Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
REINFORCING BAR SPLICE SLEEVE FOR PRECAST CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION

Over the last few decades, the use of precast concrete components have been significantly increasing in building and bridge construction due to their quality, durability, and speed of construction. Precast components need to be fully connected to ensure the integrity, serviceability, and durability of the completed structure. Several grout-filled sleeves are currently being used to splice reinforcing bars of the adjacent precast components. These sleeves require very tight tolerances in precast production to ensure the alignment of the spliced bars, which usually results in using larger and more costly sleeves than needed. The objective of this paper is to introduce a reinforcing bar splice sleeve that accommodates current production tolerances in addition to being economical and easy to produce. The design method of the proposed splice sleeve and experimental investigation conducted using two alternatives of the proposed bar splice sleeve are presented. Eighteen specimens for splicing #8 (No. 25) and #9 (No. 29) bars were tested using different sleeve lengths. Test results indicated that the proposed bar splice sleeve have adequate capacity to fully develop reinforcing bars while being simpler to use and more economical than current splice sleeves.
Taste Preferences and the Dynamics of Behavioral Taste Response in the Tench Tinca tinca (Cyprinidae)

Behavioral taste responses to four classic taste substances, 21 free amino acids (L-stereoisomers), and 19 organic acids were determined in the tench Tinca tinca using the behavioral methods of testing. Most substances (31 of 43) were food stimulators and increased consumption of agar pellets. The remaining 12 substances had individual taste properties. No deterrent substances were found. The comparison of taste preferences of the tench with eight other fish species, studied earlier, revealed a pronounced species specificity of the taste spectra. Threshold concentrations for the two most efficient taste substances, cysteine and maleic acid, were determined. Pellets with L- α -phenylalanine and L- β -phenylalanine had similar levels of consump- tion, whereas those with maleic and fumaric acids (cis- and trans-isomers of the phenylbutazonic acid) differed in consumption. Taste attractiveness of di- and tricarbonic acids was significantly higher than monocarbonic acids. With increasing length of the carbon chain, the stimulating effect of monocarbonic acids increased, whereas that of dicarbonic acids decreased. A negative relationship between the pH level of carbonic acid solu- tion and the consumption level of the pellet was found. The basic characteristics of the dynamics of the behav- ioral taste response were analyzed using L-alanine (0.1 M) as the model substance. The retention time and between-shaps intervals were determined. It was found that the more shaps the fish exhibit during the test, the longer is the taste response. The length of the behavioral taste response was higher in tests terminated by con- sumption of the pellet. The retention time in these tests was longer than the intervals between shaps. The reten- tion time reduced each successive bite, whereas the intervals between shaps changed less.
L'incidence des morsures de serpent en zone rurale au Sénégal oriental.

Afin de completer une etude prospective sur le risque de deces par morsure de serpent en zone rurale du Senegal oriental, nous avons realise une enquete permettant de mesurer l'incidence des morsures de serpent dans la meme population. Cette enquete, realisee sur un echantillon de pres de 600 sujets, a montre une incidence des morsures de 677 pour 100 000 habitants, soit une des plus elevees mesuree dans le monde jusqu'a present. A partir de ces resultats et des donnees recueillies precedemment sur les deces par morsures survenus dans la population etudiee, il est possible d'estimer a 2, 1 % la letalite des morsures de serpents dans cette region du Senegal.
Heterodera ciceri sp. n. (Nematoda: Heteroderidae) on Cicer arietinum L. from Northern Syria

A new bisexual flcterodera species, belo n~i ng to «schachlii:o group, collected in northern Syria and associated with ch ickpea, eicer aTielinllnl 1. roots, is descrived and illustrated. HeterodeTtI. deeri sp. D. , with lemon shaped, ambifenestrate cyst. ;, long vulval slil, well developed bullae and underbridge, anteriorly concave second stage juvenile stylet knobs, and presence or yellow phase, differs from the closely related species H. Iritolii, H. rosii, H. daverri by morphological characters, presence of males, and by a different host range.
Nest Site Selection of Two Heron Species in Italy: A Long-Term Study

Abstract We surveyed a heronry for 16 years to study nest site selection in relation to bird species presence and vegetation structure. Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) was the most abundant species, while Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) increased only in the last years. In a first phase, Black-crowned Night Herons selected tall Black Locusts (Robinia pseudoacacia) for nesting. Later they moved into the understory, selecting Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) and Black Elderberry (Sambucus nigra), while the higher canopy was used by Grey Herons. The result was a stratification of nests of different species. Considering the succession in use of different forest strata by the medium-sized heron species and years of Grey Heron arrival, it is likely that the forest structure more than competition between species influenced nest site selection in this heronry.
Comparison and evaluation of methods for including nitrate in the total nitrogen determination of soils

A semimicro modification of the Olsen method was developed to include nitratenitrogen in the total soil nitrogen determination by the standard semimicro-Kjeldahl method. The modified method was found to include nitrate-nitrogen effectively from standard nitrate solutions and soils. It was significantly superior to the commonly used salicylic acid method, which was found to give incomplete recovery of nitrate-nitrogen. In addition, changes in a number of experimental conditions such as amounts of water present and concentrated sulphuric acid used did not affect the results obtained by the modified Olsen method. In comparison with the recently recommended Raney catalysts for nitrate-nitrogen inclusion in the total nitrogen determination of fertilisers, preliminary results using standard nitrate solutions and following their additions to the soil indicate that reduced iron was comparable. Results obtained using glucose as a reducing agent in the standard semimicro-Kjeldahl method suggest that some nitratenitrogen was included by soil organic matter in the normal total soil nitrogen determination.
Effects of adding cherry laurel (Laurocerasus officinalis) on some physicochemical and functional properties and sensorial quality of tarhana

Tarhana, a traditional fermented food produced from a mixture of wheat flour and yoghurt, is widely consumed in Turkey. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cherry laurel pulp on the physico-chemical, functional and sensorial characteristics of tarhana. Tarhana samples with 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% cherry laurel pulp were manufactured. The statistical analysis showed that addition of pulp affected titratable acidity, pH, total phenolic, antioxidant capacity, foaming capacity, foam stability, viscosity, colour and sensorial scores significantly. Pulp addition decreased dry matter, titratable acidity, water absorption capacity, foaming capacity, foam stability and L* (lightness), a* (redness) and b* (yellowness) colour values significantly (P<0.05). There were significant differences (P<0.05) in viscosity values between the control tarhana and the samples made with cherry pulp. However, increasing pulp increased significantly (P<0.05) pH, total phenolic, ferric reducing antioxidant power, radi.
Effects of various hand-weeding programmes on yield and components of yield of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) grown in the tropical lowlands of Papua New Guinea

SUMMARY The effects of weed competition, harvest date and cultivar on sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas(L.) Lam. ) yield and components of yield were investigated in three factorial experiments planted during the wet seasons of 1984 (Expt 1) and 1986 (Expts 2 and 3) in the tropical lowlands In Expts 1 and 2, the commencement of regular hand-weeding (every 14 days) was delayed for varying lengths of time following planting. In Expt 3, the duration of hand-weeding from planting onwards was varied. The main competing weed species following planting were Cyperus rotundus, C. brevifolius, Euphorbia geniculata and Portulaca oleracea. After canopy closure, E. hirta, Imperata cylindrica, Eleusine indica, Sida rhombifolia, Mollugo pentaphylla and Mimosa invisa were the predominant weeds to emerge and persist. Cultivars differed in their sensitivity to weed competition. In L431 both mean marketable root tuber weight and number of tubers/plant were severely reduced. However, in L44, tuber number was more sensitive than tuber weight: marketable tuber weight was significantly reduced only by prolonged weed competition (no weeding until 56 days after planting (DAP)). In Expts 1 and 2, delaying the commencement of weeding beyond 14 DAP significantly decreased vine weight, total yield and mean number of tubers/plant. In Expt 3, prolonging regular weeding until 14 DAP and longer significantly increased total and marketable tuber yield and mean number of tubers/plant. Effects of weed competition in the early part of the season during the first 28–42 DAP substantially reduced crop production in the later part of the growth cycle (after 110 DAP). This was probably due to a partial suppression of vine growth early on, which reduced tuberous root initiation and thus limited the number of root tubers that could develop in the later stages of crop growth. Hand-weeding during the period 28–42 DAP also appeared to have a detrimental effect on tuber initiation as a result of mechanical root disturbance at this sensitive period of root differentiation. There was also a trend towards lower yields when the crop was regularly hand-weeded after 56 DAP, probably due to disturbance of the vine canopy. The critical period for weed competition commenced at or before 14 DAP, possibly as early as 7 DAP, and did not continue beyond 56 DAP. In order to avoid weed competition and the detrimental mechanical effects of hand-weeding, an optimum hand-weeding programme for sweet potato in the tropical lowlands of will probably involve (i) keeping the crop weedfree for the first 14–21 DAP; (ii) no crop disturbance during the period of maximum tuberous root initiation (from c. 21–28 DAP until 42–56 DAP); (iii) clean weeding at c. 56 DAP; and (iv) minimal or no weeding after 56 DAP. Weeding during the period 7–14 DAP is particularly important.
Fifty years of wheat breeding in Southern Brazil: yield improvement and associated changes

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of genetic breeding on grain yield, and to identify the physiological traits associated to the increment in yield and their related growth processes, for wheat cultivars grown in Southern Brazil, in the past five decades. Seven wheat cultivars released between 1940 and 1992, were compared for physiological aspects associated with grain yield. Grain yield, biological yield, biomass partitioning, harvest index and grain yield components were also determined. The number of grains per square meter was more affected by plant breeding and was better correlated with grain yield (r = 0.94, p<0.01) than with grain weight (r = -0.39 ns ). The higher number of grains per square meter was better correlated with the number of grains per spike in the modern cultivars than in the older ones. The genetic gain in grain yield was 44.9 kg ha -1 per year, reflecting important efforts of the breeding programs carried out in Southern Brazil. Grain yield changes, during the period of study, were better associated with biomass production (r = 0.78, p<0.01) than with harvest index (r = 0.65, p<0.01).
A review of the Indian Typhlocybinae (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) from India*

Abstract The members of the family Cicadeliidae (Homoptera), commonly known as leafhoppers, cicadellids or jassids, possess one or more rows of short and stout spines on the hind tibiae. They occur on all types of vegetation and usually feed on the leaves. They inflict direct damage by sucking sap, causing stippling, cupping, puckering and bronzing of the leaves which ultimately fall off. The indirect damage is caused by transmitting the pathogens of various mycoplasmal/viral diseases of plants.
The effect of concentrates of high or low starch equivalent, both fed at two levels, on the milk production of dairy cows

1. In a winter feeding trial, using eight Ayrshire cows, two concentrates with digestible crude protein contents of 15% and starch equivalents of 63 and 79 were each fed at 2·6 and 4·6 lb. /gal. of milk. 2. The basal ration was hay, silage, dried grass and fodder-beet. 3. Milk yield was significantly increased from 30·9 to 34·7 lb. /day when the amount of concentrate fed increased from 2·6 to 4·6 lb. /gal. , but the average milk yields when the concentrates low in starch equivalent were fed did not differ significantly from those obtained when the concentrates high in starch equivalent were fed at the same levels. 4. The fat content of the milk was similar on all four rations with an average value of 3·84%, whereas the solids-not-fat varied from 8·53% on the low starch concentrate fed at the lower rate to 8·77% on the high starch concentrate fed at the higher rate. 5. The cows which were fed at the rate of 4·6 lb. /gal. were significantly heavier by an average of 33 lb. /cow than the ones fed at the rate of 2·6 lb. /gal. The two different qualities of concentrate did not cause differences in live weight. 6. The weight of dry matter in the basal ration consumed per day was similar on all four treatments. 7. A comparison of feeding costs and the value of the milk showed that the largest margin was obtained with the low starch equivalent concentrate fed at the rate of 2·6 lb. /gal. 8. It was concluded that because of the loss in live weight on the lowest level of feeding, and because the quality of the concentrate gave no improvement in milk yield or liveweight and little improvement in milk composition, the optimal level of feeding in this experiment was 4·6 lb. /gal. of the low starch equivalent concentrate.
Distribution of label from 3H-glucose and 3H-leucine in lettuce cotyledons during the early stages of infection with Bremia lactucae

Light and electron microscope autoradiography were used to study the distribution of label from 3H-glucose and 3H-leucine in lettuce cotyledons that had been supplied either labelled compound through their petioles before inoculation with Bremia lactucae Regel. The distribution and intensity of label in the fungus and host have been analyzed statistically. The pathogen accumulated label from 3H-glucose before penetration and thereafter. During the early stages of infection there was virtually no label from 3H-leucine in fungal structures. However, at 14 and 16 h after inoculation, intercellular hyphae and haustoria were heavily labelled. More glucose than leucine was exuded onto epidermal surfaces and inoculum droplets on cotyledons supplied with 3H-glucose were about 10-fold more radioactive than those on cotyledons supplied with 3H-leucine. When either labelled compound was added in the inoculum drop to non-radioactive cotyledons, the fungus but not the host accumulated tritium. Both labelled substances.
Psychometric Analysis and Factor Structure of the Spanish Version of the Eight-Item Patient Health Questionnaire in a General Sample of Puerto Rican Adults

Depressive disorders may cause significant impairment in social, occupational, and academic areas of functioning. This research aims to analyze the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Spanish version of the eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) in a sample of 494 Puerto Rican adults. We analyzed the Cronbach alpha internal consistency, construct validity, discriminant validity, and factor structure of the instrument. The findings of the study revealed that the PHQ-8 obtained an excellent internal consistency of . 92. Pearson’s r correlation analysis showed a high and statistically significant association between PHQ-8 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) providing evidence of concurrent validity. We conducted confirmatory factor analyses to examine the factor structure of the PHQ-8. The two models (unidimensional and multidimensional) showed an adequate adjustment to the data, but the unidimensional model was recommended. The PHQ-8 is a plausible adaptation of the PHQ-9 that may be used in any study directed to explore depressive symptoms without considering suicidal thoughts.
Modelling stomatal conductance of field-grown sunflower under varying soil water content and leaf environment: comparison of three models of stomatal response to leaf environment and coupling with an abscisic acid-based model of stomatal response to soil drying

Stomatal conductance, gs, responds both tothe immediate or local environment of the leaf, such as CO2 partialpressure and irradiance, and to root-sourced signals of water stress,particularly abscisic acid (ABA). Two models for the combined controlof gs were formulated and tested in sunflower(Helianthus annuus). First, several empirical models weretested for the local control, demonstrating that the Ball–Berrymodel [Ball, Woodrow & Berry (in Progress in PhotosynthesisResearch Vol. 4, pp. 5.221–5.224: M. Nijhoff,Dordrecht, The Netherlands) 1987] is consistently amongthe most accurate. A problem of statistical non-independence inthis model is shown to be minor. The model offers regularity ofparameter values among most species and, despite an oversimplicationin representing known humidity-response mechanisms, it incorporates othersignalling loops from CO2 and assimilation. In the firstcombined model, ABA as its concentration in xylem sap, [ABA]xy,down-regulates the slope, m, in the Ball–Berry modelby the factor gfac = exp(– β[ABA]xy). The ABA-induced reduction in gs decreases CO2 assimilation andsurface humidity, thus appearing to induce the local-control mechanismto amplify the ABA-induced stomatal closure. In the second combinedmodel, gs is estimated as the minimum of the local(Ball–Berry) response and the product gfac gs,max,with gs,max as a maximal unstressed conductance.Both models can predict gs from the external environmentalvariables with good accuracy (r2 near 0·8 over20-fold variations in gs). Further analyses showthat gs responds to humidity almost quadraticallyrather than linearly. It also responds to assimilation as a powerlaw with an exponent that is significantly less than 1. These limitations,shared by other models, suggest more research into biochemical signalling.
Gynoecium diversity and systematics of the paleoherbs

Gynoecium and ovule structure was compared in representatives of all families of the paleoherbs, including Nymphaeales (Cabombaceae, Nymphaeaceae), Piperales (Saururaceae, Piperaceae), Aristolochiales (Lactoridaceae, Aristolochiaceae), Rafflesiales (Hydnoraceae, Rafflesiaceae) and, in addition, Ceratophyllaceae and Nelumbonaceae, both of which were earlier included in Nymphaeales, but then segregated and with an unestablished position. In all representatives studied, the carpels are closed at anthesis. Carpel closure is attained in three different ways: (1) postgenital fusion of inner surfaces (Piperales, Aristolochiales); (2) occlusion by secretion or mutual appression of inner surfaces without postgenital fusion (Cabombaceae, Ceratophyllaceae, Nelumbonaceae (? ) or (3) strong secretion combined with postgenital fusion at the periphery of the carpel (Nymphaeaceae). InCytinus(Rafflesiaceae), after an earlier developmental stage with apparent postgenital fusion there is strong internal secretion (within the cell walls). Stigma shape tends to be double-crested in the basal taxa of each order: Cabombaceae (Brasenia), Saururaceae, and Lactoridaceae. In some Aristolochiaceae andCytinus(Rafflesiaceae) they have two lobes in the transverse symmetry plane (i.e. at right angles to the median plane) or, if the carpels are united, the stigmatic lobes are commissural, accordingly. Stigmas are unicellular papillate and secretory in most taxa, but the papillae are uniseriate-pluricellular in some (not basal) Nymphaeaceae, Asaroideae (Aristolochiaceae) andCytinus(Rafflesiaceae). Ceratophyllaceae have smooth stigmas. Intrusive oil cells in the carpel epidermis were found in Piperales and Aristolochiaceae. Mature ovules vary in length between 0.2 mm and 2.5 mm. Mature nucelli vary in breadth between 0.03 mm and 1.6 mm. These differences are larger than in the other major magnoliid groups. The outer integument is fully annular (not semiannular) in all taxa with orthotropous ovules (all Piperales andBarclayaof Nymphaeaceae) and also in some with anatropous ovules (some Nymphaeaceae, some Aristolochiaceae). The integuments are variously lobed or unlobed; both integuments tend to exhibit the same behaviour within a family, either both lobed or both unlobed. The results strongly support three pairs of families in sister group relationships, as suggested by studies based on other characters: Cabombaceae-Nymphaeaceae, Saururaceae-Piperaceae, and Lactoridaceae-Aristolochiaceae, and Hydnoraceae-Rafflesiaceae to some extent. Piperales and Aristolochiales are closer to each other than either is to Nymphaeales. Nelumbonaceae is isolated, as is Ceratophyllaceae, but the status of the latter is more difficult to interpret owing to apparent reduction in morphological, anatomical and histological traits.
INHIBITORY EFFECTS OF LACTOBACILLUS SALIVARIUS AND LACTOBACILLUS CRISPATUS ISOLATED FROM CHICKEN GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT ON SALMONELLA ENTERITIDIS AND ESCHERICHIA COLI GROWTH

Probiotics are live cultures of microbes; often lactic acid bacteria, but also some other species, which when fed to animals, improve their health and growth through altering the intestinal microbial balance. In the present research, healthy chickens’ gastrointestinal (GI) tracts were screened for the presence of lactic acid bacteria with probiotic properties. The probiotic properties of the isolates taken from different parts of the GI tract were evaluated. They were examined for resistance to 2% (w/v) bile salts and acidic pH, capability to adhere to the intestinal epithelium and inhibitory effects on the growth of Salmonella enteritidis and Escherichia coli. Fermentation profile analyses and sequencing data of the conserved 16S rRNA genes showed that from a total of five selected clones, four clones isolated from the duodenum and caeca were Lactobacillus salivarius and the fifth clone, isolated from the duodenum, was Lactobacillus crispatus. All the selected clones were able to adhere to the chicken’s epithelial cells. The lactobacilli isolated from different parts of the GI tract had probiotic properties suitable for use in animal feed. Due to the inhibitory effects of the isolated lactic acid bacteria on the growth of pathogenic microbiota, it can be concluded that these bacteria are good candidates for treatment of chicken GI infectious diseases.