Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intestinal Protozoan Parasites of Pigs Reared Under Different Management Systems in Morogoro, Tanzania

Abstract Esrony, K. , Kambarage, D.M. , Mtambo, M.M.A., Muhairwa, A.P. and Kusiluka, L.J.M. 1996. Intestinal protozoan parasites of pigs reared under different management systems in Morogoro, Tanzania. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 10: 25–31. Sixty three piggery units with a total herd size of 424 pigs in the small-scale and semi-intensive management systems from semi arid and tropical highland areas of Morogoro region were screened for intestinal protozoan parasites. Thirtysix percent of the screened animals were positive for eimeriosis and 7.8% for cryptosporidiosis. Prevalences of eimeriosis in the semi-intensive and small-scale management systems were 22% and 48%, respectively. High prevalences of eimeriosis and cryptosporidiosis (60% and 25%, respectively) were observed in the tropical highland climate area (Mgeta) and low rates (26% and 0.3%, respectively) were evident in the semi-arid zone. Ninety five per cent of infected pigs excreted between 100 and 5000 OPG and five per cent were excreting more than 5000 .
Strategies for End-to-End Text-Independent Speaker Verification

State-of-the-art speaker veriﬁcation (SV) systems typically consist of two distinct components: a deep neural network (DNN) for creating speaker embeddings and a backend for improving the embeddings’ discriminative ability. The question which arises is: Can we train an SV system without a backend? We believe that the backend is to compensate for the fact that the network is trained entirely on short speech segments. This paper shows that with several modiﬁcations to the x-vector system, DNN embeddings can be directly used for veriﬁcation. The proposed modiﬁcations include: (1) a mask-pooling layer that augments the training samples by randomly masking the frame-level activations and then computing temporal statistics, (2) a sampling scheme that produces diverse training samples by randomly splicing several speech segments from each utterance, and (3) additional convolutional layers designed to reduce the temporal resolution to save computational cost. Experiments on NIST SRE 2016 and 2018 show that our method can achieve state-of-the-art performance with simple cosine similarity and requires only half of the computational cost of the x-vector network.
Adversarial Separation and Adaptation Network for Far-Field Speaker Verification

Typically, speaker veriﬁcation systems are highly optimized on the speech collected by close-talking microphones. However, these systems will perform poorly when the users use far-ﬁeld microphones during veriﬁcation. In this paper, we pro-pose an adversarial separation and adaptation network (AD-SAN) to extract speaker discriminative and domain-invariant features through adversarial learning. The idea is based on the notion that speaker embedding comprises domain-speciﬁc components and domain-shared components, and that the two components can be disentangled by the interplay of the separation network and the adaptation network in the ADSAN. We also propose to incorporate a mutual information neural estimator into the domain adaptation network to retain speaker discriminative information. Experiments on the VOiCES Challenge 2019 demonstrate that the proposed approaches can produce more domain-invariant and speaker discriminative representations, which could help to reduce the domain shift caused by different types of microphones and reverberant environments.
Adhocracy Culture and Strategy Implementation: An Application within Professional Bodies in Kenya

Strategy implementation presents the most complex aspects of an organization. This study aimed at establishing the relationship between adhocracy culture and strategy implementation in professional bodies in Kenya. To accomplish the main study objective, a descriptive research design was conducted and anchored on Cameron and Quin’s theory of Competing Values Framework (CVF) supported by McKinsey 7S Framework. A sampling frame of 168 respondents from 28 active professional bodies registered with the Association of Professional Bodies in East Africa (APSEA) was targeted. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Purposive sampling was used to select six (6) top managers in constant touch with the strategy implementation of their organizations. The study tested a null hypothesis and the results were analyzed through regression ANOVA to establish the relationship between adhocracy culture and strategy implementation. From the results, it was found that adhocracy had a significant positive effect on strategy implementation. The study concluded that adhocracy culture and strategy implementation in professional bodies in Kenya have a significant relationship. The study recommends that the leadership of an organization should work to establish a structure that accommodates adhocracy within the organization. Both operational and business level management should be structured in such a way that there is adhocracy culture within the ranks of the organization. The study further recommends a similar survey across the East African region including more professional bodies and further pursuit of adhocracy culture to test its suitability in other organizations other than professional bodies.
The Development of Spatial Positions Between Mother and Calf of Yangtze Finless Porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) Maintained in Captive and Seminatural Environments

For many toothed whales, two predominant and multifunctional spatial positions occur between a mother/calf pair after birth: (1) the echelon position and (2) the infant position. Other nonpredominant positions also have social and developmental significance for the calf. So far, the observational period of studies on the spatial positions tends to be too short, and the studies have primarily focused on the marine groups. Moreover, few, if any, studies examining spatial relations between mother/calf pairs have been conducted on endangered toothed whale species. The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) is one endangered and freshwater toothed whale. We studied the development of echelon, infant, and other position(s) in one calf maintained in captivity and two in a seminatural enclosure up to 1 y after birth. Focal following and continuous recording methods were used. A total of 180.6 h of video were recorded for the captive calf during the first year after birth (1.8 +/- 0.5 h/d; n = 99 d). For the two calves in the enclosure, a total of 254.9 and 479.9 h of visual observations were recorded between 12 to 109 d after birth (5.8 +/- 0.9 h/d; n = 44 d) and during the first year after birth (5.9 +/- 0.5 h/d; n = 81 d), respectively. Results indicated that time spent in echelon, infant, and other position(s) accounted for 24.6 +/- 2.7%, 34.4 +/- 8.1%, and 4.6 +/- 2.2% (n = 3), respectively. As the calves grew, they decreased their time spent in the echelon position. In contrast, time spent in the infant position increased and decreased in a parabolic fashion. The peaks (40.2%, 47.8%, and 46.8%) were approached at 91, 62, and 62 d after birth for the three calves, respectively. At 245 d after birth for the captive calf and 187 d for the second seminatural calf, time spent in the infant position began a second increase. This increase continued until the end of the year. Other positions were assumed during a small amount of time and changed slightly over time. In regards to animal management and conservation, we should regulate human activities contributing to the separation of a mother and her calf, especially before 90 d after birth. In addition, we should eliminate fishing gears and other risky factors in the environment until at least 60 d after birth.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Playful persuasion Advergames as gamified advertising

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A Gender-Based Study to Investigate Saudi Male and Female EFL Learners’ Satisfaction Towards the Effectiveness of Hybrid Learning

Since the transmission of knowledge has started, it solely relied on traditional teaching methods but ever since technology-mediated instructions have emerged, they potentially brought a revolution in how we teach, when we teach, from where we teach and what gadgets, modes and apps can better cater learners’ interest and motivation. In this context, hybrid learning is a novel approach in academic settings that embraces advantage of the retention of face-to-face component of traditional classes and e-learning environment. The present study aims at investigating Taif University’s male and female English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ satisfaction towards the onsite and online learning environments. An opinionnaire with 20 items was developed with closed ended questions by employing Likert’s five-point scale to collect the data from 200 male and female EFL participants of Taif University, represents quantitative dimensions of the study. The research tool is designed to measure learners’ satisfaction that is further categorized into five subscales. These include: (a) learners’ satisfaction with the instructor and their real-time feedback; (b) perceived ease of use of technology and internet; (c) effective course content and interactive and collaborative activities; (d) finally engaging nature of hybrid learning and its impacts on learners’ interest and motivation. The study finds no significant differences in male and female participants’ perceptions regarding effective delivery of hybrid instructions except meek variations in male and female learners’ preferences in perceived ease of use of technology. The statistics reveal that male participants and their female counterparts slightly differ in their satisfaction level towards the technical problems faced by them in recording their scores, flexibility in terms of time and space, and in smooth completion of online activities. Finally, the study provides few recommendations to fix certain issues and improve the quality of hybrid learning environment.
Changes in pollinator assemblages following hurricanes affect the mating system of Laguncularia racemosa (Combretaceae) in Florida, USA

Abstract: Hurricanes are major disturbance events in Neotropical mangrove communities, potentially affecting the reproductive success of mangrove species. This was the first investigation of changes in mangrove pollinator assemblages following hurricanes, and the effect of these changes on the mating system of Laguncularia racemosa. Insect pollinator assemblages were investigated in three Florida mangrove communities in 2001–2003, 2005 and 2009; two hurricanes affected the area in 2004. Visitation rates were estimated from 1445 insects observed during 272 10-min intervals; the number of flowers visited by each insect was also recorded. Pollinator diversity was estimated with the Shannon Index. Following the hurricanes, species richness was reduced by 43–65% and diversity declined by 36–70%. Significant declines in insect visitation to L. racemosa resulted in reduced outcrossing frequencies in 2005. Laguncularia racemosa flowers autogamously self-pollinate without insect visitors, so fruit set still occurred. Visitation rates returned to pre-hurricane levels by 2009, but foraging behaviours differed from pre-hurricane patterns; outcrossing was further favoured by reduced frequencies of long foraging bouts and increased frequencies of short foraging bouts. The mixed mating system of L. racemosa provides reproductive assurance following hurricane disturbances, when pollinator abundance is low.
BACTERIAL PROFILES OF KARVACHAR HOT SPRING IDENTIFIED BY COMBINATION OF DIFFERENT MOLECULAR APPROACHES

Molecular techniques, including denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), 16S rRNA genes clone library construction and metagenomic analysis, were used to describe the bacterial composition of the Karvachar geothermal spring. It was shown the predominance of bacteria belonging to the phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Cyanobacteria in the studied spring. Representatives of phylum Firmicutes were not detected in the clone library, while DGGE profiling and metagenome analysis confirmed the presence of Firmicutes as one of the major components in the bacterial community.
When the Minimum Wage Really Bites Hard: Impact on Top Earners and Skill Supply

We investigate minimum wage spillovers by exploiting the first-time introduction of a minimum wage within a quasi-experiment in a context with an extraordinary large bite: the German roofing industry. We find positive wage spillovers for medium-skilled workers with wages just above the minimum wage, but negative effects for high-skilled top earners in East Germany, where the bite was particularly pronounced. There, the minimum wage lowered both returns to skills and skill supply. We propose a theoretical model according to which negative spillovers occur whenever a negative scale effect dominates a positive substitution effect and provide empirical support for our theory.
Promoting Indigenous Cultural Practices on National Television in Niger State, Nigeria: A Study of Gbagyi Tribe

This study investigated the level of influence that Television programmes have in promoting awareness of indigenous cultural practices among the Gbagyi people of Minna, Niger State. The study employed a survey questionnaire to solicit responses from 385 purposive sample of respondents among the indigenous Gbagyi people in Minna. The response rate was 100%. Findings revealed that the majority 64% of the respondents agreed that they learn more about their culture from cultural programmes that were aired on TV, whereas some 32.3% of the respondents agreed that there are many cultural programmes on NTA and NSTV that promote the indigenous culture, 30.2% of the Gbagyi Kunu programme on NSTV and 29.9% of the Hiya Nigeria programme respectively focus on promoting the indigenous culture. The study concludes that NTA Minna and NSTV are doing a good job in promoting the cultural awareness of the Gbagyi indigenous cultural practices among Gbagyi people in Minna. Finally, the study recommends that Television stations across the nation should create more cultural programmes like the Gbagyi Kunu.
Chemical roadblocking of DNA transcription for nascent RNA display

Site-specific arrest of RNA polymerases (RNAPs) is fundamental to several technologies that assess RNA structure and function. Current in vitro transcription “roadblocking” approaches inhibit transcription elongation by blocking RNAP with a protein bound to the DNA template. One limitation of protein-mediated transcription roadblocking is that it requires the inclusion of a protein factor that is extrinsic to the minimal in vitro transcription reaction. In this work, we developed a chemical approach for halting transcription by Escherichia coli RNAP. We first established a sequence-independent method for the site-specific incorporation of chemical lesions into double-stranded DNA templates by sequential PCR and translesion synthesis. We then show that interrupting the transcribed DNA strand with either an internal desthiobiotin-triethylene glycol modification or 1,N 6 -etheno-2’-deoxyadenosine base efficiently and stably halts Escherichia coli RNAP transcription. By encoding an intrinsic stall site within the template DNA, our chemical transcription roadblocking approach enables the display of nascent RNA molecules from RNAP in a minimal in vitro transcription reaction.
A Perspective of Cloud Computing: Data Threats and Challenges

: The Cloud computing enables a pool of virtualized computer assets to be computed and managed in a centralized environment. A cloud is capable of hosting different workloads and can actually allow workloads to be deployed/scaled-out on-demand by the rapid provisioning of the physical or virtual machines. Also, the cloud is able to support the self-recovering model which permits workloads to recuperate from software and hardware failures and rebalance allocations. Considering the global growth of the Internet, cloud computing has no doubt promoted the exponential expansion of computing and storage capabilities. Various applications can be run on the remote servers without the monotony of local installation and maintenance. Furthermore, cloud computing structure empowers a centralized storage, software applications, memory, processing power and speed through good bandwidth among the interconnected machines. The concept behind cloud computing is the transfer of desktop computing to a service-oriented platform that makes use of server clusters and dispersed storage. This paper provides in-depth analysis of the cloud computing structure and lastly, the challenges and threats of cloud computing and the security issues will be discussed for some potential future research perspective.
Board Composition and Firm Performance: Does Board Monitoring Intensity Mediate the Relationship in Emerging Markets? Board Composition and Firm Performance: Does Board Monitoring Intensity Mediate the Relationship in Emerging Markets?

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of board composition on firm performance and further examine whether the effect is mediated by board monitoring intensity. This paper uses a panel data of 137 firms listed on stock exchanges in Ghana and Nigeria over a period of seven years. System Generalized Method of Moments, Baron and Kenny (1986) approach and Sobel test were adopted as estimation techniques for the study. The study reveals that board independence, skills and gender diversity is positively and statistically related to firm performance. The result of the study reveals that board size, skills and independence are positively related to board monitoring intensity. The study further reveals that relationship between board independence and board skills and firm performance is mediated by board monitoring intensity. However, board monitoring intensity partially mediates the relationship between board size and firm performance.
THE FUNDAMENTAL GROUP, RATIONAL CONNECTEDNESS AND THE POSITIVITY OF KÄHLER MANIFOLDS

First a conjecture asserting that any compact Kähler manifold N with Ric⊥ > 0 must be simply-connected is confirmed by adapting the comass of (p, 0)-forms into a maximum principle via the viscosity consideration. Secondly the projectivity and the rational connectedness of a Kähler manifold of complex dimension n under the condition Rick > 0 (for some k ∈ {1, · · · , n}) are proved, generalizing the previous result of Campana, and Kollár-Miyaoka-Mori independently, for the Fano manifolds. Thirdly we show that under the assumption of Picard number one a manifold with Ric⊥ > 0 is Fano. Thirdly via a new curvature notion motivated by Ric⊥ and the classical work of Calabi-Vesentini, the cohomology vanishing Hq(N,T ′N) = {0} for any 1 ≤ q ≤ n (as well as a deformation rigidity result) for classical Kähler C-spaces with b2 = 1 is proved. Besides possible curvature characterization of homogenous Kähler manifolds this new curvature (which is quadratic in terms of linear maps from T ′N to T ′′N) leads to a related notion of Ricci curvature, Ric+. We also show that a compact Kähler manifold with Ric+ > 0 is projective and simply-connected.
Translocation of Calcium in Relation to Tomato Fruit Growth

Regulation of the uptake and distribution of calcium in the tomato plant was investigated in plants grown in recirculating nutrient solutions at electrical conductivities of 2,7,12 and 17 millisiemens (mS). Despite an increased calcium content in the nutrient solution at high conductivity (7-17 mS), the accumulation of calcium by fruit was progressively reduced by increasing salinity, particularly in the distal half. The incidence of blossom-end rot in fruit (BER) also increased with salinity. The uptake of water and 45Ca by plants was substantially reduced in the high salinity treatment (17 mS) and, to a lesser extent, by high relative humidity (90 per cent r.h. at 20 °C). Further, the translocation of 45Ca from roots to shoots was reduced by high salinity, while the percentage distribution of 45Ca to the apex was reduced by high humidity. Only approx. 2 per cent of the 45 Ca taken up by a plant was imported by the truss. The uptake of 45Ca and its distribution among pedicel, calyx and berry by detached fruit in 24 h showed that fruit from high salinity plants had a reduced uptake and a lower accumulation of 45 Ca in the berry than in the calyx. In addition, plants grown at high conductivity had a lower rate of xylem sap exudation from decapitated plants. The fruit of these plants had a smaller xylem cross-sectional area in the fruit pedicel and a smaller calyx than those of the low conductivity treatment.
Studies on the Flavonol Constituents of Abelmoschus manihot L. Medic

AIM:To study the total flavonol constituents of Abelmoscchus manihot L. Medic. METHOD:The chemical constituents were isolated by the chromatographic and crystal techniques, and their structures were identified by the physical and chemical properties especially by the spectral analysis. RESULT: four flavonol monoglycosides were obtained and they were identified as gossypetin-3′- O -β-glucoside (1), isoquercetin (2), hyperoside (3) and quercetin-3′-glucoside (4). CONCLUSION: compounds 1 and 2 were obtained from the Abelmoschus manihot L. Medic for the first time, and compound 1 was a new compound.
Genetic diversity of two Indian common bean germplasm collections based on morphological and microsatellite markers

India is the second most populous nation in the world after China, and its plant genetic resources are an important basis for crop improvement to meet human population needs. An important legume in the diet of the Indian population is common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Common beans are one of the many important legumes grown in India, but unlike others, its centre of origin is not in Asia but in the Americas. The objective of this study was to evaluate two collections of Indian common beans: one for an internationally available collection of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)-protected accessions and one from the north-western Himalayan region. In total, 149 Indian landraces were evaluated with a total of 24 microsatellites across the two collections, and these represented all common bean-growing states of India. A population structure analysis was used to find groups in each collection, and this was compared across the collections. The genetic analysis of the two sets of Indian accessions with neighbour-joining trees and principal component analysis categorized the landraces into Andean and Mesoamerican gene pool groups. The Andean genotypes dominated the north-western Himalayan collection while the FAO-protected accessions were predominantly Mesoamerican. The Indian subcontinent can be considered as a region of high bean diversity; however, very little introgression was observed between the gene pools in both the germplasm sets. Gene pool identity was further substantiated by the comparison of seed traits, particularly seed size. The role of the landraces in plant breeding programmes is discussed.
Feeding ecology of the highly threatened common bottlenose dolphin of the Gulf of Ambracia, Greece, through stable isotope analysis

Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, and Institute of Biodiversity (IRBio), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Morigenos Slovenian Marine Mammal Society, Piran, Slovenia Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, UK iSea, Environmental Organization for the Preservation of the Aquatic Ecosystems, Thessaloníki, Greece Tethys Research Institute, Milan, Italy