Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phonological Layers of Meaning: A Computational Exploration of Sound Iconicity

The present paper aims to investigate the nature and the extent of cross-linguistic phonosemantic correspondences within a computational framework. An LSTM-based Recurrent Neural Network is trained to associate the phonetic representation of a word, encoded as a sequence of feature vectors, to its corresponding semantic representation in a multilingual vector space. The processing network is tested, without further training, in a language that does not appear in the training set. The performance of the multilingual model is compared with a monolingual upper bound and a randomized baseline. After the quantitative evaluation of its performance, a qualitative analysis is carried out on the network’s most effective predictions, showing an inhomogeneous distribution of phonosemantic information in the lexicon, inﬂuenced by semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic factors.
Italian Counter Narrative Generation to Fight Online Hate Speech

English. Counter Narratives are textual responses meant to withstand online hatred and prevent its spreading. The use of neural architectures for the generation of Counter Narratives (CNs) is beginning to be investigated by the NLP community. Still, the efforts were solely targeting English. In this paper, we try to fill the gap for Italian, studying how to implement CN generation approaches effectively. We experiment with an existing dataset of CNs and a novel language model, recently released for Italian, under several configurations, including zero and few shot learning. Results show that even for underresourced languages, data augmentation strategies paired with large unsupervised LMs can held promising results. Italiano. Le Contro Narrative sono risposte testuali volte a contrastare l’odio online e a prevenirne la diffusione. La comunità di NLP ha iniziato a studiare l’uso di architetture neurali per la generazione di CN. Tuttavia, gli sforzi sono stati rivolti esclusivamente all’inglese. In questo lavoro, cerchiamo di colmare la lacuna per l’italiano, mostrando come implementare efficacemente approcci di generazione di CN. Sperimentiamo con un dataset esistente di CN e un modello del linguaggio per l’italiano recentemente rilasciato, in diverse configurazioni, tra cui zero e few shot learning. I risultati mostrano che anche per lingue con poche risorse, strategie di data augmentation abbinate a potenti modelli del linguaggio possono offrire risultati promettenti. Copyright ©2020 for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
Solid-state silicon-29 and aluminum-27 nuclear magnetic resonance investigation of the dehydroxylation of pyrophyllite

Solid-state Si and Al NMR, using high-resolution techniques, have been used to examine the dehydroxylation of the 2:1 phyllosilicate mineral pyrophyllite. Si results are consistent with the maintenance of the 2:1 layer structure in the dehydroxylate phase and provide data on chemical shift/structure variation in sheet silicates. The change in aluminum coordination from six to five on dehydroxylation results in the loss of the sharp Al octahedral resonance. However, no signal for five-coordinate aluminum was observed, presumably through substantial broadening caused by the less symmetrical aluminum environment.
EFFECT OF SOME NATURAL ANTIOXIDANTS ON OXIDATIVE STABILITY OF GHEE LIKE PRODUCT CONTAINING HIGH LEVELS OF POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS

This study was carried out to estimate the antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds of moringa and mulberry leaves extracts and evaluate the effect of addition of these natural extracts on oxidative stability of ghee like product containing high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Ethanolic extracts of moringa or mulberry leaves were added to ghee at concentrations of 200, 400 and 600 ppm. Also, butylated hydroxyl anisole (BHA) was added to a sample at a concentration of 200 ppm and other sample was prepared without any additives serving as control. All samples were incubated at 63 ± 1˚C/21 days to accelerate the fat autooxidation . Samples were analyzed when fresh and weekly until the end of the incubation period (21 days) for peroxide, acid values, thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test and Rancimat test. Results showed that these extracts have a high content of phenolic compounds, and gave high antioxidant activity. The ethanolic extracts at rates of 400 and 600 ppm of both extracts were more effective in preventing the development of the peroxide and acid values and TBA test in ghee like product samples compared to BHA and control ghee like product.Moringa extract was found to be more effective. Ethanolic extracts at rates of 400 and 600 ppm of two extracts showed the higher induction period as compared to BHA and control ghee like product counter parts in the rancimat. The results recommended that ethanolic extracts under study, at a concentration of 400 ppm, could be used to retard fat autooxidation in ghee like product containing increased level of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Culture of Azolla in a pond, nutrient composition, and use as fish feed

Abstract The aquatic fern Azolla can grow without nitrogenous nutrients because of the presence of the N2-fixing ability of symbiotic Anabaena. Azolla filiculoides Lam. was cultured in a pond and its potential as a fish feed was examined. The extent of growth in the pond (Komoike pond, Sakai) of 1,200 kg/l00 m2 was less than that in a synthetic nutrient solution and in a diluted secondary treated effluent. The gradual decrease of the growth rate in the pond water was mainly due to phosphorus deficiency. The high level of crude protein of Azolla and higher lysine concentration indicated that Azolla plants may be a good source of fish feed. A significantly higher content of dehydro-ascorbic acid (1,909 mg kg-1 dry weight) than that of L-ascorbic acid (10 mg kg-1 dry weight) in Azolla grown for 3 d was observed. There was a gradual increase in the ratio of linolenic acid with aging in the composition of fatty acids in Azolla. In a feeding experiment with Tilapia nilotica, a diet containing 20.7, 34.4, and 48.2% of the total weight of dried Azolla, given for 3 weeks, led to a decrease of the fish weight gain of 5.2, 16.8, 17.1% compared with the control, respectively.
Simulação da produtividade do milho pelo modelo CERES-Maize em função da lâmina e da uniformidade de aplicação de água

This study was carried out to compare the data simulated by CERES-Maize model, which is included into the package DSSAT 3.5, to the data obtained from an experiment set up in the field for evaluating the influence of the depth and uniformity of water application by a conventional sprinkler irrigation system on the yield of maize crop. The treatments consisted of five water depths applied with two uniformities, that is, a high (>80%) and a low one (<70%). The CERES-Maize model showed a high performance, when simulating the productivity, leaf area index, and dry matter for most of the treatments. The model underestimated the crop productivity in those treatments where a high water deficit occurred. For the treatments receiving a water depth higher than that known to be appropriate, the values simulated by the model were slightly higher than the experimental ones.
Human primary motor cortex represents evidence for a perceptual decision before motor response

Perceptual decision making involves a complex network of brain regions including premotor and motor cortices. Premotor areas activate in proportion to the available evidence, thus anticipating the movements required to indicate the still developing decision. Conversely, primary motor cortex is thought to execute planned movements indicating a completed decision by innervating muscles. Recent results question this strict division of labour among premotor and primary motor areas, but the exact role of primary motor areas in perceptual decision making remains unclear. Here we tested the hypothesis that human primary motor cortex follows the ups and downs of available evidence during decision making. We used stimuli changing randomly every 100 ms to induce fast variations in the available decision evidence throughout single trials. The stimuli were chosen such that participants had to observe typically more than 5 stimulus changes before being able to make a confident decision. This enabled us to investigate corresponding changes in brain signals within trials. We correlated the stimulus-induced varying evidence as predicted by an ideal observer model with the ongoing neuronal signals measured by magnetoencephalography. This approach provided us with unprecedented statistical precision for identifying brain areas that represent decision evidence. We found that the primary motor cortex of humans indeed represents decision evidence, at least 500 milliseconds before the actual response, confirming that it is not just executing, but also anticipating decisions.
Reversible Crystallization And Melting In Polymers

The intramolecular, vibrational, and conformational motion of the condensed state of flexible, linear macromolecules and their contributions to thermal properties can be described quantitatively. The translational and rotational motion of the molecules as a whole is more difficult to assess but contributes only negligibly to the calorimetry, making the condensed state of polymers easier to understand than that of small molecules. A semicrystalline polymer is typically metastable and consists of crystals, amorphous material, and intermediate phases. The micrometer-long macromolecules may extend through several micro- or nanophases, causing a strong coupling throughout the phase structure. The intermediate phases are the keys to understanding the physical properties. Their glass transitions may be in the vicinity of the transition of the bulk-amorphous phase, occur at higher temperature, coincide with the melting temperature of the crystals, or even be located above the melting temperature. Temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry has developed into a valuable tool for the study of the various nanophases and will be used to disseminate examples of different behaviors on crystallization and melting via their thermal properties. #The submitted manuscript was authored by a contractor of the U.S. Government under the contract No. DOE-AC05-00OR22725. Accordingly, the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, royalty-free license to publish or reproduce the published form of this contribution, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.
Double Dose of Propolis Ameriolated Diabetic Nephropathy in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

The aim of the present study was to study the possibility that propolis can control blood glucose levels and prevent diabetic nephropathy in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. The present study compared 60 streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats, with ten nondiabetic rats used as a negative control. The experimental design comprised seven groups (n = 10 rats per group): (1) nondiabetic, used as a negative control; (2) nontreated, used as a positive control; (3) treated with insulin alone; (4) treated with a single dose of propolis alone; (5) treated with a double dose of propolis; (6) treated with insulin and a single dose of propolis; and (7) treated with insulin and a double dose of propolis. After 6 weeks of treatment, the rats were sacrificed and blood was collected from abdominal aorta. There was a significant reduction in FBG in all diabetic treated rats. Similarly, higher plasma insulin levels were observed in diabetic rats treated with propolis and insulin than in nontreated diabetic rats, although plasma insulin was not comparatively higher in diabetic rats treated with insulin alone. Furthermore, a significant decrease in the lipid peroxidation activity in propolis treated rats than non-treated diabetic (positive) group to approach near the mean value of the control group. The present study showed an increase in albuminuria, serum creatinine and BUN in the non-treated diabetic (positive control) group compared to the all treated groups with propolis alone in both doses or with insulin. However, insulin and double dose of propolis showed the best renal function results and the most significant improvement in albuminuria and creatinine levels. It could be concluded that, propolis administration especially the double dose (0.6 gm/kg) with the traditional treatment of type1 diabetes (insulin) is very beneficial in the control of diabetes and prevention of its most dangerous complications as nephropathy.
Isothermal Crystallization and Subsequent Melting Behavior of Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/Silica Nanocomposites

The crystallization process of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/silica nanocomposites were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and then analyzed using the Avrami method. The results indicated that the crystallization of pure poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) was fitted for thermal nucleation and three‐dimensional spherical growth throughout the whole process, whereas the crystallization of PET/silica nanocomposites exhibits two stages. The first stage corresponds to athermal nucleation and three‐dimensional spherical growth, and the second stage corresponds to recrystallization caused by the earlier spherulites impingement. The crystallization rate increases remarkably and the activation energies decrease considerably when silica nanoparticles are added. The subsequent melting behavior of the crystallized samples shows that the melting point (T m) of nanocomposites is higher than that of pure PET, which might be caused by two factors: (1) The higher melting point might be due to some hindrance to the PET chains caused by the nanoparticles at the beginning of the melting process; (2) it might also be the case that more perfect crystals can be formed due to the higher crystallization temperatures and lower activation energies of PET/silica nanocomposites.
Sero-Prevalence of Bovine Brucellosis and its Associated Risk Factors in Becho District, South West Shewa, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted in selected areas of Becho district, Oromia regional state from December, 2018 to May, 2019 to estimate the sero-prevalence of bovine brucellosis in the study area and identify the associated risk factors for the seropositivity. Simple random sampling method was used for sampling each herd and animal during serum collection, and risk factors accessed through interviewee of the animal owners. A total of 384 serum samples were collected from cattle of above 6 months of age and sera were initially screened with Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and those samples found positive by RBPT were further tested by Indirect Enzyme-linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (I-ELISA) for confirmation. Based on the result, 13(3.39%) were positive using RBPT and the overall sero-prevalence of bovine brucellosis at animal-level estimated to be 4(1.04%) based on I-ELISA result. At herds' level, an overall sero-prevalence of 5.48% was obtained. Pearson’s Chi-square revealed that the presence of abortion history, retained fetal membrane and breed type were significantly associated with the seropositivity of bovine brucellosis (p<0.05) with Chi-square value of 38.2, 5.76 and 3.99 and P-value of 0.000, 0.016 and 0.046, respectively. The odds of having brucellosis increased by 12.4 times in cow with history of abortion compared to cow without the history, increased by 4.5 times in the animal suffered from history of retained placenta compared to cow with no history of retained placenta and 3.1 times in cross-breed than indigenous breeds. In conclusion, the study demonstrate that the prevalence of bovine brucellosis was low in Becho district. However, poor understanding of brucellosis among communities and a high level of risky practice might result in an increased transmission between animals and zoonoses in risky group personnels. Thus, awareness creation about impacts of the disease, zoonotic importance, risk factors and method of prevention were recommended.
The Power of Networks: Evidence from the Financial Sector in the UK

Do directors’ connections and networks really enhance shareholders’ wealth? Using date from financial sector in the UK, we provide empirical evidence that directors’ networks have a negative impact on shareholders’ wealth. We draw on the concept of wealth transfer and asset substitution and argue that connected directors may have incentives to change the operating characteristics of their companies and hence substitute risky assets with much safer alternatives and this reduces long-term shareholders’ wealth. Our results suggest that connected directors are opportunistic and extract financial benefits in terms of generous compensation packages and expropriate companies’ resources that may destroy shareholders’ wealth. We carried out rigours tests to mitigate any endogeneity concerns and find consistent results. Beyond insights for regulators the study provides useful guidelines for and shareholders and wider stakeholder groups. First Draft, please do not quote
Differences between adolescents staying in and dropping out of organized sport: A longitudinal study

Problem Statement: Research show that participation in organised sport seems especially important in relation to several health factors. Unfortunately, dropout from organized sports increases during adolescence. Approach: Self-reported activity level and enjoyment in sports training and competitions were measured by questionnaire, and measures of weight, height and cardiorespiratory fitness, were collected among the same 76 adolescents each year from the age of 14 to the age of 19. Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine differences between adolescents who continue to participate in organized sport, and those who drop out according to some potential drop out factors from a longitudinal perspective. Results: Adolescents dropping out from sport have a lower cardiorespiratory fitness and lower level of well-being in sport taring and competition, than adolescents that continue to participate in organized sport. This finding is relatively stable according to time and sex. Furthermore, boys that drop out from sport have significantly lower height than adolescents that continue to participate in organized sport. Finally, the study partly support other research showing that adolescents that drop out from sport, have significantly lower physical activity level than adolescents that participate in organized sport at the age of 16. Conclusions: The findings point to the importance of organizing sport in a way that will not be depending on high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and being tall to perform and feel well, and also to organize sport in a way that everyone achieve high levels of well-being at both sport training and sport competitions, to prevent drop out.
Distribution and excretion of Cd, Hg, methyl-Hg and Zn in the predatory beetle Pterostichus niger (coleoptera: Carabidae)

Excretion and distribution of cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg), methylmercury (methyl-Hg), and zinc (Zn) were studied in the predatory beetle, Pterostichus niger. Specimens of P. niger were fed with insect larvae containing {sup 109}Cd, {sup 203}Hg, methyl-{sup 203}Hg, or {sup 65}Zn. After ingestion of the larvae, the metal contents in the beetles were measured daily for 30 d by {gamma}-spectrometry. Additional beetles were used for autoradiography 5, 15, and 19 d after ingestion of the metals. Excretion of the metals was fast during an initial interval but occurred thereafter at a slow rate. After 2 weeks, the contents of Cd and inorganic Hg had decreased to approximately 1% of the ingested amounts. For Zn and methyl-Hg, higher levels were retained in the beetles. Thus after 30 d, Zn content was 20% of the ingested amount, whereas for methyl-Hg 60% was retained in the body. Autoradiography showed high levels of all metals in the gut. For methyl-Hg, in contrast to inorganic Hg, there was also an evenly distributed labelling in most body tissues. This labelling was also seen for Zn, although at a lower lever than for methyl-Hg. Cadmium showed a localization in the integument, which was not seen for themore » other metals. The results show that patterns of uptake and excretion of the examined metals in P. niger vary considerably and that the distribution picture show specific features for the individual metals. « less
SWINE NUTRITION GUIDE SOW NUTRITION

Genetic selection has dramatically increased litter size and milk production in sows. This has resulted in increased body energy demands. Furthermore, the modern prolific sow is characterized with having less body fat reserves, which are necessary to buffer energy needs not met by feed intake (Lewis and Bunter, 2011). When feed intake is lower than body energy demand, the sow will mobilize body stores from fat and muscle to sustain milk production. Restricted feeding, intentionally or unintentionally, will result in greater sow body tissue mobilization which causes excessive weight loss, less milk production, and reduced litter growth rate (De Bettio et al., 2016). Implementation of ad libitum feeding systems in farrowing houses have enhanced lactation feed intake and many producers in the US have adopted this technology.
Newly Isolated High Squalene Producing Thraustochytrid Strain Aurantochytrium sp. P5/2 from Mangrove Habitats in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand

Thraustochytrids are alternative potential sources of squalene, because they grow rapidly, are relatively easy to culture, and accumulate in large amounts. The objectives of this research were to isolate squalene-producing Thraustochytrids from fallen leaves in Paknakon Bay, including Paknakon Mangrove forest (N), Pakpanang Mangrove forest (P) and Thasala Mangrove forest (T), Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand, and to investigate their total lipid profile and squalene contents. A total of nine Thraustochytrid isolates were obtained.Morphological and molecular features revealed that those Thraustochytrids belonged to the genus Aurantiochytrium (N1, N14, P1/1, P5/2, P6/1, P43, T1, T26, and T42). Subsequently, they were cultivated and their cell dry weight, fatty acid compositions, and squalene contents were analyzed. At 96 h of cultivation, the dry cell weights ranged from 7.51 to 17.43 mg/g. The total lipid profile showed a broad spectrum of saturated fatty acids with an abundance of palmitic acid (16:0), 24.72 - 41.06 % TFA, pentadecanoic acid (15:0) 16.75 - 28.48 % TFA, heptadecanoic acid (17:0) 4.19 - 7.67 % TFA, lignoceric acid (24:0) 2.76 - 8.83 % TFA, myristic acid (14:0) 2.17 - 3.43 % TFA, stearic acid (18:0) 0.83 - 1.32 % TFA, arachidic acid (20:0) 0.19 - 0.33 % TFA, and behenic acid (22:0) 0.19 - 0.21 % TFA, respectively. Unsaturated fatty acids, including Docosahexaaenoic acid (22:6; 8.59 - 35.99 % TFA), Clupanodonic acid (22:5, 2.24 - 8.94 % TFA), Arachidonic acid (20:4, 0.32 - 0.60 % TFA), Eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5, 0.19 - 0.62 % TFA), Linolenic acid (18:3, 0.12 - 0.18 % TFA), and Erucic acid (22:1; 0.02 - 0.09 % TFA) were also found. The squalene contents ranged from 0.06 to 4.78 mg/g. The highest biomass and squalene-accumulation was achieved from strain P5/2, which was identified as Aurantiochytrium sp. ม with a maximum yield of 4.78 mg/g at 96 h of cultivation.