including many potential food and wine tourists, visit the Italian peninsula each year. In this exploratory study, the perspectives of tourists on wine tourism are examined. The study constructs a temporal model of food and wine tourist behaviour and related concepts with regard to past behaviour, satisfaction, perceived value and behavioural intentions. Specifically it proposes a theoretical model to investigate the relations between the dimensions of experiential quality, perceived value (functional value and monetary price), satisfaction and behavioural intention. Using a path analysis approach and data collected from the attendees at a regional food festivals. A confirmatory structural equation modelling procedure was performed by utilizing LISREL software. The result shows that the model is a statistically significant predictor for consumers’ future behavioural intentions to attend the food festival again. In addition, experiential quality and perceived value were found to have direct and indirect impacts on visitors’ future behavioural intentions. The practical implications for festival organizers are discussed. It is believed that the results of the present study will be useful to organisers of food and wine festivals and/or food and wine tourism developers.
Flexural Properties of PVC/Bamboo Composites under Static and Dynamic-Thermal Conditions: Effects of Composition and Water Absorption

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)/bamboo composites have been prepared and assessed for their use in interior and exterior load-bearing applications. PVC composites were formed by compounding PVC with different bamboo particle sizes and loadings. The mechanical properties of these composites were determined at both ambient and elevated temperatures and after long-term water soaking. Analysis revealed that bamboo incorporation improved the PVC composite flexural modulus which was also observed with dynamic mechanical-thermal analysis on heating composites to ca. 70°C. Addition of 25% and 50% bamboo particles increases flexural modulus by 80% with dependency on whether fine (<75 μm) or coarse (<1 mm) particles were used. On water soaking to saturation, composites had water weight uptakes of 10%, with reduced flexural properties obtained for all water-soaked composites. Nonetheless, the results of this study show that PVC/bamboo composites achieve the minimum flexural performance of ASTM D 6662, indicating potential for their use in exterior applications.
Diagnostic Analysis of the Sulfate Aerosol Pollution in Spring over Pearl River Delta, China

The study of sulfate aerosols has important research significance to atmospheric chemistry and climate change. A diagnostic study on generation mechanism of sulfate aerosol over the PRD region was conducted using sulfate tracking method. Three pollution episodes occurred in March 2012, in which the first two episodes were mostly caused by fine particulate matters and their secondary aerosols were mainly inorganic sulfates, resulting in low visibility. In contrast, the third pollution episode was dominated by coarse particles with relatively greater visibility. The results of sulfate tracking showed that in addition to emission sources and contributions of initial and boundary conditions, sulfate-generating reaction processes were closely correlated with relative humidity. The first two episodes occurred under the influence of southerly warm and wet air flow system with relatively high humidity, in which the conditions were favorable for aqueous reaction processes. The primary type of liquid-phase oxidation was with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), followed by catalytic oxidation with Fe and Mn and oxidation with ozone (O3), while peroxyacetic acid (PAA) and methylhydroperoxide (MHP) had very small contributions. Meanwhile, the third pollution episode happened during a warming period following passage of a cold front and was influenced by northerly wind system. Consequently, humidity was relatively low, and therefore, contribution of liquid-phase oxidation reactions was weaker while contributions by gas-phase oxidation between S (IV) and hydroxyl radical (OH) became more prominent. In addition, the simulated vertical distribution results showed that the mass concentration of sulfate aerosols decreased with increasing height. For near-surface layers, sulfates were mainly contributed by emission sources, boundary and initial conditions, liquid-phase oxidations with H_2O_2 and catalytic conversions with Fe and Mn; while for upper layers, sulfates were contributed by, in the order of significance, liquid-phase oxidations with H_2O_2, catalytic conversions with Fe and Mn, emission sources and gas-phase oxidations.
Synthesis of Magnolignan, a New Pigment Lightening Component, via a Suzuki-Miyaura Reaction

Magnolignan, 2,2′-dihydroxy-5,5′-dipropyl-biphenyl (1), is a down-regulator of melanin synthesis that inhibits the maturation of tyrosinase. In this study, a concise total synthesis of 1 was achieved in five steps with 50% overall yield starting from commercially available trans-anethole (2) via a Suzuki-Miyaura reaction.
Latency reduction in optical interconnects using short optical pulses

We present a new method of latency reduction in optical interconnects: using very low duty cycle return-to-zero encoding (i.e., subpicosecond pulses). An analytical comparison of three different receiver architectures, including transimpedance, integrating, and totem-pole diode pair, is presented. For all three receivers, we demonstrate that using short pulses instead of nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) shortens the circuit delay. We also experimentally demonstrate a /spl sim/65% reduction in latency of a transimpedance receiver by using short optical pulses. Finally, we show that the latency of optical interconnects can be comparable to or even less than electrical interconnects for global on-chip communication.
Revisiting the Relationship between Competition and Price Discrimination in the Airline Industry

We revisit the relationship between competition and price discrimination in the airline industry. Building on early theoretical work, we develop a simple model showing that, if consumers differ in terms of both their underlying willingness-to-pay to travel and their degree of brand loyalty, competition may increase fare differences between some types of travellers while decreasing them between others. Using a novel source of data on airfares that distinguishes tickets sold to different types of travellers, we show that competition increases cross-cabin fare differentials but decreases fare differentials between most Discount Coach passengers, thus reconciling conflicting findings from earlier research.
Landscapes and regional development: What are the links

Despite increasing interest for rural landscapes, information technology advances, and transportation improvements, rural areas generally continue to lag behind urban ones with respect to many socioeconomic indicators. Those rural areas that experience significant growth, however, are either located close to metropolitan areas or offer outstanding amenities that attract population and firms. Landscapes, as amenities, are defined as location-specific features that enhance the attractiveness of a given location. The empirical connection between amenities and regional growth has been established, but supply and demand issues of amenities and how their presence might lead to increased development still need clarification. This survey paper deals with several issues. First, amenities and landscapes and their characteristics are defined and described, particularly as economic goods. Second, supply and demand factors for amenities are presented. Third, the links between amenities, landscapes and regional development are explained, via both impact mechanisms and institutional arrangements. Last, key public policy and further research issues are outlined.
Trust and Disintermediation: Evidence from an Online Freelance Marketplace

As a platform improves trust between the two sides of its market to facilitate matching and transactions, it faces an increased risk of disintermediation: with sufficient trust, the two sides may circumvent the platform to avoid the platform’s fees. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between increased trust and disintermediation by leveraging a randomized control trial in an online freelance marketplace. We find that enhanced trust increases the likelihood of high-quality freelancers being hired. However, when the trust level is sufficiently high, it also increases disintermediation, which offsets the revenue gains from the increase in hiring high-quality freelancers. We also identify heterogeneity across clients and freelancers in their tendencies to disintermediate. We discuss strategies that platforms can use to mitigate the tension between trust building and disintermediation. This paper was accepted by Chris Forman, information systems.