Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance and economic analysis of finished lambs in feedlot Desempenho e análise econômica da terminação de cordeiros em confinamento

This study aimed to evaluate animal performance and economic performance of feedlot crossbred lambs (1⁄2 Santa Inês+ 1⁄2 Suffolk) fed different diets based on hay from Cynodon dactylon genotypes, through the use of financial measures considering only the period of feedlot, without relating it to the complete management cycle. A total of 30 intact crossbred Suffolk lambs, identified with earrings, with an average age of 90 days and an average body weight of 21.5 kg were used in this study. Diets were formulated using as treatments a standard concentrate and hay of the Cynodon dactylon genotypes Jiggs, Vaquero, Tifton 68, Coast-Cross, Tifton 85 and Russell in a 60:40 forage-to-concentrate ratio. The treatments were distributed in a randomized complete block design with five replicates. There were significant differences between diets in terms of total expenditure on food, and the highest values were obtained for the Jiggs genotype (BRL 48.96/animal). The animals fed diets based on Tifton 68 hay had a higher rate of return (2.16%) and profitability (34.63%) compared to the other diets. The use of diets based on Tifton 68 hay for feedlot lambs in the finishing phase brings higher economic returns compared to the remaining diets.
The Journal of Toxicological Sciences

Four fluoroquinolones (pefloxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin) were compared according to their biomechanical and histopathological effects on rat Achilles tendon. Wistar rats were divided into one untreated control and four treatment groups in parallel. Pefloxacin mesylate dihydrate (40 mg/kg), norfloxacin (40 mg/kg), ofloxacin (20 mg/kg) and ciprofloxacin (50 mg/kg) were administered by gavage twice daily for three consecutive weeks. 6 weeks after treatment, the test animals were euthanised and Achilles tendon specimens were collected. A computer monitored tensile testing machine was utilised for biomechanical testing. The mean elastic modulus of the control group was significantly higher than that of the norfloxacin and pefloxacin groups (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). The mean yield force (YF) of the control group was significantly higher than those of ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin and pefloxacin groups (p < 0.001, p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). The mean ultimate tensile force (UTF) of the control group was significantly higher than of the ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and pefloxacin groups (p < 0.001, p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). Hyaline degeneration and fibre disarrangement were observed in the tendons of the ciprofloxacin, pefloxacin, and ofloxacin treated-groups, whereas myxomatous degeneration was observed only in the ciprofloxacin and pefloxacin groups. In conclusion, these findings in our rat model reveal significant deterioration of biomechanical parameters following fluoroquinolone exposure, and indicate significantly higher biomechanical toxicity for ciprofloxacin and pefloxacin.
Supplementation of Pandanus conoideus Oil in Cryopreservation Diluents for Maintaining the Semen Quality of Ongole Grade Bull

Antioxidants such as tocopherol, ß-carotene, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) from red fruit oil of Papua may be used to protect frozen semen. The study is aimed to test the effect of red fruit oil supplementation on motility, viability, and recovery rate of frozen sperm of Ongole-grade bulls. Semen was collected twice a month from eight 4-5-year-old male Ongole grade using an artificial vagina, followed by macroand microscopical evaluations. Collected semen was divided into four tubes and diluted with tris egg yolk diluents (TEY) as a control, TEY supplemented with 0.5% red fruit oil (RFO) (TEY RFO0.5), TEY supplemented with 1% RFO (TEY RFO1.0), and TEY supplemented with 1.5% RFO (TEY RFO1.5). The diluted semen was then packed into the straw and equilibrated for 2, 4, and 6 h prior to frozen on liquid nitrogen vapor for 10 minutes. The observed variables in this study were sperm motility, sperm viability, and morphology after equilibration, after thawing, and recovery rate. The experimental design is a completely randomized factorial design. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and were further tested using Duncan multiple range test. The results showed that the sperm motility of fresh semen was 81.10±1.42%. The percentage of sperm motility in TEY RFO1.5 treatment at 6 h equilibration was 60.00±1.06%, significantly higher compared to TEY RFO1.0 and TEY RFO0.5. The percentage of postthawing sperm motility in TEY RFO1.5 treatment was 62.40±1.09%. The best post-thawing sperm viability in TEY RFO1.5 was 80.70±1.20%, significantly increase from the treatment of TEY RFO1.0 and TEY RFO0.5. The recovery rate (RR) for TEY RFO1.5 treatment had the best percentage at 76.94%. In conclusion, RFO supplementation in semen diluents for 2 h of equilibration resulted in the best motility and viability at 0 h of post thawing observation.
Developing a Two-Tier Proportional Reasoning Skill Test: Validity and Reliability Studies

Proportional reasoning, Two-tier test, Middle school. Abstract: The main aim of this study is to develop a useful, valid, and reliable two-tier proportional reasoning skill test for middle school 7th and 8th-grade students. The research was carried out using the sequential explanatory mixed method. The study group of this research comprised of 391 (n7th-grade= 223, n8thgrade= 168) students. With validity and reliability studies, the content, face, construct, discriminant validity, and reliability coefficient of the test were examined. As a result, the two-tier proportional reasoning skill test with 12 items under 3 factors (qualitative prediction and comparison, missing value, numerical comparison) valid and reliable for adequate values specified in the literature.
Manual Flying and Energy Awareness: Beneficial Effects of Energy Displays Combined With a New Approach of Augmented Thrust Control

In order to enable pilots to better maintain energy awareness and energy management in manual flight, a new concept has been proposed, which transfers the demand control principle of fly-by-wire control laws also to the control of thrust. It includes a total-energy-related augmented thrust controller combined with a modified cockpit instrumentation enriched by specific energy displays. In order to empirically evaluate the human performance consequences of this new approach, an experimental study was conducted in a flight simulator investigating its effects on pilots’ performance, workload, and situation awareness. A total of 24 commercial aircraft pilots performed a landing and approach on a complex flight trajectory with and without the new system elements. The results confirm the expected beneficial effects of the new system on flight precision and lowered effort involved in thrust control as compared with conventional raw data flying. No negative side effects, for example, impaired situation awareness, were found.
The reasons for and consequences of the combined use of crack cocaine and alcohol in Brazil: a qualitative study

The objective of this study was to investigate, through the speeches of crack cocaine users, the reasons that lead them to combine crack cocaine with alcohol and the consequences of this combination, in Brazil. The lack of public policies and effective treatments has led crack cocaine users in Brazil to seek alternatives to cope with problems related to drug addiction. One adopted alternative is the consumption of crack cocaine together with other psychotropic drug. This study used the principles and instruments of qualitative research. A purposeful sample was constructed using key informants and gatekeepers whose sample size (N = 30) was defined by the theoretical saturation point. The study participants were subjected to in-depth interviews, and the responses were subjected to content analysis for the identification of thematic units. Alcohol use played many roles, including increasing the courage of drug users to go to the point of sale for psychotropic drugs, reducing thirst, and prolonging the positive effects of crack cocaine. The combination of alcohol and crack cocaine is commonly used to modulate the effects of the latter. A vicious cycle is established in which the consumption of alcohol stimulates the consumption of cocaine and vice versa. The participants also reported cost savings but admitted an increase in aggressiveness. The combined use of crack cocaine and alcohol can become a strong conditioned stimulus for the consumption of the former. The formation of the active metabolite cocaethylene in this drug combination may explain the prolongation of the effects of crack cocaine. Moreover, both drugs act in the mesolimbic dopaminergic system and consequently produce a synergistic effect. Severe outcomes such as cardiotoxicity, which can lead to death, in addition to aggression and the possibility of relapse to crack cocaine use, make this drug combination a public health problem that is greater than the individual consumption of these psychotropic drugs.
Discovery and annotation of novel microRNAs in the porcine genome by 1 using a semi-supervised transductive learning approach 2

35 Despite the broad variety of available microRNA (miRNA) prediction tools, their 36 application to the discovery and annotation of novel miRNA genes in domestic species is 37 still limited. In this study we designed a comprehensive pipeline (eMIRNA) for miRNA 38 identification in the yet poorly annotated porcine genome and demonstrated the 39 usefulness of implementing a motif search positional refinement strategy for the accurate 40 determination of precursor miRNA boundaries. The small RNA fraction from gluteus 41 medius skeletal muscle of 48 Duroc gilts was sequenced and used for the prediction of 42 novel miRNA loci. Additionally, we selected the human miRNA annotation for a 43 homology-based search of porcine miRNAs with orthologous genes in the human 44 genome. A total of 20 novel expressed miRNAs were identified in the porcine muscle 45
Vaccination of calves with EspA, a key colonisation factor of O157:H7, induces antigen-specific humoral responses but does not confer protection against intestinal colonisation

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Vaccination of calves with EspA, a key colonisation factor of O157:H7, induces antigen-specific humoral responses but does not confer protection against intestinal colonisation Francis Dziva, Isabella Vlisidou, Valérie F. Crepin, Timothy S. Wallis, Gad Frankel, Mark P. Stevens
Expression of the Murine aB-Crystallin Gene Is Not Restricted to the Lens

The murine aB-crystallin gene was cloned and its expression was examined. In the mouse, significant levels of aB-crystallin RNA were detected not only in lens but also in heart, skeletal muscle, kidney, and lung; low and trace levels were detected in brain and spleen, respectively. The RNA species in lung, brain, and spleen was 400 to 500 bases larger than that in the other tissues. Transcription in lens, heart, skeletal muscle, kidney, and brain initiated at the same position. A mouse aB-crystallin mini-gene was constructed and was introduced into the germ line of mice, and its expression was demonstrated to parallel that of the endogenous gene. Transgene RNA was always detected in lens, heart, and skeletal muscle, while expression in kidney and lung was variable; it remains uncertain whether there is transgene expression in brain and spleen. These results demonstrate that regulatory sequences controlling expression of the aB-crystallin gene lie between sequences 666 base pairs upstream of the transcription initiation site and 2.4 kilobase pairs downstream of the poly(A) addition site and are not located within the introns. Transfection studies with a series of aB-crystallin mini-gene deletion mutants revealed that sequences between positions -222 and -167 were required for efficient expression in primary embryonic chick lens cells; sequences downstream of the poly(A) addition signal were dispensable for expression in this in vitro system.
A Stochastic Model for Analysis of Manufacturing Modules

In this paper, a stochastic model, which describes the states of a manufacturing system by a set of differential equations, is developed. These equations are changed into a set of difference equations at steady state and then solved by MAPLE software to analyze performance measures of flexible manufacturing modules under different operational conditions. A manufacturing module consists of one or more flexible machines, a loading and unloading robot, and a part transfer pallet. Flexible machines are subject to frequent failures due to their high utilizations. Therefore, models are needed to determine the effects of various factors on system performance as well as the best maintenance and repair policies which optimize manufacturing system performance. The model presented in this paper can be useful for operation managers and engineers to analyze a given machining system.
Occurrence of two serotypes of sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus in East Africa and their associated differences in coat protein and HSP70 homologue gene sequences

T. Alicai, N. S. Fenby, R. W. Gibson*†, E. Adipala, H. J. Vetten, G. D. Foster and S. E. Seal Namulonge Agricultural and Animal Research Institute, PO Box 7084, Kampala, Uganda; Department of Biological Sciences, Bristol University, Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK; Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK; Department of Crop Science, Makerere University, PO Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda; and Institut für Biochemie and Planzenvirologie, Biologische Bundesanstalt für Land-und Forstwirtschaft, Messeweg 11/12, 38104 Braunschweig, Germany
lity of Truncated Epidermal Growth Factor mRNA is Higher Than That of the Full-Length mRNA in Rat Hepatoma Cells

Truncated and full-length epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors are produced in rat liver cells. The truncated EGF receptor mRNA is almost identical to the full-length EGF receptor mRNA except for the lack of a 3' region of the full-length receptor mRNA. To understand the stability of rat EGF receptor mRNAs, we analyzed the expression of EGF receptor mRNAs in the hepatoma cell line, AH66 and liver cells. Ten, 7 and 5 kb full-length and 2.7 kb truncated EGF receptor mRNAs were detected in both of them. The half-lives of the 10 and 2.7 kb EGF receptor mRNAs were determined in AH66 cells using a transcriptional inhibitor, 5,6-dichlororibofuranosylbenzimidazole. The half-lives of the 10 and 2.7 kb mRNAs were 1.2 and 11 h, respectively. These results indicated that the truncated mRNA is 4 times more stable than the full-length mRNA in rat cells. As for the stability, the role of a sequence of 3'-untranslated region of the EGF receptor mRNA was discussed.
Monte Carlo Simulation of Flood Frequency Curves from Rainfall – The Way Ahead

Abstract This paper summarises the results of a 3-year research project by the CRC for Catchment Hydrology (CRCCH) on the joint probability approach (Monte Carlo simulation technique) to design flood estimation and the subsequent research activities to further the CRCCH method towards industrial applications. It identifies significant shortcomings in the current design event approach to rainfall-based design flood estimation, and argues that substantial improvements in the accuracy and reliability of flood estimates can be obtained from a more rigorous treatment of probability aspects in the generation of design floods. Applications of the proposed Monte Carlo simulation approach to test catchments in Victoria and Queensland have produced promising results, and demonstrated the feasibility and in-principle advantages of the approach. More recently, the Monte Carlo simulation approach has been integrated with the industry-based flood estimation model URBS thus significantly broadening its range of application. The paper discusses how far the recent research on the joint probability approach has advanced towards resolving the main research issues, and outlines desirable future development work to allow the new method to be routinely applied as a design tool.
Catching the winds: Reflections on switching an established Master of Social Work Program into a problem-based learning mode

The Hong Kong University Master of Social Work programme is designed to be a socially sensitive and responsive programme to train competent and continuously developing professional social workers who can make contributions both to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and internationally. The values, knowledge and skills conveyed in the programme should enable social workers so trained to deliver social services to individuals, groups and the community in an appropriate, competent, ethical and humane manner, and be committed to selfdirected life-long learning to maintain the high standards achieved upon graduation. In view of rapid changes in modern societies and the increasing complexity involved in helping people to survive psychosocial challenges, there should be corresponding adjustments in professional training to keep up the necessary performance standard. This paper reports on the efforts made by a team of enthusiastic social work teachers over the summer of 1999 to change an established Master of Social Work programme into problem-based learning mode and includes some initial feedback from the staff and students concerned. Certain useful strategies as well as some points for improvement will also be discussed.
TGF- 1 modulates matrix metalloproteinase-13 expression in hepatic stellate cells by complex mechanisms involving p38MAPK, PI3-kinase, AKT, and p70

José-Alfredo Domı́nguez Rosales, 1,3 Elena R. Morris, Ana Rosa Rincón, Ana Marı́ a Rivas-Estilla, Andrés Esteban-Gamboa, 2 and Marcos Rojkind Marion Bessin Liver Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461; Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and Department of Experimental Endocrinology, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Madrid, Spain 28029; Experimental Pathology and Chemistry Sections, Department of Clinical Investigation, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC 20307; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029; and Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and of Pathology, The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C. 20037
FOCUS: PROTEOMICS Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Chromatin-Associated Factors

A method to identify and quantify chromatin-associated proteins has been developed and applied to the analysis of changes in chromatin-associated proteins induced by Myc oncoprotein expression in human B lymphocytes. Chromatin-enriched fractions were isolated by differential detergent/salt extraction and analyzed by ICAT reagent labeling, multi-dimensional chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Many known chromatin-associated regulatory factors were identified and quantified. The method will be widely applicable to various biological systems and reveal changes in chromatin-associated regulatory factors that underlie biological phenomena. (J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2003, 14, 696–703) © 2003 American Society for Mass Spectrometry
Anti-inflammatory activity of Indonesian nutmeg seeds (Myristica fragrans Houtt): A topical gel formulation

Received Mar 1, 2021 Revised Jun 6, 2021 Accepted Jun 23, 2021 Herbal medicines have been shown as anti-inflammatory with potentially lesser side effects. The active compound of nutmeg seed is proven to accelerate the healing process of inflammation. This study aimed to evaluate the gel formulation of Indonesian nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt) seed extract for anti-inflammatory activity. A true experimental post test only with control group design was used in this study. The gel was formulated with various concentrations of nutmeg seed extract, namely formulations F1 (0%), F2 (2%), F3 (4%), F4 (8 %), and F5 (12%). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the least significant difference (LSD) methods were performed with SPSS version 22. The results showed that all formulas had an opaque physical appearance, brownish-yellow color, soft texture, and aromatic odor. The increase of extract concentration in gel formula will affect the adhesion and spreadability. F5 showed the highest anti-inflammatory activity compared to other groups. This formula was generally identified as having a good physical appearance, homogeneity, and stability with a pH value of 6.16±0.24, adhesiveness of 51.12±0.15 sec, and a spreadability of 19.54±0.12 cm2. Therefore, Indonesian nutmeg has the potential to be wellacceptable as a candidate for topical anti-inflammatory agents in global health benefits.
Guanylyl cyclase C (GC-C) is the receptor for the heat-stable entero toxin produced by bacteria as well as for the newly discovered mammalian hormones guanylin and uroguanylin. Ligand activation of GC-C causes it

Guanylyl cyclase C (GC-C) is the receptor for the heat-stable entero toxin produced by bacteria as well as for the newly discovered mammalian hormones guanylin and uroguanylin. Ligand activation of GC-C causes it to produce cyclic GMP inside target cells. Although once thought to be restricted to the intestine, GC-C mRNA has recently been detected in other tissues. We now examine the expression, localization, and activation of this glycoprotein after partial hepatectomy in rats. By immunoblot analysis, GC-C protein appeared as early as 4 h after partial hepatectomy, reached its maximal expression (a 30-fold increase) between 24 and 48 h, and returned to low baseline levels at 96 h. During the regenerative period, we detected two GC-C isoforms that differed in their size, tempo ml expression, and carbohydrase sensitivities. We showed that 131and 140-kDa GC-C isoforms represented immature and mature GC-C glyco forms on the basis of endoglycosidase H and PNGase sensitivities. Cell separation experiments revealed that the nonparenchymal cell fractions of regenerating liver contained four times as much GC-C as purified hepa tocytes. Immunohbtochemistry confirmed these findings. The exuberant expression of GC-C by nonparenchymal cells and, to a lesser extent, hepatocytes suggests a role for cyclic GMP in liver regeneration.