Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigations on the effect of a niacin supplementation to three diets differing in forage-to-concentrate ratio on several blood and milk variables of dairy cows

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of a niacin supplementation to three diets with different forage-to-concentrate ratios on blood and milk parameters. Seven midlactation (102 ± 18 days in milk) and three dry cows of the Holstein-Friesian breed, equipped with cannulas in the dorsal sac of the rumen and proximal duodenum, were used. On a dry matter basis the rations applied consisted of either ⅓ concentrate and ⅔ forage (LC), ½ concentrate and ½ forage (MC), or ⅔ concentrate and ⅓ forage (HC). They were fed for one period without and in the following with a supplementation of 6 g niacin (nicotinic acid) per cow per day. The basal niacin content was 35.0 mg/kg for LC, 34.6 mg/kg for MC and 34.4 mg/kg for the HC diets on a dry matter basis. Blood was sampled before, then three and six hours after first morning feeding from the vena jugularis externa. Milk samples were obtained on two days. Niacin feeding enhanced concentrations of glucose and urea in serum (p < 0.05). No effect of supplemental niacin was seen on serum non-esterified fatty acids or ß-hydroxybutyrate concentrations. Increasing the proportion of concentrate and niacin supplementation enhanced serum nicotinamide concentration (p < 0.01). Nicotinamide concentrations or amounts excreted via milk were influenced by forage-to-concentrate ratio (p < 0.05), but not by niacin supplementation. Milk fat composition showed an effect of additional niacin, as the proportion of oleic acid increased in milk of niacin supplemented cows (p = 0.04). For all parameters analysed, no significant interaction between forage-to-concentrate ratio and niacin supplementation was found.
Simulating vibration of single-walled carbon nanotube using Rayleigh-Ritz's method

In this paper, a new method based on the Sander theory is developed for SWCNTs to predict the vibrational behavior of length and ratio of thickness-to-radius according to various end conditions. The motion equation for this system is developed using Rayleigh-Ritz's method. The proposed model shows the vibration frequencies of armchair (5, 5), (7, 7), (9, 9), zigzag (12, 0), (14, 0), (19, 0) and chiral (8, 3), (10, 2), (14, 5) under different support conditions namely; SS-SS, C-F, C-C, and C-SS. The solutions of frequency equations have been given for different boundary condition, which have been given in several graphs. Several parameters of nanotubes with characteristic frequencies are given and vary continuously in length and ratio of thickness-to-radius. It has been illustrated that an enhancing the length of SWCNTs results in decreasing of the frequency range. It was demonstrated by increasing of the height-to-radius ratio of CNTs, the fundamental natural frequency would increase. Moreover, effects of length and ratio of height-to-radius with different boundary conditions have been investigated in detail. It was found that the fundamental frequencies of C-F are always lower than that of other conditions, respectively. In addition, the existence of boundary conditions has a significant impact on the vibration of SWCNTs. To generate the fundamental natural frequencies of SWCNTs, computer software MATLAB engaged. The numerical results are validated with existing open text. Since the percentage of error is negligible, the model has been concluded as valid.
Genetics of sexual Ostracoda from a low Arctic site

Members of the crustacean subclass Ostracoda show a high incidence of transitions from sexual to asexual reproduction. The cause of these shifts remains uncertain, perhaps because there have been few genetic studies on the group. The present study examined sex ratios and allozyme variation in 7 sexual species of ostracodes from ponds at a low Arctic site. Sex ratios in most species were strongly female‐biased. Detailed study of Cyprinotus glaucus indicated that sex ratios were heterogeneous among populations, but stable during juvenile‐adult development. Among 6 species, the proportion of polymorphic loci ranged from 0–33 %, and individual heterozygosities 0–14 %. Genotypic frequencies at polymorphic loci conformed to Hardy‐Weinberg expectations in all species, but gene frequency differences among local populations of C. glaucus suggest restricted gene flow for this passively‐dispersed species. Averaged over 5 species, approximately 27 % of the polymorphic loci were sex‐linked. Linkage relationships were variable, with an individual locus being sex‐linked in some species and autosomal in others.
Efficacy of malathion seed treatments for chironomid control in aerially-sown rice crops

Abstract Malathion seed treatments were evaluated as a means of protecting aerially‐sown rice from attack by Chironomus tepperi Skuse and other chironomids in New South Wales, Australia. Four treatments were examined: malathion applied to seed at 150, 300, and 450 ga.i/ha, and malathion applied directly to water at 300 ga.i. /ha. Chironominae were significantly suppressed for 10 days by all treatments, but populations were often significantly above control levels at 20 and 25 days post‐treatment. None of the treatments significantly reduced other chironomids(predominantly Tanypodinae) at any stage of the trial. Emergence trap data from control and water treatment bays showed that there was, in practical terms, only a single generation of C. tepperi during crop establishment, and that malathion applied directly to water at 300 ga.i. /ha almost completely eliminated adult emergence in this species. Bioassays of field‐collected water samples showed that malathion dissipates readily from seed into the water col.
EFFECT OF MALONATE ON GROWTH RATE OF SALMONELLA TYPHIMURIUM IN MICE

The survival t i m e of mice infected intraperitoneally with a standardized suspension of one of seven different pathogenic bacteria is significantly reduced by injections of sublethal quantities of certain inhibitors or intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid c y ~ l e . ' ~ ~ * ~ The mos t striking example of th i s effect occurred in two separate experiments where the infectious dose killed none of the control m i c e during a sixday period of observation but was uniformly fatal within 10 hours in the presence of appropriate inhibitor3 (TABLES 5 and 6). Each of the five different compounds tested varies in its ability to alter the outcome of infections caused by different organisms. T h e m o s t effective substance in the presence of one species of pathogen may have little influence in the presence of another. Injections of malonate, for instance, a re accompanied by minimum survival t i m e in animals infected with SalmoneZla typhimurium, hemolytic streptococci, Micrococcus pyogenes var. aureus, or Prcteus morganii, while citrate injections give minimum survival t i m e in mice infected withCorynebacterim kutscheri, and injections of fluoroacetate are most effective in m i c e infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae. r 2 A given metabolic disturbance, therefore, seems t o promote one infectious agent m o r e effectively than another. In the dosages employed, each inhibitor is known to alter significantly the citric acid concentration of selected t i s sues of mice. ' T h i s observation, in conjunction with abundant evidence from the literature on the mode of action of these inhibitors (see references in papers already cited), suggests a potential linkage between the reduction in survival t i m e and an imbalance in metabolism of the host organism. I t becomes important to know, therefore, whether an infected mouse given metabolic inhibitor or intermediate survives for a shorter period of t ime than control mice because of (1) more rapid in vivo multiplication of the pathogen, thereby permitting the lethal number of bacteria to develop within a shorter period of t ime; (2) a greater sensitivity to pathogens, which reduces the number required t o kill, or (3) to a combination of (1) and (2).
Enhancing Fairness in Algorithmic Decision-Making through Perspective Taking

The opaque nature of algorithms has led to negative consequences like discriminative and unfair decisions. Understanding these consequences requires consideration of algorithmic decision making from different stakeholder perspective (e.g. organizational vs. customer). We examine how explanations and evaluation metrics influence consequences of algorithmic decision making by prompting users to adopt different stakeholder perspectives. We specifically, examine the role of factual vs counterfactual explanations and framing of evaluation metrics impacts decision outcomes of choice, perceived fairness and confidence. We propose an experiment designed to test our hypotheses of the effects of counterfactual explanations and frames emphasizing false negatives rates on decision outcomes.
Reproductive biology and ecological strategies of three species of medicinal leeches (genus Hirudo)

An analysis of the reproduction of three species of medicinal leeches (genus Hirudo) was carried out. The highest fecundity (34.34 ± 3.72 hatchlings per leech) was observed in H. verbana, the lowest in H. medicinalis (11.10 ± 2.56). The heaviest hatchlings were found in H. medicinalis (0.046 ± 0.0005 g), the lightest in H. verbana (0.032 ± 0.0003 g). Hirudo orientalis had an intermediate fecundity (21.63 ± 3.39 hatchlings per leech) and its hatchlings were of intermediate weight (0.038 ± 0.0005 g). The species differ in their growth rate and mortality: Hirudo verbana had the smallest hatchlings and the lowest survivorship but its growth rate was highest among the three species. The results agree with sister relationships between H. medicinalis and H. orientalis and the basal position of H. verbana with respect to them. The reproductive traits of the three species suggest that H. verbana is an r-strategist that inhabits unstable environments, such as temporary ponds in steppe landscapes, whereas its congeners are subject to K-selection and occur in more stable and predictable habitats.
Impacto de práticas parentais de peso e dieta na imagem corporal de adolescentes do sexo feminino

RESUMO Objetivo Avaliar as práticas parentais de peso e alimentação e sua relação com a insatisfação da imagem corporal em adolescentes. Métodos As análises referem-se aos dados de base de um ensaio clínico randomizado previamente realizado com 270 adolescentes do sexo feminino de escolas públicas de São Paulo que participaram do Programa New Moves Brasil durante os anos de 2014 e 2015. Dados antropométricos, nível econômico, insatisfação com a imagem corporal, autoestima e práticas parentais sobre a ótica das adolescentes quanto à alimentação e corpo foram coletados. Um modelo de regressão logística múltipla foi conduzido para avaliar a influência das variáveis sobre a insatisfação com a imagem corporal das adolescentes. Resultados Adolescentes que estavam acima do peso tinham média/baixa autoestima, sofriam provocações relativas ao peso e faziam menos refeições em família tiveram associação com a insatisfação com a imagem corporal. Na análise de regressão, somente o comentário sobre o peso da filha foi considerado como um fator de risco, e esse deixa de existir quando há o convívio de ambos os pais com as filhas. Em relação à influência do pai, no modelo de convivência familiar, ele pode ser tanto um modelo positivo, na influência de escolhas saudáveis, quanto negativo, ao fazer provocações sobre peso e o incentivar fazer dietas. Conclusões Práticas parentais relacionadas ao peso e alimentação são consideradas de risco para o desenvolvimento de uma insatisfação com a imagem corporal e consequente predisposição a problemas relacionados ao peso.
How representative are neuroimaging samples? Large-scale evidence for trait anxiety differences between fMRI and behaviour-only research participants

Abstract Over the past three decades, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become crucial to study how cognitive processes are implemented in the human brain. However, the question of whether participants recruited into fMRI studies differ from participants recruited into other study contexts has received little to no attention. This is particularly pertinent when effects fail to generalize across study contexts: for example, a behavioural effect discovered in a non-imaging context not replicating in a neuroimaging environment. Here, we tested the hypothesis, motivated by preliminary findings (N = 272), that fMRI participants differ from behaviour-only participants on one fundamental individual difference variable: trait anxiety. Analysing trait anxiety scores and possible confounding variables from healthy volunteers across multiple institutions (N = 3317), we found robust support for lower trait anxiety in fMRI study participants, consistent with a sampling or self-selection bias. The bias was larger in studies that relied on phone screening (compared with full in-person psychiatric screening), recruited at least partly from convenience samples (compared with community samples), and in pharmacology studies. Our findings highlight the need for surveying trait anxiety at recruitment and for appropriate screening procedures or sampling strategies to mitigate this bias.
Application of Bandwidth Extension with No Learning to Data Augmentation for Speaker Verification

In this paper, we propose a data augmentation scheme with bandwidth extension (BWE) for deep neural network (DNN)- based automatic speaker veriﬁcation (ASV) systems. One approach used for DNN-based ASV systems, named “x-vector,” requires a large amount of training data. In particular, the performance of x-vector-based ASV systems is amongst the highest when using a large amount of wideband (WB) data. However, when the amount and variety of data are limited, it is important to use data augmentation schemes. If BWE methods can be used as data augmentation schemes for x-vector-based systems, the issue with the amount and variety of data would be relaxed. In some reports, the use of WB data extended from narrowband (NB) data by DNN-based BWE has already been considered. Recently, the authors reported on the effectiveness of BWE methods for machine learning frameworks. Additionally, the quality of speech generated by non-learning-based BWE is almost the same as that by learning-based BWE. Therefore, in this paper, we aim to demonstrate that several non-learning-based BWE methods are useful for data augmentation for x-vector-based ASV systems. The results of an experiment done using a speakers in the wild and NIST SRE databases showed that a system using the proposed scheme reduced error 22.7% compared with our baseline system.
Effects of GABA Supplementation on Intestinal SIgA Secretion and Gut Microbiota in the Healthy and ETEC-Infected Weanling Piglets

Pathogenic enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) has been considered a major cause of diarrhea which is a serious public health problem in humans and animals. This study was aimed at examining the effect of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) supplementation on intestinal secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) secretion and gut microbiota profile in healthy and ETEC-infected weaning piglets. A total of thirty-seven weaning piglets were randomly distributed into two groups fed with the basal diet or supplemented with 40 mg·kg−1 of GABA for three weeks, and some piglets were infected with ETEC at the last week. According to whether ETEC was inoculated or not, the experiment was divided into two stages (referred as CON1 and CON2 and GABA1 and GABA2). The growth performance, organ indices, amino acid levels, and biochemical parameters of serum, intestinal SIgA concentration, gut microbiota composition, and intestinal metabolites were analyzed at the end of each stage. We found that, in both the normal and ETEC-infected piglets, jejunal SIgA secretion and expression of some cytokines, such as IL-4, IL-13, and IL-17, were increased by GABA supplementation. Meanwhile, we observed that some low-abundance microbes, like Enterococcus and Bacteroidetes, were markedly increased in GABA-supplemented groups. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the nitrogen metabolism, sphingolipid signaling pathway, sphingolipid metabolism, and microbial metabolism in diverse environments were enriched in the GABA1 group. Further analysis revealed that alterations in microbial metabolism were closely correlated to changes in the abundances of Enterococcus and Bacteroidetes. In conclusion, GABA supplementation can enhance intestinal mucosal immunity by promoting jejunal SIgA secretion, which might be related with the T-cell-dependent pathway and altered gut microbiota structure and metabolism.
Paradoxical Block of Parathormone Secretion Is Mediated by Increased Activity of Gα Subunits*

The paradox of blunted parathormone (PTH) secretion in patients with severe hypomagnesemia has been known for more than 20 years, but the underlying mechanism is not deciphered. We determined the effect of low magnesium on in vitro PTH release and on the signals triggered by activation of the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR). Analogous to the in vivosituation, PTH release from dispersed parathyroid cells was suppressed under low magnesium. In parallel, the two major signaling pathways responsible for CaSR-triggered block of PTH secretion, the generation of inositol phosphates, and the inhibition of cAMP were enhanced. Desensitization or pertussis toxin-mediated inhibition of CaSR-stimulated signaling suppressed the effect of low magnesium, further confirming that magnesium acts within the axis CaSR-G-protein. However, the magnesium binding site responsible for inhibition of PTH secretion is not identical with the extracellular ion binding site of the CaSR, because the magnesium deficiency-dependent signal enhancement was not altered on CaSR receptor mutants with increased or decreased affinity for calcium and magnesium. By contrast, when the magnesium affinity of the Gα subunit was decreased, CaSR activation was no longer affected by magnesium. Thus, the paradoxical block of PTH release under magnesium deficiency seems to be mediated through a novel mechanism involving an increase in the activity of Gα subunits of heterotrimeric G-proteins.
On the relationship between chitin particle size and digestibility in the primate Galago senegalensis

Experiments were performed to examine the relationship be- tween the particle size of chitin and its digestibility in the small insectivorous prosimian Galago senegalensis. In the first set of experiments, four animals were fed a 25% chitin diet with the chitin particles less than or equal to 60- mesh (0.250 mm maximum diameter). On average, the animals digested 22.5 -+ 2.2 percent of the ingested chitin. In the second set of experiments, the four animals were fed a 25% chitin diet with the chitin particles ground to S40- and 245-mesh (between 0.425 and 0.325 mm). On average, the animals digested 2.75 -t 1.38 percent of the ingested chitin. There was no significant variation between the performance of any of the animals on either the 60- or 40-45-mesh trials. In all instances, however, each animal digested significantly more of the 60-mesh chitin and the 40-45-mesh chitin. These experiments demonstrate the importance of masticatory efficiency among small mammals for improving the digestibility of foods such as insects which contain high proportions of chitin. They also suggest why insectivorous and folivorous primates have certain convergent dental specializations for fine- ly grinding their foods. Both leaves and insects contain relatively indigestible structural carbohydrates. These substances are much more completely digested when the surface area to volume ratio of the swallowed material is increased. The masticatory efficiency of frugivorous primates is much lower since the con- stituents of these foods are relatively completely digested irrespective of the fineness of grinding.
Local attitudes towards conservation and tourism around Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Ensuring local support for protected areas is increasingly viewed as an important element of biodiversity conservation. This is often predicated on the provision of benefits from protected areas, and a common means of providing such benefits is tourism development. However, the relationship between receipt of tourism benefits and support for conservation has not been explored. This study examined local attitudes towards protected area tourism and the effects of tourism benefits on local support for Komodo National Park, Indonesia. Komodo National Park is a flagship for tourism in a region where protected areas are becoming increasingly visited and where local support for conservation has not been investigated. Results of a questionnaire survey revealed positive attitudes towards tourism and high support for conservation (93.7%), as well as a recognition that tourism is dependent upon the existence of the park. Positive attitudes towards tourism were positively related to the receipt of economic benefits, and to support for conservation. However, a positive relationship between receipt of tourism benefits and support for conservation was not identified, suggesting that benefits from protected area conservation make no difference to local support for conservation. Local people recognized distributional inequalities in tourism benefits, and the most common complaints were of local inflation and tourist dress code. To fully identify the impacts of protected area tourism, long-term studies of local attitudes alongside traditional economic and ecological assessments are recommended.
Cellulose decomposition in southeast Alaskan forests: effects of pit and mound microrelief and burial depth.

In southeast Alaska, where wildfires are rare, uprooting is the predominant disturbance influencing stand development in Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. – Piceasitchensis (Bong.) Carr. forests. We compared 1-year decomposition of confined cellulose filter paper placed in the organic horizon and at the organic–mineral interface on both tree-throw mounds and adjacent pits. Decomposition rates were not significantly different between pits and mounds, but filter papers within the organic layer lost 33.7% of their original dry mass, and packs within the mineral layer lost 14.5% of their mass. This effect was highly significant (p < 0.01). We concluded that the greater organic accumulations observed in pits are largely due to litter redistribution.
Isotopic tracing of sediment components assimilated by epibiontic juveniles of Holothuria scabra (Holothuroidea)

Despite Holothuria scabra's wide distribution and status as one of the best candidates for sustaining the development of tropical sea cucumber aquaculture, very few data are available regarding the organic fraction it assimilates in practice. In this paper we report experimental results where H. scabra's diet was supplemented with various 15N-labelled organic fractions of sediment. We used juveniles weighing between 38 and 88 mg at the beginning of the experiment (~2 cm long and 30 days old). Their growth was measured over a four-week period and their 15N composition recorded. The results showed that H. scabra juveniles assimilated all added organic components from both dissolved and particulate fractions of the sediment. Bacteria seem to be an important food source for juveniles, even more so than microphytobenthos (diatoms).