Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of glycine and glutamine supplementation to reduced crude protein diets on growth performance and carcass characteristics of male broilers during a 41‐day production period1

SUMMARY Glycine has been reported to be conditionally essential for broilers fed reduced crude protein diets during the starter period. Research evaluating dietary Gly responses subsequent to the starter period is sparse. This experiment was conducted to ascertain the effects of feeding reduced crude protein diets supplemented with Gly and/or L‐Gln (nitrogen source) on growth performance and carcass characteristics of broilers during a 41‐day production period. Eight dietary treatments were utilized with the negative control diets formulated to contain approximately 2.4 and 0.29% points lower crude protein and total Gly + Ser concentrations, respectively, than the positive control diets. The 6 other diets were formulated to contain intermediate concentrations of total Gly + Ser and/or crude protein (nitrogen) by adding Gly and/or L‐Gln, respectively, to the negative control diets. Glycine appeared to have more pronounced effects than nitrogen contribution on feed conversion ratio and body weight gain of broilers during starter and grower periods, whereas Gln improved feed conversion of broilers in the finisher period. Total breast meat weight and yield of broilers provided diets with the additions of Gly and L‐Gln were higher than those receiving diets with only Gly or L‐Gln supplementation. The positive outcomes on growth performance and carcass characteristics suggested that providing adequate total Gly + Ser and nitrogen concentrations in diet formulation may be necessary for broilers when dietary CP content was reduced approximately by 2.4% points during a 6‐week production period.
Evidence for Incremental Validity of Proactive Personality in Predicting Task Performance

Proactive personality is defined as a dispositional tendency to bring about changes in one’s environment. A number of researchers have concluded that proactive personality is an important dispositional construct and that it is distinct from other personality constructs, such as those included in the Big Five (Bateman & Crant, 1993; Crant, 1995; Thompson, 2005). Literature also suggests that proactive personality is a valid predictor of workplace-specific outcomes like job performance, career success, and leadership quality (Crant & Bateman, 2000; Crant, 1995; Seibert, Crant, & Kraimer, 1999; Thompson, 2005). The present research further evaluated the predictive power of proactive personality in relation to task performance. College students (n = 119) completed an online survey including measures of proactive personality, task performance, conscientiousness, social desirability, and a brief demographic questionnaire. The results of hierarchical multiple regression indicated that proactive personality is a significant predictor of task performance even when controlling for such empirically-proven strong predictors as conscientiousness and work experience. The authors believe that proactive personality may be a useful dispositional construct for organizational selection and assessment.
Research Note: Former Extremist Interviews Current Extremist: Self-Disclosure and Emotional Engagement in Terrorism Studies

Abstract In this article I describe how recognizing elements from my own extremist past made me emotional while interviewing a jailed terrorist about his motivations for joining Islamic State. I relate how this mood led me to an uncontrolled self-disclosure and recount how he agreed to elaborate on his motivations for joining IS, despite initial reluctance to talk about them. Then, I present some considerations on whether research in which emotional attachment is involved can produce critical scientific knowledge. The basic aim of the article is to develop methods, concepts and means to contribute to research on the motivations of terrorists.
Extreme eigenvalues of an integral operator

We study the family of compact operators $B_{\alpha} = V A_{\alpha} V$, $\alpha>0$ in $L^2(\mathbb R^d)$, $d\ge 1$, where $A_{\alpha}$ is the pseudo-differential operator with symbol $a_{\alpha}(\boldsymbol\xi) = a(\alpha\boldsymbol\xi)$, and both functions $a$ and $V$ are real-valued and decay at infinity. We assume that $a$ and $V$ attain their maximal values $A_0>0$, $V_0>0$, only at $\boldsymbol\xi = \mathbf 0$ and $\mathbf x = \mathbf 0$. We also assume that a(\boldsymbol\xi) = &\ A_0 - \Psi_{\gamma}(\boldsymbol\xi) + o(|\boldsymbol\xi|^{\gamma}),\ |\boldsymbol\xi|\to 0, V(\mathbf x) = &\ V_0 - \Phi_{\beta}(\mathbf x) + o(|\mathbf x|^{\beta}),\ |\mathbf x|\to 0, with some functions $\Psi_{\gamma}(\boldsymbol\xi)>0$, $\boldsymbol\xi\not =\mathbf 0$ and $\Phi_{\beta}(\mathbf x) >0$, $\mathbf x\not = \mathbf 0$ that are homogeneous of degree $\gamma>0$ and $\beta >0$ respectively. The main result is the following asymptotic formula for the eigenvalues $\lambda_{\alpha}^{(n)}$ of the operator $B_{\alpha}$ (arranged in descending order counting multiplicity) for fixed $n$ and $\alpha\to 0$: \lambda_{\alpha}^{(n)} = A_0V_0^2 - \mu^{(n)} \alpha^{\sigma} + o(\alpha^{\sigma}), \alpha\to 0, where $\sigma^{-1} = \gamma^{-1}+ \beta^{-1}$, and $\mu^{(n)}$ are the eigenvalues (arranged in ascending order counting multiplicity) of the model operator $T$ with symbol $V_0^2\Psi_{\gamma}(\boldsymbol\xi) + 2A_0 V_0 \Phi_{\beta}(\mathbf x)$.
Children of the forests: Child gatherers and traders in non-wood forest products in the Mazowe Valley area in Zimbabwe

Non-wood forest products play a stupendous role in the lives of many people across the globe. The products contribute immensely to household economies as they are either consumed or sold. The object of this study was to give an account of child gatherers of non-wood forest products in the Mazowe Valley area in Zimbabwe. The study adopted a qualitative approach in which data were gathered from 27 children through participant observations and informal interviews. Children were found to actively participate in the collection and trading of non wood forest products. Child collectors of the products are ranged in age from 4 to 17 years. Some of the children lived in child headed households while some lived with their parents. The NWFPs collected include fodder, small animals, insects, mushroom and wild fruits. Income realized from the sale of the products was used for buying food, clothes, goodies, and paying school fees. It is therefore concluded that non-wood forest products contribute towards poverty reduction, enhance well-being and capabilities, ascertain livelihood adaptation, vulnerability and resilience and natural resource base sustainability. Key Word s: Non-wood forest products, children, child poverty, child food poverty
Isolating and quantifying the role of developmental noise in generating phenotypic variation

Phenotypic variation in organisms is typically attributed to genotypic variation, environmental variation, and their interaction. Developmental noise, which arises from stochasticity in cellular and molecular processes occurring during development when genotype and environment are fixed, also contributes to phenotypic variation. The potential influence of developmental noise is likely underestimated in studies of phenotypic variation due to intrinsic mechanisms within organisms that stabilize phenotypes and decrease variation. Since we are just beginning to appreciate the extent to which phenotypic variation due to stochasticity is potentially adaptive, the contribution of developmental noise to phenotypic variation must be separated and measured to fully understand its role in evolution. Here, we show that phenotypic variation due to genotype and environment, versus the contribution of developmental noise, can be distinguished for leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) head color patterns using mathematical simulations that model the role of random variation (corresponding to developmental noise) in patterning. Specifically, we modified the parameters of simulations corresponding to genetic and environmental variation to generate the full range of phenotypic variation in color pattern seen on the heads of eight leopard geckos. We observed that over the range of these parameters, the component of variation due to genotype and environment exceeds that due to developmental noise in the studied gecko cohort. However, the effect of developmental noise on patterning is also substantial. This approach can be applied to any regular morphological trait that results from self-organized processes such as reaction-diffusion mechanisms, including the frequently found striped and spotted patterns of animal pigmentation patterning, patterning of bones in vertebrate limbs, body segmentation in segmented animals. Our approach addresses one of the major goals of evolutionary biology: to define the role of stochasticity in shaping phenotypic variation.
Echoes From the Rocks: Contextualising Land Reform and Resettled Farmer Experiences in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe

This article seeks to characterise and contextualise land reform, and the experiences of resettled farmers, in the under-researched Matabeleland South. It does so through a historicised, landscape approach to changes in the post-Fast Track Land Reform Programme agrarian structure in two wards in Matobo District. While new land dispensation is still consolidating, outcomes are varied, and while beneficiaries are vulnerable to drought in mixed farming there is also notable resilience. Importantly, we argue that changes in the landscape ‘echo’ the past, where material and discursive changes play out at the same time as agrarian livelihoods evolve.
Investigation of Elevated Temperature Effects on Multiple Layer Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducers with Adhesive Bondlines by Self-Heating

Ultrasound is referred to as sound signal with frequencies above the upper limit of human audible range, i.e. 20 kHz. The modern study and usage of ultrasound is believed to originate from the underwater detection of Paul Langevin in 1917 (Mason, 1976). Since then, ultrasound has taken an important role in a broad variety of applications including underwater sonar (Foote, 2008), non-destructive testing (NDT) and evaluation (Thompson, 1985), biomedical diagnosis and therapy (Duck, 1998), and process industry (Hoyle, 1994), and so on.
An Italian Innovative Small-Scale Approach to Promote the Conscious Consumption of Healthy Food

An unhealthy diet is considered to be one of the main causes for increases in obesity and chronic diseases. Food choices are frequently influenced by food systems and environments along with the availability and affordability of healthy and sustainable food. In this context, a major contemporary challenge lies in improving these aspects in order to support healthy dietary choices. Hence, to address this issue, here, we propose a small-scale approach called SANI (Italian for “healthy”) which involves experts in science and marketing. Two typical agri-foods of the Abruzzo area (center of Italy), tomato sauce and extra virgin olive oil, are characterized as high-quality products in terms of their nutrient content, absence of chemical contaminants (chromatographic, spectrophotometric, and magnetic resonance techniques), and ecological footprint (lifecycle assessment and carbon footprint). Hence, their consumption is promoted, with strict attention being paid to several aspects of the food system, such as production, processing, distribution, labeling, and promotion, as well as marketing strategies and dissemination activities. Overall, these SANI actions, especially labeling and dissemination, have proven to be a valuable learning tool for consumers moving toward more conscious consumption, which can be extended and applied to additional food products. Future applications of similar research strategies in a wider context could positively affect human and environmental health.
Egalitarian men: stereotypes and discrimination in the labor market

This article aimed to analyze the stereotypes attributed to "egalitarian men", understood here as men who support gender equality in relation to domestic and family responsibilities as well as inclusion in the workforce. To do so, two studies were carried out. The first study investigated the attribution of stereotypes to egalitarian men through a single open question. A total of 250 university students participated in this study, of which 51.1% were male, and their average age was 21.5 years (SD = 4.39). The second study analyzed the attribution of stereotypes to egalitarian or traditional men and women in a work context considered masculine. Participants included 221 university students with a mean age of 21.9 years (SD = 4.19), the majority (54.3%) being male. Taken together, the results of the two studies indicate that the egalitarian man is perceived as fragile and possibly homosexual. On the other hand, he is also seen as being more competent than traditional men.
Structure of internals tissue of first generation of rats fed by natural and transgenic soybean

Studied of macroand microstructure of kidney, liver and spleen of female and male rats did not show significant deviations from such structures of the control group. It has been found that structure of spleen follicles of female and male control groups of rat is better expressed comparing to those whose diet included soybean. The animals whose diet included both conventional and transgenic soybean were found to have a slight increase of Bowman’s capsule in kidney tissues enabled by glomerulus reduction that is apparently due to the effect of both soybean varieties of biologically active components on water-salt metabolism in animals. Considering that the internal structure was preserved and conformed with the norms for animals of given species and age in both control and experimental female and male rat groups, a conclusion on the absence of significant negative or positive effect of GM soybean components on the histological structure of liver, spleen and kidneys can be proposed.
Characteristics and Challenges of Agile Software Development Adoption in Brazilian Government

Governments worldwide have been working to provide better digital services to citizens. In Brazil, this initiative is ongoing since the 2000’s with the aim create better digital solutions that provide access to government information, improvements in public services, and increase social participation. One of the strategies for developing digital solutions – i.e. software solutions – is the adoption of agile software development (ASD) methods, which are forms of software processes that enable delivering working software in a timely manner to respond to customer needs. While industry surveys are performed annually to understand ASD adoption in companies, little is known about the adoption of ASD in Brazilian government organizations and which are the challenges faced by these organizations. The goal of this study is thus to describe agile software development adoption in the Brazilian public sector, by showing the characteristics for adoption and challenges. We conducted a survey with practitioners of government-based organizations in Brazil and statistically analyzed data. Out of the 167 responses, we learned that ASD projects are mostly successful and, on their majority, they are conducted combined with other software development approaches. Also, accelerating product delivery and increasing productivity are ranked as the main reasons for agile adoption, followed by cultural change and resistance to change as the main challenges still faced by Brazilian government IT organizations in the use of ASD.
Effect of saline water irrigation on seed germination and early seedling growth of the halophyte

Salinization is increasing on a global scale, decreasing average yields for most major crop plants. Investigations into salt resistance have, unfortunately, mainly been focused on conventional crops, with few studies screening the potential of available halophytes as new crops. This study has been carried out to investigate the mechanisms used by quinoa, a facultative halophytic species, in order to cope with high salt levels at various stages of its development. Quinoa is regarded as one of the crops that might sustain food security in this century, grown primarily for its edible seeds with their high protein content and unique amino acid composition. Although the species has been described as a facultative halophyte, and its tolerance to salt stress has been investigated, its physiological and molecular responses to seawater (SW) and other salts have not been studied. We evaluated the effects of SW and different salts on seed germination, seedling emergence and the antioxidative pathway of quinoa. Seeds were germinated in Petri dishes and seedlings grown in pots with SW solutions (25, 50, 75 and 100 %) and NaCl, CaCl2, KCl and MgCl2 individually, at the concentrations in which they are present in SW. Our results demonstrated that all salts, at lower concentrations, increased the germination rate but not the germination percentages, compared with control (pure water). Conversely, seedlings were differently affected by treatments in respect to salt type and concentration. Growth parameters affected were root and shoot length, root morphology, fresh and dry weight, and water content. An efficient antioxidant mechanism was present in quinoa, activated by salts during germination and early seedling growth, as shown by the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Total antioxidant capacity was always higher under salt stress than in water. Moreover, osmotic and ionic stress factors had different degrees of influence on germination and development. * Corresponding author’s e-mail address: amuscolo@unirc.it Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
Avalonia, get bent! – Paleomagnetism from SW Iberia confirms the Greater Cantabrian Orocline

<p>The amalgamation of Pangea formed the contorted Variscan-Alleghanian orogen suturing Gondwana and Laurussia during Carboniferous. From all swirls of this orogen, a double curve stands out in Iberia, the coupled Cantabrian Orocline and Central Iberian Curve. The Cantabrian Orocline formed subsequent to Variscan orogeny (ca. 315-295 Ma). The mechanisms of formation for this orocline are disputed being the most prominent:</p><p>1) An Avalonian (Laurussia) indenter at SW Iberia, that would form the Cantabrian Orocline in a sinistral transpressive orogenic phase. </p><p>2) A change in the stress field that buckled the orogen. This change in stress would be potentially far-field and linked to subduction of the Paleo-tethys and/or diachronous collision in the Variscan belt. </p><p>In contrast, the geometry and kinematics of the Central Iberian curve are largely unknown. Whereas some authors defend both curvatures are genetically linked, others support they are distinct and formed at different times. Such uncertainty adds an extra layer of complexity into our understanding of the final stages of Pangea amalgamation. </p><p>We have performed a paleomagnetic analysis of several tectonostratigraphic units in SW Iberiat to solve the late Carboniferous Variscan kinematics. Our results show differential counterclockwise rotations, ranging from 20&#730;&#160; and up to 70&#730; at late Carboniferous. These results are coincident with the kinematics expected in the southern limb of the Cantabrian Orocline and discard a concomitant formation of both Cantabrian and Central Iberian curvature. The Avalonian portion of Laurussia rotated with the Cantabrian Orocline at both limbs: the northern one (Ireland, Pastor-Gal&#225;n et al., 2015) and the southern one (South Portugese Zone, this study). The coherent rotation of Avalonia confirms the Greater Cantabrian Orocline hypothesis and discards the Avalonian indenter as a mechanism of formation for the Cantabrian Orocline. The Greater Cantabrian Orocline extended beyond the Rheic Ocean suture affecting both Laurussia and Gondwana margins and probably formed by a late Carboniferous change in the stress field, due to a still unidentified cause. </p>
Pesticides used in Thailand and toxic effects to human health

Pesticide intoxication is one of the major public health problems in Thailand and it is caused by intensive use and exposure to pesticides. There was an increasing trend of pesticides imported from about 110,000 tons (14,000 million Baht) in 2007 to approximately 172,000 tons (24,000 million Baht) in 2013. Herbicides were the major pesticides with the highest proportion of import (62-79%) followed by insecticides (12-23%) and fungicides (5-11%). There were about 49,000 to 61,000 reported cases of pesticide intoxication each year with morbidity rate between 76.4 and 96.6 per 100,000 populations. The reported cases of the toxic effects of substances during 2007-2013 were found predominantly in the Central region of Thailand (31-36%), followed by the Northeastern region (27-31%), while the annual proportion of the North (18-20%) were almost equal to those of the South (18- 19%). The numbers of cases were usually increased during the growing season of many crops in rainy season (May-August) each year, and it was found mainly in farmers and farm workers. The highest risk was found in patients aged between 45 and 54 years, followed by the groups of 55-64 years and 35-44 years, while the poison risk in men was greater than women. Most of the pesticides identified from patients were organophosphates, carbamates and herbicides, whereas approximately 85-90% of total cases could not be identified the causing pesticides. In conclusion, a large amount of pesticides have been annually imported into Thailand and the intensive use of pesticides certainly has consequences for human health and environments even though identifying the true extent of these is quite difficult. To reduce the intensive use of pesticides, it is an urgent need to promote the organic farming practices and search for the effective biopesticides or biological agents to control agricultural pests in order to replace the chemical pesticides.
Transcriptome and Small RNA Sequencing Analysis Revealed Roles of PaWB-Related miRNAs and Genes in Paulownia fortunei

Paulownia witches’ broom (PaWB) is an epidemic disease caused by phytoplasmas infection, which is responsible for large production and economic losses. The study of PaWB has made significant progress, but the specific molecular mechanisms associated with PaWB remain unclear. To clearly know the gene expression profiles of plantlets infected with phytoplasmas, in this study, we used high-throughput sequencing technology to generate an integrated analysis of the transcriptome and microRNAs (miRNAs) of Paulownia fortunei (seem.) Hemsl. plantlets, and to obtain a comprehensive resource for the relationship between vital miRNA-target gene pairs and PaWB. A total of 756 genes, and 45 conserved and 22 new miRNAs were identified associated with PaWB. In addition, 635 target genes were predicted for the 67 DERs (Differentially expressed miRNAs). An interaction network of these miRNAs and their target genes was constructed. Gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analysis of these target genes indicated that genes encoding transcription factors (TFs), including auxin response factors (ARF), WRKY, NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2 and CUC2), and MYB (v-myb avian myeloblastosis viral oncogene homolog), and genes encoding superoxide dismutase (SOD), as well as alternative splicing were related directly or indirectly to PaWB. Our results shed light on the possible roles of genes and miRNAs in PaWB-infected plantlets, which will enhance the understanding of the PaWB mechanism in Paulownia plants.