AN EVALUATION Research Articles

AN EVALUATION OF THE SYLLABUS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN CHADIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Chad has over 200 local languages plus French and Arabic as its two official languages. All the other languages taught/learnt in the country are seen as foreign ones. Since the early 21st century, of those languages, Chadian learners have been having a strong interest in English, which they see as a developmental tool. However, given the embryonic state of that language in the country, very little research has been carried out to see how Chadian learners acquire it, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the policy put in place to foster it. This paper critically looks at the current syllabus used in the teaching/ learning of the English language in Chadian secondary schools. The informants came from various secondary schools in N’Djamena, and the data were gathered through interviews and questionnaires administered to both teachers (N50) and learners (N100). The findings show that the current syllabus mostly dwells on grammar and vocabulary, leaving out other key components of the language such as socialisation, fluency or the various types of writing which make efficient users/speakers of any foreign language. The teaching approaches proposed/used, and the textbooks in use have not been adapted. The vast majority of teachers recruited to teach that subject are not trained /qualified. All these factors combine to make the teaching of the English language inefficient in Chadian secondary schools. This study ends with some proposals on how to ameliorate the syllabus to make it more adequate.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0786/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Developmental and validation of a novel small and high-efficient panel of microhaplotypes for forensic genetics by the next generation sequencing

BackgroundIn the domain of forensic science, the application of kinship identification and mixture deconvolution techniques are of critical importance, providing robust scientific evidence for the resolution of complex cases. Microhaplotypes, as the emerging class of genetic markers, have been widely studied in forensics due to their high polymorphisms and excellent stability.Results and discussionIn this research, a novel and high-efficient panel integrating 33 microhaplotype loci along with a sex-determining locus was developed by the next generation sequencing technology. In addition, we also assessed its forensic utility and delved into its capacity for kinship analysis and mixture deconvolution. The average effective number of alleles (Ae) of the 33 microhaplotype loci in the Guizhou Han population was 6.06, and the Ae values of 30 loci were greater than 5. The cumulative power of discrimination and cumulative power of exclusion values of the novel panel in the Guizhou Han population were 1-5.6 × 10− 43 and 1-1.6 × 10− 15, respectively. In the simulated kinship analysis, the panel could effectively distinguish between parent-child, full-sibling, half-sibling, grandfather-grandson, aunt-nephew and unrelated individuals, but uncertainty rates clearly increased when distinguishing between first cousins and unrelated individuals. For the mixtures, the novel panel had demonstrated excellent performance in estimating the number of contributors of mixtures with 1 to 5 contributors in combination with the machine learning methods.ConclusionsIn summary, we have developed a small and high-efficient panel for forensic genetics, which could provide novel insights into forensic complex kinships testing and mixture deconvolution.

Screening a new set of microhaplotypes in exonic regions for sample identity testing and paternity testing during whole exome sequencing analysis.

Whole exome sequencing (WES) is widely used in clinical diagnosis. Before obtaining an accurate diagnosis, it is essential to conduct sample identity testing and paternity testing on trio samples. Currently, there is a lack of optimal genetic markers for these purposes, with limited literature available in this area. Microhaplotypes (MHs) are promising genetic markers due to their high polymorphism, low mutation rate, short amplified fragments, absence of stutter and amplification bias. These characteristics make them suitable for sample tracking and paternity testing during WES analysis. In this study, we screened out a set of polymorphic MHs in exonic regions for the above purposes. The results showed that the power of discrimination (PD) and probability of exclusion (PE) of this set of markers ranged from 0.2682 to 0.8878 and 0.0178 to 0.4583, respectively. Both the cumulative power of discrimination (CPD) and cumulative probability of exclusion (CPE) exceeded 0.999999, indicating the great value of these markers in paternity testing and individual identification in the study population. However, these markers had the effective number of alleles (Ae) values ranging from 1.1784 to 3.8727 (average 2.1805) and informativeness (In) values ranging from 0.0151 to 0.2209 (average 0.0766), showing limited value in DNA mixture analysis and biogeographical ancestry inference.

Investigation of bioactive peptides from Scolymus hispanicus by using in silico methods

Due to increases in the soil pollution related to agricultural areas, the interests on the wild edible greens have been increasing nowadays. Scolymus hispanicus (=Golden thistle) is a wild edible plant which is widely and naturally spread in Türkiye. An in silico-based bioinformatics approach has been proposed for the evaluation of bioactive peptides from this species. In silico digestion and also bioactive peptides of RubisCO from S.hispanicus were studied by using BIOPEP-UWM. Protparam and Clustal Omega were also used to determine physicochemical parameters and sequence similarity, respectively. The AE values related to angiotensin converting enzyme and dipeptidyl peptidase-IV were 0.0847 and 0.1059 after in silico pepsin digestion (pH>2), respectively. While the antioxidant property obtained after pepsin (pH>2) digestion was found to be 0.0127, the value of 0.042 was obtained for ficin on this parameter. BIOPEP-UWM also exhibit important properties related to the bioactivities of the peptides such as antioxidant, dipeptidyl peptidase-IV and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitions. From the results, it could be said that S. hispanicus has very important bioactive peptides which could be evaluated in the production of functional foods. Moreover, isolated bioactive peptides and also secondary metabolites can also be utilized in pharmaceutical industry. Further in vitro and in vivo studies are strongly recommended on S. hispanicus.

Temporal distributions of aerosols over the Horn of Africa–Ethiopia using MODIS satellite data: Part 01

There are large temporal variations in the optical properties and types of aerosols. These are due to the effects of environmental and meteorological conditions, industrial and agricultural influences, and other human influences and natural factors in each ecological functional area. Aerosol optical depth AOD and Ångström exponent AE parameters were extracted from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer MODIS satellite with a 3 km resolution of MOD04_3K and MYD04_3K. The study covers sixteen selected stations in Horn Africa–Ethiopia with neighboring Eritrea, Djibouti, and South Sudan countries clustered into four regions for the periods of 2001–2022 to obtain detailed information on the temporal behaviors and classification of aerosols in each season. The results show that the temporal variability of AOD and AE values is large, with values ranging from 0.00 to 2.10 and 0.67 to 1.23, with minimum values most likely between December 16 and January 07, and maximum values between June 22 and July 24 for both Terra and Aqua in the southeast and northeast clusters, respectively. The lowest AOD and AE values were most common in the Belg (during September–November) and sometimes in Bega (during December–February), while the highest were in the Kiremt season (during June–August). The minimum values were observed at the Kebri Dahar site, and the maximum were at the Erta Ale site, which belongs to Ethiopia. Appropriate AOD and AE thresholds were used to classify the aerosol types into marine (MR), dust (DS), biomass burning (BB), desert dust (DD), urban (UR), and the residual cases were considered mixture (MX) types. The study concludes that marine aerosols were the most abundant at 47.71%, followed by urban aerosols at 28.29%, while desert dusts, enriched at 14.65%, accounted for the third place with free of dust particles. The Mann–Kendall (MK) statistical trend test was applied to the annual time series in all clustered regions and shows an almost positive increasing variability with a slight decrease in the forward series and vice–versa.

AN EVALUATION OF THE PLACE OF MORALITY AND ETHICS IN ISLAMIC CIVIL LAW AND CONTEMPORARY TURKISH CIVIL LAW

Abstract Like morality, law as a phenomenon develops in a process along with inevitable radical breaking points. Nevertheless, the phenomenon of law, which is constantly changing and developing, takes into many elements from past events, especially past legal systems. In this regard, the current Turkish law comes in handy as it departed during the Republican era from the Islamic legal system practiced for centuries and transitioned to the modern continental European legal system, nourished by many elements of Islamic law in the process. This article will examine the relationship between law, morality, and ethics by focusing on the similarities between these two legal systems. Abstrak Sama halnya dengan moralitas, hukum sebagai sebuah fenomena berkembang dalam sebuah proses yang disertai dengan titik-titik terobosan radikal yang tak terelakkan. Tak dapat dipungkiri bahwa fenomena hukum yang terus berubah dan berkembang mengambil banyak elemen dari peristiwa masa lalu, terutama sistem hukum masa lalu. Dalam hal ini, hukum Turki saat ini sangat berguna karena berasal pada era Republik dari sistem hukum Islam yang dipraktikkan selama berabad-abad dan yang bertransisi ke sistem hukum Eropa kontinental yang terpengaruhi berbagai elemen hukum Islam dalam prosesnya. Artikel ini akan membahas hubungan antara hukum, moralitas dan etika dengan berfokus pada kesamaan antara kedua sistem hukum ini.

TÜRKİYE’DE ÇOCUK İŞÇİLİĞİ: SAĞLIK VE SOSYAL YAŞAM KOŞULLARI BAĞLAMINDA BİR DEĞERLENDİRME

Aralık 2019’da Çin’in Wuhan kentinde ortaya çıkan ve günümüzde etkileri devam eden Covid-19, çoğu ülkede sağlık sistemlerine ve birçok ekonomik alana aşırı yük bindirmiş ve büyük ekonomik kayıplara yol açmıştır. Bu önemli etkilerinin yanında tipik olarak solunum damlacıkları yoluyla yaygınlaşan SARS-CoV-2 insan sağlığına olan olumsuz etkileri ile birlikte çocukların sağlığını da olumsuz etkilemiştir. Pandemi sürecinde işgücü kayıplarının olması ve bunun sonucunda ortaya çıkan ekonomik ve işgücü piyasası sonuçları, insanların yaşamları ve geçim kaynakları üzerinde derin izler bırakmıştır. Özellikle yoksul aileleri ve çocuklarını çocuk işçiliğine sürükleyen bu süreç; çocuk işçiliği kavramının çocuk refahı ve çocuk sağlığı kavramları ile olan ilişkisi bağlamında araştırılmasının önemini bir kez daha göstermiştir. Bu doğrultuda araştırmada temel amaç, çocuk işçiliğinin çocuk refahı ve çocuk sağlığı üzerindeki etkilerini incelemektir. Bu kapsamda veri toplam aracı olarak literatür taraması yapılmıştır. Ayrıca TÜİK, ILO ve DSÖ gibi kurum ve örgütlerin verileri taranarak araştırma hazırlanmıştır. Sonuç olarak, çocuk işçiliği, çocukların eğitim haklarına kısıtlamalar getirdiği, düşük ücret, tehlikeli çalışma koşulları ve sağlık hizmetlerine erişimdeki zorluklar gibi faktörlerin de çocukların sağlığını olumsuz yönde etkilerinin olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Bu nedenle çalışmanın ana odağı, çocuk işçiliğinin çocuk refahı ve sağlığı üzerindeki etkilerini anlamak ve bu olumsuz etkileri azaltmaya yönelik stratejileri belirlemektir.

Consistency of Aerosol Optical Properties between MODIS Satellite Retrievals and AERONET over a 14-Year Period in Central–East Europe

Aerosols influence Earth’s climate by interacting with radiation and clouds. Remote sensing techniques aim to enhance our understanding of aerosol forcing using ground-based and satellite retrievals. Despite technological advancements, challenges persist in reducing uncertainties in satellite remote sensing. Our study examines retrieval biases in MODIS sensors on Terra and Aqua satellites compared to AERONET ground-based measurements. We assess their performance and the correlation with the AERONET aerosol optical depth (AOD) using 14 years of data (2010–2023) from 29 AERONET stations across 10 Central–East European countries. The results indicate discrepancies between MODIS Terra and Aqua retrievals: Terra overestimates the AOD at 16 AERONET stations, while Aqua underestimates the AOD at 21 stations. The examination of temporal biases in the AOD using the calculated estimated error (ER) between AERONET and MODIS retrievals reveals a notable seasonality in coincident retrievals. Both sensors show higher positive AOD biases against AERONET in spring and summer compared to fall and winter, with few ER values for Aqua indicating poor agreement with AERONET. Seasonal variations in correlation strength were noted, with significant improvements from winter to summer (from R2 of 0.58 in winter to R2 of 0.76 in summer for MODIS Terra and from R2 of 0.53 in winter to R2 of 0.74 in summer for MODIS Aqua). Over the fourteen-year period, monthly mean aerosol AOD trends indicate a decrease of −0.00027 from AERONET retrievals and negative monthly mean trends of the AOD from collocated MODIS Terra and Aqua retrievals of −0.00023 and −0.00025, respectively. An aerosol classification analysis showed that mixed aerosols comprised over 30% of the total aerosol composition, while polluted aerosols accounted for more than 22%, and continental aerosols contributed between 22% and 24%. The remaining 20% consists of biomass-burning, dust, and marine aerosols. Based on the aerosol classification method, we computed the bias between the AERONET AE and MODIS AE, which showed higher AE values for AERONET retrievals for a mixture of aerosols and biomass burning, while for marine aerosols, the MODIS AE was larger and for dust the results were inconclusive.

AESTHETICS AND IMPLICATIONS OF HADOTI SCHOOL OF PAINTING: AN EVALUATIVE ANALYSIS OF VIBRANT REFLECTION OF THE RAJPUT STYLE OF PAINTING

This forum explores the ways in which the Hadoti School of Painting, more than other forms of art, reflects the love of chromatic expression. Hadoti paintings, which are known for their strong lines and vibrant colours, effectively contrast with the vigor and strength of Rajasthani paintings' characterization. Rajasthan's topography is characterised by dramatic contrasts, from the wealthy black soil and environment of Malwa to the river Chambal, the verdant eastern region, and the nearly unending dry desert of Western Rajasthan. These landscapes are strikingly colourful and fascinating. The brave and courageous people of Rajasthan have always maintained their resilient spirit despite living in a place with harsh weather and geographical conditions. For Rajasthanis, colour is an integral aspect of daily existence. The tone is an important symbol of the rigorous spirit in its arts and architecture, in its clothing and costumes, and in its rites and rituals. Perhaps Hadoti has a distinct style but the common trait is, it called Rajasthan Style of painting constructs Rajasthan as rich in colour and united with culture.

AN EVALUATION OF RURAL ACCESS TO EDUCATION

AN EVALUATION OF RURAL ACCESS TO EDUCATION

AN EVALUATION OF TEACHERS' VIEWS ON OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

The objective of this study is to determine the ways in-service teachers in Türkiye make use of open educational resources and their opinions on using them. For this purpose, the explanatory sequential design has been employed. 588 teachers have participated in the quantitative part of the study; and ten have participated in the qualitative part on a voluntary basis. Data collection instruments have been (a) a personal information form developed by the researchers comprised of 16 questions and (b) a semi-structured interview form with 3 questions. The personal information form has been administered online to participants via social media. Whereas the interviews have been conducted using Zoom teleconferencing software. According to the findings, more than half of the teachers are knowledgeable on the matter of open educational resources and information resources consist of social media. It has been determined that female teachers make greater use of open educational resources than males. It has been established that the most significant affordance of open educational resources is the way it saves time and space for teachers, whereas lack of time and knowledge are the primary obstacles against using open educational resources. Additionally, the opinions of teachers show a demand from their employing organizations towards activities for raising awareness towards the matter of open educational resources and it has been shown that they wish to be encouraged on this matter. It has also been expressed that they expect quantitative and qualitative improvement of the resources provided by the Ministry of National Education, as well as support and cooperation on the use of open educational resources.

Estimation of thermodynamic and physicochemical properties of the alkali astatides: On the bond strength of molecular astatine (At2 ) and the hydration enthalpy of astatide (At- ).

The recent accurate and precise determination of the electron affinity (EA) of the astatine atom At0 warrants a re-investigation of the estimated thermodynamic properties of At0 and astatine containing molecules as this EA was found to be much lower (by 0.4 eV) than previous estimated values. In this contribution we estimate, from available data sources, the following thermodynamic and physicochemical properties of the alkali astatides (MAt, M = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs): their solid and gaseous heats of formation, lattice and gas-phase binding enthalpies, sublimation energies and melting temperatures. Gas-phase charge-transfer dissociation energies for the alkali astatides (the energy requirement for M+ At- ➔ M0 + At0 ) have been obtained and are compared with those for the other alkali halides. Use of Born-Haber cycles together with the new AE (At0 ) value allows the re-evaluation of ΔHf (At0 )g (=56 ± 5 kJ/mol); it is concluded that (At2 )g is a weakly bonded species (bond strength <50 kJ/mol), significantly weaker bonded than previously estimated (116 kJ/mol) and much weaker bonded than I2 (148 kJ/mol), but in agreement with the finding from theory that spin-orbit coupling considerably reduces the bond strength in At2 . The hydration enthalpy (ΔHaq ) of At- is estimated to be -230 ± 2 kJ/mol (using ΔHaq [H+ ] = -1150.1 kJ/mol), in good agreement with molecular dynamics calculations. Arguments are presented that the largest alkali halide, CsAt, like the smallest, LiF, will be only sparingly soluble in water, following the generalization from hard/soft acid/base principles that "small likes small" and "large likes large."

Compression-Only or Standard Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation for Trained Laypersons in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Nationwide Randomized Trial in Sweden.

The ongoing TANGO2 (Telephone Assisted CPR. AN evaluation of efficacy amonGst cOmpression only and standard CPR) trial is designed to evaluate whether compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by trained laypersons is noninferior to standard CPR in adult out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This pilot study assesses feasibility, safety, and intermediate clinical outcomes as part of the larger TANGO2 survival trial. Emergency medical dispatch calls of suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were screened for inclusion at 18 dispatch centers in Sweden between January 1, 2017, and March 12, 2020. Inclusion criteria were witnessed event, bystander on the scene with previous CPR training, age above 18 years of age, and no signs of trauma, pregnancy, or intoxication. Cases were randomized 1:1 at the dispatch center to either instructions to perform compression-only CPR (intervention) or instructions to perform standard CPR (control). Feasibility included evaluation of inclusion, randomization, and adherence to protocol. Safety measures were time to emergency medical service dispatch CPR instructions, and to start of CPR, intermediate clinical outcome was defined as 1-day survival. Of 11 838 calls of suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest screened for inclusion, 2168 were randomized and 1250 (57.7%) were out-of-hospital cardiac arrests treated by the emergency medical service. Of these, 640 were assigned to intervention and 610 to control. Crossover from intervention to control occurred in 16.3% and from control to intervention in 18.5%. The median time from emergency call to ambulance dispatch was 1 minute and 36 s (interquartile range, 1.1-2.2) in the intervention group and 1 minute and 30 s (interquartile range, 1.1-2.2) in the control group. Survival to 1 day was 28.6% versus 28.4% (P=0.984) for intervention and control, respectively. In this national randomized pilot trial, compression-only CPR versus standard CPR by trained laypersons was feasible. No differences in safety measures or short-term survival were found between the 2 strategies. Efforts to reduce crossover are important and may strengthen the ongoing main trial that will assess differences in long-term survival. URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02401633.

Influence of pillar wide and room’s height on the acoustic emission phenomena during crack evolution

The present study probes the effects of pillar wide and room’s height on the failure mechanism of model using experimental test and numerical simulation. For this purpose, firstly gypsum specimens with dimension of 15*15*5 cm containing two neighboring rooms and one pillar were prepared. Pillar widths were 3 cm, 6 cm and 9 cm. In each pillar width, the roof height was 1 cm, 2 cm, 3 cm, 4 cm, 5 cm, and 6 cm. Totally 9 physical specimens were tested. Concurrent with experimental tests, 18 numerical models were simulated. The results show that the pillar wide and roof height affect the failure pattern and compressive strength of models. Two different failure patterns were observed in the model. In the first stage, two tensile fractures were developed from room edge and propagated parallel to loading axis till coalescence with model boundary. In the second stage, mixed tensile-shear cracks were developed through the rock pillar. It is shown that with the augment of stress–strain curve until the peak, the AE hits of numerical specimens presents three stages. In the first stage, AE hits is almost zero; this step is in the elastic stage, and there isn’t any crack in the sample. In the second stage, AE hits is in a slowly increasing stage, which is due to the micro cracks in the model continuous expansion. In the third stage, the AE hits increase rapidly, because the rock almost enters its bearing limit and the crack propagation speed is very fast. Generally, the maximum value of AE is near the peak value. When the roof height is the same, different pillar wide led to a significant change in the maximum AE hits. The experimental test and numerical simulation show the similar outcomes.

Immediate Effect of Continuous Running on Red Blood Cells (RBC), Packed Cell Volume (PCV) and Red Blood Cell Distribution Width (RDW) Among Physically Trained Boys

Introduction: During physical exercise, the level of haematological parameters changes depending on the intensity and duration of exercise and the individual's physical fitness. Research results, based on samples taken before and after exercise, suggest that haematological parameters increase during incremental exercise. The purpose of the research work was to evaluate the acute effect of continuous running on Red Blood Cell (RBC), Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and Packed Cell Volume (PCV)of physically trained boys has been aimed. Methods: Ten (10) physical education male students with an average age of 23.16±1.85 years participated in this study on voluntary basis. Red blood cell (RBC), Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and Packed Cell volume (PCV) of the students were analyzed before running (BR) and just after 35 minutes of continuous running (AR). To find out the effect of contentious running ‘t’ test was calculated for each variable. In order to determine all those hematological parameters, blood samples with 5 ml EDTA were taken from the forearm antecubical area before and after contentious running, and analyzed in laboratory with using auto-analyzer (Sysmex XP- 100). Result: Measurement results were presented as average and standard deviation. Student T-test for dependent samples was used in order to make a comparison between BE and AE values. P&lt;-0.01 value was considered to be significant. The result of the study revealed that, the increase in AR than BR values for Red Blood Cell (RBC) and packed cell volume (PCV) significantly but no significant changes shown in case of Red Blood Cell distribution width (RDW). Conclusion: Conclusively Red blood cell (RBC) and Packed Cell Volume (PCV) displayed significant incensement and insignificant decrease of RBC distribution width (RDW) in relation to acute effect of continuous running.

Assessment of nighttime air quality over an urban location in Indo-Gangetic plain using remote sensing observations

Nocturnal inversion can trap atmospheric pollutants in the lower atmosphere and can significantly impact human health and reduce visibility, particularly in mega-cities. Therefore, nighttime monitoring of atmospheric aerosols and gases is very important. In this paper, we have selected an urban location of Kanpur located in a highly polluted region of Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) to study the variability in nighttime aerosols in response to trace gases and meteorological parameters. For this purpose, we have analyzed all the available data of aerosol optical depth at 500 nm (AOD), Angstrom Exponent (440–870) (AE) from AERONET's newly developed direct moon algorithm. We also examined nighttime data of temperature, relative humidity, methane, ozone, and carbon monoxide from AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder). The average values of nighttime AOD, AE, and precipitable water (PW) were observed to be 0.65 ± 0.04, 1.06 ± 0.21, and 2.86 ± 1.71, respectively. The highest value (0.90 ± 0.05) of lunar AOD is found in November with a corresponding AE value of 1.28 representing the dominance of fine-mode aerosols in Kanpur. In summer, AOD exhibited a slight decreasing trend (slope = −0.008) while AE exhibited an increasing trend (slope = 0.029) indicating that the aerosol burden is decreasing but the contribution of fine mode aerosols is increasing. Urban aerosols were the most abundant type (62.75 %) in the atmosphere of Kanpur during nighttime. Average values of methane, carbon monoxide, and ozone were found to be 1876.30 ± 21.79 ppbv, 127.40 ± 15.12 ppbv, and 40.76 ± 4.55 ppbv, respectively. HYSPLIT cluster analysis on high AOD day indicate the transportation of desert dust and biomass burning aerosols from western and north western regions of India. WTC between AOD and temperature posits a positive correlation in the medium-term period. AOD and carbon monoxide showed an anti-phase association.

A proof-of-principle study: The potential application of MiniHap biomarkers in ancestry inference based on the QNome nanopore sequencing

Haplotyped SNPs convey forensic-related information, and microhaplotypes (MHs), as the most representative of this kind of marker, have proved the potential value for human forensics. In recent years, nanopore sequencing technology has developed rapidly, with its outstanding ability to sequence long continuous DNA fragments and obtain phase information, making the detection of longer haplotype marker possible. In this proof-of-principle study, we proposed a new type of forensic marker, MiniHap, based on five or more SNPs within a molecular distance less than 800 bp, and investigated the haplotype data of 56 selected MiniHaps in five Chinese populations using the QNome nanopore sequencing. The sequencing performance, allele (haplotype) frequencies, forensic parameters, effective number of alleles (Ae), and informativeness (In) were subsequently calculated. In addition, we performed principal component analysis (PCA), phylogenetic tree, and structure analysis to investigate the population genetic relationships and ancestry components among the five investigated populations and 26 worldwide populations. MiniHap-04 exhibited remarkable forensic efficacy, with 148 haplotypes reported and the Ae was 66.9268. In addition, the power of discrimination (PD) was 0.9934, the probability of exclusion (PE) was 0.9898, and the In value was 0.7893. Of the 56 loci, 85.71% had PD values above 0.85, 66.07% had PE values above 0.54, 67.86% had Ae values over 7.0%, and 55.36% were with In values above 0.2 across all samples, indicating that most of the MiniHaps are suitable for individual identification, paternity testing, mixture deconvolution, and ancestry inference. Moreover, the results of PCA, phylogenetic tree and structure analysis demonstrated that this MiniHap panel had the competency in continental population ancestry inference, but the differentiation within intracontinental/linguistically restricted subpopulations was not ideal. Such findings suggested that the QNome device for MiniHap detection was feasible and this novel marker has the potential in ancestry inference. Yet, the establishment of a more comprehensive database with sufficient reference population data remains necessary to screen more suitable MiniHaps.

AN EVALUATION OF STEMI OUTCOMES DURING PHASES OF COVID-19

AN EVALUATION OF STEMI OUTCOMES DURING PHASES OF COVID-19

Study on effective phase interfacial area at different injection angles of hydro-jet cyclone

In contrast to conventional tower-type mass transfer equipment, the hydro-jet cyclone exhibits superior mass transfer capabilities. This study presents a novel investigation into the effective phase interfacial area (ae) of the hydro-jet cyclones across five unique injection angles. The investigation employs a combination of CFD simulations and experimental analysis utilizing a CO2-NaOH system. The results indicate that the 45° upward incidence angle yields the most favorable flow field characteristics for efficient mass transfer when liquid–gas ratio ranges from 0.18 to 0.27. The ae values of the hydro-jet cyclones range from 1846 to 5358 m2·m−3, representing an approximate fivefold increase compared to the rotating packed tower. Empirical formulas for ae are proposed for both vertical incidence and upward 45° incidence angles. This significant enhancement in ae offers the advantage of reducing the equipment volume of the hydro-jet cyclone, leading to substantial cost savings in terms of investment and auxiliary devices.

Construction and evaluation of a novel set of 90 microhaplotypes for forensic applications using NGS technology

Microhaplotypes (MHs), small sets of linked single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), are becoming a valuable tool for paternity testing, personal identification and other different forensic purposes due to their advantages of both short tandem repeats (STRs) and SNPs. However, only a small part of MHs with small segments have been developed and reported so far. And the current population genetic data of MHs are still insufficient. MHs with small segments possess unique advantages in mixture deconvolution, degradation material identification, noninvasive prenatal paternity testing and even medical tumor diagnostic applications. In the present study, a set of 90 autosomal MHs whose PCR amplicon lengths are from 90–150 bp, of which 58 MHs are less than or equal to 100 bp are selected, and assembled into an amplification multiplex system optimized for Ion S5™ System for forensic application. Genetic diversity study of 90 MHs in the populations from different intercontinental regions shows that the polymorphism information content (PIC) values of 83 MHs are greater than 0.4 in populations from East Asia (EAS), and the average PIC value of 90 MHs is greater than 0.5. A total of EAS populations shows the highest cumulative match probability (CMP) and cumulative probability of exclusion (CPE) values in five intercontinental populations. The CMP and CPE values of 90 MHs in EAS are 1.1688 × 10−54 and 0.999999999998954. The informativeness for assignment (In) values of the 90 MHs are calculated based on data from five intercontinental populations, and the In values of 20 MHs have greater than 0.1, indicating that the 20 MHs are high effectiveness in distinguishing different intercontinental populations, which can be used as candidate ancestry informative markers. Further, we have studied the polymorphisms of the 90 MHs based on 224 unrelated individuals of Henan Han population, China, and obtained the frequency data of the 90 MHs. In the Henan Han population, the effective number of alleles (Ae) of the 90 MHs ranges from 1.7649 (MH45) to 3.9792 (MH50), and the Ae values of 10 MHs reach to 3.0; the Ae values of 80 MHs are greater than 2, and the average Ae value for these MHs is 2.422. The average expected heterozygosity, observed heterozygosity, PIC, matching probability, discrimination power and probability of exclusion values of 90 MHs in the Henan Han population are 0.5788, 0.5851, 0.5039, 0.2608, 0.7392 and 0.2806, respectively. The CMP value of 90 MHs in the study population is less than 10−54, and their CPE value reaches 0.999999999999999923. Moreover, the results of the depth of coverage, allele coverage ratio and noise level indicate that the 90 MH amplification system has well sequencing performance, and the sequencing results are reliable. The results indicate the 90 MHs show higher polymorphisms in the study population. The present panel can be well used in paternity testing and individual identification in the study population and even the populations from EAS.