Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental study on seismic behavior of steel tube confined high-strength concrete shear walls

The high strength concrete shear walls are characterized by its high bearing capacity, high stiffness but a poor deformation capacity. In order to improve the deformation capacity of these members, specimens of high-strength concrete shear wall with steel tube confined boundary elements were designed and the quasi-static tests were conducted. The failure mode, failure mechanism, deformation capacity, hysteretic behavior, stiffness degradation and energy dissipation capacity of specimens were researched. The results indicate that the steel tube boundary elements can provide an effective confinement to the wall pier and the horizontal bearing capacity of specimens dropped slowly. Under a high axial force, the vertical bearing capacity of specimens can be maintained, and the deformation and energy dissipation capacity could be obviously enhanced due to the use of steel tubes in the boundary elements. The ultimate displacement and the energy dissipation of steel tube confined high-strength concrete shear walls were increased by 27 % and 81 % respectively compared to high-strength concrete shear walls with the same axial load ratio. According to the experimental results, the calculation formula is addressed for the cross-section bearing capacity of steel tube confined high-strength concrete shear wall. As a result, it is a good practice that the steel tube confined boundary elements can be utilized at the bottom strengthening zone so as to improve the seismic performance of high-strength concrete shear walls.
Mycotoxin exposure and adverse reproductive health outcomes in Africa: a review

It is well established that mycotoxin exposure can have adverse effects on reproductive health resulting to poor reproductive potential. The most studied mycotoxin in relation to poor reproductive health in humans is aflatoxin, although fumonisins, trichothecenes and zearalenone have also been reported to impair reproductive function and cause abnormal foetal development. These potent fungal toxins contaminate many food products making them a prominent agricultural, food safety and public health challenge, especially in Africa due to little or lack of mycotoxin regulation in agricultural products. Neonates can be exposed to aflatoxins in utero, as the toxins pass from mother to the foetus through the placenta. This exposure may continue during breast feeding, to the introduction of weaning foods, and then foods taken by adults. The consequences of aflatoxin exposure in mothers, foetus and children are many, including anaemia in pregnancy, low birth weight, interference with nutrient absorption, suppression of immune function, child growth retardation and abnormal liver function. In males, reports have indicated a possible relationship between aflatoxin exposure and poor sperm quality culminating in infertility. Maternal exposure to fumonisin during early pregnancy has been associated with increased risk of neural tube defects among newborns in regions where maize is the common dietary staple with the possibility of chronic fumonisin exposure. Furthermore, zearalenone has been linked to precocious puberty and premature thelarche in girls, correlating with extremely high serum oestrogen levels. This review presents an overview of the several reports linking aflatoxins, fumonisins, trichothecenes, and zearalenone exposure to poor reproductive health outcomes in Africa, with emphasis on birth outcomes, foetal health and infertility.
The effect of housing and anthelmintic treatment on pre-weaning kid death rate and infestation with gastrointestinal helminthes

The effects of type of goat housing and provision of anthelmintic treatment on kid mortality and the prevalence of internal parasites were investigated in this study. Thirty six flocks of goats, of multiple ages and mixed sexes, belonging to Rushinga Communal area farmers were selected from 3 flock sizes (1 to 5; 6 to 10 and >10 goats/flock) and were randomly allocated to 2 types of goat housing (i.e. pole walled and an improved housing) and to 2 anthelmintic treatments (untreated and de-wormed with Valbazen), over a two year period. The worm remedy was chosen on the basis of relative availability and affordability compared to other drugs. The dosage of the anthelmintic was done by following the manufacturer’s instructions. Death rate of kids was low across all treatments (<15.36 ± 6.36 deaths/100 kids/first six months from birth) and was not affected by type of housing or the anthelmintic drug. Egg numbers, as low as 1.45 ± 1.09 and 1.91 ± 1.10 per gram of faeces, of Strongyle and occasionally Moniezia species were observed in the faecal samples. The most prevalent nematode larvae in the faecal cultures were Haemonchus contortus (70.05 ± 1.85% infestation rate), Cooperia (13.70 ± 0.96% infestation rate), Trichostrongylus (8.08 ± 0.86% infestation rate) and Strongyloides (2.84 ± 0.57% infestation rate). The prevalence of Haemonchus contortus was significantly affected by a three-way interaction of type of housing, anthelmintic treatment and season. It was concluded that kid death rate and the prevalence of internal parasites was low. _______________________________________________________________________________________
Dietary Spray-Dried Bovine Plasma Protein Improves Growth Performance and Breast-Meat Yield of Broilers Raised in a High-Antigen Environment

Recommended Citation Bregendahl, Kristjan; Ahn, Dong U. ; Trampel, Darrell W. ; and Campbell, J. M. (2005) "Dietary Spray-Dried Bovine Plasma Protein Improves Growth Performance and Breast-Meat Yield of Broilers Raised in a HighAntigen Environment," Animal Industry Report: AS 651, ASL R2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31274/ans_air-180814-1081 Available at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ans_air/vol651/iss1/27
Digestive bottleneck affects foraging decisions in red knots Calidris canutus. I. Prey choice

Summary 1. Rate-maximizing foragers that only divide their time between searching and handling prey should, according to the classical contingency model (CM), only select those prey whose energy content per unit handling time (i.e. profitability) exceeds or equals long-term average energy intake rate. 2. However, if digestively constrained foragers were to follow this so-called ‘zero-one rule’, they would need to take digestive breaks and their energy intake over total time would not be maximized. They should, according to the digestive rate model (DRM), also consider the rate at which a prey type is digested (i.e. digestive quality), such that time lost to digestive breaks is minimized. 3. In three different contexts, we tested these competing models in a mollusc-eating shorebird, the red knot ( Calidris canutus ), that is often digestively constrained due to its habit of ingesting its bulky prey whole. Measurements on gizzard size (using ultrasonography) and prey-characteristics confirmed that in each test the birds were digestively bottlenecked and should thus follow the DRM in order to maximize long-term energy intake. 4. In the first experiment, knots were offered a choice between two fully exposed prey, and tended to select prey by the criterion of digestive quality rather than profitability. 5. In the second experiment, knots were offered two buried prey types and preferred the highest quality prey to the most profitable prey. 6. In the wild, knots mainly fed on high quality Mya and largely ignored poor quality, but equally profitable, Cerastoderma . 7. Thus, each test verified the predictions of the DRM and rejected those of the CM. Given that many species face digestion constraints, we expect that the DRM is likely to explain diet composition in many more studies.
Genetic Studies of Hatchery‐Supplemented Populations of Red Drum in Four Texas Bays

Abstract Genetic diversity, population structure, average long-term effective population size (Ne ), and average long-term genetic migration rate of red drum Sciaenops ocellatus in each of four Texas bays were assessed using variation in 13 nuclear-encoded microsatellites among samples from the 2004 and 2005 cohorts. No significant differences in genetic diversity were detected among bays. Levels of gene diversity of red drum in each bay were equal to or greater than estimates reported for microsatellites in red drum sampled previously from two of the four bays and from other bays in the southeastern USA, including some that had not yet been supplemented with hatchery-raised fish. Tests of the homogeneity of allele and genotype distributions (including analysis of molecular variance) among the four bays were nonsignificant. Estimates of the migration rate (m) between bays ranged from 0.08% to 0.15%, with the average long-term number of migrants (calculated as Ne × m) between bays estimated to range from 1.
Determinants of Excess Liquidity: The Nigerian Experience

Containing excess liquidity is the concern of most central banks including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); this study is an attempt to ascertain the factors that account for the persistence of excess liquidity in Nigerian economy. The Vector Autoregressive (VAR) and Granger Causality tests are utilized for the study. The results are further supplemented with Impulse Response and Variance Decomposition tests. The empirical results reveal that among all the variables included in the study, level of money supply, foreign exchange monetisation, and lagged excess liquidity are the major determinants of excess liquidity in the Nigerian. The findings therefore buttress the fact that Nigerian economy as an open economy is susceptible to the dynamics of foreign economies especially the developed economies of United States as larger part of the foreign reserve is domiciled in US Dollar. Hence, the need for efficient management of foreign exchange is advocated as imperative for curbing excess liquidity. Again, we recommend effective, efficient and timely combination of monetary policy instruments to help control money supply as monetary policy rate alone cannot effectively control money supply in Nigerian economy.
Palm Oil and Animal Fats for Increasing Dietary Energy in Rearing Pullets

A total of 300 Nera chicks at 8 weeks of age were randomized into five experimental rearing diets containing 170g/kg crude protein and 2800Kcal/kg of metabolizable energy to determine the comparative advantage of palm oil and animal fat as sources of increasing dietary energy in pullets. Five diets were supplemented with 2.5% and 5.0% palm oil or broiler offal fat at the expense of maize. Birds on diets with palm oil tended to retard attainment of sexual maturity, but egg production was significantly (P<0.05) increased at 5% broiler offal fat or palm oil, and the latter additionally resulted in higher egg mass. It is concluded that 5% broiler offal fat or palm oil comparably promoted higher egg production; the latter also supported heavier egg mass of the domestic fowl. Broiler offal fat holds great potential as energy source in pullets rearing.
isochron age of Fankeng basalts from Fujian of SE China and its geological significance

Mesozoic basalts occur widely in SE China, with two major episodes of activity during the Middle Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. The exact age and mantle source character for the first eruption of basaltic magma during the Jurassic are not well constrained. In this paper we report, for the first time, Re-Os isotope data on these basalts. We sampled the Fankeng basalts in the Yongding basin of southwestern Fujian, SE China and separated the Fe-Ti oxide concentrates in them. Six samples of the Fe-Ti oxide concentrates yield a Re-Os isochron age of 175.4 ± 3.1 Ma with an initial 187Os/188Os ratio of 0.124 ± 0.014, corresponding to an initial γOs value of –1.44 at 175.4 Ma. The age suggests that the Fankeng basalts are products of Middle Jurassic magmatism. Both (Os/Os)i and γOs values are near chondritic. Together with Sm-Nd isotope data of these basalts, we conclude that the Fankeng basaltic magma might be derived from depleted asthenospheric mantle. The near chondritic γOs and εNd(T) values may suggest interactions between asthenosphere and lithosphere during early Mesozoic in the area.
Appropriateness assessment and identifying the risk factors of oral non-prescription drugs’ use among university students in the United Arab Emirates

Irrational use of drugs has a serious impact on health and the economy. The use of oral non-prescription drugs is increasing among university students worldwide. The objective of the present study is to measure the prevalence of use of oral-non-prescription drugs, assess appropriateness of this use, and identify factors associated with inappropriate use among students. A cross-sectional study used anonymous self-administered questionnaire over the period of four months (January, 2014 to April, 2014). More than half (1348; 57%) of participants reported the use of ONPD in the past 90 days before study commencement. Of 1,348, participants reported using ONPD; only 8% were inappropriate ONPD users for self-treating the last recent symptom. The present study identified three newly reported risk factors for the outcome. Polypharmacy behaviour was a significant predictor variable (OR = 2.457, 95% CI: 1.380-4.373, p=0.002), safety belief in the use of ONPD (OR= 1.702, 95% CI: 1.070-2.709, p≤0.05) and medication knowledge (OR= 0.608, 95% CI: 0.380- 0.972, p≤0.05). There is high prevalence of ONPD use among university students in UAE. However, the majority of this use was found to be appropriate. To promote healthy ONPD use in university students, awareness campaign is needed in all universities and must stress on the potential dangers of drug addict, drug abuse and polypharmacy behavior.
Immunomagnetic separation of cells of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense from natural plankton samples

A novel method was developed for isolating cells of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense from preserved natural seawater samples using paramagnebc beads and a monoclonal antibody against the surface antigens of the dinoflagellate. 'Direct' and 'indirect' approaches to bead/cell attachment were tested as well as 3 types of bead coatings (streptavidin, and 2 secondary antibodies: sheep anti-mouse, and goat anti-mouse), and 2 blocking agents [normal goat serum (NGS) and bovine serum albumin (BSA)]. Optimal 'indirect' bead attachment protocols, where the species-specific pnmary antibody is first bound to the target cells before bead attachment, utilized either 2.8 pm streptavidin-coated beads with NGS blocking or sheep anti-mouse-coated beads with BSA blocking. Although there were undoubtably some cell losses during the initial antibody-labeling and washing procedures, ca 90% of the labeled A. fundyense cells in unialgal cultures were removed using these bead procedures. Non-specific binding was low, as only 5 to 10 % of the A. fundyense cells were recovered when the primary antibody was omitted. The 'direct' approach, where the species-specific primary antibody is first bound to the beads, was most effective (80% recovery) using sheep anti-mousecoated beads (2.8 p) wlth BSA blocking, and the non-specific binding remained very low ( ~ 2 % ) . When tested in 3 natural preserved plankton samples, recovery of Alexandrium spp. was ca 90% (negative controls <10%) using the 'indirect' method, with 5% contamination by other species. The 'direct' technique was slightly less effective on the natural samples (ca 80% recovery), but negative controls were very low at 1% or less. Contam~nation by other species was 5 to 10%. 'Direct' attachment is a simpler procedure than the 'indirect' approach because the beads can be pre-coated with the speciflc antibody in bulk before use. Thus, the direct method not only shortens the procedure by eliminating the need to antibody-label each individual sample but, as a consequence, minimizes target cell losses as well, so it may be the method of choice for working with field samples. Immunomagnetic separation of a slngle algal species from a sample containing mixed plankton and detritus IS thus simple, rapid, and quite reliable. Compared with other sorting methods currently in use (e.g. manual pipette isolation, flow cytometry), this procedure offers distinct advantages with respect to cost, volume, speed and simplicity.
Role of Different Abiotic Factors Influencing Fluctuations of Fruit and Shoot Infestation Caused by Earias vittella on Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.)

In India okra is being cultivated in an area of 507 „000 ha, with production of 5853 „000 MT, productivity of 11.5 MT ha -1 during 2015-16. In okra production West Bengal occupies the 1 st place (877 „000 MT) followed by Bihar (783.54 „000 MT) and U.P occupies the 13 th place (148.64 „000 MT). Okra shares 5.9 % in total vegetable area and 3.9 % of total vegetable production in India (Indian Horticulture Database, 2015-16).
Effects of land use and limnological variables on the dissimilarity of common and rare aquatic insects in Atlantic Forest streams

Lotic ecosystems are altered at various spatial scales leading to the simplification of water bodies and the dominance or exclusion of certain organisms. In streams, species may have limitations generated by the environment that result in a more abundant or rare occurrence. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of water physical-chemical variables and land use in the drainage basin on the composition of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) assemblages in the streams of Atlantic Forest. We collected water samples and aquatic insects from 18 streams in Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil. We evaluated the relationship between physical-chemical variables of water and land use and the dissimilarity of EPT assemblages in three different situations: (i) matrix with all organisms collected, (ii) matrix containing only common genera and (iii) matrix containing only the rare genera. We collected 6 023 EPT larvae from 41 genera; 62 % of the individuals belonged to the order Trichoptera, 32 % to the order Ephemeroptera and 6 % to the order Plecoptera. The most common organisms (10 genera) accounted for 86 % of the total abundance of identified individuals. On the other hand, rare genera corresponded to 76 % of the total richness, but only 6 % of the total abundance. For the three matrices studied, the pH, electrical conductivity and riparian vegetation were correlated with the dissimilarity matrix of the three biological datasets used. In our study, we observed that the pH, electric conductivity, exposed soil and riparian vegetation variables were the most important for the dissimilarity of the EPT assemblages. In addition, our results demonstrated that variables at different scales (stream and riparian zone) structure stream insect assemblages.
Effect of Thermal Process and Filtration on the Antioxidant Activity and Physicochemical Parameters of Agave atrovirens Extracts

Recently agave plants are being used in the production of syrups that are consumed by diabetic people in order to control their blood glucose levels; unfortunately a deep characterization of this kind of products has not been made. In this study the juice obtained from Agave atrovirens leaves (CE) was filtered and cooked (FE) and evaporated until it has a solid content of 20 oBx (TE), and the effect of the process in some parameters like pH, acidity, solid content, 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) and compounds with biological properties like saponins and phenolic compounds as well as antioxidant activity were evaluated. Once FE was concentrated, a dark brown liquid with a pH of 5.32 was obtained; the content of phenolics and saponins undergoes slightly modifications trough the complete process. 5-HMF was only detected in CE but not in FE and TE. Filtering decrease acidity, total phenolics, saponins, 5-HMF and the antiradical activity (ARA); and evaporation increase the content of reducing sugars and tends to increase the ARA value. For this study, we can conclude that the negative impact associated to a thermal process on bioactive compounds like phenols and antioxidant activity is negligible hence Agave atrovirens leaves could be a source of a product with phytochemicals.
Thunderstorms caused by southern cyclones in Estonia

The relationships between the frequency and duration of thunderstorms, lightning and southern cyclones over Estonia are presented for the period 1950-2010. A total of 545 southern cyclones and 2106 thunderstorm days were detected, whereas 11.3% of the observed thunder days were associated with southern cyclones. At the same time, 29.2% of all southern cyclones were accompanied by thunderstorms. In the thunder season, however, this percentage was much higher, reaching up to 80% in summer months. The number of thunder days was largest when the centres of southern cyclones passed a measuring station at a distance less than 500 km. The number of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes related to southern cyclones was larger than that of any other thunder events. The results of our study demonstrate that the intensity of thunderstorms related to southern cyclones is higher than that of other thunderstorms. Correlation analysis revealed statistically significant relationships between the frequency of thunder days related to southern cyclones and the frequency of southern cyclones, also between the frequency of thunder days related to southern cyclones and days of other thunder events.
Evaluation of Computational Modeling of Electron Transpiration Cooling at High Enthalpies

A modeling approach for electron transpiration cooling of high-enthalpy flight is evaluated through comparison to a set of experiments performed in a plasma arc tunnel for air and argon. The comparisons include air and argon flow at high enthalpies (27.9 and 11.6 MJ/kg, respectively), with a Mach number of 2.5 to 3. The conversion of the reported enthalpies and Mach numbers to freestream temperatures and velocities is discussed. The numerical approach is described, including implementation of a thermionic emission boundary condition and an electric field model. Also described is the implementation of a finite-rate chemistry model for argon ionization. Materials with different electron emission properties are also investigated, including graphite and tungsten. The comparisons include two different geometries with different leading-edge radii. The numerical results produce a wide range of emitted current due to the uncertainties in freestream conditions and emissive material properties, but they still agre.