bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Results of Research on the Active Species Protection of the Roman Snail (Helix Pomatia, Linnaeus, 1758) Using Farmed Snails in the Second Year of Life. First Season of the Study
Authors: Ligaszewski Maciej , Pol Przemysław , Radkowska Iwona , Surówka Krzysztof , Łysak Andrzej 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
The effect of three forms of active species protection in the Roman snail were studied. On the “source plot” the natural population was supported by introducing hatchlings of farmed Roman snails aged 1+, bred from adult specimens of this population. These hatchlings (age 1+) from “source plot” population were also introduced to the following two natural plots: to the “empty plot”, where the population was formed by introduction of farmed Roman snails in the second year of life (1+) into a selected area which had been emptied of the natural population; to the “inhabited plot”, where farmed Roman snails aged 1+, originating from breeding snails of the foreign population from a “source plot”, were introduced to the local natural population. It was established that introducing Roman snails aged 1+ and bred under farm conditions has a clearly positive influence on the age structure of the natural population in the studied plots. The rate of growth of these snails adjusted to the rate of growth of the specimens in the same age group belonging to the natural population. The farmed Roman snails grew most rapidly in the “empty plot” sown with fodder vegetation, more slowly in the “source plot” with access to appropriate herbaceous vegetation, and most slowly in the “inhabited plot”. The attempt to create a naturalized population in a specially adapted “empty plot” without the natural population was successful. This was determined not only by a large number of hiding places from calcareous stones available to the Roman snails but above all by the species structure of the herb flora, which met their nutritional requirements as it contained high proportions of plants such as Brassica rapa × Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis, white clover (Trifolium repens), red clover (Trifolium pratense) and the hybrid of lucerne (Medicago × varia Martyn)
Effect of Zinc Acetate and Magnesium Sulfate Dietary Supplementation on Broiler Thigh Meat Colour, Nutrient Composition and Lipid Peroxidation Values Under Continuous Heat Stress Condition
Authors: Norouzi E. , Daneshyar M. , Farhoomand P. , Aliakbarlu J. , Hamian F. 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
Four hundred and fifty one-day-old male broiler chicks (Ross 308) in 9 groups of 50 each (3 × 3 factorial experiment) were randomly allocated to investigate the effects of different dietary levels of 0, 30 and 60 mg/kg Zinc (Zn) and 0, 300 and 600 mg/kg magnesium (Mg) on thigh meat colour, nutrient composition and lipid peroxidation value in broiler chickens under heat stress. The birds were kept under a high temperature (32±1°C) for 24 h/day for the first until the final day. At the end of the experiment (day 42), five birds per treatment were slaughtered. Then two pieces of the right thigh muscle per bird (upper part of the thigh muscle) were immediately collected for assessing the meat quality indices. The results of the present experiment showed that addition of Zn and Mg did not influence the ash, dry matter (DM) and ether extract (EE) contents of thigh meat (P>0.05), whereas the crude protein (CP) content of the thigh meat was increased when diet was supplemented with Zn (P<0.05). Addition of Zn and Mg in diet did not change the mean lightness (L) and redness (a) value in the thigh meat (P>0.05). Thigh yellowness (b) value was increased by inclusion of 30 mg/kg Zn alone or along with 600 mg/kg Mg (P<0.05). Furthermore, inclusion of 30 mg/kg Zn in diet (at any level of Mg) decreased the thigh thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (P<0.05)
Acute-Phase Response in Monitoring Postoperative Recovery in Bitches After Ovariohysterectomy
Authors: Dąbrowski Roman , Wawron Władysław 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
An ovariohysterectomy is one of the most common procedures performed on bitches in everyday veterinary practice. As with any other surgery, it leads to a local inflammatory reaction, which is usually accompanied by a systemic reaction called the acute-phase response (APR). The aim of the study was to assess the changes of serum CRP concentration, WBC and rectal temperature during the postoperative period in bitches undergoing ovariohysterectomy and to establish the usefulness of such determinations after surgical trauma. The results showed increased levels of all the measured parameters 24 hours after surgery. During the course of a normal postoperative period, WBC count and rectal temperature return to values that are considered physiological norms for dogs. The subsequent decline in CRP during the postoperative course indicates the gradual subsidence of the inflammatory reaction to surgical trauma. CRP concentrations higher than the physiological norm noted 10 days after surgery indicate a persistent, although less severe inflammatory process. The serum concentration of CRP is a more sensitive and reliable parameter for an evaluation of the postoperative period in bitches than WBC count and rectal temperature
Semi-Intensive Fattening Suitability and Slaughter Value of Young Bulls of Three Polish Native Breeds in Comparison With Polish Holstein-Friesian and Simmental
Authors: Litwińczuk Zygmunt , Żółkiewski Paweł , Florek Mariusz , Chabuz Witold , Domaradzki Piotr 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
An evaluation was conducted of the suitability for fattening in a semi-intensive system (mainly with fodders from permanent grassland) and the slaughter value of 15 young bulls of the Polish Red (PR) breed and 10 each of the White-Backed (WB) and Polish Black-and-White (BW) breeds. The reference group consisted of young bulls of the Black-and-White variety of the Polish Holstein- Friesian (HF) breed and the Simmental (SIM) breed, fattened on the same farms. Control fattening was carried out until the age of 18 months. Mean daily weight gain in the bulls of the native breeds during the control fattening period (which lasted 314-358 days) was 0.9 kg, similarly to HF, but significantly lower (P≤0.05) than in the Simmentals (986 g). During the entire fattening period, i.e. from birth to the age of 18 months, daily weight gain was 832 g in PR and 889-919 g in WB and BW. Dressing percentage was lowest in PR bulls (51.69%), and higher in WB (53.1%) and BW (53.49%), with values similar to the reference group, i.e. young bulls of the Simmental (52.97%) and HF (53.29%) breeds. The difference between PR and BW (1.8%) and HF (1.6%) was statistically significant (P≤0.05). In the EUROP classification system, the carcasses of the young bulls of the native breeds were most often placed in classes R- and O+ (conformation) and 2+ and 3- (fat cover), as in the case of young HF bulls. Carcasses of young Simmental bulls were assigned to much higher classes. The young bulls of the three Polish native breeds evaluated are good material for fattening in a semi-intensive system (mainly with fodder from permanent grasslands), while the young PR bulls were the least suitable
The cardiometabolic benefits of flavonoids and dark chocolate intake in patients at risk
Authors: Andra-Iulia Suceveanu , Laura Mazilu , A. Suceveanu , Irinel Parepa , Doina Catrinoiu , S. Paris , F. Voinea 
Published: May 2014

ABSTRACT
Scientific research proves that the cardiac and the metabolic functions are improved by the consumption of flavonoids, natural elements found in cocoa. The dark chocolate is the main alimentary compound rich in flavonoids, and for this reason it can be used to prevent some cardiometabolic disorders. This study aims to demonstrate the relationship between chocolate consumption and the cardiometabolic disorders risk in 85 patients hospitalized in Internal Medicine Unit of Emergency Hospital “St. Apostle Andrew” of Constanta. Patients were split according to the quantity of the dark chocolate consumption into 2 groups. The study groups were matched by the demographic parameters, the BMI, the physical activity and other risk factors (fats, saturated lipids, etc). We found that the daily consumption of dark chocolate, with content of cocoa > 35% according to European recommendations, had cardiometabolic benefits. The risk of coronary heart disease was reduced with 23% by the daily dark chocolate intake. The cardiovascular disease mortality and the risk of any cardiovascular disease were decreased with 19%, respectively with 38%. The risk of incident diabetes decreased with 28% after daily dark chocolate consumption, regardless the gender of patients. The number of ischemic cerebral events was reduced with 32%. In summary, the daily consumption of dark chocolate rich in flavonoids decreases the cardiometabolic disorders in patients at risk [1].
Modelling of Terrain Surface
Authors: Rédl Jozef , Váliková Veronika , Antl Ján 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
In this contribution, we deal with the methodology of visualisation of terrain surface, on which experimental measurements of driving manoeuvres of an agricultural technological vehicle MT8-222 were performed. The introduced methodology uses a defined approach when determining the dynamic stability of agricultural vehicles following the standard STN 47 017. Records of the centre of gravity accelerations were obtained from driving manoeuvres at every instance of time during the drive. From records of accelerations and by using Euler‘s parameters with respect to the inertial system, there were evaluated contact points of the wheel with the terrain. Performed driving manoeuvres consisted of movement in the direction of down grade slope as well as in the direction of tractive movement on the slope. We created a model of terrain surface in the Surfer® program from obtained experimental data. Next, by using supporting commands in Matlab®, we created an algorithm for visualisation of terrain surface. Following this algorithm, there was created another model of terrain surface. Both visualisations of terrain surface are depicted in Figs 4 and 5.
Structure, Causality and Price Transmission Tests in Marketing of Irvingia Seed (Ogbono) in Enugu State, Nigeria
Authors: Ike Pius Chinwuba 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
This study examined the marketing of Irvingia seeds (ogbono) in Enugu state, Nigeria, especially as it concerns margins, structure and causality as well as price transmission tests. Primary data were collected from 180 respondents composed of 36 producers, 54 wholesalers and 90 retailers. Data were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistical tools including the Gini coefficient. Irvingia seed marketing margins were generally high, apparently due to poor socioeconomic environments of the actors. The margins were, however, on the average, lower than the producer’s share of the consumer spending. The result of the analysis also suggests a competitive market structure for Irvingia seed in the study area. Prices were determined at the production level of the chain, but producers were asymmetric in their price transmissions to the wholesale level. These observations suggest that policy intervention in the form of improving the socioeconomic environment under which marketing agents operate and facilitation of market information flow (which could reduce the asymmetric behaviour of producers) could improve Irvingia seed marketing in the study area.
Heart rate variability during pre-competition and competition periods in volleyball players
Authors: Podstawski Robert , Boraczyński Michał , Nowosielska-Swadźba Danuta , Zwolińska Danuta 
Published: May 2014

Summary
Study aim: Regular exercise training is thought to modify cardiac autonomic control. One of the body’s responses to training stimuli is heart rate variability (HRV). The use of HRV in the management of sport training is a common practice. The objective of the present study was to assess the impact of the physical activity level on HRV of 1st league national volleyball players prior to and during the competition period.
Materials and methods: The study involved 11 players whose HRV was evaluated during the two analysed training periods. Selected indicators of spectral analysis (total power, %VLF, % LF, % HF powers, LF n.u, HF n.u, and LF/HF powers) as well as time analysis (HR, RR, RMSSD, NN50) were assessed on the basis of recordings.
Results: The studies conducted in the pre-competition and competition periods showed significant differences in the parameters of spectral VLF% analysis and time NN50 analysis. In the competition period, a significant increase in VLF [%] may be the result of increased psycho-physical arousal, when compared to the pre-competition period. ]
Conclusions: Resting bradycardia, assessed on the basis of time analysis indicators, may be the result of internal changes in the sinus node, which reflects the impact of long-term training on the cardiac conduction system. A high level of physical activity of volleyball players in the tested periods could have contributed to a reduction in vagal tone and a shift in the balance of the autonomic nervous system in the direction of the sympathetic system, which may be the result of overtraining
Ecology and niche assembly of campanula tommasiniana, a narrow endemic of mt učka (Liburnian Karst, north-western Adriatic)
Authors: Surina Boštjan , Martinčič Andrej 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
Campanula tommasiniana is a typical chasmophyte occupying calcareous rock crevices and cracks along a wide range of ecological gradients, demonstrating a high degree of ecological plasticity and stress tolerance with regards to abiotic factors. Generally, three ecologically and floristically distinct groups of stands were recognized and typified according to a sigmatistic approach: (a) Seslerio juncifoliae-Campanuletum tommasinianae ass. nov., with stands occupying higher elevated sites fully exposed to sun and strong winds; (b) Seslerio autumnalis-Campanuletum tommasinianae ass. nov., representing stands predominantly developed within thermophytic beech stands, semi- to fully- -shaded by the tree canopy; (c) Cystopteri fragilis-Campanuletum tommasinianae, sciophytic, stands adapted to moisture and coldwith high frequency and coverage of bryophytes. Results of DCA analyses using a unimodal model suggest that Campanula tommasiniana is primarily a plant of open and exposed sites of higher elevation despite being most frequently found in rock crevices within thermophytic and altimontane beech forests.
Chromosome number of elatine gussonei (sommier) brullo (elatinaceae) and its distribution on the maltese islands
Authors: Kalinka Anna , Mifsud Stephen , Popiela Agnieszka , Achrem Magdalena 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
Elatine gussonei (Sommier) Brullo is an endemic species, with a distribution restricted to the central part of the Mediterranean Basin (Maltese islands, Lampedusa, southern part of Sicily). This hydrophyte grows in rainwater pools and cavities in karstic limestone. Although the morphology has been well studied, no karyological study has been carried out, and hence this work brings the first chromosome data for the Maltese-pelago endemic E. gussonei.We have found a diploid number of 54 chromosomes in E. gussonei, which differs from the chromosome number of most of Elatine species (2n = 36). Additionally, this account gives a recent distribution of the species on the Maltese islands.
Rqa based approach to detect and prevent ddos attacks in voip networks
Authors: Jeyanthi N. , Thandeeswaran R. , Vinithra J. 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a family of technologies for the transmission of voice over Internet. Voice is converted into digital signals and transmitted as data packets. The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is an IETF protocol for VoIP and other multimedia. SIP is an application layer protocol for creating, modifying and terminating sessions in VoIP communications. Since SIP is a more flexible and simple protocol, it is quite easy to add features to it.
Distributed Denial of Service Attack (DDoS) floods the server with numerous requests from various hosts. Hence, the legitimate clients will not be able to get their intended services. A major concern in VoIP and almost in all network domains is availability rather than data consistency. Most of the surviving techniques could prevent VoIP network only after collision. This paper proposes a Recurrence Quantification based approach to detect and prevent VoIP from a DDoS attack. This model detects the attack at an earlier stage and also helps to prevent from further attacks. In addition, this techniques enables the efficient utilization of resources. QUALNET has been used to simulate the operation of the proposed technology.
Error reduction in promoted confidence factor of a rule using improved fuzzy rule promotion technique
Authors: Jain Lokesh , Kumar Harish , Singla Ravinder Kumar , Singh Pritpal , Lore Jagjeet Singh 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
A dynamic fuzzy rule promotion approach for the promotion of a confidence factor of a rule for every successful session in diagnosis of a disease in crops by using the specific rules, has already been proposed in literature. This technique has the limitation that an error in the initial estimation of weights reduces linearly after every session the rule is being used. In this paper an improved approach has been proposed using the square root of sum of squares of frequencies, which are spread around the mean true value to reduce the error around a mean value. A rule set for the diseases and their symptoms for the paddy plant has been provided to make comparison between the previous and the improved approach. It has been shown that the improved approach decreases the error in uncertainty of estimation of weight for rules after every successful session. It has also been proposed that the improved approach must be applied in agricultural information dissemination system.
Improved structure-adaptive anisotropic filter based on a nonlinear structure tensor
Authors: Wu Jie , Feng Zuren , Ren Zhigang 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
A variety of structure-adaptive filters are proposed to overcome the blurred effects of image structures caused by the classical Gaussian weighted mean filter. However, two major issues are needed to be dealt with carefully for structure-adaptive anisotropic filters. One is to properly construct the filter kernel and the other is to accurately estimate the orientation of the image structures. In this paper we propose to improve the structure-adaptive anisotropic filtering approach based on the nonlinear structure tensor (NLST) analysis technique. According to the anisotropism measurements of image structures, a new kernel construction method is designed to make the filter shape fine adapted to image features. Through the accurately estimated orientation of the image structures, the filter kernels are then properly aligned to perform the filtering process. Experimental results show that the proposed filter denoises the noisy images carefully and image features, such as corners and junctions are well preserved. Compared with some other known filters, the proposed filter obtains great improvements both in Mean Square Error (MSE) and visual quality.
Nonlinear pd controllers with gravity compensation for robot manipulators
Authors: Huang Jianfeng , Yang Chengying , Ye Jun 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
A Nonlinear Proportional-Derivative (NPD) controller with gravity compensation is proposed and applied to robot manipulators in this paper. The proportional and derivative gains are changed by the nonlinear function of errors in the NPD controller. The closed-loop system, composed of nonlinear robot dynamics and NPD controllers, is globally asymptotically stable in position control of robot manipulators. The comparison of the simulation experiments in the position control (the step response) of a robot manipulator with two degrees of freedom is also presented to illustrate that the NPD controller is superior to the conventional PD controller in a position control system. The experimental results show that the NPD controller can obtain a faster response velocity and higher position accuracy than the conventional PD controller in the position control of robot manipulators because the proportional and derivative gains of the NPD controller can be changed by the nonlinear function of errors. The NPD controller provides a novel approach for robot control systems.
Evaluating the performance of various segmentation techniques in industrial radiographs
Authors: Thirugnanam Mythili , Anouncia S. Margret 
Published: May 2014

Abstract
At present, image processing concepts are widely used in different fields, such as remote sensing, communication, medical imaging, forensics and industrial inspection. Image segmentation is one of the key processes in image processing key stages. Segmentation is a process of extracting various features of the image which can be merged or split to build the object of interest, on which image analysis and interpretation can be performed. Many researchers have proposed various segmentation algorithms to extract the region of interest from an image in various domains. Each segmentation algorithm has its own pros and cons based on the nature of the image and its quality. Especially, extracting a region of interest from a gray scale image is incredibly complex compared to colour images. This paper attempts to perform a study of various widely used segmentation techniques in gray scale images, mostly in industrial radiographic images that would help the process of defects detection in non-destructive testing.
The Effects of Salinity Stress on Seed Reserve Utilization and Germination Percentage of Treated Seeds of Barley (Hordeum Vulgare L.)
Authors: Tabatabaei S.A. 
Published: May 2014

ABSTRACT
In order to investigate salinity stress on seed reserve utilization and seedling growth of treated seeds of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), an experiment was carried out. Factorial experiment was carried out in completely randomized design with three replicates. To create salinity stress, NaCl in osmotic levels at 0 (as control), -4, -8, -12 and -16 bar were used. For seed priming, gibberellin (GA) 50 ppm was used. Our results showed that treatment × drought interaction on these traits: germination percentage, weight of utilized (mobilized) seed, seed reserve utilization efficiency, seedling dry weight and seed reserve depletion percentage were significant. The highest germination percentage, weight of utilized (mobilized) seed, seed reserve utilization efficiency, seedling dry weight and seed reserve depletion percentage were attained from priming by gibberellin at control conditions. Thus, priming increased characteristics as compared to the unprimed. Priming improved seed reserve utilization such as: weight of utilized (mobilized) seed reserve, seed reserve depletion percentage, seed reserve utilization efficiency and seedling growth in barley under salinity stress.