Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Menopause in Nonhuman Primates: A Comparative Study with Humans

Although menopause is a phenomenon predominantly studied in humans or laboratory animals, this chapter discussed the case of nonhuman primates (NHPs), not only with the objective of employing them as study models but also to better understand phylogenetic divergence among species. Those taxonomic differences are reflected in reproductive processes that may be similar to those of human beings, with the presence of a defined cycle or periods of estrus, but perhaps at different ages as well, where menopause plays a crucial role. First, it is important to delimit the concept of menopause by consider- ing its anatomical, physiological, and biochemical parameters, including the cessation of menstrual bleeding or perineal swelling—when present—or follicular depletion and hormonal changes. Thus, the aim of this chapter is to discuss some of the similarities between NHPs and human females, during the menopause period. Studying these phenomena should help us achieve a better understanding of the social, physiological, and environmental factors without adopting any particular cultural view of menopause.
Reasons for Demand and Dropping out of Vocational High Schools from the Perspective of School Administrations

The goal this study is to define thereasonsfordemandof anddrop-outsfrom vocational high schools in the perspective of schooladministrationsserving at thevocational high schools. The study employs the phenomenologic pattern, which is a method of qualitative research. The pool of the study consists of sixschooladministrationsworking at vocationalhigh schools. Data were collected by means of personal interviews and analyzedby method of descriptive analysis. According to the results of the study, a demand for vocational high school is defined by obligation or an expectation of acquiring a profession in a short period of time. Academic failure, discontinuation and economic reasons play a role in school drop outs. Keeping the matter on the agendabyschooladministrationsandteacherswill be an important step in making more obvious this side of vocational high schools that deepens the educational inequalities in terms of education demand and school drop-outs.
A Cohomological Approach for Classifying Nilpotent Leibniz Algebras

In this paper a cohomological approach (the Skjelbred-Sund method) to classify nilpotent Leibniz algebras in low dimensional cases will be presented. We distinguish six isomorphism classes (one parametric family and five concrete) of three dimensional nilpotent Leibniz algebras and show that they exhaust all possible cases.
Integrated photonics on silicon with wide bandgap GaN semiconductor

We report on GaN self-supported photonic structures consisting in freestanding waveguides coupled to photonic crystal waveguides and cavities operating in the near-infrared. GaN layers were grown on Si (111) by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. E-beam lithography and dry etching techniques were employed to pattern the GaN layer and undercut the substrate. The combination of low-absorption in the infrared range and improved etching profiles results in cavities with quality factors as high as ∼5400. The compatibility with standard Si technology should enable the development of low cost photonic devices for optical communications combining wide-bandgap III-nitride semiconductors and silicon.
Evaluation of Wind Farm Layouts

Abstract In this paper, layouts of various large-scale wind farms, using either AC or DC to transfer the generated power, are investigated. The criterion used to evaluate the different layouts is the energy production cost, which is defined as the total investment divided with the total energy production of the wind farm. To determine the energy production and the total investment, loss and cost models for the components in the wind farm are used and the most important ones are presented in this paper. The investigation shows that a wind farm with series connected DC wind turbines seems to have the best potential to give the lowest energy production cost, if the transmission distance is longer than 10–20 km.
The Surgical Outcomes, Complications and Predictive Surgical Factors of Diabetic Retinopathy Vitrectomy in a Large Asian Tertiary Eye Center

Purpose: To evaluate the visual, anatomical outcomes, complications and the predictive preoperative and intraoperative factors of pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) in a large Asian tertiary eye center. Methods: This is a consecutive retrospective review of 106 eyes that underwent PPV for PDR complications in 2013. The functional success was defined as visual acuity of 20/200 or better while the anatomical success was defined as 360° flat retina without endo-tamponade at one year. Results: The overall functional and anatomical success was 77.4% and 94.3%, respectively. The common complications were iatrogenic break (14.2%), raised intraocular pressure (IOP) (13.2%), cataract (13.2%) and recurrent vitreous hemorrhage (12.3%). The use of intraoperative triamcinolone (OR: 0.36, p=0.04) and silicone oil (OR: 0.08, p<0.001) were associated with poorer visual success. The iatrogenic breaks occurred more often in 20G PPV than 23G PPV (OR: 5.89, p=0.02) whereas intraoperative silicone oil were associated with postoperative raised IOP (OR: 3.71, p=0.04). The use of bevacizumab was not found to reduce recurrent vitreous hemorrhage (OR: 0.53, 95%CI: 0.11-2.53, p=0.43). Conclusions: In the era of small gauge vitrectomy, the visual, anatomical outcomes and complication rates of PPV for PDR patients in Singapore had improved significantly, as compared to the Diabetic Retinopathy Vitrectomy Study.
Evaluation of Enset Clones Resistance against Enset Bacterial Wilt Disease (Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum)

Enset (Ensete ventricosum Welw. Cheesman) is one of the most important staple and co-stable food crops for around 20 million people in Ethiopia. However its production has been threatened by a devastating bacterial disease caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum. This disease was officially reported in Ethiopia for the first time in the 1960A¢Â€ÂŸs. Therefore, this study was conducted with the objective to screen field-grown Enset clones collected for reaction against bacterial wilt and to assess the farmers practices used for the management of the target pathogen. A large number of Enset clones (20) assessed and collected from the Dire Inchini, Jibat and Wonchi distrcts and were screened against resistance/tolerance to Enset bacterial wilt, X. campestris through artificial inoculation. All artificially inoculated Enset clones with X. campesrtris suspensions of different concentration were developed disease symptom of variable intensity levels during the first 30 days after inoculation. The Enset clones, Suite, Warke, Bidu, Astera and Kekari showed 100% disease symptoms at 30 days after inoculation and could, hence, be used as susceptible checks in future screening trials. This vascular disease was resulted in yellowing of the leaves, wilting and finally collapsing of the entire plant. Disease symptoms were not observed on Enset clones of Mezya, Bedadet, Hiniba and Nech Enset after 90 days of inoculation periods and were taken relatively as resistant to the target wilt causing pathogen. Those Enset clones showed tolerance to Enset bacterial wilt causing pathogen should be multiplied, demonstrated and addressed for the final user or Enset producing farmers and help as one disease management option; in addition to cultural practices and others effective phyto-sanitary measures Enset producing farmers are using.
Spatial and temporal distribution of decapod larvae in the subtropical waters of the Arvoredo archipelago, SC, Brazil

The present paper aims to describe the temporal and spatial distribution of the composition and abundance of Decapoda larvae in the shallow waters around Arvoredo Marine Biological Reserve. Stomatopod occurrence is also discussed. Plankton samples were collected at five sites around the Arvoredo Island every two months for one year from May, 2002 to April, 2003. Thirty-nine morphotypes, 11 genus and 4 species (Artemesia longinaris Bate, 1888, Hexapanopeus schmitii Rathbun, 1930, Menippe nodifrons Stimpson, 1859 and Pleoticus muelleri Bate, 1888) were identified, among them only two morphotypes of Stomatopoda larvae, and the remainder Decapoda larvae. Brachyuran zoeae were the most abundant group and they were well represented by Portunidae and Xanthidae zoeae. Lucifer sp. and Caridea zoeae were the most abundant non-brachyuran taxa. Decapod larvae were observed to occur at all sampling sites, however the spatial distribution demonstrated a general tendency to greater abundance and diversity at the southern sites of the Island. Decapoda and Stomatopoda larvae occurred throughout the year, showing that reproduction is continuous, but that larval input in planktonic community was significantly higher during autumn and spring.
DETERMINATION OF EXTRACTION TEMPERATURE AND PERIOD OF FISH OIL FROM TILAPIA (OREOCHROMIS NILOTICUS) BY PRODUCT USING WET RENDERING METHOD

Tilapia is a farmed commodity of freshwater fish that can be processed into refined products, e.g. the tilapia fillets. The arising problem in the utilization of tilapia into processed products is its residual waste. The purpose of study is to obtain fish oil from tilapia by-products by wet rendering extraction; to characterize fish oil; to determine the optimum temperature and period of wet rendering extraction; and to determine the fatty acid composition of fish oil. Extraction temperatures were varied i.e. 25, 50, 70, and 90 °C. Extraction periods observed were 15, 25, 35, and 45 min. Quality parameters to evaluate the performance of fish oil were free fatty acid, acid value, peroxide, p-anisidine, total oxidation, and fatty acid composition analysis. The optimum temperature and period of wet rendering extraction were 70 °C for 35 minutes, with the highest yield of 6.44%. Fish oil yield which was obtained using Bligh and Dyer method was 8.12%. Fish oil extracted from wet rendering method contained 1.15% of EPA and 1.03% of DHA. Keywords : by-product of tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ), extraction, fish oil, temperature, time
Identification and Quantification of Key Volatile Flavor Compounds Employing Different Adjunct Starter Cultures in Reduced-fat Cheddar Cheeses by Using GC and GC-MS

Background and Objective: Reduced fat cheese often exhibits poor sensory quality due to the reduction of fat, which plays a critical role in flavor and texture. Therefore, there is the challenge to produce a reduced fat cheese with improved sensory attributes and texture that is also comparable to its full-fat counterpart. The main objective of this research was to investigate the effect of different adjunct starter cultures of Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactococcus helvetius and Lactococcus casei, alone or mixed, on the sensory prperties and volatile flavor compounds of reduced-fat cheddar cheeses (formulated with xanthan gum) and compare them with full-fat cheddar cheese during 75-day ripening. Materials and Methods: Eight treatments according to completely randomized design with a control cheddar cheese (no adjunct starter cultures) were designed. Extraction of the volatiles was carried out using headspace solid phase microextraction. Identification and quantification of volatile flavor compounds were done by gas chromatography-Mass spectrophotometry and gas chromatography, respectively. The sensory analyses were carried out by the 5-point hedonic scale, using trained panelists. Results and Conclusion: Among all the flavor compounds, more than 98% of the headspace volatile flavor compounds belonged to aldehydes, ketons, esters, alcohols, and acids. As compared to non-inoculated full-fat control, the use of Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactococcus casei and Lactococcus helveticus as adjunct starter cultures in the reduced fat cheddar cheese formulation increased the amount of volatile flavor compounds and enhanced the sensory attributes. The combination of this mixed culture with the reduced fat cheddar cheese containing xanthan gum as fat replacer is a viable alternative to improve the quality characteristics of reduced-fat cheddar cheese. Conflict of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Investigation of the Decision-Making and Time-Keeping Abilities of SIFamide Signalling in Drosophila Melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster is an invaluable model organism for the study of basic neuroscience. Using two previously characterized mating behaviours (Longerand Shorter-Mating Duration), this research aims to further our knowledge of the neural circuit involved in each, and shed light on the mechanism by which four SIFamide producing neurons are involved in both. We also seek to investigate the involvement of core circadian clock genes in interval timing mechanisms. To do so, we investigated the populations of SIFamide receptor expressing neurons necessary for each behaviour and studied the contribution of circadian clock genes within the SIFamide signalling pathway. Our main experimental approach consisted of population specific knock-downs of the SIFamide receptor, the impact of which was assessed using a simple behavioural assay. This approach was complemented by rescue experiments and feminization of neurons. Finally, our investigation of the circadian clock was mediated by circadian gene knockdowns in SIFamide expressing neurons. Our results show that SIFamide signalling for each mating behaviour is mediated by segregated signalling to different, non male-specific SIFamide receptor expressing neuronal populations. We further demonstrate that SIFamide expressing neurons are not involved in the interval timing mechanism of these mating behaviours via core circadian gene contribution. This work presents preliminary results towards the investigation of a novel model of decision-making via neuronal signalling.
Examining out of pocket payments for maternal health in rural Ethiopia: Paradox of free health care un-affordability

Background : One of the components of reproductive health is maternal care. Maternal health care is supposed to be provided free of charge for public health concerns thus women have the right to get services related to maternal care free of charge at government health care facilities. But there is low utilization of the services. Only 12% of women receive ANC and only 6% get assistance of skilled health worker during delivery in Ethiopia. There are different factors for the low utilization of services. Un-affordability of services is cited as the first main reason contributing to the low utilization. Objectives : To examine the magnitude of out of pocket expenditure for maternal health series in rural Ethiopia. Methods : This study was conducted within ten randomly selected kebeles of the Butajira DSS from October 2007 to May 2008 using a cross-sectional survey design and a source population of households that expend out-of-pocket on RH services during the period of 12 months prior to the study. Results : In the study, nearly three fifth of the studied families paid out of pocket expenditures exceeding 20% of their monthly household expenditure for maternal health care seeking. Excluding expenditures for food, about 61% of them paid more than 40% of their non-food expenditure on maternal health care. Households in the lower wealth quintiles are paying greater proportion of their income (49%) than those in the highest wealth quintile who paid 19% of their income. In addition to the direct expenditures made at point of service, the indirect expenditures of reaching to the services are also found to be substantial. These indirect expenditures share 32% of ANC, 31% of obstetric care, and 44% of abortion services. Thus even if direct expenditures at point of service in public providers are assumed to be negligible, women are obliged to go to expensive private providers to reduce the indirect costs of care seeking such as waiting time. Regarding coping mechanism to respond to expenditure, households usually borrow from relatives and friends and 4.4% of the households resorted to distress sale of their assets. Conclusions : This study identified the presence of price elasticity among the poor that suggests out-of-pocket expenditure has a regressive distributional impact and poor and very poor people were expending more. On top of this, all expenses were covered from regular income which leads to catastrophic household economic crises. Recommendations : Health care providers should be evenly distributed, easily accessible and work on awareness creation on the advantages of early care seeking and preventive care. On the other hand, health care financing should also be based on the principle of cost sharing and move into prepayment schemes or insurance.
Comparison of different molting methods and evaluation of the effects of postmolt diets supplemented with humate and carnitine on performance, egg quality, and profitability of laying hens

SUMMARY The aim of this study was to compare the applicability of the non-feed removal method with the feed withdrawal method by using alfalfa meal and barley in molting. Moreover, the effects of humate (2 g/kg), carnitine (0.1 g/kg) and humate (2 g/kg) + carnitine (0.1 g/kg) supplementation to the diets during postmolt period along with the different molting methods on production performance, egg quality, and profitability in laying hens were compared. In the study, 192 Bovans white laying hens, 75 wk old, were used. The lowest BW loss (21.08%) for the first 10 d was found in the barley + feed (B+F) method. The earliest onset of egg production was observed in B+F method which is followed by alfalfa meal + feed (A+F) and feed withdrawal + barley + feed (FW+B+F) groups. In the postmolt period, heavier eggs were obtained from the B+F and A+F method groups. Egg specific gravity was found to be higher in the groups molted by the A+F and B+F methods. Feed efficiency, egg shell thickness, and Haugh unit were unchanged in the A+F and B+F methods compared with the FW+B+F method. In the postmolt period, supplementation of humate to diet increased the egg weight; supplementation of carnitine increased the egg shell thickness and Haugh unit. Consequently, the use of molting methods without fasting (A+F and B+F) could be an alternative to conventional molting methods without causing any economic losses.
Ruminal degradation of protein and carbohydrate in the domestic and wild ruminant

To optimize growth and health ruminant animals in a confined setting, diets need to be formulated to provide balanced levels of rumen degradable energy and nitrogen (RDN) to maximize microbial growth while also providing adequate rumen undegradable protein (RUP) for the animal. The first experiment in this study examined the level of feed-grade crystalline amino acids (AA) required in a diet to provide appreciable levels of limiting AA as RUP. The solubility of these AA in a mixed rumen culture showed dietary inclusion levels would be required at >12% of the diet on a DM basis. The second study measured the degradability of the starch, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and protein fractions of common feeds used in a feedlot finishing diet. Degradation rate was measured as the percentage disappearance of the ruminally available nutrient over time. Degradation rates were found to be linear and similar for the feeds tested with the average rates of degradation being approximately 0.0479 h -1 for starch, 0.0292 h -1 for NDF and 0.0271 h -1 for protein. A third study used these rates with an estimated passage rate of 0.06 h -1 to formulate diets with varying levels of rumen degradable protein (RDP) and RDN. Resulting diets were applied to continuous culture fermentations to measure fermentation characteristics and microbial efficiency (MOEFF) with the hypothesis that a diet balanced for the proper amount of RDP to rumen degradable energy would increase efficiency. MOEFF proved to be lesser when RDN was limiting and greatest when RDP was provided at less than 100% of requirement. Similar diets with varying RDP and balanced RDN were then applied to crossbred Angus steers to determine effects on growth. The greatest average daily gain (ADG) and feed efficiency was measured when RDP was provided at 115% of the requirement, compared to 95% and 85%. Finally, in vitro digestibility characteristics of commercially available pelleted feeds fed to exotic ruminants were measured. These studies included one low starch/high fiber and two different high starch/low fiber feeds. Both batch culture and continuous culture techniques were employed using dairy cow and mule deer rumen fluid. Both studies confirmed differences exist between fermentation characteristics due to species used as inoculum source. Further, greater fiberolytic activity was seen in mule deer inoculum, and greater proteolytic activity was seen in dairy cow inoculum. Also, decreasing starch in diets increased OM digestibility, likely due to removal of negative associative affects on cellulolytic bacteria.
The relationship between dividend payout and corporate governance along the corporate life-cycle

This study explores the relationship between the quality of corporate governance and corporate dividend payout at different stages of the corporate life-cycle. In a sample of 220 firms from 21 emerging market countries, I show that the outcome model of dividends, which predicts that dividend payout increases in the strength of shareholder rights, prevails all along the corporate life-cycle. In a final series of tests, I show that this relationship holds only in instances where corporate governance and creditor rights are strong. Hence, the agency cost of equity and debt version of the outcome model of dividends holds at all stages of the corporate life-cycle. Finally, I find no evidence in support of the equity-only version of the substitution model of dividends.
Solar cycle modulation of the Southern Annular Mode

The effect of the 11‐year solar cycle modulation on the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) in the Southern Hemisphere is examined through analysis of observational data from 1968 to 2001. It is found that the year‐to‐year variability of the October–November mean SAM differs significantly according to the solar activity. In high solar activity years, the SAM signal extends to the upper stratosphere during October to December and activity in the troposphere lasts until autumn, whereas in low solar activity years, the SAM signal is confined almost inside the troposphere from October to December and it disappears by January. This situation is very similar to that observed for the modulation of the winter mean North Atlantic Oscillation in the Northern Hemisphere. A possible mechanism of solar cycle modulation of the SAM is also discussed.