Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Brachiaria brizantha Hay Containing a Steroidal Saponin in Lambs

Several species of Brachiaria are important forages in tropical regions of Brazil and elsewhere worldwide. Some species of Brachiaria have been reported to cause hepatogenous photosensitization in ruminants. Initially, the disease was attributed to Pithomyces chartarum fungus, but recent studies suggest that the steroidal saponins present in the grasses have toxic principles responsible for the photosensitization. The objective of this study was to evaluate hepatic function and the performance of lambs fed with B. brizantha hay or sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum L.), using clinical examinations, laboratory tests, and macro and microscopic analysis of the liver. Twelve Saint Ines lambs were used. The animals were divided into two experimental groups: group hay (six lambs fed with B. brizantha hay, plus a concentrate feed) and group sugar cane (six lambs fed with roughage from sugar cane with added concentrate feed). The hay and sugar cane used to feed the lambs did not contain Pithomyces chartarum spores. The B. brizantha hay contained 0.86% protodioscin, and the animals received a daily protodioscin dose of 200 mg/kg BW. The clinical examination occurred every 7 days, the laboratory tests were done every 14 days, and the animals were weighed every 21 days. At the end of 93 days of feeding, the lambs were slaughtered, the macroscopic analysis of the organs was carried out, and the liver fragments were collected for histological analysis. The lambs were clinically healthy during the whole period, except at the beginning of the experiment when some animals had pneumonia. The only biochemistry alteration suggestive of hepatic damage was an increase (P < 0.05) of the GGT values in both groups. No animal fed with B. brizantha hay showed any macroscopic alterations in the liver. Histological analysis of the liver revealed preserved hepatocytes and the presence of light multifocal infiltration of mononuclear inflammatory cells in the hepatic parenchyma and also in the portal space, indicating mild cholangitis in both groups. Degeneration changes suggestive of hepatic steatosis were observed in four animals fed with sugar cane. Feeding lambs with B. brizantha hay promoted similar performance as feeding animals with sugar cane. We conclude that feeding B. brizantha hay containing the concentration of steroidal saponins used in this study to lambs does not cause toxicity.
Feasibility Study for Real Time Measurement of Wheel-Rail Contact Using an Ultrasonic Array

Failure of a wheel-rail contact is usually by wear or fatigue of either component. Both mechanisms depend on the state of stress, which in turn depends on size and location of the contact patch. In this work, the feasibility of an ultrasonic approach for measuring the contact, real time on a rail, has been evaluated. The approach is based on the physical phenomenon of ultrasonic reflection at an interface. If the wheel and rail surfaces make contact, and are under high stress, they will transmit an ultrasonic pulse. However, if there is no contact, or the contact is under low stress, then the wave is completely or partially reflected. By measuring the proportion of the wave reflected, it is possible to deduce the extent of the contact area and also estimate the pressure distribution. In a previous work (Marshall, Lewis, Dwyer-Joyce, Olofsson, and Bjorklund, 2006, “Experimental Characterisation of Wheel-Rail Contact Patch Evolution ,” ASME J. Tribol., 128(3), pp. 493–504), static wheel-rail contacts were scanned using a transducer to build up a two-dimensional (2D) map of the contact. The procedure was time consuming and could in no way be used for measurements online. In this work, a method is presented that could be used at line speeds, and so provide wheel-rail contact measurements in field trials. The scan is achieved by using an array transducer that performs a one dimensional electronic line scan. This, coupled with the speed of travel of the contact patch past the sensor location, enables a 2D map of the contact to be produced. Specimens were cut from wheel and rail sections and loaded together hydraulically in a biaxial frame. An array transducer was mounted beneath the rail specimen. The array transducer consisted of 64 ultrasonic elements that could be pulsed independently, simultaneously, or with controlled phase difference. The signals were reflected back from the contact to effectively produce a line scan. The transducer was physically moved to simulate the translation of the contact patch and so generate a series of 2D reflection profiles. Contacts under a range of normal and lateral loads have been measured and compared with some simple results using a pressure sensitive film. While the map produced by ultrasonic reflection is relatively coarse, the results agree well with measurements from the pressure sensitive film. The work concludes with a discussion of how this array measurement procedure might be implemented at full line speed, and what resolution could potentially be achieved.
Minimum Inhibitory and Bactericidal Concentrations (MIC and MBC) of Honey and Bee Propolis against Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) Staphylococcus sp. Isolated from Bovine Clinical Mastitis

With the emergence of antibiotic-resistant Staph. sp. , search for antimicrobial agents other than antibiotic is of great concern. The study aimed to determine both MIC and MBC of different honey samples against these strains. The study was conducted with 64 different Staph sp. isolated from bovine mastitis and tested in vitro against 11 antimicrobial agents. The most MDR strains (19) were tested in vitro against six honey batches; marjoram, cotton, two fennel samples and two different trefoil samples as well as against 10% propolis-fennel honey mixture. Both MIC & MBC of the tested honey samples against every tested strain were determined. Propolis-fennel honey mixture showed the lowest both MIC & MBC values against all Staph sp. all over the study with highly significant differences, while against different Staph sp. , also it had the lowest MIC and MBC values against S. intermedius followed by S. aureus. The study revealed that among the different Staph. sp. , S. aureus was the most sensitive species to the honey antimicrobial action with highly significant differences. The study concluded that all tested Staph. sp. –despite of being MDR- were sensitive to the antimicrobial activity of all tested honeys where S. aureus was the most sensitive one, while adding 10% propolis powder would maximize its antimicrobial activity significantly
Birch tar oil is an effective mollusc repellent: field and laboratory experiments using Arianta arbustorum (Gastropoda: Helicidae) and Arion lusitanicus (Gastropoda: Arionidae)

Populations of two molluscs, the land snail Arianta arbustorum and the Iberian slug Arion lusitanicus, have increased substantially in many places in the northern Fennoscandia in recent years. This has resulted in considerable aesthetic and economic damage to plants in home gardens and commercial nurseries. Birch tar oil (BTO), is a new biological plant protection product, and was tested against these molluscs. In this study we examined whether 2 types of BTO, used either alone, mixed together, or mixed with Vaseline®, could be applied as 1) a biological plant protection product for the control of land snails by direct topical spray application, 2) as a repellent against snails when painted on a Perspex® fence, and 3) as a repellent against slugs when smeared on pots containing Brassica pekinensis seedlings. Both the fences and the pots with seedlings were placed in each field with a high population of the target organism. When applied as a spray on snails, BTO did not act as a toxic pesticide but rendered the snails inactive for a period of several months. The BTO barriers were effective in repelling both snails and slugs. However, the repellent effect of BTO alone against the molluscs was short-term. Repeated treatments were required to keep the slugs away from the plants and we found that the interval between treatments should not exceed two weeks. A collar fastened around the rim of the pots, combined with the BTO treatment, did not give any additional benefit in hindering slugs from invading the plants. Most noticeably, the BTO+Vaseline® mixture prevented the land snails from passing over the treated fences for up to several months. The results of these experiments provide evidence that BTO, especially when mixed with Vaseline®, serves as an excellent long-term repellent against molluscs.
ON THE FUNCTIONAL FORM OF THE UNIVERSAL STAR-FORMATION LAW

We study the functional form of the star-formation law using the Vaschy–Buckingham Pi theorem. We find that it should have the form &Sgr; ˙ ⋆ ∝ G L &Sgr; gas 3 / 2 ? > , where L is a characteristic length that is related to an integration scale. With a reasonable estimate for L, we find that galaxies of different types and redshifts, including low-surface-brightness galaxies and individual star-forming regions in our Galaxy, obey this single star-formation law. We also find that, depending on the assumption for L, this star-formation law adopts different formulations of &Sgr; ˙ ⋆ ? > scaling that are widely studied in the literature: &Sgr; gas 3 / 2 , &Sgr; gas / t orb , &Sgr; gas / t ff ? > and &Sgr; gas 2 / v turb ? > . We also study secondary controlling parameters of the star-formation law based on the current evidence from numerical simulations, and we find that for galaxies the star-formation efficiency should be controlled, at least, by the turbulent Toomre parameter and the sonic and Alfvénic Mach numbers.
Some Biochemical Assays in Hemodialysis Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C

The present study aimed to evaluate calcium, potassium, albumin, protein, creatinine, urea, uric acid levels, and the level of total sialic acid in the sera of patients with chronic renal failure who had been infected with Hepatitis C virus and in the sera of patients with chronic renal failure, and compare them with healthy volunteers. A total of 90 subjects with age 25-55 years, were divided into three groups. G1 represents 30 patients with chronic renal failure who had treated by dialysis and infected with chronic Hepatitis C virus (positive group). G2 represents 30 patients with chronic failure who had been treated by dialysis (negative group), while G3 represents 30 healthy volunteers (control group). The results showed that the calcium, albumin, protein, and uric acid levels were decreased significantly (P≤0.05) in serum of G1 and G2 as compared with healthy group (G3). While levels of Potassium, creatinine, urea, and total sialic acid were significantly (P≤0.05) increased in serum of G1 and G2 as compared to G3. In conclusion patients with renal failure whom suffering from chronic hepatitis C, which they are serious diseases in Iraq; and although hemodialysis is an attempt to keep homeostasis in the patients, but it is not easy to retain them from the risk of mortality.
40Ar/39Ar Thermochronologic Record of 1.45–1.35 Ga Intracontinental Tectonism in the Southern Rocky Mountains: Interplay of Conductive and Advective Heating with Intracontinental Deformation

New and compiled 40 Ar/ 39 Ar data from the southern Rocky Mountains and SW U.S. provide significant constraints on the Mesoproterozoic thermal evolution of the region. Our main conclusions are that the Proterozoic provinces of the southwest were affected by a regional thermal episode 1.45-1.35 Ga coeval with intracontinental tectonism and plutonism and that the highest temperatures were recorded in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico where there are few ∼1.4 Ga plutons. In northern and central Colorado biotite and muscovite dates of ∼1.4 Ga and discordant hornblende dates of 1.7-1.4 Ga are consistent with variable ∼1.4 Ga temperatures of ∼300-500°C with narrow ( 500°C. This area is characterized by a paucity of 1.4 Ga plutons, more penetrative ∼1.4 Ga ductile deformation, and higher grade metamorphism. We postulate that this region may represent a deeper level of exposure (15-20 km) beneath a mid-crustal layer with a high concentration of ∼1.4 Ga plutons emplaced near the brittle-ductile transition (∼10-15 km).
Surface ozone trend details and interpretations in Beijing, 2001–2006

Abstract. Beijing is a megacity situated in the rapidly developing Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of northern China. In this study, we analyze data on ozone and nitrogen oxide levels obtained at six urban sites in Beijing between the months of July and September. Our goal is to investigate average trends and interpretations over the 2001–2006 period. Average concentrations of NOx (NOx=NO+NO2), O3, and Ox (Ox=O3+NO2) were 49.2±5.9 ppbv, 26.6±2.8 ppbv, and 60.3±1.9 ppbv, respectively. NOx concentrations decreased linearly at a rate of 3.9±0.5 ppbv/yr after 2002, while ozone concentrations increased at a rate of 1.1±0.5 ppbv/yr during 2001–2006, and Ox concentrations remained nearly constant. The reduction of NOx emissions and elevated non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHCs) emissions may have contributed to the increased O3 concentrations in Beijing. When the contributions from Beijing's urban and surrounding areas were disaggregated via trajectory cluster analysis, daily maximum and average Ox concentrations attributable to Beijing's local emissions increased linearly at rates of 1.3±0.6 ppbv/yr and 0.8±0.6 ppbv/yr, while the Ox concentrations attributable to regional areas decreased linearly at rates of 0.6±0.3 ppbv/yr and 0.5±0.3 ppbv/yr, respectively. The decrease in Ox concentrations of the surrounding areas was found to counteract increasing Beijing urban Ox production, leading to nearly constant Ox concentrations in the Beijing region over the study period. Our results may be helpful for redefining government strategies to control the photochemical formation of air pollutants in the Beijing region. Our conclusions have relevance for developing megacities worldwide.
Central Bank Transparency and Information Dissemination: An Experimental Approach

In this paper, we propose to compare different partial transparency regimes in order to determine the optimal diessemination policy by the central bank, using an experimental approach. A treatment dedicated to the benchmark situation (where information is fully released) is also available. Our experiment is based on subsequent framework of Morris and Shin (2002), Cornand and Heinemann (2008) and Trabelsi (2012). The predictive power of K-level reasoning is an issue that is addressed also in this paper. Our experiment indicates that -when fully disclosed- players overreact to public information and this overreaction is efficiently reduced when the degree of publicity decreases (i.e. when the fragmentation measure increases). The average weight assigned to common signal decreases over treatments, especially when we establish partial transparent strategy (i.e. fragmented information). The results provide support both for and against global games theoretical predictions. In fact, although players overreact to public signal, their behavior is inconsistent with theoretical equilibrium, which means that the destabilizing effect of public information is less pronounced experimentally than when it does in theory. This is not the case when public information is fragmented ; subjects' behavior does approach equilibrium. These observations coincide with both a collective and an individual analyses of behavior.
How Practitioners Perceive Automated Bug Report Management Techniques

Bug reports play an important role in the process of debugging and fixing bugs. To reduce the burden of bug report managers and facilitate the process of bug fixing, a great amount of software engineering research has been invested toward automated bug report management techniques. However, the verdict is still open whether such techniques are actually required and applicable outside the domain of theoretical research. To fill this gap, we conducted a survey among 327 practitioners to gain their insights into various categories of automated bug report management techniques. Specifically, we asked the respondents to rate the importance of such techniques and provide the rationale. To get deeper insights into practitioners’ perspective, we conducted follow-up interviews with 25 interviewees selected from the survey respondents. Through the survey and the interviews, we gained a better understanding of the perceived usefulness (or its lack) of different categories of automated bug report management techniques. Based on our findings, we summarized some potential research directions in developing techniques to help developers better manage bug reports.
Personality Traits, Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievements of University Students

This research investigated the relationships between personality traits, emotional intelligence and academic achievements among 160 university students in Malaysia. Big Five Inventory (BFI) was used to measure the five dimensions of personality traits - extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness; Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (SEIS) was used to measure emotional intelligence and students’ academic achievement was measured by Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). Bivariate analysis using Pearson Correlation method indicated that extraversion (r=.311, p .05) was insignificantly associated with academic achievement. Future researches are recommended to employ Structural Equation Modeling analysis to determine how both personality traits and emotional intelligence have an impact on academic achievements.
Role of Arc Processes in the Formation of Continental Crust

We review data and recent research on arc composition, focusing on the relatively complete arc crustal sections in the Jurassic Talkeetna arc (south central Alaska) and the Cretaceous Kohistan arc (northwest Pakistan), together with seismic data on the lower crust and uppermost mantle. Whereas primitive arc lavas are dominantly basaltic, the Kohistan crust is clearly andesitic and the Talkeetna crust could be andesitic. The andesitic compositions of the two arc sections are within the range of estimates for the major element composition of continental crust. Calculated seismic sections for Kohistan and Talkeetna provide a close match for the thicker parts of the active Izu arc, suggesting that it, too, could have an andesitic bulk composition. Because andesitic crust is buoyant with respect to the underlying mantle, much of this material represents a net addition to continental crust. Production of bulk crust from a parental melt in equilibrium with mantle olivine or pyroxene requires processing of igneou.
In vitro adventitious shoot proliferation of Isatis aucheri BOISS. (Turkish Woad) from petiole explants

Isatis a ucheri Boiss is an important endemic dye plant that grows widely in various parts of Anatolian Turkey. The study reports adventitious shoot regeneration from pe tiole explants excised from in v itro grown seedlings of the p lant. The b est shoot regeneration was recdorded on MS m edium containing 0.5 m g/l BAP-0.5 m g/l NAA. The regenerated shoots we re ro oted on M S medium after p ulse treatment with 100 mg/l IBA. About 40% of the regenerated plants could be succesfully acclimatized and established under g reenhouse conditions.
Do Language Models Have Common Sense

It has been argued that current machine learning models do not have common sense, and therefore must be hard-coded with prior knowledge (Marcus, 2018). Here we show surprising evidence that language models can already learn to capture certain common sense knowledge. Our key observation is that a language model can compute the probability of any statement, and this probability can be used to evaluate the truthfulness of that statement. On the Winograd Schema Challenge (Levesque et al., 2011), language models are 11% higher in accuracy than previous state-of-the-art supervised methods. Language models can also be fine-tuned for the task of Mining Commonsense Knowledge on ConceptNet to achieve an F1 score of 0.912 and 0.824, outperforming previous best results (Jastrzebski et al., 2018). Further analysis demonstrates that language models can discover unique features of Winograd Schema contexts that decide the correct answers without explicit supervision.
Infection Process of Olive Fruits by Colletotrichum acutatum and the Protective Role of the Cuticle and Epidermis

Colletotrichum acutatum is a serious concern for the Portuguese oliviculture and food industry, due to both olive oil yield and quality decrease. While the organism’s phytopathogenic potential has been well documented, the pathogen adhesion and colonization process in olives remain poorly understood. This paper reports experiments conducted on C. acutatum -susceptible, C. acutatum -moderately resistant and C. acutatum -resistant olive fruits during infection process, in two consecutively years, to identify the physical differences related to the host cuticle promoting resistance and susceptibility to C. acutatum . Cuticle thickness, perimeter and area of epidermal cells of ‘Galega’ (susceptible), ‘Cobrancosa’ (moderate-resistant) and ‘Picual’ (resistant) fruits were measured. Here, we also describe the colonization process of olive fruits by C. acutatum. To achieve this goal olive fruits from ‘Galega’, ‘Cobrancosa’ and ‘Picual’ were inoculated in a field trial with an aqueous suspension of C. acutatum (1x10 6 spores ml -1 ) under suitable humidity and temperature conditions. Light, fluorescent and scanning electron microscopy were used to view olive fruit sections. Significant differences were observed among the parameters studied: cuticle thickness, perimeter and area of olive fruit epidermal cells. The C. acutatum -resistant (‘Picual’) fruits showed highest mean values for each parameter in both years. Pathogen ultrastructures, such as spores, germ tube, and appressoria were clearly observed using different microscopy techniques. Acervuli sporulation was observed only 192 hours after inoculation in C. acutatum -susceptible (‘Galega’) fruits.
Foreign Direct Investment and Employment Creation in Pacific Island Countries: An Empirical Study of Fiji

This paper undertakes an econometric study of the impact of FDI in Fiji during a 30-year period. In the absence of data on Fiji’s employment in FDI sectors either in aggregated form or by specific sectors, we are constrained to use data on formal sector employment as a proxy. This implies that employment in both formal and FDI related activities move in the same direction and proportion. The paper investigated the relationship between employment and foreign direct investment for Fiji through a multivariate modeling strategy by including GDP.
Colloquium : Electronic transport in single-crystal organic transistors

Small-molecule organic semiconductors, together with polymers, form the basis for the emerging field of organic electronics. Despite the rapid technological progress in this area, our understanding of fundamental electronic properties of these materials remains limited. Recently developed organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on single crystals of small-molecule organic materials are characterized by an unprecedented quality and reproducibility. These devices provide a unique tool to study the fundamentals of polaronic transport on organic surfaces and to explore the limits of OFET performance. This Colloquium focuses on the intrinsic, not limited by static disorder, charge transport in single-crystal OFETs and on the nature of defects on surfaces of organic crystals. In the conclusion, an outline of the outstanding problems that are now becoming within experimental reach owing to the development of single-crystal OFETs is presented.