Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of the thermostability and efficacy of a solid-substrate culture and a liquid culture phytase in broiler chickens

A 14-day battery trial using 336 four-day old male broilers was undertaken to compare the thermostability and efficacy of phytase produced in solid-substrate culture, a Solid Substrate Enzyme Product (SSEP), with phytase produced in liquid culture, a Liquid Enzyme Product (LEP). Five maizesoyabean meal based diets were formulated; three contained increasing levels of non-phytate phosphorus (nPP) (2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 g nPP/kg) and another two contained 2.5 g nPP/kg with 300 phytase activity (PU)/kg of either SSEP or LEP. Half of each diet was pelleted at 80 °C using a California Pelleting Mill Co. Master Model (30 hp) pelleter and conditioner. Both pelleted and mash diets were passed through a hammer mill before feeding so that a consistent particle density was achieved for all treatments. Chicks fed the diets that were first pelleted had lower weight gain, feed intake, percentage tibia and toe ash accumulation and bone breaking strength values compared to chicks fed the mash diets, although differences were not significant. Only feed efficiency was improved by pelleting the diet first. There was a significant improvement in all parameters, with the exception of feed efficiency, as the level of nPP was increased from 2.5 g/kg to 3.5 g/kg. Either variety of phytase on the unpelleted mash diet did not improve performance significantly over the unsupplemented diets with different nPP levels, although the SSEP did appear to be better than the LEP. When the same diets were pelleted, chicks that received the SSEP did not perform better than those on the 2.5 g/kg diets with no added phytase, while chicks fed the LEP performed similarly to those receiving 3.0 g/kg and 3.5 g nPP/kg. Both phytases improved percentage tibia and toe ash accumulation as well as bone breaking strength over the control (2.5 g nPP/kg) on the unpelleted mash. Pelleting completely destroyed the SSEP while the LEP was still able to show results similar to the 3.5 g nPP/kg. Treatment for tibia ash and the 3.0 g nPP/kg. Treatment for percentage toe ash and bone breaking strength. Although the SSEP was superior to the LEP on the unpelleted mash for all variables, the results of this experiment did not show any significant differences between the two phytase varieties with the exception of feed efficiency. Pelleting at 80 °C appeared to completely destroy the SSEP while a certain degree of enzyme activity was retained after pelleting the LEP.
Stress placement and unstressed vowel production in English neutral suffixes by Brazilian learners

This paper examined the production of unstressed vowels by Brazilian Portuguese (BP) learners of English. More specifically, the aim was to examine the acoustic characteristics of the interlanguage unstressed vowels and to determine whether the language learners’ stress assignment in cognate words was target-like or not. The participants were 20 L1 BP learners of English and two native English speakers who provided the baseline data. Participants read lists of sentences including polysyllabic cognate words with the neutral suffixes “-able” and “-al” (e.g. ‘respectable’, ‘radical’). Participants’ productions were acoustically and auditorily analysed and the F1, F2 and duration values measured. The results showed that the L1 BP participants produced a reduced vowel /ə/ with similar acoustic characteristics to the L1 English speakers, differentiating it from /ʌ/ in terms of vowel quality and duration. Despite being able to distinguish between the unstressed and the stressed central vowels, the correct assignment of stress in polysyllabic cognates was challenging for the L1 BP informants. A possible explanation for the non-target-like stress assignment is negative transfer from the L1, in which one of the target suffixes, “-al” (e.g. ‘tropical’), attracts stress, contrary to the L2. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A ACENTUACAO TONICA E A PRODUCAO DA VOGAL ATONA EM SUFIXOS NEUTROS DO INGLES POR APRENDIZES BRASILEIROS O presente estudo investigou a producao de vogais atonas por aprendizes brasileiros de ingles. O objetivo principal foi examinar as caracteristicas dessas vogais entre as duas linguas em contato e determinar se os aprendizes atribuiam acento tonico adequadamente. Os participantes foram 20 alunos brasileiros de ingles e dois falantes nativos que forneceram dados de base. Os participantes leram listas de frases incluindo palavras polissilabicas cognatas com os sufixos neutros “-able” e “-al” (por exemplo, “respectable”, “radical”). As producoes dos participantes foram analisadas acustica e auditivamente e os valores de F1, F2 e duracao das vogais atonas foram medidos. Os resultados mostraram que os participantes brasileiros produziram a vogal /ə/ com caracteristicas acusticas similares aos falantes nativos de ingles, diferenciando-a de /ʌ/ em termos de qualidade e duracao da vogal. Apesar de serem capazes de distinguir as vogais centrais atona e tonica, a atribuicao correta do acento tonico em cognatos polissilabicos foi desafiadora para os informantes brasileiros. Uma possivel explicacao para a atribuicao inconsistente do acento tonico e a influencia do portugues brasileiro, em que um dos sufixos alvo, “-al” (por exemplo, “tropical”), atrai a tonicidade, ao contrario do que tipicamente ocorre no ingles. --- Artigo em ingles. --- DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.12957/matraga.2017. 28601
Arabian Plate sequence stratigraphy: Potential implications for global chronostratigraphy

The ability to recognise and correlate third-order depositional sequences across Arabia and between Arabia and other plates indicates that these sequences are driven by synchronous eustatic sea-level change. This is of value in providing guidance for the definitions of stages, which are the fundamental units of chronostratigraphy. Each Phanerozoic stage requires a Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), which is a location and specific bedding plane where the base of each stage is defined. This definition is tied to an event in the rock record useful for correlation. Progress in defining GSSPs has been delayed because of difficulties in choosing the most appropriate event and section to relate to a definition. It is recommended here that stage boundaries be related to correlative conformities of sequence boundaries. This closely links chronostratigraphy with sequence stratigraphy and honours the original concepts upon which many stages were first described in the 19th Century.
Application of Probiotics in Poultry Production

In the last years probiotics have constantly increased in importance and aroused growing interest in animal nutrition. Probiotics are live microorganisms thought to be beneficial to the host organism. The bacteria of the probiotic attach to the intestinal mucosa, thereby forming a physical barrier that blocks the attachment of pathogenic bacteria. The mode of action of probiotics in poultry includes maintaining normal intestinal microflora by competitive exclusion and antagonism, altering metabolism by increasing digestive enzyme activity and decreasing bacterial enzyme activity and ammonia production, improving feed intake and digestion and neutralizing enterotoxins and stimulating the immune system. In experiment we research effect of probiotic on the performance of broiler chickens. A total number of 200 one day old broiler chickens were distributed to two dietary groups. Broiler chickens in control group were fed with standard feed mixture and experimental group with probiotics mixed with feed mixture. Body weight and GIT pH were recorded. Average body weight on the end of experiment in experimental group was 1493.6 g and 1689.6 g in control group. Average pH in experimental group was 2.79 in stomach, 6.28 in small intestine, 6.81 and 6.89 in caecum. In control group was average pH 3.54 in stomach, 6.41 in small intestine, 6.74 and 6.80 in caecum.
Monetary and Fiscal Policy Efficiency and Coordination in an Open-Economy General Equilibrium Model with Three Production Sectors

The paper analyzes monetary and fiscal policy efficiency and coordination in a stochastic new open economy macroeconomics (NOEM) model with three production sectors. Some or all of these sectors can be affected by unanticipated productivity shocks which can trigger monetary and fiscal policy reactions. The uncertainty over the shocks can be symmetric or asymmetric across the two countries. The paper first aims to assess the capacity of fiscal and monetary policy to reduce or eliminate the negative effects of unanticipated productivity shocks. Second, it evaluates the possible gains from international monetary cooperation as well as the impact of active fiscal policy on monetary policy efficiency. The results show that monetary and fiscal policies are efficient tools of stabilization and under several conditions they can replicate the flexible-price equilibrium. However, their efficiency is not necessarily increased when both monetary and fiscal policies react to shocks at the national level. The existence of bilateral gains from monetary cooperation depends on the degree of asymmetry concerning the uncertainty over the shocks. In case of high asymmetry, monetary cooperation can be counter-productive either for the home or for the foreign country.
Preface: Recent Advances in Modeling Multiphase Flow and Transport with the TOUGH Family of Codes

A symposium on research performed using the TOUGH family of numerical codes was held on 15–17 May 2006 at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. This special issue of the Vadose Zone Journal contains revised and expanded versions of a selected set of papers presented at this symposium (TOUGH Symposium 2006; http://esd.lbl.gov/TOUGHsymposium), all of which focus on multiphase flow, including flow in the vadose zone.
Uncertainties in using the hodograph method to retrieve gravity wave characteristics from individual soundings

The hodograph method is commonly used to retrieve inertio‐gravity wave characteristics from individual vertical profiles of the winds. In order to estimate the uncertainties of this method, we have analyzed mesoscale numerical simulations of a gravity wave event in which a coherent quasi‐monochromatic inertio‐gravity wave packet is present. Single profiles are extracted from the simulations, analyzed using the hodograph method, and the derived wave characteristics are compared to the reference values determined from the four‐dimensional simulated fields. Although the conditions favor the use of the hodograph method, the derived wave parameters possess significant uncertainties.
When Paid Work Matters for Fertility Intentions and Subsequent Behavior: Evidence from Two Waves of the Austrian Gender and Generation Survey

The anticipated risk of job loss and material insecurity are related to fertility postponement in the same way as unemployment is. Given the sequential nature of fertility and occupational decisions, unfavorable working conditions should be resolved before having children, and result in an increase in people's assignment of importance to paid work when developing their childbearing plans. We aim to demonstrate this link, focusing on perceived employment and material insecurity, the importance assigned to paid work in forming fertility intentions, the construction of fertility intentions, and their realization. Using two waves of the Austrian Generations and Gender Survey, we apply probit regressions to analyze gender variations in the associations between uncertainty conditions, the importance of paid work, fertility intentions and behavior. Results reveal that work and related benefi ts become salient when they are insecure, and that material insecurity among men discourages childbearing. For women, we find support for the hypothesis that the anticipated risk of job loss inhibits the realization of fertility intentions - intentions which are less likely to be constructed under such conditions from the onset of family planning processes.
The role of morphological markedness in the processing of number and gender agreement in Spanish: an event-related potential investigation

ABSTRACT Current morphological theory assumes that feature values, such as masculine and feminine or singular and plural, are asymmetrically represented. That is, one member of the opposition (e.g. feminine for gender, plural for number) is assumed to be marked, and the other one, unmarked. The present study examines how these asymmetries impact agreement resolution in Spanish. Agreement was manipulated between a noun acting as head of a relative clause and an adjective located inside the relative clause (e.g. catedral que parecía inmensa “cathedral that looked huge”). Half of the nouns were feminine (marked) and the other half, masculine (unmarked). Half of the nouns were used in the plural (marked) and the other half, in the singular (unmarked). Twenty-seven Spanish native speakers read 240 sentences while their brain activity was recorded with electroencephalography and performed a grammaticality judgment. Results showed that both number and gender violations elicited a central-posterior P600, a component associated with syntactic repair, and a late anterior negativity, argued to reflect working memory costs. Only the P600 was affected by markedness. It started earlier for violations where the mismatching feature was marked. Moreover, it was larger for errors where the mismatching feature was marked, although this amplitude modulation only emerged for number, possibly due to differences in how number and gender cues were realized (i.e. both masculine and feminine showed overt inflection, but singular was uninflected relative to plural). These results suggest that the parser is sensitive to markedness asymmetries in the course of online processing.
A Statistical study of the Doppler spectral width of high-latitude ionospheric F-region echoes recorded with SuperDARN coherent HF radars

Abstract. The HF radars of the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) provide measurements of the E × B drift of ionospheric plasma over extended regions of the high-latitude ionosphere. We have conducted a statistical study of the associated Doppler spectral width of ionospheric F-region echoes. The study has been conducted with all available radars from the Northern Hemisphere for 2 specific periods of time. Period 1 corresponds to the winter months of 1994, while period 2 covers October 1996 to March 1997. The distributions of data points and average spectral width are presented as a function of Magnetic Latitude and Magnetic Local Time. The databases are very consistent and exhibit the same features. The most stringent features are: a region of very high spectral width, collocated with the ionospheric LLBL/cusp/mantle region; an oval shaped region of high spectral width, whose equator-ward boundary matches the poleward limit of the Holzworth and Meng auroral oval. A simulation has been conducted to evaluate the geometrical and instrumental effects on the spectral width. It shows that these effects cannot account for the observed spectral features. It is then concluded that these specific spectral width characteristics are the signature of ionospheric/magnetospheric coupling phenomena. Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere; ionosphere-magnetosphere interactions; ionospheric irregularities)
Site‐to‐bedrock over 1D transfer function ratio: An indicator of the proportion of edge‐generated surface waves?

We study multi‐dimensional site effects in the small‐size deep sediment filled basin of Grenoble (French Alps). A very dense array composed of 3‐component seismometers over a 1 km aperture is used to investigate propagation parameters of waves propagating across the array. We present results for 6 teleseismic events for which we had a reference rock site. For the frequency range 0.1 to 1 Hz, records are clearly dominated by edge‐generated surface waves. Quantification of energy carried by each identified wave train allows interpreting the difference between site‐to‐bedrock and 1D transfer function estimates in terms of laterally propagating basin‐edge induced waves only above the fundamental resonance frequency of the basin. A simple ratio between site‐to‐bedrock and 1D transfer function curves should thus provide an estimation of the relative contribution of 1D and 2D/3D effects in ground motion on the condition that all the time signal length is taken into account.
COMPARATIVE STUDY FOR THE USE OF DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES IN SEROUS FLUID CYTOLOGY

BACKGROUND: Cytologic techniques have been universally recognized as the most important diagnostic tool in the recognition of malignant tumors in effusions. The diagnosis of cancer in a pleural, pericardial, or peritoneal fluid is of capital importance for the patient and the attending physician or surgeon. It helps in staging, prognosis and management of patients of malignancies, and also give information about various inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions. Diagnostic problem arises in everyday practice to differentiate reactive atypical mesothelial cells from malignant cells by routine conventional smear method. AIM: To compare the morphological and cytological features of the conventional smear method with those of cytocentrifuge and cell block and also to compare the diagnostic yield of cytocentrifuge and cell block methods with conventional smear in the diagnosis serous effusion. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ninety eight samples were subjected to diagnostic evaluation. Along with conventional smear, fluids were subjected to cytocentrifuge and cell block technique. Cell blocks were prepared using 10%formalin as a fixative agent. Smears obtained by each of techniques were scored for different parameters. Statistical analysis with Wilcoxon rank sum test was performed and also Index of Qualitative Variation (IQV) was calculated to compare the results obtained by each of the above three methods. RESULTS: Cellularity, diagnostic yield and sensitivity for malignancy was more for Cytocentrifuge and Cell Block technique. CONCLUSION: The cytocentrifuge and cell block method provide high cellularity, better architectural patterns, morphological features and an additional yield of malignant cells, and thereby, increases the sensitivity of the cytodiagnosis when compared to conventional smear method.
The impact of conditional cash transfer programmes on household work decisions in Ghana

A cash transfer programme â€˜Livelihood Empowerment against Povertyâ€™ has been implemented with the aim of addressing poverty and vulnerability in Ghana. This study looks at the impact of this conditional cash transfer programme on householdsâ€™ supply of labour for agriculture, paid employment, and non-farm enterprise. We used a difference-in-difference approach to examine the effects of the programme on 3,008 households to learn about their labour supply decisions. We find that the cash transfer leads to a reduction in agricultural labour supply but increases that of paid employment. A careful look at the subsequent targeting of beneficiaries is recommended.
Too Connected to Fail? Inferring Network Ties From Price Co-Movements

We use extreme value theory methods to infer conventionally unobservable connections between financial institutions from joint extreme movements in credit default swap spreads and equity returns. Estimated pairwise co-crash probabilities identify significant connections among up to 186 financial institutions prior to the crisis of 2007/2008. Financial institutions that were very central prior to the crisis were more likely to be bailed out during the crisis or receive the status of systemically important institutions. This result remains intact also after controlling for indicators of too-big-to-fail concerns, systemic, systematic, and idiosyncratic risks. Both credit default swap (CDS)-based and equity-based connections are significant predictors of bailouts. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.
A Development of An Instructional Leadership Model for Schools in The Kachin Area of Myanmar

The development of instructional leadership model is created to elevate the quality of teaching and learning for schools in the Kachin area of Myanmar. The study attempted to answer the research questions such as (1) what are the desirable characteristics of instructional leadership and the needs for school improvement? , (2) what are the current practices of the instructional leadership in schools? , (3) what are the expectations of the instructional leadership in schools? , and (4) what is the development of instructional leadership model that can be applied at the system of schools in the Kachin area of Myanmar? The researcher applied content analysis to the first step of study. The result showed ten factors of instructional leadership and four factors of transformational leadership which were used for developing the research instruments, questionnaire and interview questions. The questionnaires were distributed to 348 teachers and 16 headmasters at the schools in the Kachin area of Myanmar. The interview was conducted with three education officers and a director of central education department for the developing of the model. The findings indicated the priority of instructional leadership issues that need to be developed, such as motivation for teachers and students, managing teaching and learning, developing collaborative culture, relationship with other countries and inside the country and professional development for headmasters and teachers. These issues can be developed by application of an instructional leadership model at schools in the Kachin area of Myanmar.
Correspondences between convex geometry and complex geometry

We present several analogies between convex geometry and the theory of holomorphic line bundles on smooth projective varieties or K\"ahler manifolds. We study the relation between positive products and mixed volumes. We define and study a Blaschke addition for divisor classes and mixed divisor classes, and prove new geometric inequalities for divisor classes. We also reinterpret several classical convex geometry results in the context of algebraic geometry: the Alexandrov body construction is the convex geometry version of divisorial Zariski decomposition; Minkowski's existence theorem is the convex geometry version of the duality between the pseudo-effective cone of divisors and the movable cone of curves.