Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Growth performance, gut health, carcass yield traits and profitability of broiler chicken raised on compound diet supplemented with probiotics

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of probiotic on growth performance, gut health, viability, carcass yield traits and cost benefit analyses etc., of broiler chicken from d1-28 days. A total of 192 day-old broiler chicks (Ross 308) was assigned into four dietary treatment groups, i.e. D1 (Control), D2 (Poultry Starsol), D3 (Avilac plus) and D4 (Avibac), and each treatment replicated six times with eight birds per replicate in a completely randomized design. The chicks were raised in battery cages all the trial period. Ready-made starter diet (crumble) was fed the chicks up to 14 days, after that, grower (pellet) diet fed the broiler from d15 to 28 days. The water treated with probiotics at the rate of 1.0 g L-1 (Poultry Starsol), 1.0 ml L-1 (Avilac plus) and 1.0 g L-1 (Avibac) in D2, D3 and D4 treatment groups, respectively, and supplied the birds ad libitum entire the trial period. Data on feed intake (FI), body weight gain (BWG), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and livability (%) were collected. Apart from this, caecal digesta sample was taken on 28 days to determine the gut microflora population, i.e. total viable count (TVC) and total lactobacilli count (TLC) of broilers. Carcass characteristics (dressing %, blood weight, drumstick weight, thigh weight, breast weight %) and cost benefit were also calculated on the last day of trial period to assess the different meat cuts and the profitability of broiler. The data revealed that FI, viability (%), TVC and TLC of broilers had no difference (P>0.05) between treatment on 28d. Except for first week, BWG was improved significantly (P<0.05) in the birds fed probiotics during d1-21 and d1-28, respectively. Superior FCR values (1.30, 1.34) were observed in the broilers of probiotics supplemented groups from d1-28 days of age. The results of carcass traits were influenced significantly (P<0.05) by dietary treatment. The percentage of breast weight, thigh weight, dressing yield, drumstick weight and blood weight was increased (P<0.05) in the supplemental group compared to control. Higher (P<0.01) net profit was observed in the birds of probiotics supplemented group than that of control group. It can be concluded that broiler responded positively as a result of probiotics supplementation in water, and can be raised profitably under farming condition with low cost. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 10(1): 28-34, June 2020
On the optimal design of metabolic RNA labeling experiments

Massively parallel RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) in combination with metabolic labeling has become the de facto standard approach to study alterations in RNA transcription, processing or decay. Regardless of advances in the experimental protocols and techniques, every experimentalist needs to specify the key aspects of experimental design: For example, which protocol should be used (biochemical separation vs. nucleotide conversion) and what is the optimal labeling time? In this work, we provide approximate answers to these questions using asymptotic theory of optimal design. Specifically, we derive the optimal labeling time for any given degradation rate and show that sub-optimal time points yield better rate estimates if they precede the optimal time point. Subsequently, we show that an increase in sample numbers should be preferred over an increase in sequencing depth. Lastly, we provide some guidance on use cases when laborious biochemical separation outcompetes recent nucleotide conversion based methods (such as SLAMseq).
Corporate Entrepreneurship, HRM Practices and Firm Performance

AIn modern business dynamics, firm growth and sustainability significantly depends on corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and entrepreneurship (E) practices. Because of their significance, we have examined the direct and indirect effect of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and entrepreneurship (E) on firm performance (FP) in SMEs of Nigeria. We have used a sample of 387 for collecting the data non-randomly. The tool we used for collecting the data was a close-ended questionnaire, which we adapted from earlier studies. The authors have used Smart PLS for statistical analysis. We found that corporate entrepreneurship (CE), entrepreneurship (E), and human resource management (HRM) affects firm performance (FP). We also found that HRM practices also have a significant link with corporate entrepreneurship (CE), entrepreneurship (E), and firm performance (FP). The results also suggest that entrepreneurship (E) and corporate entrepreneurship (CE) mediates HRM practices and firm performance (FP). The above findings were consistent with the view that HRM practices are an essential component of an organization. HRM activities besides conventional functions also promote entrepreneurial (E) behaviour and organizational outcomes. Thus, the HRM department must continuously revisit the policies and procedures to ensure that they are aligned with the changing environment. Entrepreneurial (E) and corporate entrepreneurial (E) orientation support an environment that encourages employees to participate in decision making, which enhances employees’ sense of belonging and promote a positive attitude towards work.Keywords: Corporate entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, practices, firm performance, Nigeria
Shared Perceptions of Supervisor Support: What Processes Make Supervisors and Employees See Eye to Eye?

This paper aims to find out what processes contribute to horizontal (between employees) and vertical (between employees and their supervisor) shared perceptions of supervisor support by public frontline supervisors. Informed by a multilevel qualitative study among supervisors and teachers in public secondary schools, we develop theoretical propositions regarding these processes. We propose that employees’ expectations based on experiences with previous supervisors can decrease horizontal shared perceptions. Subsequently, a contingent or consistent approach to supporting employees contribute to the development of horizontal and vertical shared perceptions, depending on the legitimacy attributed by employees to the reason behind this approach. Over time, supervisor support experienced by employees at meaningful work-life events contributes to the emergence of horizontal and vertical shared perceptions. This research shows that instead of merely looking for correlates of shared perceptions, scrutinizing the processes that contribute to horizontal and vertical shared perceptions increases our understanding of this complex phenomenon.
Genetic divergence studies through microsatellite markers in pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp.]

The Genetic diversity was assessed among 96 pigeonpea accessions including 15 male sterile, 13 maintainer and 68 germplasm lines using 44 Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) markers distributed over all the 11 chromosomes. Out of 44 SSR markers, 33 were polymorphic which showed 75% polymorphism among the used markers. For an individual primer, the alleles amplified varied from 2 to 4 with an average of 2.54. The Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) values ranged from 0.26 (CCM 0183) to 0.78 (CCM 0402 and CCM 0721). Based on 112 alleles amplified by SSR markers, the 96 genotypes were alienated into eight clusters. Cluster I and cluster VII were the largest with 22 genotypes each, cluster III and cluster IV were the smallest with two genotypes each, while cluster II, cluster V, cluster VI and cluster VIII consisted of 10, 15, 14 and 9 genotypes, respectively. Genotypes Pusa 991 and ULA 11 were found to be the most distant genotypes with highest dissimilarity coefficient (32%) where as AL 112A and AL 113A were the least distant genotypes with lowest dissimilarity coefficient (2%). Thus, highly distant genotypes can be used in pigeonpea improvement programs for getting desirable segregants. The selected panel of polymorphic SSR markers performed well in detection of genetic diversity patterns and can be used for future germplasm characterization studies in pigeonpea.
Human Facial Feature Matching based on Motion-Smoothness Constraint

Face recognition is a practical and important problem. In our life, face recognition problems exist everywhere. How to identify the face in the image accurately and quickly is an important and urgent topic. In this paper, an efficient and accurate face recognition method based on keypoints feature matching is proposed to extract the keypoints features of the face image, and then the nearest neighbor method is used to obtain a large number of keypoints rough matching. Then the correct matching of the keypoints is determined by the motion smoothness constraint of the original keypoints matching. Finally, the matching of the face is determined according to the number of keypoints matching between the two input face images. Some experiments show that this method is suitable for face recognition with expression change and pose change.
Analysis of a novel six-degree of freedom foldable parallel mechanism with optimized under-balance springs

The capacities of parallel mechanisms are limited by their height for the narrow space applications, such as the shipboard stability platforms, household simulators, aerospace mechanisms, etc. This paper proposes a novel foldable six-DOF parallel manipulator which has three main limbs with each actuated by two actuators. With the ability to fold in the vertical direction, this mechanism can be deployed from a height of about 0.278 m to 2.218 m, and the required driving stroke is only 0.67 m by the analysis results of the workspaces. However, this stroke enlargement leads to large driving forces. In order to improve the capacity for the heavy loading of this foldable mechanism, each leg is assisted by a balance spring. Static and dynamics models are built for the calculation of the driving forces and constraint forces. Two methods to calculate the optimal balance force for objective driving force are also proposed and based on the designed trace in the workspace, the springs’ linear stiffness is optimized. The simulation results demonstrate that the actuators’ driving forces are much reduced, and the homogeneity between the fully folded and deployed configuration is much improved by adding balance springs.
Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates fear to unpredictable threat signals

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) has been implicated in conditioned fear and anxiety, but the specific factors that engage the BNST in defensive behaviors are unclear. Here we examined whether the BNST mediates freezing to conditioned stimuli (CSs) that poorly predict the onset of aversive unconditioned stimuli (USs) in rats. Reversible inactivation of the BNST selectively reduced freezing to CSs that poorly signaled US onset (e.g., a backward CS that followed the US), but did not eliminate freezing to forward CSs even when they predicted USs of variable intensity. Additionally, backward (but not forward) CSs selectively increased Fos in the ventral BNST and in BNST-projecting neurons in the infralimbic region of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), but not in the hippocampus or amygdala. These data reveal that BNST circuits regulate fear to unpredictable threats, which may be critical to the etiology and expression of anxiety. IMPACT STATEMENT The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is required for the expression of defensive behavior to unpredictable threats, a function that may be central to pathological anxiety.
Sexual Traits Are Not Markedly Vestigialized in Asexual Populations of Decodon verticillatus (Lythraceae)

Premise of research. Transitions from sexual to asexual reproduction are predicted to be accompanied by the reduction and developmental disintegration of sexual traits that no longer maintain fitness. While such transitions are common in plants, the evolutionary fate of sexual traits in derived asexual populations remains largely unknown, especially in species where the loss of sex is not confounded with a change in ploidy. In the tristylous wetland plant Decodon verticillatus, populations polymorphic for style length are sexual, while monomorphic populations are typically asexual under field conditions. Methodology. We compared ploidy, per-ramet flower production, flower size, and floral developmental stability between 22 monomorphic asexual populations and 26 polymorphic sexual populations distributed across the northern half of the species range in the Great Lakes region of North America. Pivotal results. Flow cytometry revealed that all populations were diploid—except for one monomorphic population that exhibited nuclear DNA content consistent with triploidy, which is known to cause sexual sterility. After accounting for the potential effects of temperature during flowering on floral development, we found that ramets in asexual populations produced ~50% (although not quite significantly) fewer flowers than those in sexual populations. Flowers varied widely in size among populations but were not smaller in asexual populations. Developmental stability of flowers was not lower in asexual populations than in sexual populations, although among monomorphic populations stability was lowest in populations for which confidence in exclusive asexuality was highest. Conclusions. Sex has been lost repeatedly across the northern range edge of D. verticillatus via at least two genetic pathways. Yet investment in and developmental stability of sexual traits is not consistently, and rarely significantly, reduced. The observation that no asexual genotype of D. verticillatus is widespread suggests that asexual populations do not persist long—perhaps only long enough to exhibit the very first stages of sexual vestigialization.
The comparison of three media on the in vitro maturation rate of pig oocytes

In vitro embryo production in pigs remains a challenging obstacle, given the high rate of polyspermy following in vitro fertilization. Improving the efficiency of successful in vitro maturation, which leads to sequential in vitro fertilization and culture, augments the need for modern biotechnologies in pig farming systems, and subsequently conserves germplasm, that is, embryos to be used in future breeding programs. Thus, in this study the effects were compared of North Carolina State University-23 (NCSU-23), North Carolina State University-37 (NCSU-37), and epidermal growth factor (EGF/TCM-199) media on pig oocyte maturation rate and subsequent polar body formations in vitro . Ovaries were collected from a local abattoir in a controlled temperature of 39 °C. The oocytes were aspirated with an 18-gauge needle. Oocytes surrounded by a uniform complex-cumulus mass were selected. A total of 284 oocytes were allocated to the study, and were incubated with 5% CO 2 at 39 °C for 48 hours. In vitro maturation rate was observed by checking the presence of expanded cumulus-oocyte complex (COC) and polar body formations under a light microscope. The maturation rate and polar body formations were significantly higher in NCSU-37 with 85.9% and 81.9%, respectively. However, there were no significant differences in EGF and NCSU-23 media as 77.1%; 72.5% and 77.1%; 72.7% were obtained for maturation rate and polar body formations, respectively. In conclusion, EGF and NCSU-23 had lower rates of maturation and meiotic development owing to their dissimilarities in composition. However, NSCU-37 rendered the highest results because the composition of the media contained beneficial constituents, that is, gonadotropins. New assisted reproductive programs may be important for commercial pig farming systems, as this may facilitate innovative ways of production. Keywords : Embryo production, genetic resources, pig production, reproductive biotechnology
Regulation of mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) gene expression in cereals by copper and manganese excess

Within many different cytotoxic activities of heavy metals in plant cells, one of the most important is connected with reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Mechanism of plant cell defense against reactive oxygen species and free radicals has a comprehensive character. The aim of presented paper is characterization of changes in mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) gene transcript level that occurred in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seedlings during copper and manganese treatment. Our results show down-regulation of MnSOD expression in most cases after the oxidative burst evoked by copper excess. Manganese treatment, on the other hand, caused differential reaction of tested material indicating the substantial impact of cultivar genetic background in molecular response to the same stress-inducing conditions.
MET-2, a SETDB1 family methyltransferase, coordinates embryo events through distinct histone H3 methylation states

During the first hours of embryogenesis, formation of higher-order heterochromatin coincides with the loss of developmental potential. Here we examine the relationship between these two processes, and we probe the determinants that contribute to their onset. Mutations that disrupt histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methyltransferases reveal that the methyltransferase MET-2 helps terminate developmental plasticity, likely through mono- and di- methylation of H3K9 (me1/me2), and promotes heterochromatin formation, likely through H3K9me3. We examine how MET-2 is regulated and find that methylated H3K9 appears gradually and depends on the accumulated time of embryogenesis. H3K9me is independent of zygotic genome activation or cell counting. These data reveal how central events are synchronized during embryogenesis and distinguish distinct roles for different H3K9 methylation states. Summary Statement During early embryogenesis, heterochromatin formation and loss of developmental plasticity are coordinately regulated by distinct Histone H3 Lysine 9 (H3K9) methylation states, by the methyltransferase MET-2.
Cooperation Enhances Robustness of Coexistence in Spatially Structured Consortia

Designing synthetic microbial consortia is an emerging area in synthetic biology and a major goal is to realize stable and robust coexistence of multiple species. Co-operation and competition are fundamental intra/interspecies interactions that shape population level behaviors, yet it is not well-understood how these interactions affect the stability and robustness of coexistence. In this paper, we show that communities with cooperative interactions are more robust to population disturbance, e.g., depletion by antibiotics, by forming intermixed spatial patterns. Meanwhile, competition leads to population spatial heterogeneity and more fragile coexistence in communities. Using reaction-diffusion and nonlocal PDE models and simulations of a two-species E. coli consortium, we demonstrate that cooperation is more beneficial than competition in maintaining coexistence in spatially structured consortia, but not in well-mixed environments. This also suggests a trade-off between constructing heterogeneous communities with localized functions and maintaining robust coexistence. The results provide general strategies for engineering spatially structured consortia by designing interspecies interactions and suggest the importance of cooperation for biodiversity in microbial community.
The Effect of Foot Reflexology on Fatigue, Sleep Quality and Anxiety in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Fatigue, sleep disorders, and anxiety are common symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. MS reduced the quality of life by these symptoms in patients. Studies have shown that foot reflexology may reduce some problems of this disease. Objectives: The present randomized controlled trial study investigated the effect of reflexology on fatigue, sleep quality, and anxiety in patients with multiple sclerosis. Methods: This study included 63 patients with MS referred to Arak MS society in 2018 - 2019. Reflexology and placebo intervention had applied twice a week for 4 weeks, and each session lasted about 30 - 40 minutes. Fatigue Impact scale (FIS), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) was used for data collection before and after the intervention. A significant statistical level was considered 0.05. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software (V. 16.0). Results: Significant improvement was observed in physical fatigue (P = 0.042), sleep quality (P = 0.001) and anxiety (P = 0.034) in the reflexology group after the intervention. Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS) revealed a decrease in fatigue level in MS patients, but these alterations were not significant (P = 0.134). Conclusions: Reflexology is a non-invasive, simple, affordable, and low-cost nursing intervention that can be helpful in reducing physical fatigue, anxiety, and improving sleep quality of people with MS.
Multiple hypothesis testing and RNA-seq differential expression analysis accounting for dependence and relevant covariates

This dissertation is a collection of four papers on the development of statistical methods for the analysis of high-dimensional data, mostly RNA-seq gene expression data. We introduce in the first two papers two covariate-selection strategies for RNA-seq analysis. As in any experiment or observational study, covariates may hold information about heterogeneity of the experimental or observational units used in the investigation. Either ignoring relevant covariates or accounting for irrelevant covariates may be detrimental to RNA-seq analysis. We show through simulation that our methods outperform methods that do not take covariate selection into account. Next, we develop in the third paper a parametric bootstrap algorithm to analyze RNA-seq datasets from repeated measures designs. In such designs, RNA samples are extracted from each experimental unit at multiple time points. The read counts that result from RNA sequencing of the samples extracted from the same experimental unit tend to be temporally correlated. Simulation studies show the advantages of our method over alternatives that do not account for correlation among observations within experimental units. Finally, we develop a new method to estimate and control false discovery rate (FDR) when identifying simultaneous signals in two independent experiments. Our FDR estimation and control procedure is a generalization of the histogram-based FDR estimation and control procedure for one experiment proposed by Nettleton et al. (2006); Liang and Nettleton (2012). We show that our method performs better than other existing methods both in theory and in simulation.
Recording of Procamallanus (Procamallanus) annulatus and Procamallanus (Procamallanus) elatensis from Red Sea Fishes in Egypt

In Egypt, parasitic diseases represent about 80% of fish diseases; many of which can be of importance for fish eating animals, birds and humans (Eissa, 2006). Nematodes are usually considered the most economically important helminth parasites of fishes in the world due to nematodes are motile than other helminthes and therefore one could anticipate more exports on their effects on fish health (Woo, 1995). Nematodes of the ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article History: Received: June 1, 2020 Accepted: June 27, 2020 Online: June 29, 2020 _______________
Analysis of the Results of Heel-Rise Test with Sensors: A Systematic Review

Strokes are a constant concern for people and pose a major health concern. Tests that allow detection and the rehabilitation of patients have started to become more important and essential. There are several tests used by physiotherapists to speed up the recovery process of patients. This article presents a systematic review of existing studies using the Heel-Rise Test and sensors (i.e., accelerometers, gyroscopes, pressure and tilt sensors) to estimate the different levels and health statuses of individuals. It was found that the most measured parameter was related to the number of repetitions, and the maximum number of repetitions for a healthy adult is 25 repetitions. As for future work, the implementation of these methods with a simple mobile device will facilitate the different measurements on this subject.