Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Drying off the dairy cow

Most dairy cows generally have a non-lactating, “dry period” prior to parturition. As the milk production of dairy cows has increased dramatically during the last decades, cows managed conventionally with a 12 to 13 month-calving interval are dried off (DO) while still producing significant quantities of milk. The DO period is probably one of the most physiologically demanding periods for the high-yielding dairy cow, and may negatively affect animal welfare, but few studies have been performed in this area. Therefore, the general aim of the present work was to investigate how different DO procedures and milk yield at DO affect metabolism and udder health of the dairy cow. Furthermore, the effects of different calving intervals and breed were also evaluated. Three studies are included in this thesis. In the first study cows were randomly assigned to two different feeding treatments. One group was fed straw ad libitum, while the other group was fed silage [4 kg dry matter (DM)] daily and straw ad libitum to evaluate metabolic changes and health during DO. In the second study, the effects of daily milk yield at DO, different calving intervals (12 and 15 months) and breed on metabolism and udder health were studied when feeding additional silage at DO. The third study was conducted on over 10 000 lactating cows and the association between daily milk yield prior to DO and veterinary-treated clinical mastitis (VTCM) from DO until early lactation was evaluated. The overall results of this thesis show that extensively restrictive feeding DO protocols may have negative effects on metabolism. The plasma concentration of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) was markedly elevated during DO as an effect of restrictive feeding. Furthermore, plasma NEFA was related to the milk yield prior to DO. Feeding straw only during DO affected the rumen environment as shown by increased pH, a reduced concentration of volatile fatty acids, urea, and lower number of protozoa. Restrictive feeding also increased the plasma cortisol, which indicates an elevated metabolic load in this group. In addition, high milk yield at DO increased the risk for VTCM and the number of open teat canals during the dry period. Swedish Holsteins were at higher risk for VTCM from DO until early lactation compared to Swedish Red and White cows. In conclusion, this thesis shows that the common DO procedure to feed straw only may give rise to metabolic disturbances. However, this might be avoided without any apparent negative effects on udder health if a limited amount of silage is added during DO. As high daily milk yields at DO increase the risk for mastitis, alternative ways to reduce the milk yield at DO should be considered.
Perceptions of the feasibility of Total Quality Management theories and methodologies in the vocational training system of Taiwan, Republic of China

The major purpose of this study was to design an instrument to measure the feasibility of implementing TQM (Total Quality Management) theories and methodologies in the vocational training system in Taiwan, R. O. C. as perceived by the instructors at the vocational training centers (VTCs) and the leaders of companies ^^ch have sent their employees to VTCs. Specifically, the goals of this study were to identify the d^ree of nnportance of teaching an established core body of knowledge in TQM concepts and skills to trainees, to find the level of preference for potential learning opportunities to improve instructors' knowledge of TQM principles and methods, and to express the degree of agreement with strategies that might be used to include TQM practices in the VTCs' curriculum. Establishing self-reported measures (both English and Chinese) related to core body of knowledge of TQM, TQM learning opportunities, and strategies for including TQM in the curriculum were essential for implementing TQM theories and methodologies at the vocational training centers. The inputs of 351 instructors firom 13 vocational training centers and 93 leaders fi'om 150 companies were usable data for statistical analysis. The final instrument used for data collection contained 67 items. The reliability of the overall instrument was sufficiently high (0.98) for continued use in practical applications. Content validity as approved by Chinese and American experts, and construct validity as verified by exploratory analysis, fiirther demonstrated the usefiilness of the instrument. Estimates of central tendencies revealed the items with the ten highest means representing elements in the core body of knowledge of TQM as; (1) teamwork and people
Bibliometrics indicators in the Caribbean islands: French West Indies authorship analyzed from 1989 to 2018

BackgroundBibliometrics are mathematical methods used in various scientific domains to measure scientific output based on the number of publications, the prestige of the journal, and the number of citations of the research after its publication. To the best of our knowledge, only a few bibliometric studies have been performed in the Caribbean or the French West Indies. The aim of this study was to quantify the collaborations and scientific output between the two university teaching hospitals of Martinique and Guadeloupe, at the regional, national and international level.MethodA bibliometrics analysis was performed from the international databases Web of Science and PubMed, for the period from 1989 to 2018 inclusive (30 years). Three types of bibliometric indicators were used, namely quantitative indicators, performance indicators, and organisation-specific indicators. Affiliations of the first and last authors were identified from PubMed. Between 2014 and 2018, we recorded the affiliations of all authors (from the first to the last author) who collaborated on an article with the University Hospital of either Martinique of GuadeloupeResultsBetween 1989 and 2018, a total of 1,522 indexed articles were published with at least one author affiliated to either the University Hospital of Martinique (N=827) or the University Hospital of Guadeloupe (N=685). The majority of articles for both hospitals were in category Q1 (35.8% for Martinique, and 35.2% for Guadeloupe). In Martinique, over the last 30 years, the 3 main research areas have been clinical neurology, ophthalmology and surgery, together representing 28.7% of all research areas, with the highest number of articles published in the field of clinical neurology (n=81). In the University Hospital of Guadeloupe, the area of hematology was largely represented, with 79 articles published. For both hospitals, the first and last authors of the articles published were mainly from mainland France, and from either Martinique or Guadeloupe university hospitalConclusionThis quantitative and qualitative analysis shows the development of medical and scientific research in Martinique and Guadeloupe over the last three decades, as well as the extent of their collaborative partnerships at national and international level.
A Finite Segment Computer Code to Simulate The Dynamics of Towed Cable Systems

Abstract : This report presents a User's Manual for the computer program DYNTOCABS (DYNamics of TOwed CABle Systems). The program is designed to predict steady-state configurations, and linear and nonlinear dynamic motions of submerged and partially submerged towed systems. These systems may consist of a single towing cable or a branched system of cables, but no closed loops may be formed. Each branch may be terminated with a towed sphere or a towed vehicle. This manual provides instruction for using DYNTOCABS to study such cable systems. It also provides sample input and output data.
Plant Tolerance to Drought Stress in the Presence of Supporting Bacteria and Fungi: An Efficient Strategy in Horticulture

Increasing temperature leads to intensive water evaporation, contributing to global warming and consequently leading to drought stress. These events are likely to trigger modifications in plant physiology and microbial functioning due to the altered availability of nutrients. Plants exposed to drought have developed different strategies to cope with stress by morphological, physiological, anatomical, and biochemical responses. First, visible changes influence plant biomass and consequently limit the yield of crops. The presented review was undertaken to discuss the impact of climate change with respect to drought stress and its impact on the performance of plants inoculated with plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM). The main challenge for optimal performance of horticultural plants is the application of selected, beneficial microorganisms which actively support plants during drought stress. The most frequently described biochemical mechanisms for plant protection against drought by microorganisms are the production of phytohormones, antioxidants and xeroprotectants, and the induction of plant resistance. Rhizospheric or plant surface-colonizing (rhizoplane) and interior (endophytic) bacteria and fungi appear to be a suitable alternative for drought-stress management. Application of various biopreparations containing PGPM seems to provide hope for a relatively cheap, easy to apply and efficient way of alleviating drought stress in plants, with implications in productivity and food condition.
Cyanobacteria cultivation using olive milling wastewater for bio-fertilization of celery plant

Olive milling wastewater is a major problem facing the Mediterranean countries producing olive oil like Egypt. In the present study, olive milling wastewater rich with organic phenolic compounds, macro and micro nutrients was used as growing media for cyanobacteria. The cyanobacteria were grown on wastewater to obtain two biofertilizers, one bioformulated from single culture of Spirulina platensis and the second from mixed culture of S. platensis, N. muscorum and A.oryzae. The produced biofertilizers, were applied on a sandy soil to grow celery plant under different levels (25, 50 and 75%) of the recommended chemical fertilizers, while the control did not receive any fertilizers in a greenhouse experiment at Giza Research station, Agricultural Research Center, Egypt during the summer season of 2018. Results indicated that application of biofertilizers led to a significant (p<0.05) increase in the height of plant, root and stem lengths over the control group. The number of leaves per plant as well as chlorophyll content were highest in the treatments of Bio-Mix 25 and 50%. Also, these treatments increased the total macro- and micro-nutrients of celery. There was very remarkable enhancement in some recorded sandy soil properties after harvest i.e., pH, total organic matter, total nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium by the treatments of Bio-Mix with 25 and 50%. The present study concluded that 1/4 or 1/2 of the recommended dose of NPK fertilizers could be saved for celery growth by using Bio-Mix product from cyanobacteria and olive milling wastewater as a promising eco-friendly bio-organic fertilizer.
Turbulent diffusion-typing schemes: a review

Recent environmental concerns have greatly increased the need for turbulent typing schemes in atmospheric diffusion calculations. The standard methods by Brookhaven National Laboratory, Pasquill, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and others are reviewed, and differences, inconsistencies, and modifications to the basic schemes are discussed. Various exceptional flows occur to which existing turbulence typing schemes should not be applied directly: diffusion in near-calm, very stable conditions; diffusion over cities, water bodies, and irregular terrain; and diffusion in building wakes and near highways. Possible modifications to typing schemes in these cases are discussed. In all such exceptional cases, many more observational data are needed before reliable diffusion estimates can be made. (auth)
Classification of EEG Signals in a Brain-Computer Interface System

Electroencephalography (EEG) equipment are becoming more available on the public market, which enables more diverse research in a currently narrow field. The Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) community recognize the need for systems that makes BCI more user-friendly, real-time, manageable and suited for people that are not forced to use them, like clinical patients, and those who are disabled. Thus, this project is an effort to seek such improvements, having a newly available market product to experiment with: a single channel brain wave reader. However, it is important to stress that this shift in BCI, from patients to healthy and ordinary users, should ultimately be beneficial for those who really need it, indeed. The main focus have been building a system which enables usage of the available EEG device, and making a prototype that incorporates all parts of a functioning BCI system. These parts are 1) acquiring the EEG signal 2) process and classify the EEG signal and 3) use the signal classification to control a feature in a game. The solution method in the project uses the NeuroSky mindset for part 1, the Fourier transform and an Artificial Neural Network for classifying brain wave patterns in part 2, and a game of Snake uses the classification results to control the character in part 3. This report outlines the step-by-step implementation and testing for this system, and the result is a functional prototype that can use user EEG to control the snake in the game with over 90% accuracy. Two mental tasks have been used to separate between turning the snake left or right, baseline (thinking nothing in particular) and mental counting. The solution differentiates from other appliances of the NeuroSky mindset that it does not require any pre-training for the user, and it is only partially real-time.
Cutoff From Support: The Effects of Losing Cash Welfare Most Recent Version

Does removing families from welfare programs result in increased employment? Using detailed administrative data from Michigan, we study a policy reform in the state’s TANF program that swiftly and unexpectedly removed over 10,000 families from welfare while quasi-randomly assigning time limits to over 30,000 remaining participants. Consistent with economic theory, removing families from welfare increases formal labor force participation by roughly 4 percentage points (20% over control group mean), with increases in annualized earnings of roughly $500. We find that time limits – particularly for those further from their expiration – and sanctions due to program noncompliance yield similar results. However, despite this, the majority of families remain formally unemployed after welfare removal, and using quantile regressions we show that even the highest percentile wage gains fail to offset the loss in welfare benefits. Overall, our findings provide evidence that, contrary to their stated goals, welfare reform measures that either kick families off welfare or make welfare harder to access are likely to deepen poverty. JEL Codes: H53, H75, I30, I38, J38 *Acknowledgments: We thank Sandra Black, Michael Best, Miguel Urquiola, Douglas Almond, Wojciech Kopczuk, Bentley MacLeod, Suresh Naidu, and all of the members of the Columbia applied microeconomics colloquium for their feedback and support. Special thanks go to Katie Zeiter (MDHHS) and Jasmina Camo-Biogradlija (MERI) for their support in data acquisition, alongside all of the staff at MDHHS, MDE, and MERI who made this research possible. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 2018387. Additional support came from the Program for Economic Research (PER). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or Columbia University. †Contact Information: lfh2119@columbia.edu
Audio Bandwidth Extension Application of Psychoacoustics, Signal Processing and Loudspeaker Design

Description: Bandwidth extension (BWE) refers to various methods that increase either the perceived or real frequency spectrum (bandwidth) of audio signals. Such frequency extension is desirable if at some point the frequency content of the audio signal has been reduced, as can happen for example during recording, transmission or reproduction. This volume, significant in dealing exclusively with BWE, discusses applications to music and speech and places particular emphasis on signal processing techniques. -Presents an all-encompassing approach to BWE by covering theory, applications and algorithms-Reviews important concepts in psychoacoustics, signal processing and loudspeaker theory-Develops the theory and implementation of BWE applied to low-frequency sound reproduction, perceptually coded audio, speech and noise abatement-Includes a BWE patent overviewAudio Bandwidth Extension pulls together recent developments in to a single volume and presents a coherent framework to the reader. Such an approach will have instant appeal to engineers, specialists, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of audio, signal processing and speech.
A service-oriented architecture for authentication and authorization

Many applications require access to large quantities of data and computational resources that are often distributed over a wide-area network. Grid computing infrastructures provide a platform to run these applications, but their heterogeneous nature makes security a vital component of grid systems. The standard technology for grid security is the Grid Security Infrastructure (GSI). Although GSI is well-known in academic and government settings, GSI-based security systems are usually difficult to deploy and use. The Grid Account Management Architecture (GAMA [18]) was developed to make Grid security easy for system administrators and users by extensive use of web-services technology. Nevertheless, GAMA has a few limitations that make it unattractive to many communities. For example, it does not offer a usable resource authorization mechanism. Moreover, it is tightly coupled to the selected technologies. We proposeGAMA2.0, which is a service-oriented architecture that addresses both authentication and authorization concerns. Moreover, the multi-tier architecture is pluggable to cope with the rapidly evolving relevant technologies. We have implemented the GAMA 2.0 reference infrastructure using well known programming techniques such as polymorphism and the Command pattern. In addition, a comprehensive testing strategy, which includes unit- testing and scenario-testing, as well as detailed exception handling has been employed to ensure correctness and robustness of the infrastructure. Although performance was not the driving factor, we have managed to increase GAMA 2.0's performance by applying a few optimization techniques
Not Automatic: Women and the Left in the Forging of the Auto Workers' Union

Part 1 Lost history - Sol Dollinger: Toledo Auto-Lite strike of 1934 1935 Chevrolet transmission strike Homer Martin elected president factional warfare in the U.A. W. U.A. W. Twenty-point program U.A. W. targets Ford Motor equality of sacrifice anti-union forces ambush U.A. W. Local 212 mafia and Briggs linked by Senator Estis Kefauver hearings Reuther slams door on union democracy, 1947-1948 good housekeeping seal of approval who led the 1937 sitdown strikes in Flint? Part 2 Striking Flint - an oral history of Genora (Johnson) Dollinger by Susan Rosenthal: conditions before the strike preparing for battle sit down! women comer forward the women's emergency brigade breaking the stalemate a blow against racism the sweet fruit of victory fighting racism organizing the unemployed personality speaking class struggle during the war the employers strike back back to the future.
Switched MEMS Antenna for Handheld Devices

This paper presents the investigation results on the reconfigurableproperties of a monopole antenna array. The antenna array comprises of four feedelements and four parasitic elements on a finite ground plane. This antenna isintended to improve the diversity gain for a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)communication system. We intend to combat the problem of signal deterioration inhandheld devices by the use of reconfigurable antenna. A common communicationproblem seen in the handheld devices is the change in strength of radio signal whenthe orientation of the device is changed. Reconfigurable antennas can be used get ridof this nuisance so that what ever be the orientation, the handheld device still gets thebest possible signal level. With our presented antenna, we can achieve up to sixteendifferent configurations depending upon the requirement. The differentconfigurations are controlled with the help of RF switches which are implementedusing micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). The reconfigurable antenna wasfabricated and tested for its impedance and radiation characteristics and the resultswere found to be in reasonable agreement with the simulations.
Biodegradation of recalcitrant compounds and phthalates by a consortium of Liometopum apiculatum gut microbiota

Liometopum apiculatum ants species are widely distributed in arid and semi-arid ecosystems where there is a relative food shortage. They have established an ecological balance involving symbiotic interactions, which have allowed them to survive through mechanisms that are still unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the metabolic potential of isolated bacteria from L. apiculatum using substrate assimilation and enzymatic activity assay. Results revealed a complex bacteria consortium belonging to Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria phylum. These symbionts showed activities associated with biopolymers degradation, suggesting their important role in nutrients release stored in plant-derived material. By other hand, some microorganisms had a high capacity for degradation of phthalate esters. These results not only revealed the important contribution of the symbionts in L apiculatum ants feeding habits, but also they showed a promising source of enzymes with high potential for biotechnological applications such as lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysis and bioremediation.
Development of methods for the characterisation of roughness in three dimensions

1. Updating introduction to this revised reprint 2. An integrated approach to the assessment of 3-D micro-topography 3. Techniques and fidelity of data collection 4. Measurement strategy of the stylus instrument 5. Effects of stylus geometry and loading 6. Fidelity of the measurement datum 7. The selection of sampling conditions 8. Specification for a unified data file format 9. Reference for 3-D topography characterisation 10. Digital filtering of 3-D surface topography 11. Characterisation techniques 12. Parameters for characterising 3-D surfaces 13. The effects of quantisation on 3-D topography characterisation 14. Functional characterisation of engineering surfaces 15. Calibration of surface topography instruments.
Konzept der sequenziellen natriuretischen Peptidmessungen im Behandlungsplan der Herzinsuffizienz

Was ist neu? NP-Grenzwert zur Diagnostik einer Herzinsuffizienz Von den klinisch verfügbaren Biomarkern sind die natriuretischen Peptide (NP) die robustesten Prädiktoren für die Diagnose und Prognose bei Herzinsuffizienz (HI). Der prognostische Wert ist insbesondere bei serieller Bestimmung der NP hoch, sodass der klinische Einsatz in internationalen HI-Leitlinien mit höchster Evidenz und Empfehlung weiter in den Vordergrund gerückt ist. Strategie der sequenziellen NP-Messungen Das Konzept der sequenziellen NP-Messungen dient der Erfassung der Natrium- und Wasserüberladung zu klinisch definierten Zeitpunkten. Ziel eines NP-unterstützten Behandlungsplans ist, nicht nur die Dynamik des klinischen Therapieansprechens zu objektivieren, sondern den individuellen Therapieverlauf klinischen Szenarien zuzuordnen, die ihrerseits eine wesentliche Rolle für die Risikostratifizierung, Prognose und Notwendigkeiten von Therapieoptimierung in der stationären, aber auch ambulanten Versorgung spielen.