Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reproductive characteristics of Holstein Friesian dairy breed after estrous synchronization with select- synch with or without CIDR

The objectives of this study were to determine estrus (ER), conception (CR) and pregnancy rate (PR) of dairy cows after synchronization of estrus and the relationship between synchronization method and vaginal electrical resistance (VER). A total of 52 Holstein Friesian (HF) females were synchronized with Select-Synch or Select-Synch + CIDR protocols. Results showed that the overall ER, CR and PR were 67.30, 55.90 and 37.00 %, respectively. Mean ER was significantly (P < 0.05) higher for Select-Synch + CIDR treatment compared to Select-Synch alone (80.80% versus 53.90 %). Mean PR was higher for Select-Synch + CIDR compared to Select-Synch (46.30% versus 28.00%; P<0.05). The difference in CR between the two treatments was not significant. Cycling females had significantly higher ER (89.70% versus 39.13%; P<0.05) and PR (57.14% versus 13.04%; P < 0.05) compared to non cycling females. The interval from PGF2α injection to onset of estrus was not significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by synchronization methods and ovarian status. Duration of estrus was significantly higher for cycling females compared to noncycling females. Mean VER was significantly (P < 0.05) higher for females synchronized with Select-Synch compared to Select-Synch + CIDR. Mean VER was significantly highest at Day 0 (106.64±1.90) and lowest (84.20±0.90 ohm) at the time of the onset of estrus in both synchronization methods. Mean Diameter of Largest Follicle (DLF) was significantly higher for cycling females compared to non cycling one (12.4±0.30 versus 11.6±0.50 ohm). The inclusion of CIDR in the Select-Synch estrus synchronization protocol significantly improved ER and PR but CR was not significantly different from Select-Synch protocol. VER may be useful for improving accuracy of estrus detection during artificial insemination program. Keyword: Holstein Friesian, estrus synchronization, pregnancy rate, vaginal electrical resistance
Effects of Zinc Addition on the Performance of Aluminium as Sacrificial Anode in Seawater

In this work, the effect of zinc addition on the performance of aluminium-based sacrificial anode in seawater was investigated. The parameters used in assessing the performance of the cast anodes are anodic efficiency, protection efficiency and polarized potential. The percentages of Zn in the anodes were varied from 1 to 8%Zn. The alloys produced were tested as sacrificial anode for the protection of mild steel in seawater at room temperature. Current efficiency as high as 86.69% was achieved at 6%Zn in the alloys. The polarized potential obtained for the couples(steel/Al based alloys) are as given in the pourbaix diagrams with the steel lying within the immunity region/cathodic region ( S-0.5V SHE) and the sacrificial anodes within the anodic region. The protection offered by the sacrificial anodes to the steel after the 7th and 8th week were measured. Protection efficiency values as high as 99.26% and 99.13% were achieved after the 7th and 8th with Al-6%Zn. The microstructure showed the intermetallic structures of β-phase which breakdown the alumina passive film and thus enhancing the anode efficiency.
Demand for Health Insurance: Evidence from the California and Washington ACA Marketplaces

I estimate demand for health insurance using consumer-level data from the California and Washington ACA marketplaces. I use the demand estimates to simulate the impact of policies targeting adverse selection, including subsidies and the individual mandate. I find (1) high own-premium elasticities of —6.9 to —7.8, but low insurance coverage elasticities of —0.5 to —0.6; (2) minimal response to the mandate penalty amount, but significant response to the penalty's existence, suggesting consumers have a "taste for compliance"; (3) mandate repeal has minimal effect on consumer surplus because ACA subsidies already mitigate adverse selection by shielding consumers from premium increases; and (4) mandate repeal reduces average annual consumer surplus by up to $1,500 if consumers were exposed to premium increases under voucher-type systems, instead of ACA subsidies. The economic rationale for the mandate depends on the extent of adverse selection and the presence of other policies targeting selection.
Spherical Phaseless Probe-Corrected Near-Field Measurements of the DTU-ESA VAST12 Reflector Antenna

—An experimental case of spherical probe-corrected phaseless near-ﬁeld measurements with the two-scans technique is presented, based on magnitude measurements at two surfaces of the VAST12 reﬂector antenna performed at the DTU-ESA Facility. Phase retrieval using strictly the directly measured near-ﬁeld magnitude was unfeasible in this setup, due to the small sphere separation allowed by the probe positioner, which led to incorrect and excessively slow convergence. Phase retrieval with larger separation between spheres has shown remarkable results. For these tests a measured magnitude was used in combination with calculated near-ﬁeld magnitudes at different (larger and smaller) spheres with larger separations than allowed by the experimental setup. It has been seen that larger separation between measurement spheres improves accuracy of phase retrieval. A measurement with a backprojected measurement with 3 m sphere separation is of particular interest because it can be potentially replicated in the DTU-ESA Facility assuming such range of movement was allowed, while being accurate down to an error of less than -35dB. Measurements with larger spheres show even better accuracy. These good results were obtained with the normal spatial sampling rate for complex measurements and with a very simple Hertzian dipole initial guess, and show the superior performance of spherical phaseless measurements with the two-scans technique, compared to a planar setup.
Interspecific variation in the structural properties of flight feathers in birds indicates adaptation to flight requirements and habitat

Summary1. The functional signiﬁcance of intra- and interspeciﬁc structural variations in the ﬂight feath-ers of birds is poorly understood. Here, a phylogenetic comparative analysis of four structuralfeatures (rachis width, barb and barbule density and porosity) of proximal and distal primaryfeathers of 137 European bird species was conducted.2. Flight type (ﬂapping and soaring, ﬂapping and gliding, continuous ﬂapping or passerinetype), habitat (terrestrial, riparian or aquatic), wing characteristics (wing area, S and aspectratio, AR) and moult strategy were all found to aﬀect feather structure to some extent. Speciescharacterized by low wing-beat frequency ﬂight (soaring and gliding) have broader featherrachises (shafts) and feather vanes with lower barb density than birds associated with moreactive ﬂapping modes of ﬂight. However, the eﬀect of ﬂying mode on rachis width disappearedafter controlling for S and AR, suggesting that rachis width is primarily determined by wingmorphology.3. Rachis width and feather vane density are likely related to diﬀerences in force distributionacross the wingspan during diﬀerent ﬂight modes. An increase in shaft diameter, barb densityand porosity from the proximal to distal wing feathers was found and was highest in specieswith ﬂapping ﬂight indicating that aerodynamic forces are more biased towards the distalfeathers in ﬂapping ﬂyers than in soarers and gliders.4. Habitat aﬀected barb and barbule density, which was greatest in aquatic species, and withinthis group, barb density was greater in divers than non-divers, suggesting that the need for waterrepellency and resistance to water penetration may inﬂuence feather structure. However, wefound little support for the importance of porosity in water repellency and water penetration,because porosity was similar in aquatic, riparian and terrestrial species and among the aquaticbirds (divers and non-divers). We also found that barb density was aﬀected by moult pattern.5. Our results have broad implications for the understanding of the selection pressures drivingﬂight feather functional morphology. Speciﬁcally, the large sample size relative to any previousstudies has emphasized that the morphology of ﬂight feathers is the result of a suite of selec-tion pressures. As well as routine ﬂight needs, constraints during moulting, habitat (particu-larly aquatic) and migratory requirements also aﬀect ﬂight feather morphology. Identifying theexact nature of these trade-oﬀs will perhaps inform the reconstruction of the ﬂying modes ofextinct birds.Key-words: barb density, barbule density, ﬂight, ﬂight feathers, functional morphology,moult, rachis width, vane porosity, water repellence, wing morphology
A dynamic atomistic-continuum method for the simulation of crystalline materials

We present a coupled atomistic-continuum method for the modeling of defects and interface dynamics in crystalline materials. The method uses atomistic models such as molecular dynamics near defects and interfaces, and continuum models away from defects and interfaces. We propose a new class of matching conditions between the atomistic and the continuum regions. These conditions ensure the accurate passage of large-scale information between the atomistic and the continuum regions and at the same time minimize the reflection of phonons at the atomistic-continuum interface. They can be made adaptive by choosing appropriate weight functions. We present applications to dislocation dynamics, friction between two-dimensional crystal surfaces, and fracture dynamics. We compare results of the coupled method and of the detailed atomistic model.
Explicit imaging expressions for weak horizontal transverse isotropy

SUMMARY Despite the recognized prevalence of vertical parallel cracks in reservoir rocks, the necessary imaging expressions for the weak HTI (horizontal transverse isotropy) system have not been studied in sufficient generality. With the exception of the P-wave phase velocity formula, the existing first-order HTI expressions are restricted to certain regimes of applicability. The HTI and VTI (vertical TI) systems are distinguished from one another merely by the way they are configured in relation to the acquisition coordinate system. In this paper, using coordinate transformation rules connecting the two systems, we first map all the coordinate dependent physical quantities appearing in the imaging VTI expressions, to their HTI counterparts - the mapped quantities are accurate to first-order. Then, by a simple substitution into the VTI expressions, we develop a complete suite of imaging expressions for systems with weak HTI. Our P- and S-wave phase velocity, polarization, and group velocity expressions are entirely general, in that they account for wave propagation in arbitrary directions within the HTI media. Thus, they can be readily incorporated into the multi-component production processing algorithms.
Comparative evaluation of neonatal and obstetrics outcomes of labour between Iranian and Afghan ethnicities

Objective: There are major differences in neonatal and obstetrics outcomes of labour among different ethnicities. The present study compared the neonatal and obstetrics outcomes of labour between the Iranian and Afghan ethnicities. Methods: Neonatal and obstetrics problems were evaluated in Iranian and Afghan pregnant women, who had referred to Arash Educational/Treatment Center for labour during a year. Results: 3020 (93.7%) Iranian and 202 (63%) Afghan women were evaluated. There were no significant differences between the two ethnicities in relation to a need for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the rate of live births, infant birth weight, congenital anomalies and premature births (P>0.05). The rate of Caesarian section was higher in Iranian women (P=0.001). Conclusion: It seems that the differences in neonatal problems and outcomes of labour obstetrics between Iranians and Afghans can be attributed to different cultural, economic, and social conditions in comparison to different ethnicities.
UDP-Glucuronyltransferase Kinetics for 3-Trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) in Fish

Abstract Studies were conducted to address glucuronidation of 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) in sea lampreys Petromyzon marinus, channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, and bluegills Lepomis macrochirus. The ability of these species to biotransform TFM was investigated by determining the kinetics of UDP-glucuronyltransferase (UDPGT; also known as glucuronosyltransferase) in vitro from hepatic microsomal preparations. Maximal velocity (V max, nmol/min·mg) for UDPGT activity toward TFM was significantly greater (P rainbow trout (97 μM) > channel catfish (172 μM) > sea lamprey (261 μM). Analysis of V max/K m ratios, a measure of enzyme efficiency (nmol/min-mguM TFM), indicated that the efficiency of UDPGT activities in all species examined was in.
Transdimensional inference of archeomagnetic intensity change

One of the main goals of archeomagnetism is to document the secular changes of Earth's magnetic field by laboratory analysis of the magnetization carried by archeological artefacts. Typical techniques for creating a time-dependent model assume a prescribed temporal discretisation which, when coupled with sparse data coverage, require strong regularisation generally applied over the entire time series in order to ensure smoothness. Such techniques make it difficult to characterise uncertainty and frequency content, and robustly detect rapid changes. Key to proper modelling (and physical understanding) is a method that places a minimum level of regularisation on any fit to the data. Here we apply a transdimensional Bayesian technique based on piecewise linear interpolation to sparse archeointensity datasets, in which the temporal complexity of the model is not set a priori, but is self-selected by the data. The method produces two key outputs: (i) a posterior distribution of intensity as a function of time, a useful tool for archeomagnetic dating, whose statistics are smooth but formally unregularised; (ii) by including the data ages in the model of unknown parameters, the method also produces posterior age statistics of each individual contributing datum. We test the technique using synthetic datasets and confirm agreement of our method with an integrated likelihood approach. We then apply the method to three archeomagnetic datasets all reduced to a single location: one temporally well-sampled within 700km from Paris (here referred to as Paris700), one that is temporally sparse centred on Hawaii, and a third (from Lubeck, Germany and Paris700) that has additional ordering constraints on age from stratification. Compared with other methods, our average posterior distributions largely agree, however our credible intervals appear to much better reflect the uncertainty during periods of sparse data coverage. Because each ensemble member of the posterior distribution is piecewise linear, we only fit oscillations when required by the data. As an example, we show that an oscillatory signal, associated with temporally-localised intensity maxima reported for a sparse Hawaiian dataset, is not required by the data. However, we do recover the previously reported oscillation of period 260 yrs for the Paris700 dataset and compute the probability distribution of the period of oscillation. We further demonstrate that such an oscillation is unresolved when accounting for age uncertainty by using a fixed age and with an artificially inflated error budget on intensity.
Perceptual motivation for parasitic restrictions in vowel harmony

Cole, Jennifer, and Charles W. Kisseberth. 1995. Restricting multi-level constraint evaluation: Opaque rule interaction in Yawelmani vowel harmony. Ms, University of Illinois, Urbana. Donnelly, Simon. 2000. Innovation in Tekela Nguni: Superclose and tense/lax vowel harmonies in Phuthi. Paper presented at LSSA 2000, Cape Town. Gallagher, Gillian. 2010. The perceptual basis of long-distance laryngeal restrictions. Doctoral Dissertation, MIT. Ito, Junko. 1984. Melodic dissimilation in Ainu. Linguistic Inquiry 15:505–513. Kaun, Abigail. 1995. The typology of rounding harmony: An Optimality Theoretic approach. Doctoral Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. Kaye, Jonathan. 1982. Harmony processes in Vata. In Projet sur les langues Kru, 60–151. UQAM. Suomi, Kari. 1983. Palatal harmony: A perceptually motivated phenomenon? Nordic Journal of Linguistics 6:1–35.
Ozone loss episodes in the free Antarctic troposphere, suggesting a possible climate feedback

Sudden loss of tropospheric ozone well above the boundary layer was observed on three occasions at two coastal sites in Antarctica in spring 1995. Back trajectories show that the air sampled the boundary layer near the northern edge of the sea ice (1000 km from the coast) between 3 and 5 days previously. Enhanced BrO observed over sea ice in spring suggests that such ozone loss is common offshore, hence it may cause a small climate effect whose sign would create positive feedback, if sea ice reduced during warming.
The Learning Experience of International Students in Canada: Progressive Educational Theory and Passive Learning Styles

This qualitative study examines the experience of Saudi students in the process of learning English while studying in an anglophone country. Through the lens of progressive educational theory and passive learning style, specific factors such as the students’ linguistic background and their current experience were explored. This study sought to uncover how these students perceived learning ESL in Saudi Arabia and how their prior learning has affected their current experience overseas. I examined students’ insights through the data collected mainly from semi-structured interviews and discourse analysis. In conclusion, the results revealed two major themes including the unprepared learner in Saudi Arabia and the unprepared learner in Canada. Besides, these students were influenced by the passive style they have received before moving to Canada, and they were introduced to a progressive educational system while studying abroad.
PCR-RFLP ANALYSIS OF GENETIC POLYMORPHISM OF THE LACTOFERRIN

The rate of subclinical mastitis inferred from somatic cell scores is high in Tunisian dairy cattle. Other than management, susceptibility of cows to infections may be of great impact on the mammary health. Lactoferrin seems to influence resistance of dairy cows to mastitis infections. The objective of this study was to search for the genes coding for lactoferrin in imported Holstein cows managed in a large herd in the North of Tunisia. A total of 52 blood samples were collected. Genomic DNA was extracted and all individuals were genotyped for polymorphism of lactoferrin gene by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCRRFLP) analysis. Amplification of the lactoferrin gene fragment revealed an 1143 bp long product by electrophoresis following PCR. After restriction enzyme digestion with HinfI, two alleles were characterized by only one restriction fragment. All screened individuals were homozygous showing the same band pattern in all samples by the PCR-RFLP, implying the existence of only one genotype for the lactoferrin locus. This study may be generalized to cover the Tunisian Holstein population for possible identification of resistant animals to mastitis infection and that have polymorphic lactoferrin genes.
Study the Bacterial and Fungal Quality and Physicochemical Properties of Cold Smoked Salted Fishes of Caspian Sea, Iran

High consumption of cold salted smoked fish beside the low quality of processing of this products caused us to do the present study in order to investigate the bacterial and fungal quality and physicochemical characteristics of cold salted smoked fishes of Caspian Sea, Iran. Two hundred cold salted smoked fish samples were randomly purchased and microbial (total coliforms, E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes, vibrio spp. and Staphylococcus aureus and molds) and physicochemical analysis were done. Total of coliforms, S. aureus, E. coli, L. monocytogenes and Vibrio spp. and molds in cold salted smoked fishes were 50%, 45%, 2%, 18%, 23% and 93%, respectively. Aspergillus fumigatus were the most commonly detected fungi. Frequency of coagulase gene and kanagawa factor in S. aureus and V. parahaemolyticus isolates were considerable. There were no STEC strains in the E. coli isolates. Group 1 was the most commonly detected serotype in L. monocytogenes strains (55.55%). Mean ± standard error of moisture, TVN, pH and salt were 45.02±0.90, 79.45±4.75, 6.07±0.02 and 16.93±0.41, respectively. The growth of S. aureus and V. parahaemolyticus in samples with lower pH and moisture contents was significantly low. Accurate hygienic surveillance should perform to improve the chemical and microbial quality of cold salted smoked fish of Iranian markets.
AN IMPROVED DYNAMICAL MODEL FOR THE MICROQUASAR XTE J1550−564

We present an improved dynamical model of the X-ray binary and microquasar XTE J1550−564 based on new moderate-resolution optical spectroscopy and near-infrared photometry obtained with the 6.5 m Magellan Telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory. Twelve spectra of the source were obtained using the Magellan Echellette Spectrograph between 2008 May 6 and August 4. In addition, several hundred images of the field were obtained between 2006 May and 2009 July in the J and KS filters using the PANIC camera. The agreement between the 2006/2007 and 2008 J and KS light curves is not perfect, and the differences can plausibly be attributed to a hot spot on the accretion disk during the 2006/2007 observations. By combining our new radial velocity measurements with previous measurements obtained in 2001 May at the 8.2 m Very Large Telescope and with light curves, we find an orbital period of P = 1.5420333 ± 0.0000024 days and a radial velocity semiamplitude of K2 = 363.14 ± 5.97 km s−1, which together imply an optical mass function of f(M) = 7.65 ± 0.38 M☉. We find that the projected rotational velocity of the secondary star is 55 ± 5 km s−1, which implies a very extreme mass ratio of Q ≡ M/M2 ≈ 30. Using a model of a Roche lobe-filling star and an azimuthally symmetric accretion disk, we fit simultaneously optical light curves from 2001, near-infrared light curves from 2008, and all of the radial velocity measurements to derive system parameters. We find an inclination of 74. °7 ± 3. °8 and component masses of M2 = 0.30 ± 0.07 M☉ and M = 9.10 ± 0.61 M☉ for the secondary star and black hole, respectively. We note that these results depend on the assumption that in 2008, the disk did not have a hot spot, and that the fraction of light contributed by the accretion disk did not change between the spectroscopic and photometric observations. By considering two measured values of the disk fraction and by modeling various combinations of NIR and optical light curves, we show that our adopted black hole mass is probably not seriously in error, where the black hole mass ranges between M = 8.91 ± 1.10 M☉ and M = 13.94 ± 1.64 M☉. The radius of the secondary star for the adopted model is 1.75 ± 0.12 R☉. Using this radius, the average KS magnitude, and an extinction of AK = 0.507 ± 0.050 mag, we find a distance of 4.38+0.58−0.41 kpc, which is in good agreement with a recent distance estimate based on H i absorption lines.