Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the hypocholesterolemic effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus fermented maize meal (ogi) in rats

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) consist of micro‐organisms important in food fermentation. In Nigeria, LAB is involved in the fermentation of two main substrates: cassava and cereals. Cereals are fermented into ogi, burukutu and pito (indigenous beer) and kunu (a beverage). However, Lactobacillus acidophilus, a gut inhabiting LAB has not been isolated as natural micro flora in any of the food items. The importance of Lact acidophilus as probiotic has been well documented. Thus in the present work, we have tested strains of Lact acidophilus in the fermentation of ogi, a popular fermented maize meal eaten as breakfast cereal in Nigeria to serve as a medium of delivery of Lact acidophilus. Results showed that there was no significant difference (P < 0.05) in the pH, total titratable acidity, total reducing sugars, color, flavor, taste and overall acceptability of the Lact acidophilus fermented ogi compared to the traditional ogi. The Lact. acidophilus fermented maize mash (ogi) as well as the traditional ogi were used in compounding high cholesterol diets and tested for hypocholesterolemic effect in rats against a control diet containing unfermented maize meal. The results revealed significant differences (P < 0.05) in total cholesterol values, 3.56 ± 0.32mmolL−1, 5.32 ± 0.21mmolL−1 and 6.30 ± 0.32mmolL−1 for the diets containing Lact acidophilus fermented ogi, the traditional ogi and unfermented maize meal respectively. We concluded that Lact acidophilus was suitable as starter culture for the production of indigenous maize based fermented food products which might serve as medium for the delivery of Lact. acidophilus as probiotic for hypocholesterolemic effect.
PLANT RECOGNITION SYSTEM USING LEAF SHAPE FEATURES AND MINIMUM EUCLIDEAN DISTANCE

The study presents a plant recognition system that uses image and data processing techniques for recognition. A lot of research has been going on to identify plants by their leaves and one of the features that is used is the shape of the leaf but the accuracy is not high and therefore other features should also be considered to increase the accuracy. This system designed has three main steps which are image pre-processing, feature extraction and matching. Image pre-processing performs basic operations on the leaf image for segmentation which helps in making feature extraction easy. Seven (7) leaf features derived from geometric parameters of leaf shape were extracted from the pre-processed image and the simple principle of minimum Euclidean distance was used for finding the closest match to the input leaf image. The system used 10 species of leaves with a total of 50 leaf images from the flavia dataset for testing and obtained an accuracy above 90%. The algorithm is accurate and is easy to implement. However, it is slow and not tested on a large dataset. It is hoped that this proposed system will be exploited further and the speed will be improved and will also be able to give more information on the plant.
EKSTRAK METANOL DAUN KERSEN (Muntingia calabura L) SEBAGAI ANTIMIKROBA ALAMI TERHADAP BAKTERI Staphylococcus aureus PENYEBAB MASTITIS SUBKLINIS PADA SAPI PERAH

This research was conducted in the laboratory of Bacteriology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Brawijaya Malang. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of cherry leaf methanol extract on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria causing subclinical mastitis in dairy cows. Materials used in this research were Staphylococcus aureus , cherry leaf methanol extract, cherry leaf water extract and iodips. The method used in this research is experiment with a completely randomized design (CRD) with 6 treatments and 4 replications. The results showed that the cherry leaf methanol extract, with a concentration of 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% have an influence on the growth inhibitory Staphylococcus aureus . Cherry leaf methanol extract has no significant difference (P> 0.05) with a cherry leaf water extract and iodips as antimicrobial substances, so it can be used as a natural antimicrobial substance to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria causing subclinical mastitis. Key word : cherry leaf, methanol extract, Staphylococcus aureus and mastitis
An analysis of taenidial fold formation via the study of Blimp-1 and pri

En el reino animal hay numerosos ejemplos de sistemas de organos tubulares, como los pulmones y el sistema vascular de los mamiferos. En este estudio hemos usado el sistema traqueal de Drosophila melanogaster para estudiar el desarrollo de este tipo de organos. En particular, nos centramos en los pliegues taenidiales, estructuras de quitina que rodean el lumen tubular y dan resistencia mecanica a los tubos traqueales. Formados por la secrecion de quitina en la matriz extracelular apical, estos pliegues se extienden mas alla de los limites de una sola celula, abarcando multiples celulas. Esto implica un alto nivel de coordinacion intra e intercelular. Hay una serie de genes cuya ausencia produce perturbaciones en los pliegues taenidiales. De estos, nuestro estudio se centra en Blimp-1 y pri.En ausencia de cada uno de estos genes, los pliegues taenidiales no se desarrollan correctamente mientras que otros aspectos del desarrollo traqueal no se ven afectados. Hemos analizado el patron de expresion de Blimp-1 y PRI, y hemos encontrado que ambos genes se expresan en las celulas traqueales de Drosophila durante el desarrollo embrionario. Los pliegues taenidiales todavia se forman en ausencia de Blimp-1 o pri, pero no estan organizados correctamente, lo que indica que Blimp-1 y pri contribuyen a su adecuada formacion.Existen muchos sistemas en Drosophila en que estructuras de actina contribuyen a la organizacion de la quitina, como los cinturones denticulares en la epidermis y la estructura luminal en el sistema traqueal. En los mutantes para Blimp-1, no se forman los anillos de actina apical mientras que en los de prisi lo hacen, pero con una mala orientacion, lo que sugiere que se requiere la funcion de Blimp-1 y pri para el ensamblaje de la F-actina. Curiosamente, cuando perturbamos la sintesis de quitina u la organizacion de quitina, la F-actina apical se desorganiza y no forma haces. Por primera vez, mostramos que durante el desarrollo del sistema traqueal hay una interaccion entre la organizacion de la F-actina y de las estructuras de quitina.Rescatando el fenotipo mutante en una sola celula, estudiamos como las celulas individuales contribuyen a generar una estructura supra-celular. Los resultados de nuestro analisis revelan que la orientacion de los pliegues taenidiales no es regulada de manera autonoma y que depende en gran medida de los pliegues taenidiales formados por las celulas vecinas. Por ultimo, mostramos que perturbar las uniones entre celulas, a traves de la reduccion de los niveles de ? -catenina, da lugar a que las celulas traqueales formen su pliegues taenidiales de forma independiente a sus vecinas.
Considerations on the Economic and Geopolitical Consequences of China’s “One Belt-One Road” Project

The aims of this paper are to introduce the One Belt-One Road project, to investigate whether it is an economic or geopolitical initiative and finally to try to predict the consequences of the project with respect to the local, regional and global powers in the short, medium and long run. The method of this paper is a verbal, descriptive one with the theoretical support by German Historical School. Since the initiative is too fresh, it is tried to reach fresh documents on inter-net to form the full literature. To sum up, the One Belt-One Road project that is introduced as an economic project by China, connecting her with Europe via a mix of land and maritime roads network makes some countries happy while making the rest worried due to its financial size and geographical extent. The project that is possible to be seen as an economic initiative in the short run has the potential to turn into a project with serious geopolitical considerations for local, regional and global powers in the medium and long run.
Label Co-Movement: Component Stock Inclusion and Exclusion Between Different Exchange-Traded Funds

This study examines the co-movement phenomenon in Taiwanâ€™s stock markets. We investigate this phenomenon both before and after the inclusion and exclusion of component stocks from the Taiwan 50 or Taiwan 100 indices in terms of changes in component stock returns and turnover co-movement relationships. In addition to providing a sample analysis, this study explores consistency in changes to comovement relationships owing to market status (bull or bear) or investor sentiment (overly optimistic, optimistic, pessimistic, and overly pessimistic). The empirical results reflect the stocksâ€™ returns or turnover. For example, apart from periods of overly pessimistic sentiment, including and excluding components in the Taiwan 100 or Taiwan 50 indices generally reveals a strengthened co-movement relationship with the new group and a weakened link with the original group, regardless of a bull or bear market. The result is consistent with Boyerâ€™s (2011) label argument on co-movement. However, a subtler perspective reveals a rather insignificant change in the co-movement relationship for stock returns as components move from the Taiwan 50 to the Taiwan 100 index
DE with Random Vector based Mutatiton for High Dimensional Problems

Metaheuristic techniques are the current standard for solving optimization problems. Diﬀerential Evolution (DE) is one of the most used because all operations are on real ﬂoating point numbers and does not require extra coding. However, the performance shown by DE could decay when applied in problems of high dimensionality. In this paper we present RLSDE, a modiﬁed version of DE, based on a random vector as a scaling factor for the diﬀerential mutation and the application of a local search operator. These modiﬁcations constitute an algorithm capable of solving 100D problems using few computational resources. RLSDE is compared against the results obtained with the classic version of DE and ELSDE (Enchanced Local Search Diﬀerential Evolution), showing the performance of the proposal.
EFFICIENCY OF PARENTERAL APPLICATION OF PREPARATIONS BASED ON CEPHALOSPORINS FOR MASTITIS TREATMENT IN MILK CATTLE

Mastitis is the most common disease in dairy farming, in clinical and subclinical form it is diagnosed in more than 50% of cows. Currently, various drugs and methods are used to treat mastitis. The article presents data on the effectiveness of the use of the preparation Ceftonit and preparation on the basis of cefquinome sulfate in the treatment of various forms of clinical mastitis during lactation. For the treatment of mastitis, the cows used the preparation Ceftonit®, Nita–Farm Russia, containing in its composition 50 mg/ml of ceftiofur, which is used in comparison with imported drug containing in its composition 25 mg/ml cefquinome sulfate. shows subclinical preparations used with clinical mastitis in recovery days) and percentage of relapse in the form of subclinical mastitis (max — 33,33%).
P2 purinoceptors : localization, function, and transduction mechanisms

Partial table of contents: P2 Purinoceptors: Historical Perspective and Classification (G. Burnstock). P2T Purinoceptors: ADP Receptors on Platelets (S. Hourani and D. Hall). Trophic Actions of Extracellular ATP on Astrocytes, Synergistic Interactions with Fibroblast Growth Factors and Underlying Signal Transduction Mechanisms (J. Neary). The Diverse Series of Recombinant P2Y Purinoceptors (E. barnard, et al.). Functional Properties of Native and Cloned P2X Receptors (A. Surprenant). Involvement of Distinct Receptors in the Actions of Extracellular Uridine Nucleotides (J. Boeynaems, et al.). Challenges in Developing P2 Purinoceptor-Based Therapeutics (M. Williams). Indexes.
Monetary Models Evaluation of Exchange Rate Determination in the Non-WAEMU Anglophone West Africa and Guinea

This paper assessed exchange rate determination and the associated macroeconomic fundamentals across the non-West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) Anglophone countries (The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone) and Guinea. These six countries were known the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ). Further steps were taken to check for similarities in the determination of exchange rates by the fundamentals as well as the uniformity of macroeconomic determinants of exchange rates and their associated explanatory powers towards justifying the appropriateness (or otherwise) of a single fixed exchange rate regime across these WAMZ countries in the event of monetary integration of West Africa which would be characterised by common currency and common central bank. This study applied two variants of the monetary models of exchange rate determination: (i) the flexible-price monetary model (FPMM) and (ii) the real interest differential monetary model (RIDMM). These monetary theories and models of exchange rates determination are very useful tools in explaining the behaviour of exchange rates in any given economy. Annual, quarterly and monthly data, averagely spanning between 1980 and 2015 were employed. Cross-rate conversions were estimated by the author in order to generate bilateral exchange rates among the WAMZ countries. The monetary models constructed incorporated the extent of informal economies within these WAMZ countries. The two monetary models were estimated with the Canonical Cointegrating Regression (CCR), Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS) regression and Markov Switching Dynamic (MSD) regression approaches for country estimations while Random Effect (Generalised Least Square) estimation of panel data of the six WAMZ countries was applied in the evaluation of homogeneity of exchange rate behaviours. Furthermore, the relationships in the FPMM and RIDMM were examined with three residual-based cointegration tests on the residuals of the estimates of Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) cointegrating regressions (Phillips-Oualiaris, Engle-Granger and Park’s Added Variable). The US dollar based exchange rates estimated yielded evidence towards the conclusion that The Gambian dalasi, the Nigerian naira and the Sierra Leonean leone are the three WAMZ currencies well-suited for a single exchange rate regime. Estimations of the Nigerian naira-based exchange rates revealed that Sierra Leonean leone, the Guinea franc and the Ghanaian cedi are also suitable for the single foreign exchange market. What is significant here is that Nigeria (the lead economy in West Africa) is evidently suited for the single exchange rate regime. Evidently, Liberia was not reported as being suitable in any of the estimations.
High incidence of multidrug resistant Escherichia coli producing CTX-M-type ESBLs colonizing the intestine of Jordanian infants

Background. This prospective study investigated major characteristics of E.coli colonizing the intestine of out-patient and in-patient infants, especially their association with CTX-M-type extended spectrum β-Lactamases (ESBLs), integrons and fluoroquinolone resistance genes (gyrAandparC) . Method. A total of 288 stool samples were collected from infants aged less than 1 year which were admitted at the pediatric department, Jordan University Hospital, Amman. The E.coli isolates were investigated using antimicrobial susceptibility tests and PCR for detection of CTX-M genes and integrons . Results. A total of 170 (59%) infants were colonized with E.coli, including 73 (42.9%) females and 97 (57.1%) males. A significant difference was observed between gender and age groups according to the presence or absence of E.coli (P= 0.001). Multidrug resistant (MDR) accounted for 52 (30.6%) of the isolates and all were ESBL producers. The detection rate of CTX-M genes among MDR E.coli isolates was 49 (94.2%), CTX-M group 1 accounted for 41 (87.8%) of the isolates and 30(73.2%) were CTX-M-15 producers. Only Class I integron was detected in 20/52 (38.5%) of MDR E. coli isolates, and resistance to fluoroquinolones accounted for 45/52(86.5%) of these isolates . A total of 33/52 (63.5%) of MDR E.coli isolates were resistant to potential Quinolone resistance genes (parC) and (gyrA) in association with CTX-M group. Conclusion. This study demonstrates that formula-fed infants, vaginal delivery and old age of infants were higher and significant associated with colonization of E . coli. High incidence of CTX-M ESBL-producing E. coli was found in association with fluoroquinolones-resistance and Class I integrons colonizing the intestine of Jordanian infants
Nesting habits, floral resources and foraging ecology of large carpenter bees (Xylocopa latipes and Xylocopa pubescens) in India

Information on nesting, floral resources, floral cha racteristics and foraging ecology of two large ca rpenter bee species, Xylocopa latipes and X. pubescens in India has been reviewed. The review suggests that Xylocopa bees in general and X. latipes and X. pubescens in particular utilize almost the same wood materials for nes ting and floral resources for food. The bees are characte ristically multivoltine, provided there are adequate fl oral resources throughout the year in a habitat. They are bivoltine in habitat, where there are inadequate floral resources. Female bees collect pollen and nectar for production of offspring and floral reward for their own maintenance; male bees collect only nectar. However, the bees utilize a limited number of plant s pecies, a few of which produce only pollen and all others both pollen and nectar.
Identification and Confirmation of Quantitative Trait Loci for Seed Protein and Oil Content of Soybean

Protein and oil are the major chemical constituents of soybean seed that affect the quality of soyfood, feed, and oil products. Therefore, soybean cultivars with high protein and/or high oil are desirable for the soyfood and feed markets. Use of molecular-marker-assisted selection will facilitate the breeding process of such cultivar development. The objectives of this research were to identify new quantitative trait loci (QTL) and confirm previously reported QTL associated with seed protein and oil content by using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Two recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations consisting of 242 individuals from R05-1415 (high protein/low oil) x R05-638 (low protein/high oil) (population 1) and 214 individuals from R05-4256 (high oil/low protein) x V97-1346 (low oil/high protein) (population 2) were used in QTL mapping. F2 plants from the mapping populations were used for SSR/SNP genotyping. In the marker screening, 120 out of 626 SSR and 1652 out of 5361 SNP markers were polymorphic. The RILs from both populations were grown in a randomized complete block design in Argentina in 2010, Stuttgart and Keiser, AR in 2011 and 2012. Seed from F2:3, F2:4 and F2:5 lines were tested for protein and oil content by using near infrared transmittance technique based on 13% moisture. Protein and oil content in both RIL populations exhibited a typical normal distribution. Single marker analysis (SMA) and composite interval mapping (CIM) revealed two novel oil QTL on chromosomes 14 and 6 in population 2 which account for 17% and 13% of the oil content variation, respectively. A minor protein QTL was confirmed on chromosome 14. One major QTL with large effect was confirmed on chromosome 20 across genetic populations, locations, and years; this QTL has opposite effects on seed protein and oil content. Eight new SNP markers flanking this QTL region on chromosome 20 were identified in population 2. These new and confirmed QTL along with linked molecular markers for seed protein and oil content can be used for marker-assisted selection for seed composition improvement in soybean breeding programs.
Endocrine Disruption of Levonorgestrel in Early-life Stages of Fathead Minnows, Pimephales Promelas

Pharmaceuticals have routinely been detected in the environment resulting in a growing concern about whether these drugs could elicit effects on aquatic organisms. The concerns are centered on the highly conserved nature of mammalian therapeutic targets in fish. These pharmaceuticals are found at very low levels in the environment, which can result in sub-lethal effects in aquatic organisms. Therefore, 28 d early-life stage studies were conducted on six pharmaceuticals to assess their impacts on survival and growth fathead minnow larvae. Two pharmaceuticals tested, carbamazepine and fenofibrate, resulted in no alterations to survival and growth. However, amiodarone, clozapine, dexamethasone, and levonorgestrel (LNG) reduced survival at concentrations tested with LNG being the most potent at 462 ng/L. Survival was increased with amiodarone and clozapine; however LNG significantly decreased growth at 86 ng/L. Therefore, the most potent pharmaceutical tested was the synthetic progestin LNG with survival and growth impacts at concentrations less than 1 μg/L. Further analysis was conducted by measuring specific endocrine related mRNA transcript profiles in FHM larvae following the 28 d ELS exposure to LNG. Transcripts of 3β-HSD, 20β-HSD, and FSH were significantly down-regulated following 28 d exposure to both 16.3 and 86.9 ng/L LNG. Also, CYP19a expression was significantly down-regulated at 86.9 and 2392 ng/L LNG. Subsequently, a second study examined time periods that may be most sensitive (e.g., windows of sensitivity) for FHM larvae exposed to LNG. Larvae were exposed to a single concentration of LNG (i.e. LOECgrowth of 86.2 ng/L as determined in the 28 d ELS study) for different time periods starting with fertilized egg through 28 dph. Growth and mRNA expression of the four differentially expressed transcripts from the first study were measured. Regardless of the duration of exposure, LNG significantly decreased growth in fathead minnow larvae at day 28. For both 20β-HSD and CYP19a, mRNA expression was decreased following exposure to LNG; however, these transcripts returned to baseline levels after removal of LNG. 3β-HSD and FSH showed similar trends after exposure to LNG with 7-14 d and 14-28 d exposures exhibiting a decrease in expression; however, FSH expression returned to baseline once removed for LNG exposure. Based on these data, 3β-HSD was the only transcript to remain down regulated after LNG exposure. Together these data suggest LNG can negatively impact FHM larval survival and growth, with significant alterations in endocrine related responses. However, these changes in endocrine related responses may not directly correlate to the changes in growth demonstrated with LNG exposure to fathead minnows. Therefore, additional research is warranted to ascertain additional mechanisms, either endocrine related or non-endocrine functions, related to changes in growth of larval fathead minnows.
Human basophils and mast cells : biological aspects

Ultrastructural analysis of human mast cells and basophils, A.M. Dvorak immunophenotypic characterization of human basophils and mast cells, P. Valent differentiation of human basophils and mast cells J.A. Denburg early events in mast cell signal transduction, A.M. Scharenberg and J.-P. Kinet signal transduction and cytokine production by human basophils, D.W. MacGlashan Jr cytokine production by human mast cells, Y. Okayama et al metabolism of lipid mediators in human basophils and mast cells, M. Triggiani et al the chemokines and the histamine-releasing factors - modulation of function of basophils, mast cells and eosinophils, R. Alam and J.A. Grant mast cell/fibroblast interactions in health and disease, F. Levi-Schaffer basophil and eosinophil interactions in health and disease, L.L. Thomas mast cells - the neuroimmune connection, R.M. Williams et al.