Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serum concentration of Artemisinin after single and chronic oral dose administration in broiler chickens

Although preliminary studies have shown the anticoccidial effects of Artemisinin in broiler chickens, there are no proofs of its pharmacokinetics. The objective of this study was to determine the serum concentration of Artemisinin after single and multiple oral administration in broiler chickens. A total of 390 one-day-old healthy Ross 308 chickens were divided randomly into two groups. In the first group, single oral doses of 0, 1, 5, 25, 125, 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg Artemisinin were given on day 44, and in the second group 0, 17, 34, 68 and 136 ppm of Artemisinin were given chronically in the diet over a 36-day period. An HPLC system with UV detector was used to determine serum level of Artemisinin. Data were presented as Mean ± SE and analyzed using the linear mixed model (p < 0.05). The results showed that in both groups the serum levels of Artemisinin were generally very low and there were no significant differences between multiple and single dose administration groups or between different doses in each group (p < 0.05). The serum levels of Artemisinin in the chickens that had received single doses were in the range of 25.38 ± 0.15 to 42.27 ± 12.04 ng/ml and 24.68 ± 0.12 to 29.24 ± 1.72 ng/ml for those that had received chronic doses. It can be concluded that serum level of Artemisinin administered orally to the chickens as single or chronic doses is low which seems to be due to low oral absorption and metabolism induction and thus, can have high therapeutic index and good anticoccidial properties.
Evaluation of residual stress in ultrafine-grained aluminum tubes using shearography

Parallel tubular channel angular pressing is a novel severe plastic deformation method for producing ultrafine-grained metallic tubes. The objective of this work is to determine the residual stresses in parallel tubular channel angular pressing processed tubes using an incremental blind hole drilling with digital shearography instead of conventional hole-drilling method of strain gauges. Shearography is a full-field speckle interferometric method employed to measure both in-plane and out-of-plane displacements. The displacement derivative distribution due to hole drilling is calculated by analyzing unwrapped phase maps. Using image processing fringe analysis, the optical data involved in the displacement derivatives are converted into the values of residual stresses. The results have shown that an increase in the number of parallel tubular channel angular pressing pass would lead to a decrease in residual stresses that attributed to the low stress gradients along the thickness and length of the parallel tubular channel angular pressing processed tubes. Comparison of the residual stress values obtained from the shearography method with those from finite element modeling has shown good agreement of the stress values, indicating the suitability of shearography technique for stress evaluations in the parallel tubular channel angular pressing process.
Poor Households'Productive Investments of Cash Transfers: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Niger

Cash transfer programs have spread rapidly as an instrument to raise household consumption and reduce poverty. Questions remain about the sustainability of cash transfer impacts in low-income settings such as Sub-Saharan Africa and, in particular, on whether cash transfers can foster productive investments in addition to raising immediate consumption among the very poor. This paper presents evidence that a cash transfer project in rural Niger induced investments in assets and productive activities that were sustained among the very poor 18 months after project completion. Results show lasting increases in livestock assets and participation in saving groups (tontines). Cash transfers also contributed to improved agricultural productivity, but no effects in terms of diversification of other household enterprises are found. Productive asset gains are, notably, largest among the poorest of the poor, suggesting that small regular cash transfers combined with enhanced saving mechanisms can relax constraints to asset accumulation among the extreme poor.
Holocene sedimentation in the Skagerrak interpreted from chirp sonar and core data

High‐resolution chirp sonar profiling in the northeastern Skagerrak shows acoustically stratified sediments draping a rough‐surfaced substratum. A 32 metre long sediment core retrieved from the survey area encompasses the entire Holocene and latest Pleistocene. The uppermost seismo‐acoustic units in the chirp profiles represent Holocene marine sediments. The lowermost unit is interpreted as ice‐proximal glacial‐marine sediments rapidly deposited during the last deglaciation. The end of ice‐proximal sedimentation is marked by a strong reflector, interpreted to have been formed during latest Pleistocene time as a consequence of rapid ice retreat and drastically lowered sedimentation rate. The subsequent distal glacial‐marine sediments were deposited with initially high sedimentation rates caused by an isostatic rebound‐associated sea‐level fall. Based on correlation between the core and the chirp sonar profiles using measured sediment physical properties and AMS 14C dating, we propose a revised position for the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary in the seismo‐acoustic stratigraphy of the investigated area. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effects of amino acids fermentation by-product on fermentation quality and in situ rumen degradability of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) silage

The experiment of silage for preservation of fresh Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) was carried out to examine whether the fermentation quality and microbial degradation in the rumen can be altered by the treatment of amino acids fermentation byproduct (AFB). The plant was ensiled for 40 days with 4 treatments of different ratios of AFB and sugarcane molasses (SCM) mixture. The treatment 2 (T2, AFB:SCM=100:0) and treatment 3 (T3, AFB:SCM=40:60) silages showed higher (p<0.05) concentrations of lactic acids, lower (p<0.05) pH and dry matter (DM) losses than the Control (T1, none additive) and treatment (T4, AFB:SCM=0:100) silages. The treatments 2 and 3 contained higher (p<0.05) DM and crude protein contents in silages compared to treatments 1 and 4 silages. The NDF, ADF and cellulose contents were also lower (p<0.05) in T2, T3 and T4 silages than T1 silage and fresh material before ensiled. The in situ rumen DM, NDF, ADF, hemicellulose and cellulose degradability was also higher (p<0.05) in T2, T3 and T4 silages than T1 silage, while the highest improvement was achieved with addition of AFB:SCM at level of 40:60 at ensiling. The result in this study indicates that the addition of AFB and SCM additives improved the silage fermentation and cell wall degradability of Italian ryegrass silage. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2004. Vol 17, No. 5 : 633-637)
OFF FREQUENCY MASKING FUNCTION AT HIGH LEVELS: A CLINICAL STUDY ON NONLINEAR MASKING FUNCTION AT HIGH LEVELS BY CHANGING THE MIDDLE EAR STIFFNESS

At the highest signal levels, the masking function for the off-frequency condition seems to become more linear. While some basilar membrane data show more linear growth at high levels, others do not. Aim of the present study is to assess function of masking at high levels regarding its clinical appearance. In this experiment we evaluated the hearing thresholds of three different signals (wide- band, low pass filtered, and high pass filtered noises) in presence of a high level low frequency masker (90 dB SPL, 220 Hz), and we decreased the transmission of both masker and signal by changing the middle ear stiffness in 42 normal subjects to determine whether or not their thresholds will change by the same amounts which leads to linear function or their thresholds will change by different amounts which will be related to nonlinear function of masking at high levels. Mean wide-band, low pass filtered, and high pass filtered noises hearing thresholds were better (lower) in +/- 300 daPa air pressure conditions than 0 daPa pressure, and these differences were statistically significant. In conclusion, as the level of the tone was effectively decreased by changing the impedance, frequency tuning improves and the noise was less suppressed by the tone, making it easier to detect. Therefore, at the highest signal levels, the masking function for the off-frequency condition seems to remain nonlinear. Acta Medica Iranica, 43(5): 331-335; 2005
Adoption of social media sites by B2B companies in China

Social media sites have been perceived to be irrelevant in B2B sector. This is because of the perception of poor usability of those sites for B2B marketing. This study while extending Technology Acceptance Model by Nielsen’s Model of Attributes of System Acceptability assesses the impact of usability, utility and perceived usefulness on adoption and use of social media sites in B2B context. The empirical investigation, carried out on a sample of 181 Chinese B2B companies, reveals that users’ perception of the usefulness, usability and utility of social media sites drive their adoption and use in the B2B sector. The usefulness is subject to the assessment of whether social media sites are suitable means through which marketing activities can be conducted. Users’ ability to use social media sites for B2B marketing purposes, in turn, is due to those sites learnability and memorability attributes.
PSDM Uncertainty Characterization And Calibration Using A Fast Marching Algorithm

PSDM provides very good imaging results but is often not optimal for time to depth conversion. PSDM model uncertainties quantification and calibration to well data may benefit from geostatistics. Complexity in the geological structures (presence of a salt dome for example) can be very challenging for spatializing data and requires therefore the use of innovative geostatistical techniques such as kriging with a fast marching algorithm.
Preliminary data suggest possible association between IL-32 expression level and time of MS attack

IL-32 and TNF? are important cytokines in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. IL-32 has not been previously studied with respect to MS. Here, we report IL-32 and TNF? transcript levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of MS patients and control individuals by real time PCR. A significant difference in IL-32 and TNF? mRNA levels of patients as compared to controls was not observed. However, patients with more recent attacks had highly significant increased levels of IL-32 mRNAs. As the sample size was small, this potentially relevant preliminary observation needs to be corroborated using a larger number of patients with well defined clinical features. 2011 Progress in Biological Sciences. Vol. 1, No. 2, 44-49.
Elimination of Pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Ground Beef by a Newly Isolated Strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus during Storage at 5°C

Background and Objective: Constant use of limited number of lactic acid bacteria species in biopreservation can cause genetic degradation and or rising resistance against food pathogens or antimicrobial substances they produce. For this objective, a newly isolated strain of Lactobacillus acidophilus possessing high antimicrobial activity was evaluated as a candidate for use in biopreservation. Materials and Methods: Antibacterial activity was evaluated by agar disk diffusion method. Hydrogen peroxide amount was measured by Merckoquant Peroxide test strips. Microbiological analysis of the ground beef infected by Escherichia coli O157:H7 and treated by Lactobacillus acidophilus GH 201was done by plating of serial dilution in physiological saline on Tryptose agar. Results and Conclusion: The cells (109 CFU ml-1) of Lactobacillus acidophilus produced significant amount of antibacterial substances mainly hydrogen peroxide (28 and 30 μg ml-1) in sodium phosphate buffer (0.2 M, pH 6.5) and LAPTg at 5°C during submerged cultivation with no growth, respectively. Submerged co-cultivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 with lactobacilli in LAPTg broth at 5°C reduced the total number of the pathogen more than 2 log for 5 days. In case of solid state cultivation on agar-based medium, the maximum inhibitory zones on Escherichia coli O157:H7 lawn around the disks soaked by different amounts of washed Lactobacillus acidophilus cells appear for one-day cold exposition. The size of inhibition zone depends on the concentration of lactic acid bacteria cells. The cell suspension intended for treatment must contain 108-9 CFU ml-1 of lactic acid bacteria. Lactobacillus acidophilus reduced the initial amount (2×105 CFU ml-1) of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in ground beef up to 2 log for 5 days of solid-state co-cultivation. The application of Lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria expanded the shelf-life of ground beef due to inhibition of psychrophilic spoilage microorganisms. Conflict of interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Performance and Complexity of Online Kernel Algorithms

This paper discusses some recent advances in the development of nonlinear adaptive filtering. Specifically, it studies online kernel adaptive filters. We study the performance and complexity of a suite of kernel online algorithms from kernel recursive least square subspace (KRLSS) algorithms to kernel least mean square (KLMS) algorithms. A key to the kernel algorithms is that updating is done in the dual space via evaluation of kernels, the number of support vectors is controlled by using an information criterion, and the number of information vectors is controlled for KRLSS These algorithms have advantages in that they are nonlinear filters that are relatively easy to implement and have a number of parameters that can be adjusted to tradeoff performance for complexity.
Signalling function of long wavelength colours during agonistic male-male interactions in the wrasse Coris julis

Long wavelength colours (lambda > 580 nm) often serve as visual signals during inter-and intrasexual interactions in various species of freshwater fish. However, while long wavelength colours are also prevalent in many marine fish, their functional importance remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the presence of long wavelength colours mediate intra specific aggressive interactions in the Mediterranean rainbow wrasse Coris julis. By manipulating the relative mixture of red (lambda(max) = 628 nm) and blue (lambda(max) = 454 nm) light in experimental tanks, we created conditions in which discrimination of long wavelength colours from colours of shorter wavelength was either possible or prevented. We found that resident males were significantly more likely to attack conspecific intruder males when discrimination was enabled compared to conditions where no such discrimination was possible. Aggression from residents was associated with the display of a red (lambda(max) = 611 nm) colour patch on the dorsal fin of intruders, but not the size of the putative signal. Our findings suggest that long wavelength colours are an important component of marine visual ecology by mediating agonistic male-male interactions.
Image Scene Classification based on Latent Semantic Analysis

Digital image classification is becoming increasingly important. A digital image can be represented by its low-level features. Semantic analysis is a common technique for scene image classification. How to reduce the semantic gap between the high-level semantic and low-level features is a significant problem. This paper proposes a novel scene image classification method. Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) is applied to scale feature dimensions, delete noise, and select the important latent semantic features of each scene. To increase classification accuracy, low-level features should contain diversity. The proposed mechanism is applied to classify images by measure the scene similarity of each image. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed mechanism can classify image scenes successfully and has a better correct classification ratio than other analytical methods. The proposed image classification method reduces the semantic gap and close to human semantics.
A procedure for total knee alignment prosthesis using the ICP algorithm in the aim to implant it in the biomechanical engineering

It isn’t exceptional that in orthopedic surgery, the surgeon observes during his intervention the important deformations in the knee, like a bad leg orientation, collapse of some bone surfaces, shortening or lengthening ligaments etc. That makes it sometimes necessary to make complementary gestures like lengthen a ligament, adapt a bones cut, in order, to have a best knee performance. The join an implant system associated with a revision instrument of total knee prosthesis (PTG) causes the navigation system to produce a perfect alignment, stability and functional results that are both reliable and precise. In this paper, a procedure which uses the ICP (Iterative Closest Point) algorithm for total knee alignment prosthesis is proposed in order to improve the current technique and thus avoid the revision surgery of total knee prostheses.
Role of dividend policy determinants in multinational and domestic companies, evidence from Iran

In this paper, along with introducing determinants affecting decision making relevant to dividend policy, the impact of these factors on companies which merely sell their products domestically is compared with their impact on companies which, in addition to domestic sales, have exports as well. In this regard, 712 companies were tested during the years 2008 to 2013. In this study, the ratio of dividend per share to earnings per share (DPS/EPS) was used as a dividend policy index; for expressing the significant difference in dividend policy of multinational and domestic companies, t and “Mann Whitney” tests were applied. For stating the determinants in dividend policy, the variables systematic risk, profitability, free cash flow, sales growth, firm size and leverage were used. For the analysis and interpretation of data, a multivariate linear regression model was implemented as panel data. Research findings demonstrate the existence of significant difference in dividend policy of multinational and domestic companies such that the multinational companies shared more profit compared with their domestic counterparts. Whereas only leverage and profitability were among the determinants in the domestic companies, for multinational companies, in addition to these variables, the variables of free cash flows and sales growth were also among significant factors. Furthermore, the impact of Beta variables and the firm size were not found significant on dividend policy of domestic and multinational companies.
Isolation of Acrodontium crateriforme as a pitcher trap inquiline.

Acrodontium crateriforme was isolated from pitcher trap liquid of Nepenthes khasiana in Khasi hills of Meghalaya. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of culture obtained from plating of pitcher trap liquid confirmed the identity of the species. The association of fungus is reported in this manuscript. Pitcher plant trap biota is matter of interest to many biologists, as it is known to trap insects and provide nourishment to plants, but it also provides habitat for numerous species of inquilines ranging from bacteria to vertebrates which survive in pitcher trap liquid. This report of presence of A. crateriforme is important record of fungal association in unique habitat provided by pitcher trap.
Assessment of genetic diversity of certain Indian elite clones of Cymbopogon species through RAPD analysis

*Ten elite Indian cultivars of Cymbopogon, aromatic grasses of essential oil trade types—citronella, palmarosa and lemongrass, were characterized isolated from fresh leaf tissues were amplified with twelve 10-mer arbitrary primers. The amplification produced overall 64 scorable bands in the cultivars studied. Of which 52 were polymorphic and 12 were monomorphic. RAPD markers proved to be the efficient marker system with regard to detection of polymorphism, number of loci scored and PIC values. Polymorphism differed substantially within the discrete groups of cultivars and was approximately 71.88% in palmarosa, 6.25% in citronella and 46.88% in lemongrasses. Genetic variations detected among the elite cultivars could be of much use for the introgression of new characters from wild counterparts to the cultivars, isolation of stable segregating markers, selection of improved varieties and conservation of germplasm resources.
Identification Properties of Recent Production Function Estimators

This paper examines some of the recent literature on the estimation of production functions. We focus on techniques suggested in two recent papers, Olley and Pakes (1996) and Levinsohn and Petrin (2003). While there are some solid and intuitive identification ideas in these papers, we argue that the techniques can suffer from functional dependence problems. We suggest an alternative approach that is based on the ideas in these papers, but does not suffer from the functional dependence problems and produces consistent estimates under alternative data generating processes for which the original procedures do not.
Managing Sales Force Product Perceptions and Control Systemsinthe Success of New Product Introductions

Given the importance of new products, firms may be prone to overmanage sales personnel by using behavior-based control systems that dictate the performance of particular activities related to the introduction. Such controls may be especially tempting given the findings that favorable salesperson product perceptions actually yield less effort on the new product, and behavior-based controls can offset this tendency. However, using longitudinal data from a sample of 226 salespeople, along with external ratings from customers and archival measures of effort and sales performance, the authors demonstrate that such a strategy is shortsighted. Behavior-based controls constrain a salesperson's ability to appropriately allocate effort across his or her customer base, negatively affecting customer product perceptions and, ultimately, new product sales. In contrast, outcome-based control systems enable salespeople to work smarter, and their corresponding effort on behalf of the new product has a more positive effect on customer product perceptions and new product sales.
High-redshift formation and evolution of central massive objects - I. Model description

Galactic nuclei host central massive objects either in the form of supermassive black holes or in the form of nuclear stellar clusters. Recent investigations have shown that both components co-exist in at least a few galaxies. In this paper, we explore the possibility of a connection between nuclear star clusters and black holes that establishes at the moment of their formation. We here model the evolution of high-redshift discs, hosted in dark matter haloes with virial temperatures > 10 4 K, whose gas has been polluted with metals just above the critical metallicity for fragmentation. A nuclear cluster forms as a result of a central starburst from gas inflowing from the unstable disc. The nuclear stellar cluster provides a suitable environment for the formation of a black hole seed, ensuing from runaway collisions among the most massive stars. Typical masses for the nuclear stellar clusters at the time of black hole formation (z ~ 10) are in the range 10 4 -10 6 M ⊙ and have half-mass radii ≲0.5 pc. The black holes forming in these dense, high-redshift clusters can have masses in the range ~300-2000 M ⊙ .