Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
COMPARATIVE STUDY ON SOME ACTIVITIES AND PRODUCTS BETWEEN HYBRIDS OF CARNIOLAN AND ITALIAN HONEYBEE

The present study was carried out at the apiary of Beekeeping Research Section at Sakha Agricultural Research Station, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, during 2005 and 2006 seasons. Sixty colonies were divided into three groups, twenty colonies each to compare among F1-F2 Italian and F1-F2 carniolan honey bees on brood rearing activity, propolis and pollen gathering, royal jelly secretion and honey yield production. The results indicated that the F1 Italian hybrid performed larger areas of sealed workers brood than did F1 Carniolan, F2 Italian and F2 Carniolan hybrid with averages of 1079.93, 792.76, 847.40 and 771.72 inch/colony/month in the first year, and 929.08, 738.96, 794.95 and 756.79 inch/colony/month, in the second one, respectively. In case of drone brood, F1 Carniolan hybrid (11.00 & 9.90 inch/colony/month) was higher than F2 Carniolan (7.96 & 7.14), F2 Italian (7.05 & 6.17) and F1 Italian hybrid (6.86 & 5.11 inch/colony/month) in the first and second year, respectively. Also, F2 Italian hybrid collected the largest amount of propolis (8.40 & 6.95 g/colony) compared with F2 Carniolan (7.77 & 5.99), F1 Italian (7.56 & 6.63) and F1 Carniolan (6.98 & 4.56 g/colony) in the first and second years. The largest amount of pollen was gathered during clover nectar flow followed by maize and broad bean for the four honeybee hybrids (F1-F2 Italian and F1-F2 Carniolan) in both seasons. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant difference in amount of gathering pollen between F1 Italian and other hybrids on broad bean, Egyptian clover and maize plants during the first and second seasons. F1 Carniolan hybrid secreted more natural royal jelly in the first and second seasons (17.40 & 18.50 g/colony) than F1 Italian (14.5l & 15.40), F2 Carniolan (13.00 & 14.20) and F2 Italian (12.60 & 13.60 g/colony), respectively. Also, F1 Carniolan honey bees gathered the largest amount of artificial royal jelly (106.00 & 115.60 g/colony) during the period from 15 April until 15 June compared with other honey bee hybrids; F1 Italian (97.25 & 100.40), F2 carniolan (93.40 & 100.00) and F2 Italian (92.40 & 99.40 g/colony) in two tested seasons, respectively. Data revealed that F1 Carniolan produced the highest honey yield (6.55 & 6.95 kg/colony) followed by F2 carniolan (5.75 & 7.85), F1 Italian (5.51 & 5.70) and F2 Italian (4.55 & 4.95 kg/colony) at the end of clover blooming season, respectively. Also, at the end of cotton blooming season, the honey yield of F1 Carniolan hybrid (8.50 & 8.53 kg/colony) was more than other honey bee hybrids during 2005 and 2006 seasons. From the current results, it could be concluded that the F1 Italian honeybee performed larger areas of worker brood and greater amounts of propolis and pollen than F1 Carniolan, F2 Italian and F2 Carniolan honeybee. By contrast, the F1 Carniolan achieved larger areas of drone brood and produced greater amounts of royal jelly and clover and cotton honey yield than other honey bees hybrids.
Retention of viability by fragmented invasive Crassula helmsii, Elodea canadensis and Lagarosiphon major

Invasive aquatic macrophytes tend to reproduce and spread through vegetative means, often via fragmentary propagules. Dispersal among aquatic sites may occur overland via attachment to various vectors, or within river systems by directional water currents. However, for many species the relationship between fragment size and resumption of growth is unknown. Here, we assessed resumption of growth of apical and mid‐stem fragments of invasive Crassula helmsii, Elodea canadensis and Lagarosiphon major. Proportionally, apical fragments tended to more readily resume growth than mid‐stem sections, especially for E. canadensis and L. major (80–100%). However, viability did not scale linearly with increasing fragment size, which suggests that fragment size is not a singular determinant of propagule fitness. Nevertheless, longer fragments generally produced greater numbers of shoots and roots, but root production significantly differed among species and was determined through an interaction between plant section, species and fragment length. Overall, all species produced new shoots and roots from fragments as small as 10 mm. C. helmsii mid‐stem fragments standardised by node counts did not display new growth (up to 10 nodes), while E. canadensis tended to show greater shoot and root production with increasing node counts. It is evident that a medium to high proportion of small fragmentary propagules of these invasive macrophytes can retain viability. These data have clear implications for understanding the dispersal of these invasive species and their management. Specifically, cutting and dredging may increase rather than decrease infestations, especially in downstream directions. Thus, in the absence of adequate fragment containment, current short‐term control strategies may in fact be counterproductive.
Novel Plant-Based Metabolites as Disinfectants against Acanthamoeba castellanii

Due to global warming, coupled with global water shortages and the reliance of the public on household water tanks, especially in developing countries, it is anticipated that infections caused by free-living amoebae such as Acanthamoeba will rise. Thus, the development of novel disinfectant(s) which can target pathogenic free-living amoebae effectively is warranted. Herein, we extracted and isolated several plant-based secondary metabolites as novel disinfectants for use against pathogenic Acanthamoeba. The identity of the compounds was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance and tested for antiamoebic activities against clinical isolate of A. castellanii, belonging to the T4 genotype. Amoebicidal assays revealed that the compounds tested showed antiamoebic properties. Betulinic acid and betulin exhibited parasite killing of more than 65%. When tested against the cyst stage, betulinic acid, betulin, and vanillic acid inhibited both encystation and excystation processes. Furthermore, the plant-based metabolites significantly inhibited the binding capability of A. castellanii to host cells. Finally, most of the tested compounds displayed minimal cytotoxic activities against human cells and noticeably perturbed amoeba-mediated host cell cytotoxicity. Notably, both alkaloid and betulinic acid showed 20% cytotoxic effects, whereas betulin and lupeol had cytotoxic effects of 24% and 30%, respectively. Overall, our findings indicate that plant-based natural compounds demonstrate anti-Acanthamoebic properties, and they have potential candidates for water disinfectants or contact lens disinfecting solutions, as well as possible therapeutic drugs against Acanthamoeba infections.
Extreme precipitation events in the Austral Chaco region of Argentina

This study assesses the intensity, spatial distribution and temporal variability of extreme precipitation events (EPEs) on different time scales relevant to agriculture and water resources during the 1901–2016 period over Argentina's Austral Chaco (ACh). EPEs were identified using a nonparametric approach for the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The leading modes of SPI's variability were detected using the Singular Spectrum Analysis. We also compile and control the quality of precipitation observations in a scarcely monitored region. The limited number of stations conditions the interpolation of the GPCC v2018 database here used, mainly during the early twentieth century. The EPEs characterized by SPI at a 24‐month time scale, which favour long‐lasting water excesses or deficits with hydrological impacts, underwent two differentiated long‐term periods: a dry one before 1960 and a wet one from 1960 to 2005. Consistently, seasonal wet EPEs were more frequent during the wet period while seasonal droughts were more frequent and with larger spatial extent during the dry period. Seasonal EPEs, represented by the SPI at 3‐month time scale, can impact agriculture during the crops' critical growth period. Since 2006, the long‐term wetting trend has been reversed. If this behaviour continues into the coming decades, more droughts and less wetness might be expected. The EPEs present a large interannual variability with 6.3‐ and 9‐year significant cycles that, combined with long‐term trends, favoured extremely wet/dry EPEs. Most of the wet/dry EPEs occurred during El Niño/La Niña events. Although this relationship is not straightforward, we found a discriminant ENSO signal between October of the year when an ENSO event starts and February of the next year. Finally, severely dry/wet EPEs tend to have large spatial extent in the ACh region. The central‐eastern ACh region experiences the most extreme wet and dry conditions, which makes this area more prone to extreme EPEs.
EFFECT OF CALCIUM SALTS OF FATTY ACIDS SUBSTITUATION INSTEAD OF CORN AS SOURCE OF ENERGY IN FINISHING RATION OF BUFFALO BULLS

Eighteen indigenous buffalo bulls of about 295±7.31 Kg body weight and one year of age were randomly allotted into three similar groups. A calcium salt of fatty acids (Ca-SFA) was added to concentrate diet on DM basis of total concentrate as replacement of 25% and 50% of corn grain on energy basis. The first group (control) received a ration without supplementation (R1), the 2 received ration supplemented with Ca-SFA instead of 25% of corn grain (R2) and the 3 received a ration supplemented with Ca-SFA instead of 50 % of corn grain (R3). The three rations were comparable in nutrient contents. The content of ash, fatty acids (FA) and acid ether extract (AEE) were higher in R2 and R3 compared to the control ration. Feeding Ca-SFA did not influence on dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion and weight gain of supplemented rations. Nutrient digestibility, except AEE and DE, were not affected with Ca-SFA supplementation to the experimental rations. The digestibilities of cell wall constituent (NDF, ADF, cellulose and hemi-cellulose) were not significantly affected by added CaSFA compared with control group. Also, the nutritive values of the experimental rations were lacked any significance. Rumen activity as pH, TVFA’s, NH3–N and microbial protein synthesis were not affected by feeding Ca-SFA as compared to the control group. Total cholesterol and free fatty acids (FFAs) in blood serum of bulls were significantly higher (P<0.05) in the treated groups compared to the control group. CaSFA supplementation was not affected on the values of total lipids and glucose in blood serum. It could be concluded that replacement of Ca-SFA instead of 25% up to 50 % the energy of yellow corn could be efficiently utilized in finishing rations of buffalo bulls as by pass-protected fat.
A Methodology for Extracting Power-Efficient and Contrast Enhanced RGB Images

Smart devices have become an integral part of people’s lives. The most common activities for users of such smart devices that are energy sources are voice calls, text messages (SMS) or email, browsing the World Wide Web, streaming audio/video, and using sensor devices such as cameras, GPS, Wifi, 4G/5G, and Bluetooth either for entertainment or for the convenience of everyday life. In addition, other power sources are the device screen, RAM, and CPU. The need for communication, entertainment, and computing makes the optimal management of the power consumption of these devices crucial and necessary. In this paper, we employ a computationally efficient linear mapping algorithm known as Concurrent Brightness & Contrast Scaling (CBCS), which transforms the initial intensity value of the pixels in the YCbCr color system. We introduce a methodology that gives the user the opportunity to select a picture and modify it using the suggested algorithm in order to make it more energy-friendly with or without the application of a histogram equalization (HE). The experimental results verify the efficacy of the presented methodology through various metrics from the field of digital image processing that contribute to the choice of the optimal values for the parameters a,b that meet the user’s preferences (low or high-contrast images) and green power. For both low-contrast and low-power images, the histogram equalization should be omitted, and the appropriate a should be much lower than one. To create high-contrast and low-power images, the application of HE is essential. Finally, quantitative and qualitative evaluations have shown that the proposed approach can achieve remarkable performance.
Dogs and wolves differ in their response allocation to their owner/caregiver or food in a concurrent choice procedure

Dogs and wolves both show attachment-like behaviors to their owners/caregivers, including exploring more in the presence of the owner/caregiver, and greeting the owner/caregiver more effusively after an absence. Concurrent choice studies can elucidate dogs’ and wolves’ relationship to their owners/caregivers by assessing their preference for the owner/caregiver compared to other stimuli. While previous research has used concurrent choice paradigms to evaluate dogs’ and wolves’ preference between humans giving social interaction or humans giving food, no research has explored their preferences for an owner/caregiver compared to food when the food is not delivered by a human. In the current study, we investigated whether dogs and hand-reared wolves preferred their owner/caregiver or food, unassociated with a human, when they had been equally deprived of each stimulus (at least 4 hours). Each canid experienced four trials; we measured first choice and time spent with each alternative. Dogs overall did not show a preference for the owner or food. Wolves, on the other hand, tended to show a preference for food in both measures. We observed a range of individual variation in both measures, although dogs showed more individual variation. The differences we observed between dogs and wolves align with prior research comparing wolf and dog behavior directed towards humans; however, the reasons for this differential responding could be due to a variety of factors beyond phylogeny.
New Frontiers in Management of Early and Advanced Rectal Cancer

Simple Summary Rectal cancer has the capacity to present in a variety of forms. Depending on subtle differences in the characteristics of the tumor, it is possible for the treatment protocol to vary drastically. There are many tools available to optimize patients’ outcomes when treating rectal cancer of these various stages. Advances in early-stage, local presentation of rectal cancer focus on minimally invasive endoluminal surgery. Lesions completely responding to neoadjuvant chemoradiation non-operative surveillance have been explored. For rectal cancers patients with problematic pelvic anatomy, new platforms for resection, such as transanal total mesorectal excision and robotic total mesorectal excision, have been introduced. Late solid organ and peritoneal metastasis, originally thought to be a terminal disease, have undergone recent advances in hepatic and pulmonary metastasectomy, cytoreductive surgery, and intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Understanding these various therapeutic interventions will pave the way for improved patient outcomes. Abstract It is important to understand advances in treatment options for rectal cancer. We attempt to highlight advances in rectal cancer treatment in the form of a systematic review. Early-stage rectal cancer focuses on minimally invasive endoluminal surgery, with importance placed on patient selection as the driving factor for improved outcomes. To achieve a complete pathologic response, various neoadjuvant chemoradiation regimens have been employed. Short-course radiation therapy, total neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and others provide unique advantages with select patient populations best suited for each. With a clinical complete response, a “watch and wait” non-operative surveillance has been introduced with preliminary equivalency to radical resection. Various modalities for total mesorectal excision, such as robotic or transanal, have advantages and can be utilized in select patient populations. Tumors demonstrating solid organ or peritoneal spread, traditionally defined as unresectable lesions conveying a terminal diagnosis, have recently undergone advances in hepatic and pulmonary metastasectomy. Hepatic and pulmonary metastasectomy has demonstrated clear advantages in 5-year survival over standard chemotherapy. With the peritoneal spread of colorectal cancer, HIPEC with cytoreductive therapy has emerged as the preferred treatment. Understanding the various therapeutic interventions will pave the way for improved patient outcomes.
Can the Caribbean localize its food system?: Evidence from biomass flow accounting

Small island economies are highly dependent on food imports. Self‐sufficiency through food localization is therefore often advocated. Can a small Caribbean island nation localize its food system? To answer this question, we conducted socio‐metabolic research on four Caribbean nations: Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, and Jamaica. Derived indicators from a diachronic biomass flow accounting from 1961 to 2019 suggest a declining trend in local food production for all cases. While in Barbados and Jamaica this decline already began in the 1960s, for Dominica and Grenada, this did not start until the late 1970s–1980s. The physical trade balance of biomass is similar across all cases: from net exporters at the start of the study period to net importers as countries developed, albeit at different time periods. By disaggregating biomass flow data to crop level, Barbados and Jamaica indicate a trend that is moving away from food localization, while Dominica and Grenada appear to be modestly moving toward localization in recent years. Given the many resource security challenges small island economies face, this study provides a biophysical perspective to the Caribbean's food security debate and questions the extent to which food localization is possible in a small island context, and whether other strategies are urgently needed.
Ten-Week Sucralose Consumption Induces Gut Dysbiosis and Altered Glucose and Insulin Levels in Healthy Young Adults

Sucralose consumption alters microbiome and carbohydrate metabolism in mouse models. However, there are no conclusive studies in humans. Our goals were to examine the effect of sucralose consumption on the intestinal abundance of bacterial species belonging to Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes and explore potential associations between microbiome profiles and glucose and insulin blood levels in healthy young adults. In this open-label clinical trial, volunteers randomly drank water, as a control (n = 20), or 48 mg sucralose (n = 20), every day for ten weeks. At the beginning and the end of the study, participants were subjected to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to measure serum glucose and insulin every 15 min for 3 h and provided fecal samples to assess gut microbiota using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Sucralose intake altered the abundance of Firmicutes without affecting Actinobacteria or Bacteroidetes. Two-way ANOVA revealed that volunteers drinking sucralose for ten weeks showed a 3-fold increase in Blautia coccoides and a 0.66-fold decrease in Lactobacillus acidophilus compared to the controls. Sucralose consumption increased serum insulin and the area under the glucose curve compared to water. Long-term sucralose ingestion induces gut dysbiosis associated with altered insulin and glucose levels during an OGTT.
Selective Forms of Therapy in the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Selective interference with the functioning of the immune system consisting of the selective blockade of pro-inflammatory factors is a modern, promising, and developing strategy for the treatment of diseases resulting from dysregulation of the immune system, including inflammatory bowel disease. Inhibition of the TNF alpha pathway, group 12/23 cytokines, and lymphocyte migration is used in the treatment of severe or moderate ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Intracellular signal transduction by influencing the phosphorylation of SAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription) proteins remains in clinical trials.
The Relative Validity and Reproducibility of Food Frequency Questionnaires in the China Kadoorie Biobank Study

Background: Short versions of qualitative and quantitative food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) are widely used to assess usual food intake. However, fewer studies evaluated their relative validity and reproducibility in the Chinese population. Methods: This study compared 12-day 24-h dietary recalls with qualitative and quantitative FFQs designed by the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) study to assess the relative validity. Two FFQs were administered in the second and third seasons and compared to evaluate the reproducibility. Statistical tests included Spearman correlation coefficients, weighted kappa, and cross-classification. Results: A total of 432 participants were eligible after stratifying by age, sex, and four regions. In the validation of qualitative FFQ, adjusted Spearman coefficients were between 0.23 and 0.59, and weighted kappa coefficients ranged from 0.61 to 0.88, except for fresh vegetables. The percentage of correct classification was highest in fresh vegetables and lowest in fresh fruit, but the percentages of extreme classification were below 3.0%. Corresponding Spearman and kappa coefficients for the reproducibility were 0.17–0.56 and 0.62–0.90. Furthermore, the correct classification constituted between 35.6 and 93.3% of all participants. Regarding the relative validity of the quantitative FFQ, Spearman coefficients ranged from 0.14 to 0.69 in addition to dried vegetables and carbonated soft drinks. For items with more than two-thirds of total participants consumed, weighted kappa coefficients were from 0.57 to 0.79; correct classification percentages were between 34.6% and 67.5%. Spearman and kappa coefficients for the reproducibility of the quantitative FFQ were 0.15–0.71 and 0.60–0.86, respectively; correct classification percentages varied from 47.8% to 71.6%. Conclusion: Most food items from the qualitative FFQ showed acceptable or even good relative validity and reproducibility in the CKB study. Likewise, major food items in the quantitative FFQ were valid and reproducible, but poor performances of dried vegetables and carbonated soft drinks indicated the need for modification and validation in future research.