Abstract:The aim of this study was to determine the influence of shoots type and light intensity on plantlets rooting and duration of seedling preparation for transplantation of a red carnation cultivar (Dianthus caryophyllus L.). The study was conducted during two consecutive years, 2017-2019, at the Flowers Greenhouse under the ownership of Mehmet Loci in Fushë Kruja, at the central part of Albania. Two different types of shoots, semi-hardwood shoots and green shoots, as well as two different light intensities, natural light intensity (with an mean of 14367 lux) and reduced light intensity (with an mean of 1574 lux), with 5 replication with 104 shoots, 3.5 and 4 cm in length, for each replication, were used in both years. Green and semi-hardwood shoots were placed for rooting in small styrofoam boxes (0.010 liters) filled with perlite-peat mixture (60:40), under controlled environmental conditions (18±2oC and 70±5% RH). Observed results showed that both factors, shoots type and light intensity, had significantly influenced the rooting ability and the duration period of transplantation of seedlings. Rooting percentage of plantlets for semi-hardwood shoots was 63% and 45%, while for green shoots, rooting percentage of plantlets was 86% and 68% at natural light intensity (with an mean of 14367 lux) and reduced light intensity (with an mean of 1574 lux), respectively. Duration of the period planting to root initiation was 19 and 21 days for green shoots and 13 and 16 days for for semi-hardwood shoots, at 14367 lux and 1574 lux light intensity, respectively. Plantlets were ready for the permanent transplantation after 39-42 days for green shoots and after 28-31 days for semi-hardwood shoots, at 14367 lux and 1574 lux light intensity, respectively. The use of semi-hardwood shoots has significantly accelerated rooting and transplantation duration by 11 days compared to green shoots, for the same light intensity level. Results showed that there exists a strong negative correlation between the light intensity, rooting initiation, and transplantation period (r = -0.93576278 and r = -0.916217561, respectively), while, between rooting initiation duration, transplantation period, and rooting percentage exists a strong positive correlation (r = +0.983803957 and r = +0.965430639), which means that the acceleration of rooting initiation significantly affect the acceleration of transplantation and the number of seedlings. Relationship between shoots type, light intensity, and rooting percentage was significant and statistically confirmed by ANOVA (p ≤ 0.05).
Abstract:Background: Brain mapping represents a set of neuroscience techniques predicated on the mapping of quantities or properties onto spatial representations of the human or non-human brain resulting in maps (neuromaps).\nObjective: of our research was to identify possible neurophysiologic differences, at athletes, by studying the electroencephalographic (EEG) activity, using brain mapping, at judo and volleyball.\nMaterial and method: The studied group was formed of 23 athletes, males, 12 judo players and 11 volleyball players, with an average age of 21 years and experience in one of the sportive disciplines of at least 8 years, homogenous from the point of view of weight, height and training regime.\nWith the help of EEG MAPPING QP-220AK programme, part of Nihon-Kohden EEG-9200 device, we recorded EEG classic rhythms, during successive actions, relaxation and contraction of both fists, in order to emphasize different values of cerebral activity, compared by using Pearson correlation coefficient. \nResults: EEG results of judo players emphasized a slight increase of theta waves values, accompanied by a correlation in the dominant hemisphere for alpha1 and aplpha2 waves, also, was remarked a high degree of correlation for theta and beta indexes, in comparison with the volleyball athletes where the theta waves had the highest values and the correlation of EEG indexes was smaller.\nDiscussion and conclusions: Brain mapping proved to be a useful and objective method for analyze and identification of EEG waves differences, specific to long period sportive activities, determined by the professional training’ influence over cerebral activity.
Abstract:The world of smart agribusiness is still far from being fully and effectively applied,\nespecially by the Italian entrepreneurial fabric. In part, this is due to the fact that its\npotential and important connections with the technological world of reference are not\nfully known.\nThe imperative is therefore: to learn how to manage all the processes that characterize the\nagricultural chain in a synergistic way, from production to the sale of the product to the\nfinal consumer. It is therefore essential to know every minimum aspect of the supply\nchain considering the current strengths on which to leverage but especially the\nweaknesses on which to intervene thanks to the use of technology available on the market.\nToday, the supply chain is still considered as a set of phases, one consecutive to the other,\nas if they were detached from each other.\nHowever, in order to operate efficiently, each step should be interconnected: from the\nfarmer’s decision to produce an agricultural good to the choice of production factors,\nfrom the implementation of harvesting and post-harvest operations to processing, from\nthe selection of goods suitable for sale to the logic of distribution on the target territory.\nThis work investigates the potential strategy using digital technologies in order to make\ndynamic the agribusiness supply chain, especially because in Italy the agri-food is one of the most important economic sectors but it is far from the most innovative trends available\non the market.
Abstract:Background:Tinea pedis is a contagious mycoses that affects the skin on the feet and the inter digital spaces. Aims: This study was aimed at determing the prevalence of athlet’s foot and the associated microbes in football players in our locality. Methods: Ethical approval and informed consent was obtained from the Health Research Ethics Committee, UCTH, Calabar and the subjects. Subjects with lesions of tinea pedis enrolled for the study were 80 in number. They provided information on risk factors for infection and demography using a structured questionnaire. Scrapings obtained from lesions were subjected to microscopy and culture. Isolates were identified using biochemical and physiological tests. Results: Out of the 80 subjects enrolled for the study (36.3%) had tinea pedis while (28.7%) of the fungal foot infection was caused by non-dermatophyte moulds and yeasts. Trichophyton mentagrophytes 8(27.5%) was the most prevalent dermatophyte. The most common risk factor of infection was training with bare feet 25(31.3%). Limitations: The risk factors investigated in the study were related to life styles. Other risk factors related to chronic disease and skin disorders are important factors but were not investigated because of lack of funding. Conclusion: Personal hygiene and prevention of feet contact with the soil of the pitch may break transmission. Morbidity caused by athlete’s foot results in absenteeism during training with consequent outcome of match losses and the attendant effect on club sides.
Abstract:In this paper we study the possibility of using the thermographic technique in determining the respiratory rate in newborns and monitoring in case of apnea. It has been chosen to use the thermography technique in monitoring the new-born\'s respiratory rate because it is a non-invasive technique. In this case, monitoring is based on the determination of changes in skin temperature caused by breathing (inspire / expire). A train of thermal images recorded in 50 newborns was used as an input, in the chronological order of their recording. The images are taken sequentially, one by one, for 6 minutes for each subject, so we can extract inspire / expire. The two parameters used for the assay are the nasal nose (right and left) and the nose peak area correlated with the heat dissipation regions. This method of non-contact monitoring is absolutely necessary because it is designed to monitor the most fragile category of premature babies.
Abstract:An unconditionally secure public-key cryptosystem using orthogonal product states is presented in this paper. Every user keeps a set of quantum particles in orthogonal product states in a key management center (KMC) as the public key while he or she keeps the states of them as the private key. By the help of KMC users can accomplish secret communication. The laws of quantum physics guarantee the unconditional security of this cryptosystem. No entangled states or complex quantum operations are needed. In communication process any two users needn’t exchange quantum particles. So the public-key cryptosystem is easier to carry out and more robust in practice.
Abstract:This paper deals with enhancement in seismic bandwidth expansion due to advancement in the marine broadband acquisition, innovative processing, and Inversion methodology. This results in an improvement in vertical resolution that is of significance in thin stacked pay bed delineation and development of seismic constrained reservoir model. \nIn the past 5 years or so new marine seismic technologies have been applied extensively in this part of the world by PETRONAS and its PSC partner with considerable success. In the acquisition phase, the industry has seen new broadband acquisition including dual-sensor cable, multiple towed streamers (over/under), slanted & variable depth streamers, and isometric areal recording. All of these techniques have significantly increased the bandwidth of the recorded data.\nOn the imaging side, which not the focus of this paper, the complex structures have benefitted from wide and full azimuth (Circular) recording as well as resolving Gas wipeout issues using sea bed acquisition with Ocean Bottom Cables (OBC).\n On the processing side using de-ghosted or far-field signature modeled, we can expand the bandwidth for legacy or even modern high-quality data such as Q-marine. The innovative new de-convolution method is developed that can significantly improve the signal frequency with minimum or no effect on noise. Several wavelet transform techniques are discussed that can have a significant improvement on S/N. These approaches are interesting as they can be implemented post-stack fast at minimum cost.\nWe also discuss several Inversion techniques; particularly stochastic elastic inversion that produces broadband data with the result we are able to delineate pays far lower than the quarter of wavelength criteria. All techniques developed are new and have been proven to work on real Offshore Malaysia data.
Abstract:In the current set of experiment forty maize genotypes were assessed for drought associated traits. For evaluation of these traits cluster, PC and correlation analysis was employed to obtain suitable parents that can be further exploited in future breeding programmes. Correlation analysis revealed some important associations among the traits studied. FRL had positive and significant associations but LT had significant negative correlation with RD at both 40% and 100% moisture levels while RD had negative at 100% and positive correlation at 40% moisture level with CC. The positive correlation among these yield contributing traits suggested that these characters are important for direct selection of drought tolerant high yielding genotypes. Principal component (PC) analysis showed first 4 PCs having Eigen value >1 explaining 86.7% and 88.4% of the total variation at 40% and 100% moisture level respectively with different drought related traits. Cluster analysis classified 40 accessions into four divergent groups. The members of cluster 1 and 2 may be combined in future breeding programs to obtain genotypes /hybrids that can perform well under drought stress conditions. Members of cluster 3 may be selected on the bases of RD, LT, DRW and RSR/W and can be combined with members of cluster 4 due to higher leaf temperature and RSR/L. The results concluded that the germplasm had wide genetic diversity thus can be utilized for future breeding programmes to obtain drought tolerant maize genotypes/ hybrids for adaptation to water scarce areas.
Abstract:It is demonstrated earlier that the exact Smith-Waterman algorithm yields more accurate results than the members of the heuristic BLAST family of algorithms. Unfortunately, the Smith-Waterman algorithm is much slower than the BLAST and its clones.\nHere we present a technique and a webserver that uses the exact Smith-Waterman algorithm, and it is approximately as fast as the BLAST algorithm. The technique unites earlier methods of extensive preprocessing of the target sequence database, and CPU-specific coding of the Smith-Waterman algorithm.\nThe SwissAlign webserver is available at the http://swissalign.pitgroup.org address.
Abstract:OPTICS is a density-based clustering algorithm that performs well\nin a wide variety of applications. For a set of input objects,\nthe algorithm creates a so-called reachability plot that\ncan be either used to produce cluster membership assignments,\nor interpreted itself as an expressive two-dimensional representation\nof the density-based clustering structure of the input set, even if the input set is embedded in higher dimensions.\nThe main focus of this work is a visualization method that can be used to assign colors\nto all entries of the input database, based on hierarchically represented\na-priori knowledge available for each of these objects.\nBased on two different, bioinformatics-related applications we\nillustrate how the proposed method can be efficiently used\nto identify clusters with proven real-life relevance.