Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of Tissue Parasites in Cattle and Buffaloes Slaughtered in El-Minia Governorate Abattoirs, Egypt

The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of meat borne parasitic infection in 170 animals (120 cattle and 50 buffaloes) slaughtered in ElMinia Governorate abattoirs, during the period from June 2017 to May 2018. The obtained data were statistically analyzed by SPSS software using ANOVA test at 95% confidence level (P ≤ 0.05). The study revealed the overall prevalence in cattle was 35%, the incidence of Fasciola spp. (23.3%), Cysticercus bovis (6.6%), Sarcocyst spp. (0%) and hydatid cyst (5%). On the other hand, total prevalence in buffaloes was 52%, which include Fasciola spp. , (30%), C. bovis (6%), Sarcocyst spp. (12%), and Hydatid cyst (4%). Older cattle and buffaloes were more susceptible than young (P ≤ 0.05). The seasonal prevalence rate of infection with Fasciola spp. and hydatid cyst was highest in Autumn at (P ≤ 0.05). The predilection site of C. bovis was significantly highest in the heart of cattle and buffaloes 75% and 100% respectively (P ≤ 0.05). Hydatid cyst mainly present in the lung and liver of cattle and buffalo 6% and 2% respectively. While Sarcocystis spp. in buffaloes were significantly higher in esophagus 50%. It can be concluded that parasitic infection among beef production livestock has its hazardous zoonotic significance causing serious economic losses.
Embedded Computing for IoT Using Simple Projects

The Internet of Things (IoT) allows indoor (home automation) and outdoor electronic objects to communicate through a wireless sensor network and assist controlling and monitoring daily routines through a mobile system. The scenario used in the application was a university campus. Validation of the concept and to verify the correct functioning of the embedded devices, along with mobile application, the indoor environment for the tests was the IoT research laboratory and the outdoor a parking lot.
Acute and Chronic Effects of Prangos ferulacea Hydroalcoholic Extract on Normal and High Blood Pressure Induced by L-NAME and Its Mechanism of Action in Male Rats

Background: Some studies have shown therapeutic properties of Prangos ferulacea, but its effect on blood pressure (BP) is unidentified. Objectives: So acute and chronic feeding effects of P. ferulacea on BP and its mechanism were evaluated in male rats. Methods: Hydroalcoholic extract of P. ferulacea (12.5, 25, and 50 mg/kg) was injected intravenously and mean arterial BP and heart rate were measured. The mechanism of effect of the extract on BP was evaluated by intraperitoneal administration of L-NAME, atropine or indomethacin (4, 1, and 5 mg/kg, respectively) and then intravenous injection of extract (50 mg/kg). In addition, the extract (500 mg/kg/day) was given orally in L-NAME (40 mg/kg/day)-induced hypertensive rats during 4 weeks. Then anxiety behaviors and BP were assessed. Results: Intravenous P. ferulacea reduced BP significantly (P < 0.01). There was a significant difference between the effect of 12.5 and 50 mg/kg of extract (P < 0.001). The effect of hypotension of the extract was eliminated by atropine and decreased by L-NAME. Chronic administration of L-NAME increased BP from 112 mmHg in the control group to 149 in hypertensive rats (P < 0.01), while the oral extract in these rats reduced BP to 119 mmHg (P < 0.01). The P. ferulacea had no effect on heart rate and anxiety behaviors in normal and hypertensive rats. Conclusions: Intravenous P. ferulacea reduces BP, which may be via the muscarinic receptor. Oral P. ferulacea prevents BP augmentation induced by L-NAME. The P. ferulacea seems to be useful for prophylaxis of hypertension.
Assessing the effects of elephant foraging on the structure and diversity of an Afrotropical forest

African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) are ecosystem engineers that browse and damage large quantities of vegetation during their foraging and movement. Though elephant trail networks and clearings are conspicuous features of many African forests, the consequences of elephant foraging for forest structure and diversity are poorly documented. In this study in northeastern Gabon, we compare stem size, stem density, proportional damage, species diversity, and species relative abundance of seedlings and saplings in the vicinity of seven tree species that produce elephant‐preferred fruits (“elephant trees”) relative to control trees that do not. Across 34 survey trees, with a combined census area of 2.04 ha, we recorded data on 26,128 woody stems in three sizes classes. Compared with control trees, the area around elephant trees had the following: (a) a significantly greater proportion of damaged seedlings and a marginally greater proportion of damaged saplings (with 82% and 24% greater odds of damage, respectively); (b) no significant difference in stem density or species diversity; and (c) a significantly greater relative abundance of seedlings of elephant tree species. Increasing distance away from focal elephant trees was associated with significantly reduced sapling stem damage, significantly increased sapling stem density, and significantly increased sapling species diversity. Considered in sum, our results suggest that elephants can affect the structure and diversity of Afrotropical forests through their foraging activities, with some variation based on location and plant size class. Developing a more complete understanding of elephants’ ecological effects will require continued research, ideally with manipulative experiments.
Characterization of Dielectric Materials at WR-15 Band (50–75 GHz) Using VNA-Based Technique

This article presents an in-depth study of a new vector network analyzer (VNA)-based electromagnetic material measurement method relying on a commercially available material characterization kit (MCK). These MCKs provide effectively a guided free-space technique with less stringent requirement on alignment compared with conventional free-space techniques. Coupled with time gating, these MCKs employ a simple calibration, composed of reflect and thru standards only, prior to taking reflection and transmission S-parameter measurements. This MCK-based method complements other conventional measurement techniques, e.g., time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) and resonant cavity, allowing fast broadband dielectric material characterization over the millimeter- and submillimeter-wave frequency ranges. In this article, a WR-15 (50–75 GHz) MCK is utilized for the measurements of S-parameters for seven types of low-loss dielectric material. Their dielectric constant and loss tangent are extracted from S-parameters and are compared against literature values. A relatively good agreement is achieved. Moreover, an investigation into the uncertainties of the extracted dielectric constant and loss tangent is performed and reported.
Kinetics of naphthalene catalytic hydrogenation under high temperature and high pressure

Abstract The catalytic hydrogenation reaction of naphthalene was carried out on the Ni–Mo/Al2O3 catalyst by using a constant-temperature fixed-bed reactor with the temperature ranging from 315 °C to 400 °C and pressure ranging from 12 to 20 MPa. The model of naphthalene catalytic hydrogenation was proposed based on the Langmuir–Hinshelwood–Hougen–Watson competitive adsorption theory, and the model parameters were estimated. The results show that the hydrogenation reaction of naphthalene to tetralin is fast, and tetralin tends to form trans-decalin, while there is no direct conversion between trans-decalin and cis-decalin. The reaction activation energy of naphthalene to tetralin is the smallest.
Systemic Risk of the Consumer Credit Network across Financial Institutions

We investigate a network of financial institutions in Korea using the Korea Consumer Credit Panel (KCCP). The main contribution of this paper is that we construct the network of financial institution from the consumer credit level. We assume each consumer make a loan from multiple institutions so that those institutions share same risk from same consumer no matter of quality or type of loan. Then we construct the financial network between institutions and compute contagion index based on those multiple connection with a weight of default probability of individual borrowers. We found strong connection with banking institutions and credit card firms due to convenience in making small-amount loans with credit cards. However, when we give an weight with default probability to the linkage among institutions, connections of banking institution with savings bank, non-credit card finance corporation and merchant banking are stronger than others, while banking institution holds center position and has biggest amount of loans individually. Contagion index hit a peak in 2013Q1 and then fell rapidly, finally has been fluctuated in relatively low level from 2016 to 2017Q2. The result in our paper enables the authority to watch the systemic risk from consumer credit level with specific consumer type with their default probability.
Views of non-Western trainee or recently-qualified practitioner psychologists on the import of Western psychology into their indigenous non-Western cultures

Abstract Despite recent global mental health movements rooted in Western mental health frameworks, there appears to be a paucity of research that directly gathers the perspectives of non-Western psychological practitioners who would be implementing such frameworks within non-Western cultures. This study aimed to gather the perspectives of non-Western trainee and recently qualified psychologists through online questionnaires and interviews. These were then analyzed using thematic analysis. Analysis generated five themes: (1) Western psychology is Euro-centrically diverse; (2) Western psychology has a (limited) role; (3) We are diverse; (4) Western psychology needs to account for unique cultural worldviews and practices; and (5) Address the power imbalance. The analysis suggested that Western psychology has a role within non-Western cultures, however its limited use should be as a framework integrated in line with indigenous local practices and values, whilst redressing and addressing the power imbalance Western psychology holds, that this should not be an importing of Western knowledge, but rather knowledge exchange. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.
AI-Enhanced Cooperative Spectrum Sensing for Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access

Many state-of-the-art techniques are leveraged to improve spectral efficiency, of which cognitive radio and multiple access are the most promising ones. In cognitive radio communications, spectrum sensing is the most fundamental part, whose accuracy has a significant impact on spectrum utilization. Furthermore, due to the complex radio environment, multiple-user CSS has been proposed as a refined solution. NOMA, as an essential technique in 5G, holds great promise in improving spectral efficiency and carrying massive connectivity. In this article, we propose a novel CSS framework for NOMA to further improve the spectral efficiency. Considering the complicated physical layer implementations of NOMA, we introduce an AI based solution to cooperatively sense the spectrum with a nice accuracy rate and acceptable complexity. Numerical results validate the effectiveness of our proposed solution.
Effect of Investment Risk on Unit Trust Price Volatility Among Capital Market Authority Listed Firms in Kenya

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of investment risk on unit trust price volatility among CMA listed firms in Kenya. As a result of unit trust price volatility, investors are shifting to real estate and other investments with low price volatility. This makes unit trust price volatility an important issue to investigate. The unit trust price volatility is of much importance to investors, fund’s managers and government regulators. The objective that guided the study was to investigate the effect of investment risk on unit trust price volatility. A record survey sheet was used to collect secondary data using longitudinal research design. The statistical population of the study consisted of 19 Unit trusts registered by CMA 2016 and offering equity fund. Census was taken to collect annual data for a period of 9 years from 2009 to 2017. Data presentation was done using panel plots, trend lines and distribution tables. The statistical techniques used are descriptive statistics such as Mean, median and Standard deviation. Diagnostics tests done were multicollinearity, autocorrelation, normality, Heteroskedasticity, Hausman and serial correlation. Correlation tests, analysis of variance and panel regression analysis were also done for Inferential statistics. The hypothesis of the study was tested using panel regression analysis. The null hypothesis of the study was rejected at 5% level of significance. The results (r= -O.4366) of the study indicated that the effect of Investment risk on unit trust price volatility was negative and statistically significant at 5% levels. The overall model was tested using the F-test at 5% level of significance which resulted to the value of F (0.05,1,84) = 3.96 ≤ F (1, 83) = 19.550, p-value =0.000≤ 0.05 indicating that the model fits well. The results of the study analysis revealed that investment risk had a statistical significant effect on unit trust price volatility among CMA listed firms in Kenya for equity fund model. The coefficient of determination (R 2 ) = 0.1906 which indicated that the investment risk contributes only 19.00% of the unit trust price volatility while the larger proportion is attributed to other extraneous variables. The model can be used for unit trust price volatility prediction though on a low scale. The study made the following recommendations; CMA regulate and inspect the financial stability policies governing unit trusts, unit trust firms to pay the investors in time and improve on financial stability, reduce on the operation costs and control operation systems of unit trusts. On policy implication, the government should review the CMA act to give the authority the inspection mandate on the unit trust to make them efficient and conform to financial international standards to be in line with the economic pillar of vision 2030. Keywords: Investment risk, unit trust price volatility DOI : 10.7176/RJFA/10-8-05 Publication date : April 30 th 2019
Cancer Diagnosis by Bioimpedance Spectroscopy and Computer-Assisted Pattern Recognition

impedance analyzer and a custom built open-ended coaxial sensor. Series of experiments were conducted on a ﬁxed human kidney that was obtained from a kidney cancer patient. The samples were borrowed temporarily from the Department of Pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Impedance measurements were made on the cancerous and normal spots in the samples. The feature extraction and classiﬁcation algorithms were tested for their accuracy in discriminating data from cancer and normal spots.
The adolescent perspective of the impact of weight status on quality of life

BACKGROUND: Obesity, particularly in the younger population, is a major public health concern as the proportion of young people classified as overweight or obese has been rising over the past decade. Economic evaluations are used to inform resource allocation decision making in the health care context. Generic preference based measures such as the EQ-5D have been shown to have limited sensitivity to changes in body mass index (BMI), therefore a valid and reliable health state classification system to a) Measure weight specific quality of life (QoL) and b) Assign preference values to different aspects of weight specific QoL is necessary; in order to carry out fully informed Cost Utility Analysis (CUA) of weight management interventions aimed at adolescents. AIMS: To create a new weight specific questionnaire appropriate for adolescents aged 11-18 years and ultimately for the elicitation of preference values. METHODS: A sample of weight management treatment seekers and a general school sample of adolescents (aged 11 to 18) were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews probed adolescents’ perceptions of the impact of weight statues on QoL. Interviews were analysed using the Framework method (a type of thematic analysis). Transcripts were coded by the first author. The generation and coding of themes was closely guided by supervisors and advisors experienced in the field of qualitative analysis. RESULTS: Sixteen one-to-one interviews with adolescents from weight management services and one focus group with a school sample of adolescents was conducted. Data saturation (where further interviews with adolescents generated no new information) was reached at interview number 13 and this was confirmed with the use of a saturation matrix. Three additional one-to-one interviews were carried out as well as a school focus group interview in order to confirm sample saturation. A new weight specific questionnaire containing 29 items (questions) was generated covering six domains of QoL, including: 1. Symptoms, 2. Physical function, 3. Psychological wellbeing / Personal constructs, 4. Cognitive functioning, 5. Social wellbeing and 6. Role activities. CONCLUSIONS: The views of adolescents are critical to the development of a new weight specific QoL instrument. The content of the instrument was informed by adolescents living in the UK. This new measure will be more suited than generic preference based instruments, in capturing changes that matter to this age group.
Cellular identity and Ca2+ signaling activity of the non-reproductive GnRH system in the Ciona larva

Tunicate larvae have a non-reproductive GnRH system with multiple ligands and receptor heterodimerization enabling complex regulation. In the Ciona larva, one of the gnrh genes, gnrh2, is conspicuously expressed in the motor ganglion and nerve cord, which are homologous structures to the hindbrain and spinal cord, respectively, of vertebrates. The gnrh2 gene is also expressed in the proto-placodal sensory neurons, which are the proposed homologue of vertebrate olfactory neurons. The tunicate larvae occupy a non-reproductive dispersal stage, yet the roles of their GnRH system remain elusive. In this study, we investigated neuronal types of gnrh2-expressing cells in the Ciona larva and visualized activity of these cells by fluorescence imaging using a calcium sensor protein. Some cholinergic neurons as well as dopaminergic cells express gnrh2, suggesting that a role of GnRH in the control of swimming behavior. By contrast, none of the gnrh2-expressing cells overlap with glycinergic or GABAergic neurons. A role in the motor control is also suggested by correlation between activity of some gnrh2-expressing cells and tail movements. Interestingly, gnrh2-positive ependymal cells in the nerve cord, known as a kind of glia cells, actively produced Ca2+ transients, suggesting that neuroendocrine signaling occurs in glia cells of the nerve cord.
A COMPARATIVE IN VIVO STUDY OF ANTIDIABETIC POTENTIALITY AND EVALUATION OF SAFETY PROFILE OF GYNURA PROCUMBENS, TERMINALIA CHEBULA AND FICUS RACEMOSA ON ALLOXAN - INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

Zahirul Islam, Md. Naeem Hossain Rony, Farhana Farin, Amatun Noor Prapty, Md. Mehedi Hasan Khandoker, Sanjida Jannath, Tahmina Sharif Nila, Jannatul Nayeem and Fatema-Tuz-Zohra 1. Department of Pharmacy, University of Asia Pacific, Farmgate, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2. BRAC University, 66 Mohakhali, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh. 3. Department of Pharmacy, East West University, Aftabnagar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 4. National Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Manuscript Info Abstract . Manuscript History Received: 12 September 2019 Final Accepted: 14 October 2019 Published: November 2019
Injury risk and patterns in newly transferred football players: a case study of 8 seasons from a professional football club

ABSTRACT This case study investigated injury risk and patterns in players newly transferred to a professional football club. Time-loss injuries were recorded prospectively over 8 seasons (2008–2015). Injury incidence overall, in match and training, and patterns (contact, non-contact, sprain, strain, overuse and re-injury) were compared in transferred players (n = 25) across their first versus second seasons and with those in players currently at the club at the moment of the transfer (n = 55 individual players, 134 in total). Incidence rate ratios [IRR] in transferred players in their first versus second competitive season ranged from a 0.9 lower risk in training to a 1.5 higher risk of sustaining a contact injury (respective P values: 0.74, 0.19, inferences: unclear, likely harmful) in the first season. IRR for transferred players in their first and second seasons compared to rates in the same seasons in current players ranged from a 0.5 lower risk of incurring an overuse injury to a 1.1 higher risk of match injury (respective P values: 0.18, 0.89, inferences: unclear, possibly harmful), both occurring in season 1. For the between season and group comparisons, effect sizes regarding mean injury layoff time and matches missed ranged from trivial to small (0.03–0.22). Although limited to one club, these findings are positive as generally there was no meaningful increase in injury risk or burden in newly transferred players. Potential explanations include systematic pre-participation screening and injury prevention protocols and player rotation strategies in place at the club.
The discontinuous Galerkin method for discretely observed Asian options

Asian options represent an important subclass of the path‐dependent contracts that are identified by payoff depending on the average of the underlying asset prices over the prespecified period of option lifetime. Commonly, this average is observed at discrete dates, and also, early exercise features can be admitted. As a result, analytical pricing formulae are not always available. Therefore, some form of a numerical approximation is essential for efficient option valuation. In this paper, we study a PDE model for pricing discretely observed arithmetic Asian options with fixed as well as floating strike for both European and American exercise features. The pricing equation for such options is similar to the Black‐Scholes equation with 1 underlying asset, and the corresponding average appears only in the jump conditions across the sampling dates. The objective of the paper is to present the comprehensive methodological concept that forms and improves the valuation process. We employ a robust numerical procedure based on the discontinuous Galerkin approach arising from the piecewise polynomial generally discontinuous approximations. This technique enables a simple treatment of discrete sampling by incorporation of jump conditions at each monitoring date. Moreover, an American early exercise constraint is directly handled as an additional nonlinear source term in the pricing equation. The proposed solving procedure is accompanied by an empirical study with practical results compared to reference values.