Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proximate composition, cholesterol concentration and lipid oxidation of meat from chickens fed dietary spice addition (Allium sativum, Piper nigrum, Capsicum annuum)

The effects of supplementing spices, including garlic, black pepper and hot red pepper, in broiler chicken diet on proximate composition, cholesterol content and lipid oxidation of breast and thigh with drumstick meat, skin and liver were investigated. Meat proximate composition included measurements of moisture, protein, fat and ash content. Cholesterol content of tissue homogenates was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography–DAD analyses, while lipid oxidation of white and red meat, as well as liver, was expressed as a concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) (mg malondialdehyde (MDA)/kg tissue). For biological research, eight treatments with a total of 1200 broiler chickens of hybrid line Hubbard were formed, with four replicates. In the control treatment, the chickens were fed with commercial mixtures of standard composition and quality based on corn flour and soybean meal. Experimental treatments were fed with the same commercial mixtures, except with addition of spices. At the end of the experiment and on the basis of gained results, it can be concluded that the chickens in experimental treatments with hot red pepper achieved statistically significantly (P < 0.05) higher final body masses (2460.6 and 2442.4 g) than did the chickens in the control and other treatments. Black pepper showed a positive and significant (P < 0.05) influence on improving the protein content in breast meat (24 g/100 g), hot red pepper lowered the cholesterol concentrations in meat (24.7 g/100 g in red meat), skin (87.4 g/100 g) and liver (263.1 g/100 g), while black pepper significantly (P < 0.05) reduced lipid oxidation in breast (0.05 mg MDA/kg tissue) and thigh with drumstick (0.12 mg MDA/kg tissue). On the basis of obtained findings, it can be concluded that the dietary spice herbs had a positive influence on a proximate composition of chicken meat, cholesterol concentrations and lipid oxidation process.
Relations among Executive Function, Decoding, and Reading Comprehension: An Investigation of Sex Differences

ABSTRACT In the current investigation, we used structural equation mediation modeling to examine the relations between executive function (indexed by measures of working memory, shifting, and inhibition), decoding ability, and reading comprehension in a sample of 298 children aged 6 to 8 years (132 boys and 166 girls). Results indicated that executive function was mediated by decoding ability. When sex was examined as a moderator of these associations, a trend suggested that direct relations between executive function and reading comprehension were stronger for girls compared with boys; no significant differences were found for other direct and indirect relations. Taken together, these findings highlight the importance of executive function in supporting underlying integrative processes associated with reading comprehension and emphasize the need to further consider the role of executive function in relation to reading.
The Effect of Cancer Cachexia Severity and Eccentric Muscle Contractions on Selected Myofiber Metabolic Properties in Mouse Skeletal Muscle

iv LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 SPECIFIC AIMS 7 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 8 CHAPTER 3: THE EFFECT OF CACHEXIA SEVERITY ON SELECTED MYOFIBER METABOLIC PROPERTIES IN MOUSE SKELETAL MUSCLE 30 CHAPTER 4: THE EFFECT OF ECCENTRIC CONTRACTIONS ON SELECTED MYOFIBER METABOLIC PROPERTIES IN MOUSE SKELETAL MUSCLE 61 CHAPTER 5: OVERALL DISCUSSION 89 REFERENCES 96
Variance components, heritabilities and gain estimates for growth chamber and field performance of Populus tremuloides: growth parameters.

Summary Variance components, heritabilities and gain estimates are reported for 29 clones (five populations) of Populus tremuloides from Alberta, Canada, which were grown (two years) at two field sites (northern and southern Alberta) and in two controlled environment chambers (for 12 weeks). Results indicated more variation at the clone-within-population level than the population level. There was more variation accounted for by both clone-within-population and population in the growth chamber than in the field. Caliper: clone-growth chamber: 32%, field: 22% to 7%; caliper: population-growth chamber: 12%, field: 2%; height: clone-growth chamber: 7% to 27%; budburst: clone-growth chamber: 26%; root-to-shoot ratio: clonegrowth chamber: 17%. Broad-sense clone mean heritabilities for caliper were also lower in the field (0.56 to 0.29), than in the growth chambers (0.80). Heritabilities in the growth chamber were: Bud-burst = 0.72, height = 0.74, root-to-shoot ratio = 0.59. Expected gains, estimated based on growth chamber data, were: 9% to 38% across populations for budburst, 11% to 24% for caliper, 12% to 22% for final height, and 8% to 19% for root-to-shoot. This study indicates that significant improvement in traits is possible in trembling aspen with a 17% selection intensity but that care must be taken in determining the size of the region that will comprise the population where selections are made.
Strength development of ground perlite-based geopolymer mortars

Raw perlite is a volcanic alumino-silicate and is used as aggregate in the construction industry. The high silica and alumina contained in the raw perlite allows the production of geopolymer mortar with the help of alkaline solutions. In this study, different geopolymer mortars are obtained by mixing ground perlite (GP), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), water and CEN standard sand and the strength and microstructure of these mortars are investigated. Mortar specimens are placed in the oven 24 hours after casting and kept at different temperatures and times, then the specimens are cured under laboratory conditions until the day of strength tests. After curing, unit weight, ultrasound pulse velocity, flexural and compressive strengths are determined. Experimental results indicate that the mechanical properties of the mortars enhance with increasing oven-curing period and temperatures as well as increasing NaOH molarity. In addition, SEM/EDS and XRD analyses are performed on the mortar specimens and the results are interpreted.
Effect of organic materials on grain yield and soil properties in maize (Zea mays)wheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping system

A field experiment was conducted during 1994-95 and 1995-96 to evaluate some locally available organic plant residues as suppleruentry source of nutrients in maize (Zea mays L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend. Fiori & Paol.) cropping system. Grain yield, nutrients uptake by maize increased significantly with increase in levels of NPK. Response to 100% NPK was 1.51 and 1.36 tonnes/ha over control yield of 1.81 and 1.62 tonnes/ha in maize and wheat crops respectively. Integration of 75% N through chemical fertilizers + 25% N through organic sources gave equal yield to 100% NPK in maize. The farmyard manure and white popinac leaves had registered their residual effect on succeeding wheat crop by producing equivalent yield as 100% NPK. Among diferent organic sources, farmyard manure proved superior to blackgram (Phaseolus mungo L.) straw followed by white popinac leaves while wheat straw proved inferior source of N substitution. The water-holding capacity, organic carbon, available nitrogen and phosphorus increased with increase in the organic residues while available K and bulk density decreased. The values were more evident in integration of 50% N from chemical fertilizer + 50% N through organic sources, viz farmyard manure, white popinac leaves and blackgram straw.
Cadmium and zinc toxicity effects on growth and mineral nutrients of carrot (Daucus carota).

Alien and exotic plant invasions are threatening the floral diversity around the globe and affect ecological processes. Weed invasion has been documented in North-West Pakistan. A total of 16 weeds were reported as invasive. These were Xanthium strumarium, Ipomoea eriocarpa, Alternanthera pungens, Trianthema portulacastrum, Tagetes minuta, Imperata cylindrica, Amaranthus hybridus subsp. hybridus, Robinia pseudo-acacia, Broussonetia papyrifera, Ailanthus altissima, Pistia stratiotes, Phragmites australis, Parthenium hysterophorus, Cannabis sativa, Galium aparine and Emex spinosus. Among these Robinia pseudo-acacia, Broussonetia papyrifera and Ailanthus altissima are trees and were purposely introduced as they later became invasive. They were aggressive in nature and replaced or suppressed the local vegetation. Their distribution, history of invasion and management has been discussed here. The behaviour and association of the 36 problem weeds with different crops has also been outlined as they perspired from the farmers.
Time series prediction: A combination of Long Short-Term Memory and structural time series models

Stock market is an important capital mobilization channel for economy. However, the market has potential loss due to fluctuations of stock prices to reflect uncertain events such as political news, supply and demand of daily trading volume. There are many approaches to reduce risk such as portfolio construction and optimization, hedging strategies. Hence, it is critical to leverage time series prediction techniques to achieve higher performance in stock market. Recently, Vietnam stock markets have gained more and more attention as their performance and capitalization improvement. In this work, we use market data from Vietnam’s two stock market to develop an incorporated model that combines Sequence to Sequence with Long-Short Term Memory model of deep learning and structural models time series. We choose 21 most traded stocks with over 500 trading days from VN-Index of Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange and HNX-Index of Hanoi Stock Exchange (Vietnam) to perform the proposed model and compare their performance with pure structural models and Sequence to Sequence. For back testing, we use our model to decide long or short position to trade VN30F1M (VN30 Index Futures contract settle within one month) that are traded on HNX exchange. Results suggest that the Sequence to Sequence with LSTM model of deep learning and structural models time series achieve higher performance with lower prediction errors in terms of mean absolute error than existing models for stock price prediction and positive profit for derivative trading. This work significantly contribute to literature of time series prediction as our approach can relax heavy assumptions of existing methodologies such as Auto-regressive–moving-average model, Generalized Auto-regressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity. In practical, investors from Vietnam stock market can use the proposed model to develop trading strategies.
DEVELOPING MATHEMATICAL THINKING THROUGH ACTIVITY BASED HEURISTIC APPROACH: A CASE OF MAKING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN PATTERNS, SEQUENCES AND GRAPHS

Teaching approaches is a key factor that contributes to the improvement of learner achievement. Moreover, learning mathematics through activities helps learners to develop mathematical thinking which is the foundation for development and a basis for sustainable development in mathematics. In this study, 77 third year pre-service mathematics teachers at Makerere University were provided with an experience of utilizing the activity based heuristic approach in making connections between patterns, sequences and graphs with the intention of developing their mathematical thinking. The participants were subjected to a whole-class discussion after which they reflected on the discussion. The whole-class discussion was videotaped and data were collected through observation of the video and making reflective notes. Having used observation narratives and thematic analysis of reflections from the whole-class discussion through the lens of the conversational framework, it was observed that learning mathematics through activities helps learners to develop mathematical thinking which is the foundation for their development and a basis for their sustainable development in mathematics. The learners are engaged in the learning process and besides, develop several other competences like communication, creativity and innovation, presentation and working in a team. From the pre-service teachers’ perspective, the major implication of activity based heuristic approach is the need for an exigent change of the pedagogical training approaches for Makerere University’s pre-service mathematics teachers. Article visualizations:
Permanence Abroad and Strategic Renewal of a Digital Born Global from an Emerging Market: a Case Study

Studies on born globals from emerging countries are relatively unexplored, especially addressing the growth path of digital born globals. The literature also lacks an analysis of the strategic renewal of firms and their path for the development of new capabilities to remain in foreign markets (permanence). Thus, the objective of this article is to investigate the influence of strategic renewal on the permanence abroad of a digital born global from an emerging market. The study was based on a single case study of a born global from an emerging country, Brazil. Our main findings suggest that the firm underwent strategic changes, both in relation to its permanence in the market and to its decision to follow a path without external investments to later accepting selling the firm to a North-American multinational. Its trajectory points to a path of how to aggregate knowledge, connecting the concept of strategic renewal to that of born globals from emerging markets. Using unstructured interviews with the founders of the firm and secondary data, it was possible to provide evidences on the role of entrepreneurs and networks, the strategic renewal, driven by the dynamic exploration and exploitation capabilities, and how such factors influence the internationalization and the permanence of firms in the foreign market.
"We're being tracked at all times": Student perspectives of their privacy in relation to learning analytics in higher education

Higher education institutions are continuing to develop their capacity for learning analytics (LA), which is a sociotechnical data mining and analytic practice. Institutions rarely inform their students about LA practices and there exist significant privacy concerns. Without a clear student voice in the design of LA, institutions put themselves in an ethical grey area. To help fill this gap in practice and add to the growing literature on students’ privacy perspectives, this study reports findings from over 100 interviews with undergraduate students at eight United States highereducation institutions. Findings demonstrate that students lacked awareness of educational data mining and analytic practices, as well as the data on which they rely. Students see potential in LA, but they presented nuanced arguments about when and with whom data should be shared; they also expressed why informed consent was valuable and necessary. The study uncovered perspectives on institutional trust that were heretofore unknown, as well as what actions might violate that trust. Institutions must balance their desire to implement LA with their obligation to educate students about their analytic practices and treat them as partners in the design of analytic strategies reliant on student data in order to protect their intellectual privacy.
Fine-scale habitat use during the non-breeding season suggests that winter habitat does not limit breeding populations of a declining long-distance Palearctic migrant

For migrant birds, which habitats are suitable during the non-breeding season influences habitat availability, population resilience to habitat loss, and ultimately survival. Consequently, habitat preferences during winter and whether habitat segregation according to age and sex occurs directly influences migration ecology, survival and breeding success. We tested the fine-scale habitat preferences of a declining Palearctic migrant, the whinchat Saxicola rubetra, on its wintering grounds in west Africa. We explored the influence of habitat at the territory-scale and whether dominance-based habitat occupancy occurs by describing the variation in habitat characteristics across wintering territories, the degree of habitat change within territories held throughout winter, and whether habitat characteristics influenced territory size and space-use within territories or differed with age and sex. Habitat characteristics varied substantially across territories and birds maintained the same territories even though habitat changed significantly throughout winter. We found no evidence of dominance-based habitat occupancy; instead, territories were smaller if they contained more perching shrubs or maize crops, and areas with more perching shrubs were used more often within territories, likely because perches are important for foraging and territory defence. Our findings suggest that whinchats have non-specialised habitat requirements within their wintering habitat of open savannah and farmland, and respond to habitat variation by adjusting territory size and space-use within their territories instead of competing with conspecifics. Whinchats show a tolerance for human-modified habitats and results support previous findings that some crop types may provide high-quality wintering habitat by increasing perch density and foraging opportunities. By having non-specialised requirements within broad winter habitat types, migrants are likely to be flexible to changing wintering conditions in Africa, both within and across winters, so possibly engendering some resilience to the rapid anthropogenic habitat degradation occurring throughout their wintering range.
Visual Perception of Elementary School Teacher Education Students on “Batik Cap” Aesthetic

The research based on determinate the visual perception of primary school teacher education students on "batik cap" representation, including the fabrics, motifs, manufacturing techniques, and stamp devices. The research focus is on students' basic understanding of the essence and visualization of "batik cap. " The purpose of the research is finding the level of understanding and creativity of the students' thinking regarding the understanding, criteria, characteristics, and techniques of making batik that is around Yogyakarta. The research subjects were students in semester 4 and 6 in the academic year 2018/2019 of the Elementary School Teacher Education Department at Ahmad Dahlan University of Yogyakarta, who took the Fine Arts and Skills Education course. The method research used descriptive with a qualitative approach data collecting technique by observation, interviews, and document review. The data analysis technique is using narrative. The results showed that students had poor visual experience about "batik cap. " From the tenth, students sampled less than 50% didn't know and could not identify objects well. On the step of sensing, the process is still lacking depth. Furthermore, they have the same tendency to express beauty about an object. Students need to improve their visual references and basic knowledge about batik so that they can learn more about "batik cap. " Keywords: visual perception, “batik cap”, aesthetics, qualitative
Risk Factors Associated with Clinical Outcomes in 323 COVID-19 Patients in Wuhan, China

Background With evidence of sustained transmission in more than 190 countries, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a global pandemic. As such, data are urgently needed about risk factors associated with clinical outcomes. Methods A retrospective chart review of 323 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan was conducted. Patients were classified into three disease severity groups (non-severe, severe, and critical), based on their initial clinical presentation. Clinical outcomes were designated as favorable and unfavorable, based on disease progression and response to treatments. Logistic regression models were performed to identify factors associated with clinical outcomes, and logrank test was conducted for the association with clinical progression. Results Current standard treatments did not show significant improvement on patient outcomes in the study. By univariate logistic regression model, 27 risk factors were significantly associated with clinical outcomes. Further, multivariate regression indicated that age over 65 years, smoking, critical disease status, diabetes, high hypersensitive troponin I (>0.04 pg/mL), leukocytosis (>10 x 109/L) and neutrophilia (>75 x 109/L) predicted unfavorable clinical outcomes. By contrast, the use of hypnotics was significantly associated with favorable outcomes. Survival analysis also confirmed that patients receiving hypnotics had significantly better survival. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first indication that hypnotics could be an effective ancillary treatment for COVID-19. We also found that novel risk factors, such as higher hypersensitive troponin I, predicted poor clinical outcomes. Overall, our study provides useful data to guide early clinical decision making to reduce mortality and improve clinical outcomes of COVID-19.
The cuticle of the enigmatic arthropod Phytophilaspis and biomineralization in Cambrian arthropods

Lin, J.-P., Ivantsov, A.Y. & Briggs, D.E.G. 2011: The cuticle of the enigmatic arthropod Phytophilaspis and biomineralization in Cambrian arthropods. Lethaia, Vol. 44, pp. 344–349. Many non-trilobite arthropods occur in Cambrian Burgess Shale-type (BST) biotas, but most of these are preserved in fine-grained siliciclastics. Only one important occurrence of Cambrian non-trilobite arthropods, the Sinsk biota (lower Sinsk Formation, Botomian) from the Siberian Platform, has been discovered in carbonates. The chemical compositions of samples of the enigmatic arthropod Phytophilaspis pergamenaIvantsov, 1999 and the co-occurring trilobite Jakutus primigenius Ivantsov in Ponomarenko, 2005 from this deposit were analysed. The cuticle of P. pergamena is composed of mainly calcium phosphate and differs from the cuticle of J. primigenius, which contains only calcium carbonate. Phosphatized cuticles are rare among large Cambrian arthropods, except for aglaspidids and a few trilobites. Based on recent phylogenetic studies, phosphatization of arthropod cuticle is likely to have evolved several times. □arthropod cuticle, Burgess Shale-type preservation, fossil-diagenesis, phosphatization.
Can Siskeudes support village governance in Aceh Province of Indonesia?

Abstract This study is to investigate whether the village financial system (Siskeudes) can realize governance. This test was carried out using the success model of the DeLone and McLean system. The success model consists of the dimensions of system quality, information quality and service quality, organizational effectiveness and user satisfaction and governance. The analysis was performed using the structural equation model PLS. The test was conducted on 224 village apparatuses using Siskeudes. The results showed that the information quality and system quality have positive effects on organizational effectiveness and user satisfaction. Service quality has a positive effect on organizational effectiveness but it does not influence job satisfaction. Organizational effectiveness is shown to have a positive effect on governance. The results of the study can be used as a reference for researchers in the government sector specifically related to the system and can also be used as a guide in policy making in the world of practice.