Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Elucidation of antibacterial activity of Bacillus sp. and Alcaligenes sp. metabolites against multidrug-resistant bacteria

Different resistance mechanisms are involved in exhibiting resistance to different groups of antibiotics. Researchers are searching for new therapeutic options to encounter the emerging trend of microbial resistance. Bacteria were isolated from the extreme environment of Cholistan Desert and were screened for characterization. Potential metabolites that showed broad-spectrum activity were partially purified using silica gel chromatography and determined their minimum inhibitory concentration. A collection of 50 bacterial isolates from soil samples was screened for metabolite production and among them isolate R19 of Bacillus sp. and isolate A8 of Alcaligenes sp. had high similarity with strong antimicrobial metabolite producers. The growth of A8 was stable at slight acidic pH while R19 was best at neutral pH. Similarly, the best growth of A8 was observed at 37 °C while R19 at 35 °C. Minimum inhibitory concentration of purified compounds of Bacillus sp. were determined at concentration range of (3.12 – 100 %) against multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of Shigella, Enterobacter aerogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumonia and produced 10 – 25 mm zone of inhibition. Metabolites of Alcaligenes sp. were sufficient to inhibit the growth of all selected MDR bacteria at concentrations 12.25 – 100 % and shows 10 – 20 mm zone of inhibition. Bacillus sp. and Alcaligenes sp. can be used as producers of potential antibacterial metabolites. Proper utilization of selected metabolites can be helpful in combating emerging drug resistant pathogenic bacteria. In addition, further proteomic analysis and structural insight should be considered to elaborate their active ingredients and its efficacy.
The highest frequency of BRCA1 c.3700_3704del detected among Albanians from Kosovo

Background The spectrum of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations varies among populations; however, some mutations may be frequent in particular ethnic groups due to the “founder” effect. The c. 3700_3704del mutation was previously described as a recurrent BRCA1 variant in Eastern European countries. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of c. 3700_3704del BRCA1 mutation in Albanian breast and ovarian cancer patients from North Macedonia and Kosovo. Materials and methods A total of 327 patients with invasive breast and/or ovarian cancer (111 Albanian women from North Macedonia and 216 from Kosovo) were screened for 13 recurrent BRCA1/2 mutations. Targeted NGS with a panel of 94 cancer-associated genes including BRCA1 and BRCA2 was performed in a selected group of 118 patients. Results We have identified 21 BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants, 17 (14 BRCA1 and 3 BRCA2) in patients from Kosovo (7.9%) and 4 (1 BRCA1 and 3 BRCA2) in patients from North Macedonia (3.6%). All BRCA1/2 mutations were found in one patient each, except for c. 3700_3704del BRCA1 mutation which was observed in 14 unrelated families, all except one originating from Kosovo. The c. 3700_3704del mutation accounts for 93% of BRCA1 mutation positive cases and is present with a frequency of 6% among breast cancer patients from Kosovo. Conclusions This is the first report of BRCA1/2 mutations among breast and ovarian cancer patients from Kosovo. The finding that BRCA1 c. 3700_3704del represents a founder mutation in Kosovo with the highest worldwide reported frequency supports the implementation of fast and low-cost screening protocol, regardless of the family history and even a pilot population-based screening in at-risk population.
Penetrating The Armor - Rehabilitation Of Security Prisoners, Reality Or Dream?

The discussion about the role of prison in rehabilitating criminal prisoners has, in recent years, become a routine discussion amongst therapy and rehabilitation personnel, and accordingly incarceration organizations around the world have adopted and developed rehabilitation programs whose purpose is to help prisoners who are released to integrated into society as useful people and as such to reduce the changes of their returning to prison. This article proposes a new approach regarding the role of prison in the rehabilitation of security prisoners who have been incarcerated for conducting terror attacks. Prison can become a 'Greenhouse' to rehabilitate these prisoners. Security prisoners are different, however, from criminal prisoners. Often, they exploit their time in prison to recruit support from the outside, to influence other prisoners to side with violence and to make arrangements for their return to the cycle of violence upon their release from jail. Attempts to identify designated plans aimed at rehabilitating the security prison populations show that there are very few such plans, most of which tend to operate to remove terrorist prisoners from the cycle of violence by integrating them into moderate religious educational activities. The aim is to present to decision makers and policy determiners a different view based on giving hope in terms of 'light at the end of the tunnel' to political prisoners upon their release back to the society from whence they came and this through education and knowledge not necessarily focused on religious contexts. © 2018 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy. org.UK
Cyber threats confronting the digital built environment

Purpose Smart cities provide fully integrated and networked connectivity between virtual/digital assets and physical building/infrastructure assets to form digital economies. However, industrial espionage, cyber-crime and deplorable politically driven cyber-interventions threaten to disrupt and/or physically damage the critical infrastructure that supports national wealth generation and preserves the health, safety and welfare of the populous. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of cyber-threats confronting critical infrastructure asset management reliant upon a common data environment to augment building information modelling (BIM) implementation. Design/methodology/approach An interpretivist, methodological approach to reviewing pertinent literature (that contained elements of positivism) was adopted. The ensuing mixed methods analysis: reports upon case studies of cyber-physical attacks; reveals distinct categories of hackers; identifies and reports upon the various motivations for the perpetrators/actors; and explains the varied reconnaissance techniques adopted. Findings The paper concludes with direction for future research work and a recommendation to utilize innovative block chain technology as a potential risk mitigation measure for digital built environment vulnerabilities. Originality/value While cyber security and digitization of the built environment have been widely covered within the extant literature in isolation, scant research has hitherto conducted an holistic review of the perceived threats, deterrence applications and future developments in a digitized Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations (AECO) sector. This review presents concise and lucid reference guidance that will intellectually challenge, and better inform, both practitioners and researchers in the AECO field of enquiry.
Full-Order Terminal Sliding-Mode Control for Soft Open Point

In this paper, a full-order terminal sliding-mode control method is proposed for the rectifier side and the inverter side of the soft open point (SOP). The rectifier-side DC voltage control system consists of the voltage- and current-loops with controllers which are designed using full-order sliding-mode (FOSM) to enhance the dynamic performances and anti-disturbance. The integral type virtual control signal without chattering is designed to compensate for the unmatched uncertainties including external disturbances and some parameter perturbations. The full-order terminal sliding-mode (FOTSM) controller for the current-loop can force the current response to track its reference in finite time. The inverter side power control system is designed to regulate the power. The FOTSM controller for the power-loop ensures the power-tracking accuracy under a disturbed condition. Finally, the simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controllers for the rectifier and inverter sides in the soft open point (SOP).
Saturation Point of Superplasticizers Determined by Rheological Tests for Self Compacting Concrete

The dosage of superplasticizer is first determined in mortar mixtures and it is after adjusted in concrete mix trials. Other self compacting concrete (SCC) mix proportioning methods rely on the definition of the superplasticizer saturation dosage in pastes. These approaches to mix design have advantages over the ones based exclusively on concrete batching because it is less expensive and material demanding to perform tests in mortar and paste than in concrete. This paper presents the results of an experimental research carried out to investigate the use of tests performed in paste to define the optimum dosage of superplasticizer for self-compacting concrete. The materials employed were Portland cement, pozzolana and three types of superplasticizers: poly naphthalene sulfonate (PNS), poly melamine sulfonate (PMS) and a polycarboxylate. The saturation point of each superplasticizer was determined in pastes by rheological tests using a coaxial cylinder rheometer AR2000. Self-compacting concretes were prepared using the superplasticizer contents found. The results obtained led to the conclusion that in SCC mixture proportioning methods, the determination of the superplasticizer content in the paste phase is paramount. Nevertheless, final adjustment of w/c+f ratio was always needed in order to produce SCC.
A Single-Stage LED Driver Based on Flyback and Modified Class-E Resonant Converters With Low-Voltage Stress

This paper presents a novel integrated-stage light-emitting diode (LED) driver based on Flyback and resonant converters. The Flyback converter realizes power factor correction in the discontinuous conduction mode. The resonant converter is operated as a dc–dc converter to support the LED loads. Moreover, the resonant converter can clearly decrease the drain–source voltage of the active switch and exhibits zero-voltage-switch characteristics. Therefore, a cost-effective MOSFET can be chosen as the main control component that can decrease the cost of the whole system. Compared to a single-active-switch converter (such as Class-E converter), the number of passive components in the resonant converter can be limited to four. Therefore, the power density of the system can be improved drastically. In this paper, a 100-W prototype is presented under the experimental condition to validate the proposed integrated-stage LED driver.
SD-EAR: Energy Aware Routing in Software Defined Wireless Sensor Networks

In today’s internet-of-things (IoT) environment, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have many advantages, with broad applications in different areas including environmental monitoring, maintaining security, etc. However, high energy depletion may lead to node failures in WSNs. In most WSNs, nodes deplete energy mainly because of the flooding and broadcasting of route-request (RREQ) packets, which is essential for route discovery in WSNs. The present article models wireless sensor networks as software-defined wireless sensor networks (SD-WSNs) where the network is divided into multiple clusters or zones, and each zone is controlled by a software-defined network (SDN) controller. The SDN controller is aware of the topology of each zone, and finds out the optimum energy efficient path from any source to any destination inside the zone. For destinations outside of the zone, the SDN controller of the source zone instructs the source to send a message to all of the peripheral nodes in that zone, so that they can forward the message to the peripheral nodes in other zones, and the process goes on until a destination is found. As far as energy-efficient path selection is concerned, the SDN controller of a zone is aware of the connectivity and residual energy of each node. Therefore, it is capable of discovering an optimum energy efficient path from any source to any destination inside as well as outside of the zone of the source. Accordingly, flow tables in different routers are updated dynamically. The task of route discovery is shifted from individual nodes to controllers, and as a result, the flooding of route-requests is completely eliminated. Software-defined energy aware routing (SD-EAR)also proposes an innovative sleeping strategy where exhausted nodes are allowed to go to sleep through a sleep request—sleep grant mechanism. All of these result in huge energy savings in SD-WSN, as shown in the simulation results.
Product variety strategies for vertically differentiated products in a two-stage supply chain

Abstract In this paper, we study how the presence of coordination, competition and cost structures affect the product variety and pricing decisions in a two-stage supply chain. We consider vertically differentiated industries. Products reach the end customers via assembly companies positioned in the middle-tier between the producers and end customers. The assembly operations incur bill-of-materials (BOM) cost, which includes the cost of raw materials and components as well as the cost of producing, managing and synchronising supply, storage and distribution of these materials and components. We consider three coordination scenarios in the supply chain, and compare an uncoordinated supply chain with a horizontal and a vertical coordination scenario using the Nash equilibria of a multi-leader Stackelberg game between the producers and assembly companies. For exogenously given quality levels, we show that producers and assembly companies should either differentiate their product offering, or offer the high-end product only depending on the BOM cost. In addition, the uncoordinated scenario helps reduce the intensity of competition in the supply chain. For endogenous quality levels, partial product-differentiation equilibrium can emerge. Numerical experiments are performed to illustrate the impacts of BOM cost and quality levels on the equilibrium.
Improved Current Doubler Rectifier

It is widely accepted to examine and explain the functioning of the standard “Current Doubler Rectifier” as strictly symmetrical according to the electrical current through the two inductances. The present work challenges this consideration and proposes a new version of the electrical circuit diagram where the current symmetry is improved. The proposed circuit is called the “Improved Current Doubler Rectifier”.
Analysis of Blur Measure Operators for Single Image Blur Segmentation

: Blur detection and segmentation for a single image without any prior information is a challenging task. Numerous techniques for blur detection and segmentation have been proposed in the literature to ultimately restore the sharp images. These techniques use different blur measures in different settings, and in all of them, blur measure plays a central role among all other steps. Blur measure operators have not been analyzed comparatively for both of the spatially-variant defocus and motion blur cases. In this paper, we provide the performance analysis of the state-of-the-art blur measure operators under a uniﬁed framework for blur segmentation. A large number of blur measure operators are considered for applying on a diverse set of real blurry images affected by different types and levels of blur and noise. The initial blur maps then are segmented into blurred and non-blurred regions. In order to test the performance of blur measure operators in segmentation process in equal terms, it is crucial to consider the same intermediate steps involved in the blur segmentation process for all of the blur measure operators. The performance of the operators is evaluated by using various qualitative measures. Results reveal that the blur measure operators perform well under certain condition and factors. However, it has been observed that some operators perform adequately overall well or worse against almost all imperfections that prevail over the real-world images.
Effects of botanical insecticides on the instantaneous population growth rate of Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in cotton - doi: 10.4025/actasciagron.v34i2.10863

Botanical insecticides have been studied aiming the alternative pest control. The present study investigated the effects of these insecticides on the instantaneous population growth rate (ri) of Aphis gossypii . Botanical insecticides were tested in the following concentrations: Compostonat ® , Rotenat-CE ® and Neempro (0, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50 and 1.75%); Natuneem ® and Neemseto ® (0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00%) and essential oils of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. , Cymbopogom winterianus (L.) , Chenopodium ambrosioides L. and Piper aduncum L (0, 0.0125, 0.025, 0.0375 and 0.05%). Cotton leaf discs, CNPA 8H cultivar with 5 cm in diameter were immersed for 30 seconds in products broth and dried for 30 minutes. Eight replicates per concentration were used and each disc was infested with five apterous adult females of A . gossypii uniform in size and confined for 10 days. Compostonat ® , Rotenat ® and Neempro provided negative r i decreasing A . gossypii population. Natuneem ® and Neemseto ® and the essential oil of F . vulgare showed positive r i increasing the population. The coefficients of determination (R 2 ) of regression lines ranged from 0.46 to 0.85. The essential oils of C . winterianus , C . ambrosioides and P . aduncum were not statistically significant precluding the establishment of regression lines.
Impacts of environmental communication on pro-environmental intentions and behaviours: a systematic review on nature-based tourism context

Abstract Environmental communication interventions are employed in nature-based tourism settings to achieve environmental protection. However, much still needs to be studied to understand what interventions work, how and why. This review summarises the research design and outcomes of 54 empirical studies, published in English-language peer-reviewed journals where communications were used to foster visitors’ pro-environmental intentions or actual behaviours. Our analysis suggests that environmental communication can be a useful tool although mixed results were often observed. Personal interpretation interventions were slightly more common than non-personal communications, and produced a higher portion of positive changes in pro-environmental behaviors and intentions. The use of Theory of Planned Behaviour was most commonly observed. Research on the efficacy of environmental communications is increasing; we suggest priorities to guide this accelerating research activity. Under-researched communications approaches include visual communications and digital tools. Increased comparison of content and delivery modes within the same study and in different nature-tourism contexts is needed, especially with diverse populations (e.g. cultural) and distinct sub-groups (e.g. pro- vs. non-environmental market segments). We advocate for increased diversity of research methods (e.g. qualitative) and robust design (e.g. longitudinal) to better understand visitors’ behaviours, with reduced use of attitudes, knowledge and intentions as dependent variables.
Intentional Rounding versus Standard of Care for Patients Hospitalised in Internal Medicine Wards: Results from a Cluster-Randomised Nation-Based Study

The aim of the study was to explore the effects of Intentional Rounding, a regular-based proactive patient monitoring, on falls and pressure ulcers in internal medicine units. This is a cluster-randomised controlled study, where units were assigned (1:1) to Intentional Rounding (intervention group) or Standard of Care (control group). The primary outcome was the cumulative incidence of falls and new pressure ulcers. These events were considered separately as secondary endpoints, together with the number of bell calls and the evaluation of patient satisfaction. Primary analyses were carried out on the modified intention-to-treat population (hospitalisation of at least 10 days). Recruitment occurred between October 2019 and March 2020, at which time the study was prematurely closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Enrolment totalled 1822 patients at 26 sites; 779 patients were included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis. The intervention group had a lower risk of falls (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.14; 95% confidence interval, 0.02–0.78; p = 0.03). There were no statistical differences in new pressure ulcers or the cumulative incidence of both adverse events. Mean bell calls for each patient were 15.4 ± 24.1 in the intervention group and 13.7 ± 20.5 in the control group (p = 0.38). Additionally, patient satisfaction in the intervention group was almost at the maximum level. Our study supports the usefulness of Intentional Rounding in a complex and vulnerable population such as that hospitalised in internal medicine units.
Wireless graphene-based electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor including multiple physiological measurement system

In this thesis, a novel graphene (GN) based electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor is designed, constructed and tested to validate the concept of coating GN, which is a highly electrically conductive material, on Ag substrates of conventional electrodes. The background theory, design, experiments and results for the proposed GN-based ECG sensor are also presented. Due to the attractive electrical and physical characteristics of graphene, a new ECG sensor was investigated by coating GN onto itself. The main focus of this project was to examine the effect of GN on ECG monitoring and to compare its performance with conventional methods. A thorough investigation into GN synthesis on Ag substrate was conducted, which was accompanied by extensive simulation and experimentation. A GN-enabled ECG electrode was characterised by Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy along with electrical resistivity and conductivity measurements. The results obtained from the GN characteristic experimentation on Raman spectroscopy, detected a 2D peak in the GN-coated electrode, which was not observed with the conventional Ag/AgCl electrode. SEM characterisation also revealed that a GN coating smooths the surface of the electrode and hence, improves the skin-to-electrode contact. Furthermore, a comparison regarding the electrical conductivity calculation was made between the proposed GNcoated electrodes and conventional Ag/AgCl ones. The resistance values obtained were 212.4 Ω and 28.3 Ω for bare and GN-coated electrodes, respectively. That indicates that the electrical conductivity of GN-based electrodes is superior and hence, it is concluded that skin-electrode contact impedance can be lowered by their usage. Additional COMSOL simulation was carried out to observe the effect of an electrical field and surface charge density using GN-coated and conventional Ag/AgCl electrodes on a simplified human skin model. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the addition of electrical field and surface charge capabilities and hence, coating GN on Ag substrates was validated through this simulation. This novel ECG electrode was tested with various types of electrodes on ten different subjects in order to analyse the obtained ECG signals. The experimental results clearly showed that the proposed GN-based electrode exhibits the best performance in terms of ECG signal quality, detection of critical waves of ECG morphology (P-wave, QRS complex and T-wave), signal-tonoise ratio (SNR) with 27.0 dB and skin-electrode contact impedance (65.82 kΩ at 20 Hz) when compared to those obtained by conventional a Ag/AgCl electrode. Moreover, this proposed GN-based ECG sensor was integrated with core body temperature (CBT) sensor in an ear-based device, which was designed and printed using 3D technology. Subsequently,