Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pork quality differences between lines divergently selected for residual feed intake

Recent studies demonstrated that a selection for residual feed intake (RFI) led to improved feed conversion ratio and carcass lean meat content. However, the understanding of the relationships between RFI and pork quality is still unclear and deserves further study to meet producer, processing industry and consumer demands. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of a divergent selection on RFI on technological and sensory quality of meat. After six generations of selection, growth performance, carcass composition, muscle biochemical and meat quality traits were studied in 117 Large White females and castrated males from two divergent RFI lines fed ad libitum. Despite similar growth rate, the low RFI line (RFI-) pigs were more efficient (p<0.001), exhibited leaner carcasses (p<0.001) and a greater carcass yield (p<0.001) than high RFI line (RFI+) pigs. Selection for low RFI affected meat quality parameters by increasing muscle glycogen content (p<0.001) as well as the extent of pH decline (p<0.001) and drip loss (p<0.001), and decreasing IMF content (p<0.001) in the Longissimus muscle. Visual appearance of fresh meat was also influenced, with lower scores for marbling, homogeneity and intensity of red color of the RFI- pork. However, these differences between RFI lines had no effect on meat tenderness and juiciness. Regarding trade-offs between economical results for producers (lower feeding cost, higher carcass lean content) and environmental issues, the negative impact of selection for low RFI on pork quality could be moderated.
Risk Taking and Start-up Capital: Exploring Gender differences in Uganda, through an International Comparison

: This study sought to explain the gender differences with respect to risk taking behaviour and start-up capital in Uganda, comparing with other countries. The start-up capital of businesses run by females is ostensibly smaller than those run by males in Uganda and in any other country. A number of reasons have been forwarded to explain this variance. Some researchers have linked the size of start-up capital to the risk taking behaviour among other factors. However there is insufficient local or Ugandan empirical research into this difference, given that much of the empirical research are based on western data sets. Data for this study was from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2003. A causal research design was used to establish the relationship between risk taking attitude and start up capital. A comparative design was also employed to compare the findings of Uganda with other GEM countries, Chi-square tests, and a two way analysis of variances were used to analyse the data. There are gender differences with respect to risk taking behaviour across all countries under study. However, the gender gap is wider in other countries than Uganda. On the whole, Uganda women are less risk averse as compared to those in other countries. The start-up capital requirement of Ugandan men is more than their female counterparts. In addition, Ugandan men invested more personal start up capital when they are risk averse. Among other recommendations, policy makers should sensitise females about viability of business start ups and encourage women access to ownership of property.
Hodgkin's Disease of the Thymus

Aim: Although multiple sclerosis (MS) can cause almost any neurological symptom, headaches are considered unusual. Studies investigating the relationship between the 2 conditions have produced conflicting results. The primary aim of this study was to test whether there was a difference between patients with MS (Group 1) and the control group (Group 2, patients with psoriasis and myasthenia gravis, diseases not affecting the central nervous system) in terms of the prevalence and types of primary headache. Materials and methods: A total of 139 patients with MS and 59 patients in the control group were included. The patients underwent a complete neurological examination and functional systems were assessed according to the functional system scores of Kurtzke. A semistructured interview guided by a questionnaire about headache was applied. Results: We found the life-long prevalence of primary headaches as 74.8% in patients with MS and as 71.2% in the control group. The prevalence of migraine and tension-type headaches did not show a significant difference between the 2 groups before the disease (P = 0.43), after the onset of disease (P = 0.18), or during the attack (P = 0.097). Conclusion: MS does not increase the prevalence of headaches, and headache types do not show any difference between MS patients and the control group.
The influence of ribosomal proteins on the action of ribosome-inactivating proteins

Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) are produced by many plants and inhibit ribosome function through an N-glycosidase activity that removes a single adenine residue from a universally-conserved stem-loop structure close to the 3' end of the large subunit rRNA. This site specific action is also retained on 'naked' rRNA, but usually with a much lower catalytic efficiency. Although all known RIPs are active on mammalian ribosomes, their activity on ribosomes from other sources varies considerably. In the work reported, the action of two RIPs with different substrate specificities has been studied on ribosomes and sub-ribosomal derivatives from Escherichia coli. The RIPs are pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP), a single chain RIP from the leaves of Phytolacca americana and the catalytically active A-chain (RTA) from the heterodimeric toxic lectin ricin from the endosperm of the castor oil bean. The former RIP is active on native E. coli ribosomes, whereas the latter is inactive but both are active on naked rRNA. Hence, it is postulated that the ribosomal proteins in the native ribosome either allow, in the case of PAP, or prevent, in the case of RTA, action on the target site in the rRNA. The aim of the work is to use ribosome dissociation and reconstitution techniques to study the relationship between ribosomal proteins and the activity of PAP and RTA. The initial part of the work concerned establishing conditions under which both PAP and RTA show high levels of discrimination in activity between native ribosomes and naked rRNA substrates. A buffer that contained Ca2+ in place of the more usual Mg2+ was shown to produce such discrimination. However, in the case of RTA action, the relatively mild treatments resulting in ribosome dissociation were sufficient to allow action. Various subparticles were prepared from purified 50S subunits through the successive removal of ribosomal proteins by increasing ionic strength. As more proteins were split off, the activity of PAP decreased, whereas the activity of RTA remained nearly constant. This is consistent with the hypothesis that ribosomal proteins modulate the activity of the two RIPs differently. In an attemot to use a small defined RNA substrate with which to studv the [influence? ] of ribosomal proteins on RIPs' activity the region encoding domain VI of 23S rRNA (containing the RIP target site) was sub-cloned from a cloned rmB operon using PCR and used as a template for the synthesis of transcripts in vitro. These transcripts were susceptible to depurination by PAP, but for unknown reasons were refractory to RTA. Using gel retardation analysis, it was shown that total 50S ribosomal proteins (TP50) bound to domain VI transcripts in an RNA sequence specific manner, and that the reconstituted complex was relatively stable. However, the activity of PAP on this reconstituted RNP was equivalent to that on the transcript alone, and RTA was inactive on both. These results are discussed in relation to the influences of Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions and to the possible role of ribosomal proteins L3 and L6.
Growth model for raceway pond cultivation of Desmodesmus sp. MCC34 isolated from a local water body

Biofuel production by microalgae has the advantage of higher biomass productivity over land crops. The selection of potential microalgae depends on the growth in outdoor mass cultivation during different seasons, which can be predicted by a mathematical model. Here, freshwater green algae were isolated from a local water body in Pilani, Rajasthan, India (geographical coordinates: 28°22′N 75°36′E) and characterized by microscopy and ribosomal RNA analysis. The strain was submitted to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute's microbial culture collection (IARI, India) and identified as Desmodesmus sp. MCC34. This strain, along with a fresh water green algae (Chlorella minutissima), two marine green algae species (Dunaliella salina and Dunaliella tertiolecta) and two nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria (Nostoc muscorum and Anabaena doliolum), were screened for lipid productivity and growth kinetics under culture room and raceway pond conditions. Desmodesmus sp. MCC34 showed the highest specific growth rate (0.26 day−1), biomass production (1.9 g L−1) and lipid productivity (103 mg L−1 day−1). The optimal temperature and saturating light intensity for maximal growth of Desmodesmus sp. MCC34 were 35 °C and 75 μmol m−2 s−1 with molar extinction coefficient of 0.22 m2 g−1, respectively. Desmodesmus sp. MCC34 was then subjected to outdoor cultivation in a 20‐m long raceway pond for 18 days during March and November 2013. The areal biomass productivity and volumetric biomass productivity were 13946.23 kg ha−1 year−1 and 56.94 mg L− 1day−1 during the month of March, decreasing to 6262.28 kg ha−1 year−1 and 25.57 mg L− 1day−1 during the month of November. A mathematical model was constructed to explain the relationship between biomass production and growth parameters such as temperature, light intensity and nutrient concentration. The productivity values predicted with the proposed model correspond well with the experimental data, suggesting the validity of the model.
Lokales Erregerspektrum der sekundären Peritonitis und Besonderheiten der Pharmakokinetik von Ceftriaxon und Linezolid bei kritisch kranken Patienten

Das gemeinsame Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeiten war eine Optimierung antibiotischer Therapien kritisch kranker Patienten mit sekundärer Peritonitis. Der Fokus lag auf der Pharmakokinetik zweier gängiger Antibiotika, Ceftriaxon und Linezolid. Zum einen wurde bei 20 Intensivpatienten, unter Ceftriaxontherapie (2g täglich intravenös), die ungebundene Fraktion des Antibiotikums mittels Ultrafiltration und high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) bestimmt. Bei 19 Patienten zeigten sich Konzentrationen im publizierten sicher therapeutischen Bereich. Verglichen mit Proben gesunder Freiwilliger wurden generell höhere ungebundene Fraktionen gefunden. Die höchsten zeigten Patienten mit schwerer Niereninsuffizienz und/oder Hyperbilirubinämie. Die Clearance korrelierte gut mit der glomerulären Filtrationsrate. Die Proteinbindung von Ceftriaxon scheint somit eine untergeordnete Rolle für die Frage zu spielen, ob Standarddosen bei Intensivpatienten angemessen sind oder nicht. Zum anderen wurde bei 20 Intensivpatienten unter Linezolidtherapie (2x600 mg täglich intravenös) die totalen und ungebundenen Medikamentenspiegel bestimmt. Als Maß für die Linezolidexposition wurden die area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) und die Tal-Konzentrationen (Cmin) berechnet und mit publizierten therapeutischen Bereichen (AUC 200-400mg*h/L, Cmin 2-10mg/dl) verglichen. Komedikationen mit Inhibitoren bzw. Induktoren des CYP450 und/oder P-Glycoprotein (P-gp) wurden berücksichtigt, da diese in Verdacht stehen die Pharmakokinetik (PK) von Linezolid zu beeinflussen. Es zeigte sich eine deutliche Streuung bei den Medikamentenspiegeln, nur 6 Patienten zeigten Werte im therapeutischen Zielbereich. Eine Komedikation mit Inhibitoren des CYP450 und/oder P-gp ging tendenziell mit höheren freien Medikamentenspiegeln einher, wohingegen Patienten unter Levothyroxin, einem Induktor des P-gp, auffällig niedrige Werte boten (AUC ~60 mg*h/L, Cmin < 0.4mg/L). In der dritten Arbeit wurde die prinzipielle Wirksamkeit antibiotischer Regime bei der Therapie von sekundären Peritonitiden untersucht. Als „spectrum adequacy rate“ (SAR) wurde die Wahrscheinlichkeit, alle bei einem Patienten nachgewiesenen relevanten Erreger durch ein angewandtes Antibiotikaregime abzudecken, definiert. Retrospektiv
Lignans and an abundant flavone glycoside with free-radical scavenging activity from the roots of the endemic species Stachys mialhesi de Noé

Two sterols, stigmasterol (1) and β-sitosterol (2), two lignans, (+)-sesamin (3), new for the genus Stachys and (±)-paulownia (4), new in the Lamiaceae family, reported for the second time from a natural source, and one acetylated flavone glycoside isoscutellarein-7-O-(2''-O-6'''-O-acetyl-β-D-allopyranosyl-β-Dglucopyranoside (5), were isolated from the roots of Stachys mialhesi de Noé. Surprisingly, 3g of compound 5 are gathered from 5g of roots extract. The structures of compounds 1-5 were established on the basis of physical and spectroscopic analysis, and by comparison with the literature data. The free-radical-scavenging property of compound 5 was evaluated by the use of the ESR method in order to visualize the inhibition of the 1,1-diphenyl2-1picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical.
Cerebrospinal Fluid Analysis With the BioFire FilmArray Meningitis/Encephalitis Molecular Panel Reduces Length of Hospital Stay in Patients With Suspected Central Nervous System Infections

Abstract The Meningitis/Encephalitis Panel (MEP) is a sensitive and specific Food and Drug Administration–approved molecular diagnostic test for the 14 most common infectious etiologies of meningoencephalitis. Using a before–after controlled study design, MEP reduced length of hospital stay by 1.5 days, and this effect was mediated by the reduced time to final microbiology reporting.
Adaptive Filtering for Indoor Localization using ZIGBEE RSSI and LQI Measurement

The term “filter” is often used to describe a device in the form of a piece of physical hardware or computer software that is applied to a set of noisy data in order to extract information about a prescribed quantity of interest [25], [26]. Filter has been designed to take noisy data as input to reduce the effects of noise as much as possible. A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a network that consists of numerous small devices that are in fact tiny computers. These so-called nodes are composed of a power supply, a processor, different kinds of memory and a radio transceiver for communication. WSNs are generally used to observe or sense the environment in a non-intrusive way. In order to perform this task, nodes are often extended with sensors, like infrared, ultrasonic or temperature sensors, hence the names sensor nodes and sensor networks. The domain of WSNs is still very young. During the last few years, new developments in the area of communication, computing and sensing have enabled and stimulated the miniaturization and optimization of computer hardware. These evolutions have led to the emergence of WSNs. Despite the increasing capabilities of hardware in general, sensor nodes are still very restricted devices. They have a limited amount of processing power, memory capacity and most importantly energy. This makes WSNs a challenging research topic. Despite current restrictions, several applications for WSNs have already been designed. WSNs are currently found in very different domains [3]. The large literature can be classified by relying on several criteria. One of these is the physical means used for localization, e.g., through the RF attenuation in the Electro-Magnetic (EM) waves [4], [11], [13] (Received Signal Strength Indicator RSSI based techniques) or the time required to cover the distance between transmitter and receiver (Ultra Wide Band); if using ultrasonic pulses, one could also use the time of arrival or time-difference of arrival of the waves [10]. This can even be extended to Audible-frequency sounds [9]. Another classification is based on the ranging feature, where distinguish between Range-free and Range-based localization techniques [11]. Moreover, it can be classified according to the Single-hop [11] and Multihop [14] localization scheme. Finally, it can differentiate between centralized [14] and distributed [9] localization systems. A common consensus among localization researchers is that indoor localization requires room-level accuracy. Indoor localization uses many different sensors such as infrared, RFID, Ultrasound, Ultra-Wide Band, Bluetooth, and WLAN. Different sensors provide different
The Evolution of Genetic Architecture

Genetic architecture, the structure of the mapping from genotype to phenotype, determines the variational properties of the phenotype and is instrumental in understanding its evolutionary potential. Throughout most of the history of evolutionary biology, genetic architecture has been treated as a given set of parameters and not as a set of dynamic variables. The past decade has seen renewed interest in incorporating the genotype-phenotype map as a dynamical part of population genetics. This has been aided by several conceptual advances. I review these developments with emphasis on recent theoretical work on the evolution of genetic architecture and evolvability.
Structure and function of the avian neuronal nucleus for soundlocalisation

In this thesis I present studies on the structure, function and development of the avian neuronal nucleus for sound localisation. The ability to locate sound sources is an important faculty for both predator and prey alike and the precision of sound localisation ability is known as acuity. Using theoretical methods I have determined that there is a limitation on acuity for sound localisation using interaural time difference (ITD) detection. Acuity limitation is due to the geometry of a sound source and a listener and acuity can not be improved by varying the ITD detection mechanism. This has implications for ITD detection structures. In birds, the nucleus Laminaris (nL) is a population of ITD detecting neurons with an unusual laminar structure. I have investigated nL structural development from a rounded cluster of cells to a one cell thick sheet. The structure and function of cell populations are interlinked and their relationship can be investigated through understanding their development. These studies show that cell death is not a significant contributor to nL structural development and relative cell movement is the dominant mechanism. There is also spatiotemporal patterning of nL structure development which is similar to the patterning found for neuron birth times. Intercellular interactions, such as adhesion, can affect relative cell movements during development. By considering the maximum adhesion configuration for a theoretical population of cells, I have demonstrated that population structure can be affected by individual cell morphology. This may provide a mechanism for nL laminar structure development. The role of adhesion in nL development and cell migration has also been explored using in vivo perturbation and in vitro assays.
Walking and crawling with ALoF: a robot for autonomous locomotion on four legs

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to introduce the robotic quadrupedal platform ALoF that is designed to aid research on perception in legged locomotion. Design/methodology/approach - A well-balanced size and complexity of the robot results in a robust platform that is easy to handle, yet able to perform complex maneuvers as well as to carry sophisticated 3D sensors. A very large range of motion allows the robot to actively explore its surroundings through haptic interaction, and to choose between a wide range of planning options. Findings - This robot was employed and tested in the lunar robotics challenge organized by the European Space Agency, for which the authors also developed a novel crawling gait, in which the weight of the robot is alternately supported by scaled plates under the main body and the four shank segments. This allowed for stable locomotion in steep terrain with very loose soil. Originality/value - The paper describes how a very large range of motion allows the robot to actively explore its surroundings through haptic interaction, and to choose between a wide range of planning options. The paper describes how the authors developed a novel crawling gait, in which the weight of the robot is alternately supported by scaled plates under the main body and the four shank segments.
Income Conservatism in the U.S. Technology Sector

SYNOPSIS I investigate the extent and nature of income conservatism in the financial statement numbers of firms in the U.S. technology sector. Technology firms are predicted to have greater income conservatism than other U.S. firms because they are subject to both higher shareholder litigation risk and conservative accounting standards such as SFAS 2. In the absence of a generally accepted measure of conservatism, I examine several proxies, including loss incidence and accounting rates of return, operating cash flow and nonoperating accrual levels, and regression coefficients from the earnings-return model in Basu (1997). Relative to other companies, technology firms' earnings are characterized by higher (and intertemporally increasing) levels of both conditional and unconditional conservatism. These differences are both statistically and economically significant. Further analysis suggests that technology firms' higher conservatism results primarily from lower operating cash flows due to R&D expensing and.
ARBORICULTURA Y SILVOPASTORALISMO EN EL PERÍODO FORMATIVO (1.400 a.C.-500 d.C.) DE LA CUENCA DEL SALAR DE ATACAMA

Diversas hipotesis y modelos se han planteado en torno al papel que jugo la agricultura, horticultura, recoleccion, caza y ganaderia de camelidos durante el periodo Formativo (1.400 a.C.-500 d.C.) en los oasis del Salar de Atacama y el Loa Medio. En este articulo se reevaluan estos planteamientos a la luz de nuevos datos obtenidos principalmente del analisis de microfosiles adheridos en palas liticas e instrumentos de molienda y en menor medida desde distintos isotopos (d13Ccol, d13Cap, d15N, d18O, Sr87/Sr86). Los datos se interpretan desde una perspectiva teorica que enfatiza el riesgo y una evolucion no lineal en la interaccion sociedadplanta. Se discute la funcionalidad de los instrumentos analizados y el manejo de recursos silvestres como Cactaceas y Ciperaceas ademas de tuberculos aun no identificados. Desde la arqueobotanica se sugiere que los bosques de algarrobo (Prosopis) no son nativos del area, sino que fueron producto de una arboricultura formativa posiblemente ligada a una economia silvopastoralista en los oasis. Ambas propuestas replantean la historia cultural y ecologica del area, enriquecen la discusion del Formativo, y la biogeografia de Prosopis en America.
Fuzzy Algorithms for Pattern Recognition in Medical Diagnosis

There has been increased interest in the development of fuzzy pattern recognition based medical imaging that contributes to solve the problems in early diagnosis and prognosis. In the context of medical imaging, uncertainties can be present at any point that can lead to serious inaccuracy with segmentation. There are several complementary and competing approaches to computer aided diagnosis, including fuzzy logic, neural networks and hybrid algorithms. To extract the interested structures, many researchers aim to develop fuzzy segmentation algorithms in medical data. Many fuzzy pattern recognition approaches have shown their effectiveness in medical diagnosis. This paper surveys the algorithmic methods of fuzzy pattern recognition for medical imaging.