Exact string-matching algorithms have become very supreme in many bioinformatics tools. Despite the abundance and diversity of such algorithms, exposing them to real-time experimental analysis has been critical. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of ten exact-string matching algorithms on large-scale genomic sequences from a runtime perspective. To define the most efficient algorithms are qualified to handle the short alphabet used for nucleic acid coding. The methodology promoted for this study was the factorial experiment with Randomized Complete Block Design (FRCBD). Under influence of four independent parameters, four levels of pattern lengths, four levels of pattern indices, two levels of programming languages, and ten levels of algorithmic architecture. The yield of the tested algorithms was calculated in nanoseconds. One-way ANOVA and Two-way ANOVA tests with post-hoc Games-Howell test were used separately for statistical analysis. In this study two widely accepted programming languages, C# and JAVA were used to speculate the possible effect of programing language on algorithm performance. The One-way ANOVA results revealed that the Backward-Oracle-Matching (BOM), Zhu-Takaoka (ZT), and Horspool's (HP) algorithms exhibited the highest final performance correspondingly. These algorithms have demonstrated an efficiency of up to 250% higher than other algorithms. The results of two-way ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between programing language adopted and execution time with the absence of pattern lengths and pattern index effect. The combination of the C# programing language and the Backward-Oracle-Matching algorithm produced the most effective performance on genomic sequences. 

Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) are one of the utmost mutable provinces in the human genome. They comprise tandem repeating DNA sequences ranging in length from two to six base pairs. Owing to their significant mutation rate, they exhibit considerable variation in pattern among populations and the capacity to be passed on from generation to generation. These loci are broadly employed in medicine, biology, and criminal investigation. They are pivotal in the genesis of a variety of genetic illnesses and have been intensively investigated in forensics, population genetics, and genetic genealogy. Although many implementations that manage STR loci are offered, the overwhelming majority of them rely primarily on the Command-Line Interface (CLI) inputs, which frequently necessitate the implementation of tools carried out in various scripting languages. Installing and launching programs through the Command Line (CL) is timeconsuming and/or unprofitable for many students and scholars. The fundamental intention of this project is to develop a cross-platform Graphical User Interface (GUI) package directed to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) STR analysis. Zenobia is a Java-based application considered as a step in consistently making CL-only programs available to more apprentices and researchers. In general, Zenobia's application outcomes satisfy the evaluation metrics for efficiency and time consumption. However, more genetic markers should be introduced to increase productivity of the application.

Abstract

The exposure of the developing foetal heart to hyperglycaemia in mothers with diabetes mellitus is a major risk factor for foetal cardiac complications that lead to heart failure. We studied the effects of hyperglycaemia on the layout of cardiac myofilament proteins in stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and their possible underlying mechanisms. Mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) were differentiated into cardiac-like cells and cultured in media containing baseline- or high glucose concentrations. Cellular biomarkers were detected using Western blot analysis, immunocytochemistry, 5–ethynyl–2-deoxyuridine (EdU) cell proliferation assay, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assay. High glucose decreased the proportion of cardiac troponin T and α-actinin 2 positive mESCs as well as disrupted the α-actinin 2 striated pattern and the distribution of the cardiac myosin heavy chain α- and β isoforms. However, there was no alteration of the cellular EdU uptake nor the expression of the receptor of advanced glycation end-product (RAGE). High glucose also increased the presence of the oxidative stress marker nitrotyrosine as well as the number of TUNEL-stained nuclei in cardiaclike cells. Treatment with the antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine decreased the number of TUNEL-stained cells in high glucose and improved the α-actinin 2 striated pattern. Hyperglycaemia negatively impacted the expression and cellular organisation of cardiac myofilament proteins in mESC-derived cardiomyocytes through oxidative stress. The results add further insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of cardiac contractile dysfunction in diabetic cardiac developmental disease.

This article indicates that Arab Libyan EFL learners are incompetent in oral communication. Despite spending years in learning English, they fail to employ that knowledge in real communicative situations. This might be the outcome of inadequate teaching approaches that are employed by Arab EFL teachers. Diaaba (2016) pointed out that, their overreliance on traditional approaches which emphasize extensive linguistic input rather than communicative output result in what Wolff (2010 cited in ibed, 2016 p. 338) calls 'mute English learners', who can read and write but cannot speak. The purpose of this study was to uncover challenges facing Arabic-speaking ESL students as well as teachers .13 participations are included in this article. Research questions focused on the needs of the Arab Libyan-speaking ESL students, the factors that influence their learning, and the problems the teachers face in supporting these students. Data sources included teacher and student interviews, classroom observations the results revealed that Arab Libyan learners face challenges in speaking skills due to linguistic and psychological barriers. The study concluded that several important challenges for teachers and students exist, including time, language support, and knowledge insufficient exposure to the target language and frequent use of Arabic were the main factors contributing to the Libyan EFL learners' speaking difficulties. Lack of speaking activities and overemphasis on accuracy at the expense of fluency by the teachers were other contributing factors.

Keywords: Speaking skills; speaking difficulties; instructional approaches; linguistic and psychological barriers

Previous studies have established that male and female speakers differ in their production of foreign language (FL) vowels due to biological differences in the vocal tract. These differences present a challenge when subjects recruited for an instrumental analysis of speech sounds include speakers of both genders. Most previous studies, therefore, focus on only one gender to avoid the problem of biological differences between males and females. However, different gender groups may perform differently in speaking tasks as their language experience may be influenced by other social factors. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the differences between Libyan male and female speakers in the production of English vowels, by examining the data with and without the use of normalization to determine the most difficult English vowels for Libyan male and female speakers. To achieve this goal, seventy Libyan participants (35 male and 35 female) were recruited to perform a speech production task of eleven English vowels embedded in carrier sentences. The data were collected and analyzed using PRAAT to extract the F1 and F2 formant frequencies for each vowel and to calculate the Euclidean distance (ED) of the English vowels produced by using the centroid as the reference point. With the unnormalized data, more overlaps were found for the male speakers when compared to the female speakers as the vowel space were more centred for the males compared to the females. With the unnormalized data, different pairs of vowel contrasts were identified as potentially problematic. However, with the normalized data, better categorical distinction is found in general. Only three vowels emerged as potentially problematic as the other pairs could potentially be disambiguated using vowel duration as a cue. The study demonstrated the utility of the Lobanov method for normalizing speech data to reduce variability associated to gender differences. The efficacy of the Lobanov method of normalization remains to be tested further to verify if the predictions made about difficult vowel pairs for Libyan EFL learners are indeed attested in their discrimination of these vowel pairs in future research.