Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Re‐framing the climate change debate in the livestock sector: mitigation and adaptation options

Livestock play a key role in the climate change debate. As with crop‐based agriculture, the sector is both a net greenhouse gas emitter and vulnerable to climate change. At the same time, it is an essential food source for millions of people worldwide, with other functions apart from food security such as savings and insurance. By comparison with crop‐based agriculture, the interactions of livestock and climate change have been much less studied. The debate around livestock is confusing due to the coexistence of multiple livestock farming systems with differing functions for humans, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission profiles and different characteristics and boundary issues in their measurement, which are often pooled together. Consequently, the diversity of livestock farming systems and their functions to human systems are poorly represented and the role of the livestock sector in the climate change debate has not been adequately addressed. In this article, building upon the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC 5AR) findings, we review recent literature on livestock and climate change so as better to include this diversity in the adaptation and mitigation debate around livestock systems. For comparative purposes we use the same categories of managerial, technical, behavioral and policy‐related action to organize both mitigation and adaptation options. We conclude that different livestock systems provide different functions to different human systems and require different strategies, so they cannot readily be pooled together. We also observe that, for the different livestock systems, several win‐win strategies exist that effectively tackle both mitigation and adaptation options as well as food security. WIREs Clim Change 2016, 7:869–892. doi: 10.1002/wcc.421
Food values and purchase decisions in emerging markets: Empirical evidence from Kenya

Abstract Research on consumer food value preferences has typically focused on consumers in the developed economy, with knowledge regarding food value preferences in emerging food markets being a grey spot. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature. Accordingly, the possible existence of consumer clusters in Kenya based on their appreciation of food values is analyzed. The differences in the appreciation of food values were studied considering the socio-demographic traits of 500 random consumers, for which a standardized questionnaire was used. In the empirical analysis, Spearman’s correlation test, two-step cluster analyses and logistic regressions were calculated. The results reveal variations in food value preferences between segments determined by economic and socio-environmental factors. Nutrition was the most preferred value, while environmental impact was the least preferred.
Review on Distribution, Nutritional and Medicinal Values of Casimiroa edulus Llave- An Underutilized Fruit in Ethiopia

Wild edible plants are crucial resources with multipurpose uses and indigenous people have ethno-botanical knowledge of their use and management. Many wild plants have economic, medicinal and forage values in addition to preserving cultural heritages and maintaining ecological balance by providing various ecosystem services. From the past, edible wild fruits have played a very crucial role in supplementing the diet to the people. The dependence on these fruits has gradually decline as more exotic fruits have been introduced. But many people in tribal areas still use them as a supplement of their basic need of food. One of such plants in Ethiopia is Casimiroa edulus (L), belongs to the Rutaceae family. The habitation of this plant was reported in different regions of the country as the wild indigenous plant. Similarly, Casimiroa edulus (L) were found in some gardens of ethiopia. This plant is used as the shade plant, wood purpose, but fruits are not well utilized as the foods, people awareness also very little regards harvesting, handling, nutritional composition and value addition of fruits. The present review is organized to present the distribution of Casimiroa edulus (L) in Ethiopia, basic botanical description of the plant, Nutritional composition and comparison with commonly used fruits and Medicinal importance of the fruits.
The Effects of Contextual Factors on Hospital Chaplains: A Qualitative Study

Critical questions arise about how contextual factors affect hospital chaplains. We interviewed 23 chaplains in-depth. Hospitals’ religious or other institutional affiliation, geography, and leadership can influence chaplains both explicitly/directly and implicitly/indirectly—for example, in types/amounts of support chaplains receive, scope of chaplains’ roles/activities, amounts/types of chaplains’ interactions, chaplains' views of their roles and freedom to innovate, and patients’, families’ and other providers’ perceptions/expectations regarding spiritual care. These data have critical implications for research, practice, and education.
The Donkerhuk batholith, Namibia: A giant S-type granite emplaced in the mid crust, in a fore-arc setting

The mainly S-type Donkerhuk batholith intruded the accretionary prism in the Pan-African Damara Belt of Namibia. The batholith is elongate parallel to the regional SW–NE structural grain and the Okahandja Lineament Zone, which forms the accretionary prism backstop and the magma feeder zone. Over 5000 km3 of granitic magmas were emplaced as thousands of sheets, over perhaps 20 myr, with sheet orientations determined by the regional stress field and wall-rock anisotropies. Some of the magma source rocks are inferred to have been cordierite-bearing, suggesting an upper pressure limit of 600 MPa (6 kbar). Calculated phase relations suggest magma emplacement at 450 MPa (4.5 kbar), corroborated by pseudosection modelling of the phase assemblage in a migmatitic wall rock. The magmas were initially highly H2O-undersaturated and at around 850°C, indicating fluid-absent conditions in the source rocks. This suggests intraplating of mantle magmas to provide heat and that the granitic magmas ascended only to the mid crust. The late-tectonic emplacement in a fore-arc shares similarities with younger and similarly large batholiths such as the Cretaceous Kodiak batholith in Alaska, but the internal architecture and age structure of the batholiths differ markedly, suggesting that different processes can trigger voluminous near-trench plutonism. Supplementary material: A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, in xlsx format, showing the analytical data relevant to this paper, is available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare. c.3470880
Shear Wave Elastography for Assessing Liver Stiffness in HCV-Infected Kidney Transplant Recipients after Direct-Acting Antiviral Treatment: A Comparative Study with Magnetic Resonance Elastography

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can lead to hepatic fibrosis. The advent of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) has substantially improved sustained virological response (SVR) rates. In this context, kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) are of particular interest due to their higher HCV infection rates and uncertain renal excretion and bioavailability of DAAs. We investigated liver stiffness after DAA treatment in 15 HCV-infected KTRs using ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) in comparison with magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). KTRs were treated with DAAs (daclatasvir and sofosbuvir) for three months and underwent SWE at baseline, end of therapy (EOT), and 3 (EOT+3) and 12 months (EOT+12) after EOT. Fourteen patients achieved SVR12. Shear wave speed (SWS)—as a surrogate parameter for tissue stiffness—was substantially lower at all three post-therapeutic timepoints compared with baseline (EOT: −0.42 m/s, p < 0.01; CI = −0.75–−0.09, EOT+3: −0.43 m/s, p < 0.01; CI = −0.75–−0.11, and EOT+12: −0.52 m/s, p < 0.001; CI = −0.84–−0.19), suggesting liver regeneration after viral eradication and end of inflammation. Baseline SWS correlated positively with histopathological fibrosis scores (r = 0.48; CI = −0.11–0.85). Longitudinal results correlated moderately with APRI (r = 0.41; CI = 0.12–0.64) but not with FIB-4 scores (r = 0.12; CI = −0.19–0.41). Although higher on average, SWE-derived measurements correlated strongly with MRE (r = 0.64). In conclusion, SWE is suitable for non-invasive therapy monitoring in KTRs with HCV infection.
The ‘Tuştea puzzle’ revisited: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Megaloolithus eggs associated with Telmatosaurus hatchlings in the Haţeg Basin

Abstract The association between Megaloolithus cf. siruguei eggs and hadrosaurid (Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus) hatchlings that was reported 25 years ago in Maastrichtian mudstone from Tuştea (Haţeg Basin, Romania) is reviewed in this paper. Subsequent to the original descriptions of this association, eggshell micro- and ultrastructure have been compared with M. siruguei from northern Spain and southern France which allowed a safe assignment of the Tustea eggs to this oospecies. Although the eggshell correspondence with M. siruguei from southern Europe is well-sustained by microstructural features, SEM analysis of the Tustea eggs has revealed Y-shaped pore canals, now considered diagnostic to Megaloolithus patagonicus. Thus, in addition, the controversial embryonic tooth, associated with undetermined incompletely calcified remains inside a broken egg from Tustea, not clearly presented before is discussed here as a conclusive proof allowing the referral of the M.siruguei eggs from Tustea to Telmatosaurus transsylvanicus. Some taphonomic aspects related to the eggs hatchling are interpreted on the basis of high-resolution computed tomography images.
An Assessment of Hydro-ecological Changes at Two Closed-drainage Basins in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Alberta, Canada

I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. iii ABSTRACT Diatom analyses were carried out on sediment cores collected from two low-lying, closed
Fertilizer Microdosing in the Humid Forest Zone of Ghana: An Efficient Strategy for Increasing Maize Yield and Income in Smallholder Farming

High fertilizer costs pose a challenge in smallholder farming; optimizing fertilizer recommendations that are affordable to resource-poor farmers could increase crop yield and income. The study aimed to determining the yield and economic effects of N–P–K fertilizer microdosing on maize (Zea mays L.) crops on Gleyic Plinthic Acrisol (GPA) and Plinthic Acrisol (PA) in the semideciduous rainforest zone of Ghana using a split-plot randomized complete block design with three replications. The field trial included two cropping systems (continuous maize cropping [CMC] and cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. ]–maize rotation [CMR]) as main plots with four treatments (N₀P₀K₀, N₀P₂₀K₂₀, N₀P₄₀K₂₀, and N₂₀P₄₀K₂₀) and the recommended fertilizer rate (N₉₀P₆₀K₆₀) as subplots. Fertilizer treatment effects on maize stover and grain yields were assessed. The microdose treatments increased maize yields by 32 to 99% across cropping systems and soil types. Maize grain yield increase was higher on the GPA than on the PA. The N₉₀P₆₀K₆₀ and N₂₀P₄₀K₂₀ treatments resulted in higher grain and stover yields than the other treatments across cropping systems and soil types. Among the treatments maximum grain yield increases of 76 and 99% were obtained with N₂₀P₄₀K₂₀ on the PA and the GPA, respectively, under CMC. Under CMR, grain yield increased by 46% with N₀P₄₀K₂₀ (PA) and 74% with N₀P₂₀K₂₀ (GPA). The largest net return was obtained with N₂₀P₄₀K₂₀ under CMC across both soil types and with N₀P₂₀K₂₀ (GPA) and N₀P₄₀K₂₀ (PA) under CMR. These fertilizer microdoses can be considered appropriate for increasing maize yield and the income of smallholder farmers.
The Analysis of Pronunciation Errors: Students’ Reading Aloud

Students make pronunciation errors when they speak English considering English is not their first language. The research aimed to find out students pronunciation errors based on the pronunciation features, and students’ perspectives on English pronunciation. The research used 18 students as the sample that were then divided into 3 groups (high, medium, low). The research is a descriptive qualitative research that used an oral test and questionnaire to collect the data. A descriptive text was used in the research and students were asked to read aloud the text and it was voice recorded by the researcher to analyze students’ pronunciation errors. The researcher used a yes-or-no styled questionnaire to find out students’ perspectives on English pronunciation. The result of the research, particularly in the oral test shows that most common errors that students made are consonants and vowels as students made 44 consonant errors and 62 vowel errors in total. Whereas the result of the questionnaire shows that 94.5% of students think that English pronunciation is difficult and that they are unfamiliar with it. Moreover, motivation, confidence, and lack of practice are some factors that influence their English pronunciation.
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Adolescents sample more information prior to decisions than adults when effort costs increase

Making better decisions typically requires obtaining information relevant to that decision. Adolescence is marked by increasing agency in decision-making and an accompanying increase in impulsive decisions, suggesting that one characteristic of adolescent decision-making is a tendency to make less-informed decisions. Adolescents could also be especially averse to the effort associated with acquiring relevant information to make decisions. To investigate this possibility, we recruited adolescents ( M age = 15.02 years) in upper-second-ary schools and young adults ( M age = 20.53 years) attending university in the Netherlands to complete an effort-based information sampling task, in which participants could sample information until obtaining sufficient evidence to make a decision. Effort costs for sampling were systematically varied. Surprisingly, adolescents sampled more evidence than adults before making decisions when sampling effort costs were low. Further, adolescents obtained stronger evidence prior to their decisions than adults as effort costs increased, exhibiting less aversion to effort costs associated with information sampling. Exploratory computational models supported these findings. Both adolescents and adults used simple heuristics in deciding whether to sample additional information or make a final decision, and adolescents sought a higher evidence threshold before deciding compared with adults. These results suggest that adolescents may require more certainty to make decisions compared with adults and be less averse to effort costs when gathering information to aid decisions.
Early‐Middle Triassic high Sr/Y granitoids in the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt: Implications for ocean closure in accretionary orogens

The key to defining the termination of accretion in an accretionary orogen is to recognize the initial magmatic processes that are generated at the time of ocean closure. We present new age, geochemical, and isotopic data for magmatic rocks related to terminal collision along the Solonker‐Xar Moron suture zone in the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) that record such processes following closure of the Paleo‐Asian Ocean. These magmatic rocks were emplaced in the Early‐Middle Triassic (251–245 Ma) and show high Sr/Y signatures. Their low MgO, Cr, and Ni contents and variable whole‐rock εNd(t) values (+5.8 to −5.3), together with the range in zircon εHf(t) (+15.6 to −9.8) and δ18O values (5.1 to 7.9‰), indicate an origin from partial melting of juvenile lower crustal rocks with some old components, including supracrustal recycling under garnet amphibolite facies conditions. Our data, along with available geological and geophysical evidence, lead us to propose a model of final oceanic contraction in the southern CAOB, resulting in sublinear distribution of high Sr/Y melts along the resultant collision zone, thus defining the onset of postaccretionary processes in the southern CAOB. The identification of collision‐related high Sr/Y granitoids from the southern CAOB not only reveals the magmatic process in response to the final episode of orogenic evolution in the CAOB accretionary collision zone but also constrains how and when an archipelago‐type accretionary orogen is terminated.
Perturbations in Osteogenic Cell Fate Following Exposure to Constituents Present in Tobacco: A Combinatorial Study

Tobacco smoke contains between 7000 and 10,000 constituents, and only an evanescently low number of which have been identified, let alone been evaluated for their toxicity. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration has published a list of 93 chemical tobacco constituents that are harmful or potentially harmful to a number of cellular processes. However, their effect on developing skeletal cells is unknown. In this study, we used ToxPI, a computational tool, to prioritize constituents on this list for screening in osteogenically differentiating human embryonic stem cells and fibroblasts. In selected endpoint assays, we evaluated the potential of these chemicals to inhibit osteogenic differentiation success as well as their cytotoxicity. Six of these chemicals, which were ascribed an embryotoxic potential in our screen, as well as nicotine, which was not found to be osteotoxic in vitro, were then evaluated in combinatorial exposures, either in pairs of two or three. No one single chemical could be pinpointed as the culprit of reduced calcification in response to tobacco exposure. Combining chemicals at their half-maximal inhibitory concentration of differentiation often elicited expected decreases in calcification over the individual exposures; however, cytotoxicity was improved in many of the dual combinations. A reverse response was also noted, in which calcification output improved in combinatorial exposures. Results from ternary combinations reflected those from double combinations. Thus, the results from this study suggest that it may be difficult to isolate single chemicals as the primary drivers of skeletal embryotoxicity and that the full combination of chemicals in tobacco smoke may produce the hypomineralization phenotype that we have so far observed in vitro in human embryonic stem cells as well as in vivo in zebrafish.
Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Healing Outcomes in Clinical and Pre-Clinical Models to Treat Pressure Ulcers: A Systematic Review

Background: Despite numerous measures used to prevent pressure ulcers, their growing prevalence in recent years is expected to continue as the population ages. This review aims to report the outcomes of the regenerative potential of MSCs in treating pressure ulcers, assessing the effectiveness of MSCs in treating pressure ulcers. Methods: A computerized search for articles on animal models that use MSCs as primary therapy to treat pressure ulcers, published from conception to present, was conducted using PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and CINAHL. Our search yielded 52 articles, narrowed to 44 after excluding duplicates. Results: Out of 52 articles collected from four databases, 11 met the inclusion criteria. A total of 11 articles published between 2008 and 2020 met the inclusion criteria. Eight studies were observational descriptive papers in animal models, and three were prospective. Six studies used autologous MSCs, while five used allogenic MSCs. Three studies were conducted in humans, and the remaining eight were conducted in animals. The most common method of cell delivery was an intradermal injection in the margins of the ulcer. All studies reported positive results, including improved wound healing, reduced inflammation, and improved tissue regeneration. Conclusions: MSCs have shown promising results in treating pressure ulcers in animal and clinical trials. The combination of MSCs and scaffold materials has also been studied and found to be effective in wound healing. A standardized human wound model has been proposed further to investigate the efficacy of cell-based therapies for chronic wounds. However, more research is needed to determine the best quantity of cells to apply for pressure ulcers and to ensure the safety and efficacy of these treatments in clinical settings.
Food Science of Animal Resources

Although the production of dry-aged beef has been increasing, most purveyors are unaware of the changes in quality that ensue after completion of the aging period and do not adhere to specific guidelines for its packaging and storage. The objective of this study was to investigate the storage stability of vacuum-packaged dry-aged beef based on changes in microbial, physicochemical, and sensory properties during refrigeration at 4°C for 21 d. The total aerobic bacterial count exceeded 6 Log CFU/g at approximately day 11 and significantly increased after day 14. Freshness indicators such as pH and volatile basic nitrogen content were acceptable until day 14 and 21, respectively. Based on the evaluation of overall sensory acceptability, the dry-aged beef was acceptable until 14 d without any sensory deterioration. Therefore, vacuum-packaged dry-aged beef could be stored for 11 d at 4°C without any adverse effect on its microbial and sensory quality.
Cochlear Implant Single-Unit Audio Processors in Young Children

Background: RONDO 2 is a lightweight, compact, wirelessly charged, and fully integrated single-unit speech processor. Single-unit processors provide an effective and convenient alternative to behind-the-ear processors for adults. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate if RONDO 2 is suitable for and did not compromise the hearing performance of young children in everyday life. Methods: Thirteen children aged <4 years were fitted with the RONDO 2 speech processor at the first activation of the cochlear implant. They were evaluated with the LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire, LittlEARS® Early Speech Production Questionnaire, and the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale 12 pre-implantation. In addition to these measures, they were evaluated with the Audio Processor Satisfaction Questionnaire post-implantation. Duration of daily use and troubleshooting data were acquired. Evaluation occurred at 4 time points: before implantation and 1, 3, and 12 months post-initial activation. Results: Ten out of 13 children continued using RONDO 2 after the study. Twelve months after implantation, they used it on average 11.6 hours per day and had an average Audio Processor Satisfaction Questionnaire score of 9.1 out of 10. Average hearing performance scores continuously improved throughout the follow-up period across measures. Twelve months after implantation, the mean scores were 30.1 out of 35 for the LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire, 19.9 out of 27 for the LittlEARS® Early Speech Production Questionnaire, and 7.4 out of 10 for the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale 12. Conclusion: Participants demonstrated high levels of satisfaction and good hearing performance with RONDO 2, which indicates that this single-unit processor could be a viable and comfortable alternative to behind-the-ear processors in young children, although larger controlled experiments are warranted.