Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The come-back shrub: regained dominance of Calluna vulgaris after 25 years of cattle grazing

In 1983, a grazing experiment started in the Netherlands, Veluwezoom, with Highland cattle grazing on Deschampsia-dominated heathland. The Deschampsia grass layer was grazed, the standing crop was reduced, the grass layer opened and the thick organic layer of Deschampsia litter decreased from 40,000 to 5,000 kg.ha -1 dry matter in just 4 years of grazing. The increase in bare soil and open grassland proved to be a catalyst for the regeneration of Calluna vulgaris, Vaccinium myrtillus and V. vitis-idaea . The grazing of solitary bulls creates a short grass sward where other species can establish. Through continuous grazing, the area becomes suitable for small herbivores like rabbits and rodents. As a management tool grazing is cheap with the additional benefit that it is a natural process. The strong selective effects on the grasses seem to outweigh the effects of nutrient enrichment. Keywords: Calluna vulgaris ; cattle grazing; Deschampsia-dominated heathland; Molinia dominated heathlands
Encoding the Agent in Persian Passive Construction: A Cognitive Approach

This paper is an attempt to explore the prepositions used to encode the agent in Persian passive constructions. According to Givon (1983) the main function of the passive constructions is to defocus the agent. As the general trend in Persian is to omit this defocused agent, we will stylistically divide the passive constructions into two main sub branches, namely unmarked and marked passives according to whether or not the agent is included. Having analyzed the prepositions using in the passive construction (e.g. tvssot-e, be dst-e, b, z suy-e, z trf-e, and be vsile-y-e) a complete semantic characterization of the type of agent that normally occurs with these prepositions will be provided. The results indicate that, in contrast to some linguists who treated the prepositions in the passive construction as stylistic forms, they are not always interchangeable; in fact they are meaningful which have a prototype for the type of agent that co-occurs with them.
Microbiote intestinal et inflammation : prédiction de la réponse aux anti-TNFα dans les maladies inflammatoires chroniques et modulation de la croissance bactérienne in vitro en réponse au TNFα

L’interface hote/microbiote intestinal est un systeme d’interactions complexes dont le desequilibre est associe au developpement des maladies inflammatoires chroniques. Les traitements anti-TNFα sont tres efficaces dans ces maladies, mais seulement chez certains patients. L’objectif de ce travail etait de rechercher un lien entre composition du microbiote intestinal et reponse aux traitements anti-TNFα dans deux types de maladies inflammatoires chroniques, les spondyloarthrites et les maladies inflammatoires chroniques de l’intestin. Nous avons retrouve des variations de la composition du microbiote intestinal apres traitement par anti-TNFα chez des patients atteints de spondyloarthrite et avons identifie un nœud taxonomique predictif de la reponse therapeutique a trois mois. Ce nœud taxonomique, l’ordre des Burkholderiales, etant ainsi un biomarqueur potentiellement utilisable en pratique clinique, nous avons depose une demande de brevet europeen, qui est en cours d’instruction. Ce travail a ete poursuivi par un nouveau protocole de recherche clinique incluant des patients atteints de spondyloarthrites mais aussi de maladies inflammatoires chroniques intestinales. Ce protocole est finance par le CHU de Bordeaux dans le cadre de l’Appel d’Offre Interne. Il permettra de valider les hypotheses de notre premier travail, en realisant notamment des PCR quantitatives utilisant des amorces specifiques de l’ordre des Burkholderiales. Nous avons de plus retrouve in vitro pour la premiere fois a notre connaissance une modulation de la croissance bacterienne chez Bacteroides fragilis en reponse au TNFα humain.
A genetic component of extinction risk in mammals

Genetic factors may play an important role in species extinction but their actual effect remains poorly understood, particularly because of a strong and potentially masking effect expected from ecological traits. We investigated the role of genetics in mammal extinction taking both ecological and genetic factors into account. As a proxy for the role of genetics we used the ratio of the rates of nonsynonymous (amino acid changing) to synonymous (leaving the amino acid unchanged) nucleotide substitutions, Ka / Ks. Because most nonsynonymous substitutions are likely to be slightly deleterious and thus selected against, this ratio is a measure of the inefficiency of selection: if large (but less than 1), it implies a low efficiency of selection against nonsynonymous mutations. As a result, nonsynonymous mutations may accumulate and thus contribute to extinction. As a proxy for the role of ecology we used body mass W, with which most extinction-related ecological traits strongly correlate. As a measure of extinction risk we used species’ affiliation with the five levels of extinction threat according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. We calculated Ka / Ks for mitochondrial protein-coding genes of 211 mammalian species, each of which was characterized by body mass and the level of threat. Using logistic regression analysis, we then constructed a set of logistic regression models of extinction risk on ln(Ka / Ks) and lnW. We found that Ka / Ks and body mass are responsible for a 38% and a 62% increase in extinction risk, respectively. Given that the standard error of these values is 13%, the contribution of genetic factors to extinction risk in mammals is estimated to be one-quarter to one-half of the total of ecological and genetic effects. We conclude that the effect of genetics on extinction is significant, though it is almost certainly smaller than the effect of ecological traits.
In vitro studies on antimicrobial activities of Lactic Acid Bacteria isolated from fresh vegetables for biocontrol of tomato pathogens.

Aims: This study was focused on using Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) isolated from fresh vegetables which has been molecularly identified for in vitro control of some tomato pathogens. Study Design: The inhibitory potentials of supernatant obtained from previously characterized LAB isolates or vegetable origin were investigated against some tomato phytopathogens using agar-well method with the view to develop biological agents for some tomato disease causing organisms. Place and Duration of Study: Biotechnology Centre of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, between January 2011 and February 2012. Methodology: The antimicrobial activities of LAB against some tomato phytopathogenic bacteria which include (Xanthomonas campestries, Erwinia caratovora, and Pseudomonas syringae) were obtained by using the agar well diffusion method. Results: The result indicates that cell free culture of LAB from fresh vegetables origin Original Research Article British Microbiology Research Journal, 4(3): 351-359, 2014 352 (Weissella paramesenteroides, Lactobacillus pentosus, Weissella cibaria, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Weissella kimchi and Lactobacillus plantarum) can inhibits these bacteria by creating clear zones of inhibition around the wells containing cell free supernatants of the above mentioned strains of lactic acid bacteria. Pediococcus pentosaceus showed the highest zone of inhibition against Xanthomonas campestries at 15 mm radius, Weissella kimchi was the least effective against Pseudomonas syringae at 3.67 mm and Erwinia caratovora at 3.50 mm radius. Conclusion: Tomato disease causing organisms can be most likely biologically controlled by using extracts from LAB. This finding will reduce the potential hazard from the use of chemical herbicides on plant.
Convex Optimization of Nonlinear State Feedback Controllers for Discrete-time Polynomial Systems via Occupation Measures

In this paper, we design nonlinear state feedback controllers for discrete-time polynomial dynamical systems via the occupation measure approach. We propose the discrete-time controlled Liouville equation, and use it to formulate the controller synthesis problem as an infinite-dimensional linear programming (LP) problem on measures. The LP is then approximated by a family of finite-dimensional semidefinite programming (SDP) problems on moments of measures and their duals on sums-of-squares polynomials. By solving one or more of the SDP's, we can extract the nonlinear controllers. The advantage of the occupation measure approach is that we solve convex problems instead of generally non-convex problems, and hence the approach is more reliable and scalable. We illustrate our approach on three dynamical systems.
Effect of NPO Status on Aspiration Risk in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Procedural Sedation

American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) recommends that patients complete preoperative fasting prior to surgeries requiring sedation. Preoperative fasting, also known as nil per os (NPO) is defined as no food or fluids by mouth before a procedure.1 Pulmonary aspiration is defined as aspirating the contents of the stomach after administration of anesthesia, during the surgical procedure, or the period immediately following the procedure.1 ASA’ current guidelines for elective surgery requiring sedation suggest a minimum NPO status of two hours from clear fluids and six hours for solid foods.1,2 Risks of prolonged fasting include: increased risk of electrolyte imbalances, insulin resistance, dehydration, and patient discomfort.2 Risks of pulmonary aspiration include pneumonia, hypoxia, death and more.3 Despite studies that contradict the need for prolonged fasting, surgeons still continue to recommend an NPO status greater than the current preoperative fasting guidelines of, two hours for clear liquids and six hours for food.4
Early-stage coronary artery atherosclerosis patients in 4-year follow-up

Choroby układu krążenia, powodowane głównie miażdżycą i jej powikłaniami, są najczęstszą przyczyną chorobowości i śmiertelności na świecie. Miażdżyca rozwija się już we wczesnym wieku dziecięcym, a u około 50% młodych osób występują cechy miażdżycy tętnic wieńcowych. W związku z tym podejmuje się wiele działań zmierzających do wczesnego jej wykrywania i identyfikacji osób o podwyższonym ryzyku powikłań sercowo-naczyniowych, u których wdrożenie zasad prewencji może zapobiegać progresji choroby oraz rozwojowi powikłań. Subkliniczna miażdżyca to wczesny etap rozwoju choroby z obecnością niewielkich zmian w ścianie tętnic wieńcowych. Wykazano związek wczesnej miażdżycy ze zwiększonym ryzykiem choroby wieńcowej i występowaniem powikłań w postaci zgonów z przyczyn wieńcowych, zawałów serca niezakończonych zgonem oraz objawowej dławicy piersiowej. Celem pracy była obserwacja odległa osób z wczesną miażdżycą tętnic wieńcowych. Z pierwotnej grupy 45 chorych (100%) we wczesnym etapie zaawansowania miażdżycy tętnic wieńcowych – obejmującej pacjentów, u których w koronarografii uwidoczniono prawidłowy obraz tętnic wieńcowych lub jedynie drobne zmiany przyścienne, natomiast w 64-rzędowej tomografii komputerowej wskaźnik uwapnienia tętnic wieńcowych był dodatni (CACS powyżej 0) – obserwacji odległej poddano 29 osób (64,5%). W analizowanej grupie 29 chorych w 48-miesięcznej obserwacji stwierdzono dobre rokowanie ogólne. Nie występowały zgony z przyczyn sercowo-naczyniowych ani poważne zdarzenia sercowo-naczyniowe niezakończone zgonem. Ponadto chorzy dobrze współpracowali w zakresie procesu terapeutycznego, stosowali się do zaleceń oraz kontrolowali choroby współistniejące. U większości badanych doszło do poprawy w zakresie objawowości niedokrwienia mięśnia sercowego.Uzyskane dane pozwalają uznać subpopulację pacjentów we wczesnym etapie zaawansowania miażdżycy tętnic wieńcowych za obarczoną pośrednim ryzykiem sercowo-naczyniowym.
Using Artificial Neural Networks to forecast Exchange Rate, including VAR-VECM residual analysis and prediction linear combination

The Euro US Dollar rate is one of the most important exchange rates in the world, making the analysis of its behavior fundamental for the global economy and for different decision‐makers at both the public and private level. Furthermore, given the market efficiency of the EUR/USD exchange rate, being able to predict the rate's future short‐term variation represents a great challenge. This study proposes a new framework to improve the forecasting accuracy of EUR/USD exchange rate returns through the use of an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) together with a Vector Auto Regressive (VAR) model, Vector Error Corrective model (VECM), and post‐processing. The motivation lies in the integration of different approaches, which should improve the ability to forecast regarding each separate model. This is especially true given that Artificial Neural Networks are capable of capturing the short and long‐term non‐linear components of a time series, which VECM and VAR models are unable to do. Post‐processing seeks to combine the best forecasts to make one that is better than its components. Model predictive capacity is compared according to the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) as a loss function and its significance is analyzed using the Model Confidence Set. The results obtained show that the proposed framework outperforms the benchmark models, decreasing the RMSE of the best econometric model by 32.5% and by 19.3% the best hybrid. Thus, it is determined that forecast post‐processing increases forecasting accuracy.
PREPARATION OF CERAMIC/METAL FOAM LAMINATES USING AN IN SITU FOAMING TECHNIQUE

A study has been carried out of the stability of liquid metallic foams during preparation of laminated ceramic/foamed aluminium composites. The fabrication route involves infiltration of the spaces between ceramic layers with expanding semi-liquid metal foam. Examination of the foam macrostructure revealed that cell coarsening is very sensitive to the foam baking parameters (temperature and time). Theoretical analysis of material redistribution in the liquid foam showed that foam stability can be improved by increasing the melt viscosity. This can be achieved, for example, by incorporation of ceramic particles into the precursor material. However, analysis suggests that the size of particles should be kept reasonably small (~ few μm) because the "life time" of small cells is significantly reduced when the particles are larger.
Molecular and phenotypic characterization of diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli from Nicaraguan children

Diarrhoeal diseases continue to be a foremost public health problem worldwide, with over 1.5 million deaths occurring each year, mostly in children in developing countries. In Nicaragua, the mortality due to diarrhoea in children less than 5 years of age is 11 per 10,000 inhabitants. Additionally, this group of children account for more than 120,000 thousands consultations due to diarrhoea per year, most of them occurring during the winter season. However, in Nicaragua, information about the prevalence of many of the enteric pathogens such as diarrheoagenic Escherichia coli (DEC), is still lacking. Thus, the studies presented in this thesis focused on the identification, molecular and phenotypic characteristics of diarrhoeagenic E. coli pathotypes as enteric pathogens associated with diarrhoea in children from Leon, Nicaragua. The results from studies I to III are: Five DEC types have been identified in 526 faecal samples from children less than 5 years of age, using PCR based methods. Additionally, the majority of the E. coli positives for a DEC type occurred alongside with the winter season in Nicaragua. The ETEC pathotype was identified with significantly higher prevalence in children with 78/381 (20.5%) compared to children without 12/145 (8.3%) diarrhoea. The distribution of the identified ETEC was as follow: eltB 72/90 (80%), followed by eltB-estA 14/90 (15.6%) and finally estA 4/90 (4.4%) positives. Using the biochemical fingerprinting method PhP-RE, ETEC positive samples seem to belong to defined biochemical phenotypes (BPTs). In addition, facts that a limited number of BPTs grouped estA positives, and estA ETEC samples were only isolated from children with diarrhoea suggest the spread of a marked pathogenic clonal group. On the other hand, atypical EPEC (only eaeA+), was identified with similar frequencies in children with 61/381 (16%) and children without 30/145 (20.7%) diarrhoea. Additionally, clonal group analysis of atypical EPEC isolates showed no differences between children with and without diarrhoea. EIEC was identified at low, but similar frequency in both children with 3/381 (0.8%) and without 2/145 (1.4%) diarrhoea. Conversely, EIEC positive samples seem to be a clonal group, yet the number of samples was rather small. EAEC was the most prevalent pathotype of the identified E. coli. However, no differences were observed between the children with 106/382 (27.8%) and without 48/145 (33.1%) diarrhoea in terms of prevalence and phenotypic fingerprinting characteristics. Although, differences were appreciated between the herein tested EAEC isolates from children with 73/116 (62.9%) and without 28/68 (41.2%) diarrhoea, that showed aggregative adherence to Caco-2 cells. Additionally, a great variety of other putative virulence markers combination was detected, confirming the heterogeneity of this pathotype. EHEC was only identified in samples from children with 8/381 (2.1%) diarrhoea. The identified EHEC were distributed as follow: vt2 6/8 (75%), followed by…
Yumurta Tavuklarinda Sicaklik Stresi ve Vitamin C

High ambient temperature is detrimental effects on performance and egg shell quality in layer. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is the most studied nutrient in relation to ambient temperature. Laying hens are able to synthesize vitamin C in kidneys. However, environmental affects and physiological conditions the amount of ascorbic acid produced by the animal may in fact be insufficient to meet its requirements.
Efficacy of Carbohydrases Derived from Trichoderma longibrachiatum in Wheat- and Barley-Based Diets on Performance and Fermentation of Carbohydrates in the Intestine of Broilers

Abstract Jamroz, D. , Orda, J., Wiliczkiewicz, A. and Skorupinska, J. 2001. Efficacy of carbohydrases derived from Trichoderma longibrachiatum in wheat- and barley-based diets on performance and fermentation of carbohydrates in the intestine of broilers. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 19: 61–72. Starbro broiler chickens were fed on diets (starter/grower) differing in the kind of cereals: 49/56% wheat (W), 49/56% barley (B) or 25/28% wheat and 25/28% barley (W+B), with or without supplementation of granulated. enzyme complex derived from Trichoderma longibrachiatum. Performance, carcass characteristics, length of intestinal segments and concentrations of fermentation products in different parts of the intestine were evaluated. The effects of the enzyme supplementation were higher in chickens fed diets containing wheat or wheat and barley. The production of short chain fatty acids as a result of non-starch polysaccharides degradation was not consistently influenced either by the kind of cereal or by the supplementation with carbohydrases.
Long-term Brillouin imaging of live cells with reduced absorption-mediated damage at 660nm wavelength

In Brillouin microscopy, absorption-induced photodamage of incident light is the primary limitation on signal-to-noise ratio in many practical scenarios. Here we show that 660 nm may represent an optimal wavelength for Brillouin microscopy as it offers minimal absorption-mediated photodamage at high Brillouin scattering efficiency and the possibility to use a pure and narrow laser line from solid-state lasing medium. We demonstrate that live cells are ~80 times less susceptible to the 660 nm incident light compared to 532 nm light, which overall allows Brillouin imaging of up to more than 30 times higher SNR. We show that this improvement enables Brillouin imaging of live biological samples with improved accuracy, higher speed and/or larger fields of views with denser sampling.
Limited functional redundancy in high diversity systems: resilience and ecosystem function on coral reefs

Biodiversity is frequently associated with functional redundancy. Indo-Pacific coral reefs incorporate some of the most diverse ecosystems on the globe with over 3000 species of fishes recorded from the region. Despite this diversity, we document changes in ecosystem function on coral reefs at regional biogeographical scales as a result of overfishing of just one species, the giant humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum). Each parrotfish ingests over 5 tonnes of structural reef carbonates per year, almost half being living corals. On relatively unexploited oceanic reefs, total ingestion rates per m2 balance estimated rates of reef growth. However, human activity and ecosystem disruption are strongly correlated, regardless of local fish biodiversity. The results emphasize the need to consider the functional role of species when formulating management strategies and the potential weakness of the link between biodiversity and ecosystem resilience.
Bir Köpekte Malignant Perikardiyal Mezotelyoma ve Perikardiyal Efüzyon

Klinigimize kilo kaybi, abdominal dilatasyon, kollaps ve egzersiz intoleransi sikâyetiyle getirilen 15 yasli, erkek, Terrier irki bir kopege malignant perikardiyal mezotelyomaya bagli perikardiyal efuzyon (PE) tanisi konuldu. Klinik muayenesinde aritmi, zayif femoral nabiz, kardiyak seslerde bogukluk ve juguler dolgunluk belirlendi. EKG’de QRS ile ilgili kucuk kompleks olusumu ve elektrik alternans, toraks radyografisinde; kalbin siluetinde opasite artisi ve pulmoner odem, ekokardiyografide; PE ve kardiyak tamponat, abdominal ultrasonografide de asites saptandi. Hematolojik ve serum biyokimyasal bulgular ile perikardiyosentez sivisinin sitolojik muayenesi nonspesifikti. Idiopatik PE tedavisine (ampisilin + prednizolon) yanit alinamayan hastaya bir ay sonra parsiyel perikardiyektomi yapilmasina karar verildi. Postoperatif kardiyopulmoner arrest nedeni ile hastada eksitus letalis sekillendi. Nekropsi muayenesi sonrasi doku ornekleri alindi. Perikardiyumdaki neoplastik kitle, makroskobik, mikroskobik ve immunohistokimyasal ozellikleri ile perikardiyal epitelyal mezotelyoma olarak tanimlandi. Sonuc olarak EKG ve ekokardiyografinin PE tanimlamasinda yuksek dogruluk derecesinde kullanilabilecekleri, mezotelyoma gibi perikardiyal kitlelerin tanisinda yetersiz kalinilabilecegi gozlendi. Ileri yasli PE’li kopeklerin tanisal surecinde mezotelyomanin da dusunulmesi gerektigi kanisina varildi
Effect of dietary fibre on protein and fat digestibility and its consequences on diet formulation for growing and fattening pigs: A review

Abstract According to recent knowledge, dietary fibre contains more constituents, which due to their physico-chemical properties (solubility, viscosity) modulate the nutrient digestion by different mechanisms. The aim of this review is to present recent knowledge of dietary fibre, particularly its effect on digestibility of protein and fat and its consequences for diet formulation for growing and fattening pigs. The authors reviewed the relevant literature from the last 15 years and concluded that each 1 g NDF/kg diet increment results in a mean reduction of between 0.03 and 0.08% of ileal apparent protein digestibility and 1 g NDF/kg dry matter reduces the digestibility coefficient of energy by approximately 0.1%. The effect of different types of fibre on nutrient digestibility has not been quantified; however, soluble fibre reduces the apparent and true ileal digestibility of protein and amino acids as well as the fat and the energy more than insoluble fibre. Therefore, it is necessary to develop regression equations that compute the reduction in ileal digestibility of nutrients as a function of different types of fibre.