Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Classificação de Ervas Daninhas em Culturas Agrícolas com Comitês de Redes Neurais Convolucionais

Este trabalho teve por objetivo propor e avaliar o uso de comitês de redes neurais convolucionais aplicados à classificação de culturas agrícolas e de ervas daninhas a partir de imagens de mudas. Para tanto, foi considerada uma preparação dos dados de treinamento, a utilização de cinco arquiteturas de redes neurais convolucionais e a elaboração de três comitês com diferentes agregações. Para as redes individuais, uma acurácia de 95,77% foi obtida com o uso da rede MobileNet, e o comitê mediado por uma Máquina de Vetores de Suporte obteve acurácia de 97,08%. Os resultados obtidos colaboram em uma tarefa de Visão Computacional que potencializa o desenvolvimento da agricultura digital, favorecendo um melhor rendimento da produção agrícola.
Khat Marketing and Its Export Performance in the Ethiopian Economy

The major aims of this paper were to assess Khat marketing and its export performance in the Ethiopian economy. The study used secondary data collected from different organizations. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and econometric methods . Descriptive study showed that the crop had crucial importance for the economy as a whole and the producers. The crop can also be cultivated by mixing with other crops and the production varied from region to region. The production was expanding rapidly in some regions of the country due to the high-income elasticity of plants than another crop. On the other hand, the plant was seen as socially undesirable in some parts of the country due to its social ill. Also, the crop has several adverse effects on both social and socioeconomic factors of a country. AS a result, the different country attempted to impose restrictions. On the other hand, econometric analysis result found that per capita income of importing country and real effective exchange rate were the most important factors which significantly affected Khat export in the long run in Ethiopia. Finally, the study recommended that there should be an appropriate policy towards the restrictions of further Khat expansion because it harboured considerable social and economic risks to the country. Keywords : Ethiopian economy; Export performance; Khat; Khat export; Khat marketing CITATION: Tolcha, P. T. (2020). Khat marketing and its export performance in the Ethiopian economy. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management , 7(2), 58 – 69.
ArcGISTM Proximity and Cluster Analysis of Electron Probe Micro-Maps of Round Top Critical Mineral Deposit

Critical and rare earth elements are in high demand for their increasing incorporation in modern technological devices for applications in the military, industrial, commercial, and consumer sectors. Round Top Mountain, a rhyolite laccolith in Sierra Blanca, west Texas, U.S.A. is a unique mineral deposit that offers opportunity for development of rare earth elements, especially the heavy rare earths, as well as associated critical elements. The main objective here is to evaluate the distances between accessory minerals of potential economic value (yttrofluorite, cryolite, uraninite, thorite, cassiterite, and columbite), and to major (potassium feldspar, albite, and quartz) and minor minerals (annite mi-ca, magnetite, and zircon). In this study we explore the proximity and clustering of these minor and accessory minerals, at the mi-cron-to-millimeter scale, from mineral maps constructed in a previous application of ArcGISTM tools to electron probe microanal-ysis (EPMA) element maps. Our goal is to determine whether specific minerals cluster spatially and, if so, at what distances. We noted that the high-value target yttrofluorite grains often neighbor potassium feldspar and quartz grains, but less commonly magnetite and mica grains. With regard to cluster analysis, most minor and accessory minerals were found to group together at small scales (low micrometer) and were dis-persed or random at larger (up to 1 mm) distances.
The search for a novel Campylobacter jejuni resuscitation-promoting factor

Campylobacter infections are the most common bacterial cause of human diarrhoeal illness. When stressed, C. jejuni can enter a viable but not culturable (VBNC) state, which may aid survival in harsh environments. Although resuscitation has been reported in live animal models and eggs, other investigators have been unable to replicate these experiments. The importance of the VBNC state is therefore still under debate. Development of a reliable protocol for inducing resuscitation would greatly aid further investigations. The Rpfs produced by Actinobacteria spp are molecular signals capable of promoting resuscitation. The hypothesis under investigation in this thesis was that the resuscitation of VBNC C. jejuni is controlled by a Rpf orthologue. Bioinformatics searches demonstrated that the predicted C. jejuni NCTC 11168 protein, Cj0645 shares: domain content and arrangement, sequence similarity, and genomic synteny, with M. luteus Rpf. This strongly suggests a shared ancestry. A two-pronged approach was taken to investigate whether Cj0645 was capable of resuscitating VBNC C. jejuni. Firstly, attempts were made to produce a recombinant protein for functional analysis. However, none of these attempts were effective in producing soluble protein. The second approach involved the construction and phenotypic testing of an isogenic mutant and a genetically complemented strain. Phenotypic testing demonstrated that mutation of cj0645 affects growth rate, and the process of cell division, causing the cj0645 mutant to form filaments. However, experiments testing the ability of conditioned media to promote growth from the VBNe state and low cell density found no evidence of a Rpf-like activity in exponential phase C. jejuni culture supernatants. Since the cj0645 is known to be expressed during this growth phase, it appears that, unlike M. luteus Rpf, Cj0645 does not promote growth and as such is not a orthologue.
Etudes des ATPases AAA+ ATAD3A et ATAD3B

ATAD3A est une proteine de la famille des AAA-ATPase (ATPases Associes a diverse Activites cellulaires) specifique des eucaryotes multicellulaires (1). Au laboratoire, la proteine ATAD3A avait ete identifiee comme etant une cible specifique d'interaction calcium-dependante de la proteine S100B (2). Chez les hominides, il existe un deuxieme membre de la famille ATAD3, la proteine mitochondriale ATAD3B. L'objectif de ma these a ete de resoudre la topologie mitochondriale d'ATAD3A et d'ATAD3B et d'etudier leurs fonctions et interactions. Nous avons montre que ces deux proteines sont ancrees dans la membrane interne des mitochondries aux zones de contact avec la membrane externe et qu'elles forment des complexes hexameriques. Nous avons ensuite mise en evidence l'expression specifique d'ATAD3B dans les cellules embryonnaires humaines et sa reexpression dans les iPS et certaines lignees cancereuses. Des experiences complementaires ont ete realisees a l'aide de l'invalidation et de l'expression de mutants dominants-negatifs dans la lignee de cancer de poumon, H1299. Nos resultats suggerent qu'ATAD3B interagit et forme des hetero-oligomeres avec ATAD3A. ATAD3B sembleraient alors agir entant que dominant-negatif d'ATAD3A. Afin de mieux comprendre la fonction d'ATAD3A in vivo, nous avons developpe des modeles chez la Drosophile dont les etudes demontrent qu'ATAD3A est requis pour la croissance cellulaire et le developpement de l'organisme. (1): Gilquin et al. The AAA+ ATPase ATAD3A controls mitochondrial dynamics at the interface of the inner and outer membranes. (Mol Cell Biol. 2010 Apr;30(8):1984-96) (2): Gilquin et al. The calcium-dependent interaction between S100B and the mitochondrial AAA-ATPase ATAD3A and the role of this complex in the cytoplasmic processing of ATAD3A. (Mol Cell Biol. 2010 Mar 29)
Assessment of the Resistance Value of Trash Racks at a Small Hydropower Plant Operating at Low Temperature

Trash racks are the first element mounted in inlet channels of hydraulic structures. Their primary task is to capture coarse pollutants flowing in the riverbed/river channel and protect water facilities downstream. With the use of these devices, it is possible to separate coarse suspended matter, branches carried with the current, floating plastic elements, etc., which undoubtedly contributes to a trouble-free flow through culverts or channels and prevents hydroelectric power plant turbines from failure. An important issue here is also to ensure the proper operation of trash racks, particularly in respect of hydraulic structures whose task is to convert water energy into electricity (hydropower plants). Proper operation of trash racks minimizes losses arising from obstructing the free flow of water through accumulated waste or, in the wintertime, through icing. Incorrect work in this area entails specific head losses, and consequently leads to economic harm. In the paper, the resistance values of trash racks were analyzed at small hydropower plants (SHPs) operating at low temperatures, determined under laboratory conditions, with the occurrence of frazil ice and ice. The results indicate that the added ice into the channel resulted in the formation of a cover in front of the trash racks with an average thickness of about 0.02 m. The accumulated ice increased the head losses up to 14%. The range of the ice cover depended on the weight added ice and reached 0.6 m in analyzed cases.
The Use of Microfluidic Chambers to Study Action Potential Propagation and Stimulus Transduction in Sensory Neurons in Vitro

Primary afferent sensory neurons can be incredibly long single cellular structures, often traversing distances of over one metre in the human. Cutaneous sensory stimuli are transduced in the periphery by specialised end-organs or free nerve endings which enable the coding of the stimulus into electrical action potentials that propagate towards the central nervous system. Despite significant advances in our knowledge of sensory neuron physiology and ion channel expression, many commonly used techniques fail to accurately model the primary afferent neuron in its entirety. In vitro experiments often focus on the cell somata and neglect the fundamental processes of peripheral stimulus transduction and action potential propagation. Despite this, these experiments are frequently used as a model for cellular investigations of the receptive terminals. Crucially, somal responses may not represent the functional expression of ion channels in the axon and end terminals. The aim of this thesis was to develop a system using compartmentalised culture chambers and ratiometric calcium imaging to directly and accurately compare the sensitivity and functional protein expression of isolated neuronal regions in vitro. Using this preparation I demonstrate that the nerve terminals of cultured DRG neurons can be depolarised to induce action potential propagation, which has both a TTX-resistant and TTX-sensitive component. Furthermore, I show that there is a differential regulation of proton sensitivity between the sensory terminals and somata in cultured sensory neurons. I also go on to show that capsaicin sensitivity is highly dependent on embryonic dissection age. This novel approach enables a comprehensive method to study the excitability characteristics and regional sensitivity differences of cultured sensory neurons on a single cell level. Examination of the sensory terminals is crucial to further understand the properties and diversity of DRG sensory neurons.
A control strategy for nonconventional column/rectifier configuration for composition control

Energy and cost saving can be accomplished by Nonconventional column/rectifier configuration. The design with a complex arrangement system needs an advance process control such as Model Predictive Control (MPC) to get the best responses control for composition. MPC which the objective function is optimized by Improved Particle Swarm Optimization (IPSO) is required and implemented for composition control. IPSO is used to get the best values of tuning for weighting in MPC. Integral Absolute Error (IAE) is used to indicate the value of control performance criteria. The results show that IPSO-MPC is better than MPC.
Novel malaria parasite proteins involved in erythrocyte invasion

Erythrocyte invasion is a key step in the Plasmodium life cycle. This process is tightly regulated, involving the sequential release of specialised apical secretory organelles – the micronemes, rhoptries and dense granules. These organelles contain proteins required for invasion and establishment of the parasitophorous vacuole, but most of the proteins remain uncharacterised. The aim of this project was to uncover novel proteins with a role in invasion by the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum merozoites. I identified proteins using the following selection criteria: a) expression in the schizont/merozoite form of the parasite; b) conservation across the genus; c) the presence of a signal peptide and d) one or more transmembrane (TM) domains. A list of 64 proteins was identified, and filtered further based on novelty, presence in the merozoite proteome, expression in other life cycle stages, and difficulty of study. Five proteins were selected, and I produced recombinant protein and raised antibodies against three, which I used to identify the sub-cellular location of the protein within the parasite. The proteins appear to reside in either the rhoptries or the endoplasmic reticulum of the merozoite. Attempts were made to epitope-tag and delete all 3 genes, with a focus on one protein, the type IV Hsp40, PF11_0443. This protein contains two TM domains and is expressed during schizogony. By immunofluorescence it is present in the ER of early schizonts, before accumulating at the apex of merozoites in a rhoptry location. Immunoprecipitation experiments indicated that the protein binds known rhoptry proteins and other chaperones. The protein has been epitope-tagged but attempts to delete the gene by genetic recombination were unsuccessful. The gene is conserved in Plasmodium spp. and there are orthologues in higher eukaryotes, but it is absent from other Apicomplexa. Current studies are focused on the role of this protein in erythrocyte invasion.
Assessing the Nature Reserve Management Effort Using an Expert-Based Threat Analysis Approach

In this note, we suggest the adoption of expert-based approaches for threat analysis to allow an assessment of the magnitude of efforts of wildlife management actions. Similar to what is proposed for expert-based quantification of threat events, in wildlife management this approach can be applied by assigning a score to the extent of the areas affected by management, their frequency and intensity of action, supporting the decision-making process and optimizing the management strategies, both ordinary (for example, in the operational management of nature reserves) and extraordinary (for example, within specific target-oriented conservation projects). Quantifying and defining priority ranks among management events can be useful: (i) to compare managed areas with each other or the same areas in different times; (ii) to adjust the allocation of resources among alternative management actions (assigning more or less resources in terms of time, budget, operators, and technology). Finally, similar to what is done in the threat analysis approach, managers could compare the effort (magnitude) of management at different times. We report, as an example, a first quantification for a case study carried out in a coastal nature reserve.
Influence of some rol genes on sugar content in Nicotiana and Vaccinium

In natural conditions, insertion of Agrobacterium T-DNA into the plant genome and its subsequent transfer via sexual reproduction has been shown for several dozens of species, including species from genera Nicotiana and Vaccinium. In the framework of investigation of possible function of cT-DNA in naturally transgenic species we have shown, that increasing of expression of rolC in Nicotiana tabacum is associated with increase of amount of glucose and total sugar content. Similar trend was observed for rolB/C-like gene in Vaccinium.
Parotid sialolithiasis with Stenson’s duct stricture: a rare case report

The most common disease affecting the major salivary glands is sialolithiasis and occurs mainly in the submandibular gland (80-90%), and to a lesser extent in the parotid gland (5-20%). Conventionally calculi in the distal section of the parotid duct near the punctum are removed through an intraoral approach. Those in the proximal duct and parenchyma pose more of a problem, particularly when sealed into the duct with strictures. Salivary duct obstruction is mainly secondary to calculi, stenoses or fibro-mucinous plugs with the resulting stasis predisposing to bacterial infection. Numerous papers have been published regarding the incidence of calculi and their treatment. However, very few articles have been written on salivary duct strictures. In this case both calculi and stricture co-existed, so it was decided to present a case report.
Family of controllers based on sector non‐linear functions: an application for first‐order dynamical systems

This study proposes the design of a family of controllers based on sector non-linear functions for first-order dynamical systems. Three new controllers that incorporate these types of functions are presented and analysed to validate the authors' premise. The proposed nominal controllers and an augmented version with integral action are presented. Asymptotic stability is proven under the Lyapunov theory and the controllers' performance is compared against a traditional proportional controller. An empirically tuned relation depending on a constant bound value and an operation range is proposed; this is used to compute the gains of each controller. Simulation results with all of the controllers under saturation bounds are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the method at solving the output regulation and the tracking control problems, under practical physical assumptions. The numerical comparison utilises the L 2 and L ∞ norms over the output error, and over the control variable, applying the same saturation bounds for each controller.
Molecular data confirm the species status of Neoechinorhynchus personatus and N. yamagutii (Acanthocephala, Neoechinorhynchidae) from the Atlantic and Pacific grey mullets (Teleostei, Mugilidae)

Molecular Data Confi rm the Species Status of Neoechinorhynchus personatus and N. yamagutii (Acanthocephala, Neoechinorhynchidae) from the Atlantic and Pacifi c Grey Mullets (Teleostei, Mugilidae). Sarabeev, V. , Tkach, Ie. , Sueiro, R. A. , Leiro, J. — Neoechinorhynchus is known to be the most diverse acanthocephalan taxon with worldwide distribution; its species are characterized by uniformity of anatomical organization. Th e taxonomic status of Neoechinorhynchus agilis s. l. from grey mullets was recently reviewed that resulted in description of two new species, Neoechinorhynchus ( Hebesoma ) personatus and Neoechinorhynchus ( Hebesoma ) yamagutii . In the current study,18S rRNA partial gene sequences were obtained to molecularly characterize N . ( N .) agilis , N . ( H .) personatus and N . ( H .) yamagutii from grey mullets, Chelon labrosus and Mugil cephalus , in the North-East Atlantic, the Japan, Azov and Mediterranean Seas. Th e universal (F-566 and R-1200) and specifi c eukaryotic set primers were used to amplify specimens from each species of Neoechinorhynchus . It has been found that three species can be clearly recognized using universal primers, which allow to obtain sequences of 590 to 664 bp in length. Th e genetic divergences estimated between three species sequenced here were relatively high, at ranged between 2.08 and 6.57 %. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that the studied species of Neoechinorhynchus from grey mullet fi sh share common ancestor, despite their diff erent geographic location, and are closely related. Th e terminal position of N . ( N .) agilis and N . ( H .) personatus on the evolution tree and the low genetic divergence found between them suggests the recent emergence of this group and that the colonization of the North-East Atlantic and the Mediterranean regions could represent a single event. Our phylogenetic analysis, which included several species of the subgenera Neoechinorhynchus and Hebesoma , showed that the latter is a polyphyletic taxon. polymerase genomic e thermocycler 94 for 5 min, by 94 for 30 s, annealing 57 and 55 °C F-566 and R-1200 and FNeo1086 and RNeo1086 primers, 45 s, and 72 °C for 1 min; and fi nally, a 7 min extension phase 72 Th e PCR products a 4 % agarose gel Tris acetate ethylenediaminetetraacetic (TAE) buff er Sybr at 1× verify the of bands of the correct size a variable-intensity UV transilluminator and auto image capture soft ware (Alpha Innotech, USA). Th e PCR product was purifi ed with Th ermo Scientifi c Purifi cation Kit and sequenced in complementary directions using Sanger sequencing service Biotech, e Clustal online service positions containing missing data were eliminated and phylogenetic analyses were performed. were using maximum likelihood (ML) with Tamura-Nei model, neighbour joining (NJ) and minimum evolution (ME) MEGA-X bootstrap replicates. e
Location Privacy-Preserving Distance Computation for Spatial Crowdsourcing

Data privacy, especially location privacy, is paramountly important for protecting individual’s information in smart cities in the big data era. One of the examples is in spatial crowdsourcing (SC). It enables people not only to issue spatiotemporal tasks to ask for help as requesters but also to solve others’ tasks as workers on the SC platform. While SC brings convenience to people, it also produces severe location privacy problems, which have been recently paid more attention from both academia and industries. In this article, we address the location privacy problem in SC in a practical and secure way. We propose a location privacy-preserving framework for almost all existed mainstream distance computations in the SC system, namely, Euclidean-L3P, Minkowski-L3P, Manhattan-L3P, and Chebyshev-L3P, among which the first two are constructed based on homomorphic encryption and composite-order multilinear mapping while the latter two on the homomorphic encryption and prefix membership verification approach. Location privacy is resolved because of the above techniques having enabled that all distance computations are evaluated through ciphertexts without disclosing any location information. Security analysis shows that our framework can prevent a strong adversary from obtaining participants’ location privacy. Performance analysis evaluates computation and communication overheads between protocols. The results show that Euclidean-L3P is more efficient than Manhattan-L3P and Chebyshev-L3P in terms of computation overheads when the SC applications require a small number of participants, a large plaintext space, and a small number of base stations. Moreover, compared with Manhattan-L3P and Chebyshev-L3P, Euclidean-L3P is a better choice in terms of communication overhead.
Influence of prey size on the capture of social wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) by the orb-web spider Nephilengys cruentata.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the plasticity of the hunting behavior of the spider Nephilengys cruentata (Araneae: Nephilidae) facing different species of social wasps. Considering that wasps can consume various species of spiders and that their poison can be used as defense against many predators, the effect of the corporal size of the prey was evaluated in the behavior of N. cruentata. Predation experiments were conducted using three species of social wasps of different sizes and the data registered in this research were compiled through annotations and filming of the hunting behavior of each spider, in relation to the offered prey. The results revealed that the size of the wasp and the sequential offer of prey change the hunting behavior of the spider, and prey of large size have high influence on this behavior.