Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Coffee farmers' perception of bat guano as fertilizer in agroecosystems of Mexico

English abstract: The abuse of inorganic fertilizers in coffee agroecosystems is a worldwide problem. In central Mexico, organic fertilizers are being introduced as an alternative way to restore soil fertility. The aim of this study was to investigate coffee farmers from central Veracruz’s perceptions of bat guano as organic fertilizer. Surveys were conducted with closed and open questions followed by quantitative and qualitative analysis. Eighty-eight percent of the farmers surveyed negatively perceived bat guano. Factors influencing this perception were bats’ physical appearance, their role as disease transmitters, and the difficulties in procuring guano, including the resources needed to extract it, handle it, and transport it safely to their workplaces.Spanish abstract: El abuso de fertilizantes inorgánicos en los agroecosistemas del café es un problema mundial. En el centro de México se comienzan a emplear fertilizantes orgánicos como alternativa para restaurar los suelos. El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar la percepción de los caficultores sobre el empleo del guano de murciélago como fertilizante. Se realizaron encuestas con preguntas abiertas y cerradas que se analizaron cuantitativa y cualtitativamente. El ochenta y ocho por ciento de los cafeticultores encuestados percibieron negativamente al guano de murciélago. Los factores que influyeron en esta percepción fueron: la apariencia física de los murciélagos, su rol como transmisores de enfermedades y las dificultades para adquirir el guano, incluyendo los recursos necesarios para extraerlo, manipularlo y transportarlo de manera segura a sus fincas cafetaleras.French abstract: L’abus d’engrais inorganiques dans les agroécosystèmes de café est un problème mondial. Dans le centre du Mexique, les engrais biologiques commencent à être utilisés pour restaurer les sols. Notre recherche se proposait d’étudier la perception de l’utilisation du guano de chauve-souris comme engrais organique par les caféiculteurs. Des enquêtes semi-structurées (comprenant des questions ouvertes et fermées) ont été menées à partir de méthodes quantitatives et qualitatives. Quatrevingt-huit pour cent des agriculteurs interrogés perçoivent ce guano de manière négative. Parmi les facteurs qui influencent cette perception se trouvent l’apparence physique des chauves-souris, la transmission de maladies et les difficultés pour acquérir le guano, y compris les ressources nécessaires pour l’extraire, le manipuler et le transporter en toute sécurité vers leurs exploitations.
Research on China’s Monetary Policy and Stock Market Price-volume Relationship Based on TVP-SV-VAR Model

A time-varying VAR system model of monetary policy and stock market is established in this paper for analyzing the dynamic correlation and response mechanism between monetary policy variables and stock market variables. It is found that the influence of interest rate on stock price has experienced a period of “irrelevance, positive correlation and negative correlation” in 20 years. According to the uniformly-spaced impulse response, it is found that China’s monetary policy has real effect in the short term, but lacks long-term sustainability. The stock reform in 2005 can be regarded as an important time node to change the relationship of stock market price-volume in the past two decades. For most of the period after the stock reform, stock prices have a positive impact on stock market turnover and stock market returns.
Discovering Urban Functional Polycentricity: A Traffic Flow-Embedded and Topic Modeling-Based Methodology Framework

With the rapid development of communication and transportation technologies, the urban area is increasingly becoming an ever more dynamic, comprehensive, and complex system. Meanwhile, functional polycentricity as a distinctive feature has been characterizing urban areas around the world. However, the spatial structure of the urban area has yet to be fully comprehended from a dynamic perspective, and understanding the spatial organization of polycentric urban regions (PUR) is crucial for issues related to urban planning, traffic control, and urban risk management. The analysis of polycentricity strongly depends on the spatial scale. In order to identify functional polycentricity at the intra-unban scale, this paper presents a traffic flow-embedded and topic modeling-based methodology framework. This framework was evaluated on real-world datasets from the Wujiang district, Suzhou, China, which contains 151,419 records of taxi trajectory data and 86,036 records of points of interest (POI) data. This paper provides a novel approach to examining urban functional polycentricity via combining urban function distribution and spatial interactions. This proposed methodology can help urban authorities better understand urban dynamics in terms of function distribution and internal connectedness and facilitate urban development in terms of urban planning and traffic control.
DETECTION OF VIRULENCE GENES phoP AND phoQ IN Salmonella spp. USING IN SILICO POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION

Detection of Salmonella bacteria based on their virulence genes is among essential steps in the eradication of clinical infection by bacteria. In this study, two pair of primers, PhoPF-PhoPR: 5’- CCGCGCAGGAAAAACTCAAA-3’ and 5’-ATCTGTTCCAGCATCACCGG -3’ as well as PhoQF-PhoQR: 5’-AGAGATGATGCGCGTACTGG-3’ and 5’- CAGACGCCCCATGAGAACAT-3’, had been successfully designed using Primer3Plus to detect the presence of phoP and phoQ genes in Salmonella spp. Using genomic DNA of 44 genomic data of Salmonella spp. as templates, PhoPF-PhoPR could produce 520-bp amplicon, while PhoQF-PhoQR could result in 598-bp amplicon. Results of in silico PCR showed that both pairs of primers PhoPF-PhoPR and PhoQF-PhoQR could detect only Salmonella enterica species, and no Salmonella bongori species could be detected based on phoP and phoQ sequences. Both pairs of PhoPF-PhoPR and PhoQF-PhoQR primers were also able to detect the virulence genes in most of the studied subspecies of Salmonella enterica available in silico database unless Arizona subspecies. As conclusion, based on this in silico study, phoP and phoQ genes appeared to be biomarkers for Salmonella enterica species. Both pairs of primers designed in this study has potential to be used as detection tool to differentiate species Salmonella enterica from Salmonella bongori, and also to distinguish S.enterica subsp. enterica from subsp. Arizonae. Keywords: Gene detection, bacterial virulence, phoP, phoQ, Salmonella spp.
Prevalence and Associated Factors to Human Papillomaviruses Types 16 and 18 among Malagasy Women in Fianarantsoa, Madagascar

In this study, we analyzed by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) cerv ical specimens obtained from consenting women in Fianarantsoa, 1712 cerv ical specimens obtained fro m them. The data obtained were co mp iled to establish correlation and prevalence of HPV. Different PCR techniques were used to detect HPV in fection. Consensus primer sets MY and GP, and specific primers for HPV 16 and 18 were utilized to obtain the HPV typing. The result showed that 43 specimensare positive by M Y and GP that 22(51.16%) are HPV 16 and 15(34.88%) HPV18. 67.56% of the infected are about 45 year old; 48.65% d ivorced; each woman had at least 2 d ifferent partners before marry ing and mo re of 4 partners after divorce. 29.73% of them are married and everyone had at least 4 partners before marrying. 21.62% are un married, with mu ltip le partners. Our results indicated that HPV infections, especially those HPV 16 and 18 represent a significant public health in Madagascar. Keyswords Consensus Primers, Fianarantsoa, Human Pap illo mavirus (HPV), Madagascar, Poly merase Chain Reaction (PCR)
Multiple Lyapunov Functions Approach for Consensus of One-Sided Lipschitz Multi-Agents Over Switching Topologies and Input Saturation

This brief investigates the leader-based consensus of one-sided Lipschitz (OSL) multi-agents under switching graphs and input saturation. By using the local design approach and multiple Lyapunov functions (MLFs), a novel condition for the consensus in nonlinear agents is provided by accomplishing guaranteed local stability. The notion of the average dwell time (ADT) has been applied for dealing with the switching topologies, which relaxes the classical dwell time restriction for switching instances. In contrast to the classical methods, both input saturation and switching topologies, representing a complicated and more meaningful consensus control scenario, are considered for nonlinear agents. The conservatism in existing methods for OSL agents has been overcome owing to the utilization of MLFs and ADT. Simulation results for eight mobile agents are provided to show the effectiveness of our consensus protocol.
An Autonomous Power-Frequency Control Strategy Based on Load Virtual Synchronous Generator

With the increasing penetration of the hybrid AC/DC microgrid in power systems, an inertia decrease of the microgrid is caused. Many scholars have put forward the concept of a virtual synchronous generator, which enables the converters of the microgrid to possess the characteristics of a synchronous generator, thus providing inertia support for the microgrid. Nevertheless, the problems of active power oscillation and unbalance would be serious when multiple virtual synchronous generators (VSGs) operate in the microgrid. To conquer these problems, a VSG-based autonomous power-frequency control strategy is proposed, which not only independently allocates the power grid capacity according to the load capacity, but also effectively suppresses the active power oscillation. In addition, by establishing a dynamic small-signal model of the microgrid, the dynamic stability of the proposed control strategy in the microgrid is verified, and further reveals the leading role of the VSG and filter in the dynamic stability of microgrids. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy are validated by the simulation results.
An Ethanolic Extract of Boehmeria caudata Aerial Parts Displays Anti-inflammatory and Anti-tumor Activities

Abstract The tumor microenvironment presents several therapeutic targets, with inflammation being one of them. In search of new drugs, plants have shown to be an effective source of potent anti-inflammatory and anticancer agents. This study aimed to evaluate the antitumoral and inflammatory activities of Boehmeria caudata aerial parts extract. Bioguided in vitro antiproliferative screening showed that phenanthroquinolizidine obtained from the aerial B. caudata ethanolic extract had a straight relationship with activity. Moreover, the orally administered ethanolic extract reduced Ehrlich solid tumor growth and displayed an anti-inflammatory effect in both evaluated experimental models (carrageenan-induced paw edema and croton oil-induced ear edema). These results suggest that the antitumor activity of the ethanolic extract could be explained by antiproliferative effects associated with anti-inflammatory action.
MetabolicResponse of Sedentary Normotrophic Rats to Dietary Prehydrolyzed Whey Proteins

In this study we report that, unlike the case of obese or high-fat fed animals, consumption of a whey protein hydrolyzate can have a min imal impact on skeletal muscle metabolic gene exp ression in sedentary eutrophic rats and still a moderate effect on body fat. Male Wistar rats were fed diets with either whey-protein concentrate (WPC), a whey-protein hydrolyzate (WPH) o r casein (CAS), during two weeks. Gastrocnemius and blood were withdrawn for analysis of the expression of the PPARα, PPA Rδ, PGC-1α, CPT -1β and myostatin genes, classical serum parameters, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA ), triacylg lycerols (TA G), albu min, alanine and aspartate aminotransferases (ALT, AST), in addit ion to muscle and serum free amino acid profiles. The diet appeared to have no effect on the expression of any of the muscle genes besides, no significant changes being observed in serum NEFA, TA G or creatinine. Co mpared to CAS, the animals fed either WPC or WPH exh ibited lower activ ities of AL T, AST, together with higher seru m albu min levels in the WPC g roup. It was also observed that the diets containing the whey proteins produced increased levels of serum glycine, whereas in the muscle several amino acids were increased in the animals that consumed WPH. Although the whey protein d iets did have an effect on the profile of free muscle amino acids and improved the outcome of classical enzy me bio markers, consumption did not result in the exacerbation of such parameters of normal animals consuming normo lip idic d iets.
Sumain nutritional supplement: Formulation, physico-chemical and nutritional assessment of its flour

The paper reports in-part results of long-term study to investigate potential health benefits of SNS in improving diet quality to reverse severe catabolic stress in subjects with protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) and immune crisis. SNS was formulated as composite flour using yellow soyabean, red-skin groundnut, white sorghum, white and yellow maize seeds in ratio 4:2:3:2:2. Soaking and/or dehulling, toasting, and milling were initial major treatments given to each seed-type. The SNS sample was quantified for proximate composition, phytochemicals, anti-nutrients, minerals, vitamins, fatty acid and amino acid profiles using appropriate standard methodologies. SNS had dry 97% matter content, 464 kcal/100g gross energy, 19% crude fat, 33% crude protein, and 2% ash. Prevalent phenolic compounds (gallic acid, quercitin, catechin, tannins) and alkaloids (saponin, phytate, glycyrrhizic acid) were low (5 – 18 mg%) while oxalate was 76 mg%; appreciable amounts of macro-elements (Na, K, Mg, P, and Ca) as 6 – 17 mg%, trace elements (Mn 159, Zn 164, and Fe 260 µg/g) and pro-vitamin A, vitamins B6, B12 and C. SNS contained high quality fatty acids (PUFA/SFA = 3.22 against expected > 0.4, and ω6/ω3 = 0.71 against expected
Synthèse de nanoparticules d'argent par voie micro-onde et leur intégration dans des feuilles de cellulose pour des applications agroalimentaires

A green method for silver nanoparticles synthesis is proposed. The method is based on non-hazardous to human health materials produced by a microwave assisted process. The nanoparticles obtained were incorporated in cellulose structures to produce new types of packaging with an antibacterial effect to food through the bactericidal properties of silver. The microbiological analysis showed that Escherichia coli bacteria can not grow on thus prepared cellulose samples, even on those containing small amounts of silver nanoparticles.
Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter and Retinal Artery Resistive Index Measurements with Bedside Ophthalmic Ultrasound in Pediatric Patients with Pseudotumor Cerebri Syndrome

Abstract Pseudotumor cerebri syndrome (PTCS) is characterized by raised intracranial pressure (ICP) with no neuroradiological abnormalities. Ocular ultrasound has been in use to measure optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), and retinal artery Doppler indices have been used for indirect assessment of ICP by pediatric intensivists. Here, we aimed to evaluate the correlation of the lumbar puncture (LP) opening pressure with the ultrasonographic ONSD and retinal resistive index (RRI) measures in patients with PTCS. And we wanted to find an answer to the following question: Can ultrasonographic ONSD measures serve as a follow-up tool in patients with PTCS? A prospective, single-center, case–control study was performed by pediatric intensive care and pediatric neurology departments. A total of 7 patients with PTCS were evaluated as patient group and 15 healthy children were evaluated as control group. The mean age of patient group was 138.8 ± 43.7 months. The mean right ONSD was 6.7 ± 0.5 mm and the mean left ONSD was 6.7 ± 0.6 mm. The mean right RRI value was 0.73 ± 0.03 and the mean left RRI was 0.73 ± 0.09. For the patient group, ONSD and RRI values of both eyes were statistically significant higher values than for the control group. The mean LP opening pressure was 56.57 ± 16.36 cmH2O. We detected strong, positive, and statistically significant correlations between the LP opening pressure and ONSD baseline measures for both the right eye (r = 0.882, p = 0.009) and the left eye (r = 0.649, p = 0.004). There was no correlation between opening pressure in LP and RRI measurements. We detected a statistically significant decrease in the right ONSD and left ONSD values and visual analog scale scores at the third-month follow-up. Our study results demonstrate that ultrasonographic ONSD measurements can be used as a noninvasive tool for assessment of the ICP at first admission and can be used as a follow-up tool in PTSC patients.
Morphological and molecular identification of Conilepia nigricosta, new to Korea, and Lithosia quadra with their phylogenetic placements within tribe lithosiina (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae)

Conilepia nigricosta (Leech 1888) is very similar to Lithosia quadra in the superficial appearance of females. We re‐examined their morphologies and analyzed their DNA barcode regions to assess their taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships with other related genera. Our morphological study confirmed the diagnostic value of the wing venation and the genital structures in both sexes. Our analyses with DNA barcodes showed sufficient genetic divergences ranging from 6.21% to 7.16% between those two species. The phylogenetic relationship using the barcoding region for the members belonging to lithosiina showed that Conilepia and Lithosia are suggested as having strong monophyly compared to other genera.
In-Network Caching for Hybrid Satellite-Terrestrial Networks Using Deep Reinforcement Learning

Large number of redundant requests in wireless networks have led to the hybrid satellite-terrestrial networks, where a satellite is used for content placement at edge caches at the base stations (BSs), thereby reducing backhaul link usage. In this paper, we consider in-network caching where an unavailable content at one BS can be fetched from the nearest BS in the network, before requesting from the content server. Obtaining optimal placement incurs exponentially huge computational overhead. Recent caching solutions are not scalable for large size of content library. Therefore, we propose a low-complexity approach using an action-coded deep deterministic policy gradient (AC-DDPG) algorithm towards optimizing the long-term average network delay. The proposed approach employs continuous valued popularity profiles rather than a fixed finite set in the literature. Simulation results demonstrate the successful application of proposed approach and the improvement over the most-popular content caching method.
Genetics of Circulating Blood Lipids

Circulating blood lipids are well-established risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Levels of high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, and triglycerides are affected by environmental and genetic factors. As the genetic factors explain around half of the population lipid variation based on twin studies, knowledge of the genetic determinants is crucial in prevention and early treatment of harmful lipid levels. In this thesis, genetic markers associated with lipid levels were screened using genome-wide marker datasets to better understand the biological and heritable mechanisms behind lipid levels. To identify different types of associated loci, genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from multiple European cohorts was combined. In addition, this thesis presents the effect of using Finnish imputation panel as reference on the quality of genotype imputation, which enables the usage of denser SNP marker sets in association analysis. In total, 95 genetic loci with genome-wide significant association (P-value < 5×10, accounting for one million independent tests) on lipid levels were identified. In one of these loci, the SNP genotype modified the association between total cholesterol and waist-to-hip ratio. Common genetic markers found in the first publication together with the previously associated loci in publications of other research groups explained up to 4.8% of the lipid level variation. When combining all the genetic information available from different sources at the end of this thesis project, up to 16.6% of the trait variation could be explained, which corresponds to 33% of the trait heritability. In the work described in this thesis almost a hundred genetic loci associated to circulating blood lipids were successfully identified using large-scale genome-wide approaches. This thesis demonstrates new biology behind lipid levels, in addition to how large scale studies with dense SNP panels enabled by genotype imputation, can be a key in revealing biological determinants behind complex diseases and traits.
Sense of belonging as an indicator of social capital

PurposeThis paper examines the possibility of using sense of belonging as an indicator for social capital. Social capital, from the collective social capital theory perspective, is constructed from three main elements: trust, social network and participation. Social capital is crucial to civil society and well-being, but there is no consensus on how to define and measure it. This paper approaches this problem with the different but related concept of sense of belonging, as belonging overlaps with social capital conceptually, but also is more amenable to measurement.Design/methodology/approachQualitative and quantitative data was collected from approximately 800 university students and used to explore the relationship between belonging and social capital both conceptually and empirically in the higher education context.FindingsThe mixed methods research analysis in this paper provides strong evidence to show how sense of belonging and social capital are theoretically and empirically intertwined, Conceptually they occupy overlapping spheres and their connections can be clearly traced and measured. This is supported by substantial statistical evidence of their relatedness, despite their independent origins in social research. For these reasons, this paper argues that sense of belonging can be used as a simplified alternative way to measure social capital.Originality/valueThis paper explains the advantages of using sense of belonging to understand social capital. It sets out a conceptual framework and provides a statistical demonstration. This paper develops and enriches a current strand of social capital and sense of belonging research in the fields of sociology and higher education policy.