Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of Post Mortem Muscle Activity on Turkey Meat Quality

Wing flapping and body movement can occur during the slaughter of poultry. Wing movement and flapping are driven primarily by the breast muscles (Pectoralis major and minor), and this muscle activity may have implications for meat quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate turkey post mortem activity during slaughter at a commercial poultry processing plant. Post mortem activity (during bleeding) was scored on 5,441 male turkeys, from six different genetic lines, using a 1–4 scale from none to severe wing flapping. Meat quality was measured on these birds in terms of pH (initial, ultimate, delta or change), color (L*, a*, b*), and physiochemical traits (drip loss, cooking loss, shear force). Linear mixed models were used to analyze the effect of activity (score 1–4), genetic line (A–F), and season (summer vs. autumn) on the nine meat quality traits. Post mortem activity influenced a*, drip loss, and shear force although the magnitude of the effects was small. There was an effect (P < 0.05) of genetic line on all the meat quality traits except for L*, cooking loss, and shear force. In general, larger, faster-growing lines had higher pH, but the relationship between the lines for the other traits is not as clear. Season affected all the meat quality traits, except for pHdelta, with meat having a higher pH, L*, b*, drip loss, cooking loss, and shear force in the summer. This study provides an exploratory assessment of post mortem activity in turkeys and identifies meat quality traits which are most affected while also accounting for the effects of genetic line and season. Although identified effect sizes are small, the cumulative effect on turkey meat quality may be more substantial.
Comparison of the Performance of Phenotypic Methods for the Detection of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) in Clinical Practice

In order to investigate the diagnostic performance characteristics of four phenotypic assays in detecting carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), we collected the CRE strains from infected patients. The results of carbapenemase gene detection, bla KPC-2, bla OXA-23, bla NDM-1, bla NDM-4, bla NDM-5, bla IMP-4, and bla IMP-8, were used as a standard to evaluate the performances of combined disk test (CDT), modified carbapenem inactivation method(mCIM)/EDTA-modified carbapenem inactivation method(eCIM), NG-Test CARBA 5 (CARBA), and color developing immunoassay (CDI). The compliance of phenotype results based on CDT, mCIM/eCIM, CARBA, and CDI with genetic detection results was 94% (231/247), 95% (235/247), 98% (242/247), and 99% (246/247), respectively. CDT demonstrated a low specificity for carbapenemase detection, low negative predictive value (NPV), and low sensitivity for metallo-β-lactamase (79%, 55%, and 88%, respectively); it also failed to accurately detect IMP. The mCIM/eCIM assay had serious problems in detecting OXA-23-like carbapenemases. The sensitivity and specificity of CARBA and CDI were higher than those of the first two methods. However, CARBA did not cover the detection of OXA-23, while CDI cannot detect IMP-8, resulting in low NPVs (70% and 88%, respectively). In conclusion, CARBA and CDI assays are highly accurate except individual rare genes and allow direct genotype detections. CDT and mCIM/eCIM assays are moderately accurate and can only distinguish serine-β-lactamases from metallo-β-lactamases. Laboratories should choose the appropriate method that meets their needs based on its characteristic.
Drop Coagulation in Cross-Over Pipe Flows of Wet Steam

A numerical technique is developed for predicting the evolution of drop-size spectra in turbulent, two-phase pipe flows. While relevant to many chemical engineering processes, it is applied here to the crossover pipes of a nuclear wet-steam turbine.Valid expressions for turbulent coagulation rate in the cross-over pipes are available only for drops below about 10 μm diameter in the core flow, and for those exceeding about 20 μm near the pipe wall. Using these expressions, it is found that the rapid formation of large drops in the core allows prediction for only a small fraction of the typical residence time in the pipe, but near the wall the volume median diameter of an initial 20 μm monodispersion can double in 100 ms. Further work is required to validate the technique and extend it to handle the intervening ranges of drop size and turbulence parameters.
Time Course and Mechanisms Underlying Standing Balance Recovery Early After Stroke: Design of a Prospective Cohort Study With Repeated Measurements

Introduction Although most stroke survivors show some spontaneous neurological recovery from motor impairments of the most-affected leg, the contribution of this leg to standing balance control remains often poor. Consequently, it is unclear how spontaneous processes of neurological recovery contributes to early improvements in standing balance. Objective We aim to investigate (1) the time course of recovery of quiet stance balance control in the first 12 weeks poststroke and (2) how clinically observed improvements of lower limb motor impairments longitudinally relate to this limb's relative contribution to balance control. Methods and Analysis In this prospective longitudinal study, a cohort of 60 adults will be recruited within the first 3 weeks after a first-ever hemispheric stroke and mild-to-severe motor impairments. Individual recovery trajectories will be investigated by means of repeated measurements scheduled at 3, 5, 8, and 12 weeks poststroke. The Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment and Motricity Index of the lower limb serve as clinical measures of motor impairments at the hemiplegic side. As soon as subjects are able to stand independently, bilateral posturography during quietly standing will be measured. First, the obtained center-of-pressure (COP) trajectories at each foot will be used for synchronization and contribution measures that establish (a-)symmetries between lower limbs. Second, the COP underneath both feet combined will be used to estimate overall stability. Random coefficient analyses will be used to model time-dependent changes in these measures and, subsequently, a hybrid model will be used to investigate longitudinal associations with improved motor impairments. Discussion The current study aims to investigate how stroke survivors “re-learn” to maintain standing balance as an integral part of daily life activities. The knowledge gained through this study may contribute to recommending treatment strategies for early stroke rehabilitation targeting behavioral restitution of the most-affected leg or learning to compensate with the less-affected leg.
Dichotomous Role of Tumor Necrosis Factor in Pulmonary Barrier Function and Alveolar Fluid Clearance

Alveolar-capillary leak is a hallmark of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a potentially lethal complication of severe sepsis, trauma and pneumonia, including COVID-19. Apart from barrier dysfunction, ARDS is characterized by hyper-inflammation and impaired alveolar fluid clearance (AFC), which foster the development of pulmonary permeability edema and hamper gas exchange. Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) is an evolutionarily conserved pleiotropic cytokine, involved in host immune defense against pathogens and cancer. TNF exists in both membrane-bound and soluble form and its mainly -but not exclusively- pro-inflammatory and cytolytic actions are mediated by partially overlapping TNFR1 and TNFR2 binding sites situated at the interface between neighboring subunits in the homo-trimer. Whereas TNFR1 signaling can mediate hyper-inflammation and impaired barrier function and AFC in the lungs, ligand stimulation of TNFR2 can protect from ventilation-induced lung injury. Spatially distinct from the TNFR binding sites, TNF harbors within its structure a lectin-like domain that rather protects lung function in ARDS. The lectin-like domain of TNF -mimicked by the 17 residue TIP peptide- represents a physiological mediator of alveolar-capillary barrier protection. and increases AFC in both hydrostatic and permeability pulmonary edema animal models. The TIP peptide directly activates the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) -a key mediator of fluid and blood pressure control- upon binding to its α subunit, which is also a part of the non-selective cation channel (NSC). Activity of the lectin-like domain of TNF is preserved in complexes between TNF and its soluble TNFRs and can be physiologically relevant in pneumonia. Antibody- and soluble TNFR-based therapeutic strategies show considerable success in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease, but their chronic use can increase susceptibility to infection. Since the lectin-like domain of TNF does not interfere with TNF’s anti-bacterial actions, while exerting protective actions in the alveolar-capillary compartments, it is currently evaluated in clinical trials in ARDS and COVID-19. A more comprehensive knowledge of the precise role of the TNFR binding sites versus the lectin-like domain of TNF in lung injury, tissue hypoxia, repair and remodeling may foster the development of novel therapeutics for ARDS.
Letter to the Editor

The available research literature suggests that 20-25% of older adults manifest dysphoria (manifested by such signs as global dissatisfaction, pessimism, boredom) at various degrees of intensity. About half of these cases (about 10-15% of the overall population of older adults) present depressive symptoms which are more serious and which vary from moderate to severe. Approximately half of these cases (i.e. 5 to 8%) of the overall population of older adults appear to suffer from a major depression, which meets the criteria of a systematically derived psychiatric diagnosis. A recent review by Newmann (1989) concurs with these estimations
Finite Element Analysis of Adjacent Building Response to Corner Effect of Excavation

For the building adjacent to the excavation corner,the differential settlement caused by excavation will lead to the deflection deformation and torsion deformation of the building.The trend and degree of deflection depends on the characteristics of ground surface settlement over the cross zone of the building,and torsion deformation is closely related to the relative location between the building and the excavation corner.The impacts of the deflection deformation and torsion deformation on the tensile strain of the building are obviously influenced by corner effect.The results show that when the longitudinal walls of the building are parallel to the retaining wall and the distance between them is smaller than the excavation depth,corner effect has a negative influence on the controlling of deformation of the building.The building is in the most adverse situation in this case.When the longitudinal walls of the building are perpendicular to the retaining wall and the distance between them is smaller than the excavation depth,corner effect has a positive influence on the controlling of deformation of the building,obviously reducing the tensile strain of the wall.When the distance between the building and the corner is larger than the excavation depth,the effect on the deformation of the building can be neglected.However,the building is in the most adverse situation when the tensile strain reaches the maximum value.
Investigating employee turnover in the construction industry: A psychological contract perspective

AbstractEmployee turnover has long been, and will continue to be, a significant concern in the construction industry. Organizations that can retain skilled employees have a stronger competitive advantage. In two independent studies in China and the Philippines, the authors investigated the role of psychological contract breach in predicting employee turnover in the construction industry. The results reveal that psychological contract breach results in emotional exhaustion, which in turn predicts employees’ turnover intentions (Study 1) and actual turnover (Study 2). The results further suggest that younger as opposed to older construction workers who experience psychological contract breach are more likely to experience greater levels of emotional exhaustion and exit their organizations. Accordingly, to retain skilled workers, construction organizations should understand and continuously manage employees’ psychological contract expectations and provide more support to younger workers. This paper offers si.
Defining success in open source hardware development projects: a survey of practitioners

Abstract Recent years have seen the rise of citizens as contributors to hardware product creation. This trend has increased attention to open source hardware (OSH): a phenomenon that extends the intellectual property management and development practices in open source software (OSS) into the design of physical objects. OSH projects are different from OSS projects due to product type, and distinct from traditional closed source new product development (NPD) ones due to their openness. These differences challenge the degree of applicability of existing project success definitions in the OSH context. To investigate project success in OSH, we conducted a qualitative survey with practitioners. We report characteristics of successful OSH projects through three identified themes: (a) value creation – the big-picture impact, (b) quality of output – the quality of the hardware and accompanying documentation and (c) project process – activities that contribute to success. We contextualise by comparing OSH with selected literature on the success of OSS and NPD project management. While our study confirms a similarity between OSS and OSH in defining project success, it also highlights themes that are uniquely important to the latter. These findings are helpful for OSH development practice and could provide lessons for OSS development and closed source NPD.
Niche differentiation following whole-genome duplication? The importance of considering the intricate evolutionary history of polyploids when assessing climatic niche evolution

Aim Although whole genome duplication (WGD) is an important speciation force, we still lack a consensus on the role of niche differentiation in polyploid evolution. In addition, the role of genome doubling per se vs. later divergence on polyploid’s niche evolution remains obscure. One reason for this might be that the intraspecific genetic structure of polyploid complexes and interploidy gene flow is often neglected in ecological studies. Here, we aim to investigate to which extent these evolutionary processes impact our inference on niche differentiation of autopolyploids. Location Europe Taxon Arabidopsis arenosa (Brassicaceae) Methods Leveraging a total of 352 cytotyped populations of diploid-autotetraploid A. arenosa, we examined differences among climatic niches of diploid and tetraploid lineages both globally, and independently for each tetraploid lineage with respect to the niche of its evolutionary closest relative. Then, we tested if there was an effect of additional interploidy introgression from other sympatric but more ancestral diploid lineages of A. arenosa on climatic niches of tetraploids. Results Ecological niche shift of tetraploids is only detected when the assignment of populations to intraspecific genetic lineages is considered. We found different patterns of climatic niche evolution (i.e. niche conservatism, contraction or expansion) in each tetraploid lineage when compared to its evolutionary closest relatives. We observed an effect of interploidy gene flow in patterns of climatic niche evolution of tetraploid ruderal plants of A. arenosa. Main conclusions The niche shift of tetraploids in A. arenosa is not driven by WGD per se but rather reflects dynamic post-WGD evolution in the species, involving tetraploid migration out of their ancestral area and interploidy introgression with other diploid lineages. Our study supports that evolutionary processes following WGD - which usually remain undetected by studies neglecting evolutionary history of polyploids - may play a key role in the adaptation of polyploids to challenging environments.
Geraniin Protects against Cerebral Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury by Suppressing Oxidative Stress and Neuronal Apoptosis via Regulation of the Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway

Geraniin, a polyphenol isolated from Phyllanthus amarus, possesses extensive biological and pharmaceutical activities. In this study, we investigated the protective effect against cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury of geraniin and explored its potential mechanism. Middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R) was used to simulate cerebral I/R injury in vivo, and oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) was applied to establish an in vitro model of cerebral I/R injury. In this study, we performed TTC and HE staining and adopted a neurological score method to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of geraniin in vivo and used the CCK-8 assay to assess this effect in vitro. Indices of reactive oxidation capacity were measured in vivo and in vitro to verify the antioxidant capacity of geraniin. TUNEL staining and flow cytometry were applied to measure the apoptosis rate, and Western blotting was performed to assess the expression of apoptosis-related proteins. Finally, the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 was evaluated in vivo and in vitro by Western blotting. Geraniin significantly reduced the infarct volume, decreased neurological deficit scores, alleviated pathological changes in neurons, and increased the cell survival rate. Geraniin increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and decreased the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in vivo and in vitro. In addition, geraniin significantly reduced the apoptosis. Furthermore, geraniin also evidently increased Nrf2 (total and nuclear) and HO-1 protein expression in vivo and in vitro. Collectively, these results imply that geraniin may exert a protective effect against cerebral I/R injury by suppressing oxidative stress and neuronal apoptosis. The mechanism underlying the protective effect of geraniin is associated with activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. Our results indicate that geraniin may be a potential drug candidate for the treatment of ischemic stroke.
Assessment of the differences between juvenile and mature woods of Populus alba trees in the longitudinal and radial axes of the stem

The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences between juvenile and mature woods of Populus alba trees in the axial and radial directions of the stem. For this purpose, three stands of P. alba trees were randomly chosen and cut from at their diameter at breast height. Three disks with a thickness of 5 cm were taken at three different height levels along the tree stems. The specimens were sequentially cut in the radial position according to the ISO standards method. The results indicated that there are significant differences in the physical and biometric features of P. alba trees in the longitudinal and radial axes of the stem. As the height from the base of the tree to the top of the stem increased, the oven-dry density, basic density, and fiber biometric factors decreased. Moreover, as the distance from the pith to the bark increased, the oven-dry density, basic density, and fiber biometric factors increased. The microscopic study represented that the P. alba is a semi-ring-porous hardwood with distinct growth ring boundaries, simple perforation, homogenous rays, and alternative inter-vessel pits.
Dual-Drug Loaded Biomimetic Chitosan-Collagen Hybrid Nanocomposite Scaffolds for Ameliorating Potential Tissue Regeneration in Diabetic Wounds

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is one of the most concerning conditions, and its chronic complications are nearly synonymous with inflammation, oxidative stress, and infections. In the acute inflammatory phase of diabetic wound healing (DWH), reducing excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammatory response of the wound is a necessary treatment. The current work used a mix of emulsification and lyophilization approaches to investigate the effects of resveratrol microparticles (RES-GMS) loaded chitosan-collagen (CS-CLG) scaffold with doxycycline (DOX) on DWH. Resveratrol (RES) is a powerful antioxidant that promotes cell proliferation in the dermis by improving fibroblast function and enhancing CLG production. DOX can potentially shift the balance away from the chronic wound’s pro-inflammatory, proteolytic status toward an environment that promotes vascular ingrowth and, eventually, epithelial development. Cross-linked scaffolds had optimal porosity, reduced matrix degradation, and prolonged drug release when compared to non-cross-linked scaffolds, according to the results of composite scaffold characterization. Cell proliferation assay employing mouse fibroblasts was used to study the kinetics and bioactivity of growth factors produced from the scaffold. The RES-DOX-CS-CLG scaffold was biocompatible and promoted cell development compared to the control and CS-CLG scaffolds in in vitro experiments. DOX-loaded CS-CLG scaffold loaded with R-GMS delivers a prolonged release of RES, according to in vitro tests.
Instructional Content and Quality of Business Studies Textbook in Secondary School in Kenya

Adequately planned business studies textbook promotes effective independent learning among learners yielding achievement of learning outcome for sustained academic results. Business textbook represents potentially implemented curriculum as its vehicle through which intended content of curriculum is availed to learner encouraging actualization of learning objectives. However, instructional information that does not facilitate realization of specific objectives may limit knowledge construction degrading learner’s mean score in business studies. The study adopted exploratory research design through quantitative and qualitative approach to data collection and analysis. Counts, percentages, means, standard deviations, Chi square tests and content analysis were used for data analysis. Cross tabulation results indicated that instructional content significantly influence quality of textbook implying that appropriate instructional information supports achievement of learning for prolonged learning experience. Further analysis showed that presentation style, learner cognition and visual representation influence quality of instruction content encouraging learning. Therefore, it is recommended that educational material incorporated in business textbook be relevant to learner cognition to accelerate learning.
Phenotypic Characterization of indigenous goat population in Southern, Ethiopia

A study was conducted at Abaya and Yirgachafe districts to characterize indigenous goat types phenotypically. Data were collected through field measurements and visual observation of qualitative traits. Totally 540 goats were used for metric and morphometric measurement. Results of the study revealed that the goat populations found in Abaya and Yirgachafe district were different characteristics which are physically Abaya goats were closest with Arsi-Bale whereas yirgachafee with Woyto-Guji which are mostly distributed goat breeds in southern Ethiopia. The dominant coat color pattern in study area was plain, patchy, and spotted with proportions of 55.19, 37.04, and 7.78% and 46.67, 38.89, and 14.44% in Abaya and Yirgachafee district respectively. A strong and positive correlation(r = 0.83, 0.76) was observed between heart girth and body weight for male and female goat populations respectively. Generally, the indigenous goat population has its own difference in its morphological and morphometric traits. Traits have their own economic contribution. Therefore, identifying these important traits for further genetic improvements, conservation and sustainable utilization of the genetic resources of the diversified goat population is important.