Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing the attitudes of Dominican primary school teachers toward the integration of ICT in the classroom

Many teachers in developed countries have integrated the use of computers into their classrooms; however, the digital divide has limited this integration in developing countries such as those in the Caribbean. Through a combination of questionnaires and interviews, Dominican primary school teachers' attitudes toward computers; their computer-based activities; and the challenges that reduced the frequency of computer use in their classrooms; were queried. Significant differences in computer enjoyment and computer anxiety between young and mature teachers were reported. Although teachers were willing to use computers in their classrooms, challenges such as a lack of resources, limited support and insufficient training prevented more extensive use. Nevertheless, teachers were able to create tests and presentations using word processing and presentation software. This research improves the understanding of teachers’ attitudes toward technology in developing countries and recommends strategies to overcome barriers to classroom technology integration.
GIS Approach to Sea Level Rise Risk Assessment

Most island inhabitants, along with their infrastructure and socioeconomic activities, are situated just a few hundred meters from the shore and as a result, are likely to experience negative impacts from rising sea-levels. The destructive effects could include coastal flooding, loss of wetlands, saltwater intrusion, increased erosion, and higher storm surges. Projected sea level rise could seriously damage the socioeconomic growth of smaller island states with practically every social and economic sector being disrupted. Smaller low elevation islands might not have the physical size to deal with rising sea level, and residents might be forced to relocate to other countries, which could have dire socioeconomic costs. The objective of this study is to demonstrate that a Geographic Information System (GIS) is an efficient instrument for conducting surveys and inventories to assess those small islands at higher risk and to develop mitigation strategies. Efficient monitoring requires the assessment of various coastal data baselines and the evaluation of subsequent alterations in spatial patterns. While monitoring involves real-time components, among the most powerful tools of a GIS are its modeling capabilities, which allow simulation of various climate change scenarios. The results of this research reveal that GIS techniques and applications play an integral role in defending small islands from climate change and other threats. Key-Words: Climate Change, Sea Level, Tropical Storms, GIS, Bermuda, Storm Surge, Aviation
Characteristics of the bottom sediments inhabited by the surf clam Spisula sachalinensis in Sendai Bay [Japan]

Bottom sediments of Isobe Ground in southern Sendai Bay were analysed to clarify the factors affecting living conditions of the surf clam. The sediments were mostly composed of sand, and the surf clam lived in well-sorted fine to very fine sandy bottoms with less organic matter, shallower than 12-15m deep. They were distributed in a shoaling wave zone between the breaker zone and the wave base.The surf clam seemed to depend on hydrodynamic conditions responsible for sediment properties rather than on the sediment itself. Since the surf clam feeds primarily on suspended rather than deposited material, bottom water movement great enough to supply suspended organic matter constantly, may be an important factor, causing the surf clam to be concentrated in the shoaling wave zone.Sediment with larger particles that hinders burrowing, or increased mud content causing insufficient supply of food negatively influence the distribution of the surf clam. The surf clam may also be affected by the rough waves in the surf zone.
Evolution of the Free Surfaceof 3-D Schematic Dam Break using Smoothed Particle Hydromechanics Method

In this paper, a modeling of free surface fluid flow is performed using Smoothed Particle Hydro¬dynamics method. A simulation of water dambreak benchmark with obstacle is carried out. To highlight and validate our developed numerical model, a comparison between two different methods for free surface fluid flow simulation as well as with experiment results is presented. The first method is based on finite volume method (FVM) which is a meshdependent method. In their study, W. C. Moon and al attempt to validate a multiphase model with a third-order accurate scheme for two-dimensional flows with free surface based on the Volume/Surface Integrated Average Multi-Moment Method (VSIAM3). The second one is based on smoothed particle hydrodynamics method which is a meshless method. In this method, we propose a consistent weakly compressible SPH model (WCSPH) to simulate Newtonian fluids. Keywords— Free surface flow, Smoothed particle hydrodynamics method, Incompressible fluid.
Fatty Acid Analysis of Individual Cow Milk Samples

The overall objective of our research program on mid-infrared (IR) milk analysis is to develop a suite of milk analysis measurements that can be used as precision farm management tools. Currently, we have developed and tested rapid milk fatty acid analysis tools that can be used to determine the outcome of feeding and farm management changes by measuring de novo, mixed origin, and preformed milk fatty acids. These measures have been applied to a large number of dairy herds over a 4 year period, and a positive relationship between milk de novo fatty acid content and bulk tank milk fat and protein concentration were observed. Two 4
Phosphoglycollate Phosphatase in Marine Algae: Isolation and Characterization from Halimeda cylindracea

Phosphoglycollate phosphatase was partially purified (107-fold) from the marine alga H. cylindracea. The partially purified enzyme was almost completely specific for phosphoglycollate as substrate, and had the following properties: a specific activity of 2.73, an apparent Km for phosphoglycollate of 8 x 10-4M, a pH optimum of 7.5 - 8 and a divalent cation requirement. The presence of the enzyme is discussed in relation to photorespiration in this alga.
Influencia de l'estacio, de l'edat i del sexe en l'alimentacio natural i la composicio corporal del llenguado senegales, "solea senegalensis" (kaup, 1858)

El lenguado senegales ("solea senegalensis") es una especie de importancia pesquera y con un gran potencial para la acuicultura. En algunas empresas espanolas se realizan ensayos para conseguir un cultivo intensivo rentable de esta especie, a pesar de que su biologia no ha sido del todo estudiada. En esta tesis se estudiaron aspectos ineditos de su biologia con la finalidad de aportar datos utiles para avanzar en su produccion industrial. Los objetivos principales fueron analizar la influencia de algunos factores (estacion, edad y sexo) sobre algunas variables biometricas, indices corporales, alimentacion natural y sobre la composicion corporal, analizando para ello tres tejidos: musculo, higado y gonadas. La muestra de lenguados, procedente del delta del ebro, se caracterizo analizando el crecimiento, las variables biometricas y los indices corporales. La alimentacion natural se estudio a partir de analisis de los digestivos, calculandose posteriormente para cada tipo de presa los idices que informaban de su abundancia, frecuencia de aparicion y dominancia en la dieta. La composicion corporal se determino analizando bioquimicamente tres tejidos. En el musculo blanco se valoraron la humedad, cenizas, proteinas y.
Development of the heuristic method of evolutionary strategies for reinforcement learning problems solving

—There are many methods for machine learning problems solving. Each of them is used depending on the solved problems. This article describes several classical algorithms of evolutionary strategies in the reinforcement learning problems. The authors propose the Heuristic method that has certain advantages over existing methods. The article also provides a comparative analysis of the solutions to problems, including the problems of error-correcting coding.
Rumen fermentation and diet degradability in sheep fed sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) silage supplemented with Tithonia diversifolia or alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and rice polishing

ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to evaluate ruminal fermentation (i.e. pH, ammonia, and volatile fatty acid concentrations) and in situ degradability of diets in sheep fed sugarcane silage (SCS) supplemented with Tithonia diversifolia (Td) or alfalfa (Medicago sativa) hay (A), with or without rice (Oriza sativa) polishing (RP) as an energy source. Four Blackbelly sheep (35 kg average body weight) with rumen cannula were used. The experimental diets were (g/kg of dry matter): Diet 1) SCS (686) + Td (294), Diet 2) SCS (460) + Td (226) + RP (294), Diet 3) SCS (637) + A (343), and Diet 4) SCS (441) + A (245) + RP (294). The remainder (20 g/kg of dry matter) was composed by minerals supplement and salt. Samples of diets were incubated into rumen for 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 30, 36, 48, and 72 h to determine in situ degradability. Data were analysed with a linear mixed model. The lamb, period and lamb nested in period*diet were considered as a random variable. The inclusion of RP improved the degradability of diets and ammonia production in the rumen. The acetic, propionic, and butyric acid concentrations (mmol/100 mL) in rumen increased (P 0.05) between these forages. In conclusion, energy supplementation, not necessarily from starch, is important to improve rumen fermentation and degradability of diets based on sugarcane silage.
Competition of Talk Show Programs in Taiwan

In this study, we analyze the competition among talk show programs in Taiwan. We use a discrete choice model to characterize consumers’ the viewing decision. We find that viewers are more likely to watch a program which offers a slant closer to their own political ideology. Based on our estimation results, we discuss whether these talk show programs choose a slant to maximize their viewing rates.
Food security, sustainability and agricultural innovation

Currently, more than enough food is produced to feed the world’s population of 7 billion inhabitants. However, latest FAO fi gures indicate that 842 million people were undernourished in 2011-13. Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to suffi cient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. There are four dimensions of food security: the availability of food; access to food; utilization of food and food system stability. Looking to the future, there are also major challenges ahead from the rapidly changing socio-economic environment (increasing world population and urbanization, and dietary changes), climate change and erosion of natural resources. The projected food demand in 2050 will increase by 60 percent. The sustainable increase of productivity, based on the adoption of technological and organizational innovation in agriculture, is therefore key to achieving food security. Increasing productivity can improve food security in two ways. First, providing an opportunity for farmers to increase their incomes and to improve their livelihoods. Second, increased productivity can also lead to reduced food prices, benefi ting many poor people in both urban and rural areas as poor households typically spend a large proportion of their income on food. Increased productivity should be achieved while simultaneously conserving the natural resource base upon which future productivity increases depend. In this way, the farmer’s income growth can be combined with a truly sustainable resource use.
FINE-ROOT BIOMASS DISTRIBUTION AND PRODUCTION ALONG A BARRIER ISLAND CHRONOSEQUENCE

-Fine roots are important in community development on barrier islands. Fine roots can influence nutrient losses from the soil environment along with regulating water loss based on their distribution and concentration. A sequential coring method was used to determine live fine-root biomass along a barrier island dune and swale chronosequence on the Virginia Coast Reserve-Long Term Ecological Research Site. Fine-root production and the effects of nitrogen fertilization were also examined using an in-growth core method along the chronosequence. Variation in biomass was associated with topographic position and the interaction with nitrogen and water availability along the chronosequence. The swales had significantly larger accumulations (16 to 180 g/m2) of live fine-root biomass (LFRB) than the dunes (4 to 13 g/m2). Higher LFRB was probably due to higher nitrogen levels and moister conditions in the swales. LFRB changed very little across the dune chronosequence but LFRB in the swales generally decreased from the 6-yr to the 120-yr site. However, the 6yr swale had significantly lower biomass than the other swales. LFRB was concentrated in the upper 10-20 cm of soil in dune and swale sites across the chronosequence, with swales having proportionally more (70%) in the upper 10 cm of soil than dunes (29%). Root nitrogen concentration in LFRB was higher in the older dunes and swales. Root phosphorus concentrations increased from the 6-yr to the 120-yr dune but were not different in the swales. Fineroot production increased significantly with N-fertilization in the dune communities, 1.5 times to 2.5 times the reference sites. Nitrogen fertilization also increased nitrogen concentrations in live fine roots.
Characterisation and Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Clostridioides (Clostridium) Difficile Isolated from Chicken Carcasses

Abstract Introduction Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile is a Gram+, anaerobic, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium that can produce toxins, and it is mainly because its virulence is attributed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of C. difficile and hyper virulent ribotypes in chicken carcasses and the antibiotic susceptibility of isolated strains. Material and Methods C. difficile was isolated from chicken carcasses by microbiological methods, its ribotypes were identified by means of PCR, the toxin production ability was defined by ELISA, and the susceptibility of the isolates to selected antibiotics was determined by minimum inhibitory concentration evaluator strips. Results The bacterium was isolated from 69 out of 185 (37.3%) examined chicken carcass samples, and six out of the 69 (8.7%) isolates were identified as ribotype 027. All isolates were susceptible to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (100.0%), vancomycin (97.1%), metronidazole (88.4%), and tetracycline (95.7%), whereas they were resistant to cefotaxime (97.1%) and imipenem (89.9%). Conclusion The results of this study demonstrate the presence of toxigenic C. difficile isolates such as ribotype 027 (one of the most common causes of C. difficile infection in humans) in chicken carcasses. Although there is no case for stating that C. difficile is a food-borne pathogen, the presence of C. difficile in chicken may be considered to be a potential risk to consumers.
Colistin Resistance of Non-pathogenic Strains of Escherichia Coli Occurring as Natural Intestinal Flora in Broiler Chickens Treated and not Treated with Colistin Sulphate

Abstract Introduction A significant threat to public health is presented by antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, selective pressure on which results from antibiotic use. Colistin is an antibiotic commonly used in veterinary medicine, but also one of last resort in human medicine. Since the 2015 discovery in China of the mcr-1 gene encoding colistin resistance in Enterobacteriaceae, other countries have noted its presence. This study was to find the mcr-1 gene prevalence in E. coli isolated from poultry slaughtered in Poland. Material and Methods Cloacal swabs were taken from December 2017 to October 2018 from broiler chickens in three regions. The samples (n = 158) were grouped as flocks treated with colistin sulphate (n = 87) and those not treated (n = 71). Resistance to antimicrobials commonly used in poultry was evaluated by minimum inhibitory concentration. The presence of the mcr-1 gene was confirmed by PCR. Results Isolates containing the mcr-1 gene were yielded by 11.27% of the samples from not treated flocks and 19.54% of those from treated flocks, but no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of the gene was seen between the groups. Conclusion The results clearly preclude intensification of selective pressure for colistin resistance due to colistin sulphate treatment because they show that the avian gastrointestinal tract was already inhabited by colistin-resistant E. coli by the time the chickens came to the poultry house.
Investigation of Dropwise Condensation Heat Transfer on Laser-Ablated Superhydrophobic/Hydrophilic Hybrid Copper Surfaces

Heterogeneous surfaces with wetting contrast have gained extensive attention in recent years because of their potential application in condensation heat transfer enhancement. In this work, we engineered superhydrophobic/hydrophilic hybrid (SHH) surfaces on copper substrates via a laser-ablation process. We demonstrated that the as-fabricated SHH surfaces present dropwise condensation behavior; the condensate droplet growth, departure, and heat transfer performance depend strongly on the spacing of the hydrophilic spot. The surface with the hydrophilic spot spacing of 100 μm (SHH100) exhibits the most efficient dropwise condensation in terms of fast droplet growth rate, efficient coalescence-induced droplet departure, as well as enhanced heat transfer coefficient (HTC) compared to the homogeneous superhydrophobic (SHPo) surface. The mechanism underlying the enhanced condensation heat transfer performance is analyzed. A 12% enhancement on condensation HTC was found was found on SHH100 surface compared with the SHPo surface. Our results provide important insights for the design of hybrid surfaces with wetting contrast for enhancing condensation heat transfer performance in many industrial applications.
The Sensitivity of Psittacine Isolated Pseudomonas Strains towards Antibiotics

Avian Pseudomonas disease evolves in an acute or chronic form on cage birds and involves difficulties concerning establishing an optimal therapeutical conduct. Due to the risk of transmission to other individuals, and also to the personnel involved directly in care and treatment of ill animals, it is very important to rapidly institute an adequate therapy in order to assure the rapid limitation of pseudomonads transmission to humans or other animals. These facts constitute the base of the initialization of different studies on some different Pseudomonas spp. strains sensitivity, these being isolated from several clinical aviary cases (especially psittacines), in comparison to the different groups and types of antibiotics used currently in the treatment scheme of birds. Considering the investigations performed, the conclusion is that, even though the latest cephalosporins and fluoroquinolons have a maximum efficiency towards some of the strains, these registered also the antibiotic resistance phenomenon, in a strong proportion (41,8 to 94,12 % from the tested strains). There have been obtained constant results considering streptomycin, azithromycin, amoxicillin, associated with clavulanic acid, doxicycline and tetracycline.
The ecological and evolutionary implications of recruitment for competitively structured communities

The role of recruitment from nonbreeding juvenile or subadult to the breeding adult population in affecting community dynamics is not well understood. Yet, the recruitment process may be extremely important, especially for space-limited communities. Here, we are specifically concerned with how the interspecific interactions involved in recruitment of nonbreeding floaters to breeding adults will influence the ecological stability of the populations' densities and the longer-term persistence stability of the competing species. The conclusions we draw are only applicable to communities for which there are ecologically stable equilibria
Predictors of anaemia among adolescent schoolchildren of Ghana

Anaemia is a public health problem in Ghana. We sought to identify factors associated with haemoglobin concentration (Hb) and anaemia among school-attending adolescents. We analysed data from 2948 adolescent girls and 609 boys (10–19 years) selected from 115 schools from regions of Ghana as a secondary analysis of baseline surveys conducted at two time-points. We measured Hb, malaria from capillary blood, anthropometry and used a modified food frequency questionnaire to assess diet. Multivariable linear and Poisson regression models were used to identify predictors of Hb and anaemia. The prevalence of anaemia, malaria and geophagy were 24, 25, and 24 %, respectively, among girls and 13, 27 and 6 %, respectively, among boys. Girls engaging in geophagy had a 53 % higher adjusted prevalence of anaemia and 0⋅39 g/dl lower Hb. There were similar results among those who tested positive for malaria (+52 % anaemia; −0⋅42 g/dl Hb). Among girls, lower anaemia prevalence and higher Hb were associated with consumption of foods rich in haeme iron (−22 %; +0⋅18 g/dl), consumption of iron-fortified cereal/beverages consumed with citrus (−50 %; +0⋅37 g/dl) and being overweight (−22 %; +0⋅22 g/dl). Age was positively associated with anaemia among girls, but negatively associated among boys. Boys who tested positive for malaria had 0⋅31 g/dl lower Hb. Boys who were overweight or had obesity and consumed flour products were also more likely to be anaemic (119 and 56 %, respectively). Factors associated with Hb and anaemia may inform anaemia reduction interventions among school-going adolescents and suggest the need to tailor them uniquely for boys and girls.
Web-Enabler: Transformation of Conventional HIMS Data to Semantics Structure Using Hadoop MapReduce

Objective: Data exchange, interoperability, and access as a service in healthcare information management systems (HIMS) is the basic need to provision health-services. Data existing in various HIMS not only differ in the basic underlying structure but also in data processing systems. Data interoperability can only be achieved when following a common structure or standard which is shareable such as semantics based structures. We propose web-enabler: A Hadoop MapReduce based distributed approach to transform the existing huge variety data in variety formats to a conformed and flexible ontological format that enables easy access to data, sharing, and providing various healthcare services. Results: For proof of concept, we present a case study of general patient record in conventional system to be enabled for analysis on the web by transforming to semantics based structure. Conclusion: This work achieves transformation of stale as well as future data to be web-enabled and easily available for analytics in healthcare systems.