Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preface to a special issue "Megacity Air Pollution Studies (MAPS)"

Large urban areas, commonly referred to as megacities, generally consume a huge amount of energy due to the high population density along with concentrated economic activities, and the resulting environmental burden—including air pollution—is an ongoing scientific and public issue. As several common factors and drivers cause air pollution problems in urban areas, it is widely thought that the air quality trends in different cities exhibit similarities in certain aspects correlated with urban development activity and air pollution mitigation practices. However, unique characteristics in the emission, chemistry, and dispersion of air pollutants that are specific to each urban area also exist, which often reflect differing approaches to air pollution control policy. Based on this reasoning, several comprehensive studies in big megacities, mostly in North America and Europe, have been implemented extensively over the last two decades. However, the air quality is often much poorer in the megacities of developing countries, and extensive research is still needed to tackle the urgent goals of understanding the increasing complexity of air quality and identifying appropriate mitigation measures. This MAPS (Megacity Air Pollution Studies) special issue highlights recent scientific findings from megacity air-quality research in many parts of the world. It focuses primarily on the mechanisms and drivers that result in high ozone and aerosol events in megacities but also addresses the latest advances in precursor emissions inventories, chemical transformation assessments, and forecasting models with sets of field observations, including remote sensing applications.
Gene function prediction based on combining gene ontology hierarchy with multi-instance multi-label learning

Gene function annotation is the main challenge in the post genome era, which is an important part of the genome annotation. The sequencing of the human genome project produces a whole genome data, providing abundant biological information for the study of gene function annotation. However, to obtain useful knowledge from a large amount of data, a potential strategy is to apply machine learning methods to mine these data and predict gene function. In this study, we improved multi-instance hierarchical clustering by using gene ontology hierarchy to annotate gene function, which combines gene ontology hierarchy with multi-instance multi-label learning frame structure. Then, we used multi-label support vector machine (MLSVM) and multi-label k-nearest neighbor (MLKNN) algorithm to predict the function of gene. Finally, we verified our method in four yeast expression datasets. The performance of the simulated experiments proved that our method is efficient.
N2O absorption through super hydrophobic hollow fiber membrane contactor

Dinitrogen monoxide (N2O) is mainly produced in Horticulture and farming activities, industrial processes and combustion of fossil fuels. N2O is one of the harmful emissions and its global warming potential is 310 times greater than CO2 on a molecular basis. This research aims to absorb N2O from its mixture with air through super hydrophobic hollow membrane contactor using a mixture of 0.5M HNO3 and 0.5 wt % H2O2 solutions as absorbent. In the experiment, the feed gas flowed through the shell side of the contactor, while absorbent solution flowed through the lumen fibers. Experimental results show that the amount of N2O absorbed and N2O absorption efficiency increased with the absorbent flow rate and the number of fibers in the contactor resulting from the increase in the turbulence and surface area for gas–liquid contact, respectively. The overall mass transfer coefficient and the flux increased with the absorbent flow rate due to the decrease of the mass transfer resistance in the liquid phase. However, the overall mass transfer coefficient and the flux decreased with the number of fibers in the contactor due to the decrease of the absorbent flow rate in a single fiber. The amount of N2O absorbed and the flux increased but the N2O absorption efficiency decreased with increasing the feed gas cross flow rate. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38: 362–366, 2019
Contact ultrasound strengthened far-infrared radiation drying on pear slices: Effects on drying characteristics, microstructure, and quality attributes

Abstract In order to investigate the feasibility and the enhancing effect of contact ultrasound application during far-infrared radiation (FIR) drying, a contact ultrasound strengthened FIR (CUFIR) drying equipment was fabricated and used, and CUFIR drying experiments on pear slices were carried out to explore the synergetic effects of ultrasound power and FIR heating on drying characteristics, microstructure, and quality of dried pear products. The results show that the application of contact ultrasound could be obviously helpful to accelerate internal mass transfer in pear slices and improve the drying rate of FIR drying, and higher ultrasound power could lead to stronger strengthening effect. The enforcing effect of ultrasound increased at higher FIR power, and weakened with the reduction of moisture content during CUFIR drying. The Deff values ranged from 4.76 × 10−10 m2/s to 13.94 × 10−10 m2/s in this study and the increase of both FIR power and ultrasound power had significant and positive influence on the increasing of Deff values. With scanning electrical microscope (SEM), it was observed that the improvement of ultrasound power could enlarge the size of microcapillaries and even generate new micropores and microchannels on the ultrasound-treated surface and in the organism structure of pear slices. The increase of ultrasound power could improve total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoids content (TFC) of pear slices at FIR powers of 100 and 220 W. Yet, the application of contact ultrasound with ultrasound power of 60 W had negative influence on TPC and TFC at FIR power of 340 W. Although the ascorbic acid content (AAC) reduced as FIR powers increased during FIR drying without contact ultrasound assistance, the increase of ultrasound power could improve AAC at all FIR powers. The CUFIR drying at ultrasound power of 60 W and FIR power of 220 W achieved the lowest energy consumption. Therefore, the application of FIR drying combined with contact ultrasound is a promising method to improve drying rate as well as protect product quality.
Tsunami Squares Implementation Changes to Improve Wave Resolution and Accuracy

Tsunami Squares is a computationally lightweight tsunami and inundation simulator which utilizes a unique cellular automata technique. We make modiﬁcations to the underlying algorithm which result in increased accuracy and enhanced waveform resolution. These improvements leave Tsunami Squares well suited for machine learning applications where large pre-computed tsunami simulation databases are required. Previous implementations relied heavily on a smoothing algorithm which acts as a moving average applied to the water surface heights and velocities to eliminate anomalies at every time step. Although this allowed the simulation to function properly, it brings several unwanted eﬀects such as reduced wave detail and lowered energy. A solution is found by shifting the location at which the water surface gradient is calculated, reducing the amount of anomalies in the simulation, and thus lowering the amount of smoothing needed by a factor of $ \ sim 10 $ . Also introduced is a new method to conserve energy locally, compared to previous methods which reference a simulation-wide energy calculation. We make comparison tests were made using
Hepatitis E Virus Quasispecies in Cerebrospinal Fluid with Neurological Manifestations

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection can lead to a variety of neurological disorders. While HEV RNA is known to be present in the central nervous system, HEV quasispecies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have rarely been explored. We studied the virus’ quasispecies in the blood and the CSF of five patients at the onset of their neurological symptoms. The samples of three patients suffering from meningitis, neuralgic amyotrophy and acute inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy were taken at the acute phase of the HEV infection. The samples from the other two patients were taken during the chronic phase (5 years after HEV diagnosis) when they presented with clinical signs of encephalitis. We sequenced at least 20 randomly polyproline regions of the selected virus clones. Phylogenetic analysis of the virus variants in the blood and the CSF revealed no virus compartmentalization for the three acute-phase patients but there was clear evidence of HEV quasispecies compartmentalization in the CSF of the two patients during chronic infection. In conclusion, prolonged infection in the immunocompromised condition can lead to independent virus replication in the liver and the tissues, producing viruses in CSF.
Shifts in Forest Species Composition and Abundance under Climate Change Scenarios in Southern Carpathian Romanian Temperate Forests

The structure and functioning of temperate forests are shifting due to changes in climate. Foreseeing the trajectory of such changes is critical to implementing adequate management practices and defining long-term strategies. This study investigated future shifts in temperate forest species composition and abundance expected to occur due to climate change. It also identified the ecological mechanisms underpinning such changes. Using an altitudinal gradient in the Romanian Carpathian temperate forests encompassing several vegetation types, we explored forest change using the Landis-II landscape model coupled with the PnET ecophysiological process model. We specifically assessed the change in biomass, forest production, species composition and natural disturbance impacts under three climate change scenarios, namely, RCP 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5. The results show that, over the short term (15 years), biomass across all forest types in the altitudinal gradient will increase, and species composition will remain unaltered. In contrast, over the medium and long terms (after 2040), changes in species composition will accelerate, with some species spreading (e.g., Abies alba Mill.) and others declining (e.g., Fagus sylvatica L.), particularly under the most extreme climate change scenario. Some forest types (e.g., Picea abies (L.) karst forests) in the Southern Carpathians will notably increase their standing biomass due to climate change, compared to other types, such as Quercus forests. Our findings suggest that climate change will alter the forest composition and species abundance, with some forests being particularly vulnerable to climate change, e.g., F. sylvatica forests. As far as productivity and forest composition changes are concerned, management practices should accommodate the new conditions in order to mitigate climate change impacts.
Camel Milk and the Prevention of Glucose Cataract, an Organ Culture Study

Purpose : To test if camel milk affects glucose-induced opacity in organ cultured rat and human lenses. Methods : Whole human and rat lenses were cultured in various media containing either 55 mM glucose, camel milk, or a combination of both glucose and milk. Some lenses were cultured in a media containing neither moiety to establish a control. Absorbance spectra of human and rat lenses were measured daily using a visible/ultraviolet light spectrometer. Lens opacities were graded by a blinded grader from photographs taken daily. Aldose reductase activity, catalase activity, glutathione and receptor for advanced glycation end products levels were assayed. Results : The optical density and light scattering intensity of human lenses cultured with glucose were higher after two to four days in organ culture compared with lenses cultured without glucose. Camel milk in the culture media attenuated the glucose-induced increase in optical density, light scattering intensity and opacity grade after two to four days for both human and rat lenses. Aldose reductase activity, catalase activity and glutathione levels were restored but the receptor for advanced glycation end products was similar in rat lenses cultured with glucose compared with those cultured with glucose and camel milk. There were no differences between the assayed moieties in human lenses cultured with glucose or glucose plus milk. Since camel milk restored rat lens glutathione levels, it is possible that camel milk may protect the lens from oxidation and significantly reduce the glucose-induced increase in light scattering of human lenses. Structurally and physiologically, rat lenses are distinct from human lenses, therefore, the rat lens data was highly variable when compared with the human lens data, highlighting the importance of using human lenses in future studies. Conclusions : Camel milk present in the organ culture medium inhibited the glucose-induced opacity in human lenses and restored the amount of glutathione to the same levels of lenses not cultured in glucose. The positive results of the current study leads to future studies to determine the moieties in camel milk that are responsible for cataract inhibition and in vivo studies involving camel milk.
3D Printing of Biomass–Fungi Composite Material: Effects of Mixture Composition on Print Quality

It is known that 3D printing can facilitate greater design flexibility in the printing of custom shapes for packaging and construction applications using biomass–fungi composite materials. The feasibility of this new method was demonstrated by a preliminary experiment, the results of which were reported in a journal publication in 2020. As a follow-up, this paper reports on an experimental study on the relationship between the mixture composition (i.e., the psyllium husk powder content) and print quality using this new method. Four mixtures were prepared by varying the amounts of psyllium husk powder (in grams) added to 400 mL of water. The ratios (g/mL) of psyllium husk powder weight (wp) over volume of water (vw) for the mixtures were 0, 1:40, 2:40, and 3:40. Each mixture also contained 100 g of biomass–fungi material and 40 g of whole wheat flour. The print quality of the samples was evaluated based on the extrudability and shape stability. The results showed that mixtures without any psyllium husk powder were not extrudable. An increase in the ratio of psyllium husk powder to water from 1:40 to 2:40 resulted in improved print quality; however, when the psyllium husk powder to water ratio was increased to 3:40, the extrudability became worse. This phenomenon was explained by analyzing the rheological properties of the mixtures.
TASK SCHEDULING IN CLOUD USING RESISTIVE AND RANKING METAHEURISTIC OPTIMIZATION APPROACH

Cloud computing (CC) is an emergent and revolutionary technological paradigm to facilitate data generation over the networking environment. It is determined as the computing edge where it provides cloud services over the networking point. It assists in handling the delay issues during the task scheduling process. With the advent analysis over the existing approaches, inappropriate task scheduling in cloud computing outcomes in huge delay than the other computing models. Therefore, the actual advantages of cloud computing are attained with the adoption of appropriate task scheduling strategies. However, it is an NP-hard issue and needs effectual and optimal approaches to dealing with resource utilization, response time, and latency at the networking model. This research concentrates on modelling an efficient hybrid optimization approach to overcome the drawbacks of single standard optimization approaches. This work hybridizes the resistive-based Particle swarm Optimization (cid:4666)ℎ𝑟𝑃𝑆𝑂 ) approach with Improved ranking-based Grey wolf optimization ( 𝑖𝑟 (cid:3398) 𝐺𝑊𝑂 ) approach to handle the exploration and exploitation issues over the standard methods. Here, ℎ𝑟 (cid:3398) 𝑃𝑆𝑂 is used to schedule the task among the connected devices, and 𝑖𝑟 (cid:3398) 𝐺𝑊𝑂 helps manage the resources at the device level. The resources are allocated and managed based on the demand generated with the incoming requests in the anticipated model. The ultimate target of this work is to diminish the delay, average response time, and optimal resource utilization by efficiently scheduling the tasks by managing the available resources. The simulation is done with the MATLAB 2016b simulator. The evaluation results show that the anticipated model provides promising outcomes with energy consumption, average response time, execution time, etc. The proposed model shows a better trade-off in contrast to prevailing approaches.
Ethnobotany

The ethnobotany certificate program involves interdisciplinary study of the role of native plants in indigenous cultures. Students will learn about native plants and their uses and ecology in the context of their cultural, social and economic importance by combining scientific and anthropological concepts and methods. The program emphasizes culturally relevant, place-based courses that highlight the ways this information contributes to other fields of study, such as cultural and natural resources management, community development, adaptive resilience, and human health. It is also designed to serve as a bridge to a variety of associate and baccalaureate programs in natural science and liberal arts.
Case Study: Effects of body weight gain and bovine somatotropin treatment of postpartum beef cows on concentrations of IGF-1, insulin, and glucose in blood plasma; luteal activity; and calf growth

ABSTRACT Angus × Hereford cows (2 and 3 yr of age, n = 37) were used to evaluate the effects of postpartum BW gain and treatment with bovine somatotropin (bST) on concentrations of IGF-I, glucose, and insulin in plasma during early lactation; luteal activity; and calf growth. Cows (456 ± 52 kg, BCS = 4.6 ± 0.4) were stratified based on calving date and BCS and randomly assigned to a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial: weight gain ≤0.4 kg/d (MWG) or >0.4 kg/d (HWG) during 24 to 59 d postpartum, injection with bST or saline (CON) on d 31 and 45 postpartum, and 2 or 3 yr of age. Concentrations of IGF-I in plasma before bST treatment were greater (P = 0.02) for HWG compared with MWG cows, and IGF-I was greater (P
Morphological and Structural Studies of ZnO Micro-Nanorod Structures Synthesized Using a Low-Cost Hydrothermal Method

Micro-nanorod structures of zinc oxide (ZnO) have been successfully synthesized via a simple and low-cost hydrothermal method. ZnO solutions with different concentrations of 0.05 and 0.1 M were prepared using zinc nitrate tetrahydrate and hexamethylenetetramine precursors. They were dissolved in aquades and stirred before the hydrothermal process at 95 ° C for 4 hours in an oven. Extensive characterizations using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were conducted on ZnO powder samples. SEM results showed that hexagonally shaped ZnO micro-nanorods were formed with diameters ranging from hundreds of nanometers to several micrometers. The ZnO sample synthesized at 0.05 M was observed to have a better surface morphological structure than the 0.1 M sample. In addition, XRD measurements confirmed that samples exhibited a hexagonal crystal structure of ZnO. Moreover, the calculated crystallite sizes of ZnO using the Debye-Scherrer equation using the full-width half maxima of the XRD peaks were 25.153 nm for the 0.05 M sample and 28.707 nm for the 0.1 M sample. The most prominent growth of ZnO had 101 plane orientation or nonpolar a -plane followed by nonpolar 100 m -plane and 002 polar c -plane orientations. This study offers a simple and low-cost route to produce high-quality ZnO micro-nanorods for use in various electrical and optical devices.
COVID-19 Vaccine Platforms: Challenges and Safety Contemplations

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a pandemic as of March 2020, creating a global crisis and claiming millions of lives. To halt the pandemic and alleviate its impact on society, economy, and public health, the development of vaccines and antiviral agents against SARS-CoV-2 was a dire need. To date, various platforms have been utilized for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development, and over 200 vaccine candidates have been produced, many of which have obtained the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for emergency use. Despite this successful development and licensure, concerns regarding the safety and efficacy of these vaccines have arisen, given the unprecedented speed of vaccine development and the newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 strains and variants. In this review, we summarize the different platforms used for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine development, discuss their strengths and limitations, and highlight the major safety concerns and potential risks associated with each vaccine type.
Evaluation of Shoulder Pain in Outpatient Clinic

Shoulder pain is a common musculoskeletal complaint in primary care practice. Approximately, 20% of the general adult population experience at least one episode of shoulder pain in their lifetime. To understand the condition, it is important to understand the shoulder anatomy. The causes of shoulder pain primarily include, impingement syndrome-rotator cuff disease (impingement syndrome), glenohumeral joint disease (adhesive capsulitis or frozen shoulder), acromioclavicular joint disease, and referred pain. Shoulder pain can be easily diagnosed through analysis of medical history, physical examination, and radiological findings in clinical settings.
Evaluation of Immunogenicity and Efficacy of Fasciola hepatica Tetraspanin 2 (TSP2) Fused to E. coli Heat-Labile Enterotoxin B Subunit LTB Adjuvant Following Intranasal Vaccination of Cattle

Fasciolosis, caused by the liver flukes Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica, is an economically important and globally distributed zoonotic disease. Liver fluke infections in livestock cause significant losses in production and are of particular concern to regions where drug resistance is emerging. Antigens of the F. hepatica surface tegument represent promising vaccine candidates for controlling this disease. Tetraspanins are integral tegumental antigens that have shown partial protection as vaccine candidates against other trematode species. The Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin’s B subunit (LTB) is a potent mucosal adjuvant capable of inducing an immune response to fused antigens. This study investigates the potential of F. hepatica tetraspanin 2 extracellular loop 2 (rFhTSP2) as a protective vaccine antigen and determines if fusion of FhTSP2 to LTB can enhance protection in cattle. Cattle were immunised subcutaneously with rFhTSP2 mixed in the Freund’s adjuvant and intranasally with rLTB-FhTSP2 in saline, accounting for equal molar ratios of tetraspanin in both groups. Vaccination with rFhTSP2 stimulated a strong specific serum IgG response, whereas there was no significant serum IgG response following rLTB-FhTSP2 intranasal vaccination. There was no substantial antigen specific serum IgA generated in all groups across the trial. Contrastingly, after the fluke challenge, a rise in antigen specific saliva IgA was observed in both vaccination groups on Day 42, with the rLTB-FhTSP2 vaccination group showing significant mucosal IgA production at Day 84. However, neither vaccine group showed a significant reduction of fluke burden nor faecal egg output. These results suggest that intranasal vaccination with rLTB-FhTSP2 does elicit a humoral mucosal response but further work is needed to evaluate if mucosal delivery of liver fluke antigens fused to LTB is a viable vaccine strategy.