Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Breeding season and aspects of reproduction of female goats.

Reproductive data were collected on 608 female goats and their 1,147 offspring, involving 20 herds, from different geographical locations in Georgia for 3 yr. Results for seven breeds and a dairy crossbred revealed that most goats bred seasonally, commencing approximately in late June and reaching a peak in September to November. However, the Pygmy had an unusual peak of mating activity during summer (July). Gestation period ( +/- SE) was 150.6 +/- 2.64 d. Pygmies had the shortest gestation period, whereas Toggenburgs had the longest. Gestation period decreased as the litter of size of the doe increased (b = -.92 d/kid, P < .001) and increased slightly with increasing parity (b = .22 d/parity). December and January matings had the shortest gestation period. Litter size was 1.85 +/- . 67, with twins being the most prevalent litter size. Litter size varied among breeds. The litter size increased with mating weight of the doe for most breeds (litter size increased approximately .02 kids/kg of mating weight). Birth weight was 3.24 +/- . 64 kg and varied among breeds; Pygmy kids were lightest (1.7 kg) and Toggenburgs were heaviest (3.9 kg). Males were heavier than female kids. Birth weight decreased with the size of litter (approximately .45 kg/kid, P < .001).
Anadromy and the dispersal of an invasive fish species (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Eastern Quebec, as revealed by otolith microchemistry.

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is invading rivers bordering the St. Lawrence Estuary (Quebec, Canada). Some rivers in Eastern Quebec support self-sustaining populations while adult vagrants are frequently captured in rivers where no reproduction has been confirmed. We hypothesised that the development of anadromy has promoted the species dispersal. Otolith Sr:Ca analyses revealed that although all fish captured in the upstream stocking region were freshwater residents, both anadromous and freshwater resident phenotypes were found downstream in Eastern Quebec. The proportion of fish exhibiting the anadromous life cycle increased with the distance from the stocking zone. Eastern Quebec steelhead migrated to sea at the same age but at a larger size than steelhead within their native range. Age at first reproduction was similar to that observed in native populations. The development of the anadromous life cycle enables this species to colonise new rivers following long-distance migrations along the St. Lawrence Estuary corridor.
Can palpation-induced muscle pain pattern contribute to the differential diagnosis among temporomandibular disorders, primary headaches phenotypes and possible bruxism?

Background The evaluation of possible differences in the distribution or characteristics of palpation-induced pain in the masticatory muscles could be valuable in terms of diagnostic assessment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of different combinations of anterior temporalis (AT) and masseter palpation-induced pain in the diagnostic of temporomandibular disorder (TMD), primary headaches and bruxism. Material and Methods A total of 1200 dental records of orofacial pain adult patients were analyzed. The outcomes were dichotomously classified (presence/absence) as following: a) AT and/or masseter palpation-induced pain; b) myogenous TMD; c) temporomandibular joint (TMJ) arthralgia (arthrogenous TMD); d) migraine; e) tension-type headache (TTH); f) self-reported bruxism. Binomial logistic regression model (α = 5%) was applied to the data considering the palpation-induced muscle pain as the dependent variable. Results Mean age (SD) were 35.7 years (13.4) for 635 included dental records (83% females). Myogenous and arthrogenous TMD, migraine, TTH and bruxism were mainly associated with, respectively, masseter palpation-induced pain (p<0.001 - OR=5.77, 95%CI 3.86-8.62), AT or masseter palpation-induced pain (p<0.001 - OR=2.39, 95%CI 1.57-3.63), bilateral AT palpation-induced pain (p<0.001 - OR=2.67, 95%CI 1.64-4.32), masseter and AT palpation-induced pain (p=0.009 - OR=1.62, 95%CI 1.12-2.33) and bilateral masseter palpation-induced pain (p=0.01 - OR=1.74, 95%CI 1.13-2.69). Conclusions Palpation-induced pain in the masticatory muscles may play a role in the differential diagnosis among painful TMD, primary headaches and bruxism. Key words:Diagnosis, temporomandibular joint disorders, migraine, tension-type headache, bruxism.
The development and optimisation of a primary care-based whole system complex intervention (CARE Plus) for patients with multimorbidity living in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation

Objectives To develop and optimise a primary care-based complex intervention (CARE Plus) to enhance the quality of life of patients with multimorbidity in the deprived areas. Methods Six co-design discussion groups involving 32 participants were held separately with multimorbid patients from the deprived areas, voluntary organisations, general practitioners and practice nurses working in the deprived areas. This was followed by piloting in two practices and further optimisation based on interviews with 11 general practitioners, 2 practice nurses and 6 participating multimorbid patients. Results Participants endorsed the need for longer consultations, relational continuity and a holistic approach. All felt that training and support of the health care staff was important. Most participants welcomed the idea of additional self-management support, though some practitioners were dubious about whether patients would use it. The pilot study led to changes including a revised care plan, the inclusion of mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques in the support of practitioners and patients, and the stream-lining of the written self-management support material for patients. Discussion We have co-designed and optimised an augmented primary care intervention involving a whole-system approach to enhance quality of life in multimorbid patients living in the deprived areas. CARE Plus will next be tested in a phase 2 cluster randomised controlled trial.
Robust admissibility analysis and synthesis of uncertain singular systems via delta operator approach

This paper investigates the problems of robust admissibility analysis and robust admissible control for uncertain singular systems through delta operator method. Firstly, a necessary and sufficient LMI-based condition is derived guaranteeing the admissibility of a linear singular delta operator system. Then, based on the above result, a necessary and sufficient LMI-based condition is obtained for the robust admissibility of an uncertain singular delta operator system. Furthermore, the existence condition and explicit expression of a state feedback robust admissible controller is also given in terms of matrix inequalities. Finally, a numerical example is presented to demonstrate the results in this paper.
Optimalization of Adult Lifelong Learning Profiles based on Modern Learning Theories

Throughout most of our lives, we are taught to think that our schooling shapes our minds. The analogy most akin to “shaping our minds” can be described as being moldable like clay. This is far from the truth as in the last few decades of brain research confirms that humans are indeed, superb learners. Through brain studies in the last seventy years, the advent of new research techniques and tools have provided us with new information about the learning process as a whole. While these studies have widespread scope in fields such as anthropology, artificial intelligence, linguistics, neurophysiology, and psychology, this paper will provide a comparative model from traditional learning methodologies to the advent of modern learning. In rediscovering the learning process, this may serve to widen our understanding of the lifelong learning processes for adults in a variety of educational settings.
Perceived Gender Ratings for High and Low Scorers on the Autism-Spectrum Quotient Consistent with the Extreme Male Brain Account of Autism

The Extreme Male Brain (EMB) theory posits that autistic traits are linked to excessive exposure to testosterone in utero. While findings from a number of studies are consistent with this theory, other studies have produced contradictory results. For example, some findings suggest that rather than being linked to hypermasculinization for males, or defeminization for females, elevated levels of autistic traits are instead linked to more androgynous physical features. The current study provided further evidence relevant to the EMB and androgony positions by comparing groups of males selected for high or low scores on the Autism-spectrum Quotient (AQ) as to the rated masculinity of their faces and voices, and comparable groups of females as to the rated femininity of their faces and voices. The voices of High-AQ males were rated as more masculine than those of Low-AQ males, while the faces of High-AQ females were rated as less feminine than those of Low-AQ females. There was no effect of AQ group on femininity ratings for female voices or on masculinity ratings for male faces. The results thus provide partial support for a link between high levels of autistic-like traits and hypermasculinization for males and defeminization for females, consistent with the EMB theory.
Determinants of possession of the ball in soccer

Abstract In research on the importance of the possession of the ball in soccer, little attention has been paid to its determinants. Using data from 170 matches of the 2003 – 2004 Spanish Soccer League, we explain why differences in the possession of the ball among teams are so great. In particular, four variables are examined: evolving match status (i.e. whether the team is winning, losing or drawing), venue (i.e. playing at home or away), and the identities of the team and the opponent in each match. Results of linear regression analysis show that these four variables are statistically significant and together explain most of the variance in possession. In short, home teams have more possession than away teams, teams have more possession when they are losing matches than when winning or drawing, and the identity of the opponent matters – the worse the opponent, the greater the possession of the ball. Combinations of these variables could be used to develop a model that predicts possession in soccer.
Biased Assimilation and Attitude Polarization: The Effects of Prior Theories on Subsequently Considered Evidence

People who hold strong opinions on complex social issues are likely to examine relevant empirical evidence in a biased manner. They are apt to accept "confirming" evidence at face value while subjecting "discontinuing" evidence to critical evaluation, and as a result to draw undue support for their initial positions from mixed or random empirical findings. Thus, the result of exposing contending factions in a social dispute to an identical body of relevant empirical evidence may be not a narrowing of disagreement but rather an increase in polarization. To test these assumptions and predictions, subjects supporting and opposing capital punishment were exposed to two purported studies, one seemingly confirming and one seemingly disconfirming their existing beliefs about the deterrent efficacy of the death penalty. As predicted, both proponents and opponents of capital punishment rated those results and procedures that confirmed their own beliefs to be the more convincing and probative ones, and they reported corresponding shifts in their beliefs as the various results and procedures were presented. The net effect of such evaluations and opinion shifts was the postulated increase in attitude polarization. The human understanding when it has once adopted an opinion draws all things else to support and agree with it. And though there be a greater number and weight of instances to be found on the other side, yet these it either neglects and despises, or else by some distinction sets aside and rejects, in order that by this great and pernicious predetermination the authority of its former conclusion may remain inviolate. (Bacon, 1620/1960)
Preparation and Evaluation of GAC-Based Iron-Containing Adsorbents for Arsenic Removal

Granular activated carbon-based, iron-containing adsorbents (As-GAC) were developed for effective removal of arsenic from drinking water. Granular activated carbon (GAC) was used primarily as a supporting medium for ferric iron that was impregnated by ferrous chloride (FeCl2) treatment, followed by chemical oxidation. Sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) was the most effective oxidant, and carbons produced from steam activation of lignite were most suitable for iron impregnation and arsenic removal. Two As-GAC materials prepared by FeCl2 treatment (0.0250.40 M) of Dacro 20 × 50 and Dacro 20 × 40LI resulted in a maximum impregnated iron of 7.89% for Dacro 20 × 50 and 7.65% for Dacro 20 × 40LI. Nitrogen adsorptiondesorption analyses showed the BET specific surface area, total pore volume, porosity, and average mesoporous diameter all decreased with iron impregnation, indicating that some micropores were blocked. SEM studies with associated EDS indicated that the distribution of iron in the adsorbents was mainly on the edge of As-GAC in the low iron content (∼1% Fe) sample but extended to the center at the higher iron content (∼6% Fe). When the iron content was > ∼7%, an iron ring formed at the edge of the GAC particles. No difference in X-ray diffraction patterns was observed between untreated GAC and the one with 4.12% iron, suggesting that the impregnated iron was predominantly in amorphous form. As-GAC could remove arsenic most efficiently when the iron content was approximately 6%; further increases of iron decreased arsenic adsorption. The removal of arsenate occurred in a wide range of pH as examined from 4.4 to 11, but efficiency was decreased when pH was higher than 9.0. The presence of phosphate and silicate could significantly decrease arsenate removal at pH > 8.5, while the effects of sulfate, chloride, and fluoride were minimal. Column studies showed that both As(V) and As(III) could be removed to below 10 μg/L within 6000 empty bed volume when the groundwater containing approximately 50 μg/L of arsenic was treated.
Predictors of Employability of Engineering Graduates in Campus Recruitment Drives of Indian Software Services Companies

The purpose of this paper is to identify predictors of employability of undergraduate engineering students in campus recruitment drives of Indian software services companies. Data with respect to the academic background of 559 engineering graduates from a reputed engineering college in South India along with their performance in various non‐technical training were analyzed vis‐a‐vis their performance in the campus recruitment drives of major Information Technology companies in India. Correlation and multiple regressions were performed to test hypotheses. It was observed in this study that knowledge of engineering (GPA) and proficiency in English language are important predictors of continuous employability of engineering graduates in campus interviews of software services companies. It was also found that unlike in other core engineering sectors, female students are better performers than their male counterparts in campus recruitments in software services industry. Outcome of this study would be of greater relevance to college management, Training & Development professionals, recruiters as well as the student fraternity in developing those skills that are required to enhance employability of fresh graduates in software services industry.
Sourcing the News: Key Issues in Journalism - an Innovative Study of the Israeli Press

* Sourcing the News: Key Issues in Journalism- An Innovative Study of the Israeli Press. Zvi Reich. CresskUl, NJ: Hampton Press, 2009. 244 pp. $59.95 hbk. $26.50 pbk. As a cynical academic, I admit I become suspicious when an author feels compelled to use the subtitle of his/her book to state how original or "innovative" the study is. Surely show-don' t-tell appUes to academic writing, too? In this case, however, the book fully lives up to the title. This is truly an innovative study, and it tackles one of the key issues of journalism studies - journalist-source relations - in a comprehensive, never-seen-before fashion. Journalist-source relations are notoriously difficult to study in-depth because of anonymity concerns: it would be ethically impossible for the researcher to be present to observe journalist-source interactions directly. This has left researchers either having to infer source data from content (e.g., looking at how many/what kinds of sources are quoted in articles), or doing interviews with journalists and sources separately about their interactions in general. As Reich points out, both those methods lack specificity - in the case of content analysis more sources may have been consulted than are quoted in the article, and in the case of interviews, we know that there is always a big gap between what journalists say that they do and what they actually do (the same is of course true for sources). Reich's methodological solution is quite ingenious. He picked ten different news beat reporters from three leading Israeli newspapers and identified all news stories published by them during a four-week period. Then Reich conducted "reconstruction interviews," where the journalist randomly sampled a number of stories from the ones published over the four weeks, without the interviewer knowing which stories were selected. The reconstruction interview then asked general questions on each article sampled about how many sources were used, how the journalist was contacted, if the journalist contacted the source, and so on (the full interview manual is available in an appendix), thus maintaining source confidentiality while at the same time eliciting suprisingly detailed information on how journalists work with their sources. The methodology is described in full in chapter 2. Using this material, Reich provides a solid empirically grounded analysis of many key areas of journalist-source relations: the oft-recurring question of who has the initiative in this relationship, the journalist or the source (chapter 4); the number and types of sources typically used by journalists (chapter 5; one of the sections is aptly subtitled "The lure of spokespersons"); the anatomy and mechanics of leaks (chapter 6); the question of how new technologies change journalistsource relations (chapter 7 - the answer is "not very much," as the telephone remains the key tool for communicating with sources); and how different types of journalists use sources differently. …
Role of protein -SH groups in redox homeostasis--the erythrocyte as a model system.

The reactivities of the sulfhydryl groups of rat, turkey, human, and calf hemoglobin were studied together with the enzyme activities of glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and glutaredoxin in lysed erythrocytes to evaluate their roles in regulating redox homeostasis. The results of -SH reactivity showed rate constants spanning four orders of magnitude (k2, calf, 6.67 M-1 s-1; rat -SH fast reacting, 2.8 x 10(4) M-1 s-1). Enzyme activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase ranged from 0.402 U/ml (calf) to 0.900 U/ml (rat), glutathione reductase from 0. 162 U/ml (rat) to 0.381 U/ml (human), glutaredoxin from 0.778 U/ml (rat) to 2.28 U/ml (turkey), and glutathione peroxidase from 2.07 U/ml (human) to 27.3 U/ml (rat). Blood samples of the four species were also treated with 0.5-1.5 mM tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BOOH) or diamide, and levels of glutathione-derived species [GSH, GSSG, and glutathione-protein mixed disulfides (GS-SP)] were determined within 120 min and related to the corresponding protein -SH group (PSH) reactivities and enzyme repertoires. In all cases t-BOOH rapidly transformed GSH into GSSG by the action of glutathione peroxidase; GSSG was in turn transformed into GS-SP, according to the reaction GSSG + PSH --> GS-SP + GSH, or reduced back to GSH by glutathione reductase. The GSSG reduction was more efficient in rat and human blood, due to the contribution of the fast-reacting -SH of hemoglobin, in the rat, and to the efficiency of the enzyme repertoire of human blood. Calf blood showed a relatively low capacity to restore normal values after oxidative stress, due to its low PSH reactivity and the weak contribution of its enzymes. Diamide treatment, which is known to react nonenzymatically with thiols, gave increased GS-SP levels in rat and turkey, but not in human and calf blood, as expected from the different corresponding PSH reactivities. Species with relatively high PSH reactivity and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, such as the rat, therefore had a higher antioxidant capacity than species (calf) in which these parameters were relatively low.
Circulatory regulation during exercise in different ambient temperatures.

Three relatively fit subjects performed duplicate 20- to 25-min cycle ergometer exercise bouts at moderate and heavy intensities (40% and 70% Vo2 max) in ambient temperatures of 20, 26, and 36 degrees C. They approached a steady state in internal body temperature (Tes) in all but the heavy exercise in the heat, where Tes rose consistently, averaging 38.84 degrees C at the termination of exercise. Cardiac output (Q), estimated by a rebreathing technique, was proportional to Vo2 and independent of the body temperatures, except during the lower exercise intensity in the heart, where Q averaged 1.31 . min -1 higher throughout. In any environment, forearm blood flow was linearly related to Tes above the Tes threshold for vasodilation, but during heavy exercise in the heat this relationship was severely attenuated above a Tes around 38.0 degrees C, when forearm blood flow exceeded 15 ml.min -1 . 100 ml -1. Plasma volume decreases during exercise were primarily a function of the intensity of exercise. During heavy exercise in the heat the relative vasconstriction contributes to the maintenance of an adequate stroke volume preventing a fall in Q. In this case, circulatory regulation has precedence over temperature regulation.
Evolutionary conservation of chromosome territory arrangements in cell nuclei from higher primates

We demonstrate that the nuclear topological arrangement of chromosome territories (CTs) has been conserved during primate evolution over a period of about 30 million years. Recent evidence shows that the positioning of chromatin in human lymphocyte nuclei is correlated with gene density. For example, human chromosome 19 territories, which contain mainly gene-dense and early replicating chromatin, are located toward the nuclear center, whereas chromosome 18 territories, which consist mainly of gene-poor and later replicating chromatin, is located close to the nuclear border. In this study, we subjected seven different primate species to comparative analysis of the radial distribution pattern of human chromosome 18- and 19-homologous chromatin by three-dimensional fluorescence in situ hybridization. Our data demonstrate that gene-density-correlated radial chromatin arrangements were conserved during higher-primate genome evolution, irrespective of the major karyotypic rearrangements that occurred in different phylogenetic lineages. The evolutionarily conserved positioning of homologous chromosomes or chromosome segments in related species supports evidence for a functionally relevant higher-order chromatin arrangement that is correlated with gene-density.