bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Resistance Genes of Oryza sativa for Protection Against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, the Causative Agent of Bacterial Leaf Blight
Authors: Horgan Katelyn Joy , Henderson Jeffrey Odell
Published: September 2020

Rice (Oryza sativa) is a major staple crop around the world, particularly in developing regions such as Africa and Asia.  Attack of the rice crop by pathogens has the capacity to greatly diminish crop yield with major agricultural, economical and human consequences.  Xanthomonas orzyza pv. oryzae (Xoo), the causative agent of bacterial leaf blight, has the ability to cause substantial crop loss, up to 80% worldwide.  Genetic sources of resistance have long been considered the most sustainable method of disease control, both from an environmental and agricultural perspective.  This review considers the discovery, evolution, characterization and utilization of resistance genes (R genes) in rice against Xoo. R genes for Xoo are plentiful and exist at multiple loci throughout the rice genome due to multiple gene duplication and transposition events.  The presence of multiple gene loci makes gene pyramiding and resistance stacking accessible and fruitful applications in breeding for resistance.  Biotechnological approaches to take advantage of R gene function have also begun to take root.  However, a more global and concerted effort to study the multiple varieties and climates in which rice is grown is required in order to truly attain food security and find sustainable resistance.
Foreign language and Decision-making Biases: A Brief Exploration of the Relationship Between Emotions, using a Foreign Language, and Decision-making
Authors: Hussein Mohamed
Published: September 2020

Contrary to what traditional normative decision-making models claim, a change in how a given problem is framed influences the outcome of the decision-making process. Neurological research has shown that during this so-called framing effect, brain structures that are typically associated with the emotional system are activated, suggesting an emotional dimension to the processes that underlie heuristic biases. Recent studies have also shown that thinking in a foreign language can reduce physiological responses typically associated with emotional reactions. This research paper explores the relationship between using a foreign language, emotions, and decision-making in order to determine whether using a foreign language can reduce decision-making biases. More specifically, this paper reasons that using a foreign language can reduce some heuristic biases provided that the given problem is emotionally-laden.
Motivational Media and Academic Success
Authors: Grant Nicolle
Published: September 2020

Motivating students to do well in courses that fail to interest them can be challenging. The current study was designed to assess the potential impact of priming motivational media on academic performance. Students in six sections of introductory psychology courses (n = 128) completed a quiz after watching a 4 minute inspirational video (experimental group, n = 63), or without watching the video (control group, n = 65). The video selected showed scenes of individuals pushing their limits in all aspects of life and a commentary of a motivational commencement speech by Arnold Schwarzenegger given to college graduates. After completing the quiz participants were given a survey with questions pertaining to their motivation, positive and negative emotions, demographics, and their reactions to the video. Students who were primed by the video reported greater academic motivation and planned to study more for the next quiz than students who did not watch the video. Females reported lower GPA and lower positive emotions in the experimental condition. While there was not an overall effect of the video on quiz scores, male students who watched the video performed 10% better on the quiz than males in the control condition. Implications of these findings suggest that motivational information may be beneficial in inspiring academic performance in certain circumstances.
Physical, Unconscious, and Non-physical Factors of Attraction
Authors: Nadelkov Ciara
Published: September 2020

Attraction is defined in many ways, and there is general idea that men and women have particular preferences in mates regarding physical attractiveness. Studies have found that physically, men prefer women with both a small waist and hips, and women prefer men with taller and more brawny bodies than themselves. However, there are unconscious factors, such as assessing a human leukocyte antigen complex through sense of smell, which many are not aware of. The most influential factor on attractiveness ratings is personality; while many are aware of their preference for a particular personality, it is less apparent than physical attractiveness preferences. Various assessments, physical, unconscious, and non-physical, form the foundation for ratings of interpersonal attraction.
An Ethical Assessment on the Management of Sika Deer in Scotland; With Particular Reference to Hybridisation with Native Red Deer
Authors: Malcolm Sarah
Published: September 2020

Globalisation and invasive alien species (IAS) are creating current and damaging effects worldwide. Wildlife management is necessary to preserve the biodiversity of our global flora and fauna, whilst balancing the needs of people with those of wildlife. It is imperative to work to achieve the optimal management strategy on various levels from financial, to ethical and practical. The genetic integrity of Scotland’s native red deer is threatened, following the introduction of sika deer and subsequent hybridisation. This review summarises the problems and potential management strategies associated, as a case study for IAS policy. ?
Transformation of Knights with Magic
Authors: Strong Tanner
Published: September 2020

This paper explores the idea of how fairies were able to shape the identities of knights within the medieval time period. It will discuss two main fairies, Morgan le Fay and the fairy from Marie de France's Lanval. A history of magic is reviewed to have a better understanding of what witches and an enchantresses were like in this time period followed by a disucssion of a fairy's true role in society at that time.
Media Influences on Body Image Dissatisfaction: the Moderating Role of Collectivism vs. Individualism
Authors: Du Yu
Published: September 2020

Body image is a multidimensional construct that reflects attitudes and perceptions about an individual’s physical appearance under the cultural norms and ideals rather than on actual body dimension. Previous research argues that body image problems are linked to many potentially harmful behaviors and mental illnesses, such as obsessive exercise, low self-esteem, substance abuse and eating disorders. Early study primarily focuses on analyzing and comparing body image dissatisfaction of women in particular countries. However, cross-cultural studies need to move on from simply comparing the absolute levels to investigating the relationships between several variables. It is still unclear about the influences of specific cultures, namely collectivism vs. individualism, on both thin-ideal media effect and body image dissatisfaction. There is no integrated research analyzing how various levels of acculturation and different cultures interact, thus further influencing women’s body image dissatisfaction. The underlying psychological mechanisms that resulted from acculturation are still less explored. Current study hypothesized that thin-ideal media exposure increases women’s body image dissatisfaction. Additionally, thin-ideal media and cultures were predicted to interact. Collectivist group with high acculturation differed from the collectivist group with low acculturation and fell close to the individualist group in body image dissatisfaction. Thus, researcher predicted that thin-ideal media effects on body image dissatisfaction were stronger for females in collectivist group with low acculturation than for the other two culture groups. In general, women living in the collectivistic societies would report more body image dissatisfaction than those living in the individualistic societies. This study used a 3 x 2 x 2 mixed design to examine the moderating role of collectivism vs. individualism on media influences on body image dissatisfaction among 133 female college students, aged from 18 to 23 years old, attending the University of Texas at Austin. The results indicated that thin-ideal media significantly increased women’s body image dissatisfaction, whereas healthy media decreased women’s body image dissatisfaction. In general, women living in the collectivistic society reported more body image dissatisfaction than women living in the individualistic society. Contrary to the prediction, body image dissatisfaction of women in the collectivistic group with high acculturation did not differ from those in the collectivistic group with low acculturation. Therefore, the moderating role of acculturation was not found.
Marriage in Cinema
Authors: Varghese Priju
Published: September 2020

Marriage is a topic that has been dealt by Hollywood since the beginning of motion pictures. Even though the subject of marriage seems to be banal, there is a wide diversity in how people lead their married lives. Factors such as culture, religion, education, and history have major influences on the perception and definition of marriage. Hollywood, which has always been deft to notice the evolution in marriage, has accurately portrayed them through the use of movies. Through this paper, the researcher intends to chart the development in the concept of marriage through cinema over the past century.
Treating a Dysregulated JAK/STAT Pathway in Cancer Cells
Authors: Schieler Jarod M. , Henderson Jeffrey O.
Published: September 2020

The JAK/STAT pathway is induced by the binding of a cytokine to its cognate receptor. The receptor’s engagement with the cytokine recruits a JAK protein, which activates itself via auto/trans-phosphorylation. In turn, the activated JAKs recruit and phosphorylate STAT proteins. The phosphorylated STAT proteins form a dimer, translocate to the cell nucleus and acts as a transcription factor to induce gene expression. In this way, the JAK/STAT pathway can mediate a cell’s response to extracellular signals. The proteins ultimately induced by the JAK/STAT pathway contribute to processes such as inflammatory response, differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. When the JAK/STAT pathway becomes dysregulated, proto-oncogenes and/or tumor-suppressor genes are often inappropriately expressed, commonly resulting in oncogenesis. This review discusses how SOCS, PIAS, and PTPS proteins modulate the JAK/STAT pathway ensuring that it remains cyclic and transient.  The use of jakibins, STAT inhibitors, decoy oligonucleotides, RNA interference and genome editing to synthetically regulate a dysregulated JAK/STAT pathway in cancer cells are also considered.
Efficacy of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Pharmacotherapy on Adolescent Obesity
Authors: Grassi Danielle , Forsyth Cassidy , Teramoto Masaru , Rompolski Krista
Published: September 2020

Adolescent obesity is an urgent health issue in the U.S., and is a precursor to many physiological and psychological conditions. There are different treatment options for adolescent obesity, and it is important for the general public to understand the benefits and risks associated with the particular treatments. This paper focuses on two treatment options for adolescent obesity, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT; type of psychological therapy) and Orlistat (medication for obesity), and discusses the effectiveness of each treatment for adolescent obesity. CBT focuses on the behaviors that are associated with the development and maintenance of obesity, while Orlistat targets the physiologic mechanisms of obesity. It appears that while both treatments may be effective for obesity, in general, CBT could help adolescents make lifestyle changes that are more beneficial in long-term mental and physical health. Additionally, when CBT is combined with Orlistat to initiate weight loss, which is then maintained by CBT alone, it could have the greater treatment effects.
The Genetics, Current Research, and Future Treatment of Alport Syndrome
Authors: Kikis Elise Alexandra , Williams Emily Holland
Published: September 2020

Alport syndrome is a type IV collagen disease that affects the glomerular basement membrane of approximately one in every 5000 people. The disease was first described by A. Cecil Alport in 1927 as “a dominantly inherited hereditary nephritis.” The three genotypes of the disease are X-linked dominant, autosomal recessive, and autosomal dominant. The X-linked dominant genotype is the most common, accounting for 80% of all cases of Alport syndrome, affecting mainly men. The autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant types affect men and women equally. Alport syndrome is caused by mutations on the COL4A3, COL4A4, and COL4A5 genes, which code the ?3, ?4, and ?5 (IV) chains that make up type IV collagen molecules, an important component of basement membranes. Thus, Alport syndrome results in malformed basement membranes, with symptoms including renal impairment, hematuria, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, and an abnormal structure of the glomerular basement membrane. Alport syndrome also often progresses to end-stage renal disease, especially in men with X-linked Alport syndrome. At this point, there is no cure for Alport syndrome. However, there are many successful treatments for its symptoms. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are often given to patients in the early stages of Alport syndrome. For patients with end-stage renal disease, dialysis or kidney transplants are considered the best course of action.
Sex and longevity: Why women live longer than men.
Authors: Peck Milagros S. , Porter Amber T , Hayes Breanna D , Otieno Dammah , Hargrove Angelina J , Mayhand Cynethia C , Johnson Anisa I , Brown Lynda M
Published: September 2020

Sex differences in lifespan exist in most countries in the world, with women outliving men. This difference has existed for as long as records have been kept.  This gap is not a uniquely human phenomenon; it exists in many animals as well.  This is an important health issue that is not fully understood.  Aging is a complex process.  In this review we will examine the scientific basis for sex differences by focusing on four hypotheses that begin with examining why women are different from men.  Men and women differ in our DNA.  Women have two X chromosomes and men have an X and Y sex chromosome.  Women have a second copy of the genes on the X chromosome which could be protective.  Other hypotheses focus on the physiological difference between the sexes that result from the ratio of our sex hormones.  Estrogen physiology changes women’s body shape, affects the major organs like the heart and as a result impacts longevity.  Sex differences in longevity are important because this becomes a lens for us to examine nutrition, health and wellness.
Hypothalamic Amenorrhea: Causes, Complications, & Controversies
Authors: Collins Taylor , Rompolski Krista L
Published: September 2020

Hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA) is considered a reversible condition characterized by the absence of menses for 3 months or more, due to suppressed secretions of gonadotropin releasing hormone affecting the entire hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. HA can be triggered by excessive stress, weight loss or excessive exercise, however, the etiology is still largely unknown. Serious, long-term complications include severe hypoestrogenism and infertility, in addition to a variety of hormonal aberrations. Hypoestrogenism also leads to diminished bone health, cardiovascular problems, and mood changes that lead to a higher prevalence of depression and anxiety. It is important that HA is diagnosed in a timely manner in order to begin therapeutic strategies that aim to resume menses and return to normal levels of circulating reproductive hormones. When attempts to resume menstruation naturally through lifestyle changes are unsuccessful, other pharmaceutical options are available. Treatment options range from estrogen-replacement therapy to the administration of gonadotropin releasing hormone, depending on the reproductive goals of the woman. More research is needed on novel treatments in order to determine the most effective standard of care.
A Test of Soccer Cleats Compared to Football Cleats during Football Speed and Agility Drills: Do Soccer Cleats Make You Faster or More Agile?
Authors: Mardis Benjamin R , Gassmann Caanan G , Senchina David S
Published: September 2020

Background: Football players have many options in cleat styles and designs today.  Skill position players especially may opt for soccer cleats over football cleats in the belief that the soccer cleats will help them run faster.  Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare soccer cleats to football cleats during common American football field drills.  Methods: Sixteen young adult males performed a circuit of four American football speed and agility drills (forty yd-dash, ladder drill, 5-10-5-drill, and six-route route tree) in both soccer and football cleats.  Performance measures (such as time or steps) were recorded for each drill.  Subjects were asked to score the shoes in terms of comfort, heaviness, stability, and traction at various times.  Results: Two significant differences were found as a result of this study. Out route times (seconds) were significantly different between football cleats and soccer cleats. The other significant difference occurred in the perceived heaviness of each cleat.  Conclusion: This study found minimal difference between football and soccer cleats in performance and perception. Participants in this study showed split preferences as to which cleat was better for performance. Of four studied perceptual outcomes, only the heaviness perception was significantly different. This was further backed by performance data that had only one significant difference among seventeen performance-associated measurements.
The Search for Meaning and the Conundrum of Authority in The Castle
Authors: Lee Kenneth K. , Ross David
Published: September 2020

Franz Kafka’s deliberation on the nature of authority in The Castle leads to the conclusion that though authority cannot be escaped, authority fosters communalism and facilitates interpersonal communication.  Kafka’s titular Castle is an impenetrable, oftentimes nonsensical authority, but its inefficient bureaucracy does not lessen its power and instead strengthens it.  Under its influence, K. undertakes a religious enterprise towards accepting the impenetrability of authority.
The Effects of Creatine on Blood Pressure Before, and After High Intensity Training
Authors: Schmitz Jacob , Jakes Tyler
Published: September 2020

It is known that systolic blood pressure (SBP) drops five to seven mmHg for 22 hours immediately after a workout in individuals the have moderate hypertension, and that in individuals with optimal blood pressure (BP), one can expect to see a drop of four to five mmHg for over the following 22 hours. Creatine (CRE), one of the most recognized supplemental aids to enhance performance of high-intensity exercise, has convincingly substantiated its ergogenic potential (Naderi et al. 2016). However, little has been researched on the connection between creatine and blood pressure. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of CRE on BP after a bout of high intensity strength training on Division III football players at Gustavus Adolphus College. This study is a one sample research design. Each athlete had their blood pressure measured four total times. One resting BP was taken before the consumption of CRE and the other was taken 18-22 hours after the consumption of creatine. The same was done when each subject participated in the control group as well. The subjects were given the creatine or placebo (control) at random for their first trial and then given the opposite for the second trial one week later. The independent variable was consumption of CRE. The dependent variables were SBP and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The difference in SBP and DBP between the trials were calculated and analyzed using a paired sample t-test. Results showed that CRE trial BPs were slightly higher than in control trials although the difference was not significant (p<0.05). The results of the study gave a better understanding of the effects of CRE on BP after a high intensity strength training session.
An Economic Exploration of Mining Industry of Northern Minnesota
Authors: Dambii Undralsaikhan , Mahjabeen Rubana
Published: September 2020

Iron ore minining industry plays a big role in northern Minnesota. It contributes around 30 percent of the regional GDP. In recent time many of these regional mining companies are laying off their employees. China is one of the largest economies of the world. As such it has great impact on world’s economy. This exploratory study investigates if there is some connection between Chinese economic slowdown and regional mining layoffs. For this purpose this paper uses relevant news articles, academic papers, expert interviews and data from various secondary sources. According to the findings of this study multiple factors including slowdown of Chinese economy, steel dumping by China, rising world production of iron ore, low U.S. domestic demand of iron ore, low iron ore price, and, natural resource boombust cycle can be utilized in explaining these regional mining layoffs.
Countermeasures for Dysregulation of the Immune System of Astronauts During Prolonged Space Flights
Authors: Barrientos Bethany Dawn
Published: September 2020

NASA/National Space Gant College/Oklahoma Space Grant Consortia /Langston University/ Langston University NASA Advanced Research in Biology Center (LUNAR-BC)/ Langston University (STEM) Science Technology Engineering and Math Langston University STEM Team Langston University STEM team technicians are building a real sounding rocket/biology experiment payload; they will integrate and launch it on a two-stage Terrier-Orion rocket into outer space, and will design and manufacture a clinostat (rotating microgravity machine) and use it as a ground biology comparison experiment. Payload Control Sensor System Project Technician Leaders: Kameron Gibson, CADD. Project Technicians Lily Amber Martin, Bio. Brendon Wilkinson, Elec. Raechel Martin, CADD. Nicholas Grace, CS Moin Muhammad Khalil, Math Geiger Counter 8 GB SD Card Memory, 0-15 PSI Pressure Sensor, and Temperature Sensor, 3-Axis Gyroscope, 3-Axis Accelerometer in Low and Medium Range, 1-Axis Accelerometer in High Range, Humidity Sensor, and shield with all sub system printed circuit boards, Arduino, Code, and Calibration. Plate, Mechanical, Canister, Electrical, and Rocket Integration Payload Biology Experiment Effects of microgravity on the immune system. Human immune cells will be subjected to microgravity environment for six minutes. Payload Biology Experiment Integration (RockSat-C) Ground Biology Comparison Experiment (Clinostat) Project Technician Leaders: Celicia Kinlow, CADD Project Technicians Jordan McClellan, Elec. Micaiah, Tripplett, CADD. Rosalba Z. White, Bio Moin Muhammad Khalil, Math Researchers will simulate microgravity by using a clinostat (rotating microgravity machine) that will keep a constant speed. The clinostat will hold a biological experiment inside a vial, placed at the center of the rings which are suspended in the middle of a media growth liquid and will be spinning on 3-axis points at a particular RPM to negate the effects of gravitational pull. STEM Technicians will design and manufacture the Clinostat for the experiment.
Environment monitoring system in industrial area and Safety of workers
Authors: Al Fori Saif Sulaiman Hamood , Hussain Shaik Asif
Published: September 2020

Environment monitoring system in industrial area and Safety of workers is system to monitor the pollution inside the factories and provide safety place for the workers and uses Wi-Fi to transfer the data to the control room. The main objective of the project is to monitor the  pollution  which comes from factories to protect the environment and workers inside factories are used to Measure the CO Content and getting a message through GSM the Value is transferred when it is more than the threshold. It also uses monitor the temperature and display on LCD, when the value more than the standard value by getting SMS on the GSM and Buzzer on. It also measures the PH level of the water and display the values on the LCD. These values of humidity is displayed on LCD. One of the specific function of this system is it by Count the number of workers who are entry or leaving from the factory. A wireless System is used to Transfer these data (temperature and IR) to remote monitoring station.
Smart OBDII Interface Development
Authors: Al Souti Rashid Bin Mohammad , Hussain Shaik Asif
Published: September 2020

Smart OBDII Interface Development is to create all the information about the vehicle's performance and diagnostic trouble code (DTC) easily available to drivers or technician and mechanism by using an output device such as mobile or any display device in the vehicles. This work solves many problems by providing many useful information for driver like reading the battery voltage in real time. The main objectives are shown below depends on the time given as to complete the project planning and the limitation faced in the process used to implement the system. The project planning objectives produce create a development device can integrate with ELM327 interface module to communicate by data link connector in the vehicles to provide reading the real data from the engine control unit and detect the diagnostic trouble code. To implement support for reading the battery voltage which gives for driver and inspector the very important information needed to avoid the trouble in the car. To protect and help when the vehicle battery breakdown and the vehicle does not run so, can use it as a jump starter and as computer memory savers.
Use of Ceramic Powder in Concrete - Strength & Durability Properties
Authors: Poloju Kiran Kumar , Tahir Abdullah
Published: September 2020

Ceramic wall tiles are used as building material in the field of construction. Manufacturing of ceramic tiles require different raw material like clay, potash, dolomite, feldspar, talc and different chemicals like sodium silicate, sodium tripoly, phosphate (STPP) in ceramic production. In the ceramic industry, about 15%-30% production goes as waste. These wastes poses a serious threat to the environment by polluting the habitant and agricultural lands. Therefore using of ceramic waste powder in concrete would benefit in many ways in saving energy & protecting the environment. The cost of deposition of ceramic waste in landfills will be saved. Raw materials and natural resources will be replaced. Which indirectly helps for reducing the greenhouse gas (co2).There is a large amount of carbon dioxide released in the cement production. In this research study the (OPC) cement has been replaced by ceramic waste powder accordingly in the range of 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% 40%, & 50% by weight for M-25 grade concrete. The wastes employed came from ceramic industry which is in Rusayl (Muscat, Oman) industrial area. Based on experimental investigations concerning the compressive strength of concrete, the following observations are made: (a)    The Compressive Strength of M25 grade concrete increases when the replacement of cement with ceramic waste up to 30% by weight of cement and further replacement of cement with ceramic powder decreases the compressive strength.   (b)  Concrete on 30% replacement of cement with ceramic waste, compressive strength obtained is 26.77 N/mm2and vice-versa the cost of the concrete is reduced up to 13.27% in M25 grade and hence it becomes more economical without compromising concrete strength than the standard concrete. It becomes technically and economically feasible and viable. It is the possible alternative solution of safe disposal of ceramic waste. Reuse of this kind of waste has advantages economic and environmental, reduction in the number of natural spaces employed as refuse dumps. Indirectly, all the above contributes to a better quality of life for citizens and to introduce the concept of sustainability in the construction sector.
Efficient and Improved Navigation Application for Smart Devices in IoT Environment
Authors: Al Maqbali Sara Humaid Saif , Hayat Muhammad
Published: September 2020

Smart cities are not merely the infusion of technology into a city’s infrastructure, but also require citizens interacting with their urban environment in a smart and informed manner. Transportation is key aspect of smart cities, where new route-planning applications provide as connected Car applications. For example, On-Board Human-Machine Interface (HMI) Apps, smartphone apps, API development, OBD-II, and SDL. Moreover, by using proprietary mobile apps, it is possible to get the GPS coordinates of a car, trace its route, open its doors, start its engine, and turn on its auxiliary devices. In addition, to study the usage of ICT to enhance quality and performance of urban services, reduce costs and resource consumption, and engage more effectively and actively with its citizens. The IoT is enabled by the latest developments in RFID, smart sensors, communication technologies, and Internet protocols. The basic premise is to have smart sensors collaborate directly without human involvement to deliver a new class of applications. The current revolution in Internet, mobile, and machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies can be seen as the first phase of the IoT. In the coming years, the IoT is expected to bridge diverse technologies to enable new applications by connecting physical objects together in support of intelligent decision making. This paper presents an overview of technical details that pertain to the IoT enabling technologies and applications. Compared to other survey papers in the field, our objective is to provide a more thorough summary of the most relevant application issues to enable researchers and application developers to get up to speed quickly on how ICT provide new route-planning application using IoT. We also provide an overview of some of the key IoT and M2M challenges presented in the recent literature and provide a summary of related research work. Moreover, we explore the relation between the IoT and M2M technologies. Also, present the need for better horizontal integration among IoT services. Finally, we present detailed service use-cases to illustrate how the different solutions presented in the paper fit together to deliver desired IoT & M2M services. Since more devices are connected to the Internet every day and for various purposes, this will generate increasing amounts of data that will need to be crunched. New and better analytics systems will have to be developed, not to mention cloud storage space to deal with all the data.
Reduction of Ultrasound Imaging Artifacts
Authors: EP Sumesh , Al-Saqri Kauther Saleh Mohammed
Published: September 2020

Nowadays, with the development of medicine and medical equipment, medical imaging has become an important part in health care sector. Doctors can diagnose diseases using medical imaging without making cut/wound in the human’s body; ultrasound is efficiently used because of its low cost and non-invasive nature and produces good quality images. However, artifacts are a common occurrence in an ultrasound display such as degraded, ambiguity, resolution etc. These artifacts affect the diagnosis accuracy. Thus, artifacts reduction in medical image is essential. In this paper, we describe and study medical image’s artifacts reduction techniques. Different image enhancement techniques for removing different types of artifacts without losing the fine details are studied to produce enhanced images. These reduction techniques are implemented using Matlab. The main objective of this project is to improve the quality of the medical images in order to help doctors to make better diagnosis decisions. This proposed work is expected to be very useful and efficient to use.
Role of Interactive Multimedia in Environment Awareness
Authors: Al Jadawi Imad Kamil , NAIDU VIKAS RAO
Published: September 2020

Role of media in Environment Awareness is very significant. These days, social media has become one of the most common platforms to spread awareness on various aspects of the environment. Then it can be about the climatic changes or it could be about the ecosystem of the country, people must be aware of the habitat, in which they are living and nurturing. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, Oman, plays a vital role in this. It is responsible for weather monitoring and forecasts apart from the study of various nature reserves and animals which are becoming extinct slowly. This paper will evaluate various readily available means in order to raise awareness among the public. The result will be helpful to draw a framework with the help of which we can develop an appropriate system by using some multimedia tools. Apart from this, this paper will have a review of some existing projects and literature in the same area. Based on the findings, the authors will be suggesting the development of a mobile-based application for regular updates on the environment and its assets.
Analytical study of technology enhanced learning in Arabic Language in primary level education in Government and Private schools of Oman
Authors: Al Jabri Tahani Rashid Hamed , Naidu Vikas Rao , Udupi Prakash Kumar
Published: September 2020

Education technology is one of the key application areas of Multimedia during these days. In the early stage, technology-based learning was limited to only those educational institutions which could afford it. But in this era of information technology, it became very important to incorporate various means of making the learning process more interesting and engaging not only in the higher education sector but also in school level. One similar application of the above context is defined in the proposed project which is the design of the educational application in Arabic for the children of age group 3-5 years in Al Ajial private school, Oman. This application is the solution or the problems and learning difficulties suffered by children in school. This educational application can influence how to learn basic skills such as reading, writing and mathematics and in a way to learn high- level skills such as organization and time planning, abstract thinking, and the development of long memory or short-term and interest in school and subject. This application will also be easy to use to the students in terms of the allocation of their subjects and materials required. I chose this project through continuous research for all schools and suggested my idea to some schools. This research paper will also critically evaluate various existing systems available for the same purpose. This paper will also provide the result of surveys and interviews conducted among the staff members of the various primary school, both in Government and Private sector. The critical evaluation includes results of various literature study along with a study of various features and their comparison result of which will draw some conclusion. As a result of this research paper, we will find a more effective solution and requirement specifications for the proposed project.
Android App Controlled Bluetooth Robotic Vehicle
Authors: Al-Jabri Sa’adah Saleem , Al-Habsi Fatma Saif , A. Jamaludeen A. Jamaludeen
Published: September 2020

The objective of the present work is to design and develop an android app based user interface to control a robotic vehicle using wireless bluetooth technology. The entire system consists of carefully selected replaceable low-cost components to meet the rugged industrial environment. The proposed single-board in-vehicle embedded system is equipped with the HC-05 bluetooth model to interact with microcontroller and android app, dc gear motor and L293D motor driver to control the kinetics of a robotic vehicle, and ATmega328P microcontroller as core processing unit fixed on self-designed chassis. The back-hand design for the android app is developed using open source called ‘App Inventor’ developed by MIT and suitable to develop app without Java platform. The in-vehicle electronics hardware is developed around the ATmega328P microcontroller and bluetooth module is interfaced with microcontroller through the UART protocol to exchange the data with android app. By pressing remote button developed in the android app the direction of the robotic vehicle can be decided. The major advantages of this proposed design is, minimum version of in-built bluetooth smartphone is used to install the developed app and wireless bluetooth technology offers zero communication cost. Moreover, this robotic vehicle can also be utilized other application such as, exploring the toxic area, detection of explosive landmines, multipurpose surveillance vehicle.
AUTOMATED PETROL PUMP
Authors: Benjamin Ruth Moly , Kannan Sahana , K Gopi Greeshma , George Benjamin Reuben
Published: September 2020

Designed and constructed working model of Automated Petrol Station. Our project’s salient features include vehicle user ID verification, ensuring the presence of vehicle prior to operation. Secured password to check credit balance and user friendly for filling the petrol without any cash transactions. Fully programmed and tested successfully with microcontroller. Legible display and keypad matrix for easy handling, accurate and safe operation. This working model can be developed further in large scale for implementation to fulfill the requirements in Oman.
Design and Development of Hardware system for Virtual keyboard projection on planar surfaces
Authors: Al Affari Amina Salim
Published: September 2020

This work provides a new smart projection frame (IPS), which authorize uncovered finger touch group on normal planar surfaces, with one projector and one camera. The test of detection finger touch identification is recovering the touching facts just from the 2-D image catch by the camera. In this system, the graphical user interface (GUI) catch is expected at initial glance and is distorted by the finger when press it, and there is a large positive relation between the button’s twisted and the finger’s position to the surface. Therefore, this project suggests a new, fast, and strong calculation, which exploits the catch distortion to determine the touch activity. The present keyboard used keys structured keyboard for typing in light of the computer. These keyboards are chipping away at the mechanical push level. In anyway, for the small tools like cell phones and tablets it is hard to carry large console with them. The touchscreen basis keyboard to reach in such tools is very poor designed to formation in light of the fact that the measure of individual’s finger is huge and the extent of the keys on the touch screen is little. So, writing chip away at the small tools is not useful and on computer our fingers get torment in the wake of doing long time typing work as a result of mechanical vibration of the keys. This work is about a virtual keyboard on any planer surfaces for convenient touch action. The Region of interest extraction is through a Homography mapping which is used to reduce the computational complexity of the work.
Multiple Objective Decision Based Modern Digital Home With Hybrid Renewable Energy Sources
Authors: Nasser Khamis Al-Maskari Ahmed , Mohammad Al Al-Siyabi Saeed Sultan , Habin Al Habsi Hamed Obaid , P GopiKrishna
Published: September 2020

Day to day the technology is advancing and it’s becoming a part of our life. In this situation this project will provides an innovative and a complete solution for home automation based on multiple objectives. These objectives involve the switching ON/ OFF of home appliances automatically using different sensors, GSM modules, Smart phones with Bluetooth control, Smart phones with voice control, House security through GSM, Camera modules to send SMS, MMS when an unknown person entered into our locked house, Water tank level monitoring, Gas level, leakage monitoring systems, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) locks and Number locks in the place of manual locks. These all objectives are innovatively incorporated into our proposed prototype home model using Arduino and Raspberry Pi microcontrollers, GSM, Blue tooth, camera modules, RFID, Number lock and different sensors. Among all these objectives gas level monitoring, water tank level monitoring are our own proposed methods implemented successfully. We proposed and developed a multiple objective based a complete solution for home automation which will make or initiate the Omani people towards Modern home to lead their life more comfortably, securely and providing their contribution  in saving the energy for the Oman and as well as to reduce Global warming.
Tracking and Accident Detection in Automobiles Using GPS and GSM Technology
Authors: Khamis Al-Balushia Zainab Mohammed
Published: September 2020

This paper describes the design and development of an automatic tracking and accident detection (ATAD) system in automobiles. Oman rated as the highest causality in road accidents among GCC, according to figures released by the World Health Organization (WHO). Lack of proper reporting about the exact location add delay in paramedic unit to reach, results the loss of precious human life. The proposed single-board in-vehicle embedded system equipped with the SIM28M GPS to get geographic coordinates, SIM800 GSM modem to send the Google map link as text message, SW-420 vibration sensor to sense the collision, and the ATmega328P microcontroller as core processing unit. The vibration beyond the threshold level, say during collision is detected by the vibration sensor and this information is transferred to the microcontroller. The microcontroller gets the latitude and longitude from the GPS receiver. This coordinates send as Google map link through the GSM modem to the concern persons whose mobile numbers are stored in the memory. This text message directly loads the exact location in Google map instead of searching the location using the coordinates. This saves a precious time and victim may receive the immediate medical attention. This ATAD system serves as a complete portal to exchange information such as, real-time navigation of vehicle location, monitoring of collision, update of geographic coordinates on-demand or at regular interval and fuel shutdown using servomotor on command in case of theft.
BENTUK POLITIK UANG PADA PILKADA PROVINSI BENGKULU TAHUN 2015
Authors: Suprianto Dede , Purwaningsih Titin , Rusnaedy Zaldi
Published: September 2020

Artikel ini  menjelaskan tentang politik uang yang terjadi pada Pilkada di Provinsi Bengkulu tahun 2015. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah kualitatif, dengan menggunakan teknik pengumpulan data yaitu wawancara dan dokumentasi. Sedangkan yang menjadi sasaran penelitian ini adalah Bawaslu, KPUD dan Tim Sukses. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa bentuk politik uang terdiri dari vote buying sebanyak 33 kasus, vote trading sebanyak 2 kasus dan club goods sebanyak 1 kasus. Semua laporan tersebut tidak ditindaklanjuti karena tidak memenuhi syarat formal dan materil serta kedaluwarsa, kecuai kasus PPK Singaran Pati yang digugat pasangan Sultan-Mujiono ke Mahkamah Konstitsi. Meskipun MK akhirnya menolak gugatan tersebut berdasarkan pertimbangan ambang batas suara antara pemohon dan peraih suara terbanyak dengan selisih diantara keduanya sebesar 14%.
Implementasi Pelayanan Publik Pada Program SIDUKUN 3 In 1 Dalam Pengurusan Administrasi Kependudukan Di DKI Jakarta
Authors: Idrus Iqbal Aidar , Ferdian Komang Jaka
Published: September 2020

Penelitian ini menjawab Implementasi program SIDUKUN 3 In 1 dalam pelaksanaan pelayanan administrasi kependudukan. Program tersebut dikembangkan untuk mengimplementasikan Undang-Undang No. 24 Tahun 2013 tentang Administrasi Kependudukan (Adminduk). Metode Penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini yaitu penelitian deskriptif kualitatif, yang dilakukan di Dinas Kependudukan dan Catatan Sipil DKI Jakarta  yang saling terintegrasi dengan instansi rumah sakit dan BPJS Kesehatan terkait dengan kualitas pelayanan administrasi kependudukan. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa pemerintah DKI Jakarta  cukup berhasil melaksanakan pelayanan administrasi kependudukan, akan tetapi masih kurang dalam mesosialisasikan program tersebut. Sehingga masih banyak masyarakat yang belum mengetahui program “SIDUKUN 3 in 1” dalam memberikan layanan bagi anak yang dilahirkan di rumah sakit, langsung mendapatkan Surat Keterangan Kelahiran dari rumah sakit, Nomor Induk Kependudukan (NIK) bayi, Kartu keluarga yang sudah update, akta kelahiran, kartu identitas anak dan BPJS Kesehatan untuk bayi. Dengan  pengurusan pelayanan yang cepat  dan tidak dipungut biaya, pada tahun 2019 sudah 79 rumah sakit, 44 puskesmas  dan 5700 akte kelahiran yang sudah di cetak oleh Dinas Dukcapil.
Perlindungan Pemerintah Daerah Terhadap Kelompok Minoritas “Towani Tolotang” di Sulawesi Selatan
Authors: Lawelai Herman
Published: September 2020

This article describes the efforts of the regional government to protect the Towani Tolotang people as a minority group in fighting for their identity, the argumentation of justice and group rights in the midst of a pluralistic culture. This article is analyzed with; historical agreements, equal rights, and cultural diversity. Using qualitative research methods, this study found that until now the minority group "Towani Tolotang" still exists in cultural practices as well as in social interactions with the wider community. Relations between communities are supported by local government policy by providing forums that embrace interfaith community leaders, security forces and government elements in fostering community.

Artikel ini menggambarkan upaya pemerintah daerah untuk melindungi masyarakat Towani Tolotang sebagai kelompok minoritas dalam memperjuangkan identitas mereka, argumentasi keadilan dan hak-hak kelompok di tengah-tengah budaya pluralistik. Artikel ini dianalisis dengan; perjanjian sejarah, persamaan hak, dan keanekaragaman budaya. Menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif, penelitian ini menemukan bahwa sampai sekarang kelompok minoritas "Towani Tolotang" masih ada dalam praktik budaya serta dalam interaksi sosial dengan masyarakat luas. Hubungan antar masyarakat didukung oleh kebijakan pemerintah daerah dengan menyediakan forum yang merangkul tokoh masyarakat lintas agama, pasukan keamanan dan elemen pemerintah dalam membina masyarakat.
Media Sosial dan Pergulatan Masyarakat Muslim Indonesia di Inggris: Merayakan ‘Ingatan’ tentang Tanah Air dalam Konteks ‘Lokal’
Authors: Basya M. Hilali
Published: September 2020

Semakin meningkatnya teknologi komunikasi membuat cara berinteraksi masyarakat dan otoritas keilmuan mengalami pergeseran. Saat ini media sosial (medsos) seperti Facebook (FB) dan Whatsapp (WA) menjadi media yang paling sering digunakan dalam berkomunikasi, baik dalam bentuk percakapan singkat maupun diskusi yang mendalam. Meskipun percakapan secara langsung (face to

face) antar individu dan diskusi dalam forum masih tetap terjadi, namun aktifitas semacam ini mengalami peningkatan dalam dunia maya terutama melalui FB dan WA. Konsekuensinya, sebuah diskusi yang sebelum dominasi medsos hanya melibatkan narasumber atau komentator secara terbatas dan sesuai dengan keahliannya, saat ini bisa menempatkan siapapun berada dalam posisi tersebut. Semua orang, termasuk yang awam sekalipun, bisa menjadi narasumber yang sepertinya sangat memahami sebuah topik. Artikel ini mengkaji tentang bagaimana masyarakat Muslim Indonesia di Inggris menggunakan medsos. Sebagian besar dari mereka adalah dosen, aktifis, ulama muda, birokrat, dan lain-lain yang sedang menempuh pendidikan tingkat S2 atau S3. Hidup dalam nilai-nilai, norma, dan kebudayaan yang berkembang dalam masyarakat Inggris yang tentu saja memiliki perbedaan dengan di Indonesia menjadi konteks sosial yang menarik untuk dikaji. Fokus yang ingin dijelaskan dalam artikel ini adalah bagaimana pengaruh konteks sosial tersebut terhadap cara masyarakat Muslim Indonesia di Inggris menggunakan media sosial.