Conceptualizing Blockchain Technology in Utilization of Social Welfare Service for the Disabled

This study analyzed factors influencing acceptance intention for blockchain technology in social welfare services for the disabled. Security and economics were the leading variables related to blockchain technology acceptance. Willingness to pay, fairness, and regulation were the leading variables reflecting characteristics of public services. UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology) was used as a research model, and performance expectations, effort expectations, and social impact were considered. Based on the blockchain-based virtual disabled voucher process, this study utilized prior knowledge based on the use of rehabilitation center. The STATA / SE 12.0 statistical program was used to analyze demographic frequency, factor analysis, reliability, and structural equation modeling (SEM). Pay-out and fairness have the greatest influence on acceptance intention, and economic and regulatory factors are the next influential factors. Only economic performance has been identified as a leading variable influencing the expectations of effort, and security has been shown to affect only social impact. Economic performance influenced performance expectation, effort expectation, and social influence. Expectation of effort did not affect acceptance intention. This study provides useful information for establishing a practical strategy when introducing blockchain technology to the public service called disabled welfare

Cestode Species Identification on Waterfowl: Parasitology Class Project 2022

Parasites can have a significant effect on an ecosystem if they become too abundant due to the multitude of animals that play a role in their life cycle. This research is a part of a larger class project for BIO 462 identifying parasites that are commonly found in or on waterfowl from around the Winona, Minnesota area. Ducks were donated from hunters and dissected to collect their endo and ectoparasites. Parasite specimens were stained and mounted to look for morphological characteristics that ultimately helped identify the parasites using light microscopy. DNA was extracted from the individual cestodes, and PCR was used to amplify select genes of the DNA. The DNA was then sequenced then compared to other DNA samples in GenBank which determined if the parasites was already classified or if a new species was found. More specimens will be processed to obtain additional results and obtain proper identification. These findings could help identify not only what parasites are common in certain species of ducks, but also provide additional information to the abundance of parasites within waterfowl in our local area

Genome Sequence of Striga asiatica Provides Insight into the Evolution of Plant Parasitism

Parasitic plants in the genus Striga, commonly known as witchweeds, cause major crop losses in sub-Saharan Africa and pose a threat to agriculture worldwide. An understanding of Striga parasite biology, which could lead to agricultural solutions, has been hampered by the lack of genome information. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Striga asiatica with 34,577 predicted protein-coding genes, which reflects gene family contractions and expansions that are consistent with a three-phase model of parasitic plant genome evolution. Striga seeds germinate in response to host-derived strigolactones (SLs) and then develop a specialized penetration structure, the haustorium, to invade the host root. A family of SL receptors has undergone a striking expansion, suggesting a molecular basis for the evolution of broad host range among Striga spp. We found that genes involved in lateral root development in non-parasitic model species are coordinately induced during haustorium development in Striga, suggesting a pathway that was partly co-opted during the evolution of the haustorium. In addition, we found evidence for horizontal transfer of host genes as well as retrotransposons, indicating gene flow to S. asiatica from hosts. Our results provide valuable insights into the evolution of parasitism and a key resource for the future development of Striga control strategies.Peer reviewe

LabVIEW-Based Software-Defined Radio: 4-QAM Modem

A software-defined radio consists of a programmable communication system where functional changes can be made by merely updating software. In this paper, a software-defined radio 4-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) modem system is implemented in LabVIEW. LabVIEW is a widely used graphical programming environment which allows designing systems in an intuitive block-based manner in shorter times as compared to the commonly used text-based programming languages. Basically, this paper demonstrates the ease with which a software-defined radio system can be built and analyzed via the LabVIEW graphical programming environment. Examples are provided to demonstrate the phase and frequency tracking capability of the system

Digital signal processing system design: LabVIEW-bases hybrid programming

Reflecting LabView's new MathScripting feature, the new edition of this book combines textual and graphical programming to form a hybrid programming approach, enabling a more effective means of building and analyzing DSP systems. The hybrid programming approach allows the use of previously developed textual programming solutions to be integrated into LabVIEW's highly interactive and visual environment, providing an easier and quicker method for building DSP systems.Features * The only DSP laboratory book that combines both textual and graphical programming * 12 lab experimeThis book combines textual and graphical programming to form a hybrid programming approach, enabling a more effective means of building and analyzing DSP systems. The hybrid programming approach allows the use of previously developed textual programming solutions to be integrated into LabVIEW's highly interactive and visual environment, providing an easier and quicker method for building DSP systems. This book is an ideal introduction for engineers and students seeking to develop DSP systems in quick time. Features The only DSP laboratory book that combines textual and graphical programm

HotDataTrap: A Sampling-based Hot Data Identification Scheme for Flash Memory

Hot data identification is an issue of paramount importance in flash-based storage devices since it has a great impact on their overall performance as well as retains a big potential to be applicable to many other fields. However, it has been least investigated. In this paper, we propose a novel on-line hot data identification scheme named HotDataTrap. The main idea is to maintain a working set of potential hot data items in a cache based on a sampling approach. This sampling scheme enables HotDataTrap to early discard some of the cold items so that it can reduce runtime overheads and a waste of memory spaces. Moreover, our two-level hierarchical hash indexing scheme helps HotDataTrap directly look up a requested item in the cache and save a memory space further by exploiting spatial localities. Both our sampling approach and hierarchical hash indexing scheme empower HotDataTrap to precisely and efficiently identify hot data even with a very limited memory space. Our extensive experiments with various realistic workloads demonstrate that our HotDataTrap outperforms the state-of-the-art scheme by an average of 335% and our two-level hash indexing scheme considerably improves further HotDataTrap performance up to 50.8%

Nano-Sheet-like Morphology of Nitrogen-Doped Graphene-Oxide-Grafted Manganese Oxide and Polypyrrole Composite for Chemical Warfare Agent Simulant Detection

Chemical warfare agents (CWAs) have inflicted monumental damage to human lives from World War I to modern warfare in the form of armed conflict, terrorist attacks, and civil wars. Is it possible to detect the CWAs early and prevent the loss of human lives? To answer this research question, we synthesized hybrid composite materials to sense CWAs using hydrothermal and thermal reduction processes. The synthesized hybrid composite materials were evaluated with quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors as detectors. The main findings from this study are: (1) For a low dimethyl methyl phosphonate (DMMP) concentration of 25 ppm, manganese dioxide nitrogen-doped graphene oxide (NGO@MnO2) and NGO@MnO2/Polypyrrole (PPy) showed the sensitivities of 7 and 51 Hz for the QCM sensor and 146 and 98 Hz for the SAW sensor. (2) NGO@MnO2 and NGO@MnO2/PPy showed sensitivities of more than 50-fold in the QCM sensor and 100-fold in the SAW sensor between DMMP and potential interferences. (3) NGO@MnO2 and NGO@MnO2/PPy showed coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.992 and 0.975 for the QCM sensor and 0.979 and 0.989 for the SAW sensor. (4) NGO@MnO2 and NGO@MnO2/PPy showed repeatability of 7.00 ± 0.55 and 47.29 ± 2.69 Hz in the QCM sensor and 656.37 ± 73.96 and 665.83 ± 77.50 Hz in the SAW sensor. Based on these unique findings, we propose NGO@MnO2 and NGO@MnO2/PPy as potential candidate materials that could be used to detect CWAs

Cell-free Biosynthesis of Peptidomimetics

A wide variety of peptidomimetics (peptide analogs) possessing innovative biological functions have been brought forth as therapeutic candidates through cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) systems. A key feature of these peptidomimetic drugs is the use of non-canonical amino acid building blocks with diverse biochemical properties that expand functional diversity. Here, we summarize recent technologies leveraging CFPS platforms to expand the reach of peptidomimetics drugs. We also offer perspectives on engineering the translational machinery that may open new opportunities for expanding genetically encoded chemistry to transform drug discovery practice beyond traditional boundaries. © 2023, The Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering and Springer.11Nsciescopuskc