Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ovulation Synchronization in Sheep.

Reliable synchronization of ovulation in sheep during the transitional period would focus the lambing season, facilitate other reproductive tools (artificial insemination, embryo transfer, etc), and enhance genetic advancement. Synchronization of ovulation during the post-partum period may allow for multiple lambings per year. Mature Southdown ewes were either Transitional (n=12) or 30-45 days Post-Partum (n=9). Transrectal ultrasonography was used to measure corpora lutea and follicles ( ≥ 4 mm) during an Ovsynch protocol (Day 0 = 100 ug gonadotropin-releasing hormone; Day 7 = 25 mg prostaglandin F 2 alpha; Day 9 = 100 ug gonadotropin-releasing hormone, all im). Data were analyzed with either ANOVA or χ 2 and are reflected as mean ± SEM. More (P=0.02) Post Partum (6/9 = 66.7%) ewes responded to the first gonadotropin-releasing hormone injection of an Ovsynch protocol compared to Transitional (2/12; 16.7%) ewes. There was a tendency (P=0.079) for more ovulatory follicles per Post Partum (1.0 ± 0.3) ewe compared to Transitional (0.3 ± 0.2) ewes for the first gonadotropin-releasing hormone injection. Anovulatory follicular diameters were smaller (P=0.046; at the first gonadotropin-releasing hormone injection) for the Transitional (4.4 ± 0.2 mm) compared to the Post Partum (4.9 ± 0.2 mm) ewes, but similar at the second gonadotropin-releasing hormone injection. There were more (P=0.015) corpora lutea that reached >10 mm in the Transitional (1.3 ± 0.3) compared to the Post Partum (0.4 ± 0.2) group and the maximum corpus luteum diameter tended to be larger (P=0.057) in the Transitional (10.1 ± 0.3 mm) compared to the Post Partum (8.9 ± 0.6 mm) ewes. Maximum progesterone (ng/ml) was several fold higher (P<0.001) in the Transitional (6.4 ± 0.5 ng/ml) compared to the Post Partum (0.8 ± 0.2 ng/ml) ewes. Recovery from parturition may not be completed by 30 days, resulting in hypersensitive follicles and inadequate corpora lutea in Post Partum ewes. Further research is necessary to characterize the appropriate timing, dose, and regimen to more effectively synchronize ovulation in sheep.
Caffeine downregulates inflammatory pathways involved in autoimmunity

Objectives Caffeine is a widely consumed pharmacologically active product. In the present study, we focused on characterizing immunomodulatory effects of caffeine on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PMBCs). Methods The effect of caffeine on gene expression profiles was initially evaluated using RNA sequencing data. Validation experiments were performed to confirm the results and examine dose-dependent effects of caffeine on PBMCs from healthy subjects. Gene expression levels were measured by real-time quantitative PCR, and cytokine production was determined using a multiplex cytokine assay. Results Caffeine at high doses showed a robust downregulatory effect of immune-related genes in PBMCs. Functional annotation analysis of downregulated genes revealed significant enrichment in cytokine activity and in genes related to several autoimmune diseases including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Dose-dependent validation experiments showed significant downregulation at the mRNA levels of key inflammatory genes including STAT1, TNF, and PPARG. TNF and PPARG were suppressed even with the lowest caffeine dose tested, which corresponds to the serum concentration of caffeine after administration of one cup of coffee. Cytokine levels of IL-8, MIP-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, GM-CSF, TNF, IL-2, IL-4, MCP-1, and IL-10 were decreased significantly with caffeine treatment. Conclusion Our findings indicate potential downregulatory effects of caffeine on key inflammatory genes and cytokines, which play important role in autoimmunity. Further studies exploring therapeutic or disease-modulating potential of caffeine in autoimmune diseases and exploring the mechanisms involved are warranted.
The Effect of “Narrow Reading” on Learning Mid-Frequency Vocabulary: The Role of Genre and Author

This study investigated the effect of Narrow Reading (NR) on learning mid-frequency words. Vocabulary Size Test (VST) designed by Nation and Beglar (2007) was administered as the first pre-test to 196 students, from among whom 91 students whose vocabulary size ranged between 2100- 3500-word families, , became the target of this study and were randomly classified into four groups. Then another pretest administered was a modified version of Wesche and Paribakht’s Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) which assessed how well they knew twenty vocabularies derived from the expository and narrative texts. After thirty sessions for direct instruction, VKS was repeated immediately as a posttest to assess vocabulary learning while a month later, VKS was taken as a delayed posttest to assess vocabulary retention. To address research questions, a mixed design factorial ANOVA was conducted. The findings revealed that while the theme was fixed, reading expository texts rather than narrative ones led to the growth in vocabulary knowledge. In addition, the group that read narratives forgot most of the mid-frequency words in the retention phase. As opposed to multi-author texts, reading texts written by one author resulted in a better vocabulary achievement in both learning and retention phases. It was also revealed that there was no interaction between genre and author. In other words, the author was as influential in learning mid-frequency words among expository texts as it was in narrative ones. Finally, it was concluded that NR has a positive effect on learning mid-frequency words.
Beach Cusps

A FREQUENT feature of our New England beaches is a succession of stony or gravelly cusps with sharp points toward the water, situated on the upper part of the beach where the waves play only at high stages of the tide. My attention was first called to these cusps by Mr. J. B. Woodworth, of Harvard University, under whose direction the general view, Fig. 1, was taken for the U. S. Geological Survey. Subsequent study on Lynn Beach, Mass. , where I obtained twenty instantaneous wave photographs, has satisfied me that on that particular shore the cusps must be ascribed to the agency of the seaweed piled up on the beach, modifying the action of the greater waves. The successive stages of construction shed so clear a light on the local
Minor Archives from First-Millennium Bce Babylonia: The Archive of Iššar-Tarībi from Sippar

The present contribution provides full editions of all texts belonging to the archive of the Sipparean businessman Iššar-tarībi, who was active during the last years of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom and the early years of Achaemenid rule, as well as a brief discussion of its central features. It is part of a larger collaborative effort to make available the so-called “satellite archives” of the Ṣāḫiṭ-ginê A archive and related and unrelated smaller archives from Sippar. The results will be published in forthcoming volumes of this journal; archives in preparation include those of Adad-šamê, Mušēzib, Rēˀi-sisê, and Ša-nāšišu A (Y. Levavi), Balīhu, Aqūba, and Šamaš-iddin/Rēmūt (J. Hackl), as well as Šangû-Šamaš and Šangû-Ištar-Bābili (M. Gross). A companion volume containing copies of all tablets published in this series as well as a comprehensive prosopography is in preparation for the JCS Supplemental Series.
State-ownership and bank risk: A case of Vietnamese commercial banks

bank risk, FE, GMM system, Pooled-OLS, RE, stateownership The paper aims to verify the impact of state-ownership on banks’ risks at Vietnamese commercial banks. Based on the survey data of 31 commercial banks in Vietnam from 2007 to 2018, the empirical result shows that the state-ownership in the Vietnamese commercial banks has a decrease in the banks’ risks. Besides, the research result is shown that the lower Vietnamese commercial banks’ risks at the previous time lead to the lower ones at present. Furthermore, this evidence contributes to the debate of state-ownership for the Vietnamese commercial banks which gives policy-makers to pay more attention to the efficiency of joint-stock state-ownership.
“A Nose for News”: From (News) Values to Valuation

“News values” - that is, the set of criteria that journalists use to assess newsworthiness - are a central concern for journalism studies. Since Galtung and Ruge’s seminal piece (1965), scholarship about news values has repeatedly attempted to define and refine a list of qualities that facts and events should possess to become news stories. This article outlines the limitations of news values research: a proliferation of lists of news values complicates the matter instead of offering an explanation, researchers often have to rely on other factors or on an unsatisfactory gap between ideal and practice to explain what journalists actually do, and such research does not account for another way in which journalists and scholars explain news selection - through the “nose for news” metaphor. Consequently, the article discusses how John Dewey’s theory of valuation offers a good way to revisit the news-values conundrum. Through an exploration of metajournalistic discourse about the “nose for news” between 1863 and 2010, it shows that Dewey’s theory of valuation converges with how journalists think about newsmaking.
On the mixed fractional Brownian motion time changed by inverse α-stable subordinator

A time-changed mixed fractional Brownian motion by inverse αstable subordinator with index α ∈ (0, 1) is an iterated process Y H Tα(a, b) constructed as the superposition of mixed fractional Brownian motion NH(a, b) and an independent inverse α-stable subordinator Tα. In this paper we prove that the process Y H Tα(a, b) is of long range dependence property for every H > 1 2 . We deduce that the time-changed fractional Brownian motion by inverse α-stable subordinator has long range dependence for all H ∈ (0, 1). Mathematics Subject Classification: 60G20; 60G18; 60G15; 60G10
Information and communication technology skills among library and information science professionals: A predictor of enhanced library services

The purpose of this study is to measure the information and communication technology (ICT) skills of library and information science professionals considering it as a predictor of enhanced library services. The study also finds out which ICT skill is the best predictor for better library services. A questionnaire was designed to collect data from librarians at university libraries in Punjab, Pakistan. Four constructs – computer skills, information storage skills, information retrieval skills and online utility software skills – were taken as the independent variables and a construct measuring library performance was taken as the dependent variable. After checking all assumptions, a multiple regression was run to predict the dependent variable from the independent variables. Further, comparison among the independent variables was made to check the level of contribution towards library performance. The regression model shows that the explanatory power of ICT skills for enhanced library services is slightly high, which indicates that a higher level of ICT competency among librarians is important for enhanced library services. Furthermore, the beta coefficient illustrates that the contribution of information retrieval skills towards enhanced library services was relatively high compared with the three other ICT skills. The study concludes that ICT skills are a prerequisite for better library services and the professional development of librarians.
Effects of Four Herbicides on Four Early Maturing Soybean (Glycine max) Cultivars

Tolerance of two metribuzin-tolerant and two metribuzin-sensitive early maturing soybean cultivars to two rates of acifluorfen, imazethapyr, metribuzin, and thifensulfuron was evaluated under weed-free conditions. Acifluorfen at 1120 g ai ha-1 reduced plant height by 3 cm and thifensulfuron at 18 and 35 g ai ha-1 delayed physiological maturity by 3 d. No herbicide treatment reduced soybean yield when compared with a weed-free check. Soybean yield of the two metribuzin-tolerant and the two metribuzin-sensitive cultivars did not change as metribuzin rate was increased from zero to 280 to 560 g ai ha-1.
Thoracic vertebral morphology in normal and scoliosis deformity in skeletally immature rabbits: A Longitudinal study

To measure age‐related changes in thoracic vertebral body heights (VBH) in skeletally immature normative and scoliotic rabbits to assess how VBH change during growth. To examine the potential link between the moment‐arm of the rib tether and vertebral wedging as well as the sum of the curvature angles at the apical level (T7). To assess the correlation between the magnitude of initial spine curve and final spine curve in the scoliotic group.
Osteoarthritis Index as an Assessment Tool to Indicate Total Knee Arthroplasty in Patients with Primary Knee Osteoarthritis

The decision-making concerning total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is extremely complex from the patients' perspective. It is equally difficult from the surgeons' point of view as well. The only parameter that has good consensus for the indication of TKA is pain not responsive to pharmacological therapy. Several authors and institutions have come up with indications for TKA. Generally, the criteria used previously were; general guidelines, non-specific and demand the surgeon to make his or her decision based on their own experience. It was reported that there is disagreement on opinion for TKA among orthopaedic surgeons. From 34 different patient characteristics, only 14 characteristics had an agreement between surgeons for the indication of TKA. This possibly explains why the rate of TKA differs largely between institutions.
Music Therapy in a Recovery-Oriented Unit: A Qualitative Study of Users' and Staff's Experiences With Music Therapy in Mental Health Care

ABSTRACT:Service provision within mental health care is shifting toward services that maximize personal recovery. In a Norwegian context, national treatment guidelines have recently recommended that music therapy be part of such service provision. This study explores the implementation of music therapy in a recovery-oriented unit of a community mental health institution. Users and staff were invited to participate in focus groups with the intention of gaining knowledge about how music therapy fits in with, and contributes to, the overall service provision while supporting recovery. The findings document aspects of how music therapy can support personal recovery, adds to the service provision as a distinctive therapeutic alternative, and interacts with other treatment options on the unit. In sum, participants' experiences with music therapy within this specific facility highlight music therapy's role as a potential resource that contributes to recovery-oriented service provision.
Causes and consequences of seasonal changes in the braincase and brain size of the common shrew Sorex araneus

27 Introduction . 28 Methods. 31 Results . 40 Discussion . 45 Acknowledgments . 52 Chapter 3. Cognitive skills of common shrews (Sorex araneus) vary with seasonal changes in skull size and brain mass . 53 Abstract . 53. 53
Galileo and Reasoning Ex Suppositione: The Methodology of the Two New Sciences

Galileo has been seen, from the philosophical point of view, alternately as a Platonist whose rationalist insights enabled him to read the book of nature because it was written in 'the language of mathematics,' and as an experimentalist who used the hypothetico-deductive methods of modem science to establish his new results empirically (McTighe, 1967; Settle, 1967; Drake, 1970; Shapere, 1974). Both of these views present difficulties. In this paper I shall make use of recent historical research to argue that neither is correct, that the method utilized by Galileo was neither Platonist nor hypothetico-deductivist, but was basically Aristotelian and Archimedean in character. This method, moreover, was not merely that of classical antiquity, but it had been emended and rejuvenated in the sixteenth century, and then not by Greek humanist Aristotelians or by Latin Averroists but rather by scholastic authors of the Collegio Romano whose own inspiration derived mainly from Thomas Aquinas. Other influences, of course, were present, and these came from other medieval and Renaissance writers, but these need not concern us in what follows.
Adaptive finite-time consensus for multiple mechanical systems with unknown backlash nonlinearity and uncertain dynamics

This paper studies the problem of finite-time consensus (FTC) for uncertain multiple mechanical systems with unknown backlash nonlinearity and external disturbance. Combining finite-time control technique and graph theory, a distributed adaptive FTC protocol is proposed. Radial basis function neural networks are employed to approximate the unknown functions. If the designed parameters of control algorithms and adaptive laws are appropriately chosen, then it can be proved that the position errors between arbitrary two mechanical systems will converge to a small region of zero in finite time as well as the velocity errors. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is verified by numerical simulation.
What makes employees stay? Mastery climate, psychological need satisfaction and on-the-job embeddedness

Abstract Job embeddedness was developed as a new perspective to explain employee retention, and recent research has demonstrated its predictive power of voluntary turnover. However, little is known about factors that might influence job embeddedness. The aim of this study was to examine if a perceived mastery climate at work predicts job embeddedness (i.e., links, fit and sacrifice) and whether satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence would mediate this relationship. In a survey of 430 employees from six organizations in Iceland and one in Norway, we found that the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness mediated the relationship between a perceived mastery climate and the links, fit, and sacrifice dimensions of on-the-job embeddedness. We discuss theoretical and practical implications as well as directions for future research.
Systematic differences between visually-relevant global and local image statistics of brain MRI and natural scenes

An important heuristic in developing image processing technologies is to mimic the computational strategies used by humans. Relevant to this, recent studies have shown that the human brain’s processing strategy is closely matched to the characteristics of natural scenes, both in terms of global and local image statistics. However, structural MRI images and natural scenes have fundamental differences: the former are two-dimensional sections through a volume, the latter are projections. MRI image formation is also radically different from natural image formation, involving acquisition in Fourier space, followed by several filtering and processing steps that all have the potential to alter image statistics. As a consequence, aspects of the human visual system that are finely-tuned to processing natural scenes may not be equally well-suited for MRI images, and identification of the differences between MRI images and natural scenes may lead to improved machine analysis of MRI. With these considerations in mind, we analyzed spectra and local image statistics of MRI images in several databases including T1 and FLAIR sequence types and of simulated MRI images,[1]–[6] and compared this analysis to a parallel analysis of natural images[7] and visual sensitivity[7][8]. We found substantial differences between the statistical features of MRI images and natural images. Power spectra of MRI images had a steeper slope than that of natural images, indicating a lack of scale invariance. Independent of this, local image statistics of MRI and natural images differed: compared to natural images, MRI images had smaller variations in their local two-point statistics and larger variations in their local three-point statistics – to which the human visual system is relatively insensitive. Our findings were consistent across MRI databases and simulated MRI images, suggesting that they result from brain geometry at the scale of MRI resolution, rather than characteristics of specific imaging and reconstruction methods.
Impact of removal on occupancy patterns of the invasive rainbow lorikeet (
 Trichoglossus moluccanus
 ) in Tasmania

Introduced species may threaten both biodiversity and agriculture, necessitating an understanding on the factors that influence their distribution, and the efficacy of control measures. In Tasmania, Australia, the introduced rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus) may be widespread, but data on where they occur and the efficacy of control methods are limited. We used an occupancy modelling framework (presence–absence data) to undertake a survey of two populations of invasive rainbow lorikeets to: (i) understand their distribution across the north and south of the island, and (ii) evaluate the impact of removing birds from the southern population by quantifying occupancy before (2016) and after (2018) removal. The best model explaining occupancy in both populations included a negative relationship with distance from central urban areas. We found no change in site occupancy or detectability in the southern population after removal of 208 birds (potentially comprising >50% of their original population size). This result may be explained by one of three possibilities: (i) the population is larger than previously thought, (ii) the population recovered quickly after reduction, or (iii) removal of birds reduced population density but not area of occupancy. We highlight the importance of urban habitats for the invasive rainbow lorikeet and suggest that alternative methods (e.g. abundance/density-based monitoring) may better detect impacts of removal.
Profile of Coffee Crops and Management of the Neotropical Coffee Leaf Miner, Leucoptera coffeella

The Neotropical coffee leaf miner is a key coffee pest and in the state of Bahia, one of the major coffee-producing states in the country. The insect finds favorable conditions for its development, causing production losses and intensive use of insecticides. Thus, the objective of the study was to analyze aspects of the profile of coffee crops and the management of the leaf miner, including the use of insecticide for the western and highland regions of Bahia. Data were obtained through questionnaires applied to coffee growers and/or production technicians and included information on the total area, area with coffee, and native vegetation, type of cultivation, cultivars, pest monitoring, methods of control and use, insecticide rotation, and doses used. Descriptive statistical analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and canonical correlations indicated differences between farm size, and areas with coffee and native vegetation. Chemical pest control prevails as a management strategy in all farms. The results are important for managing the coffee leaf miner while providing an overview and diagnosis of insecticide use in coffee production in the state of Bahia. An increase in the application of systemic insecticides took place in recent years, similarly (same active ingredients) among most coffee growers. This fact increases the risk of selecting populations resistant to insecticides, compromising the management of the leaf miner in the regions.