Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microbial community fingerprints of composts stored under different conditions

Sequential samples of a composting process were stored under different conditions (4 °C, air drying, -20 °C, and lyophilised) and compared to fresh samples to infer possible effects on the DNA extracted for microbial community analysis. After direct extraction of total microbial DNA, and nested PCR-amplification of the 16S rDNA genes with universal primers, the different fragments were separated in a denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The comparison of the microbial fingerprint patterns of fresh, medium and mature compost revealed a high similarity of samples with the same age, independent of the type of storage. Neither simple air drying, freezing nor lyophilisation of samples appeared to change the quality of DNA extracted for molecular analysis. Due to that fact, simple air drying can be seen as a cheap and appropriate method for the conservation of compost samples for DNA-based community analysis.
Impedance spectroscopy techniques for condition monitoring of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Energy continues to remain the spine of all human development. As we continue to make advances in various levels, the need for energy in quantity, and even more recently, quality, continues to increase. The fuel cell presents itself as a promising prospect to solve one of mankind’s current challenge clean energy. The fuel cell is essentially an electrochemical conversion system which takes in fuel supply to produce electricity. Some key features make the fuel cell attractive as a power source. Firstly, its efficiency in practical applications is approximately 50% compared to the typical efficiency of 40% for a typical internal combustion engine [1]. Secondly, unlike the systems such as the internal combustion engine that typically releases carbon-monoxide which is a major greenhouse gas, the typical fuel cell system, produces just water and heat, alongside the useful electrical energy. These characteristics make it attractive as a clean energy supply capable of replacing the fossil-based supplies that are currently the mainstay. Unfortunately, the fuel cell is far cry from an ideal system. Despite significant advantages of the fuel cell as a power supply, various challenges still exist which have hindered its widespread acceptance and deployment. The fuel cell at its core is a highly multi-physics system and its operational intricacies makes it highly prone to a series of fault conditions. This begs the question of durability an important requirement of a viable power source. Another challenge is the fact that humanity currently struggles with an efficient method of producing hydrogen which is the fuel of choice for the fuel cell. Given the promises of the fuel cell however, research efforts continue to increase to further improve its viability as an
A Novel approach for Agrobacterium -mediated germ line transformation of Indian Bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) and Pasta wheat ( Triticum durum )

Recalcitrance of wheat towards tissue culture procedures has hampered the wide use of conventional transformation techniques for its improvement. In the present study, a novel, non-tissue culture, cost effective approach has been established for the introduction of transgenes in wheat. Dry, mature seeds of two Indian varieties of wheat, Triticum aestivum cv. HD2329 (bread wheat), and Triticum durum cv. PDW215 (pasta wheat), were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium strain GV2260 (p35SGUSINT) and LBA4404 (pCAMBIA 3301), respectively, in the presence of 200 μM acetosyringone. The plantlets testing gus positive were raised till maturity in garden pots. T0 lines were screened by PCR for presence of selectable markers in the transformed plants followed by confirmation with Southern hybridization. In bread wheat, nptII was detected in five primary transformed lines (T0) (ws1, ws2, ws3, ws4, ws5) and the bar gene in three putatively transformed durum wheat lines (wsb1, wsb2, wsb3). The transformation efficiency was calculated as 1.16%, and 0.84% for T. aestivum and T. durum, respectively.
Measuring the Variability of Treated Bacillus Anthracis Delta Stern Spores

Abstract : The development of biological detectors for the military and homeland defense 26 relies on the ability to test hardware with biological materials that can be produced reliably 27 and reproducibly. To ensure occupational safety during the development of new devices, 28 the production and testing with biological materials necessitates compromises that include 29 selection of a virulent strains and inactivation using various techniques. The materials and 30 methods selected for production and post-production treatment can greatly influence 31 detection outcomes using sensitive DNA or antibody based systems. The optimal situation 32 would be to reproducibly create biological testing materials that accurately simulate the 33 true pathogen yet carry minimal risk to the scientists and engineers developing the 34 biosensors. In this study, avirulent Bacillus anthracis spores were used to demonstrate the 35 varied outcomes that can be induced by density gradient purification and post-growth 36 inactivation using gamma irradiation. The responses using Quantitative Polymerase Chain 37 Reaction, Electrochemiluminescence, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, 38 Bicinchoninic Acid assay, and protein electrophoresis varied significantly with treatment. 39 Gradient purification removed proteins that interfered with monoclonal and polyclonal 40 antibodies- abilities to form immunocomplexes in Electrochemiluminescent and ELISA 41 assays. Irradiation had a varied effect on qPCR depending on the sample preparation 42 employed and produced a reduced response in Electrochemiluminescent and ELISA 43 assays. Varied results from enumeration techniques show the importance of measuring the 44 dead cellular material and cellular debris contribution to any sample. Production and 45 material treatments need to conform to a yet to be established guideline that can bring 46 uniformity to available biological agent reference materials.
Three New Halictine Bees from Japan (Hymenoptera, Apoidea)

Three new halictine bees are described from Japan: Lasioglossum (Lasioglossurn) nipponicola sp. nov.; L. (L.) ebmerianum sp. nov.; L. (Evylaeus) sphecodicolor sp. nov. Terminology, abbreviations and style of description follow Sakagami & Tadauchi (1995). The holotypes and some paratypes are to be deposited in Entomological Institute, Hokkaido University, Sapporo and other paratypes are in Entomological Laboratory, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, A. W. Ebmer’s collection in Linz, Austria, and some other institutions, or to be returned to private collection of the owners. Lasioglossum (Lasioglossum) nipponicola sp. nov. Although the naming was circumstantially delayed, this species is quite common in Japan and has so far been recorded from various localities under the code L. (L.) sp. 3 given by one of
Chisel plow tillage depth effect on soil carbon dioxide emission.

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of different soil tillage depth using chisel plow on soil CO2 emission and some soil physical properties. The experiment was carried out using chisel plow at three depths of 15 (A), 25 (B), 35 (C) cm and control (D) treatment and three replications. According to the obtained results, carbon dioxide emissions are determined for A, B, C and D treatment as: 0.148, 0.172, 0221 and 0.165 g m h respectively. The highest carbon dioxide emissions were obtained for C treatment and it is statistically significant (p ≤ 0.01). Soil bulk density for A, B, C and D treatment are 1.33, 1.32, 1.24, and 1.39 g cm respectively. The differences between soil bulk density, also porosity between treatments were not significant in statistical considerations (p ≤ 0.01). Soil penetration resistance for A, B, C and D treatment found as 1.13, 1.12, 1.1, and 1.19 MPa respectively. The soil particle size also increased as the soil tillage depth increased. Soil evaporation for A, B, C, and D treatment found to be 4.51, 5.27, 5.76 and 5.26 g m h respectively.
Suppressor tRNA mediated gene therapy

Nearly one third of all human genetic diseases are caused due to nonsense mutations that ca result in truncated proteins. Nonsense suppressor tRNAs (NSTs) were proposed as valuable tools for gene therapy of genetic diseases caused by premature terminati on codons (PTCs). Although various strategies were adapted over the years to increase NST e xpression and efficacy, low suppression efficacies of NSTs and toxicity associate d with stable expression of suppressor tRNAs have hampered development of NST mediated gene therapy. We ha ve employed the U6 promoter to enhance Gln-Amber suppressor tRNA resulting in more effective suppression of PTCs than the use of multimers of the same suppressor tRN A without a U6 promoter. Since most tRNAs have cell specific differential expres sion, this technique will enable expression of different kinds of suppressor tRNAs in various c ell types at high, functionally relevant levels. Finally, in an attempt to study toxic ef fe ts of NSTs, stable cell lines that constitutively express U6 promoter enhanced GlnUAG suppr e sor
Exact solutions of some transonic gas flows equations

In this paper, the (G′/G)-expansion method for solving some transonic gas flows equations is introduced. (G′/G)-expansion method algorithm is tested on Lin-Reissner-Tsien and Kármán-Fal’kovich-Guderley equations. New exact analytical solu-tions are obtained with the help of symbolic computation. It is shown that the method is a powerful and efficient method in determination of solution of the nonlinear transonic gas flows equations.
Detection of wheat powdery mildew based on hyperspectral reflectance through SPA and PLS-LDA

Abstract: The accurate recognition and quantitative assessment at the early stage of wheat powdery mildew ( Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici ) are vital for precision crop management for spraying the fungicides, reducing the cost, protecting the environment and enhancing the quality of crop. Â However, early disease detection remained highly difficult due to the subtle changes in the physiology and phenology of the plants at early infection stage. Â In this study, two wheat cultivars with different disease resistances were inoculated by the powdery mildew, hyperspectral reflectance and physiological parameters of leaves were obtained after inoculation at early stem elongation stage. Â The major contribution of this study is to extract sensitive wavebands and vegetation indices using sub-window permutation analysis (SPA) by fully exploiting the hyperspectral data for early disease identification. Â Extracted sensitive features by SPA were then used as input in partial least squares-linear discriminant analysis (PLS-LDA) recognition model to classify the healthy and diseased wheat leaves. Â Finally, validation was carried out with independent data to verify the accuracy of the recognition model. Â The results indicated that (1) the pigment contents and photosynthetic capacity were changed slightly at the early infection stage but decreased rapidly with the aggravation of the disease severity; (2) the visible and the near infrared bands were the most sensitive to the disease at early infection stage; (3) the overall accuracy of the PLS-LDA model constructed with the sensitive features extracted by SPA method performed better than features selected conventionally by correlation analysis. Â The calibration and validation accuracies at 5% disease severity were 85.12 and 84.43% for model based on wavelength features and were 82.14 and 85.63 for model constructed with spectral indices features extracted by SPA, respectively. Â In conclusion, SPA is a new effective strategy for feature selection which has not been yet used in plant disease research, having the benefit of considering cooperative effect among different variables and demonstrated the potential of early disease detection. Â Such a technique can be an efficient and economical substitute to conventional methods, especially in case of high throughput hyperspectral crop sensing. Keywords: wheat powdery mildew, early detection, hyperspectral reflectance, fungicide spraying, sub-window permutation analysis (SPA), PLS-LDA DOI: Â 10.33440/j.ijpaa. 20200301.67 Â Citation: Khan I H, Liu H Y, Cheng T, Tian Y C, Cao Q, Zhu Y, Cao W X, Yao X. Â Detection of wheat powdery mildew based on hyperspectral reflectance through SPA and PLS-LDA. Â Int J Precis Agric Aviat, 2020; 3(1): 13â€“22.
Effect of exercise and different environmental conditions on appetite, food intake and the appetite-regulatory hormones, ghrelin and peptide YY

The role of gut hormones in the regulation of appetite and food intake is well established. The studies presented within this thesis have examined the effects of exercise and different environmental conditions on gut hormones (acylated ghrelin and total peptide YY), appetite and food intake. Forty-two young (mean ± SEM; 22.6 ± 0.4 y), healthy and generally lean (body mass index 23.7 ± 0.3 kg m2) males were recruited into four studies. In study one, 60 minutes of high intensity (70 % of O2 max) running and cycling exercise suppressed concentrations of the appetite-stimulating hormone acylated ghrelin to a similar extent. Study two revealed that after 60 minutes running in the heat (30 °C), hunger is lower in the pre-prandial period, and energy intake lower over the 7 h trial duration compared with a similar trial conducted in temperate (20 °C) conditions. Acylated ghrelin was suppressed during running in the temperate and hot environment but this did not appear to mediate the lower energy intake observed during the hot trial. In study three, energy intake tended to be higher after 60 minutes running in a cool environment (10 °C) compared with a temperate (20 °C) environment. During and shortly after running in the cold, perceived ratings of fullness and satisfaction were lower. Acylated ghrelin concentrations appeared to be suppressed to a lesser extent during running in the cold which could mediate the elevated energy intake observed at the first meal. However, energy intake was also higher at the second meal in the cold trial when acylated ghrelin concentrations were higher in the temperate trial. Study four showed that energy intake and acylated ghrelin concentrations were lower, and total PYY tended to be lower, in normobaric hypoxia suggesting a possible role for acylated ghrelin, but not PYY, in mediating the decrease in energy intake observed in hypoxia. This thesis confirms that exercise transiently suppresses acylated ghrelin concentrations regardless of the environmental conditions (temperature and altitude) exercise is performed in. The findings support anecdotal reports that appetite and energy intake are suppressed in the heat and stimulated in the cold. These responses may be partly mediated by acylated ghrelin immediately after running but other mechanisms are likely involved thereafter. Acute hypoxic exposure suppresses acylated ghrelin concentrations; an observation which may explain the decreased energy intake in hypoxia.
Resilience in undergraduate students: The relation between personality, social support, and cortisol levels

The purpose of the current study was to investigate resilience in relation to personality, social support, and cortisol levels in response to a stress induction in a sample of 174 undergraduate students. It was hypothesized that resilience would be positively related to personality traits and perceived social support, and also would predict cortisol levels at baseline, reactivity to stress induction, and recovery after stress induction. Additionally, exploratory analyses investigated the moderating effects between variables to explain the process of resilience further. Participants completed self-report questionnaires (i.e. the CD-RISC, BFI, and the MPSS), provided saliva samples via a passive drool collection test, and underwent a stress induction (i.e. the TSST). Results showed that resilience was significantly positively correlated with social support and four of the personality traits including extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness and conscientiousness. The analyses of resilience and cortisol level yielded a more complex relation than the initial assumptions. Higher levels of extraversion and higher levels of resilience together predicted the lower levels of cortisol reactivity; however, the moderation analysis also indicated that for those low in extraversion, higher resiliency was associated with higher levels of cortisol reactivity. Further, lower levels of resilience and emotional stability predicted a lower cortisol reactivity. This indicates that the protective effect of resilience can present differently depending on the individual. For example, if the individual has maladaptive personality traits (e.g. low extraversion and low emotional stability), resilience may protect against a blunted cortisol response. Limitations and future research directions are discussed. RESILIENCE IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: THE RELATION BETWEEN PERSONALITY, SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND CORTISOL LEVELS A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Elisheva Joy Havlik University of Northern Iowa December 2018
Cytokine genetics and expression : implications of an immunogenetic pathogenesis in autism spectrum disorders.

CYTOKINE GENETICS AND EXPRESSION: IMPLICATIONS OF AN IMMUNOGENETIC PATHOGENESIS IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS Meghan Carey Mott May 3,2011 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an idiopathic pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder associated with various neuropathologies and immunological dysfunctions. Cytokines are regulatory proteins that facilitate communication between the immune and central nervous systems and mediate inflammation, immunity, and hemopoiesis. Previous literature demonstrates that cytokine expression is altered systemically and in the central nervous system of individuals diagnosed with ASD when compared to matched neurotypical controls. Here it is proposed that cytokines are crucial mediators in autism pathogenesis. The central hypothesis of this research posits that an underlying genetic susceptibility in cytokine genes is triggered by environmental exigencies (e.g., stress, infection, ultrasound, hypoxia, pollutant or chemical exposure) during prenatal development. This hypothesis proposes that the convergence of these scenarios during vulnerable periods of neurodevelopment ultimately culminates in the autism phenotype. To test whether cytokines are crucial mediators in autism pathogenesis, the DNA sequences of 22 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within 13 cytokine genes were genotyped in a cohort of autistic patients and controls. Three SNP frequencies for both
Ethical Hacking: Need Of Security

Cybercrime is a computer oriented crime that involves a computer and a network. Cybercrimes include most of the times profit oriented criminal activities. Hacking is the set of instruction using which we can interrupt between the client and server. In Intentional hacking hackers who attacks on the any client servers with the moto to harm the system and communication between the server’s Unintentional hackers are those who may sometimes intemperate laws but doesn’t have intention to harm or to steal. These type of hackers either work with an organization or under government. In this, we have explained different types of hacker in detail and how the systems are basically hacked by the hackers and how the positive and negative side of the hacking.
SOME OBSERVATIONS OF TURBIDITY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA INLETS1

Measurements have been made by a light scattering method of the optical turbidity of the waters in some typical British Columbia inIets with depths to 700 m. (The optical turbidity here used is the extinction cocfficicnt or fractional reduction in light intensity per meter length due to scattering. ) The major contribution to the turbidity in the large inlets is the minerogenic material brought in by rivers. Therefore those inlets with rivers originating in glaciers exhibit the highest turbidity values and thcrc is a marked seasonal variation. In the surface layers, values recorded for turbidity range from 0.2 m-l in winter to 35m-1 in summer with a marked decrease from head to mouth of the inlet. The main body of water in an inlet is usually fairly uniform in turbidity at 0.1 to 2m-I. (For comparison, double distilled water has a turbidity of O.O24m-’ for light of wavelength 5460 A in air. ) Particle sizes average about 20~ diameter in summer and 8~ in winter, with little material less than 2~ in diamctcr. An increase in turbidity near the bottom is common and may be due to tidal currents but evidence suggests that turbidity currents originating at the inlet head may bc common and contribute to the bottom water turbidity.
Organ, Testicular and Epididymal Morphometrics of Male Rabbits fed Dietary Cerium Oxide

32 growing buck rabbits of about 12 weeks old were used to assess the effects of inclusion of different dietary concentrations of Cerium oxide (CeO), a Rare Earth Element, at 0, 50, 100, 150mg on organ and relative organ weights, testes and epididymal morphometrics of the animals. The animals were randomly allotted to the four dietary groups, with eight animals per group. The weights, lengths and widths of reproductive organs, other body organs (like liver, kidney, spleen, heart, adrenal gland, pancreas, lung and gastro-intestinal tract) were determined. The results showed no significant (P 0.05) influenced by dietary cerium oxide especially at 50 mg level of cerium oxide inclusion.
Apport des modèles de niche aux translocations d'espèces : cas du renforcement de populations d'Outarde houbara

Ecological niche models (ENM) are widely used to predict the current and future distribution of species. They could be used as complementary tools to assess the niche suitability of potential release areas, a key parameter for improving success in conservation translocation. Yet, ENM are still rarely applied and general evidence about the benefit of these models in translocation is still lacking. We focused our research on reinforcement programs of two species of Houbara Bustard, the sedentary North African species (Chlamydotis undulata undulata) and the migratory Asian species (C. macqueenii). Through the extensive monitoring of remnant wild populations and captive-born released individuals over a large proportion of their distribution range, these programs provide an ideal study framework to address complex questions regarding the relevancy of ENM in translocation conservation. First, we linked individual survival, a crucial component of population dynamics, to niche suitability. Then, we performed an experimental release and monitoring of 180 individuals along a gradient of habitat suitability as predicted by ENM to test the effect of release site suitability on survival of captive-born individuals. We then tested if released houbaras use the same ecological niche than wild houbaras, as a validation step to support the subsequent use of niche modelling. Finally, we discussed the implications of global change for ongoing translocation programs of Houbara Bustard. Empirical approaches linking habitat suitability with demographic processes provide a step towards a better understanding of the relevance of ENM for conservation translocations in changing environments.