Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phytochemical, Scavenging Properties and Glycemic Index of Soy-Enriched Maize-Based Gruel Fortified with Moringa Leaves and Wonderful Kola

In this study, defatted soybean cake, Moringa oleifera leaves and wonderful kola combination were used to raise the nutritional value and scavenging properties of maize-based formulated diets. After blanching and fermentation process, maize (popcorn), moringa leaves, wonderful kola seeds, defatted soybean cake were milled into flour and blended to obtain six samples (R1, R2, B1, B2, F1, F2). Samples were analyzed for antinutrients, phytochemicals, scavenging properties and glycemic index using standard methods. Both processing methods reduced antinutrient levels; particularly for phytic acid. Of the methods used, fermentation is the most effective in increasing the protein content of the formulated diets, it also had the highest scavenging ability and the lowest glycemic index. For DPPH (1,1 diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl) assay, R1, B1, F1 had high scavenging abilities with F1 having the highest. Albino rats fed with 1 g of sample F1 showed a great decrease in blood glucose Original Research Article Adeniyi et al.; AFSJ, 2(2): 1-11, 2018; Article no.AFSJ. 40375 2 level below 5 mmol/l when compared with other samples and reference sample (glucose). This shows the importance of a healthy diet and the effectiveness of Moringa oleifera leaves in the prevention and management of diabetes.
Recent Developments in Luffa Natural Fiber Composites: Review

Natural fiber composites (NFCs) are an evolving area in polymer sciences. Fibers extracted from natural sources hold a wide set of advantages such as negligible cost, significant mechanical characteristics, low density, high strength-to-weight ratio, environmental friendliness, recyclability, etc. Luffa cylindrica, also termed luffa gourd or luffa sponge, is a natural fiber that has a solid potential to replace synthetic fibers in composite materials in diverse applications like vibration isolation, sound absorption, packaging, etc. Recently, many researches have involved luffa fibers as a reinforcement in the development of NFC, aiming to investigate their performance in selected matrices as well as the behavior of the end NFC. This paper presents a review on recent developments in luffa natural fiber composites. Physical, morphological, mechanical, thermal, electrical, and acoustic properties of luffa NFCs are investigated, categorized, and compared, taking into consideration selected matrices as well as the size, volume fraction, and treatments of fibers. Although luffa natural fiber composites have revealed promising properties, the addition of these natural fibers increases water absorption. Moreover, chemical treatments with different agents such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and benzoyl can remarkably enhance the surface area of luffa fibers, remove undesirable impurities, and reduce water uptake, thereby improving their overall characteristics. Hybridization of luffa NFC with other natural or synthetic fibers, e.g., glass, carbon, ceramic, flax, jute, etc., can enhance the properties of the end composite material. However, luffa fibers have exhibited a profuse compatibility with epoxy matrix.
Early Warning Indicators for Systemic Banking Crises: Household Debt and Property Prices

The 2008 financial crisis was the result of escalating house prices and a hasty increase in household debt. In a sample of 41 advanced and emerging countries, this paper employs a logit estimation model to examine the role of household debt and house price as indicators of systemic banking for the period of 1980 until 2018. The results confirm that a high growth in household debt and house price increase enhances the probability for crises to erupt. While this is a consistent evidence for advanced economies, an observation of emerging economies suggests that only a change in household debt and not a change in house prices may cause banking crises to erupt. Policymakers can thus design predictive EWS models based on the surge in household debt and house prices prior to the crises which would lessen, if not alleviate, the effect of upcoming economic shocks by monitoring the macroeconomic changes.
#NCAAInclusion: Using Social Media to Engage NCAA Student-Athletes in Strategic Efforts to Promote Diversity and Inclusion

In an increasingly diverse sports industry, inclusive excellence becomes an important axiom to engage a variety of stakeholders. This case study outlines the development of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Social Media Campaign launched by the NCAA’s Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee in partnership with the national Student-Athlete Advisory Committees. The goals of this campaign were to provide the more than 500,000 student-athletes in the NCAA with a platform to create a dialogue on diversity and inclusion on their campuses as well as to communicate the benefit of inclusive environments to the student-athlete experience. By outlining the steps from the campaign idea to its implementation, this case study provides students with the ability to (a) understand a major sport organization’s planning process for a national social media campaign focused on diversity and inclusion, (b) analyze current diversity trends in the sports industry using the NCAA as an example, (c) trace the NCAA membership’s engagement with the campaign, and (d) determine to which extent a campaign such as this one can serve as a starting point for anchoring inclusive excellence in the fabric of intercollegiate athletics departments.
The Caryophylladae cestodes, Wenyonia spp Woodland, 1923 Harbours High Quanities of A Specific PCBs Congener in the Fish Host, Synodontis clarias (Linnaeus, 1758), with Histopathological Alterations as Biomarker Response

The Journal is an Egyptain journal covering the whole field of general, experimental, systematic and applied entomology. Manuscripts generally should not exceed 30 pages (exceptions are possible, particularly in case of reviews, and should be negotiated in advance with the editors). Papers are considered by referees before acceptance. Authors will receive first editorial decision within 8 weeks from confirmed submission. All contributions are published in English. Authors whose mother tongue is not English are strongly urged to have their manuscripts reviewed linguistically before submission. Papers written in poor English will be returned. It is understood that manuscripts submitted to EAJBS have not been offered to any other journal for prior or simultaneous publication. www.eajbs. eg.net Provided for non-commercial research and education use. Not for reproduction, distribution or commercial use.
Evaluating Environmental Impact Assessment report quality in South African national parks

This research evaluates Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report quality for a selected sample of development projects in South African national parks. It applies an adapted version of an international EIA report quality review package to 24 developments within 10 national parks, across three EIA regimes. The results suggest good EIA report quality across all four quality review areas, with improvement over time, but also highlight particular weaknesses in terms of dealing with waste and, to a lesser extent, with significance and mitigation. To build on this research, the development of a sector-specific EIA report quality review package is recommended, with more emphasis on the strategic context, waste and water-related aspects. The conclusion is that EIA is well positioned to remain an important decision support instrument for developments within national parks. Conservation implications: The results show that EIA reports for developments in South African national parks are generally of sufficient quality for decision-making that benefits conservation. However, weaker performance regarding waste, significance determination, water-related impacts and a lack of consideration of strategic context requires a conservation-specific EIA report quality review package to improve report quality in the areas of weakness and thereby increase the value of EIA as an instrument for environmental governance and sustainable development in conservation areas.
Epidemiology and Antibiogram of Riemerella Anatipestifer Isolated from Waterfowl Slaughterhouses in Taiwan

Abstract Introduction: Laryngeal swab samples collected from three waterfowl slaughterhouses in central Taiwan were cultured and suspected isolates of Riemerella anatipestifer were identified by API 20NE and 16S rDNA PCR. Material and Methods: Serum agglutination was used for serotyping, and antimicrobial susceptibility was tested. Results: Seventy-six R. anatipestifer isolates were detected, and the prevalences in the ducks and geese were 12.3% (46/375) and 8.0% (30/375), respectively. The positive isolation rates were 65.6% for all arriving waterfowl, 76.0% for birds in the holding area, 1.6% for defeathered carcasses, but zero for degummed carcasses. A PCR examination detected R. anatipestifer in the slaughtering area frequently. Serotype B was dominant in both duck (34.8%) and goose (46.7%) isolates, but the wide serotype distribution may very well impede vaccination development. All isolates were resistant to colistin, and 79.7% were resistant to more than three common antibiotics. Conclusion: The results proved that most ducks had encountered antibiotic-resistant R. anatipestifer in rearing, which suggests that the bacterium circulates in asymptomatic waterfowl. It is worth noting that most waterfowl farms were found to harbour R. anatipestifer, and contaminated slaughterhouses are a major risk factor in its spread. Effective prevention and containment measures should be established there to interrupt the transmission chain of R. anatipestifer.
Management of early blight of tomato by using different bioagents as seed dressing and its effect on germination and growth

Early blight of tomato caused by Alternaria solani (Ellis & Martin) Sorauer is one of the most destructive disease of tomato. It is a potential disease of tomato that reduces its production globally. Several management practices have been adopted so far to minimize the disease. Present study was based on screening of fungicides, bio agents and botanicals against A. solani in tomato causing early blight disease in glass house condition. Among six different treatments, T-6 treatment i.e. 2 per cent spray of mancozeb gives maximum disease control of 59.60 per cent followed by T-4 treatment having seedling treatment by Trichoderma harzianum with 50.98 per cent disease control. Disease severity was also in this study, which were 20.33 per cent given by treatment 6.
Selection of candidate genes affecting meat quality and preliminary exploration of related molecular mechanisms in the Mashen pig

Objective The aim of this study was to select the candidate genes affecting meat quality and preliminarily explore the related molecular mechanisms in the Mashen pig. Methods The present study explored genetic factors affecting meat quality in the Mashen pig using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). We sequenced the transcriptomes of 180-day-old Mashen and Large White pigs using longissimus dorsi to select differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Results The results indicated that a total of 425 genes were differentially expressed between Mashen and Large White pigs. A gene ontology enrichment analysis revealed that DEGs were mainly enriched for biological processes associated with metabolism and muscle development, while a Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes analysis showed that DEGs mainly participated in signaling pathways associated with amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and skeletal muscle differentiation. A MCODE analysis of the protein-protein interaction network indicated that the four identified subsets of genes were mainly associated with translational initiation, skeletal muscle differentiation, amino acid metabolism, and oxidative phosphorylation pathways. Conclusion Based on the analysis results, we selected glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase 1, malate dehydrogenase 1, pyruvate dehydrogenase 1, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4, and activator protein-1 as candidate genes affecting meat quality in pigs. A discussion of the related molecular mechanisms is provided to offer a theoretical basis for future studies on the improvement of meat quality in pigs.
Measurement of Endogenous Phosphorus Losses in Broiler Chickens

The experiment reported herein was conducted to estimate the ileal and excreta endogenous phosphorus (P) losses in broiler chickens. Three purified diets, namely a P-free diet, a gelatin-based diet containing negligible amounts of P, and a casein-based diet with 100% available P, were formulated. Test diets were offered ad libitum from day 25 to 28 post hatch and ileal digesta were collected. Excreta samples were also collected to estimate total tract endogenous P losses. Ileal endogenous P losses in birds fed the casein-based diet were higher (P<0.05) than those in birds fed P-free and gelatin-based diets. The ileal endogenous losses of P in birds fed P-free, gelatin-based, and casein-based diets were 25, 104 and 438 mg/kg dry matter intake, respectively. The endogenous P loss values estimated at the excreta level were 830, 560 and 372 mg/kg dry matter intake, respectively. Ileal and excreta endogenous losses of P in birds fed a casein-based diet were similar (P>0.05), but ileal losses were lower (P<0.05) than the excreta values in birds fed P-free and gelatin-based diets, resulting in a significant (P<0.001) assay diet by site of measurement interaction. The present data demonstrate that values determined for endogenous P losses in broiler chickens vary widely depending on the assay diet used.
Isolation and Identification of Bacteria in Petroleum Hydrocarbons Polluted Soils in North-West Bayelsa State

Soil samples were analyzed to identify population of autochthonous aerobic heterotrophic bacteria (AHB) and hydrocarbon degrading bacteria (HDB) in soils of Bayelsa State. Soil samples collected from two locations (Okodia and Imiringi) at two different crude oil sites (polluted and unpolluted) at two soil depths (0-15cm and 15-30cm). Pour plate method using Nutrient Agar (NA), DeMan Rogosa and Sharp Agar (MRSA), Cetrimide Agar (CA) and Mannitol Salt Agar (MSA) were used for both total AHB and HDB counts incubated at 37 o C for 24, 48 and 72 hours respectively. Results obtained were subjected to statistical analysis (ANOVA) using Turkey's test to separate means of significant difference (p<0.05). Results for bacterial population expressed in (CFU/g x 10 6 ) showed that Imiringi soils were significantly different from Okodia soils with polluted sites significantly different from unpolluted sites for both locations. However, soil depths for both locations and sites showed no significant differences. Furthermore, results showed no significant difference indicating that both bacteria are equally present in the locations, sites and soil depth respectively. Three HDB isolates were identified, namely: Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Lactobacillus acidophilus. The bacteria isolates were two Gram-stain positive and one Gram-stain negative. Physico-chemical properties and rate of respiration of the bacteria from both locations were also analyzed. Results of the analyses showed that population of the HDB present in this study could be well utilized for bioremediation of soils in Bayelsa State and other crude oil exploration and exportation states within the Niger Delta for agricultural purposes via bio-augmentation and bio-stimulation methods.
Short-term changes in plant functional traits and understory functional diversity after logging of different intensities: a temperate fir-beech forest experiment

The concept of plant functional traits has been demonstrated to be very effective in unravelling the ecological mechanisms governing plant community response to disturbance, especially when research is focused on short-term post-disturbance vegetation dynamics. In this study, we established an experiment to quantify how logging intensity affects the trait composition and functional diversity of understory communities in fir-beech forests in the Dinaric Mountains in Slovenia. Three different silvicultural treatments were implemented: control (no logging), 50% of the growing stock removed and 100% of the growing stock removed. Vegetation surveys of vascular plants were made before (in 2012) and two years after (in 2014) logging. Changes in species traits, C-S-R plant strategies (sensu Grime) and community-level functional diversity were analysed. The importance of traits such as small and light diaspores, short life span and anemochory increased with logging intensity. Moreover, species with the ability of both sexual and vegetative reproduction, longer flowering duration and overwintering green leaves increased in abundance after logging. C-S-R strategies mainly shifted from stress-tolerators in pre-logging conditions towards a more ruderal component in post-logging stands. Logging in the short term increased functional diversity, mainly due to newly colonized species being functionally dissimilar from persistent residents. Results suggest that logging intensity strongly influences the magnitude of change in both functional composition and diversity, which also has important implications for biodiversity conservation. At the landscape scale, increasing spatial heterogeneity by creating a mosaic of forest stands subjected to different logging intensities will likely contribute to the enhancement of plant functional diversity.
Rapid differentiation of aconiti kusnezoffii radix from different geographic origins using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Objective: There are different geographic origins of Aconiti Kusnezoffii Radixs (AKRs) sold in the market with different quality. This study aims to establish a rapid analysis method to distinguish the different geographic origins of AKRs and to realize the rapid evaluation of their quality. Methods: An ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF MS) method was utilized to acquire the constituents' information of AKRs from different geographic origins. MSE data and Progenesis QI software were employed to identify the chemical constitutes. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to comparing MS data to find the chemical markers of AKRs from different geographic origins. Results: Twenty-three components were detected and 17 out of them were identified, including diester-diterpenoid alkaloids, monoester-diterpenoid alkaloids , and amine-diterpenoid alkaloids. Three pairs of isomers were detected and two of them were distinguished by the retention time of standard samples. Thirteen chemical markers were screened out through PCA and orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis. Through detecting Napelline or isomer of Napelline (m/z 360.2530) and Aconifine (m/z 662.3170), AKRs from inner Mongolia autonomous could be screened. According to the existence of benzoylaconine (m/z 604.3108) and Indaconitine (m/z 630.3159), it could be confirmed that the AKRs are from Xinjiang Uygur autonomous. AKRs that cannot detect compounds above-mentioned could be from Liaoning or Shanxi Province. Conclusions: The chemical profile could be used not only to distinguish the AKRs from different geographic origins but also to identify the true and false of AKRs. This study lays a foundation for the study of efficacy and toxic of AKRs.
Novel Fast and Automatic Condition Monitoring Strategy Based on Small Amount of Labeled Data

Signal-based automatic condition monitoring techniques are one of the effective ways to ensure the operational safety of modern industrial systems. Currently, the main challenge is to increase their effectiveness under noisy environment and with limited labeled data. In this article, a novel fast and automatic signal-based fault diagnosis procedure that does not require any kinds of machine learning algorithms is proposed. This procedure is based on the measurement of the similarity in the frequency domain between the collected data and a small amount of labeled reference signals (LRSs). The LRSs are obtained under various known operation conditions using fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm. The proposed approach is suitable for a real-time implementation and capable of successfully overcoming the challenge of condition monitoring of rotating machines under noisy environment and with limited labeled data. The merits, fastness, and also robustness against noise of the proposed technique are demonstrated experimentally through different practical applications, as well as compared to state-of-the-art procedures on a database of vibration signals measured under a variety of machine health and working conditions.
Understanding and Evaluating Systemwide Impacts of Uncertain Parameters in the Dynamic Load Model on Short-Term Voltage Stability

This paper investigates systemwide short-term voltage stability concerns of power systems due to the multiple parametric uncertainties in the dynamic load model. The impact of regional load model uncertainty can be widespread and may mislead the whole system analysis and subsequent measures, if not properly addressed. This research discloses that the systemwide impact is related to the voltage weak areas through voltage stability modal analysis, and suggests that the impact of uncertain parameters needs to be assessed from a systems perspective, which has rarely been done in the existing practices. We thus present a three-step methodology for evaluating the systemwide uncertainty impacts: Firstly, it screens possible trajectories of all buses. The second step verifies whether the screened trajectories comply with the defined criteria, and determines the necessity of the final step. The final detailed analysis is conducted for those selected scenarios. Comprehensive studies for both the IEEE test and real Korea power systems consistently confirm the observations and demonstrate the efficacy and validity of the proposed method.
Seroepidemiological study of leptospirosis in buffaloes of south Gujarat, India

A total of 102 serum samples were collected randomly from buffaloes exposed with different clinical conditions (abortion, repeat breeding, fever, mastitis, anorexia) suspected for leptospirosis and apparently healthy. These serum samples were subjected to seroepidemiogical study using microscopic agglurination test (MAT) having different serovars of Leptospira spp. The seroprevalence of leptospirosis among buffaloes was noted to be 15.69% (16/102). All the three districts of South Gujarat showed the presence of leptospiral antibodies without any significant difference (P≤0.05) with the highest rate in Tapi (50.00%) followed by Navsari (14.89%) and Surat (13.72%). Jafrabadi breed showed 50.00% seropositivity followed by Surati (16.67%), Mehsana (15.00%) and Non-Descript (5.55%). In female buffaloes the seroprevalence positivity was noted in 16.49% cases. However, none of male exhibited seropositivity. In respect of age groups the highest rate of seropositivity (19.23%) was observed in age group of 1 to 4 years followed by above 4 years (15.71%) and below 1 year (00%) without significant difference (P≤0.05). In buffaloes out of 102 sera screened, 16 were positive with one or more serovars. The highest number of seropositivity was recorded against serovar Kaup (17.39%).