Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sperm characteristics and fertilization success of masculinized coho salmon ( Oncorhynchus kisutch )

Endocrine technologies and sex modification of fish stocks are playing an increasingly important role in commercial aquaculture production. The characteristics and fertilization success of sperm from masculinized coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) were examined and compared to that of regular coho salmon sperm. Sperm from masculinized XX males was stripped, or when the efferent ducts were not developed the semen was collected from the testis, and compared with semen from normal XY males. Stripped masculinized genetic females exhibited similar measures of sperm velocity and sperm density as normal male coho salmon, with both of these groups differing significantly from testicular sperm from masculinized females. In commercial fertilization trials, fertilization success was not altered by the dichotomy observed between testicular and stripped milt from masculinized females. Treatment with leutenizing hormone releasing analogues had no effect on sperm motility, density, or fertility. Much of the difference in sperm characteristics can be attributed to the difference between stripped sperm and testicular sperm. D 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Cultural Dimensions of Learning in Online Teacher Education Courses

Aotearoa New Zealand’s demographics are changing rapidly and, as a consequence, there is now greater diversity in the tertiary student population. This diversity is evident in the continuing growth of Māori and Pasifika student participation. Teacher education is increasingly emphasising social competencies and intercultural awareness. Online pedagogies based on sociocultural methods require openness to difference, understanding, and sharing; but it is a challenge to support productive learning communities that span diverse cultural backgrounds. This study began with a literature review, and then the eight dimensions in the cultural dimensions of learning framework (CDLF; Parrish & Linder-VanBerschot, 2010) survey were modified for use with online courses. The modified survey was trialled with 112 students and four lecturers in 11 online teacher education courses offered by a New Zealand university. Although respondents exhibited a wide range of choice in the survey, the participants were not sufficiently diverse to reveal any differences that might be attributed to culture. It was concluded that the CDLF could provide a useful stimulus to promote discussion amongst learners and teachers and that this discussion could raise awareness of the diversity of approaches to learning that could have a cultural basis. However, the lack of attention to indigenous worldviews and the limited evidence of reliability in the CDLF scales suggest that further empirical research of this survey instrument is unlikely to be worthwhile.
The practice of evaluation in innovation policy in Europe: A statistical analysis

This article characterizes and analyses evaluation practice in national innovation policy across Europe. It is the first study that examines and interprets the characteristics, quality, usefulness, and consequences of evaluations in a systematic way. The analysis is based on the comprehensive INNO-Appraisal repository of 171 evaluation reports of national innovation policies of EU25 countries, conducted between 2002 and 2007. The article seeks (1) to assess the state of the art of evaluation in innovation policy at national level, (2) to understand how different key dimensions of evaluation (timing, purpose, methods, tendering process, etc.) relate to each other, and (3) to explore types of evaluations. On that basis, we (4) draw lessons as to what constitutes good practice in evaluation, as the results of the survey have been exchanged and discussed with a number of policy makers of the sample responsible for the evaluation. The article thus both contributes to the academic understanding of policy evaluation and supports use in policy practice. Copyright The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com, Oxford University Press.
The Portuguese Slump and Crash and the Euro Crisis

Between 2000 and 2012, the Portuguese economy grew less than the United States during the Great Depression and less than Japan during its lost decade. This paper asks why this happened, with a particular focus on the slump between 2000 and 2007. It describes the main facts of Portugal's recent economic history, evaluates some possible explanations for its dismal performance, and proposes a new hypothesis based on the misallocation of abundant capital flows from abroad. I put forward a model of credit frictions to show that if financial integration exceeds financial deepening, productivity will fall, generating a slump as relatively unproductive firms in the non-tradables sector expand at the expense of more productive tradables firms. This explanation can also potentially account for the similarities and the differences between Portugal on the one hand, and Ireland and Spain on the other, during this period, and for some features of the crash in Portugal after 2010.
Does habitat complexity influence fish recruitment

Human activities facilitate coastal habitat transformation and homogenization. The spread of marine invasive species is one example. This in turn may influence fish recruitment and the subsequent replenishment of adult assemblages. We tested habitat complexity effect on fish (Teleostei) recruitment by experimentally manipulating meadows of the habitat-forming invasive macroalga Caulerpa taxifolia (Chlorophyta). Among the fourteen fish species recorded during the experiment, only two labrids ( Coris julis and Symphodus ocellatus ) settled in abundance among these meadows. Patterns in the abundance of these juveniles suggested that reduced tri-dimensional meadow complexity may reduce habitat quality and result in altered habitat choices and / or differential mortality of juveniles, therefore reducing fish recruitment and likely the abundance of adults.
Studies on the abnormality of embryo sac and pollen fertility in autotetraploid rice during different growing seasons.

Autotetraploid rice has a great genetic potential but low seed setting rate is the major encumbrance in its use. Embryo sac fertility and pollen fertility are the most important factors which affect the seed setting rate in autotetraploid rice. Whole mount eosin B-staining confocal laser scanning microscopy (WE-CLSM) was used to study the fertility and abnormalities in embryo sacs of diploid and autotetraploid rice during different seasons. The results indicated that the embryo sac fertility (64.5%) was much low in autotetraploid than that in diploid rice (86%), and five main types of abnormal embryo sac were found in all 10 autotetraploid rice. Moreover, some other type abnormal embryo sacs were also observed in autotetraploid rice. Embryo sac without female germ unit and embryo sac degeneration were the most frequent types of abnormalities in autotetraploid rice. Embryo sac fertility ranged from 49.3% to 79.3%, pollen fertility ranged from 56.2 to 85.9%, and seed setting rate varied from 12.5 to 69.01% in various genotypes of autotetraploid rice. Embryo sac and pollen fertility were found to have a significant correlation with seed setting rate. Seasons have significant effect on pollen and embryo sac fertility in both type of rice. All the autotetraploid lines exhibited different types of embryo sac abnormalities which indicated that these might be related to different genotypes.
Determination of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors of High School Students

Healthy lifestyle behaviors can be defined as all the behaviors believed and applied by individuals to be healthy, maintain health and be protected from diseases. This study aims to determine the healthy lifestyle behaviors of high school students studying at the high schools in the Province of Elazig, Turkey. The study population of this descriptive study consists of students studying at the high schools located in the Cumhuriyet neighborhood located in the city center of the Province of Elazig. Simple random sampling method was used to select 459 students among the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th graders studying at that high school the study sample consists of these 459 students. As a data collection tool, a Personal Information Form, which includes items for students' socio-demographic information, and the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale-II were used. The study findings indicated that students adopted the healthy lifestyle behaviors moderately. Variables such as gender, type of school, grade, family income, paternal education status were found to be effective on the healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Reinventing Welfare Regimes: Employers and the Implementation of Active Social Policy

Denmark and Britain have adopted quite similar "active" social reforms in which employers play a major role in the programmatic delivery of services; however, the implementation of the programs has differed dramatically in the two countries. Danish firms, despite having had virtually no prior involvement in administering social programs, have participated in far greater numbers than British employers, who, by contrast, have long provided private, employment-based social benefits. Drawing from interviews with 107 randomly selected British and Danish corporations, this article seeks to explain why Danish employers have participated at higher rates than their British counterparts. Subtle programmatic differences that reflect each country's welfare regime have had profound feedback effects on firms' willingness to participate in the programs; these findings have implications for regimes' capacities both to correct for traps and to revise social protections to meet the needs of the new economy.
Mediating International Conflicts: The European Union as an Effective Peacemaker?

This article examines how the EU's effectiveness as a mediator in peace negotiations can be appropriately conceptualized and analysed. Mediator effectiveness is analysed along two dimensions: goal‐attainment and conflict settlement. Investigation of the conditions of mediator effectiveness is structured around four key sets of variables: mediator leverage, mediation strategy, coherence and the conflict's context. In our empirical analysis of EU mediation between Serbia and Kosovo (Belgrade–Pristina dialogue) we find that the medium degree of EU effectiveness (both in terms of goal‐attainment and conflict settlement) can be explained by its great leverage vis‐a‐vis the conflict parties due to their EU membership aspirations and its strategy of a mix of manipulation and formulation that draws on this leverage to move parties toward agreement through the use of positive incentives. A limited degree of EU coherence and spoiler problems in Northern Kosovo seem to have had a constraining influence on EU effectiveness.
Detection of Human Torovirus Like Particles and Adenovirus Type F in Children Attending to Babylon Maternity and Children Hospital

Toroviruses are enteric viruses belonging to the Nidovirales order that infect different animal species and human . Torovirus-like particales (TVLPs) that are immunologically related to BRV have been reported as etiological agents of gastroenteritis in humans. The lack of “in vitro” culture systems for toroviruses, except for the prototype Berne virus or BEV, isolated originally from an infected horse, has hampered their study and the development of diagnostic assays. This study describes a real time RT-PCR method to detect human torovirus- like particles (TVLPs) RNA in clinical stool samples using primers corresponding to the gene coding for the nucleocapsid protein which are conserved in all (TVLPs) strains known to date. During this study, the CT value measured during real-time PCR analysis was used as an indication of the viral load found in the stool sample . The assay was evaluated with 72 stool samples from children attending the Babylon maternity and children hospital. Fifty tow out of 72 (72.2%) children were shedding virus at the time of sample collection, indicating a high incidence of TVLPs infection in Babylon Province. This is the first study attempted for estimating the presence of TVLPs in Iraq. The real time RT-PCR assay described in this study provides a rapid, highly sensitive, specific and reliable detection and quantization method enabling future TVLPs epidemiological studies. In addition to that the study included the development of real-time PCR assays for the detection of group F Adenovirus in 250 stool samples of pediatric subjects exhibiting symptoms of diarrhea and/ or vomiting which were examined. PCR results of 10 positive Adenovirus group F diarrheic stool samples were confirmed by electron microscopy examination which gave clear positive Adenovirus appearance . Till now there was no successful virus culture growth for isolation of diarrhegenic type 40 and 41 grow in routine cell culture . The result of this study by real time reverse transcription – PCR assay reflected in 72 . 2 % and 58 % torovirus and adenovirus group F respectively. The genotyping results of adenoviruses(genotype 40 and 41) highlight the significance of rapid molecular methods for the routine screening of stool samples in diagnostic laboratories to provide rapid and efficient methods . Keywords : Human Torovirus, Adenovirus, RT-PCR, Electron Microscopy.
Reversing Agro-Based Land Degradation through Conservation Agriculture: Emerging Experiences from Zambia’s Smallholder Farming Sector

This study reports on the land degradation minimizing effects of Conservation Agriculture (CA) as promoted among smallholder Zambian farmers. It found no evidence of CA associated improvements in soil fertility after five years of CA practice, most probably because crop residues were removed from the fields. The study reports high phosphorus (15.53 mg kg-1) and potassium (0.75 cmol kg-1) levels, low nitrogen (0.12 %) and organic carbon (1.19 %) levels, and no plough/hoe pans in soils from both CA and conventionally (CV) managed fields. This is in part contrary to the dominant land degradation narratives which have been the basis for promoting CA in the study areas. Faidherbia albida, a leguminous tree promoted as part of the CA package in Zambia, is associated with significantly higher levels of nitrogen, organic carbon and potassium under its canopy. Its planting by CA farmers is linked to the incentives provided by CA promoters. Average maize yields of 3.8 t ha-1 and 2.8 t ha-1 were reported under CA and CV systems respectively. Government subsidies for mineral fertilizer and hybrid seed promote maize mono-cropping and remain unsupportive of CA. It is concluded that the dominant land degradation narrative, which posits population induced land degradation, may not hold in this case. Instead, the removal of crop residues and low levels of mineral fertilizer and manure amendments may better explain the soil fertility status of the study areas. More nutrient replacement strategies are required if the benefits of CA on soil fertility are to be actualized in the immediate future.
CCD Speckle Observations of Binary Stars from the Southern Hemisphere. III. Differential Photometry

Two hundred seventy-two magnitude difference measures of 135 double star systems are presented. The results are derived from speckle observations using the Bessel V and R passbands and a fast readout CCD camera. Observations were taken at two 60 cm telescopes, namely the Helen Sawyer Hogg Telescope, formerly at Las Campanas, Chile, and the Lowell-Tololo Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile. The data analysis method is presented and, in comparing the results to those of Hipparcos as well as to recent results using adaptive optics, we find very good agreement. Overall, the measurement precision appears to be dependent on seeing and other factors but is generally in the range of 0.10–0.15 mag for single observations under favorable observing conditions. In four cases, multiple observations in both V and R allowed for the derivation of component V-R colors with uncertainties of 0.11 mag or less. Spectral types are assigned and preliminary effective temperatures are estimated in these cases.
Effect of Different Saw Dust Substrates on the Nutritional Composition of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus florida) and its Applications in Human Health

This study evaluated the effects of various sawdust substrates, namely Ficus carica (Fig tree, T2), Albizia saman (Rain Tree, T3), Swietenia mahagoni (Mahogany tree, T4), Leucaena leucocephala (Ipil ipil tree, T5), Eucalyptus oblique (Indian gum tree, T6) and mixture of mentioned five trees sawdust (T1) supplemented with 30% wheat bran and 1% lime on the mineral content and nutritional composition analyses of Plurotus florida mushroom. The highest amount of carbohydrate (43.68mg/100g), dry matter (9.87%), nitrogen (4.43%), potassium (1.39%), magnesium (19.96mg/100g) and iron (44.69mg/100g) were obtained from T4 sawdust substrate. The highest amount of phosphorous (0.89%) was obtained from T1 substrate. The highest amount of lipid (4.21%), protein (27.68%), ash (13.67%), moisture (90.27%) and molybdenum (9.76mg/100g) were obtained from T2 sawdust substrate. The lowest amount of lipid (3.42%) was found for T6 substrate. The highest amount of crude fiber (19.78%), calcium (33.35mg/100g) and selenium (9.10 mg/100g) were obtained from T5 substrate. The highest amount of cobalt (21.07mg/100g) and zinc (30.26mg/100g) were obtained from T3 sawdust substrate. Thus, they could be an excellent source of many different nutraceuticals and might be used directly in human diet to promote health for the synergistic effects of all the bioactive compounds present. The study proved beneficial for effective management of agricultural wastes as well as production of nutraceutical effective fruiting bodies for balanced diet.
Predicting the Quality of Images Compressed After Distortion in Two Steps

In a typical communication pipeline, images undergo a series of processing steps that can cause visual distortions before being viewed. Given a high quality reference image, a reference (R) image quality assessment (IQA) algorithm can be applied after compression or transmission. However, the assumption of a high quality reference image is often not fulfilled in practice, thus contributing to less accurate quality predictions when using stand-alone R IQA models. This is particularly common on social media, where hundreds of billions of user-generated photos and videos containing diverse, mixed distortions are uploaded, compressed, and shared annually on sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat. The qualities of the pictures that are uploaded to these sites vary over a very wide range. While this is an extremely common situation, the problem of assessing the qualities of compressed images against their pre-compressed, but often severely distorted (reference) pictures has been little studied. Towards ameliorating this problem, we propose a novel two-step image quality prediction concept that combines NR with R quality measurements. Applying a first stage of NR IQA to determine the possibly degraded quality of the source image yields information that can be used to quality-modulate the R prediction to improve its accuracy. We devise a simple and efficient weighted product model of R and NR stages, which combines a pre-compression NR measurement with a post-compression R measurement. This first-of-a-kind two-step approach produces more reliable objective prediction scores. We also constructed a new, first-of-a-kind dedicated database specialized for the design and testing of two-step IQA models. Using this new resource, we show that two-step approaches yield outstanding performance when applied to compressed images whose original, pre-compression quality covers a wide range of realistic distortion types and severities. The two-step concept is versatile as it can use any desired R and NR components. We are making the source code of a particularly efficient model that we call 2stepQA publicly available at https://github.com/xiangxuyu/2stepQA. We are also providing the dedicated new two-step database free of charge at http://live.ece. utexas.edu/research/twostep/index.html.
A H2S microsensor for profiling biofilms and sediments: application in an acidic lake sediment

We developed a microsensor for the amperometric detection of dissolved hydrogen sulfide, H,S, in sedirnents and biofilms. The mlcrosensor exhibits a fast ( tgO c0.2 to 0.5 S) and linear response to H2S over a concentration range of 1 to >l000 pm01 H2S I-', and has a low stirring dependency of the microsensor signal (c1 to 2%). We used the new mlcrosensor to obtain the first microprofiles of H2S in an acidic lake sediment with a several cm thick flocculant surface layer. Despite the low pH of 4.6, a relative low SO,'level in the lake water, and a broad O2 respiration zone of ca 6 mm, we were able to measure H2S depth profiles in the sediment at a good resolution, that allowed for calculation of specific sulfate reduction and H2S oxidation activities. Such calculations showed highest sulfate reduction activity in the anoxic sediment down to ca 20 mm depth A comparison of calculated area1 rates of O2 consumption and sulfate reduction Indicated that sulfate reduction accounted for up to 13 % of total organic carbon mineralization in the acidic sediment. All produced H2S was reoxldized aerobically with O2 at the oxic-anoxic interface. In addition to its good performance in acidic environments, the new H2S microsensor has proven useful for sulfide measurements in neutral and moderate alkaline (pH < 9) biofilms and sediments, and thus is a true alternative to the traditionally used potentiometric Ag/Ag2S microelectrode for most applications in aquatic ecology and biogeochemistry.
International Space Station Crew Quarters Ventilation and Acoustic Design Implementation

The International Space Station (ISS) United States Operational Segment has four permanent rack sized ISS Crew Quarters (CQs) providing a private crew member space. The CQs use Node 2 cabin air for ventilation/thermal cooling, as opposed to conditioned ducted air-from the ISS Common Cabin Air Assembly (CCAA) or the ISS fluid cooling loop. Consequently, CQ can only increase the air flow rate to reduce the temperature delta between the cabin and the CQ interior. However, increasing airflow causes increased acoustic noise so efficient airflow distribution is an important design parameter. The CQ utilized a two fan push-pull configuration to ensure fresh air at the crew member's head position and reduce acoustic exposure. The CQ ventilation ducts are conduits to the louder Node 2 cabin aisle way which required significant acoustic mitigation controls. The CQ interior needs to be below noise criteria curve 40 (NC-40). The design implementation of the CQ ventilation system and acoustic mitigation are very inter-related and require consideration of crew comfort balanced with use of interior habitable volume, accommodation of fan failures, and possible crew uses that impact ventilation and acoustic performance. Each CQ required 13% of its total volume and approximately 6% of its total mass to reduce acoustic noise. This paper illustrates the types of model analysis, assumptions, vehicle interactions, and trade-offs required for CQ ventilation and acoustics. Additionally, on-orbit ventilation system performance and initial crew feedback is presented. This approach is applicable to any private enclosed space that the crew will occupy.