Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genomic Selection and Genome-Wide Association Studies for Grain Protein Content Stability in a Nested Association Mapping Population of Wheat

Grain protein content (GPC) is controlled by complex genetic systems and their interactions and is an important quality determinant for hard spring wheat as it has a positive effect on bread and pasta quality. GPC is variable among genotypes and strongly influenced by the environment. Thus, understanding the genetic control of wheat GPC and identifying genotypes with improved stability is an important breeding goal. The objectives of this research were to identify genetic backgrounds with less variation for GPC across environments and identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling the stability of GPC. A spring wheat nested association mapping (NAM) population of 650 recombinant inbred lines (RIL) derived from 26 diverse founder parents crossed to one common parent, ‘Berkut’, was phenotyped over three years of field trials (2014–2016). Genomic selection models were developed and compared based on predictions of GPC and GPC stability. After observing variable genetic control of GPC within the NAM population, seven RIL families displaying reduced marker-by-environment interaction were selected based on a stability index derived from a Finlay–Wilkinson regression. A genome-wide association study identified eighteen significant QTLs for GPC stability with a Bonferroni-adjusted p-value < 0.05 using four different models and out of these eighteen QTLs eight were identified by two or more GWAS models simultaneously. This study also demonstrated that genome-wide prediction of GPC with ridge regression best linear unbiased estimates reached up to r = 0.69. Genomic selection can be used to apply selection pressure for GPC and improve genetic gain for GPC.
A Distributed Ant Colony Optimization in Edge Detection

With the rise of image data and increased complexity of tasks in edge detection, conventional artificial intelligence techniques have been severely impacted. To be able to solve even greaterproblems of the future, learning algorithms must maintain high speed and accuracy through economical means. Traditional edge detection approaches cannot detect edges in images in a timely manner due to memory and computational time constraints. In this work, a novel parallelized ant colony optimization technique in a distributed framework provided by the Hadoop/Map-Reduce infrastructure is proposed to improve the edge detection capabilities. Moreover, a filtering technique is applied to reduce the noisy background of images to achieve significant improvement in the accuracy of edge detection. Close examinations of the implementation of the proposed algorithm are discussed and demonstrated through experiments. Results reveal high classification accuracy and significant improvementsin speedup, scaleup and sizeup compared to the standard algorithms.
PSYCHOMETRIC EVALUATION OF THE TURKISH VERSION OF THE COVID-19 INDUCED ANXIETY SCALE AND PROTECTIVE BEHAVIORS TOWARDS COVID-19 SCALE

The purpose of the present study was to adapt COVID-19 Induced Anxiety Scale (CIAS) and Protective Behaviors towards COVID-19 Scale (PBCS) into Turkish language, and to investigate their psychometric properties. 593 adults participated in the study. Data were collected through CIAS and PBCS as well as The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCS). Cronbach alpha (α) and McDonald’s Omega (ω) coefficients were utilized for reliability of the Turkish forms of the scales, and validity of the scales was tested with exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and criterion validity. The analysis showed that α and ω reliability coefficients of both scales were over . 70. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that CIAS had a single factor structure while PBCS had three dimensions as indicated in original forms of the scales. Significant and positive relationships were also found between the scores obtained from CIAS and PBCS and fear scores. To conclude, Turkish forms of CIAS and PBCS were proved to be valid and reliable tools to measure severity of COVID-19 induced anxiety through CIAS and individuals’ protective behaviors towards COVID-19 through PBCS.
Performance of 256-QAM system in the presence of phase jitter and co-channel interference

The symbol error rates (SERs) for a 256-QAM system in the presence of sinusoidal co-channel interference, noise and non-perfect carrier recovery are determined. Ii is shown lhai the combined effect is a significant increase in SERs, and lhe SERs are shown as a function of carrier-phase jitter variance (σ2 ψ) and signal-to-noise ratio, parametrized by a carrier-to-inierference raiio.
Pigmented purpuric dermatoses versus purpuric mycosis fungoides: Clinicopathologic similarities and new insights into dermoscopic features

The diagnosis of purpuric mycosis fungoides (PMF) is often challenging to be clinically differentiated from inflammatory diseases such as pigmented purpuric dermatosis (PPD). Dermoscopy as a non‐invasive method can be employed for the visualisation of features invisible to the naked eye.
Evaluating the impact of midwestern cropping systems on soil health and soil carbon dynamics

Crop producers are becoming more interested in improving the health of their soils. The effects of cropping practices on soil health have been studied extensively, but much uncertainty remains. This study investigated the impacts of standard midwestern US agronomic practices on soil health indicators. The Soil Management Assessment Framework was used to quantify soil quality index (SQI) scores for each system. Corn–soybean (Zea mays L.–Glycine max L.) rotations received 168 kg N ha–1 applied prior to corn. Treatments were the following: spring-applied urea ammonium nitrogen (SU168), fall-applied manure (FM) in no-till (NT) for 2 years (FM168NT2), FM with 10 years of NT and cereal rye (Secale cereale) cover crop (FM168NT10+R), and FM with 38 years of NT management (FM168NT38). Continuous corn (CC) treatments had FM applied annually at 224 kg N ha–1 with eight years of stover removal (FM224CC-S) and with no stover removal (FM224CC). Soil cores were taken to a depth of 15 cm in the spring of 2017 and analyzed for total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), water-stable aggregates (WSA), bulk density (BD), and potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN). Results showed that FM168NT38 and FM224CC had significantly greater TC and TN than other treatments. There were minimal treatment differences in total WSA > 0.212 mm. No significant differences in PMN were found. Bulk density levels were significantly higher in NT treatments. The FM224CC and FM224CC-S treatments had the highest SQI scores, and FM168NT10+R had the lowest SQI score due to having higher BD and lower TC. Results suggest that the effect of cropping practices on some near-surface soil health indicators may be small and difficult to quantify. This study also demonstrated the need to adjust management to minimize compaction and maximize yield and soil health in cover-cropped systems. The study also monitored soil TC levels to a depth of 120 cm from 2007 through 2017. The rate of change in TC over time at a given depth did not differ between treatments. Total C levels did not change significantly to a depth of 15 cm. Significant increases in TC were found in all treatments except FM224CC-S at 30 to 60 cm and 90 to 120 cm depths, and in all treatments at 60 to 90 cm depth. These results suggest that C accumulation deep in the soil profile may be typical in midwestern cropping systems. Deep sampling to ≥100 cm is needed to capture the complete picture of soil C dynamics to assess soil C accumulation potential.
READING POVERTY IN MODERNIST LITERATURE: RIFFATERRIAN SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS ON T.S ELIOT'S MORNING AT THE WINDOW

Abstract: The idea of poverty as the theme has been recurrently used in literature. However, it is rarely come across in Modernist Literature. Accordingly, this study examines poverty as the theme, which is also the main issue in a poem written by T.S. Eliot entitled Morning at the Window. To dive deep into the main issue of the poem, it uses a close-reading method. It focuses on how the text of the poem represents the main issue in which the poem tries to convey. To come into the results of the study, three aspects from Semiotics of Poetry by Michael Riffaterre are used, which are unsustainable expressions, heuristic and hermeneutic reading, and matrix. Analyzing these three aspects, the results show that the representation of poverty as the main issue is evidently stated. The diction in the poem successfully creates the images and set the tone that correlates with poverty.
Decision Support System in a Memristor-Based Mobile CIM Architecture Applied on Big Data Computation and Storage

Data computation and storage are essential parts of developing big data applications. The memristor device technology could remove the speed and energy efficiency bottleneck in the existing data processing. The present experimental work investigates the decision support system in a new architecture, computation-in-memory (CIM) architecture, which can be utilized to store and process big data in the same physical location at a faster rate. The decision support system is used for data computation and storage, with the aims of helping memory units read, write, and erase data and supporting their decisions under big data communication ambiguities. Data communication is realized within the crossbar by the support of peripheral controller blocks. The feasibility of the CIM architecture, adaptive read, write, and erase methods, and memory accuracy were investigated. The integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) simulation results show that the proposed CIM architecture has the potential of improving the computing efficiency, energy consumption, and performance area by at least two orders of magnitude. CIM architecture may be used to mitigate big data processing limits caused by the conventional computer architecture and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistor process technologies.
Promising Roles of Exosomal microRNAs in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototypic autoimmune disease characterized by the loss of immune tolerance. Lupus nephritis (LN) is still a major cause of the morbidity and mortality of SLE. In clinical practice, diagnosis, and therapy of SLE is complicated and challenging due to lack of ideal biomarkers. Exosomes could be detected from numerous kinds of biological fluids and their specific contents are considered as hallmarks of autoimmune diseases. The exosomal miRNA profiles of SLE/LN patients significantly differ from those of the healthy controls making them as attractive biomarkers for renal injury. Exosomes are considered as optimal delivery vehicles owing to their higher stable, minimal toxicity, lower immunogenicity features and specific target effects. Endogenous miRNAs can be functionally transferred by exosomes from donor cells to recipient cells, displaying their immunomodulatory effects. In addition, it has been confirmed that exosomal miRNAs could directly interact with Toll-like receptors (TLRs) signaling pathways to regulate NF-κB activation and the secretion of inflammatory cytokines. The present Review mainly focuses on the immunomodulatory effects of exosomal-miRNAs, the complex interplay between exosomes, miRNAs and TLR signaling pathways, and how the exosomal-miRNAs can become non-invasive diagnostic molecules and potential therapeutic strategies for the management of SLE.
Inflammatory Mediation of Heat Stress-Induced Growth Deficits in Livestock and Its Potential Role as a Target for Nutritional Interventions: A Review

Simple Summary Heat stress is a persistent challenge for livestock producers. Molecular changes throughout the body that result from sustained heat stress slow muscle growth and thus are detrimental to carcass yield and value. Feedlot animals are at particularly high risk for heat stress because their confinement limits their ability to pursue shade and other natural cooling behaviors. Changes in infrastructure to reduce the impact of heat stress are often cost-prohibitive, but recent studies have revealed that anti-inflammatory therapies may help to improve growth deficits in heat-stressed animals. This review describes the conditions that cause heat stress and explains the role of inflammation in muscle growth impairment. Additionally, it discusses the potential for several natural anti-inflammatory dietary additives to improve muscle growth outcomes in heat-stressed livestock. Abstract Heat stress is detrimental to well-being and growth performance in livestock, and systemic inflammation arising during chronic heat stress contributes to these poor outcomes. Sustained exposure of muscle and other tissues to inflammation can impair the cellular processes that facilitate muscle growth and intramuscular fat deposition, thus reducing carcass quality and yield. Climate change is expected to produce more frequent extreme heat events, increasing the potential impact of heat stress on sustainable livestock production. Feedlot animals are at particularly high risk for heat stress, as confinement limits their ability to seek cooling from the shade, water, or breeze. Economically practical options to circumvent heat stress in feedlot animals are limited, but understanding the mechanistic role of inflammation in heat stress outcomes may provide the basis for treatment strategies to improve well-being and performance. Feedlot animals receive formulated diets daily, which provides an opportunity to administer oral nutraceuticals and other bioactive products to mitigate heat stress-induced inflammation. In this review, we examine the complex associations between heat stress, systemic inflammation, and dysregulated muscle growth in meat animals. We also present evidence for potential nutraceutical and dietary moderators of inflammation and how they might improve the unique pathophysiology of heat stress.
Role of Smoking in Male Infertility

Objectives: Cigarette smoking is associated with subfertility in males and may lead to a decrease in sperm concentration, lower sperm motility, and a reduced percentage of morphologically normal sperms. The objective of the study is to find out the effect of smoking with semen parameters and the relationship between amount of cigarette smoking and semen parameters. Method: This is a hospital-based cohort study conducted in the Infertility clinics of NEIGRIHMS from December 2019 for a period of 1year. 254 male partners were enrolled for the study. Routine semen analysis was carried out under light microscopy according to WHO guidelines.2010. Data was analysed to find out relation of smoking with semen parameters and the relationship between amount of cigarette smoking per day and semen parameters by using SPSS Software Version 21. Result: In the one-year period we had 140 cases of non-smoker and 114 cases of smokers. On analysis of the findings of sperm count, smokers have relative risk of 2.45 of getting oligozoospermia (p value=0.0005). Smokers have relative risk of 1.5 of having total motility <50%. For progressive motility, smokers have relative risk of 2.01 of getting progressive motility<32%. No dose relationship with abnormal semen parameter. Conclusion: Smoking affected sperm count, and total and progressive motility but there was no dose and effect relationship between number of cigarettes per day and its affect on semen parameter.
The Combination of Virtual and Reality on Road Design

With the rapid development of electronic information technology, computer technology, and space technology, the highway surveying technology and virtual scene in the design of the road become more and more important. The traditional road survey and design is mainly the flat-type design. The design made in this way is the two-dimensional one. Only by making the design to a road can we see the overall effect of the road design. The theoretical basis of the research will be found from the original road survey and the static graphic design will be made into a dynamic visual design by the use of model software. Through the concept of conversion, we can make the static design of the road into the dynamic design. By modeling the design and dynamically analyzing, we can analyze, improve and modify it when imitating the dynamic design. This is a modification of the virtual kind and can timely, accurately analyze the quality of the outcome of the study design. Therefore, the combination of virtuality and reality of the road design will become the mainstream trend.
Minimisation of interference effects in thyristor converters by feedback/ forward control

In industrial closed-loop control systems such as thyristor current converters, good system quality can be difficult to obtain, for example, because of the lack of complete compensation of interference by the feedback arrangement. This paper describes an application to such equipment of Feedback/Forward Control (FBFC), which can implement optimum regulation provided that the regulated output and the open-loop transfer function are both stable. The basic premise of the control scheme considered here is that, since there is zero steady-state error between reference and feedback signals, it is possible to replace the feedback circuit by a digital controller having a number of inputs; when the reference or feedback signal varies, the output of the controller will then follow the change, and the system output can reach a new steady-state with a minimum time lag (optimum regulation). FBFC achieves accurate system regulation by combining the usual advantages of feedback control with the anticipatory properties of feedforward control.
Ocular bulb as a matrix of selection in detection of clenbuterol: an effective monitoring in breeding turkey

Clenbuterol is a 2-agonist licensed in Europe solely as a muscle relaxant in pregnant cattle, usually during calf delivery, and for tocolysis and treatment of respiratory diseases in horses. Different use in animals is considered illegal because this growth promoter can endanger human health. The aim of this work was to monitor the presence of clenbuterol in a not official and inedible matrix (where there is strong evidence of its potential accumulation), as ocular bulb, collected in 2007-2009 from turkeys at public slaughterhouses in Central-Northern Italy. The 280 collected samples were analysed with a new and effective method of extraction and purification based on HPLC analysis with UV-DAD detection. The average extraction recoveries were 80.60 ± 1.57%. All the samples were below the quantification limit (0.010 µg/mL). At 95% confidence level the percentage of positive turkeys breeding-farms was below 14%. This allows extending positive evaluations on the safety of edible tissues of Italian turkey.
Frequency offset estimation in OFDM systems using Bayesian filtering

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is sensitive to carrier frequency offset (CFO) that causes inter-carrier interference (ICI). In this paper, we present two schemes for the CFO estimation, which are based on rejection sampling (RS) and a form of particle filtering (PF) called kernel smoothing technique, respectively. The first scheme is offline estimation, where the observations contained in the OFDM training symbol are treated in the batch mode. The second scheme is online estimation, where the observations in the OFDM training symbol are treated in the sequential manner. Simulations are provided to illustrate the performances of the schemes. Performance comparisons of the two schemes and with other Bayesian methods are provided. Simulation results show that the two schemes are effective when estimating the CFO and can effectively combat the effect of ICI in OFDM systems.
Introduction to the JGME Literature Review Series.

G raduate medical education (GME) is a rich and diverse field; our scholarly questions reflect that diversity. Imagine a program director during COVID-19 restrictions who wants to learn more about virtual residency selection practices. Imagine an administrator who feels apprehensive about an upcoming accreditation visit and needs to learn more about best practices. Imagine a surgery resident who is concerned about issues of equity in the operating room and wants to create a more inclusive learning environment. In each of these cases an initial step is to turn to the literature, to learn what has been done and the current thinking on a topic. In other words, it is best to explore the literature when embarking on a new GME project. If you are lucky, you may find a literature review on your topic.
Modeling and design of multi-loop closed loop controller for Z-source inverter for Distributed Generation

This paper presents the modelling and designing of a multi loop controller for Z-source inverters used in distributed generation systems. Z-source inverter is recently proposed converter capable of operating in buck and boost modes. Hence it is more suitable for DG applications over the other alternative converter topologies. When employing the Z-source inverter in DG applications, closed loop controlling is necessary to achieve good reference tacking and disturbance rejection properties. Hence this paper focuses on developing such closed loop controllers. The system was modelled mathematically and transfer functions were obtained. Closed loop controllers were designed by considering Z-source inverter as a combination of VSI and boost converter. Proposed controllers would minimize the effects of non-minimum phase characteristics present in the DC side and a cushioning method was employed to mitigate the transferring of DC side disturbances into the AC side. Proper operation and validity of designed controller was proved with simulations in Matlab/Simulink and experiments carried out using a laboratory prototype.
Adaptive Closed-Loop Control on an Atmospheric Gaseous Lean-Premixed Combustor

Active control of pressure oscillations has been successfully applied to a lean premixed prevapourised (LPP) combustion rig operating at atmospheric conditions. The design of the rig is based on the primary stage of the Rolls-Royce RB211-DLE industrial gas turbine. Control was achieved by modulating the fuel flow rate in response to a measured pressure signal. The feedback control is an adaptive, model-based self-tuning regulator (STR), which only requires the total time delay between actuation and response to achieve control. The STR algorithm achieves a reduction of up to 30 dB on the primary instability frequency. This performance was an improvement of 5–15 dB over an empirical control strategy (simple time-delay controller) specifically tuned to the same operating point. Initial robustness studies have shown that the STR retains control for a 20% change in frequency and a 23% change in air mass flow rate.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
INTERACTIVE OPTIMIZATION METHODOLOGY FOR FLEET SCHEDULING

Abstract : This paper addresses the problem of scheduling the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet to overseas strategic requirements. The requirements are unique in a scheduling context in that the start and stop times to process them are fixed advance. An integer programming formulation for the problem is developed. However, the integer program is too large to optimally solve. This fact and the subjective nature of additional secondary objectives and constraints suggest an interactive optimization approach. A system which solves a relaxation of the integer program within an interactive environment is discussed.