Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intercropping Enhances Productivity and Maintains the Most Soil Fertility Properties Relative to Sole Cropping

Yield and nutrient acquisition advantages are frequently found in intercropping systems. However, there are few published reports on soil fertility in intercropping relative to monocultures. A field experiment was therefore established in 2009 in Gansu province, northwest China. The treatments comprised maize/faba bean, maize/soybean, maize/chickpea and maize/turnip intercropping, and their correspoding monocropping. In 2011 (the 3rd year) and 2012 (the 4th year) the yields and some soil chemical properties and enzyme activities were examined after all crop species were harvested or at later growth stages. Both grain yields and nutrient acquisition were significantly greater in all four intercropping systems than corresponding monocropping over two years. Generally, soil organic matter (OM) did not differ significantly from monocropping but did increase in maize/chickpea in 2012 and maize/turnip in both years. Soil total N (TN) did not differ between intercropping and monocropping in either year with the sole exception of maize/faba bean intercropping receiving 80 kg P ha−1 in 2011. Intercropping significantly reduced soil Olsen-P only in 2012, soil exchangeable K in both years, soil cation exchangeable capacity (CEC) in 2012, and soil pH in 2012. In the majority of cases soil enzyme activities did not differ across all the cropping systems at different P application rates compared to monocrops, with the exception of soil acid phosphatase activity which was higher in maize/legume intercropping than in the corresponding monocrops at 40 kg ha−1 P in 2011. P fertilization can alleviate the decline in soil Olsen-P and in soil CEC to some extent. In summary, intercropping enhanced productivity and maintained the majority of soil fertility properties for at least three to four years, especially at suitable P application rates. The results indicate that maize-based intercropping may be an efficient cropping system for sustainable agriculture with carefully managed fertilizer inputs.
Perceived prominence and acoustic parameters in american English

This paper describes the relationships between perceived prominence as a gradual value and some acoustic-prosodic parameters. Prominence is used as an intermediate parameter in a speech synthesis system. A corpus of American English utterances was constructed by measuring and annotating various linguistic, acoustic and perceptual parameters and features. The investigation of the corpus revealed some strong and some rather weak relations between prominence and acoustic-prosodic parameters that serve as a starting point for the development of prominence-based rules for the synthesis of American English prosody in a content-to-speech system.
Near is My Shirt But Nearer is My Skin: Ideology or Self-Interest as Determinants of Public Opinion on Fiscal Policy Issues

Several empirical studies derive that personal positions with respect to policy measures are dominated by ideology instead of narrow self-interest. In the present field study we carried out a telephone survey with 1,003 respondents all over Austria. Instead of measuring selfishness indirectly by using more or less "objective indicators" for self-interest, we requested respondents to assess directly whether they expect to be affected by policy measures. Our results indicate that such a subjectively measured narrow self-interest explains attitudes towards economic policies at least as good as ideological conviction. In some cases ideology appears to determine whether people feel affected by a proposed policy measure.
Range-free selective multilateration for anisotropic wireless sensor networks

In anisotropic wireless sensor networks, range-free multilateration-based localization (RFML) protocols severely suffer from large error in node-anchor distance estimations or the bad geometry of anchors involved in the localization process. In this paper, we propose selective multilateration (SM), a RFML protocol in which a node adaptively selects a subset of anchor nodes with accurate distance estimates and good geometric distribution to perform multilateration. We make two main contributions: (1) We exploit the locality property of per hop length (two nearby nodes share similar per hop length to a far anchor node) to estimate node-anchor distances. This induces smaller distance estimation error than previous approaches that use a unified average per hop length for all nodes. (2) We propose a method to heuristically select a subset of good anchor nodes that have small distance estimation errors and good geometry quality measured by geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) to perform multilateration. We also use a method which mines sub-hop resolution proximity between neighboring nodes to reduce error in distance estimates which further improves localization accuracy. Simulation results show that, compared with PDM, SM improves distance estimation accuracy by up to 45 percent. The localization accuracy in SM is improved by up to 45 percent and 27 percent in average. Furthermore, SM incurs much less communication and computational overhead than PDM does, making it more suitable for large scale WSNs.
A morphological case approach to PPs 

In this paper we address the case assignment properties of (spatial) prepositions in German. Applying a word-syntactic framework in the spirit of Distributed Morphology (Halle & Marantz 1993), we offer a post-syntactic approach to morphological case (Marantz 1991) in German PPs. We argue that dative is the case that is inherently assigned by the category P and that other cases are derived by regular (Path Impoverishment) or idiosyncratic morphological operations. In particular, we implement the well-known dative/accusative alternation in German PPs that reflects a semantic alternation between a locative and a directional meaning. We also address those spatial prepositions that invariantly combine with a particular case like route prepositions (with accusative) and inherently directional prepositions (with dative). Our analysis turns out to be superior to lexicalist approaches such as Bierwisch (1988) in that we can model the ambiguous preposition uber (‘above’, ‘over’, ‘across’) with one underlying element, while in lexicalist approaches one arguably has to postulate two independent lexical entries.
A research framework for empirical studies in organizational memory

J.P. Walsh and G.R. Ungson (1991) defined an organizational memory (OM) research agenda encompassing three sequential phases: assessing the structure of OM; parsing the OM acquisition, retention, and retrieval processes; and assessing the consequences of OM. One way for researchers to address Walsh and Ungson's research agenda and enable OM to evolve as a research domain is by theory testing through hypothesis generation and empirical research. The paper defines an initial research framework for guiding empirical studies of OM based on a widely accepted CSCW research framework, and describes an exploratory laboratory study based on factors identified in this framework.
The Union Membership Wage Premium for Employees Covered by Collective Bargaining Agreements

Using Current Population Survey data for 1983–93, this article analyzes whether there is a union membership wage premium among full‐time, private sector employees covered by union contracts. Ordinary least squares estimates of the membership wage premium are 12%–14%, and allowing membership to be endogenous yields larger estimates. Differences in job tenure, unobservable characteristics, and measurement error cannot fully explain the estimated premium. Significant differences in this premium, as well as in membership rates conditional upon coverage, across various demographic subgroups are also documented. In general, “free riders” do not appear to be free riding.
Medical Futility: A Cross-national Study

Medical futility is a controversial issue not only in its definition but also in its application. There are few books on the subject, and those in existence mostly focus on the situation in the United States. This title, however, provides extensive international perspectives on medical futility. This book will benefit healthcare professionals as well as health policy makers around the world. It allows them to see how different countries approach the issue of medical futility and their experiences in dealing with this issue. The complexity of the issue, and in particular how some countries innovatively address it in an ethically sound manner, is clearly presented.
Dynamics of piecewise isometries

We begin a systematic study of Euclidean piecewise isometric dynamical systems (p.i.d.s.) with a particular focus on the interplay between geometry, symbolic dynamics, and the group of isometries associated with p.i. d.s. We investigate various aspects of the dynamical information contained in the coding: symbolic growth and the periodic behavior of codings and cells. This theoretical investigation is motivated by the many examples of piecewise isometric dynamical systems found recently in the literature. Piecewise isometric dynamical systems are direct generalizations of interval exchange transformations to non-invertible, higher dimensional maps.
Strategic Interaction and the Co-Determination of Firms Financial Policies

With a few notable exceptions, corporate finance studies of firms financial policies typically rely on a single firm setting, thus overlooking the possibility that firms financial policies are co-determined by those of their rivals. I develop and test a model in which firms interact by buying and selling productive assets. This interaction affects cash policies because a lack of cash may force a firm to sell assets at a discount, while having surplus cash may enable a firm to take advantage of other firms asset sales. The model generates sharp and novel empirical predictions at the industry (as opposed to the individual firm) level. I test these predictions using a carefully built methodology that tackles the endogeneity and persistence of firm-level determinants. Precisely as predicted by the theory, I find that both the average cash holdings in an industry, as well as the heterogeneity in cash policies within that industry, depend on two variables: the asset specificity of that industry and industry cashflow volatility. These results point to the importance of strategic interaction as a determinant of corporate financial policies.
Adherence of Streptococcus mutans to Fiber-Reinforced Filling Composite and Conventional Restorative Materials

Objectives. The aim was to investigate the adhesion of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) to a short glass fibers reinforced semi-IPN polymer matrix composite resin. The effect of surface roughness on adhesion was also studied. For comparison, different commercial restorative materials were also evaluated. Materials and Methods. Experimental composite FC resin was prepared by mixing 22.5 wt% of short E-glass fibers, 22.5 wt% of IPN-resin and 55 wt% of silane treated silica fillers using high speed mixing machine. Three direct composite resins (Z250, Grandio and Nulite), resin-modified glass ionomers (Fuji II LC), amalgam (ANA 2000), fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) (everStick and Ribbond), and pre-fabricated ceramic filling insert (Cerana class 1) were tested in this study. Enamel and dentin were used as controls. The specimens (n=3/group) with or without saliva were incubated in a suspension of S. mutans allowing initial adhesion to occur. For the enumeration of cells on the disc surfaces as colony forming units (CFU) the vials with the microbe samples were thoroughly Vortex-treated and after serial dilutions grown anaerobically for 2 days at +37°C on Mitis salivarius agars (Difco) containing bacitracin. Bacterial adhesion was also evaluated by using scanning electron microscopy. Surface roughness (Ra) of the materials was also determined using a surface profilometer. All results were statistically analyzed with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results. Composite FC resin and other commercial restorative materials showed similar adhesion of S. mutans, while adhesion to dentin and enamel was significantly higher (p<0.05). Surface roughness had no effect on bacterial adhesion. Saliva coating significantly decreased the adhesion for all materials (p<0.05). Composite FC resin had a significantly higher Ra value than control groups (p<0.05). Conclusions. Short fiber-reinforced composite with semi-IPN polymer matrix revealed similar S. mutans adhesion than commercial restorative materials.
Robust place recognition using local appearance based methods

We present an approach to the automatic recognition of locations or landmarks using single camera images. Our approach is to learn visual features in the appearance domain that can be used to characterize an object or a location. These features are defined statistically and then are recognized using principal components in the frequency domain. We show that this technique can be used to recognize specific objects on varying backgrounds, as well as environmental features.
RoboCupJunior: Learning with Educational Robotics

The RoboCupJunior division of RoboCup is now entering its third year of international participation and is growing rapidly in size and popularity. This paper first outlines the history of the Junior league, since it was demonstrated in Paris at RoboCup 1998, and describes how it has evolved into the international sensation it is today. While the popularity of the event is self-evident, we are working to identify and quantify the educational benefits of the initiative. The remainder of the paper focuses on describing our efforts to encapsulate these qualities, highlighting results from a pilot study conducted at RoboCupJunior 2000 and presenting new data from a subsequent study of RoboCupJunior 2001.
Disrupted Brain Functional Network in Internet Addiction Disorder: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is increasingly recognized as a mental health disorder, particularly among adolescents. The pathogenesis associated with IAD, however, remains unclear. In this study, we aim to explore the encephalic functional characteristics of IAD adolescents at rest using functional magnetic resonance imaging data. We adopted a graph-theoretic approach to investigate possible disruptions of functional connectivity in terms of network properties including small-worldness, efficiency, and nodal centrality on 17 adolescents with IAD and 16 socio-demographically matched healthy controls. False discovery rate-corrected parametric tests were performed to evaluate the statistical significance of group-level network topological differences. In addition, a correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationships between functional connectivity and clinical measures in the IAD group. Our results demonstrate that there is significant disruption in the functional connectome of IAD patients, particularly between regions located in the frontal, occipital, and parietal lobes. The affected connections are long-range and inter-hemispheric connections. Although significant alterations are observed for regional nodal metrics, there is no difference in global network topology between IAD and healthy groups. In addition, correlation analysis demonstrates that the observed regional abnormalities are correlated with the IAD severity and behavioral clinical assessments. Our findings, which are relatively consistent between anatomically and functionally defined atlases, suggest that IAD causes disruptions of functional connectivity and, importantly, that such disruptions might link to behavioral impairments.
Comparison of video-based pointing and selection techniques for hands-free text entry

Video-based human-computer interaction has received increasing interest over the years. However, earlier research has been mainly focusing on technical characteristics of different methods rather than on user performance and experiences in using computer vision technology. This study aims to investigate performance characteristics of novice users and their subjective experiences in typing text with several video-based pointing and selection techniques. In Experiment 1, eye tracking and head tracking were applied for the task of pointing at the keys of a virtual keyboard. The results showed that gaze pointing was significantly faster but also more erroneous technique as compared with head pointing. Self-reported subjective ratings revealed that it was generally better, faster, more pleasant and efficient to type using gaze pointing than head pointing. In Experiment 2, mouth open and brows up facial gestures were utilized for confirming the selection of a given character. The results showed that text entry speed was approximately the same for both selection techniques, while mouth interaction caused significantly fewer errors than brow interaction. Subjective ratings did not reveal any significant differences between the techniques. Possibilities for design improvements are discussed.
Effect of Temperature on the Prevalence of Saccharomyces Non cerevisiae Species against a S. cerevisiae Wine Strain in Wine Fermentation: Competition, Physiological Fitness, and Influence in Final Wine Composition

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the main microorganism responsible for the fermentation of wine. Nevertheless, in the last years wineries are facing new challenges due to current market demands and climate change effects on the wine quality. New yeast starters formed by non-conventional Saccharomyces species (such as S. uvarum or S. kudriavzevii) or their hybrids (S. cerevisiae x S. uvarum and S. cerevisiae x S. kudriavzevii) can contribute to solve some of these challenges. They exhibit good fermentative capabilities at low temperatures, producing wines with lower alcohol and higher glycerol amounts. However, S. cerevisiae can competitively displace other yeast species from wine fermentations, therefore the use of these new starters requires an analysis of their behavior during competition with S. cerevisiae during wine fermentation. In the present study we analyzed the survival capacity of non-cerevisiae strains in competition with S. cerevisiae during fermentation of synthetic wine must at different temperatures. First, we developed a new method, based on QPCR, to quantify the proportion of different Saccharomyces yeasts in mixed cultures. This method was used to assess the effect of competition on the growth fitness. In addition, fermentation kinetics parameters and final wine compositions were also analyzed. We observed that some cryotolerant Saccharomyces yeasts, particularly S. uvarum, seriously compromised S. cerevisiae fitness during competences at lower temperatures, which explains why S. uvarum can replace S. cerevisiae during wine fermentations in European regions with oceanic and continental climates. From an enological point of view, mixed co-cultures between S. cerevisiae and S. paradoxus or S. eubayanus, deteriorated fermentation parameters and the final product composition compared to single S. cerevisiae inoculation. However, in co-inoculated synthetic must in which S. kudriavzevii or S. uvarum coexisted with S. cerevisiae, there were fermentation performance improvements and the final wines contained less ethanol and higher amounts of glycerol. Finally, it is interesting to note that in co-inoculated fermentations, wine strains of S. cerevisiae and S. uvarum performed better than non-wine strains of the same species.
Evidence of Nominal Wage Stickiness from Microdata

For much of this century, sticky nominal wages have been considered a key reason that nominal shocks to the economy may have real effects. Historical explanations of sticky nominal wages often rely on money illusion, a concept unpopular with neoclassical economists because it implies irrationality. More modem explanations cite menu costs (for instance, George Akerlof and Janet Yellen, 1985) and imperfect information about the rate of inflation (for instance, Edmund S. Phelps, 1970). Tests of sticky nominal wages have looked at their indirect effects, particularly regarding the countercyclicality of real wages (for instance, see Gary Solon et al., 1994). There has been little direct empirical analysis. This paper addresses that shortcoming by examining longitudinal microeconomic data on the distribution of annual nominal wage and salary changes of workers who remain on the same job. This paper finds that there are some workers whose wages or salaries exhibit nominal stickiness. Specifically, it finds: (1) A significant fraction of workers remaining on the same job over a year receive the same nominal wage/salary in consecutive years. (2) When a given real wage/salary change requires a small nominal change, it is less likely to occur than when it requires a larger nominal change. Over the period studied, between 1 and 2 percent of workers would have received a small pay change in the absence of menu costs, but instead received none. (3) There is also evidence of downward nominal wage stickiness, but with important differences between wage earners and salary earners. Wage earners receive nominal wage cuts less frequently than would be expected on the basis of distributions of real wage changes. In the period studied, approximately 9.4 percent of wage earners would have received a nominal wage reduction in the absence of downward wage rigidities, but instead do not. ' In contrast, salary earners do not receive pay cuts less frequently than would be expected, particularly in later years. The frequency of zero nominal pay changes combined with the relative infrequency of small pay changes provide micro-level evidence of the presence of "menu costs," which can lead firms to postpone small pay rate changes. Menu costs in pay rate adjustments may include the administrative costs of changing payrolls and the costs of performance appraisal and negotiations that generally accompany wage/salary changes. While there is considerable debate over whether menu costs can have a profound impact on aggregate fluctuations and create nonneutrality of money, this paper does not address the macroeconomic implications of menu costs in wage/salary adjustments.2 Instead, it asks whether the distribution of annual wage and salary adjustments shows microeconomic evidence of menu costs, a necessary but not sufficient condition for macroeconomic effects. Menu costs are not enough to explain the sharp drop in wage distributions below nominal zero. The phenomenon strongly suggests that either workers or firms resist nominal pay cuts, as would be predicted by traditional Keynesians. Because of this resistance,
Price Setting in German Manufacturing: New Evidence from New Survey Data

This paper presents new evidence on the formation of producer prices based on a onetime survey that was conducted on a sample of 1200 German firms in manufacturing in June 2004. Most of the firms have price-setting power and apply mark-up pricing. Indexation is negligible. Fixed nominal contracts are the most important reason for postponing a price adjustment. The second most likely reason is coordination failure, which causes more upward than downward stickiness. For every second firm both reasons are important. Firms can be assigned to four different groups according to an increasing complexity of reasons of price stickiness.