Improvement of optical signal-to-noise ratio of a high-power pump by stimulated Brillouin scattering in an optical fiber

We propose and demonstrate improvement of optical signal-to-noise ratio of a highpower pump by saturated stimulated Brillouin amplification of a backward seed in a fiber. A 27-dB improvement was obtained for a 1-W pump

Impact of personality traits on work performance in tidal paddy production in the Gambia: a review

Efficient personality is central for effective work performance in tidal paddy farming. Improve rice productivity in the Gambia is essential for stakeholders as it is main actor in achieving food self-sufficiency and security. The aim of this paper is to confirm the impact of personality traits on work performance. Furthermore, to determine the relation between the personality traits for the paddy farmers with work performance; and also to identify the strength of the traits relation with work performance for paddy farmers. This paper uses previous works on personality traits, work performance, and its related studies and looked at how the seven personality traits (willingness to take risks, information seekers, problem solving ability, willingness to spend on capital, extensive network of information, dare to make decisions, and highly disciplined) of paddy farmers and work performance can be used to boost urban food supply through rice production. The need for appropriate development programs is required as one of the options to generate income and improve livelihood of farmers in developing countries

Structural and chemical properties of RF sputtered a-C/WOx bilayers

Amorphous carbon on tungsten oxide (a-C/WOx) bilayers were deposited, on glass and silicon substrates, by radio-frequency (RF) sputtering. The WOx layers are obtained from a pure tungsten target in a mixture of argon and oxygen while the a-C ones were obtained from a pure graphite target in a pure argon plasma. The structural and chemical properties of the a-C/WOx interface were investigated by Grazing Incidence X-Ray Diffraction (GIXRD), X-Ray Reflectometry (XRR) and Electron Dispersive Analysis of X-Ray (EDAX). The XRR spectra show that the a-C/WOx interface is strongly reactive, for high RF powers, with the formation of an inhomogeneous WOxCy total layer. The density of this layer is much smaller than the WOx one. For low RF powers, the a-C/WOx interface is also reactive and the total layer obtained is inhomogeneous in depth but the W atoms content in the top layer is relatively small. This result is also confirmed by the EDAX analyses. The GIXRD spectra show that the WOx layers are crystallized while there is no formation of crystallized tungsten carbides or oxycarbides.Amorphous carbon on tungsten oxide (a-C/WOx) bilayers were deposited, on glass and silicon substrates, by radio-frequency (RF) sputtering. The WOx layers are obtained from a pure tungsten target in a mixture of argon and oxygen while the a-C ones were obtained from a pure graphite target in a pure argon plasma. The structural and chemical properties of the a-C/WOx interface were investigated by Grazing Incidence X-Ray Diffraction (GIXRD), X-Ray Reflectometry (XRR) and Electron Dispersive Analysis of X-Ray (EDAX). The XRR spectra show that the a-C/WOx interface is strongly reactive, for high RF powers, with the formation of an inhomogeneous WOxCy total layer. The density of this layer is much smaller than the WOx one. For low RF powers, the a-C/WOx interface is also reactive and the total layer obtained is inhomogeneous in depth but the W atoms content in the top layer is relatively small. This result is also confirmed by the EDAX analyses. The GIXRD spectra show that the WOx layers are crystallized while there is no formation of crystallized tungsten carbides or oxycarbides

Small RNA datasets of drug-susceptible Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from Sabah, Malaysia

These datasets present a list of small RNAs from three drug-susceptible Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated from Sabah, Malaysia. Sputum samples were obtained from three tuberculosis patients belonging to different districts. The bacteria were detected using GeneXpert MTB/RIF, isolated and cultured in BACTECTM MGITTM 320, and tested for their drug susceptibility. Total RNAs were extracted, sequenced, and analyzed using bioinformatic tools to filter out small RNA present in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. Small RNA sequencing generated total raw reads of 63,252,209, 63,636,812, and 61,148,224 and total trimmed reads (15-30 nucleotides) of 51,533,188, 53,520,197, and 51,363,772 for Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain SBH49, SBH149, and SBH372, respectively. The raw data were submitted to the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) under the accession numbers of SRX16744291 (SBH49), SRX16744292 (SBH149), and SRX16744293 (SBH372). Small RNAs play important roles in cellular processes such as cell differentiation, cell signaling, development of resistance to antibiotics and immune response, and metabolism regulation. The small RNAs determined here could provide further insights into various cellular processes crucial for Mycobacterium tuberculosis survivability and a better understanding of their gene regulation which ultimately opens a new pathway for combating tuberculosis infection

Small Rna datasets of drug-susceptible Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from Sabah, Malaysia

These datasets present a list of small RNAs from three drugsusceptible Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated from Sabah, Malaysia. Sputum samples were obtained from three tuberculosis patients belonging to different districts. The bacteria were detected using GeneXpert MTB/RIF, isolated and cultured in BACTECTM MGITTM 320, and tested for their drug susceptibility. Total RNAs were extracted, sequenced, and analyzed using bioinformatic tools to filter out small RNA present in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. Small RNA sequencing generated total raw reads of 63,252,209, 63,636,812, and 61,148,224 and total trimmed reads (15-30 nucleotides) of 51,533,188, 53,520,197, and 51,363,772 for Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain SBH49, SBH149, and SBH372, respectively. The raw data were submitted to the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) under the accession numbers of SRX16744291 (SBH49), SRX16744292 (SBH149), and SRX16744293 (SBH372). Small RNAs play important roles in cellular processes such as cell differentiation, cell signaling,development of resistance to antibiotics and immune response, and metabolism regulation. The small RNAs determined here could provide further insights into various cellular processes crucial for Mycobacterium tuberculosis survivability and a better understanding of their gene regulation which ultimately opens a new pathway for combating tuberculosis infection

Development of a combined heart-cut and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography system to extend the carbon range of volatile organic compounds analysis in a single instrument

The majority of atmospheric measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are usually limited to a small range, either in volatility or time resolution. A combined heart-cut gas chromatography (GC) with comprehensive two-dimensional GC (GC×GC) instrument was developed, specifically to increase the number of VOCs analysed using a single instrument. The system uses valve based modulation and was fully automated, making it suitable for use in the field. A laboratory comparison to an existing dual-channel GC (DC-GC) instrument demonstrated that this new GC-GC×GC can accurately measure atmospheric mixing ratios of C -C VOC species with a wide range of functionalities. Approximately hourly field measurements were conducted at a remote marine atmospheric research station in Bachok, Malaysia. This region was shown to be influenced by clean marine air masses, local anthropogenic and biogenic emission sources and aged emissions transported from highly polluted South East Asian regions. A dramatic shift in air mass direction was observed each day associated with the development of a sea breeze, which influenced the diurnal profiles of species measured at the Bachok site. A proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) was also deployed at Bachok and compared to the new GC-GC×GC instrument. Overall, the GC-GC×GC instrument has been shown to perform well in lab comparisons and during field observations. This represents a good compromise between volatility and high complexity measurements of VOCs