Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification and the Significance of Selective Proteins in Bile and Plasma of Normal and Health-compromised Chickens

During the last 50 years, animal breeding programs in commercial poultry have made significant progress in the bodyweight gain of broilers but led to several metabolic and skeletal disorders. Lameness associated with proximal femur known as fe moral head separation (FHS) or femoral head necrosis (FHN) is one of the major metabolic d isor ers in poultry industry. In order to select for healthy chickens, markers that can disti nguish between healthy and affected birds are required. Biomarkers from blood represent an ideal and rich source of markers which can be obtained using minimally invasive methods. The biom arkers were explored in an experimental model for FHS where samples from spontaneously affe cted broilers and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) injected broilers were analyzed using matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In the plasma of gluc ocorticoid induced FHS, there was an increase in apolipoprotein A-I (Apo-AI), whereas pr oteins such as vascular endothelial growth factor-C-isoform-1 (VEGF-C-1) and Protocadherin-15 (PCDH-15) were absent in FHS predisposed chickens. The increase in Apo AI may le d to vascular thromboembolism, and the lack of VEGF and PCDH-15 can be associated with vas cul r insufficiency and cell-adhesion problems, respectively. In spontaneously FHS affect ed birds, decrease in fetuin, fibrinogen, alpha-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP), and increases in A poI, gallinacin-9, and hemoglobin chains were observed. These proteins could be related to s keletal mineralization disorders, coagulation problems, platelet aggregation, dyslipidemia, hemor rhage and erythrolysis. Due to the involvement of one or more acute phase proteins suc h as AGP and defensin, we tested the changes in protein profile of chicken plasma in res ponse to LPS. Proteins AGP, cathelicidin-2, heperanase, chemokine CCLI10 were increased in resp onse to LPS, which was different and distinct from FHS affected birds. Hence, the distin ct protein profile of FHS affected birds could be useful as candidate biomarkers for distinguishin g ealthy birds from susceptible or affected chickens.
Leads and Lags in African Sovereign Credit Ratings

ABSTRACT The majority of sovereign nations have a formal credit rating from more than one credit rating agency in order to bridge the potential informational gap that goes with only one formal rating. This study investigates the behavior of rating agencies to determine if the African sovereign ratings by the three major credit rating agencies are different and if their rating actions have any influence on each other. The lead–lag relationships between the agencies are investigated by making use of a method similar to the Granger causality test in an ordered probit pooled-data and individual country time-series setting. The monthly rating changes for the three agencies were used for 12 African countries from 2009 to 2018. The results show that when general rating changes are taken into account, Moody’s follows Fitch in more instances than Fitch follows Moody’s. Furthermore, when upgrade and downgrade actions are taken into account, Standard and Poor’s leads Fitch during all downgrade periods and in some periods after a rating upgrade. It is also shown that Fitch leads Moody’s during all downgrade periods and in some periods after a rating upgrade. In terms of individual country results, for 7 of the 12 countries, there is no evidence of herding or habit behavior between any of the rating pairs. Herding behavior was identified between different pairs of rating agencies for Angola, Egypt, Mozambique, South Africa, and Tunisia. Fitch exhibits habit behavior for Mozambique, whereas Standard and Poor’s shows contrarian habit behavior for that country.
Evaluation of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill) Genotypes for Seed Yield and its Attributing Traits in Madhya Pradesh

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), belongs to family Apiaceae and is native of Europe and Mediterranean region its seeds are used as spices. Mature fennel fruits and essential oil are used as flavouring agents in food products such as bread, pickles, pastries, cheese etc. Fennel fruits are used in diseases like cholera, bile disturbances, nervous disorders, constipation, dysentery and diarrhea and also used for control of diseases attacking chest, lungs, spleen, and kidney and in colic pain. The importance of fennel based on its medicinal value and export potential as spices was recognized long back but it remained neglected for a long time from scientific attention for its improvement in its productivity as well as its quality (Choudhary et al., 2017). The success of any breeding methodology for improving morphological characters depends primarily on the existence of high magnitude of genetic variability and its efficient utilization. Although many improved varieties of fennel have been released in the country but still there is no International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 3 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
Survival under stress : benthic foraminiferal patterns and Cenozoic biotic crises

A principal conclusion of this thesis is, that benthic foraminifera are excellent recorders of paleoenvironments and paleoenvironmental change. Insight in their community structure, and changes in this through time, is still increasing and will add to their usefulness in the reconstruction of past environments. Moreover, we found that gradual processes affecting the paleoenvironment are as instrumental in the evolution of benthic communities as short-lived ecological crises.
Biology of Blastopsylla occidentalis (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Aphalaridae), a pest of Eucalyptus globulus (Myrtaceae) in Yaounde, Cameroon

Eucalyptus spp belong to the family of Myrtaceae and grow all over the world and are adapted to different climates and soils. In Cameroon, these plants are very important for their medicinal and ecological virtues. Eucalyptus globulus has economically and ornamentally values. Blastopsylla occidentalis Taylor (Psylloidea: Aphalaridae) is one of the insects feeding on this plant and its causes severe damages to their host plants. Significant damage occurred in nurseries and in a very young plantations of Eucalyptus spp. The biology of B. occidentalis was studied from July 2010 to June 2011 at Yaounde. The parameters mating process, choice of the egg-laying site by the females, fecundity of the females, longevity of the adults, embryonic and larval development, life cycle and sex ratio were studied. The results showed that males emerged before females, and the mating process lasted about 42 minutes. The longevity of adults was 11 days on average and egg-laying began 8 days after emergence. The average fertility was 38 eggs per female. The eggs were laid on the buds, bracts, young leaves and twigs of its host plant. The life cycle, from egg to egg, required 32 days on average. The sex ratio was close to 1.03. This species fed and developed on Eucalyptus spp. has never been observed on other plants species in the study area, suggesting a specificity of this psyllid to its host plant. These results can be considered as an important step for the establishment of integrated pest control against Eucalyptus psyllid pest species in Cameroon.
Gaussian Lpcnet for Multisample Speech Synthesis

LPCNet vocoder has recently been presented to TTS community and is now gaining increasing popularity due to its effectiveness and high quality of the speech synthesized with it. In this work, we present a modification of LPCNet that is 1.5x faster, has twice less non-zero parameters and synthesizes speech of the same quality. Such enhancement is possible mostly due to two features that we introduce into the original architecture: the proposed vocoder is designed to generate 16-bit signal instead of 8-bit µ-companded signal, and it predicts two consecutive excitation values at a time independently of each other. To show that these modifications do not lead to quality degradation we train models for five different languages and perform extensive human evaluation.
Numerical model of water removal and air penetration during vacuum dewatering

Abstract Dewatering and air flow in high vacuum suction boxes was examined. The work was mainly numerical and was based on, and compared with, previously published experimental results of vacuum dewatering from laboratory equipment and from a pilot paper machine. A previously published numerical model for wet pressing is used as the basis for this work. The aims of this study were to find new fitting parameters that allows the previous model to be used for vacuum dewatering instead of pressing, and to examine two extensions to the original model. The results indicate that the new vacuum dewatering model for moisture can predict the dewatering behavior for several different experimental data series both from laboratory equipment and a pilot paper machine using the same set of fitting parameters. Two different numerical models for air flow through the paper sheet, during vacuum dewatering, were developed based on postulating that the decrease in moisture permeability is accompanied by a simultaneous increase in air permeability. The models for air flow can also be fitted to experimental data and predict the magnitudes of air flow during vacuum dewatering. The data sets for air flow exhibit a certain degree of operator dependence though, so that one set of fitting parameters is not enough for obtaining good agreement with all data sets.
Microfinancing in Pakistan: A Case Study of Local Support Organizations in Northern Areas

Pakistan is one of the developing countries, where the majority of the population resides in rural areas with a high poverty rate. Microfinance in rural areas is considered an effective tool not only making the people financially strong but at the same time improving their standard of living. The current research investigates the impact of local NGOs on rural life in the northern areas of Pakistan.in this regard, a parametric approach, Structural equation Modelling (SME) was applied to analyze the impact of microfinance projects on welfare using a case of four microfinance NGOs. The data was collected from 566 respondents using a pre-designed questionnaire. The results show the welfare of the people increased in terms of income, consumption, empowerment, employment. The findings imply that the loan size should be increased so that the respondents’ would be able to save and acquire more assets. In addition, Ngo microfinance organizations initiate programs such as education and health awareness along with training on entrepreneurial skills before granting loans so that the microfinance loan can be utilized efficiently.
Potential roles of social distancing in mitigating the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in South Korea

On January 20, 2020, the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in South Korea. After a rapid outbreak, the number of incident cases has been consistently decreasing since early March; this decrease has been widely attributed to its intensive testing. We report here on the likely role of social distancing in reducing transmission in South Korea. Our analysis suggests that transmission may still be persisting in some regions.
Residual effect of composts on yield and nutrient uptake by turmeric in Amaranthus - Turmeric Cropping System

A field experiment was conducted in the same field of amaranthus, without disturbing the layout, using turmeric var. BSR 2 as test crop, to assess the residual effect of composts on rhizome yield and uptake of major nutrients by turmeric. The highest rhizome yield was recorded with the application of poultry manure enriched microbial inoculant / Trichoderma viride banana pseudostem compost @ 750 Kg ha −1 with 75 per cent of the recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF). The same treatment combination proved its superiority under sugarcane trash composts in enhancing the rhizome yield. With enriched composts of banana pseudostem/sugarcane trash @ 750 Kg ha−1 with 75 per cent of the RDF, the response in terms of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium uptake was also remarkable as compared to that observed under unenriched composts.
Application of Metarhizium anisopliae as a potential biological control of Varroa destructor in Italy

The ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor is a serious threat to European honey bees. Traditionally, Varroa mites has been controlled with synthetic pesticides, but residues in honey bee products and recently arisen resistances to chemicals call for new control methods. One alternative approach is the use of biological control methods, such as acaropathogenic fungi. In this field study, we evaluated a special isolate of M. anisopliae var. anisopliae BIPESCO 5 as a possible biological control for V. destructor. The colonies were divided in two treatments of eight replicates. During the first month of the experiment, every colony of the ‘Metarhizium’ group was dusted weekly with 10 g of conidia in the concentration of 1 × 1010 conidia per gram. After 14 days, all the colonies were split, moving the frames with broods to new nuclei and leaving the remaining brood-less colonies with the queens. The brood-less colonies were exposed to a follow-up oxalic acid treatment to assess the residual mite level, while the nuclei were transferred in a new apiary and were observed for a further 24 days until all broods hatched and were then treated with oxalic acid. The results showed significant lower mite levels in the treatment group than in the control (<60%). In addition, M. anisopliae had no impact on colony strength and development. An increased number of dead bees found in the under baskets of the treated colonies did not affect any of the colony strength parameters. To conclude, these results lead us to consider BIPESCO 5 a promising biological control agent against Varroa.
Assessment of Stress on Serum Estradiol and Cortisol Levels in Female Subordinate Naked Mole Rats Following Isolation from Natal Colony

This study investigated the effects of isolation of subordinate naked mole rats from natal colonies on their reproductive success. Naked mole rat is one of the known mammals that exhibit eusociality. It has been noted that naked mole rats have their reproduction restricted to one queen and less than three males; the rest of the animals within the colony remain sterile. The study aimed at establishing whether the reproductive suppression in subordinate naked mole rats is the outcome of social stress exerted by breeding female in the colony or other unknown environmental factors within the colony set-up. Experimental period was 20 weeks and it involved two stages, acclimatization and isolation. Before acclimation, 2 female subordinate naked mole rats were sacrificed. Blood samples were collected and appropriately preserved for later analysis. On the 2nd, 4th and 6th weeks of acclimatization, 2 female mole rats were sacrificed at each stage and blood samples were harvested for analysis. On week 7, eighteen subordinate females were isolated and randomly assigned into two groups of 9 animals each in two separate cages for 14 weeks. One week 8, 2 subordinate females from each group were randomly selected, sacrificed and blood samples collected for analysis. The same procedure was repeated on week 12 and 20 of study. Hormonal analysis was done using ELISA technique. The Statistical analysis done using student t-test at 95% confidence level and significance level was set at P < 0.05. Results showed increase in cortisol levels only in singly isolated females which were the greatest on week 8 (from 35.5 ng/ml to 123.4 ng/ml). Mean estradiol in singly isolated females was 18 ± 2.52 pg/ml while females paired with males had 19.0 ± 3.0 pg/ml hence no significant difference (paired t = -1.73, P = 0.23). Conclusively, the observed reproductive suppression among subordinate naked mole rats in natal colonies is probably due to presence of queen or other reproductive aspects that may not be directly related to stress.
INSECT AND VERTEBRATE PESTS ASSOCIATED WITH CULTIVATED FIELD PEA (PISUM SATIVUM LINN) IN NORTHERN GUINEA SAVANNA OF NIGERIA

Pisum sativum commonly called field pea (Family; Fabaceae). The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and identify pests of field pea in major growing areas of Nigeria. The larval stages of the insect were collected from different field pea farms in Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria (Shika dam, Katanga and Zangon Danbarno, Sabuwa, Rapiyan fan in Barkin Ladi and Razek fan). The percentage incidence of pest’s infestation was calculated for each sampling location. Identification of the pests was done using identification keys. Shika dam has the highest percentage incidence of insects with 60 % followed by Katanga, Zangon Danbarno and Rapiyam fan with 20 % while Razek fan has 15 %. Sabuwa has the least with 10 %. A total of six insect pests were identified from the six different sampling locations (Spodoptera exigua Hwan, Spodoptera exempta Walk, Heliocoverpa armigera Hubn, Etiella zinckenella Trerischk, Tetranychus urticae and Caliothrips sp.) and one mammal (Rattus sp.). All the insect pests are more devastating at seedling stage; however, Tetranychus sp. and Caliothrips sp. proceed up to podding stage. Farmers are advised to practice sole cropping and avoid intercropping with susceptible hosts.
Compact Urban Form: Neighbouring and Social Activity

Compact urban form has been widely suggested as a more sustainable development pattern that enhances different aspects of social liveability such as social exchange, collective interaction, and outdoor activity. Empirical research, however, challenges proposing a generic and universal understanding of compactness and its social advantages: compactness is perceived and lived differently in different socio-cultural contexts. This paper contributes to the call for gaining a more place-specific understanding from the compact urban form. To do so, it examines the social life of compact neighbourhoods in two study sites in Berlin. Social life is investigated by measuring the two dimensions of “neighbouring” and “social activities”: while the former explores how residents of the neighbourhood perceive different aspects of social life, the latter maps how urban space accommodates different types of social activity. Questionnaires and advanced mapping techniques are the primary sources of research obtained through intensive fieldwork and on-site observation. The research findings challenge some dominant assumptions attributed to the compact urban form orthodoxy: a compact neighbourhood can be perceived as safe, offer acceptable home and neighbourhood satisfaction, and, at the same time, suffer from low social networking and community engagement.
Allometry of native Mexican Jatropha curcas L. seeds.

This work presents a comparative morphological study of four Mexican sources. Three non-toxic, non-commercial sources from the state of Veracruz (Papantla, Medellin and Alvarado) and one toxic provenance belonging to a commercial plantation in the state of Colima (Tecoman), were analyzed over two years. An average of 480 seeds per provenance, per year were characterized by estimating their phorbol-ester contents, determining their sizes and weights, correlating data between kernel weight versus total seed weight, documenting their agronomic conditions and comparing them with other Mexican sources. Significant differences were found in seed morphology per provenance (p 0.86) and seed volume had the lowest coefficient of variation (CV< 4.5%) for all sources. Apart from genetic factors, weight and size could also be related to crop management practices and soil fertility, since the largest and heaviest seeds came from the more fertile soils or fertilized and irrigated plantations, while the smallest and lighter seeds came from semi-wild sources located in sandy soils.
CRESCIMENTO DO FEIJÃO-CAUPI IRRIGADO COM ÁGUA RESIDUÁRIA DE ESGOTO DOMÉSTICO TRATADO

Objetivando investigar a massa vegetal do feijao-caupi (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. ) foi conduzido um experimento em condicoes protegidas. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado com seis tratamentos e quatro repeticoes: T1 – agua de abastecimento; T2, T3, T4 mistura de agua de esgoto domestico tratado e abastecimento (25-75%; 50-50% e 75-25%, respectivamente), T5 – apenas agua de esgoto tratado e T6 – agua de abastecimento + fertilizantes minerais, e quatro repeticoes. O aumento da proporcao do efluente domestico na AGU, a de abastecimento para a fertigacao das plantas de feijao-caupi incrementou a producao de materia seca da raiz, caule e folha, evidenciando o crescimento proporcional das plantas. Na ausencia de adubacao mineral, os solos irrigados com agua residuaria de esgoto tratado conseguem suprir as necessidades nutricionais do feijao-caupi, comprovando a viabilidade tecnica do potencial agricola de utilizacao dessas aguas.
An ERA5-Based Hourly Global Pressure and Temperature (HGPT) Model

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) meteorology contribution to the comprehension of the Earth’s atmosphere’s global and regional variations is essential. In GNSS processing, the zenith wet delay is obtained using the difference between the zenith total delay and the zenith hydrostatic delay. The zenith wet delay can also be converted into precipitable water vapor by knowing the atmospheric weighted mean temperature profiles. Improving the accuracy of the zenith hydrostatic delay and the weighted mean temperature, normally obtained using modeled surface meteorological parameters at coarse scales, leads to a more accurate and precise zenith wet delay estimation, and consequently, to a better precipitable water vapor estimation. In this study, we developed an hourly global pressure and temperature (HGPT) model based on the full spatial and temporal resolution of the new ERA5 reanalysis produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The HGPT model provides information regarding the surface pressure, surface air temperature, zenith hydrostatic delay, and weighted mean temperature. It is based on the time-segmentation concept and uses the annual and semi-annual periodicities for surface pressure, and annual, semi-annual, and quarterly periodicities for surface air temperature. The amplitudes and initial phase variations are estimated as a periodic function. The weighted mean temperature is determined using a 20-year time series of monthly data to understand its seasonality and geographic variability. We also introduced a linear trend to account for a global climate change scenario. Data from the year 2018 acquired from 510 radiosonde stations downloaded from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive were used to assess the model coefficients. Results show that the GNSS meteorology, hydrological models, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) meteorology, climate studies, and other topics can significantly benefit from an ERA5 full-resolution model.