Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Botanicals: a natural approach to control ascaridiosis in poultry

Τα παράσιτα (πρωτόζωα, έλμινθeς, αρθρόποδα) αποτeλούν σημαντική απeιλή για τα πτηνά παγκοσμίως. Μeταξύ των eλμίνθων, τα νηματώδη συνιστούν τη σπουδαιότeρη ομάδα παρασίτων των πτηνών. Το νηματώδeς Ascaridia galli , αίτιο της ασκαριδίωσης των πτηνών, eίναι ένα από τα πλέον σημαντικά και συχνά παράσιτα, προκαλώντας σοβαρές οικονομικές απώλeιeς, που συνδέονται μe το κόστος θeραπeίας, τη μeιωμένη αξιοποίηση της τροφής και τη μeίωση της παραγωγής αυγών και κρέατος. Κατά τη διάρκeια των τeλeυταίων δeκαeτιών, η αλόγιστη χρήση ανθeλμινθικών φαρμάκων οδήγησe στην ανάπτυξη ανθeκτικότητας σe κάποια ανθeλμινθικά που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν σe πτηνά, γeγονός που σχeτίζeται μe την παρουσία καταλοίπων στα προϊόντα των πτηνών. Για το λόγο αυτό, τα τeλeυταία χρόνια το eνδιαφέρον των eρeυνητών έχeι στραφeί στη χρήση φυτοβιοτικών στη διατροφή των πτηνών eξαιτίας των ανθeλμινθικών ιδιοτήτων τους. Eπιπλέον, η χρήση αυτών των φυτικής προέλeυσης ουσιών σeσύγκριση μe τα συμβατικά συνθeτικά ανθeλμινθικά φάρμακα θeωρeίται ως μια φυσική και φιλική προς το πeριβάλλον προσέγγιση από τους καταναλωτές. Σκοπός της παρούσας ανασκόπησης eίναι η παράθeση των eρeυνών, τόσο in vivo όσο και in vitro , που παρουσιάζουν την ανθeλμινθική αποτeλeσματικότητα διαφόρων φυτοβιοτικών στον έλeγχο της ασκαριδίωσης των πτηνών.
Teaching physics online through spreadsheets in a pandemic situation

Teaching physics with simulations is an interactive way of teaching physics to students. In recent years, many scientists have used spreadsheets for simulating topics in physics and other fields. Excel is a piece of user-friendly spreadsheet software. In this lockdown situation, spreadsheets are good tools to teach physics experiments online through simulation. In this paper, we present two examples which are simulated on an Excel spreadsheet. The examples include simulations of image formations by spherical mirrors with a ray diagram and a demonstration of Malus’ law.
Effect of Cymbopogon Citratus (DC.) Stapf., Plectra Thus Amboinicus (Lour.), TiliaCordata (Mill.), Lippia Alba (Mill.) and Ocimun Bacilicum (L.),To Control Escherichia Coli in Broiler Chickens

This study was conducted at both field and laboratory at the College of Agricultural Sciences at the Technical University of Machala (Ecuador). The objective was to demonstrate the effect of the infusions of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf. , Plectra thus amboinicus (Lour.), Tilia cordata (Mill.), in the drinking water of broiler chickens Cobb 500, as well as pure leaf extract of Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.), Lippia alba (Mill.) and Ocimun bacilicum (L.), for the control of E. coli. In base of the results it can be concluded there is an effect on the inoculated E. coli when the infusions were offered to broiler chickens, and that the extracts used in this research were efficient at laboratory level to inhibit bacterial growth in a selective growth medium.
Kinetochore recruitment of CENP-F illustrates how paralog divergence shapes kinetochore composition and function

The metazoan proteins CENP-E and CENP-F are components of a fibrous layer of mitotic kinetochores named the corona. Several features suggest that CENP-E and CENP-F are paralogs: they are very large (approximately 2700 and 3200 residues, respectively), rich in predicted coiled-coil structure, C-terminally prenylated, and endowed with microtubule-binding sites at their termini. In addition, CENP-E contains an ATP-hydrolyzing motor domain that promotes microtubule plus-end directed motion. Here, we show that CENP-E and CENP- F are recruited to mitotic kinetochores independently of the Rod-Zwilch-ZW10 (RZZ) complex, the main corona constituent. We identify selective interactions of CENP-E and CENP-F respectively with BubR1 and Bub1, paralogous proteins involved in mitotic checkpoint control and chromosome alignment. While BubR1 is dispensable for kinetochore localization of CENP-E, Bub1 is stringently required for CENP-F localization. Through biochemical reconstitution, we demonstrate that the CENP-E:BubR1 and CENP-F:Bub1 interactions are direct and require similar determinants, a dimeric coiled-coil in CENP-E or CENP-F and a kinase domain in BubR1 or Bub1. Our findings are consistent with the existence of ‘pseudo-symmetric’, paralogous Bub1:CENP-F and BubR1:CENP-E axes, supporting evolutionary relatedness of CENP-E and CENP-F.
What sources of finance constrain Vietnamese listed firms?

This study is to investigate the sources of finance imposing the constraints on Vietnamese listed firms, after the introduction and rapid growth of the equity markets and the privatization wave that started since 1992. Using accounting data of listed firms on the Vietnamese stock markets, we find that listed firms are financially constrained with respect to both external funding sources, equity and long-term debt finance. Particularly, state-owned firms do exhibit higher sensitivity coefficients of equity than private firms, albeit with a non-statistically significant difference. For bank loan financing, we notice that large (HOSE listed) state-owned firms show a sensitivity that is three times the sensitivity of the private firms. The smaller HNX listed firms, however, show the reverse result, the private firms have a sensitivity coefficient that is twice as large as the one for the state-owned firms.
Surface water quality and health risk assessment of Kameng river (Assam, India)

Present study evaluated the surface water quality of Kameng River (Assam, India). Kameng River is the tributary of the river Brahmaputra, having its confluence at its north bank. Water samples were collected from 9 different locations along the stretch and 24 parameters were analysed. Water quality at all sampling sites was expressed in terms of overall index of pollution (OIP). The OIP of all sampling sites varied between 1.30 and 1.74. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify the latent factors influencing the water quality of the river. PCA revealed that domestic wastewater and agricultural runoff were the leading sources causing adulteration of the river’s water quality. The degree of contamination of each sampling site due to heavy metals was calculated by the contamination index and an associated human health risk assessment was done by computing average daily intake and Hazard quotient (HQ). The HQ of all sampling sites varied from 0.14 to 1.21. This work presents the reliability and practicability of the integrated use of these approaches in river water quality monitoring and assessment. These methods will be very useful for policy makers for assessing the cause and effect of pollution of water bodies and implementing policies to keep pollution under check.
Isolation Improvement in UWB-MIMO Antenna System Using Slotted Stub

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) scheme refers to the technology where more than one antenna is used for transmitting and receiving the information packets. It enhances the channel capacity without more power. The available space in the modern compact devices is limited and MIMO antenna elements need to be placed closely. The closely spaced antennas undergo an undesirable coupling, which deteriorates the antenna parameters. In this paper, an ultra wide-band (UWB) MIMO antenna system with an improved isolation is presented. The system has a wide bandwidth range from 2–13.7 GHz. The antenna elements are closely placed with an edge to edge distance of 3 mm. In addition to the UWB attribute of the system, the mutual coupling between the antennas is reduced by using slotted stub. The isolation is improved and is below −20 dB within the whole operating range. By introducing the decoupling network, the key performance parameters of the antenna are not affected. The system is designed on an inexpensive and easily available FR-4 substrate. To better understand the working of the proposed system, the equivalent circuit model is also presented. To model the proposed system accurately, different radiating modes and inter-mode coupling is considered and modeled. The EM model, circuit model, and the measured results are in good agreement. Different key performance parameters of the system and the antenna element such as envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), diversity gain, channel capcity loss (CCL) gain, radiation patterns, surface currents, and scattering parameters are presented. State-of-the-art comparison with the recent literature shows that the proposed antenna has minimal dimensions, a large bandwidth, an adequate gain value and a high isolation. It is worth noticeable that the proposed antenna has high isolation even the patches has low edge-to-edge gap (3 mm). Based on its good performance and compact dimensions, the proposed antenna is a suitable choice for high throughput compact UWB transceivers.
Chatter Stability of Machining Operations

This paper reviews the dynamics of machining and chatter stability research since the first stability laws were introduced by Tlusty and Tobias in the 1950s. The paper aims to introduce the fundamentals of dynamic machining and chatter stability, as well as the state of the art and research challenges, to readers who are new to the area. First, the unified dynamic models of mode coupling and regenerative chatter are introduced. The chatter stability laws in both the frequency and time domains are presented. The dynamic models of intermittent cutting, such as milling, are presented and their stability solutions are derived by considering the time-periodic behavior. The complexities contributed by highly intermittent cutting, which leads to additional stability pockets, and the contribution of the tool’s flank face to process damping are explained. The stability of parallel machining operations is explained. The design of variable pitch and serrated cutting tools to suppress chatter is presented. The paper concludes with current challenges in chatter stability of machining which remains to be the main obstacle in increasing the productivity and quality of manufactured parts. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4047391]
Predatory pelagic fishes of the Bijagós Archipelago (Guinea-Bissau) show high overlap in diets dominated by sardinella

Knowledge of trophic interactions between the key components of marine communities is required to understand food-web dynamics and develop ecosystem-based management approaches. In West Africa, where fisheries sustain the livelihoods of a significant part of the human population, this understanding is even more urgent, especially in the face of rapidly expanding fisheries and some stock collapses in the region. We studied the feeding ecology of the Crevalle jack Caranx hippos, West African Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus tritor and Guinean barracuda Sphyraena afra in the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau. These are the most abundant pelagic predatory teleost fishes in the area, but little is known about their ecology despite being species with commercial and recreational value, and they likely also play an important role in various African coastal ecosystems. Our findings show a high degree of dietary overlap among these three predator species, despite some degree of segregation by prey size and type. All three predators depend on Sardinella maderensis as the most important prey, which together with other members of the Clupeidae represented 47–96% of the ingested prey items. There was little difference in the diets of the predators between the dry and rainy seasons. These novel findings suggest a ‘wasp-waist’-structured ecosystem in the Bijagós Archipelago in which S. maderensis is the central small-sized pelagic fish species, and stress the need for an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management in the region, with precautionary measures taken to avoid the overexploitation of clupeids.
Evaluation of maize breeding populations for resistance to Fusarium verticillioides and fumonisin contamination

80 INTRODUCTION . 81 MATERIALS AND METHODS . 83 Planting material and field sites . 83 Inoculum preparation . 83 Inoculation of maize ears and disease assessment . 84 DNA extractions and Quantification of F. verticillioides target DNA in maize grain . 84 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za
Cost of Equity of Coal-Fired Power Generation Projects in Poland: Its Importance for the Management of Decision-Making Process

Our knowledge of discount rates plays an important role both in the discounted cash flow decision-making process and in the later phases of a project’s lifetime. It is useful than both for management and cash-flow monitoring purposes at operating stages. Investors putting money into power generation projects expect an appropriate rate of return to compensate them for a minimum acceptable real return available in the market (risk-free rate of interest) and the project’s specific risk. Due to its essential nature in the financial and economic evaluation of projects (it is the only parameter that reflects the risk), it is reasonable to assume that investors would also be interested in constituent components of that indicator. The discount rate is one parameter in the discounted cash flow analysis that takes into account the risk of a venture. Further, the previous research in this area has focused mainly on the dimension of this variable, and the structure of this parameter has not been dealt with any other studies. The proposed idea of this study met the expectations of the industry—it aimed to present a typical project implemented in the energy industry, a relatively simple methodology that allowed estimating the components within the cost of equity capital of the enterprise. In the power generation sector, one can find various types of discount rates—assessed for multiple technologies, at different development stages, and expressed differently. Owing to the know-how and decades-long experience, coal-fired power projects’ remarks may be a good benchmark for alternative low carbon technologies. That is why, in this work, a discount rate for valuing investment in new coal-fired power projects was evaluated. This assessment was made on the “bare-bones” assumption, meaning evaluations at 100% equity, after-tax, in constant (real) currency units. The analysis of the discount rate structure was performed by applying the procedure of the classical sensitivity analysis having the accuracy of key input parameters. Finally, the risk factors within the risk-adjusted discount rate were calculated. The obtained results showed the importance of individual risk factors within the risk-adjusted discount rate used in coal energy projects, which would enable a more pragmatic approach to controlling this parameter by decision-makers and understanding the risk.
Demographic analysis of invasible habitat fraction identifies context‐dependent roles of resource availability and biotic resistance in determining invasion success

Theories of plant invasions predict that plant communities should be more easily invaded when resources increase and/or competition decreases. We tested this with an experimentally introduced plant population by manipulating precipitation and resident community biomass. We used a spatially explicit demographic approach to develop a new population‐level metric of invasibility that quantifies the invasible habitat fraction (IHF) across the landscape. The existing community was essentially uninvasible (median IHF ≈ 0%), but experimental manipulations greatly increased the range of outcomes, with maximum observed IHF values over 50%. However, changes in invasibility were often context‐dependent, resulting in some outcomes that aligned with existing theory, and others that were not readily predicted. Moreover, variation in invasibility was often driven by specific sets of invader demographic vital rates. Removing competitors revealed the capacity for strong biotic resistance, but this interacted with precipitation such that little biotic resistance was detected under drought conditions. Adding precipitation typically had little positive effect on invasibility, and moderate drought relief led to relatively high invasibility. However, the latter was driven to a large extent by interactions with mammal herbivory that otherwise inhibited invasion in one year. Synthesis. Our findings show that interactions between abiotic and biotic factors, as well as legacy effects, can strongly mediate invasibility. This study also highlights the importance of incorporating spatial heterogeneity into population‐level assessments of invasion, as initial population declines do not necessarily indicate resistance to invasion.
Is There Evidence for Population Regulation in Amphibians and Reptiles?

Abstract From the 1950s to the present, many researchers have tested time series data for density dependence. All kinds of organisms have been studied, from microorganisms to insects and vertebrates to plants. A variety of techniques and population growth models were developed, and the conceptual framework to study populations has been improved. We searched for long time series data on amphibians and reptiles in the literature. From 102 population time series, and after filtering the dataset, we tested for density dependence in time series data for 69 populations (52 species) of amphibians (anurans and caudatans), serpents, lacertilians, chelonians, rhynchocephalians, and crocodilians. We used the exponential growth state-space model and the Ornstein-Uhlembeck state-space model as proxy models for density-independent and density-dependent population growth models, selecting between them with the parametric bootstrap likelihood ratio test. The hypothesis of density independence was rejected for 2 amphibians, 11 serpents, 3 chelonians, 1 rhynchocephalian, and 2 crocodilian populations. Detailed data for serpents and chelonians allowed identification of external factors such as changing food supplies and habitats as drivers of observed changes in population densities. We highlight the need of both long-term and experimental studies on reptile and amphibian populations in semipristine or preserved areas. Resumen Desde los años 50s hasta nuestros días, diversos investigadores han puesto a prueba denso-dependencia en series temporales de datos. Todo tipo de organismos han sido estudiados, desde microorganismos a insectos, vertebrados y aves. Una variedad de técnicas y de modelos de crecimiento poblacional se han desarrollado, e incluso el marco conceptual de estudios poblacionales fue mejorado. Realizamos búsquedas de datos en series temporales largas para reptiles y anfibios en la literatura. De las 102 poblaciones encontradas y luego de filtrar la base de datos, analizamos 69 poblaciones (52 especies) de anfibios (anura y caudata), serpientes, lagartos, tortugas, tuatara, alligators y caimanes. Utilizamos exponential growth state-space y Ornstein-Uhlembeck state-space como aproximación a los modelos de crecimiento poblacional denso-independiente y denso-dependiente, seleccionando entre ellos por medio del parametric bootstrap likelihood ratio test. La hipótesis de denso-independencia fue rechazada para poblaciones de 2 anfibios, 11 serpientes, 3 tortugas, 1 tuatara, 1 alligator y 1 caimán. Información detallada disponible para las poblaciones de serpientes y tortugas permitieron identificar factores externos (como cambios en el alimento disponible y en el hábitat) como responsables de los cambios observados en las densidades poblacionales. Resaltamos la necesidad tanto de estudios a largo plazo o experimentales, en poblaciones de anfibios y reptiles en áreas semiprístinas o preservadas.
Chemical Cues in Tritrophic Interaction on Biocontrol of Insect Pest

Tritrophic interaction among host plant-herbivore-parasitoid involves chemical cues. The infested plant by herbivores has been reacted to produce volatiles which is a cue used by the herbivore parasitoids for host location. These volatiles can be developed to enhance natural control of insect pests, especially by optimally use of parasitoids. Egg parasitoids are biocontrol agents that play an important role in natural control of herbivores. This research used a tritrophic interaction model of rice plant-brown plant hopper (BPH)-egg parasitoid of BPH. Research on analysis of chemical cues in tritrophic interactions was aimed to identify volatiles that are used by the parasitoid to find its host. The volatiles that effectively affect the parasitoid orientation behavior could be developed into a parasitoid attractant. Extraction of volatiles as the egg parasitoid cues was done using soxhlet, and identification of the volatiles using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Bioassay of the volatiles on the BPH parasitoid orientation behavior was performed using Y-tube olfactometry. The volatiles that are used for host location cues by the parasitoid affect the parasitoid orientation behavior by showing the preference of the parasitoid females to the odor of volatile. Volatiles extracted from BPH-egg-infested plants and uninfested plants contain alcohol, hydrocarbon, and ester compounds. Based on the difference of the compound composition of both extractions, five compounds of long-chain hydrocarbon, both branched and unsaturated compounds are the main volatile components which caused positive orientation behavior of the egg parasitoid. The egg parasitoids showed positive behavior orientation toward the volatiles extracted from BPH-egg-infested plant. Those hydrocarbon compounds are potential materials to be developed into bio attractants of BPH egg parasitoid.
Social media as passive geo-participation in transportation planning – how effective are topic modeling & sentiment analysis in comparison with citizen surveys?

ABSTRACT We live in an era of rapid urbanization as many cities are experiencing an unprecedented rate of population growth and congestion. Public transport is playing an increasingly important role in urban mobility with a need to move people and goods efficiently around the city. With such pressures on existing public transportation systems, this paper investigates the opportunities to use social media to more effectively engage with citizens and customers using such services. This research forms a case study of the use of passively collected forms of big data in cities – focusing on Sydney, Australia. Firstly, it examines social media data (Tweets) related to public transport performance. Secondly, it joins this to longitudinal big data – delay information continuously broadcast by the network over a year, thus forming hundreds of millions of data artifacts. Topics, tones, and sentiment are modeled using machine learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques. These resulting data, and models, are compared to opinions derived from a citizen survey among users. The validity of such data and models versus the intentions of users, in the context of systems that monitor and improve transport performance, are discussed. As such, key recommendations for developing Smart Cities were formed in an applied research context based on these data and techniques.
Effect of addition of exogenous enzymes in hypocaloric diet in broiler chicken on performance, biochemical parameters and meat characteristics.

: In developing countries, broiler farmers often use imbalanced energy diets, hence our study aims to evaluate the combined effect of addition of commercial exogenous enzymes (CEE), in low energy level corn/soybean meal based-diet on performance, serum biochemical parameters, meat characteristics in male and female of broiler chickens. A total of 120 one day old Hubbard F15 broiler chickens were divided on 2 groups (60 animals/group) with 5 replicates/group. The control group received a standard diet, while CEE group received the same diet supplemented with enzymes (250 g/ton). A ddition of enzymes reduced significantly feed (p<0.001) and water intakes (p<0.05); in meantime, feed conversion ratio tended to be lower (p=0.08). No changes were observed in pH, protein or moisture contents of