Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nutrient Composition and Potential Contribution of Winged Termites (Marcrotermes bellicosus Smeathman) to Micronutrient Intake of Consumers in Nigeria

Introduction: Edible insects, which are generally abundant, nutrient-dense, marketable, and economically valuable constitute important part of the diet of large population of Nigerians. Roasted Winged termite (Macrotermes bellicosus) is a popular insect relished by people living the traditional lifestyle, especially children, and is eaten as snack. Little is known about the nutritional importance and potential nutrient contribution of this insect. Aim: To determine the nutrient and antinutrient composition of Macrotermes bellicosus as a means of reducing micronutrient malnutrition among the consumers. Methods: Winged termites were collected during their nocturnal swarming and divided into two portions. One portion was used for fresh sample determination and the other portion roasted for ten minutes, de-winged and kept refrigerated inside a plastic container till when needed for analysis. Its proximate, mineral, vitamin and antinutrient composition were determined using official methods of analyses of AOAC, atomic absorption spectrophotometric method, and spectrophotometric methods (vitamins and antinutrients respectively). Results: Roasted Macrotermes bellicosus as consumed contained 4.3g moisture, 36.7g Original Research Article British Journal of Applied Science & Technology, 4(7): 1149-1158, 2014 1150 protein, 34.3g fat, 23.2g carbohydrates, 1.2g ash, 96.30mg sodium, 162.50mg potassium, 226.50mg calcium, 358.50mg phosphorus, 1.42mg iron, 3.13mg zinc, 330. 42μg retinol equivalent, and yielded 551.2 kcal of energy /100g portion. Level of phytates, oxalates, trypsin inhibitors, saponins and tannins was very low (< 0.3mg/100g portion), and cannot probably cause any health hazard or malabsorption when consumed in large quantities. 100g portion of roasted Macrotermes bellicosus can contribute 24.0% energy, 58.3% protein, 22.7% calcium, 51.2% phosphorus, 20.9% zinc and 33.0% retinol equivalent (vitamin A) and 60.0% of vitamin E to Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) of adult consumers. Conclusion: Macrotermes bellicosus is a highly nutritious insect, and it can serve as good source of protein, calcium, iron and zinc for its Nigerian consumers.
Plant virus infection modifies plant pigment and manipulates the host preference behavior of an insect vector

Insect‐borne plant viruses may modify the phenotype of their host plants and thus influence the responses of insect vectors. When a plant virus modifies host preference behavior of a vector, it can be expected to influence the rate of virus transmission. In this study, we examined the effect of Maize Iranian mosaic virus (MIMV) infection on host preference behavior of the nymphs and adults of its vector, the small brown planthopper, Laodelphax striatellus Fallén (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), feeding on barley plants (Hordeum vulgare L., Poaceae). We found that both viruliferous nymphs and adults significantly preferred healthy plants, whereas non‐viruliferous planthoppers preferred virus‐infected barley. Further investigations revealed significant reductions in the chlorophyll and carotenoid contents of infected barley leaves. Based on these results, a possible association between insect host preferences and the pigment contents of the plants was observed. In summary, we suggest that host preference of L. striatellus could be affected by the propagative plant virus, possibly through association of this modification with some phenotypic traits of infected plants. These effects may have a critical impact on MIMV transmission rate, with significant implications for the development of virus epidemics.
Attention deficits in children with 22q.11 deletion syndrome

This study examined attention abilities of children with 22q.11 deletion syndrome. Thirty children (14 males, 16 females; age range 7 to 13y) were given comprehensive neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric assessments. Learning disability * was found in 13 children. Superiority in verbal over performance IQ was very common. Attention‐deficit‐hyperactivity disorder (mainly of inattentive subtype) was diagnosed in 13 children. There appeared to be a relation between low IQ and presence of autism spectrum problems. The presence of attention deficits was clearly supported by the scores on the Child Behavior Checklist and the Conners Questionnaire. On the Becker attention tests the reaction times were significantly longer in the two visual and auditory tests, indicating that the ability to sustain attention is critically impaired in this group. A tendency of inferiority on auditory compared with visual tests was noted but there were no specific problems with the focus‐execute aspect of attention.
Learning and memory of school children with epilepsy: a prospective controlled longitudinal study

The aim of the study was to determine whether learning and memory are compromised in school children with recently diagnosed idiopathic and/or cryptogenic epilepsy and to study relationships between learning and memory and psychosocial and epilepsy variables. Word span and learning of locations were assessed within 48 hours after diagnosis of epilepsy and three and 12 months later, in 69 school children with epilepsy (aged 9.1 years, SD 2.7; 33 males, 36 females) and 66 classmates. Results showed that patients and controls performed similarly in registration, recall, and retention. Patients recalled slightly less than controls when probed under conditions of increased demand on working memory. Maladaptive reactions of parents and children to the onset of epilepsy and not reaching 6‐months of seizure remission contributed to poor performance. Individually, those patients who required special assistance at school, under‐performed occasionally in one or the other component of memory. Although the proportion of under‐performers was stable over time, the children composing the group did change. It was concluded that school children with new onset idiopathic or cryptogenic epilepsy are inordinately vulnerable when processing memory tasks. The vulnerability is neither persistent nor memory‐specific.
Gross and fine motor function and accompanying impairments in cerebral palsy

The aim of this study was to describe and analyze gross and fine motor function and accompanying neurological impairments in children with cerebral palsy (CP) born between 1991 and 1998 in western Sweden. A population‐based study comprised 411 children with a diagnosis of CP ascertained at 4 to 8 years of age. Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels were documented in 367 children (205 males, 162 females). Bimanual Fine Motor Function (BFMF) classification levels of 345 of the children and information on learning disability*, epilepsy, visual and hearing impairments, and hydrocephalus from 353 children were obtained. For spastic CP, a new classification according to the Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe of uni‐ and bilateral spastic CP was applied. GMFCS was distributed at Level I in 32%, Level II in 29%, Level III in 8%, Level IV in 15%, and Level V in 16%. The corresponding percentages for BFMF were 30.7%, 31.6%, 12.2%, 11.9%, and 13.6% respectively. Learning disability was present in 40%, epilepsy in 33%, and severe visual impairment in 19% of the children. Motor function differed between CP types. More severe GMFCS levels correlated with larger proportions of accompanying impairments and, in children born at term, to the presence of adverse peri/neonatal events in the form of intracranial haemorrhage/stroke, cerebral infection, and hypoxic‐ischaemic encephalopathy. GMFCS Level I correlated positively to increasing gestational age. We conclude that the classification of CP should be based on CP type and motor function, as the two combine to produce an indicator of total impairment load.
Experimental evolution of Paracoccus denitrificans in anoxic chemostats

The study of model organisms in pure culture has provided detailed information about the physiology and biochemistry of nitri cation and related processes. Metagenomic sequencing of environmental samples is providing information to what extent this understanding also applies to natural microbial communities. Here, we outline a conceptual and experimental strategy that links these two approaches. It consists of the mathematical modeling of nitri cation and related processes. The model predictions are subsequently validated experimentally by the study of natural microbial communities in continuous cultures under precisely de ned environmental conditions. Combined with calorimetry and metagenomic monitoring this form of experimental metagenomics enables the answering of current questions in the ecology of the nitrogen cycle.
A Phylogenetic Perspective on the Evolution of Reproductive Behavior in Pagophilic Seals of the Northwest Atlantic as Indicated by Mitochondrial DNA Sequences

The ice-breeding (pagophilic) habits and relatively short lactation periods of several species of “true” seals (Phocidae) of the Northwest Atlantic, including the harp seal ( Pagophilus ), bearded seal ( Erignathus ), and hooded seal ( Cystophora ), usually are assumed to have evolved in parallel. Current taxonomy regards Pagophilus and ringed seals ( Pusa ) along with harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina ) as subgenera of Phoca , unites Phoca (sensu lato) together with gray seals ( Halichoerus ) and Erignathus in the subfamily Phocinae, and places Cystophora with elephant seals ( Mirounga ) in a separate subfamily, Cystophorinae. Cladistic analysis of variation in the DNA sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene identifies three clades among northern seals: Phoca-Pusa-Halichoerus, Cystophora-Pagophilus , and Erignathus. Erignathus is the sister group to the other species examined. Each clade may be regarded as a tribe of the subfamily Phocinae (the Phocini, Cystophorini, and Erignathini, respectively). The phylogeny suggests that the ice-breeding habit and associated brief lactation are ancestral characters for the Phocinae and that instances of fast-ice or terrestrial breeding are convergences on the ancestral condition in other phocid subfamilies.
What Are the Metabolic Rates of Cetaceans?

Kasting et al. (1989) purport to have verified that cetaceans have elevated metabolic rates, a conclusion disputed by Innes and Lavigne (1991). However, after reading Kasting et al.'s (1989) original article, Innes and Lavigne's (1991) comments, and Kasting's (1991) response, I wonder whether our knowledge of the metabolic rates of cetaceans, and the measurement thereof, has truly been advanced. The technique used by Kasting et al. (1989) to calculate the metabolic rates is theoretically correct, but its use in practice is fraught with error, while the method used by Innes and Lavigne (1991) is both theoretically and practically incorrect. These conclusions are based on my own experience measuring the metabolic rates of marine mammals and other species, and from studies of the dynamics of gas exchange in marine mammals.
new motor performance test in a prospective study on children with suspected myopathy

In the development of a new diagnostic motor performance test to spare more children from painful muscle biopsy, seven functional items were used to measure muscle strength and muscle endurance in a prospective study on new patients. Over a 2‐year period, 22 patients (12 males, 10 females; mean age 8y 1mo [SD 2y 6mo], range 4–11y) were recruited for the study. They had all been referred with suspected myopathy. The motor performance test was administered before muscle biopsy. Validity of the seven items was assessed using logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Two items were withdrawn from the test because they were not suitable for children aged 4 to 5 years. The five remaining items were: Heels, Circuit, Stairs, Jump, and Gowers. A full logistic regression model including these five items was fitted to the total population of 90 patients suspected of having myopathy (from this study and our previous study) to make the best prediction of whether myopathy was present. The ROC area under the curve of the diagnostic prediction model was 0.92 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.87–0.98) and 0.89 (95% CI 0.87–0.92) after bootstrap correction. This indicated the high diagnostic power that can be expected for future, similar patients. This non‐invasive and child‐friendly motor performance test can improve diagnostic procedure and, therefore, spare more children from unnecessary muscle biopsy.
Effect of collection method on semen quality of ostrich (Struthio camelus).

Article history Received: 20 Feb, 2015 Revised: 4 Mar, 2015 Accepted: 7 Mar, 2015 Abstract The success of an artificial insemination program in ostriches is highly dependent on the yield of viable semen. We, therefore, tested the effect of collection method (Massage, dummy or teaser) on semen quality of male ostriches. Male and female ostriches selected for training were from a breeding flock consisting of 90 adult ostriches (3 to 7 years old). Nine males were used in training for massage, dummy or teaser distributed equally. Semen characteristics were evaluated fortnightly for three consecutive months from all males involved in all semen collection methods. Semen quality traits involved in this study were ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, total number of spermatozoa, mass motility, individual motility and percentages of dead spermatozoa, abnormal spermatozoa and abnormal acrosome. Results revealed that using teaser female method, male ostriches recorded the highest values (P≤0.05) of ejaculated volume, spermatozoa concentration, total number of spermatozoa, mass motility, and individual motility and the lowest (P≤0.05) percentage of dead spermatozoa, abnormal spermatozoa and abnormal acrosome during the whole period of experiment while massage method recorded the lowest values for these traits. In conclusion, collecting semen during mating (teaser or dummy) appears to yield better quality of semen than manual massage.
Development and psychometric evaluation of the U.S. English Wound‐QoL questionnaire to assess health‐related quality of life in people with chronic wounds

People with chronic wounds perceive an impaired health‐related quality of life (HRQoL). For the assessment of HRQoL, valid instruments are needed. Therefore, the Wound‐QoL questionnaire was originally developed and psychometrically validated for use in Germany. As the Wound‐QoL is to be used in numerous countries, international versions are required. Therefore, this study aimed to psychometrically validate the U.S. English Wound‐QoL version. Upon translation into U.S. English, psychometric testing was performed based on cross‐sectional data deriving from the U.S. Wound Registry. Besides descriptive statistics, internal consistency and concurrent validity were tested. In addition, a graded response model was used. The sample consisted of 599 people with chronic wounds of different etiologies. Participants were between 18 and 95 years old, mean age was 63.7 (SD = 15.9) years. Gender was distributed almost equally, with 47.4% female patients. High internal consistency, low floor and ceiling effects of the subscales could be largely confirmed. The internal consistency of the global score was excellent, with α > . 9. Concurrent validity between the Wound‐QoL and pain, the surface area of the largest wound, total surface area, and total number of active wounds could be confirmed. In contrast, item response theory (IRT) analyses could not fully confirm the factorial model underlying the Wound‐QoL subscales. Furthermore, the items regarding smell and discharge and the items on problems with hitting the wound against something, climbing stairs and feeling dependent on help from others showed a low item information in their belonging dimensions. In conclusion, the newly validated Wound‐QoL is available for HRQoL measurement in people with chronic wounds in the United States. It showed good psychometric properties, demonstrating its reliability and validity. Therefore, the instrument may be used to assess HRQoL in clinical practice. However, IRT analyses showed that the instrument may benefit from future refinement.
Combining Ability Analysis in Mungbean (Vigna Radiata (L.) Wilczek)

Combining ability analysis of 28 F2’s of a diallel cross (excluding reciprocals) and their parents showed that both additive and non-additive components of variation were important in the inheritance of grain yield/plant and 100-seed weight. For plant height, pods/plant and seeds/plant, only the additive component was important. The parent EC 30072 was adjudged as a good general combiner for grain yield/plant, whereas VBN 1 and PMB 27 were adjudged as good general combiners for 100-seed weight. Six cross combinations viz., VRMGG Local/VBN 1, VRMGG 1/EC 30072, VRMGG 1/PMB 27, EC 30072/LGG 410, M 123/LGG 450 and VBN 1/PMB 27 recorded high specific combining ability and could be exploited for further breeding programmes.
No. 010/2020/ECO Symmetric and Asymmetric Trade with Heterogeneous Firms

We show that, independent of entry/exit a la Hopenhayn and market size expansion, trade with firm heterogeneity always crowds out less productive firms when countries are symmetric. When countries are asymmetric, however, trade can crowd in less productive firms and less productive firms almost always specialize in trade. We analyze how a country’s standing in the world determines whether and how these phenomena will arise. Our paper helps reconcile empirical findings that are contradictory to the existing theoretical literature, and highlights the importance of country heterogeneity in understanding trade with firm heterogeneity.
Natality in Peromyscus polionotus Populations

Populations of the old-field mouse (Peromyscus polionotus) were snap-trapped in fields of the Savannah River Project, South Carolina, from 1955 through 1961. Litter size of 172 pregnant females was 3.13 (SD = 0.86). Total length was chosen as the statistic best representative of body size. The 126-135 mm mature females were pregnant more frequently (34%) and had larger embryo counts (3.47, 1SE = 0.17) than the 98-115 mm mature females (21% and 2.95 ? 0.10). Breeding peaks occurred in spring and fall for all size classes with 50% less activity in the summer and virtually none in the winter. Summer litters were significantly smaller (2.76, 1SE = 0.19) than litters of spring and fall (3.48 ? 0.20). The observed effect of body size on natality could cause a 12% recruitment difference between natural populations. At the Atomic Energy Commission's Savannah River Project (SRP) in South Carolina, several species of animals have been intensively studied by University of Georgia biologists as part of a broad program of investigations of the old-field ecosystem. Of the species the old-field mouse is the only abundant rodent of the SRP old-field ecosystem during early stages of plant succession. Recent publications by the University group have dealt with population densities of P. polionotus, population interactions, and the relationship of the species to energy flow in the ecosystem (Caldwell, 1964; Davenport, 1964; Gentry, 1964; and Odum, Connell, and Davenport, 1963). The present paper reports on some effects of the environment on reprcduction of P. polionotus. Reproductive performance of a laboratory colony of old-field mice derived from the SRP population has been described by Williams, Golley, and Carmon (1965). Upon abandonment from agriculture in 1951, fields of SRP reverted to herbs and forbs such as Aristida sp. , Leptilon canadense, Haplopappus divaricatus, Heterotheca subaxillaris, and Erigeron sp. A second stage of succession was typically characterized by perennial Andropogon virginicus and A. ternarius. However, certain fields did not follow this sere (Menhinick, 1963) but developed almost pure stands of Lespedeza cuneata and L. striata. These two species have persisted since the pre-1951 cultivation era; they annually produce abundant seed crops and have invaded other old-field areas. Data for this paper were gathered from 1955 to 1961. During these years the three categories of vegetation just described were each sampled in the trapping studies. Succession in some fields proceeded more slowly than in others and thus, even though several years passed since succession had begun, we were able simultaneously to sample populations from both early and late seral stages. 1 This work was supported by contract AT (30-1) -310 between the Atomic Energy Commission and the University of Georgia.
Patterns of Morphological Evolution in Bird Genera of New World and Old World Peatlands

Morphological convergence is defined in evolutionary ecology as evolution toward similar dimensions of traits in unrelated animals that live in the same or similar environments. Because the genus is a taxonomic unit in which differences among species represent directional changes in morphology from a common ancestor, I looked for evidence of morphological convergence by com- paring radiations in sets of congeneric species of birds that occur in peatland habitats of northern Minnesota and eastern Finland. Through discriminant function analysis, I determined that habitats selected by species in peatland shrub areas of Minnesota were similar to habitats selected by species in peatland shrub areas of Finland. This pattern held for the species in peatland forests, also, but not for those found in open peatlands. Open peatlands in Finland had more water pools and less vegetation than those in Minnesota. The morphological analysis used 15 characters: size and 14 shape variables (skeletal measurements adjusted for size) pertaining to three functional complexes (bill, flight apparatus, and hind limb). Special emphasis was placed on four genera in Minnesota, Zonotrichia, Spizella, Geothlypis, Dendroica, and one genus in Finland, Emberiza, because these genera have species that occur both in shrub and coniferous forest peatland habitats. In all five genera, species in shrub vegetation are consistently smaller, have relatively longer pelves and legs, and have wider and shallower sterna than their respective congeners in coniferous forests. Furthermore, with the exception of Em- beriza and Spizella, the bill, sternum, and humerus are relatively longer in the shrub-dwelling peatland species than in their respective congeners in coniferous forests. The most abundant species in the shrub vegetation in Minnesota (Cistothorus platensis) and in Finland (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) are among the most extreme in this respect; they are relatively small, with relatively wide and shallow sterna, relatively long bills, and relatively long pelves and legs. Also, warblers breeding in shrub peatlands have relatively deeper and wider bills, but sparrows have relatively shallower and narrower bills than their respective congeners in coniferous forests. These morphological relationships indicated significant (P = .03, sign test) directional patterns of differentiation among distantly related genera (warblers and sparrows) for morphology associated with movement through the habitat (e.g., hind limb structure, size, and sternal shape). Morphological differences associated with feeding, however, showed trends at the family level that probably reflect differences in diet and behavior between sparrows and warblers. The consistency of these patterns among the genera studied emphasizes (1) the sensitivity of species adaptations in morphology to habitat structure, and (2) the likelihood of a common un- derlying mechanism for these results.