Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparing the Effects of Supplementary Antibiotic, Probiotic, and Prebiotic on Carcass Composition, Salmonella Counts and Serotypes in Droppings and Intestine of Broiler Chickens

The effects of antibiotic, probiotic, and prebiotic as dietary feed additives on carcass composition as well as Salmonella counts and its serotypes in droppings and intestine of broiler chickens on days 1, 28, and 56 of experiment were investigated. Dietary treatments were control diet (basal diet without additives), OXYT diet (basal diet with 600 ppm of the antibiotic oxytetracycline), GRO-UP diet (basal diet with 500 ppm probiotic), and MOS-500 or MOS-1000 diets (basal diet with 500 or 1000 ppm mannan oligosaccharide prebiotic, respectively). From an initial total of 190 day-old Arbor acres broiler chicks, two birds were randomly selected from each treatment and sampled for Salmonella. The remaining 180 birds were randomly allotted to the five dietary treatments with three replicates of 12 birds each. Feed and water were supplied ad libitum. The results indicated that breast, neck, drumsticks and liver yields significantly affected by the inclusion of feed additives (P < 0.05). Significant differences were observed in average Salmonella counts in both the intestines and droppings of broiler chickens at different days of experiment (P < 0.05). Salmonella Gallinarum and Salmonella Typhi were serotypes identified in the droppings and intestine of broiler chickens. Our findings reveal that the inclusion of prebiotic oligomanno or probiotic GRO-UP as antibiotic substitutes in diets of broiler chickens can rapidly reduce some Salmonella serotypes and aid to the control Salmonella organisms.
University of Groningen Constructing price indexes across space and time

This paper considers the problem of how to construct and reconcile price indexes across space and time. Six methods for constructing price indexes on a panel are proposed along with five criteria for discriminating between them. Using these methods, spatial and temporal price indexes are computed for the 15 countrie s of the European Union (EU) over the period 1995-2000 using a panel data set constructed by merging, at a low level of aggregation, the EU’s Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) with a cross-section of OECD data. These panel price indexes are then used to test whether or not price levels and relative prices converged across the EU over this period.
3D MHD simulations of electric current development in a rotating sunspot: active region NOAA 8210

Context. Active region (AR) 8210 was the host of many flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Studies of its temporal evolution indicated that the clockwise rotation of a negative magnetic polarity, together with the motion of a positive polarity located close to it are a major source of magnetic energy to the corona above. Aims. Search for the mechanisms of energy storage and release above AR8210. For this sake we locate the current system generated by the photospheric plasma motion suggested as source of coronal energy supply above AR8210 and compare it with the location of identified flaring regions. Methods. We simulated the reaction of the corona using a three-dimensional (3D) MagnetoHydroDynamic (MHD) model. The initial coronal magnetic field is extrapolated out of the observed line-of-sight (LOS) component of the photospheric magnetic field. The corresponding photospheric plasma motion is imposed close to the bottom boundary of the simulation box. Current dependent resistivity and compressibility of the plasma are considered in the model. Results. The horizontal plasma motion causes a current system that spatially coincides with the flaring region associated to AR8210. Particularly, the rotation of the plasma over the main negative polarity gives rise to strong currents localized over the main negative polarity, i.e. close to the position of a flare site. Above this region a strong magnetic field divergence is indicated by large differential flux tube volumes. Intense currents also form along the eastern border of a positive polarity region, over a polarity inversion line (PIL), in a site where a flare appears later. The southward motion of a positive flux concentration generates a current system extending mainly along the eastern border of it, over a polarity inversion line. Magnetic energy is deposited mainly over the main negative polarity, where the major flare activity is observed at later times. Conclusions. The two patterns of photospheric plasma motion suggested as being responsible for the flaring activity of AR8210 generate current systems spatially coincident with the flaring area associated to this active region. These currents generate magnetic fields that contribute to the increase in magnetic energy inside the simulation volume. The transport of magnetic flux by the photospheric plasma motion also contributes to the redistribution of magnetic energy. The increase in magnetic energy occurs mainly over the main negative polarity and close to where a strong current system is formed. We conclude that in the case of AR8210 the rotation of the negative polarity region is the main contributor to its flare activity. The southward motion of a positive magnetic flux concentration plays an important role in the formation of current systems at its eastern border.
THERMODYNAMICS OF SUBSTANCES WITH NEGATIVE THERMAL EXPANSION COEFFICIENT

The 1st law of thermodynamics for heat exchange is dQ=dU+PdV. According to K. Martinas etc., J. Non-Equil. Thermod. 23 (4), 351-375 (1988), for substances with negative thermal expansion coefficient, P in this law is negative. In the present paper it has been shown that P for such substances is positive but the sign before P must be minus not plus: dQ=dU-PdV.
Genotype by environment interactions in productive traits in a local cattle breed due to breeding area, farming systems and feeding strategies

Genotype by environment interactions (GxE) may occur when individuals show different adaptation to local environment. Due to their typically great adeptness to environment local breeds may be reared in a variety of geographical areas and farming conditions, suggesting to investigate the occurrence of GxE for genetic improvement. Considering the local cattle breed Rendena, this study aimed to investigate GxE for traits of interest in a number of environmental conditions including the geographical area (plain, hill or mountain), the type of housing (tie-stall or loose housing), the feeding system (traditional or total mixed ration) and the occurrence of summer pasture. Following the reaction norm model approach, milk yield, fat and protein yield and percentage, and SCS were analysed via Bayesian inference. The solutions for the herd-test day (HTD) effect firstly obtained via animal model as estimates of environmental effect, were then used in a random regression model as environmental covariate for sire effect to obtain the intercept and the slope for target traits across different HTD levels. As result, GxE interactions explained a certain quote of phenotypic variance (about the 20% on average), even greater than G in milk, protein yield and SCS. Some differences in genetic variances were observed between estimates for HTD ascribable to different environmental conditions. A greater genetic component was observed for milk, fat and protein yield in plain farms, without summer pasture, under loose housing, and with a total mixed ration as feed. This may be explained by the fact that better conditions for individuals or for production could enhance the expression of individual performance. This study confirms the importance to detect GxE in local breeds reared in various environments.
Zero-waste fashion design : a study at the intersection of cloth, fashion design and pattern cutting

This thesis examines zero-waste fashion design: design activity that results in zero-waste garments. Conventional design approaches waste approximately 15 per cent of the fabric used in the design and make of a cut and sew garment. The responsibility for this wastage belongs with manufacture, which is constrained by what has already been designed and pattern cut. The economic systems that underpin fashion design and manufacture are such that there is little economic incentive to be concerned with this wastage. An examination of the material and social investments embodied in fabrics alongside their environmental impacts, reveals that these investments are wasted in the wasted fabric. The context of this study is contemporary fashion design within the ready-to-wear industry: fashion design that leads to the manufacturing of multiples of one design. The contextual review of this study examines different methods of fashion creation. Design ideation tools and the relationship between fashion design and pattern cutting in current industry provide the frame for design practice in this study, together with an analysis of historical and contemporary zero-waste and less-waste garments. Findings from the contextual review frame a series of briefs for design experiments. This study asks: What are the opportunities for creating zero-waste garments within contemporary menswear fashion design practice using cut and sew methods? Fashion design practice is the primary research tool in this study. Design processes and their outcomes are documented in a journal, and the journals are transcribed and analysed. Successful strategies for zero-waste fashion design, emerging from the data, are presented. Pattern cutting emerges as integral to zero-waste fashion design. Zero-waste fashion design is examined in relation to fashion manufacture, as particular manufacturing issues such as fabric as material, and the grading of garment patterns to achieve size ranges of garments, create new kinds of opportunities for zero-waste fashion design. This study also asks: To what extent is a zero-waste approach feasible and desirable within contemporary fashion industry? This study demonstrates that zero-waste fashion design generates new opportunities for fashion design to engage with fashion manufacture that may not currently exist. This study calls for fashion design to consider pattern cutting an integral part of the fashion design process. Such an approach to fashion design creates new opportunities for the fashion industry and fashion design education. Zero-waste fashion design is part of a larger picture of beauty for everyone, that fashion is capable of being the source of.
Influence of the structural non–linearity on the performance o fan electret–based vibration energy harvester

Films of electret material are currently used to cover the surface of electrodes of some vibration capacitive harvesters based on deformable beams, clamped at both ends. Nevertheless, performance of this device is often predicted through some simplified electromechanical model, which neglects the effect of geometric nonlinearity due to a mechanical coupling between the axial and flexural behaviors of the clamped beam. Stiffening of beam and nonlinear behaviour in dynamics is herein investigated, by resorting to a distributed model of the electromechanical copuling of the vibration harvester, based on the Finite Element Method. Influence upon the performance of the energy conversion is then analyzed and an optimization of the configuration is proposed
Optimal Dosing Schedule in the Treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a common X-linked neuromuscular disease that causes progressive muscle weakness and leads to early death. Those affected often present with muscle weakness as their primary symptom and generally develop scoliosis, respiratory, and cardiac complications as well. In the natural course of DMD, affected males lose ambulation at a mean age of 9.5 years and death generally ensues in the second or third decades of life. There is no curative treatment and corticosteroids are the only approved therapy for slowing the progression of the disease. While much research has been done assessing efficacy of corticosteroid treatment, there is still great uncertainty concerning the optimum dosing schedule. Method: An extensive search of medical literature was conducted with Medline-OVID, CINAHL, Web of Science and MDConsult using key terms: Duchenne muscular dystrophy, corticosteroids or adrenal cortex hormones, and drug administration schedule or alternate. Studies that assessed efficacy of alternate-day dosing and intermittent dosing regimens were selected and compared to data collected on daily dosing regimens. Articles that met inclusion criteria were chosen and assessed for quality using the GRADE method. Results: Four studies met inclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review. Two studies focused on alternate-day dosing regimens and two studies evaluated intermittent corticosteroid dosing schedules. While all regimens were found to prolong ambulation and slow progression of DMD when compared to the natural course of the disease, daily dosing seems to be most effective. Alternate-day and intermittent dosing schedules also prolong independent ambulation but not to the extent that daily corticosteroid therapy did. Lastly, significant scoliosis and declines in respiratory function were delayed in patients treated with all corticosteroid dosing regimens. Conclusion: Corticosteroids have shown to slow progression of DMD by prolonging ambulation, postponing or preventing the development of scoliosis, and delaying respiratory function decline. Evidence suggests that daily corticosteroid therapy is most efficacious in managing DMD but with highest rates of moderate to severe side effects. A recommendation can be made for the use of alternate-day corticosteroid dosing initiated early in the disease process (age 2-4 years). More research is needed to determine whether or not alternative regimens can be as effective as daily treatment and at what age to initiate therapy.
The relationship between wellbeing indicators and teacher psychological stress in Eastern Cape public schools in South Africa

Orientation: Positive psychological and subjective wellbeing indicators have proven to be protective against certain physical illnesses but have been rarely assessed in teacher stress. Research purpose: The main objective of this study was to assess the relationship between indicators of wellbeing and stress and to further assess the relative importance of these wellbeing indicators in explaining stress variance in a large sample of Eastern Cape primary and high school teachers in South Africa. Motivation for the study: The majority of teacher stress studies focus on the misfit between the individual’s resources and the environmental demands. There is a scarcity of studies reporting on protective factors in teaching and we know little about their possible role as possible protective factors against stress. This is important in developing stress prevention strategies. Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional survey was used targeting public school teachers in the Eastern Cape. The sample size was 562 randomly selected teachers from both public primary and high schools. Main findings: The results revealed that stress is prevalent amongst teachers. Subjective and psychological wellbeing factors added significantly to the explained stress variance. Also, both negative affect and role problems had significant positive correlations with stress, whilst psychological wellbeing had a strong inverse relationship with stress. Practical/managerial implications: The results implied that interventions focusing on improving psychological wellbeing and reduction of negative affect can contribute to stress prevention. Contribution/value-add: The results contributed towards a better understanding of the relative importance of wellbeing constructs as protective factors against teacher stress.
Growth of silver nanoparticles by DC magnetron sputtering

Silver (Ag) nanoparticles are of great interest for many applications. However, their fabrications have been limited by the synthesis methods in which size, shape, and aggregation are still difficult to control. Here, we reported on using direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering for growing Ag nanoparticles on unheated substrates. Effects of sputtering condition on grain size of Ag nanoparticle were discussed. At constant sputtering current and deposition time, the average sizes of Ag nanoparticles were 5.9 ± 1.8, 5.4 ± 1.3, and 3.8 ± 0.7 nm for the target-substrate distances of 10, 15, and 20 cm, respectively. The morphology evolution from nanoparticles to wormlike networks was also reported. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy image represented clear lattice fringes of Ag nanoparticles with a d-spacing of 0.203 nm, corresponding to the (200) plane. The technique could be applied for growth of nanoparticles that were previously difficult to control over size and size uniformity.
A psbA phylogeny for selected rhodophyceae

Oligonucleotide primers for PCR amplifying and sequencing the plastid-encoded psbA gene, which encodes the D1 protein of photosystem II, were developed for red algae. Using these primers psbA sequences were determined for 18 different species representing 10 phylogenetically diverse red algal orders. The third codon position of the psbA gene is too variable (= homoplasious, mutationally saturated) to be used to estimate phylogenetic relationships among the orders investigated here, whereas amino acid sequences are too conserved. In contrast, analyses including only first and second codon positions yielded trees for red algae that are, with exceptions, congruent with those obtained for other genes. Comparisons of sequence divergence values and phylogenetic measures imply that psbA sequences are best suited for use at the rank of family and below.
Lessons from the field for working in Healthy Stadia: physical activity practitioners reflect on ‘sport’

Abstract Drawing on four areas of our ongoing work, each with its own distinctive relevance to the Healthy Stadia agenda, this paper addresses the tension inherent to programmes aiming to promote physical activity through sport. Our experiences highlight often unresolved, but certainly resolvable, tensions between the aspirations of the respective agendas. These are not small matters; better Public Health is a powerful driver of the Healthy Stadia agenda. In particular, we notice that the desire for sporting, over health, improvement can be an important challenge point. In the hard-to-reach groups we work with, sport often has strong – and only occasionally positive – connotations. Equally, the importance of generating powerful social experiences is seen in the PA ‘camp’ as being an imperative for encouraging the involvement of hard-to-reach groups. In contrast, in sport-oriented programmes, this is more likely to be seen as a happy bi-product of a good sport experience.
Independent Assortment of Four Isozyme Loci in the 'Bacon' Avocado (Persea americana Mill.)

Four enzyme loci (Lap-2, Pgm-2, Tpi-1, and Mdh-1) were examined for evidence of genetic linkage in the 'Bacon' avocado. Allele segregation ratios were obtained by starch gel electrophoresis of the cotyledon tissue of 100 fruits. Statistical analysis of these ratios indicated that these loci assort independently.
Prevalence Of Metabolic Syndrome And Its Associated Factors In Patients With Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and examine its association with patients with major depressive disorder. Methods: All patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) who visited the Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital were invited to participate in this study. Subjects who met the inclusion criteria and did not have exclusion criteria were included in this project until 140 subjects were enrolled. The criteria proposed by the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (updated ATPIII) were utilized for diagnosing metabolic syndrome. Age, history of antidepressant and antipsychotic use, time of illness, severity of illness and family history of metabolic syndrome were assessed as factors associated with metabolic syndrome. Data was analyzed by using percentage, mean, standard deviations, student t-test, chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test. Results: One hundred forty subjects were recruited. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome determined by the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (updated ATPIII) was 37.9% (53). Age was significantly associated with metabolic syndrome in patients with a major depressive disorder (p≤0.001). The duration of illness, duration of treatment, family history of diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia were not associated with metabolic syndrome. Conclusions: A high proportion of Thai patients with MDD had metabolic syndrome. These findings support the importance of assessing and monitoring metabolic syndrome in MDD patients, especially in older patients. Please click PDF below to download the full paper.
Previous disturbance enhances the negative effects of trampling on barnacles

Communities are influenced by multiple stressors that can interact in surprising ways, yet trampling studies typically ignore other sources of disturbance. While there is some evi- dence that disturbed communities may resist trampling because of species shifts, we lack an understanding of how previous disturbance interacts with trampling in monospecific stands. Fur- thermore, recent studies emphasized experimental trampling additions with assumed ecological realism. We monitored barnacle cover in unmanipulated and experimentally disturbed plots at 2 sites separated by only 300 m and with disparate levels of human visitation. During the summer, barnacle cover increased by 6 and 15% at the less-visited site but decreased by 5 and 4% at the heavily visited site (unmanipulated and disturbed plots, respectively). Interestingly, the influence of site on barnacle cover was greater in disturbed than in unmanipulated plots. New recruits rep- resented a greater proportion of the barnacles at the heavily visited site. Neither plot slope nor predator abundance differed between these sites. To isolate the influence of trampling on barna- cles, we monitored barnacle cover in caged, human exclusion plots and in uncaged controls at both sites. Summer barnacle cover increased in all treatments except in uncaged plots at the heav- ily visited site. During 9 paired surveys coinciding with the exclusion experiment, as many as 70 humans (km �1 shoreline h �1 ) entered the intertidal zone of the heavily visited site but no one did so at the less-visited site. Given that (1) visitation was the dominant factor explaining differences in barnacle cover between the 2 sites, and (2) caging enhanced barnacle cover only at the heavily visited site, we conclude that previous disturbance mediated the effects of human trampling on barnacle populations, with more disturbed plots displaying greater trampling vulnerability.
Some results for the weighted Drazin inverse of a modified matrix

In this paper, we give some results for the W-weighted Drazin inverse of a modified matrix $M=A-CWD_{d,w}WB$ in terms of the W-weighted Drazin inverse of the matrix $A$ and the generalized Schur complement $Z=D-BWA_{d,w}WC$, generalizing some recent results in the literature.