Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns and Conjugation Characteristics of Escherichia Coli Isolates from Broiler and Indigenous Chicken in Kericho County, Kenya

Improper use of antibiotics is a leading factor in promoting emergence, selection and dissemination of drug resistance in human/veterinary medicine. Resistant pathogens can spread to the public through food and environmental routes. Resistance genes are transferable between bacteria. The aim of the study was to determine antibiotic resistance profile of E. coli from rectal swabs of chicken and conjugation characteristics of strains resistant two or more classes of antibiotics. Seven hundred and ten fecal samples were collected from broiler and indigenous chicken from randomly selected farms and inoculated on MacConkey agar. Typical Escherichia coli-like colonies were identified and confirmed using IMViC test and lauryl tryptose mannitol broth. E. coli were exposed to a panel of 20 antibiotics on Mueller-Hinton agar (Oxoid, UK). Inhibition sizes were measured, recorded and resistance profiles studied. Conjugations tests were done on MDR E. coli. Plasmids were extracted using alkaline lysis method and electrophoresis done. Of 710 chicken (broilers, 45.6%; indigenous, 54.4%) sampled, 65.8 %( n=467) harbored E. coli. Overall resistance rates of E. coli were highest against penicillin (92.7%), tetracycline (68.1%) and ampicillin (66.8%). Plasmids containing resistance genes were transferable. Plasmids of varying molecular weight (147kb up to 3.0kb) were common. Prevalence of resistance decreased with increase WORLD JOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES SJIF Impact Factor 6.647 Volume 6, Issue 5, 1315-1331 Research Article ISSN 2278 – 4357 *Corresponding Author
Using a urine sensor to estimate nitrogen excretion by lactating dairy cows in Australian grazing systems

Ruminants excrete most of their N intake, with most of the N excreted in urine. As a result, urine is the greatest contributor of N losses to the environment in dairy systems worldwide, due to the high use of N. While quantifying N excretion will assist in the development of improved N management practices, measurement of urinary N is difficult in grazing dairy systems. A urine sensor developed by AgResearch, New Zealand which allows the determination of N concentration (%) and volume of each individual excretion event performed by grazing cows was tested in Australian conditions. Twenty Friesian-cross lactating dairy cows were fitted with urine sensors and data were recorded over a 48 hour period in spring 2014 and late winter 2015. A total of 420 urination events were recorded in this study. Urine volume excreted by these grazing lactating cows ranged from 8.2 to 43 L/day while urinary N concentration varied between 1.2 and 15.7 g N/L, similar to previously reported results. The average urination frequency was 18 times per day and average volume per event was 8.2 L/event. These data also showed that N concentration varies between time of the day and showed higher concentration in the early morning and afternoon.
On the Convergence Rate of Stochastic Mirror Descent for Nonsmooth Nonconvex Optimization

In this paper, we investigate the non-asymptotic stationary convergence behavior of Stochastic Mirror Descent (SMD) for nonconvex optimization. We focus on a general class of nonconvex nonsmooth stochastic optimization problems, in which the objective can be decomposed into a relatively weakly convex function (possibly non-Lipschitz) and a simple non-smooth convex regularizer. We prove that SMD, without the use of mini-batch, is guaranteed to converge to a stationary point in a convergence rate of $ \mathcal{O}(1/\sqrt{t}) $. The efficiency estimate matches with existing results for stochastic subgradient method, but is evaluated under a stronger stationarity measure. Our convergence analysis applies to both the original SMD and its proximal version, as well as the deterministic variants, for solving relatively weakly convex problems.
Motivating Effort in Contributing to Public Goods Inside Organizations: Field Experimental Evidence

We investigate the factors driving workers’ decisions to generate public goods inside an organization through a randomized solicitation of workplace improvement proposals in a medical center with 1200 employees. We find that pecuniary incentives, such as winning a prize, generate a threefold increase in participation compared to non-pecuniary incentives alone, such as prestige or recognition. Participation is also increased by a solicitation appealing to improving the workplace. However, emphasizing the patient mission of the organization led to countervailing effects on participation. Overall, these results are consistent with workers having multiple underlying motivations to contribute to public goods inside the organization consisting of a combination of pecuniary and altruistic incentives associated with the mission of the organization.
Hydrochloric Acid Aggression in Groundnut Shell Ash ( GSA )-Rice Husk Ash ( RHA ) Modified Concrete

This paper presents the findings of an investigation on the resistance of Groundnut Shell Ash (GSA)-Rice Husk Ash (RHA) modified concrete to hydrochloric acid aggression and a regression model of the concrete resistance to hydrochloric acid environment. The GSA and RHA used were obtained by controlled burning of groundnut shell and rice husk, respectively in a kiln to a temperature of 600 C, and after allowing cooling, sieved through sieve 75 μm and characterized. A total of fifteen 100 mm cubes of GSA-RHA-Concrete grade 20 mixes at replacement levels of 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 %, respectively by weight of cement were cast, cured in water for 28 days and exposed to attack from 10 % concentration of diluted solution of hydrochloric acid (HCl) and the concrete resistance was also modeled using Minitab statistical software to establish regression model. The results of the investigations showed that the resistance of OPC concrete against HCl aggression was better than that of blended GSA-RHA concrete. The weight loss of OPC concrete after 28 days of exposure was 18.5 % as opposed to an average loss of 36.8 % for GSA-RHA concrete. The regression model of GSA-RHA-Concrete resistance against hydrochloric acid was developed with R value of 0.683 and was adequate for prediction of the sensitivities of pozzolanic activity of GSA-RHA in hydrochloric acid environment.
Understanding interactions between autonomous vehicles and other road users: A literature review

This review draws on literature relating to the interactions of vehicles with other vehicles, interactions between vehicles and infrastructure, and interactions between autonomous vehicles and cyclists and autonomous vehicles and pedestrians. The available literature relating to autonomous vehicles interactions is currently limited and hence the review has considered issues which will be relevant to autonomous vehicles from reading and evaluating a broader but still relevant literature. The project is concerned primarily with autonomous vehicles within the urban environment and hence the greatest consideration has been given to interactions on typical urban roads, with specific consideration also being given to shared space. The central questions in relation to autonomous vehicles and other road users revolve around gap acceptance, overtaking behaviour, behaviour at road narrowings, the ability to detect and avoid cyclists taking paths through a junction which conflict with the autonomous vehicle’s path, and the ability of autonomous vehicles to sense and respond to human gestures. A long list of potential research questions has been developed, many of which are not realistically answerable by the Venturer project. However, the important research questions which might potentially be answered by the current project are offered as the basis for the more detailed consideration of the conduct of the interaction trials
Analysis of Food Access Status among Farming Households in Southern Part of Gombe State, Nigeria

DOI: 10.15580/GJAS.2018.3.021018022 This study analyzed food access status among farming households in southern part of Gombe state, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents from eight villages in the study area. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents. Most respondents (68.3 percent) were male and married with average household size of 7 persons. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) developed by Food and Nutrition Assistance (FANTA) of the USAID (2004) was used to determine the status of the farming household food insecurity. The HFIAS score revealed that about 27 percent of the farming households were food secure, 35 percent mildly food insecure, 18.3 percent moderately food insecure and 20 percent were severely food insecure. A simple regression analysis showed that income positively and significantly (1%) contributed to household food security with an R of 0.6801 showing that income played an important role in achieving household food security among farming households. The study concludes that adequate resources to access food by food deficient households could significantly influence the status of food security among the rural households. It was recommended that additional sources of livelihood to include off-farm remunerative activities through skills acquisition and increased agricultural (onfarm) production by subsidizing inputs to be the option policy in achieving rural household food security. Submitted: 10/02/2018 Accepted: 19/02/2018 Published: 31/03/2018
Interaction between photoactivators and adhesive systems used as modeling liquid on the degree of conversion of a composite for bleached teeth

Objective: This study analyzed the effect of two light emitting diodes (LEDs) on the degree of conversion (DC) of a composite resin for bleached teeth under the influence of adhesives systems used as modeling liquid. Material and methods: A total of 60 samples of IPS Empress Direct resin (Ivoclar, Vivadent) in BL-L shade were made in a single increment and polymerized for 20 seconds. The treatments were: 1) Type of adhesive used as modeling liquid (Adper Single Bond 2; the bond component of Adper Scotchbond Multi-Purpose; or no adhesive systems used as modeling liquid were used in the control group); and 2) Type of LED (Bluephase, polywave; and Coltolux, monowave). The DC, percentage of monomers converted to polymer during polymerization, was were evaluated using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) with 10 scans and wavenumber related to 1/λ for observation of the peaks at 1608 and 1638 cm-1. Data were statistically analyzed by two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey's test (p< 0.05). Results: There was no statistical difference between LEDs in comparison to the treatments (p> 0.05). However, there was a statistically significant increase in the DC for the adhesive systems tested in comparison to the control group (p< 0.05), with the highest values for Single Bond 2. Conclusion: It is concluded that the use of adhesives as modeling liquid of Empress Direct resin for bleached teeth shade increases the degree of conversion of the composite surface, and that curing with both kinds of LEDs does not interfere in this property. KeywordsComposite resins; Dentin-bonding agents; Surface properties.
Climate Variability in a Coupled GCM. Part I: The Tropical Pacific

Abstract A 26-year integration has been performed with a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model (CGCM). The oceanic part resolves all three oceans in the latitude band 70°N–70°S but is dynamically active only between 30°N and 30°S. The atmosphere is represented by a global low-order spectral model. The coupled model was forced by seasonally varying insolation. Although the simulated time-averaged mean conditions in both atmosphere and ocean show significant deviations from the observed climatology, the CGCM realistically simulates the interannual variability in the tropical Pacific. In particular, the CGCM simulates an irregular ENSO with a preferred time scale of about 3 years. The mechanism for the simulated interannual variability in the tropical Pacific is related to both the “delayed action oscillator” and the “slow SST mode. ” It therefore appears likely that either both modes can coexist or they degenerate to one mode within certain locations of the parameter space. This hypothesis is al.
Low-protein diet for diabetic nephropathy : a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials 1 – 3

Background: A low-protein diet (LPD) has been proposed for many years to delay the progression of diabetic nephropathy. However, the efficacy of an LPD with respect to renal outcome is disputed. Objective: We aimed to determine the effect of an LPD on renal function in patients with type 1 or 2 diabetic renal diseases by using a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Design: Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria for our meta-analysis: a duration of 6 mo, use of a randomized control group, availability of outcome data for changes in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) or creatinine clearance rate (CCR), and albuminuria or proteinuria in patients with type 1 or 2 diabetic nephropathy. Data were combined by means of a fixed-effects model. Weighted mean differences (WMD) were calculated for the change in GFR or CCR, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and serum albumin between the LPD and control groups. A random-effects model was also used to calculate the standardized mean difference for the change in urinary albumin excretion or proteinuria. Results: Overall, a change in WMD for GFR or CCR was not significantly associated with an LPD, but a decrease in WMD for HbA1c was significant in the LPD group (P 0.005). Although the benefit of LPD therapy on proteinuria was significant (P 0.003), great heterogeneity was observed. In a subgroup analysis, LPD resulted in lower serum albumin concentrations. Conclusion: LPD was not associated with a significant improvement of renal function in patients with either types 1 or 2 diabetic nephropathy. Am J Clin Nutr 2008;88:660–6.
Large Lecture Transformation: Adopting Evidence-Based Practices to Increase Student Engagement and Performance in an Introductory Science Course

ABSTRACT This study investigated students' attitudes, engagement, satisfaction, and performance in Introduction to Environmental Science after it was transformed from a typical large lecture to a student-centered learning environment. The instructors of the course collaborated with the Office of Teaching, Learning & Technology and radically redesigned the course by adopting evidence-based pedagogical methods and instructional technology to offer a rich active learning environment. Students' engagement, satisfaction, and performance in the transformed course were compared to the students in the same course that was traditionally taught in a previous semester in order to measure the effect of the transformed course on student learning. Four self-reported surveys and a focus group interview were administered during the semester, and performance scores, prior learning data, and demographic information were collected at the end of the semester. The assessment results indicate that the students in the transformed course prepared for the class significantly more, engaged in the course significantly better, and were significantly more satisfied with the course than were the students in the traditional lecture-format course. Most of all, multiple linear regression indicates that the students in the transformed course earned, on average, about three-fourths of a letter grade higher on their final grade after controlling for cumulative grade point average. The students in the transformed course reported that online learning materials and frequent formative assessments using online quizzes were helpful in their learning, and they perceived the course was relevant to real-world applications that matter to their daily life.
Loss Aversion around the World: Empirical Evidence from Pension Funds

We propose a novel method to estimate loss aversion together with risk aversion and subjective probability weighting in a reference-dependent utility. Using multiple asset allocations in the 31 OECD pension funds, we find that our estimates of loss aversion and subjective probability weights are similar to those reported by Wang et al. (2017) and Rieger et al. (2011), respectively, despite the differences in the estimation methods. However, loss aversion increases with wealth and only Hofstede's Individualism is positively related to loss aversion. Countries with high individualism or masculinity prefer high risk and high return assets to bonds, whereas countries that dislike uncertainty prefer bonds to risky assets.
Hydro‐morphodynamic evolution in a 90° movable bed discordant confluence with low discharge ratio

Confluences with low discharge and momentum ratios, where narrow steep tributaries with high sediment load join a wide low‐gradient main channel that provides the main discharge, are often observed in high mountain regions such as in the upper‐Rhone river catchment in Switzerland. Few existing studies have examined the hydro‐morphodynamics of this type of river confluence while considering sediment discharge in both confluent channels. This paper presents the evolution of the bed morphology and hydrodynamics as observed in an experimental facility with a movable bed. For that purpose, one experiment was carried out in a laboratory confluence with low discharge and momentum ratios, where constant sediment rates were supplied to both flumes. During the experiment, bed topography and water surface elevations were systematically recorded. When the bed topography reached a steady state (so‐called equilibrium) and the outgoing sediment rate approximated the incoming rate, flow velocity was measured at 12 different points distributed throughout the confluence, and the grain size distribution of the bed surface was analyzed. Typical morphodynamic features of discordant confluences such as a bank‐attached bar and a flow deflection zone are identified in this study. Nevertheless, the presence of a marked scour hole in the discordant confluence and distinct flow regimes for the tributary and main channel, differ from results obtained in previous studies. Strong acceleration of the flow along the outer bank of the main channel is responsible for the scour hole. This erosion is facilitated by the sediment discharge into the confluence from the main channel which inhibits bed armoring in this region. The supercritical flow regime observed in the tributary is the hydrodynamic response to the imposed sediment rate in the tributary. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Human Frictions in the Transmission of Economic Policy

Intertemporal substitution is at the heart of modern macroeconomics and finance as well as economic policymaking, but a large fraction of a representative population of men -- those below the top of the distribution by cognitive abilities (IQ) -- do not change their consumption propensities with their inflation expectations. Low-IQ men are also less than half as sensitive to interest-rate changes when making borrowing decisions. Our microdata include unique administrative information on cognitive abilities, as well as economic expectations, consumption and borrowing plans, and total household debt from Finland. Heterogeneity in observables such as education, income, other expectations, and financial constraints do not drive these patterns. Costly information acquisition and the ability to form accurate forecasts are channels that cannot fully explain these results. Limited cognitive abilities could be human frictions in the transmission and effectiveness of fiscal and monetary policies that operate through household consumption and borrowing decisions.
How National Context Influences the Childrearing Practices of Second-Generation Chinese Tiger Parents

Amy Chua’s 2011 memoir evoked heated debate on the childrearing practices of Chinese ‘Tiger Mothers’ and on how some Chinese ethnocultural values can push children toward academic success. To date, little scholarly attention has been paid to the childrearing practices of second-generation Chinese or to how they may influence this part of their children’s assimilation. I conducted in-depth interviews with second-generation Chinese parents in the United States and the Netherlands in order to examine specific ethnocultural socialization techniques that could boost children’s academic outcomes. Findings show that national context—focusing on different school systems and social security safety nets—can act as an intervening variable by affecting the intergenerational transmission of ethnocultural values regarding educational expectations and academic outcomes. U.S.-born Chinese parents continue to channel their offspring towards high educational achievement, while their peers born in the Netherlands instead emphasize the importance of their children’s free choice and their happiness.
The Retention Impacts of the Forthcoming USA Military Retirement Reform

In 2018, the USA military will introduce a new retirement system that reduces the value of the traditional 20 years-of-service cliff-vesting pension and introduces a defined contribution for all service members. The personnel planning and budgetary consequences of this change depend crucially on how it will impact service member’s retention decisions. Survey results from USA military personnel suggest there will be a small increase in retention of enlisted service members in the early-career years, and a considerable decrease in retention of officers at midcareer.
Customer Engagement and Participation Behavior: The Underlying Mechanisms of the Virtual Servicescape and Service Outcomes

ABSTRACT:In the many studies of virtual service environments, researchers have yet to establish the underlying mechanism by which the quality of virtual platforms determines service outcomes. The current research introduces customer engagement and participation behavior as two key mediators of the effects of virtual servicescape quality (VSQ) on customer goal attainment and service satisfaction. With behavioral and self-reported data, the authors offer empirical support for the mediating roles of engagement and participation behavior. Two sequentially related, full mediation processes lead to goal attainment, suggesting that engagement is a necessary condition for participation behavior, which in turn serves as a necessary condition for goal attainment. The partial mediation leading to satisfaction instead underscores the considerable direct effect of engagement on satisfaction, beyond the portion of the relationship mediated by participation. These findings help clarify prior mixed findings regarding how VSQ influences service outcomes, with relevant theoretical and managerial implications.