Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The genetic variability of small-ruminant lentiviruses and its impact on tropism, the development of diagnostic tests and vaccines and the effectiveness of control programmes

Abstract Introduction Maedi-visna virus and caprine arthritis encephalitis virus are two closely related lentiviruses which cause multisystemic, progressive and persistent infection in goats and sheep. Because these viruses frequently cross the species barrier, they are considered to be one genetic group called small-ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV). They have in vivo tropism mainly for monocytes and macrophages and organ tropism with unknown mechanisms. Typical clinical signs are pneumonia in sheep, arthritis in goats, and mastitis in both species. Infection with SRLV cannot currently be treated or prevented, and control programmes are the only approaches to avoiding its spread. These programmes rely mainly on annual serological testing and elimination of positive animals. However, the high genetic and antigenic variability of SRLV complicate their early and definitive diagnosis. The objective of this review is to summarise the current knowledge of SRLV genetic variation and its implications for tropism, the development of diagnostic tests and vaccines and the effectiveness of control and eradication programmes. Material and Methods Subject literature was selected from the PubMed and the Google Scholar databases. Results The high genetic diversity of SRLV affects the performance of diagnostic tools and therefore control programmes. For the early and definitive diagnosis of SRLV infection, a combination of serological and molecular tests is suggested. Testing by PCR can also be considered for sub-yearling animals. There are still significant gaps in our knowledge of the epidemiology, immunology and biology of SRLV and their impact on animal production and welfare. Conclusion This information may aid selection of the most effective SRLV spread reduction measures.
Unit Stream Power for Sediment Transport in Natural Rivers

UNIT STREAM POWER FOR SEDIMENT TRANSPORT IN NATURAL RIVERS The relationship between rate of sediment transport and rate of potential energy expenditure has been studied in detail. Unit stream power, defined as the time rate of potential energy expenditure per unit weight of water, is shown to be the dominant factor in the determination of total sediment concentration. Basic concepts in fluid mechanics and boundary layer theory are used to establish the flow condition at incipient motion. Two equations that provide simple and direct criteria for incipient motion are found. These equations are verified by 153 sets of data independently collected by eight investigators. A dimensionless unit stream power equation is found for the prediction of total sediment concentration for both laboratory flumes and natural rivers. This equation not only provides a good estimation of the total sediment concentration in an alluvial channel but also correctly reflects the effects of the variations of particle size, water depth, and water temperature on total sediment concentration. Data collected from six natural rivers and more than one thousand sets of laboratory data are used in supporting this equation. Data collected from 17 regular gaging stations on natural rivers also indicate that unit stream power dominates the rate of sediment transport. REFERENCE: Yang, Chih Ted, and Stall, John B. , UNIT STREAM POWER FOR SEDIMENT TRANSPORT IN NATURAL RIVERS, University of Illinois Water Resources Center Research Report No. 88.
A Diet with Amikacin Changes the Bacteriobiome and the Physiological State of Galleria mellonella and Causes Its Resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis

Simple Summary The insect gut microbiota plays a crucial role in the host’s resistance to pathogenic microorganisms and toxins. Resident microorganisms may persist for a long time and maintain a certain location due to the synthesis of antimicrobial agents (including antibiotics). We consider it one of the adaptation mechanisms of microorganisms in various communities. Not only do the uncontrolled use of antibiotics and changes in environmental conditions drastically alter the microbiota structure and give rise to resistant microorganisms, but they also cause a number of alterations in the host’s physiology and its sensitivity to pathogens. This study opens up new prospects for further research into antibiotic-resistant symbiotic microorganisms, their benefits for persistence in the dynamic environment of the insect’s gut, and the conditions necessary for changing their strategy and manifestation of virulent properties. Abstract Environmental pollution with antibiotics can cause antibiotic resistance in microorganisms, including the intestinal microbiota of various insects. The effects of low-dose aminoglycoside antibiotic (amikacin) on the resident gut microbiota of Galleria mellonella, its digestion, its physiological parameters, and the resistance of this species to bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis were investigated. Here, 16S rDNA analysis revealed that the number of non-dominant Enterococcus mundtii bacteria in the eighteenth generation of the wax moth treated with amikacin was increased 73 fold compared to E. faecalis, the dominant bacteria in the native line of the wax moth. These changes were accompanied by increased activity of acidic protease and glutathione-S-transferase in the midgut tissues of larvae. Ultra-thin section electron microscopy detected no changes in the structure of the midgut tissues. In addition, reduced pupa weight and resistance of larvae to B. thuringiensis were observed in the eighteenth generation of the wax moth reared on a diet with amikacin. We suggest that long-term cultivation of wax moth larvae on an artificial diet with an antibiotic leads to its adaptation due to changes in both the gut microbiota community and the physiological state of the insect organism.
UV-Vis Sintering Process for Fabrication of Conductive Coatings Based on Ni-Ag Core–Shell Nanoparticles

The UV-Vis sintering process was applied for the fabrication of conductive coatings composed of low-cost nickel–silver (Ni@Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) with core–shell structures. The metallic films were formed on a plastic substrate (polyethylene napthalate, PEN), which required their sintering at low temperatures to prevent the heat-sensitive polymer from destroying them. The UV-Vis sintering method, as a non-invasive method, allowed us to obtain metallic coatings with good conductivity at room temperature. In optimal sintering conditions, i.e., irradiation with a wavelength of 350–400 nm and time of 90 min, conductivity corresponding to about 30% of that of bulk nickel was obtained for the coatings based on Ni@Ag NPs.
Late quaternary history of the Atacama desert

Of the major subtropical deserts found in the Southern Hemisphere, the Atacama Desert is the driest. Throughout the Quaternary, the most pervasive climatic infl uence on the desert has been millennial-scale changes in the frequency and seasonality of the scant rainfall, and associated shifts in plant and animal distributions with elevation along the eastern margin of the desert. Over the past six years, we have mapped modern vegetation gradients and developed a number of palaeoenvironmental records, including vegetation histories from fossil rodent middens, groundwater levels from wetland (spring) deposits, and lake levels from shoreline evidence, along a 1200-kilometre transect (16–26°S) in the Atacama Desert. A strength of this palaeoclimate transect has been the ability to apply the same methodologies across broad elevational, latitudinal, climatic, vegetation and hydrological gradients. We are using this transect to reconstruct the histories of key components of the South American tropical (summer) and extratropical (winter) rainfall belts, precisely at those elevations where average annual rainfall wanes to zero. The focus has been on the transition from sparse, shrubby vegetation (known as the prepuna) into absolute desert, an expansive hyperarid terrain that extends from just above the coastal fog zone (approximately 800 metres) to more than 3500 metres in the most arid sectors in the southern Atacama.
Terra e lavoro: due questioni apparentemente dimenticate, di nuovo nell’agenda europea

Questo articolo discute l’agricoltura contadina come la principale istituzione-lavoro in Europa. Si afferma che sia il lavoro sia la terra sono socialmente difniti. Essi sono materialmente costituiti sulla base di tali definizioni e, laddove le definizioni sociali mutano, il significato, l’uso e e la posizione della terra e del lavoro nel processo della produzione agricola vengono ricostituiti. L’articolo utilizza un una periodizzazione che abbraccia un primo periodo (dal 1850 al 1950) in cui l’agricoltura si sviluppa fortemente, sebbene a ritmi ineguali, in molte parti d’Europa. Un secondo periodo (circa tra il 1950 e il 1990) si fonda sulla modernizzazione dell’agricoltura: un tentativo di indurre un nuovo modello di agricoltura imprenditoriale in cui terra e lavoro divengono sempre piu categorie vuote. Nel terzo periodo (dagli anni ’90 in poi) si osservano nuovi ed eterogenei processi di ri-contadinizzazione che implicano una "riscoperta" di terra e lavoro come componenti centrali di forme dell’agricoltura capaci di resistere al riordino neoliberale dei mercati dell’agricoltura e del cibo.
An Integrated Flying Capacitor Three-Level DC/DC Converter With Mismatch Power Processing Capability

In this article, an integrated flying capacitor three-level dc/dc converter with mismatch power processing capability is proposed. The proposed converter has two photovoltaic (PV) input interfaces in series and can provide an additional current path for PV modules to eliminate mismatched power. Through the integrated flying capacitor, the voltage stress of all primary switches is reduced. Furthermore, a flying capacitor voltage active balancing control strategy is proposed to balance the voltage stress of primary switches. By adjusting the time when the main power flows through the flying capacitor to compensate for the effect of the mismatched power on the flying capacitor, the voltage of the flying capacitor can be controlled to half of the total input voltage. In addition, all switches in the converter operate under zero voltage switching (ZVS) conditions, and the switches on the main power circuit have a fixed 0.5-duty cycle, making the converter highly efficient and high power transmission capability in all cases. A 500 W laboratory prototype was constructed, and experiments were carried out to verify the validity of the theory.
Multimodal recognition of speech and electrocorticogram

Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) provides a novel way of communicating with computers but their poor performance in terms of speed and accuracy in comparison to the other modes of communication has been the biggest obstacle in their usage for practical applications. In this work, we aim to enhance the performance of BCI by utilizing speech data collected along with the electrocorticogram (ECoG) recordings when the person is speaking. While some BCI users may have difficulty in speaking at all, many of them can speak, even though their speech may be unclear. We propose that information from this speech data can help in improving accuracy and to employ such speech context to assist the decoding process, we apply a multimodal recognition method. We use speech data contaminated by noise in our evaluation to simulate the cases where the available speech quality is low. Our experiments using data from five subjects suffering from Epilepsy show that our method of using multimodal input has a significant improvement, an absolute reduction in phrase error rate by 1.1 points from recognition using speech alone and by 51.3 points from recognition using ECoG alone.
Morphological responses of autumn planted sugarcane to planting geometry and nutrient management on different soils under arid conditions.

In field experiment morphological response of sugarcane cultivar HSF 240 to different NPK doses F1 =0-0-0, F2 =100-100-100, F3 =150-150-100, F4 =200-200-100 and F5 =250-200-100 kg ha -1 and different planting patterns like G1 =60, G2 =75 cm, spaced single row Planting pattern, G3 =30/90, and G4 =30/120cm spaced paired row strip Planting pattern were studied at research area of the Gomal University Rukh Bibi campus Dara Ismaiel Khan and Main Line Lower Land Reclamation Research Station Chak No 37 TDA (Thal Development Authority) Bhakkar during 2003-04 and 2004-05. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with a split plot arrangement in four replications giving importance to planting patterns. The analysis of pooled data of D.I Khan and Bhakkar showed that all the doses affected the yield, contributing parameters to a significant level. The maximum number of millable canes m -2 , weight per stripped cane recorded in 250-200100 kg NPK ha -1 which were statistically nonsignificant to those recorded in 200-200-100 kg NPK ha -1 . However maximum stripped-cane yield was recorded in 250-200-100kg NPK ha -1 during both the years. Among the planting patterns significantly higher mill able canes, cane weight, and stripped-cane yield was recorded in 30/90cm spaced paired row strip planting pattern followed by 75 and 60cm spaced single row planting pattern with minimum in 30/120cm spaced paired row strip planting pattern. Significantly higher mill able canes, cane weight and stripped-cane yield were recorded in the interaction of 250–200-100 kg NPK ha -1 x 30/90 cm spaced paired row strip planting pattern which were at par with 200–200-100 kg NPK ha -1 x 30/90cm spaced paired row strip planting pattern and minimum in control x 30/120 cm spaced paired row strip planting pattern during both the years. Therefore it is concludedthat under arid conditions on Silty clay and sandy loam soils optimum stripped cane yield was obtained from nutrient dose of 200–200-100 kg NPK ha -1 and 30/90cm spaced paired row strip planting pattern.
Dithiothreitol Affects the Fertilization Response in Immature and Maturing Starfish Oocytes

Immature starfish oocytes isolated from the ovary are susceptible to polyspermy due to the structural organization of the vitelline layer covering the oocyte plasma membrane, as well as the distribution and biochemical properties of the actin cytoskeleton of the oocyte cortex. After the resumption of the meiotic cycle of the oocyte triggered by the hormone 1-methyladenine, the maturing oocyte reaches fertilizable conditions to be stimulated by only one sperm with a normal Ca2+ response and cortical reaction. This cytoplasmic ripening of the oocyte, resulting in normal fertilization and development, is due to the remodeling of the cortical actin cytoskeleton and germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD). Since disulfide-reducing agents such as dithiothreitol (DTT) are known to induce the maturation and GVBD of oocytes in many species of starfish, we analyzed the pattern of the fertilization response displayed by Astropecten aranciacus oocytes pre-exposed to DTT with or without 1-MA stimulation. Short treatment of A. aranciacus immature oocytes with DTT reduced the rate of polyspermic fertilization and altered the sperm-induced Ca2+ response by changing the morphology of microvilli, cortical granules, and biochemical properties of the cortical F-actin. At variance with 1-MA, the DTT treatment of immature starfish oocytes for 70 min did not induce GVBD. On the other hand, the DTT treatment caused an alteration in microvilli morphology and a drastic depolymerization of the cortical F-actin, which impaired the sperm-induced Ca2+ response at fertilization and the subsequent embryonic development.
Inflammatory and Metabolic Signaling Interfaces of the Hypertrophic and Senescent Chondrocyte Phenotypes Associated with Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a complex disease of whole joints with progressive cartilage matrix degradation and chondrocyte transformation. The inflammatory features of OA are reflected in increased synovial levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and VEGF, higher levels of TLR-4 binding plasma proteins and increased expression of IL-15, IL-18, IL-10 and Cox2, in cartilage. Chondrocytes in OA undergo hypertrophic and senescent transition; in these states, the expression of Sox-9, Acan and Col2a1 is suppressed, whereas the expression of RunX2, HIF-2α and MMP-13 is significantly increased. NF-kB, which triggers many pro-inflammatory cytokines, works with BMP, Wnt and HIF-2α to link hypertrophy and inflammation. Altered carbohydrate metabolism and the upregulation of GLUT-1 contribute to the formation of end-glycation products that trigger inflammation via the RAGE pathway. In addition, a glycolytic shift, increased rates of oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial dysfunction generate reactive oxygen species with deleterious effects. An important surveyor mechanism, the YAP/TAZ signaling system, controls chondrocyte differentiation, inhibits ageing by protecting the nuclear envelope and suppressing NF-kB, MMP-13 and aggrecanases. The inflammatory microenvironment and synthesis of key matrix components are also controlled by SIRT1 and mTORc. Senescent chondrocytes represent the functional end stage of hypertrophic differentiation and characteristically upregulate p16 and p21, but also a variety of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and metalloproteinases, developing the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. Senolysis with dendrobin, miR29b-5p and other agents has been shown to be efficient under experimental conditions, and appears to be a promising tool for the treatment of OA, as it restores COL2A1 and aggrecan synthesis, suppressing NF-kB and destructive metalloproteinases.
Exploring the Impact of Semi-Presidentialism on Third-Wave Democratizing Countries

Many nations have started down the path of democratization under the impact of the third-wave of democratization. After the completion of democracies, their consolidation has become an urgent issue for these emerging democracies. The study of democratic consolidation in third-wave democracies is one of the popular topics of comparative political science research, in which the difference in the form of government organization is an important indicator for assessing the stability of democracies in third-wave democratizing countries. Some scholars have proposed the conditions for democratic consolidation in emerging democracies by studying the structural factors of society (level of economic development, spread of democratic concepts, and demonstration effects in neighboring countries). However, there is a lack of consistency in the understanding of how the type of governance affects the consolidation of democracy. A look at the forms of government chosen by emerging democracies reveals that many countries have mostly adopted semi-presidential institutional arrangements. As a result, using a literature review methodology and theoretical analysis, this study examines the effects of implementing semi-presidentialism on polity stability and the capacity of the government to govern successfully in emerging democracies. The study concludes that semi-presidentialism have more adverse than beneficial effects on democratic consolidation in emerging democracies.
Development of Parking System for Smart Cities using LoRaWAN, Blockchain, and Deep Learning

Nowadays, data among smart parking lots are susceptible to tampering, while an enormous amount of data is exchanged among multiple stakeholders, increasing issues related to reliability and efficiency, which may result in people having difficulty finding acceptable slots at nearby parking lots and absorbing a longer time for registration at the entry gate. In this work, we present a proposed smart parking system integrated based on LoRaWAN, Blockchain database called BigchainDB, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) using WPOD-NET along with SVM, and Cloud services. The major goal of the proposed system is to gather various parking lots to help decrease deployment time, preserve and share safe information, and create a cutting-edge non-stop platform for client identification under a trusted decentralized system. Based on the results of this research, we discovered an approach for efficient and low-power interaction between components in parking lots, a decentralized blockchain network, and the cloud. Furthermore, this system can handle an enormous number of people using it simultaneously while maintaining a low average delay of approximately in a second.
Poczucie tożsamości młodzieży akademickiej w perspektywie socjoekologicznej

The article is aimed at analyzing the identifications of academic youth, with pedagogy students as an example, on the basis of the assumptions of Uri Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model. Particular importance was given to the socioecological and contextual determinants in which the sense of identity of emerging adults is formed. The aim of the research was to analyse the development of the sense of identity resulting from participation in the socio-cultural conditions surrounding the individual. The surveyed emerging adults (140 individuals) aged 20–25 answered the question “Who am I? ” using the TST (Twenty Statement Test) by M.H. Kuhn and T.S. McPartland (1954). The research was a pilot study. The collected research material was developed using a holistic content analysis of self-definitions. On the basis of the research results, it can be concluded that the surveyed emerging adults most often use identifications related to the individual with respect to gender, possessed personality traits or to the defining oneself as a human being. In addition, there were categories of sense of identity resulting from social roles in the microsystem (a family member, a student or an employee). Less frequently, respondents identified themselves with their nation or religion, which are the result of macrosystem participation. In relation to this, educational and preventive premises were formulated.
Strategies on Sewage Treatment in Small Towns in Jiangsu Province

The population density is very high in Jiangsu province and a large part of its people live in small towns. The proper treatment of municipal sewage in small towns is the precondition of improving regional water quality. This article puts forward the strategies on municipal sewage treatment in relation to the selection of technology and financial modes. The significances in regional planning of wastewater treatment and use of wetland in purifying waste water based on the physical and socio-economic characteristics in Jiangsu province are also reiterated.
ACCURATE LOCATION OF DACHAIDAN Ms6.3 EARTHQUAKE SEQUENCE AND EARTHQUAKE TECTONIC USING THE DOUBLE-DIFFERENCE EARTHQUAKE LOCATION METHOD

Using the dual-difference earthquake location method,the aftershock sequence of the Ms6.3 Dachaidan earthquake occurred on August 28,2009 in Qinghai province is relocated in this paper.The results showed that the aftershock sequence mainly distributed along the southern margin of Zongwulongshan,and the distribution in long axis direction of aftershock distribution is corresponded to the direction of the Zongwulong-shan fault strike(in the direction of NEE). It is mainly along the regional tectonic setting.The aftershocks distributed in the south side of the main shock.The earthquake occurred on the north side of the Zongwulong-shan fault,and its main rupture surface of the Ms6.3 earthquake coincide with the parameters of fault occurrence.The aftershocks distributed in south side are greater than in north side of Zongwulongshan fault.