bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Contributo do Método Electromagnético no Dominio do Tempo (TDEM) na prospecção hidrogeológica. Caso de estudo na Ilha do Fogo, Cabo Verde
Authors: DUARTE João , LOBO DE PINA António , FIGUEIREDO Fernando , CUNHA Marco , CARVALHO José , VICTORIA Sónia
Published: March 2022

A utilização do Método Eletromagnético no Domínio do Tempo [TDEM], contribui de uma forma significativa para localização de estruturas geológicas em profundidade e definição da sua geometria. Os modelos geológicos/estruturais obtidos por processamento dos dados da prospecção geofísica complementados com a integração de outra informação e metodologias, permitem identificar e localizar estruturas geológicas com potencial para a exploração de águas subterrâneas. A elaboração de modelos obtidos através do método TDEM permite ter uma perspetiva das estruturas geológicas, assim como identificar e interpretar a relação espacial entre elas, contribuindo desta forma para um melhor conhecimento da subsuperfície da cratera do vulcão da Ilha do Fogo. Em Cabo Verde, arquipélago com precipitações na generalidade fracas, cujos valores médios não ultrapassam 300mm/ano para as zonas situadas abaixo de 400 metros e 700mm/ano para as zonas situadas a mais de 500 metros de altitude (INGRH, 2000, Lima e Garcia, 2011), os recursos hídricos subterrâneos desempenham um papel fundamental, constituindo a principal fonte de abastecimento de água de pequenos aglomerados populacionais. Após processamento dos dados adquiridos, foram criadas seções obtidas a partir da inversão das sondagens 1D extraídas do modelo de distribuição de valores de resistividades que contribuem para a compreensão da distribuição espacial e tipologia do sistema aquífero existente na área de estudo. No local foram efetuadas 21 sondagens eletromagnéticas verticais com o TDEM na localidade de Chã das Caldeira, Ilha Fogo, Cabo Verde. Para o efeito foi utilizado o equipamento TEM-FAST, com antena de geometria quadrada e dimensão de 200 metros (m) de lado, de modo a alcançar o maior número de estruturas geológicas em profundidade e a cobrir uma vasta área a partir da superfície do terreno. A partir do modelo tridimensional resultante da interpretação das 21 sondagens TDEM é possível verificar a existência de uma relação directa entre as anomalias geofísicas detectadas com as estruturas geológicas observáveis à superfície, assim como a existência de anomalias, subhorizontais, com baixo valor de resistividade (<400ohm/m) que estarão associadas à presença de um aquífero superficial. Este estudo revelou-se um contributo importante para a identificação, interpretação e delimitação da geometria das reservas de água existentes, permitindo desta forma planear com maior rigor e racionalidade as campanhas de captação. Palavras-chave: Cabo Verde, água subterrânea; TDEM, resistividade; modelos 2D e 3D.
Preprečevanje venskih trombembolizmov pri nevrokirurških operacijah – Stališča Kliničnega oddelka za nevrokirurgijo in Kliničnega oddelka za žilne bolezni Univerzitetnega kliničnega centra Ljubljana
Authors: Porčnik Andrej , Šinigoj Petra , Bošnjak Roman , Prestor Borut , Mavri Alenka
Published: March 2022

Venski trombembolizmi (VTE) so pogost in resen zaplet po nevrokirurških operacijah. Najbolj učinkovita so pri preprečevanju VTE protitrombotična zdravila, ki pa lahko povečajo tveganje za krvavitev. Posledice morebitne intrakranialne ali intraspinalne krvavitve so pogosto hujše kot korist ob preprečitvi VTE. Ker se nevrokirurške operacije razlikujejo glede tveganja za VTE ali za krvavitev, je treba ob vsaki operaciji uporabiti za konkretni poseg optimalno metodo za preprečevanje VTE. V prispevku so po prikazu obstoječe literature prikazana stališča, ki jih je oblikovala delovna skupina s Kliničnega oddelka za nevrokirurgijo in Kliničnega oddelka za žilne bolezni Univerzitetnega kliničnega centra Ljubljana.
Migration of a Research Library's ICT-Based Services to a Cloud Platform
Authors: Jayakanth Francis , Byrappa Ananda T , Minj Filbert
Published: March 2022

Libraries have been at the forefront in adopting emerging technologies to manage the library’s operations and provide information services to the user community they serve. With the emergence of cloud computing (CC) technology, libraries are exploring and adopting CC service models to make their own services more efficient, reliable, secure, scalable, and cost-effective. In this article, the authors share their experience migrating some of the library’s locally hosted ICT-based services onto the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. The migration of services to a cloud platform has helped the library significantly reduce the downtime of its services due to power or network or system outages.
Local Hosting of Faculty-Created Open Education Resources
Authors: Letriz Joseph
Published: March 2022

Rising costs of secondary education institutions, coupled with the inflated cost of textbooks, have forced students to make decisions on whether they can afford the primary materials for their classes. Publishers working to supply digital access codes, which limit the ability of students to copy, print, or share the materials, or resell the textbook after the course is over, have further pushed students into forgoing purchasing materials. In recent years, institutions have moved to support OER (Open Education Resources) initiatives to provide students a cost-free primary text or supplement to their materials. This allows students unfettered access to quality resources that help drive engagement in courses, from homework to discussions. While larger institutions or in-state partnerships with resource sharing consortiums, such as the MnPALS cooperation with the state of Minnesota, provide access to platforms like Pressbooks, smaller institutions and private colleges don’t always have the ability to negotiate these types of relationships. In this case study, I will cover the foundations necessary to start a low-cost, self-hosted solution to support faculty creation of OER material and the available resources that the University of Dubuque utilized in their development process. This overview will briefly cover the skills and knowledge needed to support the growth of this initiative with minimal complexity and as little jargon as possible.
Balancing Community and Local Needs
Authors: Coughlin Daniel
Published: March 2022

This paper examines the decision points over the course of ten years for developing an Institutional Repository. Specifically, the focus is on the impact and influence from the open-source community, the needs of the local institution, the role that team dynamics plays, and the chosen platform. Frequently, the discussion revolves around the technology stack and its limitations and capabilities. Inherently, any technology will have several features and limitations, and these are important in determining a solution that will work for your institution. However, the people running the system and developing the software, and their enthusiasm to continue work within the existing software environment in order to provide features for your campus and the larger open-source community will play a bigger role than the technical platform. These lenses are analyzed through three points in time: the initial roll out of our Institutional Repository, our long-term running and maintenance, and eventual new development and why we made the decisions we made at each of those points in time.
Using Open Access Institutional Repositories to Save the Student Symposium during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Symulevich Allison , Hamilton Mark
Published: March 2022

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges and universities around the world were forced to close or move to online instruction. Many institutions host yearly student research symposiums. This article describes how two universities used their institutional repositories to adapt their student research symposiums to virtual events in a matter of weeks. Both universities use the bepress Digital Commons platform for their institutional repositories. Even though the two universities’ symposium strategies differed, some commonalities emerged, particularly with regard to learning the best practices to highlight student work and support their universities’ efforts to host research symposiums virtually.
Metastatic ameloblastoma with postoperative accelerated tumor growth treated with carboplatin and paclitaxel: a case report
Authors: Park Joo Un , Jung Jae Wan
Published: March 2022

Ameloblastoma is a histologically benign odontogenic epithelial tumor that rarely metastasizes. However, metastasis to the lungs can occur, usually years after the development of the primary tumor. Here, we present the case of a 63-year-old woman with metastatic ameloblastoma in the lungs that developed 12 years after surgery for the primary lesion. As is typical for metastatic ameloblastomas, the tumor was incidentally found on radiography and surgically removed. However, the tumor exhibited accelerated progression with pleural metastasis after surgical removal, which is unusual in metastatic ameloblastoma. The patient was successfully treated with carboplatin/paclitaxel and showed a partial response to tumor progression, implying that this approach can be safely used in the absence of a standard treatment regimen.
Influence of toroidal rotation on plasma response to external RMP fields in tokamak
Authors: Li Chun-Yu , Hao Guang-Zhou , Liu Yue-Qiang , Wang Lian , Liu Yi-Hui-Zi ,   Southwestern Institute of Physics, Chengdu 610041, China,   General Atomics, San Diego, California 92186-5608, USA,   School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China
Published: March 2022

The type-I edge localized mode (ELM) is a critical event associated with magneto-hydrodynamic(MHD) instabilities occurring in tokamak high-confinement (H-mode) discharges, that leads to huge heat loads on the plasma phasing components (PFC) and may result in material damages. It is important to effectively control large ELMs, in order to ensure safe operation of the future reactor-scale devices such as ITER and DEMO. Resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) has been experimentally demonstrated to be a mature and robust technique for controlling ELMs. A set of parameters, such as the edge safety factor, the plasma flow, the RMP coil geometry and the spectrum of the applied external field, have been found to play important roles in controlling ELMs by RMP. Furthermore, the plasma pressure is known to affect the plasma response to the RMP field, in particular near the no-wall beta limit. This is because high plasma pressure drives the resonant field amplification of the external field by the plasma response. The ITER 10 MA steady state scenario will be operated near the no-wall stability limit. The new tokamak device HL-2M will also operate in the relatively high-beta regimes. On the other hand, more investigations are still needed to understand the influence of toroidal flow on the high-beta plasma response. This work employs a single fluid toroidal model to compute the plasma RMP response in HL-2M, emphasizing on the roles of two key physical quantities: the plasma resistivity and the toroidal rotation. The former allows penetration of the external RMP field into the plasma, while the latter mainly provides screening effect on the resonant field component. More specifically, the MARS-F code is utilized to study the plasma response to the externally applied n =1 ( n is the toroidal mode number) RMP field for high-beta HL-2M discharges, while varying the plasma toroidal rotation profile. The plasma response is found to (i) substantially modify the poloidal spectrum of the applied vacuum RMP field, (ii) change the amplitude of the resonant radial field amplitude near the plasma edge, and (iii) affect optimal current phasing between the two rows of RMP coils on HL-2M. A sufficiently slow toroidal flow near the plasma edge amplifies the radial field at rational surfaces associated with the perturbation. Since the latter serves as a reliable indicator for controlling the type-I edge localized mode (Type-I ELM) by RMP, varying rotation profile near the plasma edge offers a promising approach to optimize ELM control.
Unsupervised Bayesian Ising Approximation for decoding neural activity and other biological dictionaries
Authors: Hernández Damián G , Sober Samuel J , Nemenman Ilya
Published: March 2022

The problem of deciphering how low-level patterns (action potentials in the brain, amino acids in a protein, etc.) drive high-level biological features (sensorimotor behavior, enzymatic function) represents the central challenge of quantitative biology. The lack of general methods for doing so from the size of datasets that can be collected experimentally severely limits our understanding of the biological world. For example, in neuroscience, some sensory and motor codes have been shown to consist of precisely timed multi-spike patterns. However, the combinatorial complexity of such pattern codes have precluded development of methods for their comprehensive analysis. Thus, just as it is hard to predict a protein’s function based on its sequence, we still do not understand how to accurately predict an organism’s behavior based on neural activity. Here, we introduce the unsupervised Bayesian Ising Approximation (uBIA) for solving this class of problems. We demonstrate its utility in an application to neural data, detecting precisely timed spike patterns that code for specific motor behaviors in a songbird vocal system. In data recorded during singing from neurons in a vocal control region, our method detects such codewords with an arbitrary number of spikes, does so from small data sets, and accounts for dependencies in occurrences of codewords. Detecting such comprehensive motor control dictionaries can improve our understanding of skilled motor control and the neural bases of sensorimotor learning in animals. To further illustrate the utility of uBIA, we used it to identify the distinct sets of activity patterns that encode vocal motor exploration versus typical song production. Crucially, our method can be used not only for analysis of neural systems, but also for understanding the structure of correlations in other biological and nonbiological datasets.
Control of spinal motor neuron terminal differentiation through sustained Hoxc8 gene activity
Authors: Catela Catarina , Chen Yihan , Weng Yifei , Wen Kailong , Kratsios Paschalis
Published: March 2022

Spinal motor neurons (MNs) constitute cellular substrates for several movement disorders. Although their early development has received much attention, how spinal MNs become and remain terminally differentiated is poorly understood. Here, we determined the transcriptome of mouse MNs located at the brachial domain of the spinal cord at embryonic and postnatal stages. We identified novel transcription factors (TFs) and terminal differentiation genes (e.g. ion channels, neurotransmitter receptors, adhesion molecules) with continuous expression in MNs. Interestingly, genes encoding homeodomain TFs (e.g. HOX, LIM), previously implicated in early MN development, continue to be expressed postnatally, suggesting later functions. To test this idea, we inactivated Hoxc8 at successive stages of mouse MN development and observed motor deficits. Our in vivo findings suggest that Hoxc8 is not only required to establish, but also maintain expression of several MN terminal differentiation markers. Data from in vitro generated MNs indicate Hoxc8 acts directly and is sufficient to induce expression of terminal differentiation genes. Our findings dovetail recent observations in Caenorhabditis elegans MNs, pointing toward an evolutionarily conserved role for Hox in neuronal terminal differentiation.
Proper migration of lymphatic endothelial cells requires survival and guidance cues from arterial mural cells
Authors: Peng Di , Ando Koji , Hußmann Melina , Gloger Marleen , Skoczylas Renae , Mochizuki Naoki , Betsholtz Christer , Fukuhara Shigetomo , Schulte-Merker Stefan , Lawson Nathan D , Koltowska Katarzyna
Published: March 2022

The migration of lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) is key for the development of the complex and vast lymphatic vascular network that pervades most tissues in an organism. In zebrafish, arterial intersegmental vessels together with chemokines have been shown to promote lymphatic cell migration from the horizontal myoseptum (HM). We observed that emergence of mural cells around the intersegmental arteries coincides with lymphatic departure from HM which raised the possibility that arterial mural cells promote LEC migration. Our live imaging and cell ablation experiments revealed that LECs migrate slower and fail to establish the lymphatic vascular network in the absence of arterial mural cells. We determined that mural cells are a source for the C-X-C motif chemokine 12 (Cxcl12a and Cxcl12b), vascular endothelial growth factor C (Vegfc) and collagen and calcium-binding EGF domain-containing protein 1 (Ccbe1). We showed that chemokine and growth factor signalling function cooperatively to induce robust LEC migration. Specifically, Vegfc-Vegfr3 signalling, but not chemokines, induces extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation in LECs, and has an additional pro-survival role in LECs during the migration. Together, the identification of mural cells as a source for signals that guide LEC migration and survival will be important in the future design for rebuilding lymphatic vessels in disease contexts.
Retinoic acid signaling mediates peripheral cone photoreceptor survival in a mouse model of retina degeneration
Authors: Amamoto Ryoji , Wallick Grace K , Cepko Constance L
Published: March 2022

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is a progressive, debilitating visual disorder caused by mutations in a diverse set of genes. In both humans with RP and mouse models of RP, rod photoreceptor dysfunction leads to loss of night vision, and is followed by secondary cone photoreceptor dysfunction and degeneration, leading to loss of daylight color vision. A strategy to prevent secondary cone death could provide a general RP therapy to preserve daylight color vision regardless of the underlying mutation. In mouse models of RP, cones in the peripheral retina survive long-term, despite complete rod loss. The mechanism for such peripheral cone survival had not been explored. Here, we found that active retinoic acid (RA) signaling in peripheral Muller glia is necessary for the abnormally long survival of these peripheral cones. RA depletion by conditional knockout of RA synthesis enzymes, or overexpression of an RA degradation enzyme, abrogated the extended survival of peripheral cones. Conversely, constitutive activation of RA signaling in the central retina promoted long-term cone survival. These results indicate that RA signaling mediates the prolonged peripheral cone survival in the rd1 mouse model of retinal degeneration, and provide a basis for a generic strategy for cone survival in the many diseases that lead to loss of cone-mediated vision.
The Manifestations of Woolf’s Life Experiences in Mrs. Dalloway
Authors: Albalawi Mohammed
Published: March 2022

Mrs. Dalloway is one of Virginia Woolf’s greatest achievements. The novel continues to enthuse scholars across the globe, and there are myriad studies through which readers can gain a finer understanding of it. This paper attempts to show how Woolf implants in Mrs. Dalloway a plentiful range of experiences from her life. It argues that in order to have an ample understanding of a character’s state of mind or behavior, emphasis should be placed not only on the text but also on the role of the writer’s personal experiences in its formation. This paper discusses, more specifically, how Woolf’s own experiences are linked to Septimus’s, and showcases that Woolf’s life is a major influence on the story of Septimus.
English Words and Collocations Found on Logistics Magazines: A Corpus-based Study
Authors: Suraprajit Prathomwat
Published: March 2022

Delivered up-to-date news and shown authentic use, the language appeared on the digital platform is an interesting alternative in learning the English language. The present study investigates the English language written on the online logistics magazines published in Thailand by using the corpus tool called Ant-Conc to analyze the frequency of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and collocations. The findings revealed that 1) the most frequent use of nouns was cargo, 2) the word said reported to be the most use of the verb, 3) the word cargo appeared to be the most frequent use among adjectives, 4) among the type of grammatical collocation, noun+preposition was shown as the most frequently used type, whereas the most three used of grammatical collocation was cargo in, important to, and said with and 5) among the type of lexical collocation, noun+verb was reported as the most frequently used type, whereas the top three used of lexical collocation was said Mr., cargo is, and new facility. Furthermore, the present study might have implications for the ESP study and recommend the use of authentic language in the logistics business.
Preparing and Implementing Instruction Reading Activities in French Language Classes: An Action Research with Pre-Service French Teachers
Authors: Smith Anna , Song Xinzhou
Published: March 2022

In this study, answers were sought about how instruction reading activities affect pre-service teachers’ instruction reading behavior, the opinions of pre-service teachers about instruction reading activities, how to apply instruction reading activities in Text Grammar in a French course, and how instruction reading activities affect pre-service teachers’ awareness of delivering the instructions. The study was designed as action research. For this purpose, following the literature review, teaching materials were developed and applied to improve instruction reading skills. The participants of the study consisted of students studying at the French Language Teaching Program in a state university, who are attending a second-year spring semester Text Grammar in a French course. Different qualitative and quantitative data collection tools such as video recordings, observations, interviews, researcher diary, and achievement tests were used to collect data in the study. As a result of the analysis of the data, it was observed that instruction reading activities had a positive effect on the students’ instruction reading skills, increased the students’ awareness of instruction reading, and supported the use of strategies in instruction reading. Instruction reading activities conducted during the action research influence the development of instruction reading skills of French teacher candidates. And these activities created an awareness of the instruction in pre-service teachers and supported instruction reading behaviour. In addition, instruction reading activities had positive effects on the academic achievement, strategy use, and professional development of participants.
The Stages of Love, Songs, and a Band: A Corpus Discourse Analysis of One Direction’s Pop Albums
Authors: Yeh Aiden , Hung Tzu-Ching , Candidate M.A
Published: March 2022

This study investigates the linguistic dimensions of the songs made popular by One Direction– the British-Irish boy band that captivated young fans around the world in the 2010s. The tailored corpus output was based on One Direction’s five albums (65 songs, 21,566 words). Using Voyant Tools (Sinclair & Rockwell 2016) and discourse analysis framework (Fairclough 1995, 2001), we examined the word frequency, collocation patterns and semantic references found in the lyrics. Further analysis was grounded on the 5-stage model of love and relationships by Levinger (1983). The results suggest that the lexicogrammatical associations found in One Direction’s songs show that words may have similar meaning but carry a different illocutionary message in terms of use patterns within a contextual structure. The semantic and pragmatic references in the lyrics also tell an emotional narrative of a roller-coaster-kind-of-young love and the challenges they face i.e., exhilaratingly titillating and painfully short-lived. From Oh yeah, baby to Oh, love, goodbye, love is indeed like a song; its own rhythm has a beginning and an end– a story that ironically reflects the band’s own fate. This study has major implications for corpus discourse research, particularly in analyzing the semantic references and implicatures of the lyrics and the story behind them.
Revisiting Collocation: An Investigation Into Phraseological Units Muddle
Authors: Badr Hassan
Published: March 2022

Research on collocations still generates plenty of interest among contemporary researchers of linguistics and translation research. The interest stems from the fact that there is a degree of inconsistency in terms of identifying and defining collocations in the literature. Conflicting views put forward by linguists made it difficult to draw a coherent interpretation of collocations. This suggests that collocational units are a fragmented area of research with blurred lines between frequently fixed co-occurrence sequences or a combination of words and free word combination. The collocation debate has hit a conceptual impasse. It rarely moves beyond merely giving broad definitions, overlapped with other technical terms in the field of corpus linguistics. This study examines the extension to which collocations are intertwined with other formulaic expressions such as idioms and free word combinations. Furthermore, the study considers whether Quranic collocations fit into the general standards of collocation. The study examined a sample of five selected English translations of the Quran to evaluate their degree of faithfulness and accuracy. The findings revealed that collocation is too multifaceted to be pinned down to a single definition. Linguists fell short of reaching a consensus or providing concrete empirical evidence on the complex nature of collocation. The findings also showed that the English translation of the Quran remains a work in progress. Views are polarised between those who advocate a close rendering of the Quranic text and those who believe in a ‘natural style’. Translators need to be aware how collocations are formulated and how they are embedded in the Quranic verses to convey their deep and implicit meaning and should not be interpreted at face value.
E-Volve: understanding the impact of mutations in SARS-CoV-2 variants spike protein on antibodies and ACE2 affinity through patterns of chemical interactions at protein interfaces
Authors: Dos Santos Vitor Pimentel , Rodrigues André , Dutra Gabriel , Bastos Luana , Mariano Diego , Mendonça José Gutembergue , Lobo Yan Jerônimo Gomes , Mendes Eduardo , Maia Giovana , Machado Karina dos Santos , Werhli Adriano Velasque , Rocha Gerd , de Lima Leonardo Henrique França , de Melo-Minardi Raquel
Published: March 2022

Background

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic reverberated, posing health and social hygiene obstacles throughout the globe. Mutant lineages of the virus have concerned scientists because of convergent amino acid alterations, mainly on the viral spike protein. Studies have shown that mutants have diminished activity of neutralizing antibodies and enhanced affinity with its human cell receptor, the ACE2 protein.

Methods

Hence, for real-time measuring of the impacts caused by variant strains in such complexes, we implemented E-Volve, a tool designed to model a structure with a list of mutations requested by users and return analyses of the variant protein. As a proof of concept, we scrutinized the spike-antibody and spike-ACE2 complexes formed in the variants of concern, B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), and P.1 (Gamma), by using contact maps depicting the interactions made amid them, along with heat maps to quantify these major interactions.

Results

The results found in this study depict the highly frequent interface changes made by the entire set of mutations, mainly conducted by N501Y and E484K. In the spike-Antibody complex, we have noticed alterations concerning electrostatic surface complementarity, breaching essential sites in the P17 and BD-368-2 antibodies. Alongside, the spike-ACE2 complex has presented new hydrophobic bonds.

Discussion

Molecular dynamics simulations followed by Poisson-Boltzmann calculations corroborate the higher complementarity to the receptor and lower to the antibodies for the K417T/E484K/N501Y (Gamma) mutant compared to the wild-type strain, as pointed by E-Volve, as well as an intensification of this effect by changes at the protein conformational equilibrium in solution. A local disorder of the loop α1′/β1′, as well its possible effects on the affinity to the BD-368-2 antibody were also incorporated to the final conclusions after this analysis. Moreover, E-Volve can depict the main alterations in important biological structures, as shown in the SARS-CoV-2 complexes, marking a major step in the real-time tracking of the virus mutant lineages. E-Volve is available at http://bioinfo.dcc.ufmg.br/evolve.
Transcription factor 7-like 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms rs290487 and rs290481 are associated with dyslipidemia in the Balinese population
Authors: Limardi Prisca C. , Oktavianthi Sukma , Priliani Lidwina , Lestari Retno , Saraswati Made Ratna , Suastika Ketut , Malik Safarina G.
Published: March 2022

Background

Dyslipidemia is one of the major risks for the development of cardiovascular diseases which has been the leading cause of death in developing countries. Previously, common polymorphisms of the transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene have been associated with altered lipid profiles. In this study, we investigated the associations of TCF7L2 SNPs, rs290487 and rs290481, with dyslipidemia and altered lipid profile in the Balinese.

Methods

A total of 565 subjects from four locations in the Bali Province, Indonesia, were recruited. Serum lipid concentrations (triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol (TC)) were measured using standard protocol. SNP genotyping was done using the amplification refractory system mutation polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR) method.

Results

We found the shifted major/minor allele frequencies of both SNPs (0.56 for rs290487 T allele, 0.53 for rs290481 T allele) in the Balinese, as compared to dbSNP. The rs290487 and rs290481 C alleles were significantly associated with dyslipidemia, particularly high TC and high LDL-C. These associations were independent of age, sex, population, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and high TyG index as a proxy for insulin resistance. The haplotype CC also showed similar association with these traits. Our findings indicate that TCF7L2 polymorphisms are associated with dyslipidemia and altered lipid profile in the Balinese.
Needle Probe- A Novel Instrument for Atraumatic Extraction of Broken Maxillary Root Apices
Authors: Shetty Tripthi , Jhawar Ranganath , Malli Prakyath
Published: March 2022

Introduction: Atraumatic extraction is the need of the hour to best preserve both hard and soft tissues. A novel instrument was designed, needle probe, in an effort to achieve the same efficacy with respect to extraction of maxillary teeth broken root fragments. Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of using needle probe in removing fractured maxillary tooth apical sections in terms of application, use and its handling. Materials and Methods: In the present clinical, cross-sectional study, Fifty patients requiring removal of fractured maxillary tooth root fragment as a complication of routine extraction were enrolled. The study was conducted between June 2020 and June 2021. Patients were assigned, irrespective of gender, age or tooth, to group A (n=25) where extraction of root pieces was done using endodontic H files and group B (n=25) in whom extraction was done using the novel needle probe. Data was tabulated accordingly and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) ver. 22 and categorical data between groups were analysed using student‘s t-test. with significance level set at 0.05. Results: The average time taken for successful removal of the root fragment in Group A was 3 minutes 3 seconds±23 seconds and 2 minutes 12 seconds±46 seconds in Group B. All inclusive, the needle probe proved to have excellent ease of operation, access and visibility in 24%, 24% and 36% cases as opposed to the conventional use of H files with minimal complications and tissue trauma. Conclusion: Failure to retrieve the broken root is mostly associated with ankylosed and hyper cementosis roots. The needle probe can be promising in its use for atraumatic root fragment extraction. The novel needle probe is easy to use, quick in application and hence results in better patient compliance.
Soil Quality Indices and Agricultural Impact of Swine Waste Open Disposal
Authors: Osuocha Kelechi U. , Chukwu Ezinne C.
Published: March 2022

Agricultural impact of swine waste open disposal in  Ubakala area of Abia State were evaluated. Results indicates an increase in soil temperature with increasing soil depth while soil pH was observed to be slightly acidic. Increased soil nutrients, soil enzymes were recorded from the study. This findings suggest that  swine dumps may not be good for agricultural purposes unless adequate treatment  measures  are  taken prior to its application as fertilizer.
A Study of Grade Six Students' Difficulties in Learning English Vocabulary in Wangduephodrang District Bhutan
Authors: Wangdi Leki
Published: March 2022

Vocabulary is the fundamental understanding of a language that determines the quality of a learner's speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Students can readily understand the material presented by the teacher if they have mastered vocabulary. Language skills are built on a foundation of vocabulary. It is difficult to achieve any level of language fluency without understanding the vocabulary. Despite the fact that vocabulary is the foundation for learning a second language, there has been little or no research done in Bhutan. To close this gap, this study assesses the challenges that sixth-grade students in Wangduephodrang district experience in learning English vocabulary and to suggest techniques for reducing students' difficulties in acquiring English vocabulary. This study used a questionnaire to survey problems and obstacles found by the grade six students who studied English. The questionnaire consists of eight questions and the students were instructed to complete it by rating their problems accordingly. The questions assessed the participants difficulties in the learning vocabulary on a five-point Likert scales. As a result, the questions were tabulated and for the numerical interpretation of data, frequency and percentage were used to indicate their extent of agreement. The research was carried out in Wangduephodrang district of Bhutan for a duration of one year. This quantitative study uses a questionnaire, as an instrument, to collect the data. The participants were 312 students in grades six from a variety of schools in the academic year 2021. Simple random sampling was used to select the participants. The findings show that students in grade six have a variety of difficulties learning vocabulary, including understanding the meanings of new words, pronouncing new words correctly, recalling and writing new vocabulary. The students' difficulties stemmed from the fact that English is still a foreign language in their environments.
The Potential of Piperidine Alkaloids-rich Extracts from Prosopis spp. to Combat Plant Pests and Diseases
Authors: Muro-Medina C. V. , García-Morales S. , Caltempa A. Ortiz- , Tapia-Campos E. , León-Morales J. M.
Published: March 2022

The genus Prosopis comprises 44 species of spiny small trees adapted to arid and semiarid regions of the planet that have been used by human populations as a source of wood, food and medicine. Prosopis spp. possess high quantities of phenolic compounds and piperidine alkaloids with antioxidant, neurotoxic, antimicrobial, antimalarial, insecticidal and allelopathic activities. Juliprosopine is the major and more characterized piperidine alkaloid present in the genus Prosopis. In this review we present the potential of Prosopis spp. extracts and piperidine alkaloids for the control of plant pests and diseases and discuss the possibility of their use as an alternative in organic agriculture.
Arthropod Pests of Chilli and Associated Natural Enemies in Kymore Plateau and Satpura Hill Zone of Madhya Pradesh (India)
Authors: Aarwe Rajesh , Shukla Abhishek , Patidar Shrikant , Bajpai Rakesh
Published: March 2022

The survey was conducted in selected districts of Kymore Plateau and Satpura Hills zone of Madhya Pradesh (India) to assess the pest status of chilli during 2017-18 and 2018-19 rabi season. Crop was monitored at vegetative, flowering, and fruiting stages in four selected locations (pesticide-free fields) of seven districts viz., Seoni, Jabalpur, Katni, Rewa, Satna, Panna, and Sidhi. The pest spectra included four insect pests and a mite species namely, whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood, leafhoppers, Amrasca biguttula biguttula (Ishida), fruit-borer, Helicoverpa armigera Hubner, and a mite species, Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks); one species of predator, transverse ladybird beetle, Coccinella transversalis Fabricius. The incidence of Leaf curl disease was also observed. The pooled mean population of B. tabaci in Seoni, Jabalpur, Katni, Rewa, Satna, Panna, and Sidhi was 2.86, 2.45, 2.67, 2.79, 2.90, 2.86, and 2.70 individuals/ 10 cm twig, respectively at the flowering stage. Mean population of S. dorsalis was 1.65, 1.48 and 1.34 individuals/ 10 cm twig at flowering stage in Jabalpur, Katni and Panna, while, in Seoni, Rewa, Satna and Sidhi, it was 1.37, 1.35, 1.34 and 1.48 individuals/ 10 cm twig, respectively at fruiting stage. Population of A. biguttula biguttula was 3.14, 3.80, 3.49, 3.14, 3.18, 3.40, and 2.98 individuals/ 10 cm twig at fruiting stage. P. latus population was 0.86, 1.01, 0.92, 0.99, 0.95, 1.13 and 0.96 mites/ leaf at fruiting stage. H. armigera population was 1.13, 0.43, 0.53, 0.62, 1.28, 0.86 and 1.19 larvae/ plant at fruiting stage. Populations of C. transversalis were 1.80, 2.25, 2.32, 1.85, 1.88, 2.36, and 1.67 beetles/ plant at the fruiting stage. The leaf curl (% leaf infestation) incidence was 27.28, 32.43, 33.33, 28.45, 36.03, 25.53, and 36.19 % at the fruiting stage in the mentioned districts of the zone.
Productivity of Lentil as Affected by Micronutrient Application at Old Alluvial Zone of West Bengal, India
Authors: Roy Shyamashree , Pandit Tapas Kumar
Published: March 2022

Field trial was conducted to optimize the micronutrient application in lentil crop (Variety-WBL-77) at Regional Research Station (Old Alluvial Zone), Uttar BangaKrishi Viswavidyalaya, Majhian during 2019-20 and 2020-21. Foliar application of Fe, Zn and B (at 50 and 100 ppm each) were applied twice, first at pre anthesis stage and second at pod development stage. Parameters such as plant height (cm), dry matter (g/m2), number of nodules per plant and number of pods per plant were observed highest with T8(RDF+50 ppm Zn+Fe+B foliar spray) treatment whereas the T1 (RDF) showed the lowest value for each parameter.  T3 (RDF+100 ppm Zn foliar spray) resulted with maximum 1000 seed weight (g). T8 (RDF+50 ppm Zn+Fe+B foliar spray) was also recorded with the highest seed yield (kg/ha), stover yield (kg/ha). Both T7 (RDF+100 ppm B foliar spray) and T8 (RDF+50 ppm Zn+Fe+B foliar spray) treatments were resulted with the same value of harvest index followed by the rest of the treatments. Therefore, the treatment T8 (RDF+50 ppm Zn+Fe+B foliar spray) proved best among the treatments selected and can be recommended for lentil  (Variety-WBL-77).
Multivariate Analysis through Principal Components for Yield-Attributing Traits in Indigenous Moringa (Moringa oleifera L.) Germplasm Lines
Authors: Karunakar J. , Preethi T. L. , Manikanta Boopathi N. , Pugalendhi L. , Juliet Hepziba S. , Mahadev Prasad Y. M.
Published: March 2022

The present investigation was carried out at the Department of Vegetable Crops, Horticultural College and Research Institute (HC&RI), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Periyakulam during 2016 -2017. Twenty genotypes used to study the genetic diversity for different yield attributing characters of moringa by principal component analysis. In this study, out of twelve principal components, five components exhibited eigen value and revealed about 99.54% variability among the traits. The PC1 accounted for the highest variability (62.20%), followed by PC5 (28.86%) , PC (10 6.25%), PC7 (1.01%) and PC4 (0.75%). The results of the Principal Component Analysis revealed that wide genetic variability exists in these moringa genotypes.
Chromosomal Engineering through CRISPR– Cas Technology: A Way Forward
Authors: Saad Rehman Rao , Nadeem Pasha Asad , Ali Zafar Syed , Ali Mujahid , Waseem Muhammad , Ahmad Muhammad , Ahmad Nabi , Hamza Hafeez Ameer
Published: March 2022

The breeding of crops is dependent on the potential to interrupt or maintain genetic links between characteristics, and the availability of genetic variability. CRISPR-Cas is a new genome-editing technique that has made it possible for breeders to introduce regulated and site-specific genetic diversity while simultaneously improving qualities with high efficacy. The existence of genomic linkage is a barrier in transferring desirable features among domesticated species from their wild counterparts. One way to address this issue is to create mutants with deficiencies in the meiotic recombination machinery, thereby enhancing global crossover frequencies between homologous parental chromosomes. Although this seemed to be a promising approach at first, thus far, no crossover frequencies could be enhanced in recombination-cold regions of the genome. Consequently, attempts have been made to induce site-specific DSBs in both somatic and meiotic plant cells by utilizing CRISPR–Cas techniques to achieve preset crossovers among homologs. Nonetheless, this method has not yielded significant heritable homologous crossings which were recombination-based. Lately, CRISPR–Cas has been used to achieve hereditary chromosomal rearrangements (CRs), including translocations and inversions, in plants. This method allows for the development of megabase CRs by DSB repair through non-homologous end-joining after insertion of DSBs in somatic plant cells. This technique may potentially make it possible to restructure genomes on a more global scale, culminating in the creation not just of synthetic plant chromosomes, but also that of new plant species.
Site-Specific Allometric Equations for Biomass Prediction of Moringa oleifera Lam. in the Northern Zone of Cameroon
Authors: Benedicte Priscile Zang Emgbang , Alexandre Tchindebe , Victor Awe Djongmo , Nathalie Witanou , Clautilde Megueni , Pierre-Marie Mapongmetsem
Published: March 2022

Aims: Moringa oleifera is a species with multivariate uses. Despite its socio-economic importance in the northern part of Cameroon, it remains undervalued. Understanding its contribution to the fight against climate change requires precise quantification of its biomass. However, there is a lack of site-specific allometric equations for estimating this biomass. The development of site-specific allometric equations of M.oleifera is therefore imperative to facilitate this effort.

Study Design: To achieve this objective, a sample of fourteen trees of M.oleifera was taken in from the two areas and divided into diameter classes between 5 and 13 cm.

Place and Duration of Study: Sample: Agroecological zones of High guinean savannahs and Sudano-sahelian zone of Cameroon between April and July 2021.

Methodology: The diameter at breast height of these trees and their height were measured. After tree cutting, biomass of compartments of leaves, branches, trunks and roots were determined after drying and weighing. Various allometric equations between biomasses and two parameters of the tree (the diameter and the height) were tested. The adjusted coefficient of determination (R2adj), the residual standard error (RSE) and the Akaike Information Criteria were used for choosing the best models. 

Results: The different analyses showed that diameter at breast height (DBH) is the variable that offers the best correlation for global above-ground (AGB) and below-ground (BGB) biomass in contrast to the other compartments. Thus, the best models for predicting total above-ground biomass of M. oleifera are -3.653-0.250lnD+5.119lnH (Sudano-Sahelian), -3.916 + 2.982lnD (High guinean Savannahs), -2.340 + 2.117lnD (Global) and finally for roots -6.426 + 2.182lnD.

Conclusion: These mathematical models could help in estimating the biomass of Moringa oleifera in agroforestry systems under the ecological conditions of Cameroon.
Farmers’ Perception on Insect Pollinators Decline and Conservation Methods in Himachal Himalaya, India
Authors: Raj Hem
Published: March 2022

Insect pollinators are important for the sustainability of agriculture and other natural ecosystems. Many insects such as bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, moths and beetles are main pollinators of many fruit crops. The climate well as soil of Himachal Pradesh is apt for growing many kinds of fruit crops but in the last few years, produce and quality of fruit crops is decreasing due to lack of sufficient pollination. This study was conducted to assess the pollinator declining factors and farmers’ perception in respect of pollinator conservation and management methods in Himachal Himalaya. The diversity and distribution of insect pollinators is declining due to many threatening factors observed in Himachal Himalaya. These factors include: loss of insect habitats; pests and diseases of honey bees; use of pesticides; cell phone radiations; environmental pollution; susceptibility to climate change; impact of introduced species; escalation in mono-cropping; livestock grazing and mowing; forest fires; ruthless honey hunting and introduction of exotic honey bees.

The farmers are practicing here apiculture as a part time as well as whole time profession although there are different types of constraints such as lack of all-season bee forage, heavy snowfall, paucity of labour, honey bee absconding and meager knowledge of medicines. Majority of the farmers expect to have financial help for various horticultural works, management technology and training activities. The farmers have knowledge about different aspects of honey production, processing, storage and marketing. But only a few farmers are aware about different pests, predators and diseases of honey bees as well as their remedial measures. To minimize the effect of pesticides, majority of farmers sprayed them in the morning and during nonflowering session.
Ensuring Effective Secure Learning Environment using Authentication System in Terms of Cost and Time at Kumasi Technical University, Ghana
Authors: Adu Valentina , Adane Michael D. , Lartey Yaw N.
Published: March 2022

A welcoming environment is important to promote learning activities in a tertiary institution. Students’ violence has become a major concern in developing countries like Ghana. There is therefore the need to provide a system that will offer assistance to ensure or minimize this violence from students in other to provide tranquil learning environment. With the use of technology like Radio-frequency identification (RFID) the security of Kumasi Technical University (KsTU) can be up graded. Considering the enrollment of staff and the number of students, physical checks for security will demand time and cost. In this paper, a system which does not consume time, very efficient and cost effective will be utilized to oversee the physical security of KsTU. RFID and Local temporary capacity administration can also be used to manage student’s attendance database server. Two algorithms will be presented for efficient communication between the database server and nearby gadgets which will be raspberry pi. A discussion will be done to assess the time and cost involved in student verification authentication process and attendance. This paper is a theoretical analysis of the proposed system.