Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
GENETIC DIVERSITY OF BROILER CHICKEN BRANDS RAISED IN ARID AND SEMI-ARID ZONES OF NORTHERN NIGERIA USING MITOCHONDRIAL DNA

A sector of broiler production is growing very fast to meet the high demand of meat in Nigeria. However, high mortality rates among the broilers especially during the hot dry season in arid and semi-arid zones is worrisome. There is a need for molecular genetics study that could aid in management, conservation and sustainable exploitation of this species. To evaluate the genetic diversity of broilers raised in these regions, a total of forty-six broilers were randomly sampled from eight different brands (Agrited, Amo, Chi, Fol-hope, Obasanjo, Olam, Yammfy and Zatech) for mitochondrial DNA analysis. Four haplotypes were detected among all the samples used that belong to the four strains. The sequences of mitochondrial regions revealed high haplotype diversity (0.78600) and low nucleotide diversity (0.00286). Lower genetic diversity observed may increase the chances of rapid disease infection and distribution during any disease outbreak. Introduction of new strains of broilers with high genetic diversity is highly recommended. Future study should be conducted on the performance of these strains during the extremely hot temperature period in arid and semi-arid zones of Nigeria. This is to provide reliable information for the sake of local broiler farmer’s benefit who invests largely on this sector. The study will also help the geneticists from these brands to develop a strain that could survive and perform excellently under severe climatic conditions of the rural areas of arid and semi-arid zones of Nigeria
The Effect of Competences, Work Motivation, Learning Environment on Human Resource Performance

This research is motivated by efforts to improve the quality of education, and teacher performance has not been achieved as expected. This can be seen from the number of students' achievement decreases. Due to the teacher's performance has not yet produced a standard output of students who excel. The cause that occurs can not be separated from the competence, motivation, and learning environment that still has to be improved. These three variables directly or indirectly have an influence on teacher performance and the quality of education. This study aims to determine and analyze the effect of competence, motivation, learning environment on teacher performance, the quality of education, and indirect effects through teacher performance on the quality of education. The population of this study was all elementary school teachers at the Education Office of South Sulawesi Province. The total sample study is 393 respondents. The data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Model (SEM) utilizing AMOS 18. The study results found that direct or indirect effect the competence, motivation, learning environment had a positive and significant effect on teacher performance, as well as relationship antecedent variables on the quality of education. Including the performance of teachers, effect on quality of education.
Can sustainability drive tourism development in small rural areas? Evidences from the Adriatic

Abstract This study explores how sustainability can constitute a driver of tourist demand in small areas, at the early stage of tourism development. Feasible methods and scales are proposed to analyze the perceived value of rural tourism and visitor perceived sustainability, where the low tourist demand and the touch-and-go nature of the typical visit imply measurement and modeling problems. The advantages of ordinal SEM in our empirical setting are compared to the standard model. Results indicate that a good state of conservation of the cultural heritage is the most important indicator of perceived sustainability, followed by a well-protected natural environment. We disentangle the relationship between tourism and sustainability, showing that the latter is perceived as a limitation directly, but it turns out to be a driver of destinations’ competitiveness thanks to its strong influence on the perceived value, that moderates its contribution to destination image, satisfaction and intention to recommend. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2021. 1931256 .
“Mistakes are just information”: A case study of a highly successful violin pedagogue

This study examined the instructional context, pedagogical techniques, interpersonal dynamics, and personal characteristics of a teacher and her collegiate students in a renowned private violin studio. Through lesson observations, interviews, and analysis of artifacts, the following themes emerged: (1) a nurturing, non-judgmental environment, characterized by “neutral” teacher feedback; (2) clearly defined learning expectations, lesson structure, and work habits that are mutually understood by student and teacher; (3) a clear emphasis on learning to practice effectively in the student’s own time, including “practicing practicing” within the lesson; and (4) explicit instruction on how to teach others. Analysis of the data suggests that this studio might be best understood through Bruner’s conception of a spiral curriculum, as the structure and content of all student lessons were virtually the same regardless of student level, but the complexity of the tasks increases greatly as students progress.
Insider Perspectives of a Major Sport Event Referendum

ABSTRACT In Western democratic societies, decisions to allocate public funding towards a sports stadium or event are generally made via representative democracy by elected policymakers. Increasingly, referendums are occurring to facilitate direct democracy. In this study, we examine insider perspectives of a potential Commonwealth Games bid referendum in New Zealand. The two research questions are: (1) To what extent do insiders support the initiation of a referendum to host a major sport event? and (2) What is the underlying rationale for that support or lack thereof? Interviews with 17 major event insiders (i.e., those with experience and/or decision-making authority) indicated unanimous opposition to the referendum. Several themes emerged related to their lack of support, including civic paternalism, challenges of providing voters with sufficient information to make informed votes and negative perceptions of past referendums. The results suggest the rationale for avoiding referendums extends beyond the expected apprehensiveness that voters will reject a proposal to host a major sporting event.
Fear of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Social Distancing as Factors Determining the Change in Consumer Payment Behavior at Retail and Service Outlets

The aim of this study was to identify the factors inducing customers to choose cashless payments made with payment cards at retail and service outlets during the COVID-19 pandemic. We identified factors that are crucial for consumers’ functioning under pandemic conditions, but which have so far been neglected in research. The estimated logit model indicates that the variables significantly influencing the more frequent choice of payment cards at retail outlets are related to the fear of infection and perception of the advantages of new technological solutions in connection with social distancing. Our study shows that, in addition to sociodemographic characteristics such as age and level of education, emotionally motivated factors induced by the pandemic have begun to play an important role in the transition to cashless payment.
Improved model for calculation of evaporation from water pools

Calculation of evaporation is needed for a variety of water pools in many applications under diverse conditions. Many prediction methods have been published including one by the present author. An improved model is presented here that shows good agreement with data that include natural and forced convection, laboratory vessels, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and spent fuel pools of nuclear power plants. The range of data includes pool area from 0.022 to 525 m2, water temperatures from 7 °C to 94 °C, air temperatures from 6 °C to 51 °C, relative humidity from 16% to 98%, and air velocity up to 1.9 m/s. These data from 24 studies are predicted with a mean absolute deviation of 13.9%. The same data are also compared to a number of other prediction methods; their deviations from data are much larger. In view of its good agreement with such a wide range of data from many sources, the proposed model is recommended for use in design and analysis.
Climate Variability, Dengue Vector Abundance and Dengue Fever Cases in Dhaka, Bangladesh: A Time-Series Study

Numerous studies on climate change and variability have revealed that these phenomena have noticeable influence on the epidemiology of dengue fever, and such relationships are complex due to the role of the vector—the Aedes mosquitoes. By undertaking a step-by-step approach, the present study examined the effects of climatic factors on vector abundance and subsequent effects on dengue cases of Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Here, we first analyzed the time-series of Stegomyia indices for Aedes mosquitoes in relation to temperature, rainfall and relative humidity for 2002–2013, and then in relation to reported dengue cases in Dhaka. These data were analyzed at three sequential stages using the generalized linear model (GLM) and generalized additive model (GAM). Results revealed strong evidence that an increase in Aedes abundance is associated with the rise in temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall during the monsoon months, that turns into subsequent increases in dengue incidence. Further we found that (i) the mean rainfall and the lag mean rainfall were significantly related to Container Index, and (ii) the Breteau Index was significantly related to the mean relative humidity and mean rainfall. The relationships of dengue cases with Stegomyia indices and with the mean relative humidity, and the lag mean rainfall were highly significant. In examining longitudinal (2001–2013) data, we found significant evidence of time lag between mean rainfall and dengue cases.
Nonprofit Resilience in a Natural Disaster Context: An Exploratory Qualitative Case Study Based on Hurricane Florence

ABSTRACT This qualitative study explores the impact of natural disasters on nonprofits and the organizational abilities and capacities that contribute to nonprofit resilience. Hurricane Florence was used as a case study, and data were collected through ten phone interviews. This study revealed three types of disaster impacts – property, staff, and service needs – and their corresponding post-disaster recovery paths. These paths include utilizing slack financial resources and insurance, preparing a detailed recovery plan before the disaster, maintaining a high reputation among the community, and close relationships with the local government. Organizational learning was also found to play a significant role in helping nonprofits recover from multiple types of impacts. This exploratory study contributes to the nonprofit literature by identifying several future research directions for nonprofit resilience.Practice Points Infrastructure organizations that support nonprofits in disaster-affected regions should encourage nonprofits to plan for external risks. Nonprofit managers should use multiple ways to increase their knowledge of disasters, such as by hiring staff who have professional knowledge of disaster recovery, providing relevant training, or learning from other nonprofits who have professional knowledge and experience in recovery. Making thorough preparations, setting appropriate goals, and developing collaborations are associated with quicker recovery from changes in service needs Governments and foundations should provide long-term grants for nonprofits to work on long-term disaster recovery.
Enhancement of thermoelectric performance of PEDOT:PSS films by post-treatment with a superacid

Several methods such as the addition of a polar solvent, an acid as well as various post-treatments have been used to improve the thermoelectric performance of conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) films. This paper reports a method using a superacid, trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, in methanol to treat PEDO:PSS films to improve their thermoelectric performance. Treatment of PEDOT:PSS films with this superacid in methanol leads to a significant increase in electrical conductivity from 0.7 to 2980 S cm−1 together with a moderate increase in Seebeck coefficient from 17.6 to 21.9 μV K−1, giving a power factor of 142 μW m−1 K−2, one of the highest values reported in the literature for conductive polymers. The figure of merit (ZT) value is estimated to be 0.19 under optimized conditions. The enhancement of thermoelectric performance, particularly the increase in both electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient, is due to the removal of the insulating component and polymer chain realignment giving in turn a denser packing of the conductive PEDOT polymer chains. This post-treatment method would offer an alternative way to improve the thermoelectric performance.
Spatial autocorrelation study of fatal yellowing in organic oil palm in the eastern Amazon

Abstract The oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is a very important source of vegetable oil worldwide. While oil palm cultivation is not currently economically significant in Brazil, there is immense growth potential for this crop in the Amazon region, with no need for deforestation. Fatal yellowing (FY) is a major phytosanitary barrier to the development of oil palm cultivation in the region. Many plantations have been devastated by FY, but its causes are unknown. The objective of this study was to analyze the spatial autocorrelation of FY in the oil palm crop by applying Moran’s Index (I). The experiment was carried out on a large farm (>8000 ha) in the municipality of Acará, in the state of Pará (Brazil), with 139 plots of oil palm of different genetic materials and ages. The number of diseased plants per plot has been recorded since 2001 and used in the analysis. A positive autocorrelation of disease incidence was calculated based on the observations of the current study. By calculation of the Local Moran’s I it was possible to identify the presence of high-incidence regions in the northeast and the central-west areas of the farm and low-incidence areas in the south and the north and in outlying plots. The approach described in this study was useful in identifying regions with the highest occurrence of FY, and could be useful in the management of this disease.
Decomposition Properties of C4F7N/N2 Gas Mixture: An Environmentally Friendly Gas to Replace SF6

The insulation characteristics and decomposition components of C4F7N/N2 gas mixture, a potential substitute for SF6, were first explored by breakdown experiments/gas chromatography–mass spectrometer. The structural properties of C4F7N molecule and the decomposition mechanism of C4F7N/N2 gas mixture were analyzed based on the density functional theory calculation and ReaxFF molecular dynamics simulation. We found that C4F7N/N2 mixture has great self-recovery performance. The decomposition of C4F7N in a discharge mainly produces CF4, C2F6, C3F8, CF3CN, C2F4, C3F6, and C2F5CN, among which the relative content of C2F6, CF4, and CF3CN is higher. ReaxFF-MD simulations show that CF3, CN, F, and C3F7 are the four main free radicals produced by C4F7N. The decomposition characteristics of N2 are better than that of C4F7N. The addition of N2 has a certain buffering effect to avoid the massive decomposition of C4F7N. The global warming potential value of a gas mixture containing 20% C4F7N decreased by 94.32% compared.
Evaluation of Procalcitonin Levels in Patients with Various Forms of Acute Coronary Syndrome, Depending on the Presence of Adverse Hospital Outcomes

Aim. to study the levels of procalcitonin in patients with various forms of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), depending on the presence of adverse hospital outcomes.Materials and Methods. The study included 222 patients admitted to the emergency cardiology department with a diagnosis of ACS in the period from March 2014. until January 2017. Of these, 106 (47.7 %) patients were diagnosed with unstable angina (NS) and 116 (52.3%) with myocardial infarction (MI). Non ST segment elevation MI (NSTEMI) was diagnosed in 47 (40.5%) patients with MI, and ST elevation MI (STEMI) – in 69 (59.5%) patients with MI. After the assessment of the patient's compliance with the criteria for inclusion/exclusion in the study, the procedure for signing the patient's informed consent form was carried out. The protocol of the study was approved by the local Ethics committee of the M. E. Zhadkevich State Clinical Hospital. In each study subgroup, the presence of adverse outcomes during the current hospitalization was assessed: cardiovascular death, nonfatal MI, nonfatal acute cerebrovascular accident, acute heart failure, as well as a combined endpoint, including all of the listed adverse outcomes. All patients, in addition to routine laboratory methods of investigation, were examined for the level of procalcitonin at admission to the hospital, on 2-3 and 4-5 days.Results. Patients with MI compared to patients with NS were characterized by a large number of registered endpoints in general (24.1% vs. 6.6%, p<0.001), while in the group of patients with MI, cardiovascular death was more often recorded (10.3% vs. 0.9%, p<0.001) and acute heart failure (12.9% vs. 5.6%, p=0.009). Patients with MI, in particular with STEMI, who had adverse hospital outcomes, were characterized by statistically significantly higher levels of procalcitonin compared to patients without adverse hospital outcomes. Patients with STEMI showed significantly higher levels of procalcitonin at all stages of the disease, and patients with MI-only at 2-3 and 4-5 days. There were no statistically significant differences in the level of procalcitonin at all stages of the disease in patients with NSTEMI and with unstable angina, depending on the hospital outcomes.Conclusion. Elevated procalcitonin levels in patients with MI, in particular with STEMI, are associated with adverse hospital outcomes; for other forms of ACS, no statistically significant differences were observed with different hospital outcomes.
Analysis of Brand Image and Online Consumer Reviews on Consumer Loyalty

This study aims to determine the effect of the brand image variable (X1) and online consumer review on consumer loyalty (Y). The method used in this research is descriptive and associative methods using a quantitative approach, the sample used is 150 respondents to consumers of Nature Republic Aloe Vera 92% Soothing Gel in Sukabumi City which are distributed using googlefrom, and using probability sampling techniques using probability sampling. random sampling. The data analysis technique used is the multiple linear analysis technique, the T test and the F test. The results of this study indicate that the brand image variable (X1) has a positive and significant effect on the consumer loyalty variable (Y) and the online consumer review variable (X2) also has a positive and significant effect on the consumer loyalty variable (Y). The coefficient of determination test results showed a value of 0.516 which can be interpreted as the percentage of variables X1 and X2 which have a value of 51.6% and the remaining 48.4% which is influenced by other factors not examined in this study.
Mental health, substance abuse, prison victimization and suicide attempts amongst incarcerated women

Worldwide, incarcerated women are known to suffer adverse experiences that might increase the risk of suicide attempts during incarceration. The present investigation examines the prevalence of suicide attempts amongst incarcerated women in Spain and the factors associated with this. Between January and March of 2017 a total of 174 women, enrolled from two prisons in the southeast of Spain, completed anonymous self-report measures of demographic variables, penitentiary and sentence-related variables, mental distress (including depression, anxiety and stress), perceived social support, substance use (including alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine, heroin and hallucinogens), prison victimization (property, verbal, physical and sexual victimization) and suicide attempts. Overall, 15.5 percent of women reported they had attempted suicide during their current incarceration. Compared with women who did not report suicide attempts, multivariate analysis showed that women reporting suicide attempts were more likely to report lower education levels, in-prison substance use, victimization and higher levels of mental distress. In order to prevent suicide amongst incarcerated women, victimization in all its forms, emotional distress and drug abuse in women with lower education levels should be considered highly targetable variables.
Seismic and Geodetic Analysis of Rupture Characteristics of the 2020 Mw 6.5 Monte Cristo Range, Nevada, Earthquake

The largest earthquake since 1954 to strike the state of Nevada, United States, ruptured on 15 May 2020 along the Monte Cristo range of west-central Nevada. The Mw 6.5 event involved predominantly left-lateral strike-slip faulting with minor normal components on three aligned east–west-trending faults that vary in strike by 23°. The kinematic rupture process is determined by joint inversion of Global Navigation Satellite Systems displacements, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data, regional strong motions, and teleseismic P and SH waves, with the three-fault geometry being constrained by InSAR surface deformation observations, surface ruptures, and relocated aftershock distributions. The average rupture velocity is 1.5 km/s, with a peak slip of ∼1.6 m and a ∼20 s rupture duration. The seismic moment is 6.9×1018 N·m. Complex surface deformation is observed near the fault junction, with a deep near-vertical fault and a southeast-dipping fault at shallow depth on the western segment, along which normal-faulting aftershocks are observed. There is a shallow slip deficit in the Nevada ruptures, probably due to the immature fault system. The causative faults had not been previously identified and are located near the transition from the Walker Lane belt to the Basin and Range province. The east–west geometry of the system is consistent with the eastward extension of the Mina Deflection of the Walker Lane north of the White Mountains.
Actinomycete as biocontrol agents against tomato gray mold disease caused by Botrytis cinerea

The present work aims to isolate actinomycete bacteria with antagonistic abilities towards Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent of gray mold, from a soil sample collected from the rhizosphere of a healthy tomato grove. In vitro confrontation led to the isolation of 104 actinomycete isolates; fifteen isolates have shown the most significant mortality rate of the mycelial growth of B. cinerea (>50%). Based on the results of this screening, representative strains were selected to verify their in vivo antagonistic activity on tomato fruits; the reduction of B. cinerea has a percentage ranging from 52.38% to 96.19%. Furthermore, the actinomycete isolates were evaluated for their plant growth-promoting (PGP) properties and their ability to produce biocontrol-related extracellular enzymes viz., amylase, protease, cellulase, chitinase, esterases, and lecithinase. Indeed, Ac70 showed high β-1,3-glucanase activity and siderophore production (17U/ml and 43% respectively), and the highest chitinase activity (39μmol/ml) was observed for Ac24. These results indicated that these actinomycetes might potentially control gray mold caused by B. cinerea on tomato fruits. Investigations on enhancing the efficacy and survival of the biocontrol agent in planta and finding out the best formulation are recommended for future research.