Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Large-scale Trials for the Short-term de-Astringency in Persimmon Fruits by Ethanol

The present study was carried out to improve the method of removing astringency from persimmon fruits by ethanol. Experiments to remove astringency on a large scale within a short period were performed by packing the fruits into well-ventilated plastic containers, stacking the containers in the de-astringency room and heating the room to about 30°C while adding ethanol.1. It was necessary to insulate the de-astringency room using insulations such as urethane foam 25mm or more in thickness.2. The addition of ethanol was accomplished by introducing an ethanolic solution into the de-astringency room at a given rate of flow and vaporizing the ethanol with a sufficient amount of air passed. The amount of ethanol penetrating into fruits reached about 80% of the added ethanol.3. The room was heated by a composite unit of blower and heater, which had a surface temperature of lower than 200°C. Fruit temperature was increased to around 30°C within 1 day after heating started. In order to prevent the development of peel discoloration, the differences in heating rates throughout the load needed to be kept as slight as possible.4. Ethylene treatment had a strong effect on hastening the ripening of fruits which became non-astringent within a short time. Fruits treated with ethylene produced good marketing qualities such as a melting flesh texture and a sweet taste.5. The fruits receiving the 3-day de-astringency and ripening treatment using a manufactured equipment were graded, packed and shipped to market. There was no significant difference in market value between these treated fruits and those which became non-astringent after about 2 weeks using a conventional method.
The Involvement of Male Partners in Care: Socio Determinants of Health Among Women in Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission Program in Malawi

Background Male partners are rarely present during PMTCT (Prevention-Mother-To-Child-Transmission) services in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The involvement of men is increasingly recognised as an important element of women’s access to care. The study aims to identify the socio-demographic characteristics, HIV-Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) among women accompanied and not accompanied by the male partners to the facilities. Methods We included pregnant women enrolled in PMTCT programme between August 2018 and November 2019 in the Southern Region of Malawi. Eligible women were aged 18 years or older, lived with a male partner, enrolled for the first time in four DREAM facilities. We provided a KAP survey to women and their partners attending the facilities. Our primary outcome was to assess and analyse the proportion of women who were accompanied by their partner at least once. We applied descriptive statistics, and logistic regressions to study the association between being accompanied and explanatory variables. Results We enrolled 128 HIV-positive women: 82 (64.1%) were accompanied by their male partners and 46 (35.9%) were alone. Women with high level of knowledge on HIV/AIDS are more likely to be accompanied by the male partners (53.7% vs 34.8%, p = 0.040). Level of attitude and practice were not different between women accompanied or not. Patients owning a mean of transport were more likely to go alone to facility (OR 4.16, 95% CI 1.02–16.94). Women who travelled more than 90 minutes to get to the facilities (OR 0.10, 95% CI 0.02–0.49) with high HIV-knowledge (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.16–0.91) are more likely to be accompanied. Conclusions Our study showed a good male partner involvement compared to other studies performed in SSA. To our knowledge this is the first study showing that women’s knowledge on HIV and healthcare system inequality as geographical accessibility, social class, gender norms and masculinity play a key role on male partner involvement. Therefore, considering the socio determinant of health is crucial to improve the health of all the family.
The influence of the carbohydrate fraction and additives on silage quality

Respiration losses, effect of sugar content, formic acid addition and inoculation were evaluated in relation to initial fermentation and silage quality in three experiments. Changes in the content of fermentable substrate during post–harvest respiration and initial fermentation were studied in the laboratory. Soluble carbohydrates were estimated as glucose, fructose, sucrose, fructans and starch by an enzymatic method. About 70% of the sugars remained after 30 h of conventional wilting, as opposed to less than 50% in a chopped sample kept in the dark. During the first days of fermentation the metabolic activity was very intensive. Sugars, which accounted for 10% of the dry matter, were fermented within 4 d. There were indications, mainly in clover silages, that substances other than water-soluble carbohydrates were used as energy sources. Low-sugar crops were obtained by shading the fields. After 3 d the sugar in the grass had decreased to half of the original content. This effect was less pronounced in clover. The amount of available substrate and dry matter (DM) content had a major influence on silage quality. In an unwilted crop at least 25 g of water-soluble carbohydrate was needed per kg of fresh material to obtain an acceptable silage quality in the controls, while 20 g was sufficient in inoculated silage. Formic acid addition makes the fermentation less sensitive to water–soluble carbohydrate content. Inoculation of willed silage increased lactic acid production and decreased the pH. There was also less variation in silage quality.
Cephalodiscus graptolitoides sp. nov. a probable extant graptolite

A new species of pterobranch has been found that has features that could resolve the longstanding arguments by palaeontologists about how the fossil graptolites produced their elaborate extra-corporeal homes. Many complex and biologically highly unlikely solutions previously proposed can be simplified. This animal is probably classifiable as a graptolite and thus a living fossil, representing a group thought to be extinct for 300 million years.
Clinical profile of post coronary artery bypass graft patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention in native or graft vessels

Background: The PCI target vessel and corresponding outcomes in prior CABG patients are poorly studied. The study aims to determine the predictors and outcomes of native coronary artery and bypass graft percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with prior coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). Methods: The factors associated with native and bypass graft PCI were analyzed in prior CABG patients undergoing PCI between July 2011 and December 2013, at Sri Jayadeva Institute Of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, Bengaluru. Clinical/procedural characteristics and immediate procedural outcomes were recorded and analyzed. Results: During the study period, 76 patients underwent PCI who were before CABG patients. The PCI target was a native coronary artery in 73.6% and a bypass graft in 28.9%. The majority of patients presented more than five years after the CABG (64.4%). Post PCI angina was seen in 7(9.2%), and in 6(7.8%) patients, procedural complications seen. It was found that most PCI was done in patients who presented more than five years after CABG. Conclusions: Most PCIs performed in prior CABG patients are done in native coronary artery lesions.
Milk composition and growth in wild and captive Tasmanian pademelons, Thylogale billardierii (Marsupialia)

Changes in milk composition (total solids, carbohydrate, protein, lipid and calculated gross energy content) during lactation in three groups of wild (recently culled) and one captive group (fed ad libitum) of Tasmanian pademelon (Thylogale billardierii) were related to growth rates and body condition. The habitats of the three wild groups differed. Total milk solids were generally greater in the captive group but this difference disappeared in late lactation. Milk carbohydrates showed a general increase to mid-lactation in all groups, decreasing subsequently, but were always greater in the captive group. The captive group’s milk protein was always greater than those of wild Groups 1 and 2 but differed from wild Group 3 only in mid-lactation. Milk lipid concentrations started low in all groups; thereafter, the captive group had higher concentrations of lipid in mid-lactation but there were considerable differences between the groups in late lactation with Group 2 having the highest concentrations. Other than in the captive group there was little difference in energy content between early and mid-lactation. Growth rates of young differed between all wild groups, with the captive population exhibiting more rapid growth than all others. Thus, differences in milk composition resulting from different planes of nutrition can lead to differences in growth rates of marsupial young.
Topological aspects of CNN convolution layers for medical image analysis

Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based deep learning technique is fast gaining acceptability and deployment in a variety of computer vision and image analysis applications, and is widely perceived as achieving optimal performance in detecting and classifying objects/patterns in images. Despite considerable success in various image analysis tasks, several shortcomings have been raised including high computational complexity, model overfitting to the training data, requiring extremely large training image datasets, and above all its black-box style of decision making with no informative explanation. Understandably, the latter is a major obstacle for deployments for medical image diagnostics. Conventional machine learning approaches rely on image texture analysis to achieve high, but not optimal, performances and their decisions can be justified quantitatively. The emergence of the new paradigm of Topological Data Analysis (TDA), to deal with the growing challenges of Big Data applications, has recently been adopted to design and develop innovative image analysis schemes that automatically construct filtrations of topological shapes of image texture and use the TDA tool of persistent homology (PH) to distinguish different image classes. This work is an attempt to investigate the effect of CNN convolution layers on the discriminating strengths of TDA based extracted features. We shall present the effect of the pre-trained filters for the convolutional layers - AlexNet on various PH features extracted from Ultrasound scan images of human bladder for distinguishing benign masses from malignant ones. We shall demonstrate that the condition number of the pre-trained filters influences the discriminatory power of PH representation of certain types of local binary pattern (LBP) texture features post convolution in a manner that could be exploited in designing a strategy of filter pruning that maintain classification accuracy while improving efficiency.
Tillage effect on soil water content and corn yield in a strip intercropping system

A three-crop strip intercropping system including corn (Zea mays L.), soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ], and oat (Avena sativa L.) interseeded with nondormant alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), was established in south-central Iowa on a poorly drained Haig soil (fine, smectitic, mesic Vertic Argiaquoll). In 1989 (a dry year) and 1990 (a wet year), we studied the effect of tillage treatment (conventional, CT; reduced, RT; and no-till, NT) and row position on soil water content, canopy and air temperatures, corn grain yield, and yield components. No-till resulted in the most favorable soil water status, plant water status, and grain yield in 1989. No-till had the poorest performance in 1990, mainly because of excessive soil water. The opposite was true for conventional till in both years. Reduced till yield equaled that for the most productive tillage treatment in both years. Conventional and reduced tillage resulted in lower corn grain yield at the border with oat-alfalfa than with soybean because oat depleted soil water more than soybean in both years. In contrast, for no-till the corn grain yield at the border with oat-alfalfa was 6% greater than corn yield bordering soybean in 1989 and 13% greater in 1990. When water was not limiting, in 1990, both corn borders outyielded the center rows by an average of 14% in NT, 27% in RT, and 28% in CT. Soil water content rankings throughout the 1989 season were NT > RT > CT and row position rankings were soybean border > center > oats-alfalfa border. In 1990, there were no soil water content differences between tillage treatments and row positions. Reduced tillage is the most suitable soil management system for corn production with three-crop strip intercropping on this soil, considering consistently high relative yields for both wet and dry years.
Recovery of Cotton Crops after Early Season Damage by Thrips (Thysanoptera)

The objective of this study was to assess the ability of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) crops to recover after early-season damage by thrips (Thysanoptera). Such information may help clarify the actual need to control thrips. Ten experiments, resulting from the combination of two to four sites per season and three seasons, were carried out in commercial crops in the irrigation area of northwest New South Wales, Australia. Two treatments were compared: unprotected crops and crops protected with aldicarb(2-methyl-2-(methylthio)propanal 0. [(methylamino)carbonyl]oxime} at sowing. Early season thrips communities were dominated by Thrips tabaci Lindeman, which accounted for 52 to 100%n of the total phytophagous thrips present in the crops. Insecticide treatment consistently reduced the number of larval thrips compared with the unprotected crops. Number of larval thrips per plant ranged from 0 to 24. Thrips reduced crop leaf area in six experiments, dry matter production in four experiments, and yield in two experiments. Maximum differences in leaf area and dry weight between treatments were found about 40 d after sowing. In all cases, crops damaged by thrips recovered well and reached leaf areas and dry weights similar to protected crops after about 60 to 80 d after sowing. On average, protected crops reached maturity 3 d earlier than crops damaged by thrips, but differences were not statistically significant. Despite large reductions in early growth, yield reductions due to thrips were found in only two experiments. The magnitude of the reduction in yield in those experiments (11%) contrasts with the magnitude of the reduction in growth (about 40%) and highlights the ability of the cotton crop to recover after early season damage by thrips.
Research as a Base for Sustainable Development of Universities: Using the Delphi Method to Explore Factors Affecting International Publishing among Vietnamese Academic Staff

In recent years, the Vietnamese government has put significant effort into the internationalization of research in the higher education system via the use of international publications (i.e., publications indexed by citation databases such as ISI Web of Science and Scopus) in evaluating their academic staff and doctoral students. Academic staff in Vietnam, who traditionally have low numbers of international publications, have thus been pushed to improve their competencies in order to meet the new requirements for research productivity. However, we have little understanding of the factors influencing international publication as perceived by Vietnamese academic staff. This study aims to fill the gap by using the Delphi method. Academic staff with at least one international publication were invited, via purposeful sampling, to participate in a two-round Delphi survey. The survey revealed 14 key factors, which were further classified into three dimensions: “policy-related factors,” “capability-related factors,” and “networking-related factors”. These factors were the key determinants in the success of international publishing, according to the study participants. The findings provide implications for policymakers and university leaders for enhancing the research capacities of Vietnamese universities, forming a basis for the sustainable development of the higher education sector in Vietnam.
Communal nesting, activity patterns, and population characteristics in the near-threatened monito del monte, Dromiciops gliroides

Abstract The “living fossil,” Dromiciops gliroides (monito del monte), is an endemic marsupial inhabiting the temperate rain forests of South America. It is cavity-dependent and faces high energetic costs associated with thermoregulation during the austral winter. Although D. gliroides is well known for seed dispersal in temperate rain forests, its ecology, behavior, and long-term population dynamics have received little attention. We monitored a population of D. gliroides and studied variation in abundance and density and seasonal changes in body mass and body condition index (BCI). In addition, we monitored activity and communal nesting with camera traps and nest boxes, respectively. Over 4 years we documented a mean population density of 26 (95% confidence interval = 19–32) individuals/ha. We found significantly greater body mass and BCI for females than for males, suggesting different energetic strategies during the prehibernation period. Animals were nocturnal and active until dawn. Communal nesting occurred during summer and early fall, but torpor by single individuals and small groups was increasingly frequent during winter. Communal nesting could be a key behavioral strategy affecting survival. However, given the greater frequency in warm seasons and groups composed of postreproductive females and juveniles, communal nesting might be more related to parental care associated with kin selection than to thermoregulation.
Effect of various soybean meal sources and Avizyme on chick growth performance and ileal digestible energy.

Abstract Although it is well accepted that soybean meal (SBM) is a high-quality feed ingredient for poultry, the digestibility of the dry matter and energy in SBM are quite low. One possible means for improving the digestibility of SBM is the use of enzymes. Twelve SBM, obtained from commercial processing plants in the U. S. and other countries, were evaluated with and without the addition of Avizyme in four 2-wk broiler chick assays. The analyzed values (%) of selected nutrients (mean and range) in the SBM were: CP, 45 (40 to 49); dry matter, 88 (87 to 89); lysine, 2.9 (2.57 to 3.27); methionine, 0.69 (0.60 to 0.75); cystine, 0.64 (0.60 to 0.76). KOH protein solubility (%) in the SBM (mean and range) was 77 (71 to 83). Growth performance and ileal digestible energy (DE) for chicks were affected by SBM source (P .10) on chick growth performance but significantly increased ileal DE (P
Determinants of bird assemblage composition in riparian vegetation on sugarcane farms in the Queensland Wet Tropics

Remnant habitat patches in agricultural landscapes can contribute substantially to wildlife conservation. Understanding the main habitat variables that influence wildlife is important if these remnants are to be appropriately managed. We investigated relationships between the bird assemblages and characteristics of remnant riparian forest at 27 sites among sugarcane fields in the Queensland Wet Tropics bioregion. Sites within the remnant riparian zone had distinctly different bird assemblages from those of the forest, but provided habitat for many forest and generalist species. Width of the riparian vegetation and distance from source forest were the most important factors in explaining the bird assemblagesintheseremnantribbonsofvegetation.Gradualchangesinassemblagecompositionoccurredwithincreasing distance from source forest, with species of rainforest and dense vegetation being replaced by species of more open habitats,althoughincreasingdistancewasconfoundedbydecreasingriparianwidth.Speciesrichnessincreasedwithwidth of the riparian zone, with high richness at the wide sites due to a mixture of open-habitat species typical of narrower sites and rainforest species typical of sites within intact forest, as a result of the greater similarity in vegetation characteristics betweenwidesitesandtheforestproper.Theresultsdemonstratethehabitatvalueforbirdsofremnantriparianvegetation in an agricultural landscape, supporting edge and open vegetation species with even narrow widths, but requiring substantial width (.90 m) to support specialists of the closed forest, the dominant original vegetation of the area.
Particle‐Size Distributions and Solubility of Aerosol Iron Over the Antarctic Peninsula During Austral Summer

This study provides new data on the properties of aerosol iron (Fe) over the Antarctic Peninsula, one of the fastest warming regions on Earth in recent decades. Atmospheric deposition delivers Fe, a limiting micronutrient, to the Southern Ocean, and aerosol particle size influences the air‐to‐sea deposition rate and fractional solubility of aerosol Fe. Size‐segregated aerosols were collected at Palmer Station on the West Antarctic Peninsula during austral summer 2016–2017. Results show single‐mode size distribution of aerosol Fe, peaking at 4.4 μm diameter. The average concentration of total aerosol Fe was 1.3 (±0.40) ng m−3 (range 0.74–1.8 ng m−3). High concentrations of total aerosol Fe occurred in January, implying increased Fe source strength then. Total labile Fe varied between 0.019 and 0.095 ng m−3, and labile Fe (II) accounted for ~90% of the total labile Fe. The average fractional solubility for total Fe was 3.8% (±1.5%) (range 2.5–7.3%). Estimated dry deposition fluxes for the study period were 3.2 μg m−2 year−1 for total labile Fe and 83 μg m−2 year−1 for total Fe in aerosols. We speculate that local and regional dust sources in Antarctica contributed to the observed aerosol Fe in austral summer and that warming on the Antarctic Peninsula during the past half century may have increased the formation of dust sources in this region. The potential biogeochemical impact of atmospheric Fe input to the West Antarctic Peninsula shelf waters and adjacent pelagic surface waters of the Southern Ocean may need to be re‐evaluated.
Yield and chemical composition of five common grassland species in response to nitrogen fertiliser application and phenological growth stage

Abstract The interaction of grassland management factors such as plant species, rate of nitrogen (N) fertiliser application and stage of maturity at harvest, will determine the optimal balance of herbage yield, nutritive quality and ensilability for ruminant nutrition and/or industrial applications. This study investigated the effects of N fertiliser input and harvest date on the yield and chemical composition of five common grass species, and made comparisons with red clover. Perennial ryegrass (PRG), Italian ryegrass (IRG), tall fescue, cocksfoot, timothy and red clover were grown under two inorganic N fertiliser inputs (0 kg N ha−1 and 125 kg N ha−1; except red clover) and harvested at five dates (fortnightly from 12 May to 7 July) in the primary growth. Regression analysis of these data allowed comparison of the yield and chemical composition of each grass species at common growth stages, without the confounding effects of variation in maturity between grass species at common harvest dates. Of the grass species investigated, timothy was most productive in terms of dry matter (DM) yield and thus has the potential to provide a cheaper feed per unit DM. However, the most digestible grass species was PRG, with timothy being the lowest, and this could impact on both animal and bioenergy production potential. The most suitable grass species for ensiling was IRG (particularly when grown without fertiliser N) due to its higher water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentration and lower buffering capacity (BC) compared to all other grass species. In comparison to the grasses receiving inorganic N fertiliser, red clover had a numerically lower DM yield, but a higher mean DM digestibility and crude protein concentration. The lower WSC concentration and higher BC of the red clover may result in a greater preservation challenge during ensiling.