Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
STUDY OF DIGESTAROM® 1324 EFFECT ON SELECTED PARAMETERS OF MAIZE DDGS QUALITY IN PIG NUTRITION

A digestibility experiment using six ileally cannulated growing gilts (initial body weight 39.9 kg) was carried out to study the effect of DIGESTAROM® 1324 phytogenic feed additive supplemented to the diet, on total tract and ileal digestibility of nutrients. The main components of the diets (56.6 %) were maize-based distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) produced from the fuel ethanol industrysupplemented with starch (20 %), sugar (20 %), minerals and vitamins (2.4 %). Cellite (1 %) was added to the diets as a source of acid insoluble ash. The tested preparation DIGESTAROM 1324 was added to the experimental diet D in amount of 0.03 %. Diet C was the control diet. The supplementation of DIGESTAROM 1324 to the diet insignificantly improved total tract and ileal digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, nitrogen, ash and phosphorus. The increase was within the span 0.6 – 2.2 %. Values of apparent and true ileal digestibility of amino acids were higher in the experimental diet D compared with the control diet C for all amino acids except for histidine. The improvement varied from 0.2 % (leucine) up to 15.2 % (proline). The tested preparation DIGESTAROM 1324 influenced positively but no significantly all parameters studied in the experiment.
Knowledge, attitude, and practice of complementary and alternative medicine: a survey of Iranian nurses

Background Development of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) usage makes it necessary for nurses to be up to date about these treatments. However, much information is needed about the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of nurses in this field. Aims The present study was conducted to determine the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of CAM in nurses working in Iranian hospitals. Methods It was a descriptive study. A researcher-made questionnaire was completed by nurses working in four hospitals. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Results Two hundred and thirty-three nurses completed the questionnaire (response rate = 83.8%). Most nurses had little knowledge of CAM. The most familiar methods were Nutrition, Massage Therapy and Herbal Medicine. Of the nurses, 71.1% believed that CAM would be effective in disease treatment, showing their positive attitude toward CAM; 1.56% of nurses used CAM, and most nurses did not use CAM in clinical settings. Conclusions Although nurses have a positive attitude toward CAM, their knowledge level is low. Regarding nurses’ role in patients’ treatment and the importance of their capability to treat, the need to increase nurses’ knowledge of CAM is felt, and its education should be included in the nursing curriculum.
Effects of Seismic and Geotechnical Parameters on Microzoning and Their Correlations: A Case Study in Denizli (Turkey)

This study focusses on the effects of geotechnical and some seismic parameters on construction in Denizli city center where commercial and residential buildings are very dense. Standard Penetration Test (SPT) N blow number, shear wave velocity (Vs), soil amplification and dominant soil vibration period were measured. They demonstrate that the central and northern parts of the study area have lower seismic and geotechnical characteristics than the others. The most common soil period is around 0.5-0.7 sec that overlaps with periods of many buildings in the area. The period of soil and/or structure should be modified for an earthquake resistant building design. The correlation between SPT-Vs and SPT-soil amplification were parallel to the early studies. They can be employed to predict the other geotechnical parameters.
Leaf survival of woody plants in deciduous broad-leaved forests. 2. Small trees and shrubs

Leaf survival of 29 species of small trees and shrubs was described in and around deciduous broad-leaved forests in Hokkaido, northern Japan. Twenty-four species had green leaves in the summer (summer green) and the other five species had green leaves in winter. Among the latter, three species were evergreen, one had green leaves in the winter and no leaves in the summer (winter green), and the other had two types of shoots: evergreen and summer green (heteroptosis). In summer-green species of the understory, both leaf emergence and leaf fall lasted only a short time. Duration of leaf emergence was long in open-site species and was intermediate in gap species. Leaf survival can be considered as part of the adaptive strategy of each species. The leaves of understory species emerged in a flush; that pattern could be adaptive to the strongly seasonal illumination of the forest floor. Evergreen and winter-green habits, as well as heteroptosis, were also assumed to be adaptive to life in the understory of deci.
Growth, Protein Content, Yield and Yield Components of Malt Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Varieties in Response to Seeding Rate at Sinana District, Southeast Ethiopia

Identifying optimum seeding rate for crop varieties is an important agronomic practice to improve the productivity and the quality of the produces. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of seeding rate on the growth, protein content and yield performance of malt barley varieties grown under rain-fed conditions at Sinnana district, southeast Ethiopia. The treatments studied include five malt barley varieties (Singitan, Bahati, IBON174/3, HB - 1964 and Holker) and four seed rates (100, 125, 150, and 175 kg ha-1). The experiments were arranged using factorial randomized complete block design with three replicates. The results revealed significant differences among the varieties and seeding rates for days to 50% heading, 90% physiological maturity, plant height, productive tiller (m2), 1000-kernel weight, grain protein content and grain yield (kg ha-1). Among the barely varieties, Holker recorded the longest days to 50% heading (75.0 days) and plant height (91.79cm). The heavier 1000-kernel weight was produced from Singitan and Bahati (43.52gm) and (43.30gm) varieties, respectively. Increment in seed rate from 100–175 kg ha-1 decreased days to 50% heading by 6% and thousand kernels weight by 23.51%. Furthermore, the interaction effect of variety and seeding rate showed significant differences on productive tiller, harvest index, grain protein content and grain yield. The use of 150 kg ha-1 seed rate for variety Singitan resulted in higher number of productive tillers (1017.33 per m2), thousand kernels weight (43.52g), grain yield (3.63 t ha-1), Hectoliter weight (62.98 kg ha-1) and lower protein content (10.7%). As per the result of the partial budget analysis, higher benefit also recorded from the use of variety Singitan with a seed rate of 150 kg ha-1. From the results of this study it can be concluded that, better crop performance, higher grain yield and economic return achieved from the combinations of variety Singitan, Bahati and HB-1964 with a seed rate of 150 kg ha-1 and variety IBON174/3 and Holker with seed rate of 125 kg ha-1.
The effects of species pool, dispersal and competition on the diversity–productivity relationship

Aim The diversity–productivity relationship is a controversial issue in ecology. Diversity is sometimes seen to increase with productivity but a unimodal relationship has often been reported. Competitive exclusion was cited initially to account for the decrease of diversity at high productivity. Subsequently, the roles of evolutionary history (species pool size) and dispersal rate have been acknowledged. We explore how the effects of species pool, dispersal and competition combine to produce different diversity–productivity relationships. Methods We use a series of simulations with a spatially explicit, individual-based model. Following empirical expectations, we used four scenarios to characterize species pool size along the productivity gradient (uniformly low and high, linear increase and unimodal). Similarly, the dispersal rate varied along the productivity gradient (uniformly low and high, and unimodal). We considered both neutral communities and communities with competitive exclusion. Results and main conclusions Our model predicts that competitive interactions will result in unimodal diversity–productivity relationships. The model often predicts unimodal patterns in neutral communities as well, although the decline in richness at high productivity is less than in competing communities. A positive diversity–productivity relationship is simulated for neutral communities when the species pool size increases with productivity and the dispersal rate is high. This scenario is probably more widespread in nature than the others since positive diversity–productivity relationships have been observed more frequently than previously expected, especially in the tropics and for woody species. Our simulated effects of species pool, dispersal and competition on diversity patterns can be linked to empirical observations to uncover mechanisms behind the diversity–productivity relationship.
Manuscript title: Anti-inflammatory effects of powdered product of Bu Yang Huan Wu decoction: possible role in protecting against transient focal cerebral ischemia Full author names:

Bu Yang Huan Wu decoction (BYHW) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that consists of several herbs and has been used in patients with ischemic stroke for centuries. Although powdered formula of BYHW has widely been prescribed in clinic nowadays, evidence-based effectiveness and mechanism of action of BYHW powdered product in stroke remain to be characterized. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 90 min followed by reperfusion for 24 h (ischemia/reperfusion; I/R) or sham surgery. After I/R, the rats were then given low dose (0.5 g/kg) and high dose (2.5 g/kg) of BYHW or vehicle by oral gavage twice a day for seven consecutive days. The results showed that cerebral I/R induced obvious infarction and neurobehavioral defects, in parallel with histological aberrations and extensive signaling of proinflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), in the MCAO model. Post-I/R treatment with BYHW powdered product significantly reduced the infarct area and ameliorated neurofunctional defects in a dose-dependent manner. The dose dependence was associated with TNF-α downregulation and interleukin-10 (IL-10) induction. In summary, the present findings demonstrated that BYHW powdered product exhibited therapeutic efficacy for experimental stroke and a higher dose treatment may strengthen the effectiveness via inflammatory modulation.
Annual bluegrass (Poa annua) populations exhibit variation in germination response to temperature, photoperiod, and fenarimol

Abstract Laboratory studies were conducted to evaluate variation in germination response of eight annual bluegrass ecotypes (‘Augusta 4’, ‘Augusta 8’, ‘Augusta 14’, ‘Augusta 17’, ‘Auburn’, ‘Birmingham’, ‘Columbia’, and ‘Purchased’) to photoperiod, temperature, and fenarimol, a fungicide–herbicide used for preemergence annual bluegrass. Seed collected from greenhouse-grown plants and stored for > 2 mo were evaluated under 18 environments (three day and night temperatures by six day and night durations). There was a significant ecotype by environment interaction affecting annual bluegrass germination. High temperature markedly restricted germination, with only the Birmingham ecotype exceeding 20% germination at day and night temperatures of 39 and 29 C, respectively. Maximum germination of all ecotypes was observed at a day and night temperature of 19 and 10 C, respectively. Maximum germination for a specific photoperiod was not consistent across ecotypes; however, all ecotypes germinated to some degree in complete darkness, which indicates that maintaining a dense turf canopy to eliminate annual bluegrass germination may not be completely effective. Ecotypes did not differ with respect to root length response to fenarimol but did vary with respect to shoot length response. Purchased and Columbia shoot growth were the most tolerant to increasing fenarimol concentrations. This information will be used to develop improved management strategies for annual bluegrass. Nomenclature: Fenarimol, α-(2-chlorophenyl)-α-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-pyrimidine-methanol; annual bluegrass, Poa annua var. annua (L.) Timm. and Poa annua var. reptans (Hauskn.) Timm. POANN.
POPULATION DYNAMICS AND ACTIVITY OF SOUTHERN SHORT-TAILED SHREWS (BLARINA CAROLINENSIS) IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

Abstract We captured, marked, and recaptured southern short-tailed shrews (Blarina carolinensis) during a 30-month livetrapping study in a woodlot in Jackson County, Illinois, to compare aspects of their life history with those of the northern short-tailed shrew (B. brevicauda). A total of 106,496 trap checks (15,782 trap nights) resulted in 3,430 captures of 313 B. carolinensis from February 1996 through August 1998. Trapping mortality was only 18 individuals. Sex ratio did not differ from 1:1. Estimated population density peaked at 57 individuals/ha in late summer and autumn then declined during winter. Recruitment, including birth and immigration, peaked in spring and late summer each year. Individuals entering the population in the spring and early summer had higher survival rates than those entering in the autumn. A weak correlation was found between recruitment and precipitation, and between population density and humidity. Shrew activity (timing of captures) showed significant relationships with light condition and season. During summer, shrews were caught more frequently at night. In the winter, they were captured more frequently during the day. Capture rate was negatively related to precipitation and positively related to humidity. Population dynamics and activity patterns were similar to those of B. brevicauda.
Sorting Out Valuation in the Charity Shop

Recent work within HCI and CSCW has become attentive to the politics of data and metrics in order to highlight the implications of what counts and how. In this paper, we relate these discussions to the longstanding distinctions made between value and values. We introduce literature on 'Valuation Studies' and argue for understanding the politics of data through valuation - an ongoing social practice that transforms socially embedded values into different forms of more abstract value. This theoretical work is developed through an ethnographic study of contemporary UK charity shops, as a site focused on the labour of valuation, but embedded in both local and global values. Through this study, we consider implications for the intervention and design of 'data-driven innovation', with a particular focus on distributed ledger technologies. We argue that these technologies inevitably engage in valuation, and require careful attention to the ongoing processes by which value is translated and performed by different stakeholders.
Great Expectations or Great Outcomes? Exploring the Context of English Language Policy Transfer in Bahrain

This chapter addresses English language education and writing pedagogy in secondary schools in Bahrain and explores the impact of societal factors on the operational delivery of education programs that have been borrowed from another country. The authors draw on data from focus groups held with teachers from 10 secondary schools in order to gain a better understanding of how a new teaching policy is indigenized by people on the ground. The chapter concludes that Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) borrowing in Bahrain presently reflects merely the government’s great expectations, with real outcomes suffering from a time-lag. The authors argue that the students’ personal context competes with general economic developments in the country, resulting in discordant readings of the importance of the new reforms.
Density-Dependent Survival in the Larval Stage of an Invasive Insect: Dispersal vs. Predation

1. The success of invasive species is often thought to be due to release from natural enemies. This hypothesis relies on the assumption that species are regulated by top-down forces in their native range and implies that species are likely to be regulated by bottom-up forces in the invasive range. Neither of these assumptions has been consistently supported with insects, a group which include many highly destructive invasive pest species. 2. Winter moth (Operophtera brumata) is an invasive defoliator in North America that appears to be regulated by mortality in the larval stage in its invasive range. To assess whether regulation in the invasive range is caused by top-down or bottom-up forces, we sought to identify the main causes of larval mortality. 3. To measure the importance of different sources of winter moth larval mortality, we used observational and manipulative field studies to measure dispersal, predation, parasitism, disease. We measured the response of larval dispersal in the field to multiple aspects of foliar quality, including total phenolics, pH 10 oxidized phenolics, trichome density, total nitrogen, v total carbon, and carbon-nitrogen ration. We also used manipulative laboratory studies to measure the presence of cannibalism and dispersal. 4. Tree-level declines in density were driven by density-dependent larval dispersal of early instars with very little mortality caused by other factors. Later instar larvae dispersed at increased rates from previously damaged vs. undamaged foliage, and field larval dispersal rates were related to proportion of oxidative phenolics in 2015, suggesting that larval dispersal may have been mediated by an induced decline in foliar quality. 5. We conclude that winter moth population densities are regulated in New England by density-dependent larval dispersal possibly mediated by phenolic oxidative capacity. The suggested role of host plant quality in mediating dispersal means that winter moth population densities in New England appear to be regulated by bottom up forces, aligning with the assumptions of the natural enemy release hypothesis. This is the first study known to the authors presenting data showing a negative effect on insect herbivore performance from pH 10 oxidized phenolics.
PREDICTION OF ULTRASONIC PARAMETERS AT LOW TEMPERATURES FOR TELLURITE GLASSES USING ANN

The deformation potential in x Nb2O5 (1-x) TeO2, 0.1 PbO x Nb2O5 (0.9-x) TeO2 and 0.2 PbO x Nb2O5 (0.8-x) TeO2 tellurite glass systems, was calculated using the Central Force Theory (CFT). Analysis of the compositional dependence of the experimental deformation potential in the three glass systems has been achieved. The quantitative analysis was based on the number of oxygen atoms that vibrate in the double well potential, the deformation potential and the mutual potential energy according to (CFT) with longitudinal elongation. Comparisons between the previous measured values and the predicted values using the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model for 11 different tellurite glass compositions have been implemented which showed good agreement between them.
Sub-national Evaluation of the Corruption Variability

Quantification of the corruption rate in smaller regional areas is still a considerably unexplored territory worldwide. Also the definition of the potential impacts of corruption or their precise quantification is an area that was investigated only in general level of state. Detailed analysis of corruption still lacks regional dimension. Subnational distinction of a territory in terms of the corruption rate could provide a completely new extension of theories of reasons and consequences of regional disparities. There are several reasons why to focus on this issue. Perhaps the strongest reason is that if corruption is one of the variables that have an effect of reducing economic performance, the elimination of corruption in certain regions may be the key to the elimination of regional economic disparities and thus increase the economic performance of the state. The main goal of the paper is formulated in this connection. A newly proposed Regional corruption index was used to verify corruption variability within the NUTS II regions in European countries. The high level of variability in corruption was confirmed for NUTS II regions, particularly in Italy, but also in other countries. Because of this variability, it could be in many cases very misleading to evaluate the country as a whole from the viewpoint of the level of corruption. Key-Words: corruption, regions, regional disparities, European Commission, regional policy, economic performance.
Revised typification of the name Bupleurum gracile DC. var rollii Montel. (Apiaceae) and comparison with B. asperuloides Heldr., B. gracile D'Urv., B. marschallianum C. A. Mey and B. uechtritzianum S. Stoyanov

Bupleurum gracile (M. Bieb.) DC. var. rollii Montel. ( ≡ Bupleurum rollii [Montel.] Moraldo) is lectotypified on a herbarium specimen kept in RO, revising the previous typification by S. Snogerup and B. Snogerup. An isolectotypes and 14 syntypes are also selected. Infraspecific variability and comparison with related Eastern species B. asperuloides Heldr. B. uechtritzianum S. Stoyanov and B. marschallianum C. A. Mey plus B. gracile D'Urv. are studied using morphometric and anatomical data. Notes on the ecology and distribution of the Italian endemic taxon are also provided.
PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ALLELOPHATIC EFFECTS OF CALOTROPIS PROCERA ON MILLET AND SORGHUM

Phytochemical screening and allelopathic activity of aqueous leaf extract of Calotropis procera on radicle and plumule length of millet and sorghum were investigated. The result obtained showed that Calotropis procera contain tannins, flavonoids, glycosides, steroids, saponins and cardiac glycosides which are important allelopathic sources. While alkaloids and anthraquinones were absent. The extracts brought about considerable inhibition in growth parameters of the seeds examined. The result obtained showed that the degree of retardation in radicle and plumule length of millet and sorghum increased with increase in the concentration of the extracts, which showed that the inhibition was concentration dependent. Statistical analysis (p< 0.05) revealed that there were significant differences in radicle and plumule length in millet and sorghum when compared with the control experiment. The control experiment had higher radicle and plumule length. The 20% concentration had the highest inhibition of radicle and plumule length when compared with the control. Therefore the study revealed that allelochemicals released from Calotropis procera extract had inhibitory effect on radicle and plumule length of millet and sorghum and would have inhibitory effect when grown alongside with the test crop.