Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phenotypic Characterization of Cattle Based on Coat Colour in Obudu Grass Plateau, South-South Nigeria: A Discriminant Approach

A total of 311 cattle comprised 145 mixed coat coloured, 100 white coat coloured and 66 brown coat coloured were used to investigate the phenotypic characterization of cattle based on coat colour using multivariate discriminant analysis approach. A total of nineteen morphological traits where measured. Theses includes: body weight (BW), body length (BL), ear length (EL), horn length (HNL), head length (HDL), head width (HDW), rump length (RL), rump width (RW), horn circumference (HNC), heart girth (HG), cannon circumference (CC), cannon length (LC), scrotal circumference (SC), foreleg length (FLT), hind leg length (HLT), rump wide (RW), rump length (RL), dewlap wide (DWW) and number of teat (NTT) were collected on each animal. The data was analyzed by SPSS and the mean was separated using Duncan multiple test. The multivariate analysis revealed that the phenotypic trait measured of brown coat coloured cattle were significantly larger (P<0.05) than white and mixed coat coloured with the exception of HNL in white. However, the stepwise discriminant analysis revealed that HNC, CL, UDC and HDW were more discriminating in separating the three coat colour populations. The Mahalanobis distance of the morphological traits between brown and mixed coat coloured cattle was the largest (14.16) while the least genetic distance was observed between white and brown coat coloured cattle (7.43). The eigenvalues and Wilk’s lambda test revealed the function 1 with percent (%) variance of 67.8 and Wilk’s lambda of 0.166 showed a good function to discriminant and grouping. The study concluded that the high value of genetic distance (D 2 ) between brown and mixed coat colours indicates that if mated, it will give rise to hybrid vigour. Keywords : Cattle, Coat Colour, Discriminant, Phenotypic
Pressure and Temperature Dependence of the R-Relaxation in Poly(methyltolylsiloxane)

The R-relaxation, involving local segmental motion, of poly(methyltolylsiloxane) (PMTS) was measured using dielectric spectroscopy, over a temperature range in excess of 100 deg at pressures up to 250 MPa. The data conformed to time-temperature-pressure superpositioning, although the Tg- normalized temperature dependence of the relaxation times exhibited a weak dependence on pressure. The combined temperature and pressure dependences could be accurately described using a generalized Vogel-Fulcher expression, with the Vogel temperature having the same pressure dependence as the glass temperature. In comparing the relaxation properties of PMTS to the structurally similar poly- (methylphenylsiloxane) (PMPS), we found that while their ambient pressure behaviors were equivalent, the relaxation times, Tg-scaled temperature dependence, and Tg itself for PMTS were all more sensitive to pressure. These differences are consistent with a larger activation volume for PMTS, which is indeed comprised of proportionally larger chain units than is PMPS.
Publication Biases in Replication Studies

Abstract One of the strongest findings across the sciences is that publication bias occurs. Of particular note is a “file drawer bias” where statistically significant results are privileged over nonsignificant results. Recognition of this bias, along with increased calls for “open science,” has led to an emphasis on replication studies. Yet, few have explored publication bias and its consequences in replication studies. We offer a model of the publication process involving an initial study and a replication. We use the model to describe three types of publication biases: (1) file drawer bias, (2) a “repeat study” bias against the publication of replication studies, and (3) a “gotcha bias” where replication results that run contrary to a prior study are more likely to be published. We estimate the model’s parameters with a vignette experiment conducted with political science professors teaching at Ph.D. granting institutions in the United States. We find evidence of all three types of bias, although those explicitly involving replication studies are notably smaller. This bodes well for the replication movement. That said, the aggregation of all of the biases increases the number of false positives in a literature. We conclude by discussing a path for future work on publication biases.
Human disturbance as a possible cause of genetic introgression from exotic into native Mauremys turtles

The Kinmen Islands on the coastline of China represent a recent case of the protection of endangered wildlife in a demilitarized zone. These islands represent the last remaining habitat in southeastern China that supports a healthy natural population of Reeves’ turtle Mauremys reevesii. However, human‐mediated dispersal appears to have aided the establishment of an introduced population of the Chinese stripe‐necked turtle M. sinensis since the late 1990s, resulting in population mixture of the two congeners. To evaluate the potential impacts of hybridization, we evaluated the magnitude of genetic introgression in ponds on Kinmen using mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences and 13 microsatellite loci. We further used eight environmental and biological factors of the ponds to conduct general linear regression model analysis between environmental factors and the magnitude of genetic introgression. Among the 41 sampled ponds, M. reevesii was recorded in 21, of which 12 ponds (57.1%) contained genetic hybrids or backcrosses, corresponding to 11.3–12.7% of the total individuals on the islands. The magnitude of genetic introgression was positively correlated with the amount of introduced M. sinensis occurring in a pond, and marginally negatively associated with the shortest distance from the pond to secondary roads. We conclude that this considerable genetic introgression is attributable to human‐mediated dispersal of M. sinensis; roads and habitat modification may increase the likelihood of unexpected encounters between these two congeners.
Ultraviolet albedo of Venus' clouds due to SPICAV and VIRTIS joint nadir observations onboard Venus Express

In this paper we present initial results of the nadir data processing from two spectrometers that measured UV albedo of Venus clouds onboard the Venus Express (VEX) orbiter in 2006-2014. The UVchannel of SPICAV operated in the range of115-320 nm [7], while the UV-VIS channel of VIRTIS covered the range of 300-1000 nm [8]. We have selected a few tens of simultaneous nadir observations of Venus clouds with similar pointing that allows us combining theclouds reflectancespectra at 200-600 nmusing datasets from two spectrometers
Effectiveness of Training on Constructivism Learning Methods to Improve Teaching Skills Self Help Material for Early Childhood Education Teachers

The ability of teachers to teach children about self help is needed because it is closely related to the ability of children to live life independently and responsibly. Self help requires qualified skills from the teacher in teaching, but in reality not all teachers are able to teach self help skills appropriately to children. This study aims to prove the effectiveness of training in constructivism learning methods in improving the teaching skills of self-help material for early childhood education teachers. Constructivism learning method is a method that seeks to provide knowledge to students through students’ understanding of observation and experience. The research design used was a quasi experiment with one-group pretest and posttest design on six early childhood education teachers who still used conventional methods of teaching. Interventions given to the subject in the form of training in constructivism learning methods. The data collection technique uses an observation guide with a reliability of 0.812 cohenn’s kappa that measures teacher teaching skills. The research data were analyzed descriptively and used Wilcoxon test statistical analysis. The results of the descriptive analysis show that the teacher’s teaching skills in teaching self help material can be improved through training learning methods with a constructivism approach. While the results of statistical analysis show that training in constructivism learning methods is effective in improving teacher skills in teaching self help material. The implication, this research can be a basis in developing teacher skills in the teaching and learning process.
Is There a Relationship between Repeat Induced Abortion and Current Use of Contraception among Women in the Reproductive Age? A Study in Ghana

Aims: Some women in the developing world use abortion to regulate fertility and space childbearing. However, repeat induced abortion has become common and it’s linked to increased risk of adverse outcomes in future pregnancies. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between repeat induced abortion and current use of contraception among women in Ghana. Study Design: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Ghana between July 2019 and August 2019. Original Research Article Boah et al.; AJPCB, 2(2): 1-11, 2019; Article no.AJPCB. 51396 2 Methodology: Data on a weighted sample of 4595 women aged 15-49 years with a lifetime history of induced abortion from the 2017 Ghana Maternal Health Survey were analysed using Chi-square (χ) test and multivariable survey logistic regression in STATA/IC 15.0. Statistical significance was set at the 5% level. The adjusted odds ratio was estimated. Results: Out of 4595 women, 1591 (34.6%) experienced repeat-induced abortion. Current use of contraception was 36.7% (CI: 34.7-38.7). The majority used modern contraceptives (78%). The commonly used methods were injectables (20.3%), implants (19.7%), pills (16.6%) and rhythm (16.2%). After adjusting for potential confounding, repeat induced abortion was not significantly associated with current use of contraception. However, age, marital status, place of residence and ecological zone of residence were associated with current use of contraception. For instance, rural women with a history of repeat induced abortion were 1.3 times (AOR=1.27, 95% CI: 1.02-1.59, p=0.036) more likely to be on contraception compared to urban women. Conclusion: Women’s previous abortion experience was not independently associated with their current use of contraception. Other factors were significantly associated with women’s use of contraception post-abortion. Further research is recommended to clearly understand this phenomenon among Ghanaian women in the reproductive age group.
Pengaruh Lingkungan Kerja, Kepuasan Kerja dan Beban Kerja Terhadap Kinerja Pegawai

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan menganalisis pengaruh lingkungan kerja, kepuasan kerja, dan beban kerja berpengaruh terhadap kinerja pegawai Dinas Pekerjaan Umum dan Perumahan Rakyat Kabupaten Aceh Tamiang. Penelitian ini termasuk pada penelitian kuantitatif sebab pendekatan yang digunakan untuk usulan penelitian, proses, hipotesis, turun ke lapangan, analisis data, kesimpulan data sampai dengan penulisannya menggunakan aspek pengukuran, perhitungan, rumus dan kepastian data numerik. Subyek penelitian adalah pegawai Dinas Pekerjaan Umum dan Perumahan Rakyat Kabupaten Aceh Tamiang. Pada penelitian ini populasi dan sampelnya adalah seluruh Pegawai Dinas Pekerjaan Umum dan Perumahan Rakyat Kabupaten Aceh Tamiang yang berjumlah 81 orang. Data dianalisa menggunakan rumus regresi linear berganda. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa secara parsial Lingkungan Kerja, Kepuasan Kerja dan Beban Kerja tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kinerja pegawai Dinas Pekerjaan Umum dan Perumahan Rakyat Kabupaten Aceh Tamiang. Secara simultan Lingkungan Kerja, Kepuasan Kerja dan Beban Kerja berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kinerja pegawai Dinas Pekerjaan Umum dan Perumahan Rakyat Kabupaten Aceh Tamiang.
Surveying Host Innate Immune Responses To Interferon Antagonist-Deficient Murine Coronaviruses

Two coronaviruses (CoVs)—severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) virus—have emerged in the 21st century from animal reservoirs into the human population, each causing an epidemic associated with significant disease and mortality. CoV epidemics are currently only controllable by rigorous public health measures; no targeted therapeutics or vaccines exist to treat or prevent any human CoV infection. One method of generating attenuated CoV strains to be studied as vaccine candidates involves specifically disrupting CoV-encoded interferon (IFN) antagonists, thereby rendering the virus vulnerable to host innate antiviral immunity. Deubiquitinating (DUB) activity encoded within CoV nonstructural protein (nsp) 3 and endoribonuclease (EndoU) activity encoded within nsp15 are both reported to suppress IFN-mediated antiviral immunity during infection. Using murine hepatitis virus (MHV) as a model CoV, we generated viruses that encode enzymatically-deficient forms of these proteins and have shown that EndoU-mutant- and DUB-mutant-MHV elicit significantly increased type I IFN responses relative to the parental wild type (WT) strain. However, despite similar patterns of IFN induction by both mutant viruses, we previously found that only the EndoU-mut virus is attenuated and does not cause detectable disease in mice, whereas DUB-mut-MHV is not attenuated in vivo and causes disease similar to WT-MHV. The purpose of this project was to investigate the host transcriptional response to infection with EndoU-mut-, DUB-mut-, and WT-MHV in primary murine macrophages using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) technology to examine the cellular dynamics that underlie the remarkably distinct phenotypes of EndoU-mut- and DUB-mut-MHV infections in mice. The results of our RNA-seq experiments and subsequent bioinformatic analyses demonstrate that WT-MHV infection led to profound transcriptional dysregulation of thousands of host genes, many of which encode proteins that are involved in inflammation, antiviral defense, signaling pathways, and transcription regulation. Similarly, DUB-mut-MHV elicited a statistically indistinguishable transcriptional response of all but a select few genes relative to WT-MHV. In stark contrast, EndoU-mut-MHV-infected cells exhibited markedly diminished transcription of the vast majority of genes that were induced by DUB-mut- and WT-MHV, leading to a profoundly distinct transcriptional response overall. Both EndoU-mut- and DUB-mut-MHV induced significantly higher expression of type I IFN isoforms relative to the WT virus, with the EndoU-mut strain prompting a dramatically higher IFN response than even the DUB-mut virus. Together, the results of this work suggest that the induction of IFN alone is not a sufficient marker for mutant CoV attenuation or of widespread dysregulation of host gene expression in the context of studying interferon antagonist-deficient coronavirus strains; rather, the magnitude and timing of IFN expression are critical. We conclude that there is a…
MATING TYPE CHARACTERIZATION OF FUSARIUM CULMORUM STRAINS CAUSING WHEAT CROWN ROT IN IRAQ

Fusarium crown rot (CR) of wheat is one of the most important diseases known from regions of the world where cereal crops are produced. In this study, we examined the mating types of F. culmorum CR strains isolated across Iraq, including more arid regions within the country. The result showed two mating compatibility (MAT) type idiomorphs of F. culmorum are present in Iraq, with 27.6% of the isolates examined representing the MAT-1 type and 72.4% representing the MAT-2 type. The MAT-1 type was commonly found among isolates from the mid-latitudes of Iraq, this being a warmer and drier region as compared to the country’s northern region; however, it was also detected from one isolate from a northern site. The MAT-2 type, however, was more broadly distributed across Iraq and was also detected among many isolates from the mid-latitude region. Thus specific biogeographic patterns were not apparent for mating compatibility idiomorphs. The mating types characterized here were also compared to chemotypes known for these same isolates and characterized in a previous study. This comparison revealed the MAT-1 type was found only among DON chemotype isolates, while the MAT-2 type was found among both DON and NIV chemotype isolates. Thus, there does not appear to be a direct correspondence between chemotype and mating compatibility idiomorphs within Iraq. Overall, a broader sampling across the country with more isolates being examined at each site is advised.
Research on Detection Algorithm of Utility Pole Signboard Based on Faster R-CNN

As the only sign to record the basic parameter information of transmission line, utility pole signboard plays an important role in the process of circuit statistics, management and inspection, and has a very high research value. At present, the data acquisition of utility pole signboard mainly depends on manual work. Due to the influence of environment, equipment and other factors, the angle of utility pole signboard in the image will be inclined, which will reduce the detection accuracy of utility pole signboard. Through literature research, it is found that there are few academic researches on the detection and identification of such utility pole signboards, while there are many researches and practical solutions in license plate detection and recognition. This paper proposes a new detection algorithm based on Faster R-CNN model and ResNet-50 convolutional neural network, which improves the accuracy by increasing its depth to 50 layers, and improves the generalization ability of the algorithm combined with multi-scale training to achieve the global optimal detection effects. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has good detection effects, and the detection accuracy is 87.6%, which verifies the feasibility of pole signboard detection.
Complexes Of Nifedipine With Î²-And Hydroxypropyl Î²-Cyclodextrins In The Design Of Nifedipine SR Tablets

Complex formation of nifedipine with I²-cyclodextrin and hydroxypropyl I² -cyclodextrin was studied. The possibility of improving the solubility and dissolution rate of nifedipine via complexation with the above cyclodextrins and the feasibility of employing nifedipine cyclodextrin inclusion complexes in the design of mucoadhesive tablets for sustained release were also investigated. The phase solubility studies indicated the formation of a nifedipine- I²-cyclodextrin (1:1 M) and nifedipine-hydroxypropyl I² -cyclodextrin (1:1 M) inclusion complexes with a stability constant of 121.9 M-l and 253.7 M-I respectively. The solubility and dissolution rate of nifedipine were rnarkedly enhanced by complexation with I²-cyclodextrin and hydroxypropyl I² -cyclodextrin. Nifedipinehydroxypropyl I² -cyclodextrin (1:3) gave highest enhancement (44.8 fold) in the dissolution rate of nifedipine. Mucoadhesive tablets formulated employing nifedipine alone gave very low dissolution. Whereas those formulated employing nifedipine- I²-cyclodextrin and nifedipine-hydroxypropyl I²-cyclodextrin complexes gave slow, controlled and complete release spread over a period of 12 h. Drug release from these tablets followed zero order kinetics upto 85-90% release and the release was diffusion controlled. Good sustained release two layered tablet formulations of nifedipine, satisfying the theoretical sustained release need based on its pharmacokinetics, were developed using nifedipine-I²-cyclodextrin and nifedipine-hydroxypropyl I² -cyclodextrin inclusion complexes.
Interaction of bat-derived paramyxoviruses with chiropteran and non-chiropteran cells

This thesis deals with the functional characterization of the surface glycoproteins of two bat-derived paramyxoviruses, the African henipavirus strain M74 (M74) and a bat-derived mumps virus (batMuV). RNA sequences of these two viruses were detected in African flying foxes. Aim of this study is to get information about the zoonotic potential, as well as the functional relatedness of the bat-derived paramyxoviruses and the Nipah virus (NiV), a zoonotic member of the henipaviruses, or the human mumps virus (hMuV), two paramyxoviruses which are able to cause infection in humans and - in the case of NiV - have been transmitted from bats to humans. For the African henipavirus the attachment glycoprotein (G) has been shown to interact with the cellular henipavirus receptor. Furthermore, the proteolytic cleavage of the M74 fusion glycoprotein (F) was found share some similarities to that of the corresponding NiV protein. The formation of multinucleated giant cells, which is induced by the co-expression of the F and G protein and constitutes a common feature for paramyxoviruses, was restricted to chiropteran cell lines. Further studies revealed that especially an inefficient cellular transport of the M74 G protein to the cell surface is the major reason for the restricted fusion activity of the African henipavirus surface glycoproteins. The functional activities of the fusion (F) and hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) glycoproteins of the bat-derived MuV were demonstrated by the detection of multinucleated giant cells in different mammalian, including human, cell lines. In addition, the batMuV glycoproteins were able to interact with the human MuV proteins and induce the formation of syncytia. The expression of chimeric F proteins revealed that the signal peptide affects the size of syncytia, indicated by the number of nuclei within one cell. Furthermore, it was shown that the batMuV HN binds to sialic acids and possesses hemadsorption activity, whereas no neuraminidase activity above the background level was measured. It could be shown that both bat-derived paramyxoviruses show functional similarities to NiV or hMuV and that in general a zoonotic potential has to be considered. However, as long as only viral sequences but no virus isolate are available, it is not possible to evaluate the risk of a virus transmission from bats to humans or even a following human-to-human transmission. Nevertheless, the in vitro studies performed in this thesis provided important insights about the interactions of the bat-derived paramyxoviruses and host cells, as well as fundamental principles for the evaluation of their zoonotic potential.
Leachability of Zinc Borate-Modified Oriented Strandboard (OSB)

The leachability of boron in zinc borate (ZB)-modified oriented strandboard (OSB) from southern wood species was investigated in this study. The leaching experiments were conducted by exposing edge-sealed OSB samples under running water at for 8, 24, 72, and 216 h. The results from leached samples were compared with those from the unleached controls. Boron leaching of the modified OSB occurred upon the initial water exposure, and the leaching rate decreased as the leaching time increased. Initial boric acid equivalent (BAE) level, wood species, and sample thickness swelling significantly influenced the leachability. There was no consistent effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on zinc borate leaching. The glue-line washing within OSB due to thickness swelling of the test samples under water and decomposition of the borate to form water-soluble boric acid were thought to be two possible causes for the observed leaching. The relationship between assayed BAE and leaching time followed a decaying exponential function for zinc borate treated OSB. From the boron/zinc ratio after each leaching period, boron element in ZB was more or less leachable. The material constant of the regression models allowed comparing the leachability of the modified OSB for various wood species. An unified leaching method for treated wood composite materials is needed.