Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Viable but Non-culturable Bacteria: Clinical Practice and Future Perspective

Due to intolerable environmental conditions, bacteria learnt to adopt a useful strategy to survive longer which these organisms generally is termed "viable but non-culturable". In the case of exposure to certain stresses (e.g., antibiotics, low metabolites, heavy metal and high pH environment, etc.), bacteria enter into the VBNC stage. In similar, having the starvation mode of physiology can be called VBNC model. In fact, viable but non-culturable cells (VBNC) are live bacteria, however, they are unable to be cultivated on conventional culture media (1). Because of complexities in culture, observation of normal colonies on solid and broth media is almost impossible for VBNCs. As complexities were observed for successful culture, our clinical practice is in intense lack of a useful present approach to an accurate diagnosis. Basically, the ability to have the VBNC state can help the bacterium to keep the survival chance, but it endangers human health in the case of pathogenic bacteria (2). The first report indicating the clinical relevance of VBNC backs to more than 40 years ago, but still many unanswered questions are left intact (3). The current challenge is that VBNCs are reversible, therefore in many clinical settings, we should have considered them for causing specific infectious diseases. An important issue is that there is no clue that how many cases are indeed reinfections and new infections, whilst we are unable to detect VBNC for many of pathogenic microorganisms. Indeed, there is a long list of bacteria able to enter this dormancy phase. For example, Shigella spp. , Helicobacter pylori, Morganella spp. , Escherichia coli (including EHEC), Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Enterococcus spp. , Vibrio spp. (cholera and vulnificus), Yersinia enterocolytica, and Campylobacter jejuni (4-7). As stated, many of infectious agents are initiating diseases which are transmissible and it raises concerns for better hygiene and health policies. Moreover, our diagnostic laboratories should be also sensed to prevent the occurrence of local and national epidemic.
Chemotaxis model for human breast cancer cells based on signal-to-noise ratio

Chemotaxis, a biased migration of cells under a chemical gradient, plays a significant role in diverse biological phenomena including cancer metastasis. Stromal cells release signaling proteins to induce chemotaxis, which further causes organ-specific metastasis. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is an example of the chemical attractants, and its gradient stimulates metastasis of breast cancer cells. Hence, the interactions between EGF and breast cancer cells have long been a subject of interest for oncologists and clinicians. However, most current approaches do not systematically separate the effects of gradient and absolute concentration of EGF on chemotaxis of breast cancer cells. In this work, we develop a theoretical model based on signal-to-noise ratio to represent stochastic properties and report our microfluidic experiments to verify the analytical predictions from the model. The results demonstrate that even under the same EGF concentration gradients, breast cancer cells can reveal distinct chemotaxis patterns at different absolute concentrations. Moreover, we found that addition of EGF receptor antibody can promote chemotaxis at a low EGF level. This apparently counterintuitive finding suggests that EGF receptor-targeted therapy may stimulate metastasis of breast cancer at a particular condition, which should be considered in anticancer drug design.
Transfer Öğrenme ve Çekişmeli Üretici Ağ Yaklaşımlarını Kullanarak Cilt Lezyonu Sınıflandırma Doğruluğunu İyileştirilmesi

: This study focuses on the classification of skin cancer images, one of the most common types of cancer. As a result of the research, it was found that the most comprehensive labeled data set in the literature related to skin cancer were HAM10000. This data set, which contains more than 10,000 tagged images of 7 different lesion types, is aim to increase accuracy in classification with Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). In this study, the effect of two different techniques (transfer learning and image production) on lesion classification accuracy was investigated. The first technique is the partial and full transfer of parameters in the ImageNet image set-trained AlexNET network to a new CNN designed to classify the skin lesion data set. The second technique is to expand the dataset by generating images from true lesion images. In this expansion process, the performances of classical production and Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) techniques were evaluated. As a result of the experimental studies, the use of partial parameter transfer and data set expansion approaches using Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Network (DCGAN) based image generation technique yielded the highest lesion classification accuracy (93%). The methods have been compared to the current method in the literature and total accuracy performance is demonstrated.
Evaluating threats and conservation status of South African Aloe

South Africa is one of the biodiversity hotspots for Aloe in Africa. This makes it important to evaluate the conservation status and threats to this genus. The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) Red List was employed to evaluate these two factors. Results revealed that 44% of all species in this genus are of conservation concern with the majority of them facing threats. This study recommends that more attention such as strengthening the protection of these species and controlling the threats identified in this study should be given to species in this genus in terms of conservation management to reduce their risk of extinction.
Using Semantic Web Technologies and Multi-agent System for Multi-dimensional Analysis of Open Health Data

Recent years have seen Social Web becoming a global phenomenon, which is being increasingly important in our daily lives. Millions of users are chatting on the Web and social networks and expressing their feelings and opinions about the latest outbreaks, symptoms, illnesses and new drugs. These opinions contain a large amount of data, which are destined to become a major source of information for business intelligence, as they are largely informative and therefore interesting to be dealt with in a decision-making process, in order to evaluate and improve the performance of health system. However, this source of information is currently underutilised. This work describes an approach to creating an analytical health framework that allows the integration and multi-dimensional analysis of available health data, with particular attention to socially generated data, using Semantic Web (SW) technologies and multi-agent systems.
Bioprozessentwicklung filamentöser Pilze anhand automatisierter Morphologieuntersuchung

Morphologie-gestutzt wurde ein reproduzierbares Kultivierungsverfahren fur den Basidiomyceten Schizophyllum commune DSM 6320 etabliert. Dazu wurde erstmals die statistische Versuchsplanung zur Beschreibung der Makromorphologie eines Pilzes eingesetzt. Die Morphologieanalyse konnte eingesetzt werden, um die Reproduzierbarkeit in aufeinander aufbauenden Kultivierungsschritten zu uberprufen. Sie wurde in Zusammenhang mit der reproduzierbaren Einstellung weiterer Kultivierungsparameter, z.B. der Biotrockenmasse, gestellt (Struktur-Eigenschafts-Beziehung). Die morphologische Analyse ermoglichte ein fruhzeitiges Erkennen von Abweichungen einer definierten Standardkultivierung. Eine Steuerung des Kultivierungsprozesses und ggf. eine Regelung mit der Analyse der Makromorphologie von S. commune wurde somit moglich. Die Mikroskopie zur Bildaufnahme der Pellets von S. commune wurde einschlieslich der Auswertung makromorphologischer Parameter erfolgreich automatisiert. Gleichzeitig zur beschleunigten Analyse aller makromorphologischen Parameter wurde dadurch auch eine sehr schnelle Analyse der Pelletkonzentration erzielt, die erfolgreich eingesetzt wurde, um die Biotrockenmassekonzentration abzuschatzen. Diese konnte uber den gesamten Kultivierungsverlauf in grundverschiedenen Kultivierungen ausschlieslich mittels morphologischer Parameter dargestellt werden. Eine aufwendige gravimetrische Bestimmung der Biotrockenmassekonzentration kann damit fur gut charakterisierte und reproduzierbare Kultivierungsprozesse entfallen. Anhand eines Beispiels wurde gezeigt, dass auch die Konzentration des Polysaccharids mit Hilfe der Morphologie berechnet werden kann. Die Morphologie von S. commune wurde durch Medienzusatze erfolgreich verandert. Das Ziel, dadurch die Raum-Zeit-Ausbeute zu steigern, wurde durch Zugabe von Talkpartikeln erreicht. Im Vergleich mit einem S. rolfsii-Stamm wurde gezeigt, dass der Effekt stammabhangig auftrat. Die Morphologie konnte zum Erreichen einer maximalen Raum-Zeit-Ausbeute gezielt auch mittels Optimierung der Homogenisierung und der Biotrockenmassekonzentration bei Beimpfen eingestellt werden. Es wurden Struktur-Eigenschafts-Beziehungen fur verschiedene Kultivierungsschritte beschrieben. Die hochste auf das Pelletvolumen bezogene Menge an Polysaccharid wurde von Pellets mittlerer Grose und hoherer Biomassedichte gebildet. Bei Zunahme der Pelletgrose ging die pelletvolumen-spezifisch gebildete Menge an Polysaccharid zuruck.
Seasonal variation of zooplankton nutritional quality at a reef!Manta Ray (Mobula alfredi) Feeding ground on Ningaloo Reef

Zooplankton provide a fundamental connection between primary producers and higher trophic level consumers, supporting some of the largest marine animals as well as microbial organisms. Therefore, the nutritional resource of zooplankton must be sufficient to support a wide array of marine species. The nutritional quality (lipids, protein and carbohydrates) varies seasonally with changes in species composition, as different organisms store varying amounts of biochemical components. These seasonal variations have direct effects on the marine food web, and those organisms that rely upon the nutritional resource. Zooplankton has a spatiotemporally patchy distribution, with variations in species composition. This is reflected by the variability of each biochemical component when comparing regions around the world. This study aimed to quantify the seasonal proportions of zooplankton nutritional components at Bateman Bay, Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, in order to determine what planktivorous fish such as reef manta rays (Mobula'alfredi) are receiving year round. Feeding manta rays were used to locate patches of plankton, and samples were collected via towing a 300 μm mesh plankton net from the back of a boat. Samples were collected from four sites in autumn and three sites in winter. All samples were analysed for lipids, protein, carbohydrates, total organic carbon and nitrogen (C:N ratio) and biomass. All nutritional components varied significantly between seasons, and each site showed compositional variability, especially protein. Protein and lipids were significantly higher during autumn than winter, while carbohydrates were higher during winter. The C:N ratio was significantly higher during winter, when phytoplankton abundance was higher. Biomass was larger in winter when there was a greater abundance of portunid crab larvae, eggs and phytoplankton, however was not statistically significant. Environmental variables; temperature, turbidity and tide had no correlation to zooplankton biomass, nutritional value and reef manta ray feeding. However, greater nutritional quantities were found when manta rays were feeding, and the highest biomass was recorded when the largest feeding aggregation of reef manta rays was observed. This study has provided insight into the biochemical composition of mixed zooplankton populations around Bateman Bay, Ningaloo Reef in autumn and winter. It appears that manta rays match their distribution to the zooplankton, and nutritional quantities proved to be higher during warmer temperatures. However, additional year-round sampling is recommended for future studies, in order to better understand these preliminary findings. Knowledge of how manta rays rely on areas with high nutritional value will help to explain seasonal variations in reef manta ray visitation, and provide management implications for the conservation of this species.
Validation of an algorithm for predicting the remaining useful life, for a model with linear degradation

This paper aimed to validate a working tool, component of the Predictive Maintenance Toolbox ™, produced by Matlab (MathWorks), in the case of a procedure for monitoring the operation of mechanical systems, in order to diagnose a failure of the process and to estimate the remaining useful life (RUL). This toolbox provides toolsets, materialized in function files, for labeling data, designing condition indicators, and estimating a parameter named the remaining useful life of a machine. You can analyze and label machine data imported from local files, cloud storage, and distributed file systems. The algorithm suggested by Matlab (software owned by MathWorks) was used in detail to process part of the data set provided freely by NASA through The Prognostics Data Repository, The Prognostics Center of Excellence (PCoE) at Ames Research Center. Of the 4 data sets, only one was used for this paper. Each data set is composed of 3 working files, in text format, for training, test and algorithm validation, and solution statement, respectively. The results obtained confirm the validity of the computer-assisted training system, diagnostics, prognosis, and validation tools, on a statistical basis, in the case of consistent databases.
How to Meter Agricultural Pumping at Numerous Small-Scale Wells?—An Indirect Monitoring Method Using Electric Energy as Proxy

The large number of users and the small scale of wells greatly complicate monitoring of groundwater abstraction in areas of intensive pumping by numerous smallholders such as in the North China Plain. This paper presents a study in a typical county in the North China Plain. It discusses the application and challenges of an indirect, energy-based approach to groundwater abstraction monitoring. Intensive field experiments at individual wells were carried out to provide a basis for the conversion from electric energy consumption to groundwater abstraction and to explore the feasibility of direct and indirect abstraction monitoring methods in the study area. The results show that the main challenge of electricity-to-water conversion lies in the large spread of conversion factors between wells. The conversion error at an individual well is found to be less than 20%. The same accuracy is achieved on spatially aggregated levels by testing only a small number of wells. Trade-offs can be made to obtain groundwater abstraction estimates at the required accuracy and with reasonable efforts regarding data collection. The analysis shows that energy-based groundwater abstraction monitoring outperforms direct water metering with respect to cost and robustness. It provides satisfactory data accuracy and equitability in regions where irrigation wells are powered by electricity.
Seasonal profile of the diet of the dace Telestes karsticus Marčić & Mrakovčić, 2011 (Cyprinidae, Leuciscinae) endemic to Sušik Creek, Croatia

Summary The first data on the feeding ecology of the endemic Telestes karsticus are presented for specimens sampled monthly (July 2007–July 2008) from the Susik Creek in the Lug Polje field, Croatia. Macrozoobenthos density was calculated and compared with the stomach contents of T. karsticus and the seasonal profile of the diet was examined. The ratio of gut length vs. standard length was 0.9 ± 0.12. Gut contents revealed that benthic invertebrates accounted for the majority of food consumed, although terrestrial arthropods, plant material, algae and fish were also found. Since this is the only fish species in the investigated creek, T. karsticus can be concluded to be cannibalistic. The proportion of empty guts found in all seasons was small, indicating year round feeding. The number and diversity of prey species was highest in spring and lowest in summer. Ivlev's electivity index was very high for Cladocera, Coleoptera, Trichoptera, Heteroptera and Hymenoptera in all seasons, suggesting positive selection for these prey groups, as opposed to Oligochaeta, Isopoda and Bivalva, which showed negative values in all seasons. For Actinopterygii, the Ivlev coefficient of selection was highly negative in spring, and highly positive in summer. Plant matter was detected in stomach contents in all seasons, with the highest share found in summer when other prey species were less available. The karstic dace is a generalised feeder, consuming the most available prey, and therefore can be classified as a euryphagous omnivore.
Building knowledge for policy and practice based on service user and carer experiences: A case study of Scottish adult safeguarding research

Summary This article presents Scottish adult safeguarding as a case study to illuminate some challenges of building knowledge for policy and practice based on service user and carer voices. It draws on five of our own research projects that have evaluated implementation of Scottish adult safeguarding legislation and/or asked more exploratory questions about risk, safety and support. Findings We show how practical and ethical issues limited our more evaluative lines of inquiry. We then show how increasingly participative approaches led to studies that were more accessible and that connected more deeply with service users’ and carers' lives, but that also faced greater challenges in the translation of their findings back into the policy and/or practice environment. Applications We conclude with an argument for ongoing dialogue between policy-makers, professionals, service users and carers, researchers, educators and students about knowledge, its different forms and sources, its generation and its use.
FORMULASI BEDAK TABUR DARI EKSTRAK RIMPANG RUMPUT TEKI (Cyperus rotundus L.) SEBAGAI ANTISEPTIK

ABSTRACT Rumput teki (Cyperus rotundus L.) merupakan tumbuhan obat yang termasuk family Cyperaceae. Rumput teki merupakan gulma yang dapat tumbuh dengan mudah tanpa memilih tanah atau ketinggian tempat, dimana bagian tumbuhan yang sering digunakan adalah rimpang . Umbi teki ini mengandung komponen-komponen kimia antara lain minyak atsiri, alkaloid, flavonoid, polifenol, resin, amilum, tanin, triterpen, d-glukosa, d-fruktosa dan gula tak mereduksi . Beberapa penelitian yang telah dilaporkan menyebutkan rimpang rumput teki mempunyai aktivitas sebagai antibakteri. Hasil penelitian yang juga telah dilaporkan adalah ekstrak etanol rimpang teki mempunyai aktivitas antibakteri terhadap Staphylococcus epidermidis , Minyak atsiri yang dikandung dalam rimpang rumput teki ini dilaporkan juga memiliki potensi sebagai antibiotik terhadap kuman Staphyllococcus aureus . P ada penelitian ini dilakukan uji aktivitas antibakteri ekstrak etanol rimpang rumput teki terhadap Staphyllococcus aureus, yang dilanjutkan dengan formulasi bedak tabur ekstrak etanol rimpang rumput teki dan uji daya antiseptic bedak dengan metoda replika. Hasil uji aktivitas antibakteri ekstrak etanol rimpang rumput teki terhadap Staphylococus aureus termasuk kategori kuat. Ekstrak etanol rim pang rumput teki (Cyperus rotundus L.) dapat diformula menjadi bedak tabur yang memenuhi persayaratan bedak tabur, dari semua formula F3 memiliki daya antiseptic yang paling baik dibandingkan F1 dan F2. Kata Kunci : Cyperus rotundus, Staphyllococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, bedak tabur ABSTRACT Cyperus rotundus L is a medicinal plant that belongs to the Cyperaceae family. Cyperus rotundus. L is a weed that can grow easily without choosing the soil or altitude of the place, the part of the plant that is often used is the rhizome. This rhizome contains chemical components such as essential oils, alkaloids, flavonoids, polyphenols, resins, starch, tannins, triterpenes, d-glucose, d-fructose and non-reducing sugars. Several studies have reported that Cyperus rotundus L rhizome has activity as antibacterial. The results of the study also reported that ethanol extract of rhizomes have antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis. The essential oils contained in this rhizome are reported to have potential as antibiotics against Staphyllococcus aureus bacteria. In this research, the antibacterial activity of ethanol extract of rhizome Cyperus rotundus L was applied to Staphyllococcus aureus, followed by powder formulation of ethanol extract of rhizomes and antiseptic powder test with replica method. The results of antibacterial activity of ethanol extract of rhizome of rhizome of grass against Staphylococus aureus belong to strong category. The ethanol extract of rhizome Cyperus rotundus L can be formulated into a powder that meets the peremptance of powder, of all the formula F3 has the best antiseptic power compared to F1 and F2.
Geographic variation in stable isotopic and fatty acid composition of three families of anguilliform leptocephali and particulate organic matter (POM) in the western South Pacific

The feeding ecology of leptocephali has remained poorly understood because they apparently feed on particulate organic matter (POM), which varies in composition, and it is unclear which components of the POM they assimilate. The δ13C and δ15N stable isotope (SI) and fatty acid (FA) compositions of 3 families of leptocephali and POM were compared in 3 latitudinal current zones of the western South Pacific. The δ15N signatures of both leptocephali and POM overlapped, with both having their lowest values in the southern current zone. POM contained 38 FAs and was rich in saturated FAs (SFA) (16:0, 18:0, 14:0), while leptocephali contained 50 FAs, with high proportions of 16:0, and higher contributions of 22:6ω3, 20:5ω3, 18:1ω9, 16:1ω7 and other FAs than the POM. Serrivomeridae leptocephali in the north had higher δ15N signatures and were also distinguished from Nemichthyidae and Muraenidae larvae by their FA compositions (higher SFAs, lower 22:6ω3 and 20:5ω3). Although SI signatures of the Serrivomeridae larvae did not clearly vary with size, 16:0 and 18:0 FA proportions decreased with increasing larval size, and 22:6ω3 and 16:1ω7 increased in larger larvae. Correspondences between the latitudinal variations in nitrogen SI signatures and FA compositions of POM with those of leptocephali and the presence of FA markers of both autotrophic and heterotrophic organisms were consistent with leptocephali feeding on POM. POM can contain various materials from primary producers and heterotrophic microorganisms, but differences in the SI signatures and FA compositions in leptocephali remain to be explained through further research.
Math anxiety interferes with learning novel mathematics contents in early elementary school.

New evidence suggests that mathematics anxiety is not only related to lower exam grades, but it also interferes with the process of learning, leading to cumulative gaps in knowledge – but when does this process start and what can teachers and parents do? Maths anxiety is the feeling of tension and fear that many people experience in response to having to do mathematics and, sometimes, to the mere prospect of working out a (worry, anticipation of failure), affective and even somatic reactions (such as butterflies in the may characterise maths-anxious individuals, not only during maths classes, but also in many everyday situations in which numbers or maths are involved. Much is known already about the extent to which maths anxiety can interfere with mathematics performance and achievement at school and beyond. In our study, we sought to take a step further, and understand whether maths anxiety may not only affect children’s performance in standardized tests and exams, but also interferes with their ability to learn new concepts and procedures during regular maths classes.