Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Floristic Composition and Vegetation Analysis in Suez Governorate, Egypt

The present study provides a detailed depiction of the floristic composition and vegetation analysis of four habitats in Suez Governorate, Egypt. The investigated habitats include desert, waste lands, crop fields and orchards. A total of 107 species (56 annuals, 2 biennials and 49 perennials) belonging to 93 genera and 33 families were recorded in the study area. The most represented families were Asteraceae, Poaecae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae and Chenopodiaceae. Therophytes were the most prevailing life-forms. Chorological analysis revealed that the Saharo-Sindian and Mediterranean chorotypes either pure or extended into other regions form the major component of the floristic structure. The application of TWINSPAN classification technique on the importance values of 107 plant species recorded in 40 stands representing the studied habitats produced four vegetation groups named after their dominant species. Group A: dominated by Zygophyllum coccineum, group B: dominated by Tamarix nilotica, group C: dominated by Beta vulgaris, Chenopodium murale and Melilotus messanensis and group D: dominated by Oxalis corniculata. Species richness, Shannon-Wiener and Simpson indices measurements indicated that vegetation groups D and C were the most diverse ones, followed by groups A and B. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) results indicated a reasonable segregation among these groups along the first and second axes. Linear correlation of soil variables with the importance values of some dominant species and the application of Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA- biplot) indicated significant correlation between species distribution of the studied habitats and the soil variables such as, soil texture, organic matter, CaCo3, pH, electrical conductivity, bicarbonates, chlorides, sodium, magnesium, pota-ssium and calcium.
Chemical composition, functional and organoleptic properties of complementary foods formulated from millet, soybean and African locust bean fruit pulp flour blends

This study was aimed at producing and evaluating the quality of complementary foods from millet, soybean and African locust bean fruit pulp. The millet, soybean and African locust bean fruits were obtained locally in Kaduna, Nigeria. These materials were separately cleaned, dried, milled and sieved into flours. The flours were mixed as follows: Sample A (60% millet, 10% soybean, 30% African locust bean fruit pulp), sample B (60% millet, 20% soybean, 20% African locust bean fruit pulp), Sample C (50% millet, 40% soybean, 10% African locust bean fruit pulp), sample D (50% millet, 30% soybean, 20% African locust bean fruit pulp), sample E (50% millet, 20% soybean, 30% African locust bean fruit pulp). The chemical composition, functional properties and sensory attributes were determined using standard methods. The moisture content of the food samples varied from 7.5 to 11%, protein ranged from 28.9 to 37.0%, fat from 3.1 to 5.1%, Ash ranged from 1.4 to 2.51%, crude fibre ranged from 2.0 to 3.2%, carbohydrate varied ranged from 47.0 to 52.1%. The energy values ranged from 351 to 381.9 kcal/g and appreciable amount of minerals were recorded. Calcium ranged from 128.0 to 165.0 mg/100 g, iron ranged from 3.2 to 5.8 mg/100 g and zinc ranged from 2.6 to 3.2 mg/100 g. The results of functional properties showed that bulk density ranged from 0.61 to 0.66 g/ml, water absorption capacity ranged from 1.89 to 2.31 g/g, swelling capacity ranged from 0.67 to 2.45% and least gelation ranged from 9.00 to 11.62%. Sensory evaluation indicated that the samples were highly rated (P<0.05) for all the parameters investigated. Sample E (50% millet, 20% soybean and 30% African locust bean pulp flour) was most acceptable to the panelists and should be encouraged in weaning food preparation. Key words: African locust bean fruit pulp, complementary foods, functional oroperties, chemical composition.
mphibian use of urban stormwater wetlands : The role of natural habitat eatures rett

Urbanization is recognized as a major driver of amphibian declines globally. To maintain urban biodiversity, features that promote local amphibian populations must be identified. The construction of stormwater ponds is a useful tool for mitigating wetland loss and retaining water runoff from impermeable urban surfaces, yet their value as breeding habitat for amphibians that require both terrestrial and aquatic habitat to persist remains poorly known. Within the City of Edmonton, Canada, we surveyed 75 urban wetlands (stormwater, natural upland and river valley) using call surveys and trapping for amphibian species. We related amphibian occurrence to 14 within-wetland parameters (reflecting water chemistry and aquatic vegetation) and four landscape features. We used an information-theoretic approach to identify predictors of anuran occurrence. Three of the five amphibian species known to occur regionally (wood frog, boreal chorus frog, and western tiger salamander) were found at all wetland types. Overall, natural wetlands had higher levels of occurrence and abundance of calling wood and boreal chorus frogs than stormwater wetlands; however, constructed stormwater wetlands did frequently serve as breeding habitat for amphibians. Total nitrogen concentrations and aquatic vegetation were the best within-wetland predictors of frog occurrence whereas the nature of terrestrial habitat and amount of wetlands surrounding breeding habitats were the best landscape predictors. Within-wetland habitat could be improved if stormwater wetlands were designed to promote the growth of emergent and submerged aquatic plants. Urban amphibian populations would benefit if managers preserved or restored nding terrestrial habitat surrou
Distribution of the stx 1 and stx 2 genes in Escherichia coli isolated from milk cattle according to season , age , and production scale in southwestern region of Goiás , Brazil

 This study determined the distribution of stx1 and stx2 genes in Escherichia coli isolated from dairy herds with regard to animal age, season, and farm production-scale, and analyzed the phylogenetic distribution of the groups A, B1, B2, and D of 276 isolates of bovine feces Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). The stx1 profile was the most common, detected in 20.4% (202/990) of the isolates, followed by stx2 (4.54%, 45/990) and stx1+stx2 (2.92%, 29/990). The stx1 gene was detected more frequently in calves than in adult animals. In the dry season (winter), the presence of stx1+stx2 profile in cattle feces was higher than in the rainy season (summer), while no significant changes were observed between seasons for the stx1 and stx2 profiles. The most predominant phylogenetic groups in adult animals were B1, A, and D, while groups A and B1 prevailed in calves. Our data highlight the importance of identifying STEC reservoirs, since 7.5% of the tested isolates were positive for stx2, the main profile responsible for the hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). Moreover, these microorganisms are adapted to survive even in hostile environments and can contaminate the food production chain, posing a significant risk to consumers of animal products.
Optimization of False Acceptance/Rejection Rates and Decision Threshold for End-to-End Text-Dependent Speaker Verification Systems

Currently, most Speaker Verification (SV) systems based on neural networks use Cross-Entropy and/or Triplet loss functions. Despite these functions provide competitive results, they might not fully exploit the system performance, because they are not designed to optimize the verification task considering the performance measures, e.g. the Detection Cost Function (DCF) or the Equal Error Rate (EER). This paper proposes a first approach to this issue through the optimization of a loss function based on the DCF. This mechanism allows the end-toend system to directly manage the threshold used to compute the ratio between the False Rejection Rate (FRR) and the False Acceptance Rate (FAR). This way connecting the system training directly to the operating point. Results in a text-dependent speaker verification framework, based on neural network supervectors over the RSR2015 dataset, outperform reference systems using Cross-Entropy and Triplet loss, as well as our previously proposal based on an approximation of the Area Under the Curve (aAUC).
Promoting content and language integrated learning in gifted high schools in Vietnam : Challenges and impacts

Among responses to multilingualism and to the need of effective language education programmes, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has been found to be efficient in different sociopolitical contexts. Recognising the benefits, Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) recently issued two CLIL declarations in an effort to reform the teaching and learning of foreign languages in the national education system, firstly through piloting CLIL programmes in gifted high schools nationwide. This paper aims to discuss some challenges and impacts of promoting CLIL programmes in Vietnam, centering around MOET’s recent policies for gifted high schools. The first section reflects on the context for and the significance of MOET’s declarations in 2008 and 2010, which officially articulated CLIL implementation. Then the issue is investigated from sociolinguistic and linguistic perspectives by the author problematising the enactment of such policy pertaining to its impacts on key stake-holders. Finally, some recommendations for policy makers and practitioners are offered for further implementation of CLIL in the aforementioned setting. This paper would offer a practical view of CLIL practices to inform Vietnamese policy makers and educators in the improvement of foreign language education. It also hopes to contribute to a more pluralistic perspective to the current research field of CLIL internationally.
Prevalence of multidrug resistant (MDR) food-borne pathogens in raw chicken meat in Dhaka city, Bangladesh: an increasing food safety concern

The present study was performed to investigate the prevalence of multidrug resistant (MDR) food-borne pathogens in raw chicken meat in Dhaka city, Bangladesh: an increasing food safety concern. A total of 100 meat samples (05 from each market) were collected from randomly selected 20 retail markets of Dhaka city using sterile polythene bags in a view to prevent extraneous contamination. The collected meat samples were then processed and inoculated onto nutrient broth and nutrient agar plates for isolation. The isolated organisms were identified based on staining, motility, cultural and biochemical properties according to standard laboratory methods. The isolated bacteria were also subjected to characterize their antibiotic sensitivity. In the present study, it was revealed that 100% of samples were contaminated by at least one species of bacteria belonging to 5 genera such as Staphylococcus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Enterobacter and Bacillus. Out of total 100 meat samples, 56% were contaminated with Escherichia coli whereas 42% were contaminated with Coagulase positive Staphylococcus and 36% were Salmonella species followed by 20%, 14% and 10% were contaminated with Enterobacter species, Coagulase negative Staphylococcus and Bacillus species respectively. A total of 174 bacteria were isolated and identified from raw chicken meat samples inspected of which 29.89% were Escherichia coli, 24.14% were Coagulase positive Staphylococcus, 20.69% were Salmonella species, 11.49% were Enterobacter species, 8.05% were Coagulase negative Staphylococcus and 5.75% were Bacillus species. The antimicrobial sensitivity tests showed that 96.15% of Escherichia coli (50 out of 52), 95.24% of Coagulase positive Staphylococcus (40 out of 42) and 86.11% of Salmonella (31 out of 36) isolates displayed multidrug resistance phenotypes (resistant to more than two antimicrobial agents). All most all the isolates of E. coli, coagulase positive Staphylococcus and Salmonella were more resistant to tetracycline, amoxicillin, ampicillin and streptomycin whereas less resistant to Ceftriaxone and Cefotaxime. The resistance patterns against azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, gentamycin, nalidixic acid and kanamycin were fluctuated from 25% to 71.43% among the isolates. This increasing development of multidrug resistance is alarming for the poultry industry and an increasing food safety concern for human. Asian Australas. J. Biosci. Biotechnol. 2018, 3 (1), 17-27
Artificial Intelligence, Human Capital, and Innovation

The scarcity of the human capital needed for R&D in Artificial Intelligence (AI) created an unprecedented brain drain of AI professors from universities in 2004-2018. We exploit this brain drain as a source of variation in students’ domain-specific knowledge and provide causal evidence that domain-specific knowledge is important for startup formation, seed funding, round A funding, and funding growth rate. The effect is the largest for top universities, PhD students, and startups in the area of deep learn- ing. These results contribute to the entrepreneurial finance literature and challenge the current view that entrepreneurs are jacks-of-all-trades, master of none (Lazear 2004).
Atlas of normal and variant angiographic anatomy

An atlas depicting the normal and variant anatomy of the arteries, veins, and lymphatic system. Line drawings clarify the information on normal and common variations that the angiograms present, with each illustrations in the text labelled for easy identification. The book is intended to help vascular surgeons plan their operations and interpret angiographic studies. It covers the liver, spleen, pancreas, kidney, trunk, extremities, brain, adrenal glands and more.
Myocardial Reprogramming Medicine : The Development , Application , and Challenge of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be generated by reprogramming of adult/somatic cells.The somatic cell reprogramming technology offers a promising strategy for patient-specific cardiac regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and drug discovery. iPSCs are an ideal potential option for an autologous cell source, as compared to other stem/progenitor cells, because they can be propagated indefinitely and are able to generate a large number of functional cardiovascular cells. However, there are concerns about the specificity, efficiency, immunogenicity, and safety of iPSCswhich aremajor challenges in current translational studies. In order to bring iPSC technology closer to clinical use, fundamental changes in this technique are required to ensure that therapeutic progenies are functional and nontumorigenic. It is therefore critical to understand and investigate the biology, genetic, and epigenetic mechanisms of iPSCs generation and differentiation. In this spotlight paper the discovery, history, and relative mechanisms of iPSC generation are summarized. The current technological improvements and potential applications are highlighted along with the important challenges and perspectives. Finally, emerging technologies are presented in which improvements to iPSC generation and differentiation approachesmightwarrant further investigation, such as integration-free approaches, direct reprogramming, and the development of iPSC banking.
Degeneration of intravertebral disc and facet joints and promising strategies for regeneration: a review of literature

Vertebral fractures and facet joint degeneration are common among the elderly, and predominant in post-menopausal women. Lumbar spondylolisthesis is observed in the matured spine, with a maximum impact in the L4-5 region. A sagittal location of facet joints promotes deformity at L4-5, and increased angular orientation between the facet joint and transverse plane enhances fracture risk. Both cemented vertebroplasty and cementless fixation procedures are adopted to treat vertebral fractures. Polymethylmethacrylate cement provided respite from pain and prevented future bone disintegration. Injection with carbonated apatite served the same role, added to an increased biomechanical strength. However, these processes involved chances of cement leakage into the epidural disc, endplate cracks, vacuum cleft and contralateral space. Cement leakage following kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty showed unfavorable neurological symptoms and pulmonary embolism as well. Alternatively, lumbar disc arthroplasty using the Prodisc and Charité designs seemed favorable, involving keel-mediated anchorage on the osseus endplates. A cementless and durable fixation method, entailing flexible titanium mesh implants, offered significant pain reduction in thoracolumbar burst fractures. However, the functional impact failed to linger, and hence seemed non-advantageous compared to vertebroplasty. Additionally, an important bone regenerative method used tricalcium phosphate collagen implants in combination with osteoprotective growth factors. Nonetheless, this method required further studies for its thorough understanding. Overall, although several procedures for bone regeneration have emerged, a perfect long-term therapy for vertebral fractures is still unknown. On this basis, stem cell therapy appeared as a novel strategy, facilitating recovery from facet degeneration. However, targeted stem cell strategies await validation.
Effect of Osmotic Shocks on Sodium Regulation and NaK-ATPase Activity of Pacific White Shrimp ( Litopenaeus vannamei Boone , 1931 )

Effects of Millieu exterieur osmotic shocks on sodium (Na+)regulation and Na-K-ATPase activity of Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931) were investigated. Active uptake of sodium and Na-K-ATPase enzyme activity followed similar pattern; they decreased to minimum levels and became almost constant after the shrimp was reared in an isosmotic medium (875.40 mOsm L–1 H2O ∞ 30 g L–1). The research was conducted by experimental laboratory method using completely randomized design with four treatments and three replicates. This study showed that NaK-ATPase activity was directly affected the active uptake of sodium. Cultivated shrimps which were reared in an isosmotic medium regulated their haemolymph osmotic concentration passively; thus, decreased their osmotic works and increased their potential energy needed for moulting process and growth. Active transport of Na+ and the activity of Na-K-ATPase in the body fluids of L. vannamei shrimp followed similar pattern, at which they decreased to minimum levels and became almost constant after the shrimps were reared in and isosmotic medium (± 30 g L–1 ∞ 875.40 mOsm L–1 H2O).
Accounting Conservatism and Inefficiency in Analysts ’ Earnings Forecasts

Analysts’ earnings forecasts are known to be inefficient with respect to prior news and the inefficiency is more pronounced for firms that experienced good news than for those that experienced bad news. This asymmetry in forecasting inefficiency is consistent with analysts’ failure to allow for ex-post accounting conservatism, defined as additional verifiability accountants required to recognize good news versus bad news. We test whether analysts foresee that companies with lower levels of ex-ante accounting conservatism (accounting rules and policies that understate earnings and book values, independent of news) are expected to exhibit greater ex-post conservatism. We find that the differential forecasting inefficiency to prior news is greater for firms with lower exante conservatism (proxied by the beginning-of-year market-to-book ratio and the estimated balance sheet reserve due to conservative accounting policies) than firms with higher ex-ante conservatism. We also find that the optimism in analysts’ earnings forecasts is greater for firms with lower ex-ante conservatism. These results are robust to different estimation methods and to other factors documented in the literature as influencing the forecast error. Our results suggest that the inefficiency in analysts’ earnings forecasts stems partly from analysts’ failure to allow for accounting conservatism.
Turning away from terrorism : Lessons from psychology

Although research on violent extremism traditionally focuses on why individuals become involved in terrorism, recent efforts have started to tackle the question of why individuals leave terrorist groups. Research on terrorist disengagement, however, remains conceptually and theoretically underdeveloped. In an effort to enhance our understanding of disengagement from terrorism and pave the way for future empirical work, this article provides a multidisciplinary review of related research from psychology, sociology, and criminology. Significant promise for moving beyond the existing push/pull framework is found in Rusbult and colleagues’ investment model from psychology and Ebaugh’s research on voluntary role exit from sociology. Rusbult’s investment model offers insight into when and why individuals disengage from terrorism, while accounting for individual, group, and macro-level differences in the satisfaction one derives from involvement, the investments incurred, and the alternatives available. Ebaugh’s research on voluntary role exit provides a deeper understanding of how people leave, including the emotions and cuing behavior likely to be involved. The article highlights the strengths and limitations of these frameworks in explaining exit and exit processes across a variety of social roles, including potentially the terrorist role, and lends additional insights into terrorist disengagement through a review of related research on desistance from crime, disaffiliation from new religious movements, and turnover in traditional work organizations.
Processing focus and accent across dialects.

Previous research has shown that native listeners of British English integrate semantic and prosodic cues such that the presence of both sources of information does not facilitate phoneme detection. In the study reported here, we show that listeners of General South African English listening to British English material show a different pattern, using both prosodic and semantic information in phoneme detection. As previous research has shown that listening to regionally-accented speech affects processing at different levels, we attribute this difference to the fact that these listeners are listening to a non-native dialect. Non-native listeners (e.g. Dutch listeners listening to English material) show a similar processing mechanism in using prosodic and semantic information independently. It thus seems that processing mechanisms are adapted not only when listening to a foreign language (even for highly proficient speakers of a foreign language) but also when listening to a different dialect of the same language.
Measuring Food and Nutrition Security in Circumpolar Communities

The issue of food and nutrition security (FNS) brings together concerns over a range of environmental, economic, social, and cultural changes which taken together influence the diets and health of the population. There have been many attempts to capture specific overlapping dimensions of food and nutrition security in circumpolar territories. None of them, however, has resulted in the elaboration of a comprehensive set of parameters which could reflect the entire complexity of transforming food consumption patterns in indigenous communities, strengthening of human pressure on the environment, and progressing climate change in the Arctic. To bridge the gap, the author employed a two-stage survey of international experts and promoted a set of eighteen measures along the availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability pillars. Introduction of a parameter rating scale allowed measuring and comparing food and nutrition statuses of indigenous communities on the per pillar basis. The key outcome of the study is the establishment of the FNS status scoring system which may become one of the potential solutions to the existing problem of effective translation of discrepant international and national parameters into a unified measurement applicable across circumpolar territories in Arctic countries.