Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Betaine Supplementation on the Growth Performance, Tonic Immobility, and Some Blood Chemistry of Broiler Chickens Fed Normal and Low Energy Diets During Natural Summer Stress

The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of graded levels of betaine supplementation to the normal and low energy diets of broiler chickens during summer season on growth performance, tonic immobility (TI), economic value and some blood biochemical parameters. Three hundred one days-old broiler chicks were used. The chicks were divided into 6 groups (each of 50 chicks) and each group was 5 replicated (2x3 factorial design). The first, second and third groups were fed normal energy diet (NED) with 0, 1 and 2g betaine/kg diet (air dry basis) for 35 days, respectively. While, the fourth, fifth and sixth groups were fed low energy diet (LED) with 0, 1 and 2g betaine/kg diet (air dry basis) for 35 days, respectively. The experiment was carried out during summer season. Birds freely access to water and feed. Results showed no significant difference of growth performance between NED and LED groups. Betaine supplementation (2g/kg diet) to both NED and LED increased significantly (p<0.05) the body weight (BW) (1880.61 and 1787.66g, respectively), body weight gain (BWG) (1822.22 and 1728.77g, respectively), feed intake (FI) (3027.36 and 3136.42g, respectively), relative growth rate (RGR) (187.93 and 187.24, respectively) and TI (92.83 and 71.83s, respectively) with no significant difference in feed conversion (FCR) between the groups fed diet supplemented with or without betaine. Betaine supplementation 2g/kg diet to NED increased the total cost, total return, net profit, economic efficiency and performance index%, moreover improved the pancreatic and thyroid function and return the lipids indices of LED-fed birds to the normal level as in the NED-fed birds. No mortalities occur between the different groups. Therefore, betaine can be included in normal energy diets of broiler chickens by level of 2g/kg diet for improving the growth performance, economic value and welfare during the summer season.
Chronology of the Atmospheric Mercury in Lagoa da Pata Basin, Upper Rio Negro Region of Brazilian Amazon

We present prehistoric mercury accumulation rates in a dated sediment core from Lagoa da Pata, a remote lake in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, northern Amazon. The sediment samples were subdivided for mercury and radiocarbon analyses. A group of 18 samples have been prepared at ANU for 14C dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The dating results show a good correlation with depth in the core, down to 41,500 BP. Three distinct sections are clearly identified in the core. They consist of upper and lower organic-rich layers, separated by an inorganic layer which represents a short period of rapid accumulation around 18 ka BP. The mercury accumulation rate is found to be larger in the upper layer (18 ka to present) than in the lower one (41 ka to 25 ka), by a factor of three. The larger accumulation rate of mercury is probably associated with warmer temperatures and a higher frequency of forest fires during the Holocene.
SYNTHESIS OF ZEOLITES BY FLYASH- ALKALI INTERACTION

Flyash can be transformed to synthetic zeolites by hydrothermal treatment in alkaline environment as confirmed by earlier researchers. In continuation with this, the main objective of this study is to investigate the mechanism of alkali-flyash interaction and its effect over the ash particles. The mineralogical and morphological transformation of the ash particles, formed in the process, has been identified and confirmed. It has been observed that this process results in formation of Na-P1 zeolites.
Differential Cloud Particles Evolution Algorithm Based on Data-Driven Mechanism for Applications of ANN

Computational scientists have designed many useful algorithms by exploring a biological process or imitating natural evolution. These algorithms can be used to solve engineering optimization problems. Inspired by the change of matter state, we proposed a novel optimization algorithm called differential cloud particles evolution algorithm based on data-driven mechanism (CPDD). In the proposed algorithm, the optimization process is divided into two stages, namely, fluid stage and solid stage. The algorithm carries out the strategy of integrating global exploration with local exploitation in fluid stage. Furthermore, local exploitation is carried out mainly in solid stage. The quality of the solution and the efficiency of the search are influenced greatly by the control parameters. Therefore, the data-driven mechanism is designed for obtaining better control parameters to ensure good performance on numerical benchmark problems. In order to verify the effectiveness of CPDD, numerical experiments are carried out on all the CEC2014 contest benchmark functions. Finally, two application problems of artificial neural network are examined. The experimental results show that CPDD is competitive with respect to other eight state-of-the-art intelligent optimization algorithms.
Evaluation of a Passive Sampler for Volatile Organic Compounds at ppb Concentrations , Varying Temperatures , and Humidities with 24h Exposures . 2

The performance of the 3M 3520 organic vapor monitor (OVM) as a tool for monitoring inhalation exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in nonoccupational community environments was evaluated by using combined controlled test atmospheres of benzene, 1,3-butadiene, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, methylene chloride, styrene, tetrachloroethylene, and toluene. Eight OVMs were simultaneously exposed to concentrations of 10, 20, and 200 μg/m3 in combination with temperatures of 10, 25, and 40 °C and relative humidities of 12, 50, and 90% for 24 h. The results of this study indicate that the performance of the 3520 OVM is compound-specific and depends on concentration, temperature, and humidity. With the exception of 1,3-butadiene under most conditions and styrene and methylene chloride at very high relative humidities, recoveries showed a negative bias as compared to calculated chamber concentrations but were generally within (25% of theory, indicating that the 3520 OVM can be effectively used over the range of concentrations and environmental conditions tested with a 24-h sampling period. Increasing humidities resulted in increasing negative bias from full recovery. Reverse diffusion experiments conducted at 200 μg/m3 and five temperature/humidity combinations indicated diffusion losses only for 1,3-butadiene, methylene chloride, and styrene under increased humidity conditions. The recovery rates reported in this study can be used for estimating measurement biases when using OVMs for indoor, outdoor, and personal air monitoring of VOCs in community environments.
APPLICATION OF SPATIAL MODELLING APPROACHES, SAMPLING STRATEGIES AND 3S TECHNOLOGY WITHIN AN ECOLGOCIAL FRAMWORK

Abstract. How to effectively describe ecological patterns in nature over broader spatial scales and build a modeling ecological framework has become an important issue in ecological research. We test four modeling methods (MAXENT, DOMAIN, GLM and ANN) to predict the potential habitat of Schima superba (Chinese guger tree, CGT) with different spatial scale in the Huisun study area in Taiwan. Then we created three sampling design (from small to large scales) for model development and validation by different combinations of CGT samples from aforementioned three sites (Tong-Feng watershed, Yo-Shan Mountain, and Kuan-Dau watershed). These models combine points of known occurrence and topographic variables to infer CGT potential spatial distribution. Our assessment revealed that the method performance from highest to lowest was: MAXENT, DOMAIN, GLM and ANN on small spatial scale. The MAXENT and DOMAIN two models were the most capable for predicting the tree's potential habitat. However, the outcome clearly indicated that the models merely based on topographic variables performed poorly on large spatial extrapolation from Tong-Feng to Kuan-Dau because the humidity and sun illumination of the two watersheds are affected by their microterrains and are quite different from each other. Thus, the models developed from topographic variables can only be applied within a limited geographical extent without a significant error. Future studies will attempt to use variables involving spectral information associated with species extracted from high spatial, spectral resolution remotely sensed data, especially hyperspectral image data, for building a model so that it can be applied on a large spatial scale.
Comparison between the Sinus and Gut Microbiome in Patients with Chronic Sinus Disease

Objectives: Associations between the gut microbiome and various non-GI related diseases have been detailed in recent studies. This investigation aims to directly compare the gut and sinus microbes in patients with chronic sinus disease and in control patients to determine if any link exists between the sinus and gut microbiota. Methods: This was a prospective study conducted from February 2016 to August 2017. It was conducted at a tertiary care academic rhinology practice on 16 patients undergoing rhinologic surgery. The primary outcome measure was to determine if any overlap exists between the gut and sinus microbiome in a given subject. A secondary outcome was to assess the effect of prior antibiotic therapy on the diversity of the gut microbiome. Results: There were 7 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with polyps, 6 patients with CRS without polyps and 3 control patients. Only one patient demonstrated an overlap of sinus and gut microbiotia. In patients receiving a reduced number of antibiotic courses over the past 24 months (0 or 1 course), there was a mean of 7.7 (SD 2.2) gut bacteria isolated from stool samples. In patients receiving more antibiotic courses (2+ courses), there was a mean of 5.1 (SD 2.3) gut bacteria isolated. This difference reached statistical significance (p=0.043). Conclusion: Minimal overlap between the sinus and gut microbiome was demonstrated, but further studies are needed to elucidate this potential association. This study supports the theory that antibiotics tend to reduce microbial diversity in the gastrointestinal tract.
CHROMA CODING IN DISTRIBUTED VIDEO CODING

Distributed Video Coding (DVC) is a video coding method for emerging wireless video surveillance networks, wireless video sensor networks and wireless mobile video applications, which is not yet been standardized. DVC is relatively new video coding paradigm, which is not to compete but to complement the popular predictive coding standards such as H.26x, MPEG, VC1 and DivX etc., for the emerging applications. Certain wireless video applications would need low complex encoder, even at the expense of relatively more complex decoder; which is in contrast to the predictive coding standards. Various DVC Architectures developed so far addressed only luma component coding and its Rate Distortion (RD) performance evaluation. In this paper color components (Chroma) coding method of DVC are proposed and results are presented.
How do worker cooperatives stabilize employment? The role of profit reinvestment into locked assets

A frequent characteristic of worker cooperatives is the tendency to reinvest a large share of profits into asset locks: a common fund, indivisible and not appropriable by members, neither upon quitting, nor at the end of the firms life. To explain this behaviour, I introduce the hypothesis that asset locks play a significant role in employment stabilization. This can be obtained in two ways: by letting wages fluctuate, or by accumulating reinvested profits into an income stabilizing fund that allows to face downturns without firing and without reducing wages. In this second case, asset locks play a wage smoothing role. I provide evidence for this function by means of original data at the firm level and by first-hand collected survey data at the individual level on risk perception in a sample of Italian cooperatives.
Research Division Federal Reserve Bank of St . Louis Working Paper Series Urban Decentralization and Income Inequality : Is Sprawl Associated with Rising Income Segregation Across Neighborhoods ?

Existing research has found an inverse relationship between urban density and the degree of income inequality within metropolitan areas, suggesting that, as cities spread out, they become increasingly segregated by income. This paper examines this hypothesis using data covering more than 160000 block groups within 359 US metropolitan areas over the years 1980, 1990, and 2000. The findings indicate that income inequality defined by the variance of the log household income distribution does indeed rise significantly as urban density declines. This increase, however, is associated with rising inequality within block groups as cities spread out. The extent of income variation exhibited between different block groups, by contrast, shows virtually no association with population density. There is, accordingly, little evidence that sprawl is systematically associated with greater residential segregation of households by income. JEL Classification: D31, R11, R23
A high-resolution record of Holocene rainfall variations from the western Chinese Loess Plateau: antiphase behaviour of the African/Indian and East Asian summer monsoons

Tropical monsoons are key mechanisms for transfer of heat and moisture to higher latitudes. Here we present a high-resolution, terrestrial proxy summer monsoon record for the southeast Asian monsoon, from a rapidly accumulating Holocene loess/soil sequence in the western Chinese Loess Plateau. We use magnetic and clastic grain size proxies to make quantitative estimates of Holocene rainfall and identify variations in winter monsoon intensity. Our record reveals cyclical millennial and multimillennial rainfall changes. As with the northwest African/southwest Asian monsoon records, a short arid interval at - 12.5 to 11.5 ka BP (the Younger Dryas) and subsequent summer monsoon intensification are recorded. However, at 6 ka BP, the southeast Asian summer monsoon weakened, when the northwest African/ southwest Asian monsoons strengthened, and then, from - 5 ka BP, intensified, when northwest Africa/ southwest Asia became dry. These antiphase monsoonal relationships may reflect competition between sea surface temperature changes and solar forcing. The intensity of the southeast Asian winter monsoon intensified from - 9 ka BP onwards, varying in its phase relationships with summer monsoon intensity. After - 2.25 ka BP, extreme climatic instability is indicated by both climate proxies.
Honor in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe

The authors report two studies on notions of honor (i.e., the situations and behaviors associated with honor, its enhancement, and its loss) in a Mediterranean country (Spain) and a northern European country (the Netherlands). A total of 271 persons (140 Spanish, 131 Dutch) participated in Study 1, and a total of 327 persons (169 Spanish, 158 Dutch) participated in Study 2. The main aim of Study 1 was to characterize Spain and the Netherlands in terms of their value priorities. Study 2 consisted of an in-depth analysis of Spanish and Dutch participants’free descriptions of honor. The results indicated that Spanish and Dutch notions of honor are closely related to the values emphasized in these countries: Honor is more closely related to family and social interdependence in Spain than in the Netherlands, whereas honor is associated with self-achievement and autonomy to a greater extent in the Netherlands than in Spain.
The uptake of macronutrients by an active silicon accumulator plant growing in two different substrata

Pennisetum clandestinum (Graminae/Poaceae) an active Si-accumulator, was cultivated in two different substrata, both with reduced Si solubility. Plants growing in organic-rich soils contained much less Ca, K, Na and Si, than species growing in sandy soils. Although the highest macronutrient concentrations were associated to the highest Si levels in the organs of P. clandestinum, the R correlation values indicate that Si does not influence the internal balance and the uptake of these elements. In ca 65% of the cases roots have the highest average values regardless of the type of culture, while the contents of Mg in the shoots and roots of P. clandestinum were generally not significantly different (P>0.05). A significant decline of the macronutrient levels associated to the shoots and roots of P. clandestinum was observed from the 4th to the 6th month assay, especially for Ca in both organs, while for Mg and Na the decline is focused mainly in the shoots; K and Si decline is generally below 10%. When average values of Si in shoots and roots of plants collected from organicrich and sandy soils were plotted against the average concentrations of Ca, K, Mg and Na in the same organs, weak but positive R correlation values were obtained - the highest R values were observed for Na and K and the lowest for Ca and Mg, regardless of the culture. Exception for the high R value observed for K, although the influence of Si on the K status in the whole plant is time-depending - R values, diminished from the 4th to the 6th month, as it happens in the majority of the cases. In conclusion, P. clandestinum can grow well and healthily in substrata with acid pH values and high carbonate content and low solubility of Si suggesting that the definition of the essentiality of Si, even in a Si-accumulator plant is still a matter of great controversy.
Index of cyber integrity

Unfortunately, there is no metric, nor set of metrics, that are both general enough to encompass all possible types of applications yet specific enough to capture the application and attack specific details. As a result we are left with ad-hoc methods for generating evaluations of the security of our systems. Current state of the art methods for evaluating the security of systems include penetration testing and cyber evaluation tests. For these evaluations, security professionals simulate an attack from malicious outsiders and malicious insiders. These evaluations are very productive and are able to discover potential vulnerabilities resulting from improper system configuration, hardware and software flaws, or operational weaknesses. We therefore propose the index of cyber integrity (ICI), which is modeled after the index of biological integrity (IBI) to provide a holistic measure of the health of a system under test in a cyber-environment. The ICI provides a broad base measure through a collection of application and system specific metrics. In this paper, following the example of the IBI, we demonstrate how a multi-metric index may be used as a holistic measure of the health of a system under test in a cyber-environment.
Temporal covariation of surface and microwave brightness temperatures in Antarctica , with implications for the observation of surface temperature variability using satellite data

Satellite observations of microwave emission are a key resource for estimating surface temperatures in Antarctica. Use of these data to examine climate variability, however, relies on the assumption of constancy through time in the relationship between surface temperatures and the proxy brightness temperatures. Thus we are motivated to study the physical relationship between surface and brightness temperature time series, and to seek indicators of possible temporal variability in that relationship. Here we report an initial study using near-surface temperatures from the Byrd Station automated weather station in West Antarctica and 37 GHz, vertically polarized brightness temperatures from the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer. We begin with the simplest model of the relevant thermal and microwave physics and derive a convolution expression that relates surface and brightness temperatures. The convolution kernel depends on firn thermal diffusivity and the microwave extinction coefficient in a particularly simple way: solely through a single characteristic time-scale. For the Byrd data, we find that the (fractional variation in) observed brightness temperatures can be reproduced by our model in considerable detail, on scales from interannual down to a few days. The time-scale is tightly constrained by minimization of the discrepancy between observed and simulated time series, and the optimized value agrees closely with that derived from independent estimates of firn thermal and microwave parameters. We find no evidence thus far of temporal variability in the relation between surface and brightness temperatures, though investigation across a wider domain in space and time is needed before such variability can be ruled out.
A Novel Clamp-Mode Coupled-Inductor Boost Converter with High Step-Up Voltage Gain

In this paper, a new coupled inductor DC-DC converter with a high step-up voltage gain is proposed. It is developed from a clamp-mode coupled-inductor boost converter by incorporating an additional capacitor and diode. The proposed converter is able to achieve the higher voltage gain, while still retaining the switch voltage clamp property of its predecessor. In the paper, operation and analysis of the proposed converter are described. Experimental results from a prototype converter are presented to verify the validity of the analysis. The prototype circuit attains the highest efficiency of 92.8%.
A NEW SUBSPECIES OF THE HORSESHOE BAT RHINOLOPHUS MACROTIS FROM PAKISTAN (CHIROPTERA, RHINOLOPHIDAE)

The description of a population of the Indomalayan species Rhinolophus macrotis from Pa- kistan, as a new subspecies R. m. topali is given. The new taxon is characterized by its colour, the measurements of the anterior noseleaf and the position of the lower premolars. Rhinolophus macrotis BLYTH,1844 (Big-eared Horseshoe bat) was describ- ed from Nepal (restricted to Kathmandu Valley, see SCULLY1887, p. 234) on the basis of two specimens collected by HODGSON.Subsequently ANDERSEN (1907) named a new subspecies, R. macrotis dohrni, from Soekaranda in north- western Sumatra which he differentiated on the basis of its broader horseshoe; broader ears; longer tibia and larger skull. R. macrotis siamensis GYLDENSTOLPE (1917) from Doi Par Sakang in north-western Thailand was distinguished by its smaller size, the length of the forearm measuring 36.1 mm "against a minimum of 41 mm in macrotis and 42.7 mm in macrotis dohrni"; the horseshoe was also narrower. ANDERSEN(1905a) had previously described a new species, R. hirsu- Ius, from Guimaras in the Central Philippine Islands which he considered to be allied to R. macrotis but with considerably larger ears and tail. ALLEN (1923) named R. episcopus from Wanshien, Sichuan Province, China and included it within the macrotis group. It was larger than R. macrotis macrotis with a forearm length of 47.5 mm and "with a peculiar terminal noseleaf, which is rounded rather than pointed". ALLEN(1923) also named a lowland race R. episcopus cald- welli, from a single specimen collected from Yuki, Fukien Province, China. This was similar to the nominate form but smaller (forearm 43 mm) and more brightly coloured. OSGOOD(1932) referred specimens from northern Vietnam to R. epi- scapus caldwelli and R. macrotis siamensis. This claim that the two taxa are sympatric in Tonkin District was subsequently rejected by CORBETand HILL (1992). TATE and ARCHBOLD(1939) listed macrotis and episcopus as separate species; both were included in the macrotis group. Later, TATE (1943) included episcopus as a synonym of R. macrotis. He listed six subspecies, four of which,