Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of maize sweet potato intercrop over sole cropping system on weed infestation

A field experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, during the 2018 cropping season. located at latitude 80 9’ 0 N and longitude 50 6’ 0 E of the southern Guinea savannah zone of Nigeria. The experiment was laid as a randomized complete block design with a split-plot arrangement and 3 replications. The main plots were 2 trial sites (Site A and B), sub-plots consisted of intercropping pattern : T1: 2 seeds of maize + 1 vine of sweet potato, T2: 2 seeds of maize / 2 vines of Sweet potato, T3: 2 seeds of maize + 3 vines of sweet potato; T4: sole maize and T5: Sole Sweet Potato. Data collected on weed were estimated using a quadrat (25cm x 25cm) placed randomly at 5 positions within each sub plot at 3, 6, 9 and 12 WAP. All data collected were analyzed with analysis of variance (ANOVA) at P<0.05. Results showed that there was better grain yield of 1.89 t/ha intercrop of maize – sweet potato at ratio 2 : 2 of seeds / hill to vines / stand with better weed suppression and optimum tuber yield of 1.72 t/ha. Actual yield loss in the study was very high in the cropping system 2 seed of maize + 3 vine of sweet potato with -0.85 and in maize weed suppression percentage (%), 2 seed of maize +1 vine of sweet potato highly suppressed weed with 98.2% at 6 weeks after planting (WAP) and it showed 48% weed suppression in 2 seed of maize + 3 vine of sweet potato at 9 weeks after planting (WAP). Sweet potato weed suppression showed highest weed suppression of 37.2% at 3 weeks after planting (WAP) in 2 seed of maize + 2 vines of sweet potato. The highest competitive ratio occur in the cropping system 2 seed of maize + 1vine of sweet potato with 4.06 value. Maize showed the highest lnd equivalent value of 0.79 better than sweet potato and both maize and sweet potato combined had the highest land coverage in 2 seed of maize and 2 vines of sweet potato with 1.19 value. It is concluded from the study that the cropping system of 2 seed of maize + 1 vine of sweet potato gave the high response to weed suppression.
Homocysteine metabolism and risk of schizophrenia

The one-carbon cycle hypothesis initiated research of schizophrenia risk in relation to sensitive markers of aberrant homocysteine metabolism, such as B-vitamin concentrations, plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations, and genetic determinants. We observed decreased plasma and elevated RBC folate levels as risk factors for schizophrenia, which appeared to be independent of tHcy concentrations (chapter 2). No deficiencies of vitamin B6 or vitamin B12 levels were found in our study. In a review we only found 7 case-control studies with data on folate levels in schizophrenia patients (chapter 3). These studies showed no substantial support for an aberrant folate metabolism in schizophrenia patients. However, all studies showed a variety of methodological flaws defying a more definite conclusion on the relationship between folate and schizophrenia. The results of a meta-analysis of the current literature (chapter 5) give support to the conclusion presented in our previous report (chapter 4) that elevated tHcy concentration is a risk factor for schizophrenia. We found that a 5 μmol/L higher tHcy concentration was associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia (OR=1.70 [95% CI: 1.27-2.29]). Next to the MTHFR 677TT genotype, we found elevated tHcy concentrations in schizophrenia patients with the heterozygous MTHFR 677C>T genotype compared to patients homozygous for the normal genotype (chapter 4). The MTHFR 677CT genotype itself may result in elevated tHcy concentrations. The results of our initial study showed no increased frequency of the 677TT genotype in schizophrenia patients (chapter 2). However, an enlargement of this initial study showed a nearly significant increased risk (OR=1.6 [95% CI: 0.96-2.8]) of schizophrenia associated with the 677TT genotype in the MTHFR gene (chapter 4). When these data were incorporated in a meta-analysis based on published studies the MTHFR 677C>T mutation in homozygous state appeared to be a significant genetic risk factor for schizophrenia with a pooled risk estimate of 1.36 (95% CI: 1.07-1.72) (chapter 5). We observed no transmission distortion of the 677T allele in 120 families with schizophrenia offspring, which is in accordance with the result of a meta-analysis using data from three family-based studies, including our data (chapter 6). When we applied a log-linear model to the case-parent data no evidence for a strong maternal genetic effect on schizophrenia risk was observed. In chapter 7 the effect of genetic variations of two interconnected enzymes of the methylation pathway, COMT and MTHFR, on schizophrenia risk were subject of study. Despite the low numbers of subjects carrying the combination of the COMT 324AA and MTHFR 677TT genotype an increased risk of schizophrenia was associated with this compound genotype in our study. Four polymorphisms of the COMT gene, and their effect on tHcy levels in population-based controls were examined (chapter 8). Only the COMT 324G>A variant was associated with homocysteine, although the effect of this polymorphism on tHcy concentration is lower than that of the MTHFR 677C>T polymorphism.
A Force Measurement Method Based on Flexible PDMS Grating

With the rapid development of flexible materials, various high-performance biocompatible flexible sensors have been proposed for specific measurement applications. Among these materials, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is one of the most popular polymers by curing the mixture of pre-polymer (base) and cross-linker (curing agent). In this paper, a force measurement method based on PDMS grating is introduced. The PDMS grating is cast from a commercial master grating, which is precise, low-cost, and easy to follow. The elastic modulus can be controlled by the curing temperature and the mixing ratio. The PDMS grating is tested using a tension testing machine. As the stretching force increases, the grating line-spacing simultaneously increases and the diffraction light spot shifts. By capturing the light spot shift using a camera, the relationship between light spot position and stretching force is established and evaluated. Experimental results show that the linearity (R2) of the proposed method is better than 0.998, adding that the sensitivity is ~0.5–0.7N/mm and the accuracy is up to 0.05N.
Online Reinforcement Learning of X-Haul Content Delivery Mode in Fog Radio Access Networks

We consider a Fog Radio Access Network (F-RAN) with a Base Band Unit (BBU) in the cloud and multiple cache-enabled enhanced Remote Radio Heads (eRRHs). The system aims at delivering contents on demand with minimal average latency from a time-varying library of popular contents. Uncached requested files can be transferred from the cloud to the eRRHs by following either backhaul or fronthaul modes. The backhaul mode transfers fractions of the requested files, while the fronthaul mode transmits quantized baseband samples as in Cloud-RAN (C-RAN). The backhaul mode allows the caches of the eRRHs to be updated, which may lower future delivery latencies. In contrast, the fronthaul mode enables cooperative C-RAN transmissions that may reduce the current delivery latency. Taking into account the trade-off between current and future delivery performance, this letter proposes an adaptive selection method between the two delivery modes to minimize the long-term delivery latency. Assuming an unknown and time-varying popularity model, the method is based on model-free Reinforcement Learning (RL). Numerical results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed RL.
Parkinson's Disease and the Environment

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder that affects an estimated 10 million sufferers worldwide. The two forms of PD include familial and sporadic, and while the etiology of PD is still largely unknown, the condition is likely to be multifactorial with genetic and environmental factors contributing to disease genesis. Diagnosis of the condition is attained through the observation of cardinal clinical manifestations including resting tremor, muscle rigidity, slowness or loss of movement, and postural instability. Unfortunately, by the time these features become apparent extensive neurological damage has already occurred. A cure for PD has not been identified and the current therapy options are pharmaceutical- and/or surgical-based interventions to treat condition symptoms. There is no specific test for PD and most diagnoses are confirmed by a combination of clinical symptoms and positive responses to dopaminergic drug therapies. The prevalence and incidence of PD vary worldwide influenced by several factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, genetic susceptibilities, and environmental exposures. Here, we will present environmental factors implicated in sporadic PD onset. By understanding the mechanisms in which environmental factors interact with, and affect the brain we can stride toward finding the underlying cause(s) of PD.
Tilmicosina: un nuevo antibiótico macrólido de uso veterinario

Tilmicosin (TMS) is a macrolide antibiotic, synthesized from tylosin, exclusively developed for in veterinary use. It has a very good activity against Gram-positive microorganisms, with significant activity against certain Gram-negative bacteria and mycoplasma. Tilmicosin is bacteriostatic, like all macrolide antibiotics, although the drug may be bactericidal in high concentrations against selected organisms. The pharmacokinetic profile of tilmicosin is characterized by low plasma drug concentrations but high and persistent tissue concentrations. Although plasma drug concentrations are the traditional predictors of antibiotic activity, it is clear that tissue concentrations are a better indicator of presence of the drug in the infection site. The pharmacokinetic characteristics of tilmicosin with high tissue concentrations suggests high efficacy. This article presents a revision of the mechanism of action, antimicrobial activity, pharmacokineticpharmacodynamic profile and indications of this novel antimicrobial agent.
Interventional Photothermal Therapy Enhanced Brachytherapy: A New Strategy to Fight Deep Pancreatic Cancer

Photothermal–radiotherapy (PT–RT) is an effective strategy for relieving hypoxia‐related radiotherapy resistance and inducing tumor‐specific cell apoptosis/necrosis. Nevertheless, limited tissue penetration of near‐infrared (NIR) laser and the serious side effects of high‐dose radiation severely hinder its applications for deep tumors. An interventional photothermal–brachytherapy (IPT–BT) technology is proposed here for the internal site‐specific treatment of deep tumors. This technology utilizes a kind of biodegradable honeycomb‐like gold nanoparticles (HGNs) acting as both internal photothermal agents and radiosensitizers. A high tumor inhibition rate of 96.6% is achieved in SW1990 orthotopic pancreatic tumor‐bearing mice by HGNs‐mediated IPT–BT synergistic therapy. Interestingly, this approach effectively causes double‐stranded DNA damage and improves the oxygen supply and the penetration of nanoparticles inside the tumor. Therefore, it is believed that this strategy may open up a new avenue for PT–RT synergistic therapy of deep malignant tumors and has a significant impact on the future clinical translation.
A randomized observational analysis examining the correlation between patients’ food sensitivities, micronutrient deficiencies, oxidative stress response and immune redox status

Background: Malnutrition due to insufficient intake of micronutrients, or due to impaired delivery of micronutrients to patients’ cells, is suppressing immune functions that are fundamental to host protection. Concurrently, an excessive triggering of patients’ immune reactions as the result of adverse responses to certain food antigens, can also lead to various chronic health conditions. Objective: To examine nutritional and immunological status in patients’ groups varying in age, dietary regimens and gastrointestinal condition; and explore a possible correlation between an impaired patients’ immune status and micronutrient deficiencies, food sensitivity and oxidative stress responses. Methods: This is a population-based study consisting of a American residents, age 13 and older, who completed the investigator’s provided questionnaires with application of cell-based individualized functional assays. Data for this paper were collected from 845 individuals between May and September 2019, as part of CSS CNA beta study. Micronutrient deficiencies, immune Redox status, antioxidative responses and food sensitivity profiles were assessed for each patient participating in this study. Results: The group of patients with low Redox status demonstrated significantly higher percent of immune reactivity (17%) to food antigens as compared to15% reactivity detected in the groups with the average and strong Redox response. An average number of identified micronutrient deficiencies, as well as beneficial anti-oxidative protective compounds, was also significantly higher in the group with the weak immune function as compared to other two groups. Conclusion: This study suggests that high food sensitivity is associated with a higher nutrient deficiency, a stronger oxidative stress response and a lower immune redox status.
Exploring the Role of Forests as Natural Assets in Rural Livelihoods and Coping Strategies Against Risks and Shocks in Dedza East, Malawi

ABSTRACT Forests are important natural capital for forest-adjacent communities and play an important role in dealing with risks and shocks. The study therefore examined the roles of forests in rural livelihoods in Dedza district eastern Malawi with focus on basic needs and assets, shocks and coping strategies. The findings showed that efforts were made by the co-management program in the study area to increase the livelihood capitals of the people, but the extent could not be ascertained. There were gaps in meeting basic needs of the households with forest products playing an insignificant role in both livelihood and coping strategies. The forest mainly supports subsistence needs with negligible contribution toward provision of safety net and as a pathway out of poverty. The main livelihood strategies were farm based, wage based and diversified. The prominent shocks that the households faced were serious crop failure and serious illness. Casual work, sale of agricultural products and reducing consumption constituted the prominent coping strategies of the people. The study further showed that land-holding size and age are the main determinants of livelihood diversification. Longitudinal data collection is, therefore, recommended to investigate further the nature of contribution of forests to livelihood diversification at household level.
日本産魚類大図鑑 = The fishes of the Japanese archipelago

AGNATHA: Elasmobranchii heterodontiformes Hexanchiformes Lamniformes Squaliformes Rajiformes HOLOCEPHALI: Chimaeriformes OSTEICHTHYES: Acipenseriformes Clupeiformes Elopiformes Anguilloformes Anguiloidei Saccopharyngoidei Notacanthiformes Salmoniformes Salmonidei Argentinoidei Alepocephaloidei Stomioidei Tetradontoidei Synbranchiformes Bibliography Indexes.
The Pulmonary Microbiome in Cystic Fibrosis

The chronic colonisation of the lower airways by bacterial pathogens is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The use of novel culture-independent techniques such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) to analyse the lungs has allowed us to further understand the diversity, the complexity, the effects of acute exacerbations and the use of antibiotics on the bacterial communities. The understanding of the CF microbiome to airway disease remains a fascinating area of research; it presents new opportunities for disease management in CF and has the potential to explore the effects of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulators. It also allows further appreciation regarding the roles played by anaerobic organisms within the CF airways. It is also of interest that a number of studies have demonstrated that the fluctuations of microbiome are not necessarily associated with the patient’s clinical status. Despite the available evidence, there remain many challenges that must be overcome if microbiome profiling is going to influence future clinical practice. The effects of fungus and the emergence of nontuberculous mycobacteria in CF are also briefly discussed in this chapter.
Checklist of the parasites of fishes of Bangladesh

This checklist summarizes information on the parasites of Bangladeshi fishes contained in the world literature dating from the earliest known records (Southwell and Prashad, 1918a,b) to the end of 2000. Information is presented in the form of parasite-host and host-parasite lists. Included are 147 named species of parasites (not including 20 nomina nuda), distributed among the higher taxa as follows: Protozoa 1, Myxozoa 1, Trematoda 55, Monogenea 6, Cestoda 23, Nematoda 40, Acanthocephala 17, Hirudinea 1, Branchiura 1, Copepoda 1 and Isopoda 1. Also included are many records of parasites not identified to species level. The Parasite-Host List is organized on a taxonomic basis and provides information for each parasite species on the environment (fresh water, brackish water, marine), the location (site of infection) in or on its host(s), the species of host(s) infected, the known geographic distribution (by administrative division) in Bangladesh, and the published sources for each host and locality record. The Host-Parasite List is organized according to the taxonomy of the hosts, and includes for each host, the English language and local (Bengali) common names, environment (fresh water, brackish water, marine), status in Bangladesh (native or exotic), and information on the known distribution in Bangladesh of the parasites. Both lists are accompanied by remarks and footnotes, as warranted, giving specific information on points of systematics, nomenclature, possible misidentifications, introductions, pathogenicity, etc. Citations are included for all references and a supplementary list of references contains other literature on Bangladeshi fish parasites. Parasite and host indices are included. The following new taxonomic combinations are made: Prosorhynchoides aspinosiensis (Bashirullah and Hafizuddin, 1971) n. comb. for Neobucephalopsis aspinosiensis Bashirullah and Hafizuddin, 1971; and Prosorhynchoides clupisomius (Bashirullah and Hafizuddin, 1976) n. comb. for Neobucephalopsis clupisomius Bashirullah and Hafizuddin, 1976. The parasite fauna of fishes of Bangladesh remains poorly known. Parasites have been reported from only 85 of the 528 species of marine and freshwater fish occurring in the waters of Bangladesh. The situation is complicated by the large number of reports that are based on apparent misidentifications, the existence of a plethora of poorly described species, and the relatedness of the Bangladeshi fish parasite fauna to that of the larger Indian subregion, which is also poorly known for many of the same reasons.
Topological spin–valley filtering effects based on hybrid silicene-like nanoribbons

Topological edge states have crucial applications in nano spintronics and valleytronics devices, while topological inner-edge states have seldom been extensively researched in this field. Based on the inner-edge states of the hybridized zigzag silicene-like nanoribbons, we investigate their transport properties. We propose two types of spin–valley filters. The first type can generate two different spin–valley polarized currents in output leads, respectively. The second type outputs the specific spin–valley polarized current in only one of the output leads. All these inner-edge states have the spin–valley-momentum locking property. These types of filters can switch the output spin–valley polarizations by modulating the external fields. Besides, we also find that the device size plays a crucial role in designing these spin–valley filters. Moreover, the local current distributions are calculated to visualize the detailed transport process and understand the mechanism. The mechanism lies that the spin–valley polarized current can nearly freely pass through the system with the same momentum, spin and valley degrees of freedom. The small reflection of the current results from the inter-valley scattering. In particular, we also consider the realistic (disorder) effects on the performance of these filters to ensure the robustness of our systems. We believe these spin–valley current filtering effects have potential applications in the future spintronics and valleytronics device designs.
Case studies in BIM implementation for programming of healthcare facilities

SUMMARY: Building Information Modeling (BIM) continues to evolve and grow along with their respective application in practice. One of the key advantages of BIM is that is facilitates the development of detailed information and analysis much earlier in the building process to improve decision making and reduce downstream changes. The increases in cost of construction and combined complexity inherent in healthcare construction projects provides an opportunity to harness the strengths of BIM, and provide much more detailed information early in the development of a healthcare construction project. These case studies present evidence of benefits of BIM upstream in the project lifecycle – such as the programming stage. Two healthcare related projects which implemented BIM in the programming phase are presented in this paper. One project is a trauma hospital in a developing country in conflict, and the other is a medical research laboratory in the United States. Each had unique circumstances, but also similarities which help to identify the strengths and challenges of BIM implementation in healthcare projects regardless of the individual projects’ differences. The paper reviews the application of the BIM modeling process for each project. The benefits and challenges from the process used, and the results found are presented. Challenges included data transfer bottlenecks and apprehension due to a lack of knowledge of parametric tools in general. Benefits included visualization, time saved relative to concept updates, and quantity takeoffs. Some basic framing of the strategic implementation of BIM on a construction project are discussed.
Compact tri-band T-shaped frequency reconfigurable antenna for cognitive radio applications

This paper presents, new compact tri-band and broadband frequency reconfigurable antenna for cognitive radio applications. The proposed antenna consists of an Ultrawideband sensing antenna and reconfigurable communicating antenna at the same substrate. The sensing antenna is a UWB printed elliptical monopole antenna operates at frequency band from 2.72 to 23.8 GHz which can cover the entire UWB frequency band from 3.1 to 10.6 GHz and cover the broadband up to 20 GHz. The communicating antenna is a T-shaped frequency reconfigurable antenna operates on three bands of 7.925 GHz, 13.16 GHz, and 14.48 GHz under (S11≤-10 dB) with a fractional bandwidth of 14.55%, 6.2%, and 3.3% respectively. The proposed antenna used to operate in two modes one for cognitive radio applications to cover WiMAX, land, Fixed and Mobile satellite, Radar, and broadband applications. The frequency reconfigurability is obtained by using only one RF switch (PIN diode) for changing the operating frequency. The antenna overall dimensions are 42x30x1.6 mm3 printed on an FR-4 epoxy substrate with relative dielectric constant εr=4.3, loss tangent tan (δ)=0.002 and 50Ω microstrip line feed. The maximum obtained simulated gain is 8.5 dB at 13.16 GHz. The S11 is under -20 dB and coupling between the two antennas is less than -15 dB at the resonant frequencies.