Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In-ovo and dietary supplementation of selenium nano-particles influence physiological responses, immunological status and performance of broiler chicks

The producers aim to improve poultry production efficiency and achieve high profitability but have noticed that during commercial production, chicks may be exposed to various microbiological challenges, infection by diseases and oxidative stress, and result in economic and production inefficiencies. Therefore, improving the immune function of chicks by enhancing antioxidant status may contribute to the reduction of morbidity and mortality of birds. Numerous reports have demonstrated that selenium, an important microelement, acts as a natural biological antioxidant that helps in the protection of cellular membranes against oxidative damage and ameliorates bird growth and health (Suraï and Dvorska, 2002; Levkut et al., 2009; Pilarczyk et al., 2012; Khan et al., 2015; 2016). Unfortunately, traditional forms of selenium supplements, in general, have low levels of absorption and increase toxicity (Raza, 2012; Jamil, 2013; Khan et al., 2016). Furthermore, the lack of this microelement leads to numerous metabolic disorders and diseases through its negative effect on the physiological status of the chicks (Cai et al., 2012). Subsequently, delivering a proper amount of this microelement to chicks’ body is important for physiological enzymatic, hormonal and immune processes (Keen et al., 2004). ABSTRACT. This study aimed to explore impacts of in ovo injection and dietary supplementation of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) on physiological responses, immunological status and performance of broiler chicks. A total of 210 broiler eggs were divided into 3 in ovo groups: not in ovo injected and in ovo injected with 5 or 10 ppb SeNPs. The hatched chicks from each in ovo group were divided into 2 dietary groups, with or without 10 ppb SeNPs/kg ration for 5 weeks. Live body weight and body weight gain were significantly increased in all SeNPs injected or supplemented groups. Feed conversion ratio for the whole feeding period was improved by SeNPs feed supplementation. Serum triglycerides and malondialdehyde contents were significantly decreased, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, immunoglobulin status, reduced glutathione content and glutathione reductase activity were increased by both examined routes of SeNPs delivery. It can be concluded that SeNPs in ovo injection with a dose up to 10 ppb/egg along with SeNPs diet supplementation at a dose of 10 ppb/kg had a positive effect on performance and physiological, antioxidant and immunological status of broiler chicks. Received: 12 August 2019 Revised: 5 December 2019 Accepted: 9 March 2020
Using a Fork as a Hairbrush: Investigating Dual Routes to Release from Functional Fixedness

Functional fixedness involves difficulty with conceptualizing creative object uses. When it obstructs problem solving, individuals must reframe their approach. We examined how different training techniques – chunk decomposition (i.e., considering an object’s basic parts and physical properties) and constraint relaxation (i.e., considering an object’s different functions) – might rely upon different routes to creative reframing. Additionally, we investigated how different forms of cognitive load interact with these dual routes. Participants learned one of three techniques. Chunk decomposition participants created object breakdown diagrams; constraint relaxation participants created object functions lists; and, free association (control) participants wrote a word that they associated with each of several concrete nouns. After training, participants attempted to solve five functional fixedness problems. E1 investigated how increasing germane cognitive load via either direct or indirect prompting affected training transfer. Experiment 2 investigated how reducing extraneous cognitive load by providing no transfer instructions and using an eye-closure strategy. Across both experiments, results supported differences in accuracy and response latency by training. However, chunk decomposition and constraint relaxation did not follow the same pattern, suggesting different mechanisms of the effect. We discuss possible applications to increase innovation in real-world domains such as education, business, and engineering.
Guessing the Game: An Individual's Awareness and Assessment of a Game's Existence

In everyday life, games begin inconspicuously, leaving an individual to stumble upon their assessment of a situation. An unaware individual is unlikely to exhibit strategic behavior in a given situation, which highlights the importance of awareness examination. The purpose of this exploratory analysis is to examine awareness and assessment of a game’s existence at the individual level. That requires examination of respondents’ detection (as an indication of their awareness) and identification (as an indication of their assessment) of game elements in game-like situations and their relation to awareness of the game existence. The empirical data is collected using a scenario technique and is statistically analyzed. The results show that the respondents are, on average, at least partially aware of possibility for strategic interaction (even in vague situations). The revealed regularities point out to the relation of the game elements to game existence belief, but also indicate the presence of psychological biases and information utilization issues. For example, the respondents assign different levels of belief to game existence regarding possible losses or gains. Research limitations involve the use of a small convenience sample and lead to suggestions for results validation in future research. Possible implications of the results are discussed.
Tetanus in School Age Children Seen at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital: A Need for Booster Doses of Tetanus Vaccine

Background: Tetanus still causes significant morbidity and mortality amongst children in Nigeria despite decades of immunisation with tetanus vaccine. Objectives: To determine the prevalence, case fatality rate and predictors of fatality amongst school age children treated for tetanus at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study of all children aged 4 to 17 years treated for tetanus at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2019. Data was obtained from the case notes and ward registers. Sociodemographic characteristics, presenting complaints, incubation period, onset interval, number of Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus (DPT) vaccine received at infancy, treatment outcome, duration and cost of hospital stay were obtained, entered into a spread sheet and analysed with SPSS version 20. Results are presented in tables and percentages. The level of significance was set at P value <0.05. Results: During the period under review, there were 53 children aged 4 to 17 years treated for tetanus, accounting for 0.3% of the total admission. The mean age was 10.79±3.35 years. There were 33 (62.26%) males and 20 (37.74%) females. Majority 26 (49.06%) of the children were of low socioeconomic class. The commonest 28(52.8%) route of infection was broomstick injury. Original Research Article Alex-Hart and LongJohn; ACRI, 20(2): 1-9, 2020; Article no.ACRI. 55477 2 Majority 32(60.3%) of the children were not immunised in infancy. The mean incubation period was 7.34±4.21 days and the mean onset interval was 8.87±10.44 hours. The two most common symptoms were generalized spasms 49 (21.03%) and trismus 47 (20.17%). Short incubation period (≤4 days) and short onset interval (≤4 hours) were significantly associated with higher death rates (p=0.0002; p=0.012). Patients with short incubation period of ≤4 days and short onset interval of≤ 4 hours are more likely to die (p=0.0002; p=0.012). Conclusion: There was a high tetanus case fatality rate amongst school age children at University of Port Harcourt. Short incubation period and onset interval were associated with higher mortality. Booster doses of TT containing vaccines should be administered to primary and secondary school children in Port Harcourt to curb the menace.
Stratified rank histograms for ensemble forecast verification under serial dependence

Rank histograms are a popular way to assess the reliability of ensemble forecasting systems. If the ensemble forecasting system is reliable, the rank histogram should be flat, “up to statistical fluctuations. ” There are two long‐noted challenges to this approach. Firstly, uniformity of the overall distribution is implied by but does not imply reliability; ideally the distribution of the ranks should be uniform even conditionally on different forecast scenarios. Secondly, the ranks are serially dependent in general, precluding the use of standard goodness‐of‐fit tests to assess the uniformity of rank distributions without any further precautions. The present paper deals with both these issues by drawing together the concept of stratified rank histograms, which have been developed to deal with the first issue, with ideas that exploit the reliability condition to manage the serial correlations, thus dealing with the second issue. As a result, tests for uniformity of stratified rank histograms are presented that are valid under serial correlations.
Resistance to Aryloxyphenoxypropionate and Cyclohexanedione Herbicides in Green Foxtail (Setaria virdis)

Resistance to aryloxyphenoxypropionate and cyclohexanedione herbicides (ACCase inhibitors) was characterized in five green foxtail populations from western Canada. Field histories indicated that these populations were exposed to up to seven applications of diclofop-methyl and sethoxydim over the previous ten years. Major differences occurred among the populations in their levels of resistance and patterns of cross-resistance. With one exception, R/S ratios calculated from GR50 values derived from growth room experiments varied from 2 to 54 depending on the population and herbicide. The exception was UM131 which was at least 75 times more resistant to sethoxydim (R/S > 2981) than the other populations. UM59 was not resistant to sethoxydim. It was also the least resistant to the other herbicides with R/S ratios ranging from 2 for fenoxaprop-p-ethyl to 8 for diclofop-methyl. In comparison, UM8 was resistant to diclofop-methyl, fenoxaprop-p-ethyl, sethoxydim, and tralkoxydim with R/S ratios of 11, 5, > 39, and 27, respectively. In field experiments, shoot dry weights of UM8 treated at two times the recommended rates of these herbicides were reduced by 9, 45, 74, and 49%. In contrast, the susceptible population, UM7, was completely controlled. UM7 and UM8 did not differ in their response to trifluralin, ethalfluralin, quinclorac, propanil and TCA.
Evaluation and selection of soil amendments for field testing to reduce P losses

The effectiveness of chemical amendments in reducing P losses from manure impacted Florida soil was evaluated using a variety of protocols, including total elemental analysis, short-term laboratory equilibrations, column leaching experiments, and simulated rainfall studies. Amendments used included: two Fe-humates (a Fe-water treatment residual (WTR) and a titanium-mine waste), two Al-WTRs, one Ca-WTR, a coal combustion slag, a Si-rich material (Pro-Sil), a Leonardite material (dinoSoil), and two agricultural materials (lime and gypsum). In equilibration studies, Al-WTRs were the most effective at sorbing P, while Fe-humate sorbed the least P of all treatments. Other amendments effectively reduced soluble P, but increased suspension pH and electrical conductivity (EC) to an extent expected to adversely affect plant growth. Gypsum was the most effective amendment in reducing P leaching in small column studies. DinoSoil treatment significantly altered the soil hydraulic properties, yielding the greatest runoff volumes in a simulated rainfall study. Total P loss (runoff + leachate) was largely determined by the leaching component, and was essentially all soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) for both bare and grassed soil surfaces. AD treatments reduced runoff SRP compared to the control. Amendment effects in the grassed rainfall study (dominated by leaching) were inconsistent with results from themore » small column leaching study, possibly due to the different hydraulic conditions and kinetic factors involved in the two studies. The Al-WTRs amendments were recommended for field evaluation. « less
Exposure to Ethyl Carbamate by Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages Imported in Korea

Determination of ethyl carbamate content in imported alcoholic beverages in Korea and an exposure assessment were conducted. In gas chromatography/mass spectrometry/selected ion monitoring (GC/MS/SIM) analysis, 2.5-39, 8-263, 6.3-112, 11.3-23.5, 53-94, 8.5-38.5, 7-9.5, 21.3-31.5, 5-832.5, and 10.5-364.8 μg/L of ethyl carbamate were detected in imported beers, sakes, whiskies, vodkas, Chinese liquors, cognacs, tequilas, rums, liqueurs, and wines, respectively. The exposure assessment indicated that the exposure of Korean adults to ethyl carbamate were lower than 20 ng/kg BW per day, (the virtual safe dose) indicating that the amount of ethyl carbamate exposed through fermented food and alcoholic beverages including imported products are currently in the ‘no significant risk level’. However, the present low exposure to ethyl carbamate through the imported alcoholic products was not due to the low contents of ethyl carbamate in imported products, but low consumption of the imported products. Therefore, given increasing importation of alcoholic beverages in Korea, reductions of ethyl carbamate content in imported alcoholic beverages, especially non-distilled products, should be required by regulating limits on the ethyl carbamate content in the imported alcoholic beverages.
Bioavailability of genistein and its glycoside genistin

Genistein belongs to the class of isoflavones. The main sources of isofiavones in food are soybeans and soy-based products. Most isoflavones in plants are bound to sugars such as the glycosides genistin and daidzin. Understanding the various factors that influence absorption and metabolism of isoflavones and especially of their naturally occurring glycosides, is essential to fully elucidate and understand the physiological activity of these dietary ingredients in the human body. It is also essential to fully explore the possible beneficial health effects of the isoflavones, which are considered to be promising as healthy constituents in enriched (novel) foods or supplements. The aim of this thesis is to obtain data on the transport (uptake) and metabolism of the isoflavones genistein and daidzein and their glycosides genistin and diadzin. Special focus is directed to the possible role of SGLTl in the mechanism involved in the transport and absorption of the isoflavonic glycoside genistin. Another objective is to explore, develop, validate and optimise in vitro, in situ and in vivo gastrointestinal model systems for studying the bioavailability and metabolism of genistein, daidzein and their glycosides.This thesis reveals that in all intestinal models studied genistein is more bioavailable than its glycoside genistin. The major route of absorption of genistin appeared to be deglycosylation of genistin to genistein and the subsequent intestinal metabolism of genistein to genistein glucuronides and sulfates. Mechanistic studies show that the bioavailability of genistin could be improved by the naturally occurring compound phloridzin, present in apples, because phloridzin inhibits the efflux-transporters located at the brush border (apical) membrane of the enterocyte. On the basis the results described in this thesis, it is concluded that the best gastrointestinal model system appears to be freely moving unanaesthetized cannulated rats. However, animal experiments are expensive and time-consuming and should be reduced, refined or replaced whenever feasible also for ethical reasons. The Caco-2 cells provide a good alternative for studying the mechanism of isoflavones absorption, although the hydrolase activity in this cell line should be improved to mimic the human situation to a better extent.All together the results presented in this thesis provides an insight in the mechanisms underlying the bioavailability of this important class of health beneficial soy based food ingredients and even point at inhibition of apical transporters as a way to improve the bioavailability of genistin and genistein.
Health Insurance and Healthcare Quality: A Comparative Study between Insured and Uninsured Patients at a Teaching Hospital in Northeast Nigeria

Objective: Patients’ perception of the quality of care is essential in assessing health services and feedbacks from patient satisfaction surveys are useful in healthcare quality improvements. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done to evaluate satisfaction with the quality of care among insured patients under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and uninsured (Out-of-Pocket paying) patients at University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. Data were collected from 115 respondents from each group selected by systematic random sampling; using self-administered questionnaires. Analysis was done using IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0. Results: The overall mean satisfaction for the uninsured group (73.1 ± 7.2) was higher than that of the insured group (71.2 ± 7.5). However, the difference was not statistically significant, p = 0.063. The observed satisfaction levels in the various areas of services accessed among the insured and uninsured group in this study are comparable, except for the significant differences observed in satisfaction with hospital facilities and the availability of prescribed drugs, suggesting the need for the improvement of hospital facilities and availability of drugs. Conclusion: Despite complaints about the NHIS, it is still generally preferred to out-of-pocket payment by both groups. Therefore, more efforts should be made to expand the population coverage of health insurance to allow the inclusion of more people, while the need for continuous improvement of quality health services cannot also be overemphasized.
Second Language Acquisition of Quantifiers by Arabic Speakers of English: Feature Reassembly Approach

This paper reports on an experimental study addressing second language acquisition of English quantifiers by Arabic speakers. Due to several differences found between Arabic and English regarding types, meanings and functions of quantifiers, Arabic learners encounter challenges in mastering them properly. Unlike English, Arabic does not make lots of distinctions among the different meanings that each quantifier might bear; using the same quantifier to bear two or several meanings at the same time. Arabic, for instance, does not differentiate between countable and non-countable nouns using the same modifier in contrast to English. According to the Feature Reassembly Hypothesis (Lardiere 2005, 2009; Choi & Lardiere, 2006), second language (L2) speakers must successfully reassemble existing features of their first language (L1) into the L2 feature-based sets in order to accommodate the L2 grammar. The researcher tests the validity of this prediction for the L2 acquisition of English quantifiers, which requires Arabic learners of English to remap semantic concepts of quantity onto new and different morpholexical configurations. Data from 40 L1 Arabic learners of English at different levels of proficiency and 20 native speakers who completed a picture/sentence matching task suggest that only the meanings which require different and new semantics-morphology remapping is difficult.
Experimental and Numerical Study on Flow Resistance and Bubble Transport in a Helical Static Mixer

Flow resistance and bubble transport in a helical static mixer were studied experimentally and numerically. The inline mixer increases the volume fraction of gas in liquids by breaking bubbles into smaller sizes with a micrometer size in the flow experiments. The gas–liquid flow was simulated by a combination of computational fluid dynamics and Taylor expansion methods of moments. The friction factor of the helical static mixer is much smaller than that of the Kenics static mixers. The pressure drop increases with the Reynolds number, and the increment is larger when the Reynolds number is higher. The equidistant pressure drop increases with the argument of Reynolds number, and increases when the pitch decreases from upstream to downstream. The energy expenditure increases significantly when the variable-pitch coefficient is too small. The bubble geometric mean diameter decreases and the geometric standard deviation increases when the gas–liquid fluid flows through the mixer. The variable pitch structure enhances the bubble breakup effectively. The change of the bubble size decreases with the argument of the Reynolds number. The effect of the mixer has a limitation on breaking the bubbles.
Parental Attitudes toward Vaccination in Turkey: A Face-to-Face Survey

Abstract Objective Vaccination is the most effective and safest approach to protect public health and to prevent infectious diseases. Despite its great benefits, there has been a growing sense of distrust in the safety of vaccines and vaccination programs, leading to unwillingness to vaccinate or even refusal of vaccines altogether. The aim of this study was to determine parental attitudes toward vaccination and to derive information that would help develop appropriate strategies to tackle vaccine hesitancy and refusal (V-HR). Methods A 15-item questionnaire was administered during a face-to-face interview with 1,440 parents (88.1% women, median age: 32 years) whose children were followed up and treated in pediatric outpatient and/or inpatient clinics between July and September 2019. The influential factors on parental V-HR were statistically analyzed. Results The majority of the parents were in favor of vaccination without doubt (n = 1,184, 82.2%). The overall V-HR rate was 17.8%, with 16% of the parents (n = 230) expressing hesitancy and 1.8% (n = 26) completely refusing vaccination. Educational status significantly affected V-HR (p = 0.001), with a higher proportion of V-HR parents having a higher educational level (high school–university) than those having a lower educational status. The prevalence of V-HR was significantly higher among parents who drew vaccination-related information from written, visual, and social media (p < 0.001). Among the 256 parents, parental V-HR most commonly arose from perceived risk and safety concerns, with the feeling that vaccines might lead to another disease such as autism (57%), and the fear that vaccines might cause side effects (33%). Conclusion Parental V-HR has transformed into an alarming global health problem. Of particular importance is monitoring and assessing parental V-HR in every aspect, particularly the media sources that continuously disseminate misinformation about vaccination. Besides nationwide projects to encourage vaccination, appropriate utilization of the same media sources is needed to counteract V-HR and enhance awareness about the necessity and lifesaving benefits of vaccination.