Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence, Risk Factors and Genetic Diversity of Equine Piroplasmosis in Kelantan, Malaysia

Equine piroplasmosis (EP), a reportable disease in Malaysia, caused by Theileria equi, Babesia caballi and both protozoa can result in petechial hemorrhages, hemoglobinuria, and death in equids. The epidemiology of the disease in Malaysia has not been thoroughly investigated. The objectives of this study were to: identify the etiology of EP in Kelantan; determine the prevalence and risk factors; compare the effectiveness of laboratory tests for detecting the disease; identify ticks species on the equids; determine the clinicopathological parameters and antibody titers in equids with a clinical and subclinical form; and investigate the genetic diversity and phylogenetic of the piroplasms from equids and ticks. From September 2013 to March 2014, 53 stables were conveniently selected in eight regions in Kelantan. A total of 306 equids were randomly selected from the stables. Blood, serum and ticks were collected from the equids. Blood smear was stained with Giemsa and examined for T. equi and B. caballi microscopically. Blood was subjected for multiplex PCR to detect T. equi and B. caballi DNA. Blood were also subjected for hematology. Serum was subjected for cELISA to detect antibodies against the protozoa, and also for serum biochemistry. Ticks were identified using taxonomic keys. Epidemiological data were collected through interviews with the stables owners. The 18S rRNA gene of T. equi and B. caballi extracted from blood and ticks were analyzed for genetic diversity and phylogenetic tree using online NCBI BLAST, ClustalX (NCBI) and Neighbor-joining (NJ) programs. Various shapes, sizes, stages and parasitemia level of T. equi and B. caballi were seen in the blood smears. The overall prevalence of EP was 32.02%, 80.06% and 35.62% using microscopic examination, cELISA and multiplex PCR respectively. The risk factors that were important and significantly associated with higher prevalence of EP in Kelantan include imported equids, presence of ticks on equids and nearby animals and presence of other animals near or in the stable. Six species of Ixodid ticks that are important in spreading EP were identified: Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, Rh. (Boophilus) annulatus, Rh. bursa, Rh. sanguineus, Haemaphysalis longicornis and Dermacentor marginatus. High level of genetic diversity was detected within 18S rRNA gene of T. equi and B. caballi from equids and Ixodid ticks. In conclusion, EP is endemic in Kelantan and several risk factors and species of ticks important in spreading the protozoa were identified. Tick control program should be conducted in order to prevent the transmission of EP.
Comparative Analysis of the Results of Diagnostic Measurements with an Internal Inspection of Oil-Filled Power Transformers

This article presents a description of four independent case studies concerning situations when power transformers were directed to internal inspection. This inspection was the result of a specific case of a routine diagnostic procedure that was carried out and, where the transformer was switched off by a Buchholz gas relay. The case studies described were selected such that they represented situations when availability of historical data on the previous measurements was limited and a quick diagnosis had to be made on the basis of the results from the last measurement. In all of the cases presented here, the analysis of the gases dissolved in oil had played an important role in the detection of the defects that turned out to be dangerous for further exploitation of the transformers considered. The first signal about a possible developing defect was elicited solely from the measurements of the oil samples taken from the transformer in service. However, more detailed recognition and initial localization of the defect was possible after additional supplementary measurements (winding resistance, sweep frequency response analysis, etc.), which required the transformer to be switched off. The conducted sequence of actions, based on the developed diagnostic procedure, indicated the possibility of effective and early withdrawal of the transformer from operation, before it underwent a serious failure.
Pengaruh Green Marketing Terhadap Keputusan Pembelian Pada Produk Nike di Bandung-2016

ABSTRAK Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh Green Marketing terhadap keputusan pembelian pada produk Nike (Studi Kasus pada Warga Kota Bandung). Rumusan masalah dalam penelitian ini adalah bagaimana Green Marketing mempengaruhi keputusan pembelian Nike. Data diperoleh dengan cara menyebar kuesioner kepada responden yang menggunakan produk Nike di Bandung dengan jumlah sampel sebanyak 100 orang responden. Tujuan dari penelitian ini untuk menguji dan menganalisis pengaruh Green Marketing terhadap keputusan pembelian dari konsumen Nike. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah metode penelitian deskriptif, dengan menggunakan data penelitian kuantitatif. Penguji juga menggunakan variabel X yaitu Green Marketing dan variabel Y yaitu Keputusan Pembelian. Dari penelitian ini didapatkan hasil bahwa Green Marketing mempengaruhi Keputusan Pembelian secara signifikan dengan persentase sebesar 18,6% dan sisanya sebesar 81,4% dipengaruhi faktor lain. Kata Kunci: Green Marketing, Keputusan Pembelian
Wind Power Curve Modeling With Asymmetric Error Distribution

Wind power curves play important roles in developing and utilizing wind energy, including wind power forecasting, wind turbine condition monitoring, wind energy potential estimation, and wind turbine selection. In this paper, we show that the error distribution in wind power curve modeling is asymmetric and complex, rather than a Gaussian distribution. Considering this error characteristic, we develop two novel asymmetric spline regression models, MoAG-ASR and MoAEP-ASR, in which the error terms are assumed to obey mixture of asymmetric Gaussian distributions (MoAG) and mixture of asymmetric exponential power distribution (MoAEP), respectively. We compare the proposed models with 16 popular wind power curve fitting models, and find that the proposed models rank higher than the others. Moreover, besides the asymmetry, two statistics (skewness and kurtosis) also show that the error distribution in wind power curve modeling is thick-tailed and leptokurtic. However, MoAG and MoAEP can precisely fit such complex error distribution. Thus, MoAG-ASR and MoAEP-ASR are effective tools for wind power curve modeling.
Impatiens ‘New Guinea’ (Impatiens Hawkeri Bull) Propagation Effects on the Pre-transplant Biomass Accumulation

Some of the advantages of producing pot plants from cuttings as opposed to seeds include increased genetic uniformity, no juvenile stage to pass before flowering and shorter production time. However, a vegetative-propagated pot plant growth needs for an adventitious root growth. A clear sink-source and dose-response relationships of exogenous plant regulators such as indole acetic acid (AIA) and benzyl amino urine (BAP) on biomass accumulation in most ornamental foliage plants, including New Guinea Impatiens is lacking. Non-rooted cuttings of Impatiens hawkeri Bull were transplanted into rigid 1,200 cm 3 plastic pots. Both 7-days or 15-days after the beginning of the experiment, all leaves of each plant were sprayed to run-off at sunset with different indole acetic acid (IAA) solutions (0, 5, 50, or 100 mg L -1 ), followed 7 days later by sprays with benzyl amino urine (BAP) solutions (0, 5, 50, or 100 mg L -1 ). Although New Guinea Impatiens is an easy-rooting plant, which can build an adventitious root system in a short time without exogenous auxin supply, IAA stimulated root growth. The higher biomass accumulation from sixteen IAA-BAP combinations were mainly associated to the net assimilation rates (NAR) increases. A delay of IAA application from the beginning of the experiment decrease biomass accumulation responses. The similarities between the responses to either hormone, together with the lack of any IAA-BAP interaction, provide two independent routes for commercial growers to increase the productivity of ornamental foliage plants by using early foliar sprays. Keywords : Potted plant, Ornamental plant, Nursery, Exogenous growth regulators.
Analysis of a two-stage competitive endothermic-exothermic reaction scheme

In this paper we consider a reactant which can follow either of two competing chemical reaction pathways: one exothermic and one endothermic. Properties of the reaction wave fronts arising in a general two-stage competitive endothermic-exothermic reaction scheme are derived numerically over a range of different parameter values, such as those describing the relative enthalpies, rate constants and activation energies of the endothermic and exothermic reactions. We focus on an adiabatic reaction scheme with a more dominant endothermic reaction pathway as compared to previous studies, and show the existence and behaviour of stable and pulsating front propagation in specific parametric regions. In particular, we demonstrate the transition in reaction front behaviour from the steady speed regime to different pulsating regimes.
Listeners' sensitivity to consonant variation within words

In a previous study (van de Weijer 2003), it was shown that it is a relatively uncommon pattern to find two IC within the same monomorphemic word. The main purpose of the present study was to establish whether listeners have implicit knowledge of this aspect of phonological word structure. A lexical decision experiment was carried out in which subjects listened to nonsense words and real words in which the presence of IC was systematically varied. The results revealed an asymmetrical pattern for the real words and the nonsense words, as was evidenced by a significant interaction of lexical status and the presence of IC. Real words without IC were recognized faster than real words with IC, whereas nonsense words without IC were rejected more slowly than nonsense words with IC. The pattern was the same for the monosyllabic and the disyllabic items, but the differences were somewhat clearer for the monosyllabic items than for the disyllabic items. (Less)
Update Your Warm-Up Approach to Training and Competition

Copyright: © 2012 Charilaos T. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. A large amount of research has been conducted since 1950’s concerning the proper warm-up regimens and recommendations for recreational and professional athletes before the training programs and the pre-event warm-up activities.
An Investigation of the Expanding Role of the Critical Path Method by ENR'S Top 400 Contractors

The Critical Path Method (CPM) is a widely used tool throughout the construction industry. Since its creation, the use and application of the Critical Path Method has grown tremendously. Up to date, three studies have been performed on how Engineering News Record’s (ENR) Top 400 Contractor use CPM. The first study was performed by Edward Davis in 1974 and the second was performed by Amir Tavakoli and Roger Riachi in 1990. This paper is a summary of the third survey, which took place in 2003. The results from the three studies indicate that CPM use by the Top 400 Contractors is growing and the areas of use are expanding. The number one use of CPM throughout the years is detailed planning before the start of construction. Periodic control during construction is another large area of CPM use and has been a large area of growth due to the advances in technology, which make updating a schedule during construction easier and faster than was possible with a mainframe computer in the past. Another area of CPM growth is estimating and bidding for several reasons: use in this area has jumped from 19% to 54% in the past 30 years. An area of concern lately in CPM is the use of precedence diagramming instead of arrow diagramming. Despite the debate, the responding companies found precedence diagrams easier to read, provide more flexibility, and allow for easier use of “smart” relationships (i.e. start-start).
Use of gelatin-maltodextrin composite as an encapsulation support for clarified juice from purple cactus pear (Opuntia stricta)

Juice rich in betalains (with 62.69 mg L 1) and with a high antioxidant activity (14.35 TEAC) from purple cactus pear was encapsulated by spray-drying using gelatin (G) and maltodextrin (M) as the wall material. This investigation was conducted using an experimental design of 22 mixes with two replicates at the center point. The microstructures generated in all of the experiments (yield 1⁄4 7.76e14.86 g 100 g 1) were characterized in terms of their moisture content (1.87e6.95 g 100 g 1 dry basis), aw (<0.3), betalain content (11e35 mg 100 g 1), antioxidant activity (4e29 TEAC), colorimetry (L 1⁄4 17.26e40.9; a* 1⁄4 17.16 e37.20; b* 1⁄4 6.26e15.46), h (15.06e29.66), C (18.75e43.29), hygroscopicity (19.39e28.13 g 100 g 1). Samples with G:M ratio (2.5:7.5) and high antioxidant capacity were analyzed by SEM which showed that the powders presented a spherical shape (particle size of 6.14mm ± 4.96) with melting points ranging from 205 to 235 C. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Bioaccumulation of Total Hydrocarbon Content by Three Mangrove Species (Rhizophora, Laguncularia, Avicennia) in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

Bioaccumulation of total hydrocarbon content (THC) in mangrove is a bottom up effect. Leave, root, seed and stem samples were collected from red, black and white mangroves from highly and lowly polluted locations. Total hydrocarbon analysis was done with atomic absorption spectrophotometric method using HARCH DR 890 colorimeter (wavelength~420 nm). The result indicates that there is significant difference in THC between species (F2, 105=9.82, P seed>root>stem. For red mangroves THC ranged from 0.47 mg/l in root to 25.38 mg/l in the leave, for white mangroves THC ranged from 1.08 mg/l in stem to 5.90 mg/l in leave; for black mangrove THC ranged from 1.08 mg/l in stem to 21.64 mg/l in seed in the lowly polluted location while in the highly polluted location for red mangroves THC varied from 1.08 mg/l in stem to 23.97 mg/l in leave, for white mangroves THC varied from 0.64 mg/l in stem to 4.32 mg/l in leave and for black THC varied from 1.31 mg/l to 6.17 mg/l in leave. Mangrove parts in lowly polluted location had higher mean THC (10.43 ± 1.74 mg/l) than plant parts in highly polluted location (5.21 ± 0.62 mg/l). This study implies that red mangroves are good pollutant sink, which makes them a good bioremediation agent. Contamination of mangrove can lead to biomagnification of hydrocarbon up the food chain.
Supramolecular Similarity in Polymorphs: Use of Similarity Indices (IX)

A systematic investigation to assess the degree of similarity between polymorphs was carried out. A similarity indices (IX) approach was applied in ten series of polymorphs with different characteristics and number of molecules in the asymmetric unit. Geometric (ID), contact area (IC), and stabilization energy (IG) parameters were used. It was possible to situate each comparison in different regions of similarity within the polymorphism phenomenon and determine the boundaries between quasi-isostructural polymorphs and polymorphs of low similarity. The multiparameter IDCG index was used as a robust tool to determine the total similarity within the polymorphism phenomenon. The highest contribution of the stabilization energy parameter (45%) toward the final value of similarity (IDCG) was observed, followed by the contact area index (32%). The geometric index contributed approximately 23% to the final value of IDCG. This information reinforces the importance of the contact area and stabilization energy in assessing the degree of similarity between crystalline structures. A new descriptor (IQ) based on the comparison of the energetic contribution of intermolecular interaction types present in each crystal structure is presented. IQ can be a versatile tool and applicable even for systems that do not share any similarity.
Communicative language teaching and learning : interfacing theory and practice : the case of Botswana secondary schools

Researchers world-wide and also in Botswana have highlighted the lack of compatibility between Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and the beliefs and traditions of specific contexts. This research seeks to contribute to this body of research by reporting on the interface between the theory and practice of CLT in Botswana’s urban junior secondary schools. One reason for the widely held perception in Botswana that there are problems with English second language proficiency can be found in the English second language secondary school classrooms. The quantitative data analysis saw some contradictory findings. On the one hand teachers appeared to approve of and knew what CLT was. On the other hand, their theoretical knowledge did not seem as sound as it should be. The teachers themselves seemed to feel that they were left out of the decision making process and their answers also suggested that they had to rely on their own initiatives to augment their teaching. In the qualitative part of the study it was demonstrated that little of the typical and most fundamental aspects of CLT were apparent in the classrooms. Limited attention is devoted to developing the learners’ skills and knowledge of how language is effectively used as a vehicle for conveying meaning in different socio-cultural contexts. In contextualising the findings within CLT research, the study attributes this discrepancy to, among others, what appears to be a top-down decision taken to implement the communicative curriculum in Botswana’s ELT, prior to ensuring that the CLT paradigm has been adequately conceptualized by the language teachers. The study recommends that pre-service and in-service training should be far more focused on preparing teachers for their new role as facilitators in the CLT
First report of contagious ecthyma (orf) outbreak in goats of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Goat constitutes almost 42.1 % of the total livestock population of the A and N islands. Generally the livestock are free from many dreaded diseases which are prevalent in mainland, India. However, in the present study the outbreak of contagious ecthyma (Orf) in goats of Andaman and Nicobar Islands was investigated and confirmed by PCR assay. The outbreak of orf was reported from different villages of the South Andaman. A total of 171 clinical cases of contagious ecthyma were reported during the different outbreak reported during the year 2017. The scab samples from the affected goats were collected and processed for extraction of viral DNA. Nested PCR assay was done by using the forward and reverse primers of parapox virus. The results revealed the confirmation of the outbreak of Contagious ecthyma (orf) virus in the goats of Andaman and Nicobar Islands for the first time.
Prediction of intracranial responses from blast induced neurotrauma using a validated finite element model of human head

An estimated 19.5% of all U.S. troops deployed to Iraq/Afghanistan have symptoms related to blast-induced Neurotrauma (BINT). Up to now causal mechanisms of BINT are unknown. Previously an anatomically detailed human head finite element model (WSUHIM) was successfully utilized to predict brain injuries from blunt impact. This study focused on validating the WSUHIM against measured intracranial pressure (ICP) from blast experiments and quantifying various brain response variables from Bowen’s blast lung thresholds. The FE model of WSU shock tube was developed and coupled with the WSUHIM to simulate the cadaveric head subjected blast wave generated from shock tube at three different blast intensities (0.0740.104MPa). The ICPs measured at four brain locations were used to validate the WSUHIM. Four levels of overpressure (0.21-0.61MPa) and pulse duration (1-4ms) on Bowen’s iso lung injury thresholds were applied to WSUHIM to quantify the resulting ICP, tissue strain and strain rate. The effects of head orientations as well as the surrounds on the brain response were also compared. MMALE was used to simulate blast. The model predicted ICP was correlated to the measured ICP in cadaver heads in terms of trend at frontal, parietal, occipital and ventricular regions. For all Bowen’s cases, the blast overpressure propagated through brain at various magnitudes with peak brain pressure of 0.7-1.8MPa in the cortex. The peak brain strain was 211% and product of strain and strain rate was 6-21s-1 at various regions. Sideways blast produced highest coup responses in the cortex while forward blast induced high strain and strain rate in brainstem. The presence of the wall resulted in increases (50%) of pressure and strain in the contralateral site. The model results revealed that the pressure wave was directly coupled to the brain. Bowen’s iso-damage curves produced dissimilar levels of pressure/strain brain responses which has never been reported.
Robust Power System Stabilizer Design Using Loop Shaping Approach

A robust power system stabilizer (PSS) is designed using Glover-McFarlane's /spl Hscr//sub /spl infin// loop shaping design procedure. Guidance for setting the feedback configuration for loop shaping and /spl Hscr//sub /spl infin// synthesis are presented. The resulting PSS ensures the stability of a set of perturbed plants with respect to the nominal system and has good oscillation damping ability. Comparisons are made between the resulting PSS, a conventionally designed PSS, and a controller designed based on the structured singular value theory.
Assessment Literacy: Building a Base for Better Teaching and Learning.

Are you assessment literate? What does that mean—to be assessment literate? Assessment is something that we as teachers must do all the time, but many of us feel unprepared or uncomfortable when it comes to testing our students. Teachers often reuse tests without analyzing or revising them and seldom use statistical procedures to see how a test—or a test item—is actually performing. Assessing students often means reaching for a test or quiz that is already prepared, whether it be a test included with a textbook, something another teacher prepared, or a standardized test produced by a major testing organization or our institution. These aren’t necessarily bad choices (and sometimes it may not be our choice at all), but to make sure they are good choices, we must be knowledgeable about the principles and practices of assessment. In order for assessment to be effective, classroom teachers need to be assessment literate—knowledgeable about the key concepts of testing and how they can inform the design of assessments and decisions surrounding their usage. This article will start you on the path to being assessment literate. You will learn about the terms that make up the cornerstones of testing, how to plan your courses with assessments in mind, and how to make a test blueprint. Knowing more about assessment will not only help you to assess your students more effectively, but it will also provide you with a means of evaluating your own teaching and help you to produce tests that will actually motivate your students to learn. Let’s begin by learning more about the words testing and assessment.