Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tests of bednet traps (Mbita traps) for monitoring mosquito populations and time of biting in Tanzania and possible impact of prolonged insecticide treated net use

Mosquito traps known as Mbita traps made from modified bednets according to a design developed in Kenya were compared with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) light traps for their ability to catch anopheline and culicine mosquitoes in several different villages in northern Tanzania. The results confirmed those recently reported in Kenya, that Mbita traps catch significantly fewer mosquitoes than CDC traps. Statistical analysis using a Poisson log linear model with random effects for the trap counts showed that the ratio of the catches with the two types of trap was not consistent in the different villages. Thus, we doubt whether the Mbita trap would be a reliable substitute for CDC traps. In one trial, the catches made at different hours of the night with the two types of trap indicated that in villages where insecticide treated nets (ITNs) had been used for some years, somewhat more of the Anopheles biting occurred early and late in the night, whereas in villages with no history of ITN use, biting was concentrated in the middle of the night. This suggests that behavioural adaptation to avoid contact with ITNs may be beginning to evolve. RésuméLes pièges à moustiques connus sous le nom de pièges Mbita, fabriqués avec du tissu de moustiquaire selon un modèle dèveloppé au Kenya, ont été comparés avec des pièges lumineux CDC pour leur capacité de piégeages des moustiques des genres Anopheles et Culex dans plusieurs localités du Nord de la Tanzanie. Les résultats confirment ceux récemment obtenus au Kenya, à savoir que les pièges Mbita attrapent moins de moustiques que les pièges CDC. Des analyses statistiques utilisant des modèles de Poisson log linéaires, avec une distribution au hasard des captures par piège, montrent que le rapport des captures entre les deux pièges n’est pas similaire dans les différents villages. Aussi, nous nous interrogeons sur l’utilisation des pièges Mbita a la place des pièges CDC. Dans l’un des essais, les captures réalis`ees à différentes heures de la nuit avec les deux types de pièges, indiquent que dans les villages où les ITNs ont été utilisés plusieurs années, les piqûres d’Anopheles sont observées plus tôt ou plus tard que dans les villages préservés des traitements ITNs où les piqûres sont observées principalement en milieu de nuit. Ce résultat suggère un début de changement du comportement des Anopheles afin d’éviter le contact avec les ITNs.
Intercropping and Diversity: An Economic Analysis of Cropping Patterns on Smallholder Farms in Malawi

SUMMARY The diversity of cropping patterns on smallholder farms in southern Malawi was analysed using a framework that explicitly incorporates the extent of intercropping in each field. Diversity is defined as the relative abundance of each crop in the overall cropping pattern. Six indices of diversity were constructed for 208 farms and used in a model of a welfare-maximizing farm household to examine the reasons for diversity in cropping patterns; multiple regression techniques were used to determine the effect of different household characteristics on diversity. The results suggest that an increase in labour availability over the production period is associated with a more diverse cropping pattern. Landholding size also influences diversity, which rises to a maximum and then falls as the area cultivated per capita increases. Farmers who grow a non-food cash crop (tobacco) have more diverse cropping patterns than those who do not. As diversity increases, farmers use intercrop patterns that are more substitutive than additive.
Sexual Dimorphism in Flower Size

Sexual dimorphism in the secondary characters of unisexual flowers is often observed. Most prior reports indicate that male flowers have larger petals than female flowers. In this article we examine hypotheses regarding patterns of perianth (sepals and petals) size dimorphism. (1) Developmental associations between the corolla and the stamens constrain the independent evolution of these characters. (2) The role of the perianth in enclosing the reproductive structures in the bud results in a correlation between the size of the enclosed structures and the perianth parts. (3) In animal-pollinated species, the perianth serves to attract pollinators; fitness gains achieved through allocation to attractive structures differ between the sexes. To test these hypotheses, we compared 919 species with unisexual flowers; quantitative measurements of floral parts were made for 84 of these species. Unlike most previous studies, this study found that the petals of male flowers were larger than those of females in less than one-half of the cases, demonstrating that developmental associations are not strictly responsible for patterns of sexual dimorphism. Relative perianth size appears to be evolutionarily labile, even within genera. Patterns of perianth-size dimorphism differed between temperate and tropical species and between animal- and wind-pollinated species. Perianth size was strongly associated with the size of the reproductive structures enclosed in each flower, suggesting that the function of petals and sepals to protect developing reproductive structures may determine their size. However, the size of the reproductive structures was a better predictor of perianth size in wind-than in animal-pollinated species, which supports the attractive function hypothesis of the perianth. We conclude that the two functional roles of the perianth, protection and attraction, are the primary determinants of perianth size in unisexual flowers.
Modelo para el análisis y la simulación del proceso de difusión del marketing viral

Aunque en la literatura existen modelos que intentan reproducir el proceso de difusion del marketing viral, existen vacios en la manera como se incluyen aspectos relacionados con el comportamiento y el efecto del tipo de siembra en el. El presente documento tiene como fin analizar y modelar el proceso de difusion en el marketing viral teniendo en cuenta los factores comportamentales y estructurales que influyen en mismo. Para lograr este objetivo, se desarrolla un modelo basado en agentes que integra la estructura de propagacion del proceso y las caracteristicas del comportamiento de los individuos. A partir de el, se concluye que el proceso de difusion del marketing viral se ve afectado tanto por la estructura de propagacion como por los factores comportamentales individuales. En este sentido, el modelo propuesto es el primer acercamiento teorico que contempla ambos aspectos en conjunto y sirve como base para futuras investigaciones donde se incluyan aproximaciones de esos factores y con ello determinar el exito de las campanas virales a desarrollar.
Hematologic Response to Experimental Infections of Frog Virus 3-Like Virus in Red-Eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Abstract Clinical pathology is routinely used to diagnose and monitor response to disease. In this study the hematologic response of red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans) to experimental ranavirus infection was measured during two separate environmental temperature trials. Blood samples were collected from six red-eared sliders experimentally infected with a ranavirus, frog virus 3-like virus (FV3-like), and from 10 uninfected turtles twice weekly for 30 days postinfection to evaluate several hematologic variables. There were no significant changes in packed cell volume, white blood cell (WBC) count, or WBC differential counts over time in either the infected or uninfected groups. There were significant increases in WBC in infected turtles on days 18 and 22 postinoculation (22°C; 71.6°F) and on days 8 and 11 (28°C; 82.4°F) compared to uninfected turtles. Total solids were significantly decreased (P = 0.034) over time in the red-eared sliders infected with FV3-like virus regardless of temperature. Intracytoplasmic inclusions were seen in two red-eared sliders and only in animals in the 22°C (71.6°F) temperature trial. The hematologic findings from this study suggest that closely monitoring an animal during the early stages of infection may reveal some mild changes in the WBC count; however, serial sampling would be necessary to detect these small differences. Further work utilizing larger sample sizes and more-frequent sampling are needed to determine the clinical significance of the hematologic response of chelonians to this devastating virus.
Dietary changes in response to population reduction in the possum Trichosurus vulpecula in New Zealand

Abstract Context. Efforts to protect or restore degraded plant communities by population control of invasive herbivores frequently fail to achieve their goals. Aims. We seek to quantify changes in diet of an introduced herbivore, the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), following population control, and determine how these may contribute to variable responses in plant condition. Methods. Stomach contents of possums from five areas of indigenous forest in northern New Zealand were analysed to measure diet before and after the application of possum control. Key results. The contribution of fruit, and foliage of some early successional forest species, to total possum diet increased up to 27-fold following possum population control. This was accompanied by declines in consumption of the main pre-control possum foods (foliage from common canopy trees). Dietary changes were a combination of an immediate response to control (1 year) and a strengthening of these initial changes with increasing time since control. Conclusions. Possums in the study areas changed diet following population control, from a diet dominated by foliage of common canopy tree species to one dominated by fruits, and foliage of uncommon early successional plants. Pest control instantaneously increased the per capita availability of all foods, and probably permitted absolute increases in some foods through plant recovery, enabling possums to substitute scarce, high-preference foods for abundant but less preferred canopy foliage. Implications. Following control of a pest herbivore, dietary changes reduce benefits for the most vulnerable preferred plant foods, but enhance benefits for less favoured plants. Intense pest control can permit some recovery of highly preferred foods, despite increased per capita consumption of these foods by survivors of control.
Susceptibility of larvae and adults of Monochamus galloprovincialis to entomopathogenic fungi under controlled conditions

Six entomopathogenic fungal isolates were tested under controlled conditions, as biological control agents against Monochamus galloprovincialis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) (Olivier), the vector of the pine wood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Nematoda: Parasitaphelenchidae) (Steiner and Buhrer). The fungi Beauveria bassiana (Bals.-Criv.) Vuill, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin, Metarhizium sp. and Fusarium sp. were tested against larvae and adults of the insect, by comparing two exposure techniques: continuous contact and spraying. Regarding the larvae, only Fusarium sp. and Metarhizium sp. killed more than 40% of the individuals, while B. bassiana and M. anisopliae were found to kill 50% of the adults (LT50) within five days. Exposure to B. bassiana reduced adult longevity by 19 days, when compared to untreated beetles, and had a direct efficacy of 46%. Continuous contact with the fungi proved to be more effective than spraying. A larval disinfection protocol was developed to eliminate other fungal isolates from the wood-collected tested individuals. The implications of the results and possible applications of selected strains as bio-control agents against M. galloprovincialis are discussed.
Morphometric and meristic variations between non-reproductive and reproductive kutum females (Rutilus frisii kutum, Kamensky, 1901), in the southwest Caspian Sea

Abstract Twenty-nine morphometric and seven meristic characteristics were analyzed to identify non-reproductive (NR) and reproductive (R) female kutum, Rutilus frisii kutum. Seventy one samples of mature-size female kutum were collected from coastal waters of the southwest Caspian Sea during spawning season. Principal component analysis, discriminant function analysis, cluster analysis, and a Kruskal-Wallis test were used to identify the two types of fish. The results showed morphological variations between the non-reproductive and reproductive kutum. Discriminant function analysis revealed NR: 91.9% and R: 91.2% while cluster analysis demonstrated NR: 100% and R: 85.3%, verifying the classification of members in each group. Maximum body height, post back distance, dorsal fin height, and up caudal fin length were detected as the most functional characteristics of morphological discrimination between the two types of kutum. Meristic counts, however, were not different between the two types of fish.
An impact of seasonal squid migrations and fishing on the feeding spectra of subantarctic notothenioids Patagonotothen ramsayi and Cottoperca gobio around the Falkland Islands

Seasonal changes in the diet of two abundant notothenioid fishes, rock cod Patagonotothen ramsayi (Nototheniidae) and frogmouth Cottoperca gobio (Bovichthidae) were studied on the Falkland Island shelf. The rock cod is a near-bottom browser, feeding mostly on gelatinous and crustacean plankton. The diet of juveniles [10–16 cm total length (TL)] includes mostly copepods in summer and comb jellies Mnemiopsis leydyi in winter. Adult rock cod (17–34 cm TL) in summer consumed mainly plankton, with comb jellies and salps being of primary importance. In winter they mainly took benthos, primarily ophiuroids and lobster krill (Munida spp.), and the comb jelly. During the fishing season, rock cod also scavenge on fishing discards. The frogmouth is a benthic ambush predator; both small (11–30 cm) and large (31–80 cm) representatives feed on the rock cod throughout the year. During the seasonal offshore migration of the squid Loligo gahi (June–August), this prey predominated in the large frogmouth diet, with crab, Peltarion spinosulum, of secondary importance. The region is seasonally exploited by the squid trawl fishery. As the fishing season commences (August–September), discarded rock cod also becomes an important food item for the frogmouth. Seasonal offshore migrations of L.gahi into the common depth range of both notothenioids have a significant direct (change in the C. gobio diet) and indirect (scavenging on fishing discards and targeting bottom scavengers by P. ramsayi and C. gobio during the squid fishing) impact on their diets over the Falkland shelf. The niche breadth of rock cod varied from 2.63 to 3.21 and that of frogmouth varied from 2 to 6.29, depending on fish size and season.
Grupos de ahorro y crédito local, mecanismos para la inclusión financiera informal en Colombia

El documento presenta un diagnostico de la situacion actual y del proceso de evolucion que ha experimentado la inclusion financiera en Colombia; esto contempla tanto los productos de ingreso al sistema financiero, como las variables relacionados con la ampliacion de la cobertura y generacion de nuevos productos para la promocion de la bancarizacion. Como elemento clave de este incremento se analiza el pago de transferencias monetarias condicionadas a traves del programa “Familias en Accion”. De la misma manera, se estudian los grupos de ahorro y credito local vinculados a uno de los programas de la Banca de las Oportunidades que brinda servicios financieros informales (credito y ahorro). Este analisis se complementa con un ejercicio de aplicacion de encuesta a participantes de los grupos de ahorro, desarrolladas en los Departamentos de Bolivar, Boyaca, Choco y Cundinamarca, en la cuales se empleo tecnicas de analisis multivariado (arbol de decision, analisis de correspondencia multiple, regresion logistica). Con la informacion obtenida se identificaron los factores relacionados con la tenencia de una cuenta bancaria, asi como los condicionantes de pertenencia a los grupos de ahorro, estableciendo que estos grupos se han convertido en una solucion informal, ocasionada por la falta de servicios financieros para la poblacion de escasos recursos.
Salinity and Temperature Effects on Seed Germination of Milk Thistle

Abstract Milk thistle [Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn] is an annual plant belonging to the Asteraceae family whose ripe seeds contain flavonoid substances, which are important in the modern pharmaceutical industry. Seed germination is a major factor limiting the establishment of plants under saline conditions. The effect of salinity and temperatures on germination and seedling establishment was studied in two genotypes of milk thistle, an Iranian wild type and German (Royston) type in the laboratory and in the field. Experiments were done with seven salt concentrations [0.1 (control), 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 dS/m] and three temperatures (15, 25, and 35°C). There were three replications for each treatment, and the experiment was run three times. The results showed that the percentage of germination and the number of normal seedlings at different salt treatment at 15°C were higher than at 25 or 35°C. The mean time to 50% germination was least at this temperature for both genotypes. Results suggested all germination indices and seedling emergence (50%) were achieved at levels up to 9 dS/m salinity at 15°C. Also, seeds at a salinity of 9–15 dS/m will germinate and up to 25% of the control nonstress treatment could emerge at the low temperature of 15°C.
A Visitor’s Hybrid Smart Guide Control System

Modern industrial society is filled with hybrid systems. The effectiveness of a control system is now a basic requirement in any institution. In general terms, hybrid systems are reactive systems that intermix discrete and continuous control components in which the discrete part of that control system makes the decision on behaving for the whole designed system and further decides if it can allow it to switch to another set of control protocols when appropriate conditions are availed. The continuous part only functions according to a specified protocol. Hybrid systems are common models used in digital (logic) and continuous networks and devices. Digital control programs detect, control, and supervise continuous and discrete systems using differential or difference equations. This principle was utilized in our design and reported thereof. Although this work developed a different method to deal with specific problems facing students at Technical University of Mombasa. An upgrade was recommended so as to extend the control system to the eye- impaired students and visitors. Since the issue of optimal smart control systems cannot be ignored in the design of new control systems with today's requirements in our learning institutions, it was concluded that further research was necessary to bring about a fully reliable and well-developed control system able to use real-time and real routes as they exist at the university ground. This work reports a hybrid control guide system designed and implemented at the Technical University of Mombasa.
Photobioreactor optimization for microalgae culture

La aplicacion de cultivos de microalgas en diferentes tipos de industrias depende de su viabilidad economica. Hoy en dia el cultivo de microalgas en fotobiorreactores esta en etapa experimental. A pesar de la cantidad de investigacion en el tema, la viabilidad economica de los fotobiorreactores aun no ha sido conseguida. Este trabajo presenta una serie de propuestas para encontrar la solucion a la busqueda de la viabilidad economica de fotobiorreactores, por medio de un sistema continuo de biorreactores en serie con recirculacion. El mencionado sistema es evaluado desde el punto de vista de su diseno y optimizacion economica para establecer las caracteristicas que permitirian obtener un diseno economicamente viable de un fotobiorreactor que opera en continuo. Se encuentra que el sistema es interesante para su aplicacion industrial, pues es posible aumentar la productividad del cultivo y aumentar asi las ganancias.
P783 Factors associated with syphilis testing in transgender women in central-west brazil

Background Syphilis, one of the oldest diseases caused by the spirochete T. pallidum, has been a major public health problem worldwide. Globally, social inequalities contribute to elevated sexually transmitted infections (STIs) rates among transgender women.High syphilis prevalence has been documented among transgender women in Latin America. Objetives: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of syphilis and to analyze the potential predictors for this infection in transgender women in Goiânia, Central-West Brazil. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 180 in transgender women (TGW) in Goiânia-GO, from April 2018 to December 2018. TGW were recruited using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) as a method to obtain a more robust and diverse sample of a hard-to-reach populations, which tends to be particularly sparse and marginalized. After obtaining the consent term, participants were interviewed using a structured form containing questions about sociodemographic characteristics and risk factors for T. pallidum infection. Blood samples were collected and tested for syphilis (anti-T. pallidum) by rapid test. Results A total of 180 TGW participated in the study. Of the 180 samples tested by the rapid test for syphilis, 61.7. 0% (CI 95%: 54.4–68.4%) were positive. In multiple regression analysis, previous STIs (OR aj: 6.2, p≤0.001), age (≤13 years) of sexual initiation (OR aj: 3.6; p = 0.009), number of partners (≥15) in the last seven days (OR aj: 5.3, p≥0.0001) were predictors of syphilis infection. Conclusion The results of the present study show a high prevalence of syphilis infection in transgender women, with the development of prevention and control strategies, including counseling and testing, as well as the provision of treatment for STIs in the setting street and temporary and/or permanent shelters. Disclosure No significant relationships.
Antioxidants from macroalgae: potential applications in human health and nutrition

The underlying physiology of algal antioxidant compounds is reviewed in the context of seaweed biology and utilization. The application of seaweed antioxidants in foods, food supplements, nutraceuticals and medicine is considered from the perspective of benefits to human health. We advocate that direct consumption of seaweed products for their antioxidant composition alone provides a useful alternative to non-natural substances, while simultaneously providing worthwhile nutritional benefits. Economic utilization of seaweeds for their antioxidant properties remains in its infancy. This review provides examples ranging from laboratory studies through to clinical trials where antioxidants derived from seaweeds may provide major health benefits that warrant subsequent investigative studies and possible utilization.