Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Early Weaning on Performance and Carcass Quality of Nellore Young Bulls

Simple Summary Early weaning is a practice that holds the potential to enhance beef cattle production systems. It aims to improve the reproductive performance of cows in the subsequent breeding season while minimizing the impact on weaned calves when they are appropriately nutritionally managed. This study aimed to compare the effects of early weaning (weaning at 150 days; EW) and conventional weaning (weaning at 240 days; CW) on the growth, carcass characteristics, and meat quality of Nellore bulls. A total of 74 non-castrated calves were assigned to an EW (n = 37) or CW (n = 37) strategy. During approximately 400 days in the growth phase, both groups received supplementation during grazing, followed by a finishing period in a feedlot for 87 days. The results showed that calves in the EW group were lighter than the CW group at the time of conventional weaning, yet this weight difference did not impact their growth or meat quality during the fattening phase. This study suggests that early weaning, combined with adequate supplementation, can be a viable and sustainable approach in beef cattle production without compromising the animals’ productive development or meat quality. Abstract This study compared early weaning (EW; 150 days) with conventional weaning (CW; 240 days) in Nellore young bulls, evaluating performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality. A total of 74 non-castrated male calves were divided into two weaning strategies: EW (n = 37) and CW (n = 37). During the growth phase, which lasted 454 ± 14 d for EW calves and 359 ± 16 d for CW calves, animals received a protein-energy supplement at a ratio of 5 g per kg of body weight while grazing Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu. The animals were managed for an 87d finishing phase in three collective feedlot pens, with a 3-week adaptation protocol, starting with corn silage to a concentrate ratio of 55:45 and reaching a ratio of 30:70 in the final diet. Body weight, average daily gain (ADG), dry matter intake (DMI), feed efficiency (FE), carcass characteristics, and meat quality were evaluated. The EW group was approximately 44 kg lighter than the CW at the time of conventional weaning (p < 0.001). However, this weight difference did not influence ADG, DMI, and FE in the finishing phase. No significant differences were observed in carcass characteristics such as yield percentage, loin area, subcutaneous fat thickness, and meat quality, except for the weight of primal cuts, which was greater in the CW group (p < 0.001). Thus, although calves weaned early are lighter throughout subsequent production phases than those weaned conventionally, performance, efficiency, carcass yield, and meat quality are not affected.
Synthesis processes and sintering behavior of layered-perovskite barium bismuth tantalate ceramics

Ferroelectric layered-perovskite BaBi_2Ta_2O_9 has been successfully prepared through a novel process using BiTaO_4 as a precursor. Heating the mixtures of BiTaO_4 and BaCO_3 at 900 °C without soaking results in the complete formation of the monophasic powder. In contrast, the conventional solid-state reaction requires soaking at 900 °C for 2 h to obtain the pure compound. Such prolonged heat treatment causes unfavorable growth of particles. In the new process, the formation of BaBi_2Ta_2O_9 is markedly accelerated due to the suppression of the formation of a stable intermediate Ba_5Ta_4O_15. In addition, this process yields submicron BaBi_2Ta_2O_9 powder with significantly improved sinterability. Sintering at 1000 °C affords well-densified ceramics. On the other hand, heating at temperatures greater than 1100 °C causes BaBi_2Ta_2O_9 to thermally decompose and form Bi_2O_3 and rod-like BaTa_2O_6. The formation of these rod-like grains results in the expansion of the matrix, thereby reducing the density.
ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ MATHEMATICAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS BASED ON GENDER IN SOLVING SOCIAL ARITHMETIC PROBLEMS

Students must master mathematical abilities, one of which is mathematical communication skills. The purpose of this study is to describe how the description of students' mathematical communication skills based on gender differences in solving social arithmetic problems. The subjects of this studi were three female students and three male students who had studied social arithmetic in class. The method used in this research is qualitative method. The research was conducted at SMPN 35 Bandung. Qualitative methods are used in this research. The results of this study are that gender differences in solving social arithmetic problems can affect students' mathematical communication abilities. Female students as a whole have a greater percentage of scores on all indicators of mathematical communication skills than male students.
Spatial and temporal distribution of Trichodesmium blooms in the world's oceans

Nitrogen fixing organisms, such as the cyanobacterium Trichodesmium, directly affect the oceanic nutrient inventory through the addition of new nitrogen to the ocean ecosystem and therefore have an important role in the strength and functioning of the biological carbon pump. Nonetheless, little is known about the distribution of Trichodesmium beyond limited shipboard observations. Even less is known about the occurrence and characteristics of very intense, transient blooms of this organism that have been observed historically throughout the world oceans. A new method for discriminating the occurrence of blooms from satellite ocean color data is used here to make the first global maps of Trichodesmium bloom occurrence and to examine their spatial and temporal distribution. As expected, Trichodesmium blooms are rare, occurring <5–10% of the time over most of the tropical and subtropical oceans for the time period examined (1998–2003). Areas of greatest persistence are found in the eastern tropical Pacific and the Arabian Sea, and reach recurrence levels of >30%. Many of the retrieved patterns are consistent with previously reported blooms, though differences exist. A strong seasonal cycle is observed in the Indian Ocean, probably related to monsoonal forcing, with weaker seasonal changes elsewhere. Estimated global nitrogen fixation rates by Trichodesmium blooms is ∼42 Tg N yr−1 which is biogeochemically significant on regional and global scales. Further, an estimate of the rate of Trichodesmium nitrogen fixation under nonbloom conditions is an additional ∼20 Tg N yr−1 suggesting that Trichodesmium is likely the dominant organism in the global ocean new nitrogen budget.
New Inhibitor Based on Hydrolyzed Keratin Peptides for Stainless Steel Corrosion in Physiological Serum: An Electrochemical and Thermodynamic Study

Reducing the impact of some biological fluids on bioimplants involves the control of surface characteristics by modeling the interface architecture and assembling ecofriendly thin films to retard corrosion. Therefore, a mixture of hydrolyzed keratin peptides (HKER) was investigated as a corrosion inhibitor for 304L stainless steel (SS) in physiological serum (PS), using electrochemical measurements associated with optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The tests, performed for various concentrations of the inhibitor at different temperatures, showed that the inhibition efficiency (IE) decreased with a rise in temperature and proportionally increased with the HKER concentration, reaching its maximum level, around 88%, at 25 °C, with a concentration of 40 g L−1 HKER in physiological serum. The experimental data best fitted the El-Awady adsorption model. The activation parameters (Ea, ∆Ha and ∆Sa) and the adsorption ones (∆Gads0, ∆Hads, ∆Sads) have highlighted a mixed action mechanism of HKER, revealing that physisorption prevails over chemisorption. AFM parameters, such as the average roughness (Ra), root-mean-square roughness (Rq) and maximum peak-to-valley height (Rp−v), confirmed HKER adsorption, indicating that a smoother surface of the 304L stainless steel was obtained when immersed in a PS-containing inhibitor, compared to the surface designed in blank solution, due to the development of a protective layer on the alloy surface.
Prevalence and Severity of Circumferential Alveolar Bone Loss Using CBCT Images: A Retrospective Study of 20,620 Surfaces of 5155 Teeth

Periodontal disease is a site-specific disease affecting the supporting tissues of the teeth. It is useful for the clinician to have information about the prevalence and severity of alveolar bone loss (ABL) according to the site, location, and position of the teeth for a better treatment plan and expected prognosis. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and severity of ABL at mesial, distal, buccal and lingual sites of teeth in different locations, positions and sides of the dentition. The ABL of 20,620 sites of 5155 teeth in 212 patients was assessed using cone-beam computed tomography from the cemento-enamel junction to the crest of the alveolar bone. The prevalence of ABL was higher in the interproximal sites as well as anterior and mandibular teeth compared to their counterparts. Buccal sites and anterior teeth revealed higher ABL levels than the other tooth sites and posterior teeth, respectively. Furthermore, associations in the severity of ABL were observed between distal and mesial sites, buccal and lingual sites, maxillary and mandibular teeth, anterior and posterior teeth, and right and left sides. This study showed that the prevalence and severity of ABL differ from one tooth site to another and according to the tooth’s location in the dentition. Higher prevalences were found in the interproximal sites, anterior teeth and mandibular teeth; higher ABL was found in buccal and distal sites, with the strongest associations between distal and mesial sites, buccal and lingual sites, and right and left sides.
Genetic parameters and agronomic characterization of hulless barley accessions under irrigation in the savanna

The purpose of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters and to agronomically characterize 18 accessions of hulless barley and three references of covered barley grains belonging to the Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia germplasm bank, using ten agronomic quantitative traits. The experiment was performed at two sites in Distrito Federal, in May 2012, using the experimental design of randomized blocks with three replicates. The evaluated characteristics were: estimated grain yield, plumpness kernel, thousand seeds weight, plant height, lodging, days to heading, hectoliter weight, and grain protein content. The obtained data were subjected to the variance analysis and the grouped means by Scott-Knott test. Significant differences at 1% of probability were found among the accessions for all the evaluated traits. It is possible to obtain genetic gains due to the high values of the genotypic coefficient of variation. High heritability in the broad sense was observed for all the characteristics, except for protein content, enabling the effective selection of traits of interest from the parents to the descendants. The accessions CI 13453, CN Cerrado 1, CN Cerrado 2, CN Cerrado 5 and PI356466 stood out positively among the others to Yield and Lodging.
Dislocation Hardening in a New Manufacturing Route of Ferritic Oxide Dispersion-Strengthened Fe-14Cr Cladding Tube

The microstructure evolution associated with the cold forming sequence of an Fe-14Cr-1W-0.3Ti-0.3Y2O3 grade ferritic stainless steel strengthened by dispersion of nano oxides (ODS) was investigated. The material, initially hot extruded at 1100 °C and then shaped into cladding tube geometry via HPTR cold pilgering, shows a high microstructure stability that affects stress release heat treatment efficiency. Each step of the process was analyzed to better understand the microstructure stability of the material. Despite high levels of stored energy, heat treatments, up to 1350 °C, do not allow for recrystallization of the material. The Vickers hardness shows significant variations along the manufacturing steps. Thanks to a combination of EBSD and X-ray diffraction measurements, this study gives a new insight into the contribution of statistically stored dislocation (SSD) recovery on the hardness evolution during an ODS steel cold forming sequence. SSD density, close to 4.1015 m−2 after cold rolling, drops by only an order of magnitude during heat treatment, while geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density, close to 1.1015 m−2, remains stable. Hardness decrease during heat treatments appears to be controlled only by the evolution of SSD.
Speech decoding using cortical and subcortical electrophysiological signals

Introduction Language impairments often result from severe neurological disorders, driving the development of neural prosthetics utilizing electrophysiological signals to restore comprehensible language. Previous decoding efforts primarily focused on signals from the cerebral cortex, neglecting subcortical brain structures’ potential contributions to speech decoding in brain-computer interfaces. Methods In this study, stereotactic electroencephalography (sEEG) was employed to investigate subcortical structures’ role in speech decoding. Two native Mandarin Chinese speakers, undergoing sEEG implantation for epilepsy treatment, participated. Participants read Chinese text, with 1–30, 30–70, and 70–150 Hz frequency band powers of sEEG signals extracted as key features. A deep learning model based on long short-term memory assessed the contribution of different brain structures to speech decoding, predicting consonant articulatory place, manner, and tone within single syllable. Results Cortical signals excelled in articulatory place prediction (86.5% accuracy), while cortical and subcortical signals performed similarly for articulatory manner (51.5% vs. 51.7% accuracy). Subcortical signals provided superior tone prediction (58.3% accuracy). The superior temporal gyrus was consistently relevant in speech decoding for consonants and tone. Combining cortical and subcortical inputs yielded the highest prediction accuracy, especially for tone. Discussion This study underscores the essential roles of both cortical and subcortical structures in different aspects of speech decoding.
Present-day deformation and kinematics of the active faults observed by GPS in the Zagros and east of Iran

The convergence between the Arabian and the Eurasian plates is accommodated inside the Iranian territory. We have measured dense GPS networks covering wide parts of Iran (Zagros, Lut block and Kopeh Dagh) and present velocity fields with precisions better than 2 mm/yr. In Zagros, convergence is accommodated by partitioning in the northern part with 2-4 mm/yr of right lateral strike-slip on the MRF. This motion is transferred to the Dena, Kazerun and Kareh Bas faults of the Kazerun fault system slipping each at 3-4 mm/yr. In Central Zagros, 8 mm/yr of NS shortening is concentrated mainly along the Persian Gulf shore while seismicity is more widely spread, evidencing decoupling of the surface deformation from the basement probably facilitated by the presence of Hormuz salt. In eastern Iran, 14 mm/yr of right lateral NS shear between the Central Iranian Block and the Hellmand block is observed across the Lut block, with 6.5 mm/yr across its western limit (Bam, Gowk and Sabzevaran faults) and 7.5 mm/yr across its eastern limit (Sistan Suture zone). Major EW trending left lateral strike-slip faults absorb part of this shear at the northern limit of the Lut block (Dasht-e-Bayaz 1.5 mm/yr, Doruneh 2.5 mm/yr). 8 mm/yr remaining shear south of the Kopeh Dagh range is accommodated mainly by NS shortening across the Binalud and eastern Kopeh Dagh range (3.5 and 2.5 mm/yr), by right lateral strike-slip on the Quchan fault system (5 mm/yr) and westward expulsion of the South Caspian Basin (5-8 mm/yr). Comparison of GPS present-day slip rates with short and long term geological estimates show complex slip evolution even in the context of young continental collision present in Iran.
Evaluating ecohydrological modelling framework to link atmospheric CO2 and stomatal conductance

The establishment of an accurate stomatal conductance (gs) model in responding to CO2 enrichment under diverse environmental conditions remains an important issue as gs is the key to understand the plant–water–atmosphere interactions. A better representation of gs is important to reduce uncertainties in predicting the climate change impacts on various ecosystem functions. In this study, we evaluated three most commonly used gs formulations for the estimation of the stomatal response to environmental factors using in situ measurements under different environmental conditions. The three gs models were Leuning's modified Ball–Berry model and two specific cases of the optimization models (i.e., Rubisco limitation model and RuBP regeneration limitation model). On the basis of an analysis of 234 data points obtained from experiments under instantaneous, semicontrolled, and the free‐air CO2 experiment conditions, we found that Leuning's modified Ball–Berry model and RuBP‐limited optimization model showed similar performance, and both performed better than Rubisco limitation model. Functional groups (e.g., C3 vs. C4 species) and life form (e.g., annual vs. perennial species) play an important role in determining the gs model performance and thus pose a challenge for gs predictions in mixed vegetation communities.
Spatial-temporal deep learning model based on Similarity Principle for dock shared bicycles ridership prediction

Demand prediction plays a critical role in traffic research. The key challenge of traffic demand prediction lies in modeling the complex spatial dependencies and temporal dynamics. However, there is no mature and widely accepted concept to support the solution of the above challenge. Essentially, a prediction model combined with similar objects in temporal and spatial dimensions could obtain better performance. This paper proposes a concept called the Similarity-based Principle (SP), which is applied to improve the prediction performance of deep learning models in complex traffic scenarios. For the temporal components, the long-term temporal dynamics in contemporaneous historical data for ridership are extracted by the Stacked Autoencoder (SAE) method. For the spatial components, the activity-based spatial geographic information (ABG-information) is used to capture the spatial correlation of the traffic network, which is reflected in the daily activities of humans. Specifically, the SP is applied to a Spatio-temporal Graph Convolutional Neural Network (STGCNN) model. In the case study, the Similarity-based Principle Spatio-temporal Graph Convolutional Neural Network (SP-STGCNN) model predicts demand for bicycle sharing in San Francisco. The results show that the SP effectively improves the model's performance. The prediction accuracy is enhanced by up to 10.34% compared with STGCNN. For spatial relationships, the model using the geographic information attribute performs better than that using the road information attribute and the distance attribute. It is proved that the construction of the Spatio-temporal model-based similarity principle can improve the performance.
Voice Synthesis Improvement by Machine Learning of Natural Prosody

Since the advent of modern computing, researchers have striven to make the human–computer interface (HCI) as seamless as possible. Progress has been made on various fronts, e.g., the desktop metaphor (interface design) and natural language processing (input). One area receiving attention recently is voice activation and its corollary, computer-generated speech. Despite decades of research and development, most computer-generated voices remain easily identifiable as non-human. Prosody in speech has two primary components—intonation and rhythm—both often lacking in computer-generated voices. This research aims to enhance computer-generated text-to-speech algorithms by incorporating melodic and prosodic elements of human speech. This study explores a novel approach to add prosody by using machine learning, specifically an LSTM neural network, to add paralinguistic elements to a recorded or generated voice. The aim is to increase the realism of computer-generated text-to-speech algorithms, to enhance electronic reading applications, and improved artificial voices for those in need of artificial assistance to speak. A computer that is able to also convey meaning with a spoken audible announcement will also improve human-to-computer interactions. Applications for the use of such an algorithm may include improving high-definition audio codecs for telephony, renewing old recordings, and lowering barriers to the utilization of computing. This research deployed a prototype modular platform for digital speech improvement by analyzing and generalizing algorithms into a modular system through laboratory experiments to optimize combinations and performance in edge cases. The results were encouraging, with the LSTM-based encoder able to produce realistic speech. Further work will involve optimizing the algorithm and comparing its performance against other approaches.
Safety Analysis of Roundabout Conversions Based on Video Observations

RESUME Les carrefours giratoires prennent de plus en plus de place dans le reseau routier Nord-Americain, remplacant les intersections a geometrie plus standard pour accroitre la securite et l'efficacite. La reduction a la fois des vitesses, mais aussi du nombre et de la severite des collisions, tout en conservant un debit de vehicules efficace, sont tous des avantages qui ont justifie l'introduction des carrefours giratoires dans les reseaux routiers en Amerique du Nord. ----------ABSTRACT Roundabouts in North America have been increasing in importance in recent years, as they replace intersections for increased safety and efficiency. The reduction in speeds as well as in the number and severity of collisions while conserving efficient vehicle flow are all advantages that have justified the introduction of roundabouts into recent road designs in North America.
Germination Stage Water Scarcity in Bread and Einkorn Wheat

Germination (GR, %) and power (GP, %) rates, coleoptile (CL, cm), shoot lenght (SL, cm), and root (RL, cm) length, shoot/root length ratio (SRLR), root fresh weight (RFW, mg) and dry (RDW, mg) weight, and root fresh/dry root ratio (RFDWR) of 12 bread and 10 einkorn wheat genotypes were investigated under 7 drought stress levels. SL and SRLR in the study were the most sensitive traits and followed by CL and RL. The mean performance of all traits was worsened starting at various stress levels. The highest percent reduction was in SL (100.00%), SRLR (100.00%), and RL (99.07%), and the lowest one was in GP (55.9%). The common applied drought tolerance indices grouped the entries as tolerant, moderate, and susceptible. Einkorn populations from higher rainfall Blacksea region responded worse under drought stress than bread wheat cultivars, which were improved for drier or relatively drier Central Anatolia, Sub-Marmara, and Thrace regions.