Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF ROW SPACING ON SEEDCANE YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS IN WESTERN KENYA

Sugarcane planted at wide row spacing grows slowly in the early stages, and this is detrimental to both the soil and the crop because the delayed closure of the crop canopy in wide rows hinders efficient use of light, water and nutrients. Two experiments were conducted at Kibos and Nasewa during 2002/03, with the objective of determining the effect of row spacing on seedcane yield and yield components of two varieties. The experiments were laid out as 2x4 factorials in randomised complete block designs, replicated three times each. Treatments were two cane varieties (KEN82-247 and N14) and four row spacings (120, 60, 50 and 40 cm). Three-budded cane setts were planted in plots measuring 72 m 2 . Each plot had a length of 10 m and width of 7.2 m. Data on yield and yield components at 12 months after planting were determined. Analysis of variance for yield, stalk weight (tch), stalk population/ha and setts/ha showed significant differences (P<0.05) between the row spacings. There were no significant interaction effects between variety and site for any of the yield components. The 120 cm spacing gave significantly lower yields (58 tch) than the other three spacings, which gave similar yields (103, 103 and 104 tch for the 60, 40 and 50 cm spacings, respectively). The results from the study show that any row spacing between 40 and 60 cm nearly doubled yields and can therefore be a better option for sugarcane growers to adopt for seedcane production. The 50 cm row specing cannot be managed with current machinery, and will require modifications to be made to existing equipment.
Annular Geometry in Patients With Chronic Ischemic Mitral Regurgitation: Three-Dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Background—Although animal studies showed that annular remodeling may be related to the pathogenesis of chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation (CIMR), little was known in humans. A better understanding of the precise 3D geometry of the mitral valvular-ventricular complex in CIMR is needed to devise a better surgical technique. The purpose of the study was to elucidate mitral annular geometry in patients with CIMR using cardiac MRI. Methods and Results—Thirty-eight patients with previous inferior or posterior myocardial infarction were studied. With the 3D reconstruction of the mitral annulus and subvalvular apparatus from a series of longitudinal cine MRIs, end-systolic mitral annulus dimensions and 3D geometry were calculated. Patients were grouped by mitral regurgitation grade using echocardiography (≥2+, n=15 versus ≤1+, n=23). Both septal-lateral and commissure-commissure mitral annular diameters were significantly greater in CIMR(+) patients (35±5 versus 30±4 mm, P=0.005; 46±6 versus 39±4 mm, P<0.001, respectively). The length of the fibrous annulus was significantly larger in CIMR(+) patients (28±3 versus 24±3 mm; P<0.001). The height of the annular “saddle horn” above a best-fit plane was lower in CIMR(+) patients (4.2±1.2 versus 6.0±1.8 mm; P=0.002), and the annular height to commissural width ratio was significantly lower in CIMR(+) patients (12±3 versus 21±5%; P<0.001). Conclusions—Patients with CIMR had greater septal-lateral and commissure-commissure mitral annular dimension, larger intertrigonal distance, and flattened saddle shape of mitral annulus. These associated geometric alterations may be important in the pathogenesis of CIMR.
Effects of Walnut Consumption on Mood in Young Adults—A Randomized Controlled Trial

Walnuts contain a number of potentially neuroprotective compounds like vitamin E, folate, melatonin, several antioxidative polyphenols and significant amounts of omega‐3 fatty acids. The present study sought to determine the effect of walnuts on mood. Sixty‐four college students were randomly assigned to two treatment sequences in a cross‐over fashion: walnut‐placebo or placebo‐walnut. Baseline data was assessed using Profiles of Mood States (POMS). Data was collected again after eight weeks of intervention. After six‐weeks of washout the intervention groups followed the diets in reverse order. Data was collected once more at the end of the eight‐week intervention period. No significant change in mood was observed in analysis that included both genders on the walnut supplemented diet. However, in gender specific analysis significant improvement was observed in males in the anger/hostility domain (p=0.013) and in the Total Mood Disturbance score (p=0.043). In young males, walnuts seem to have the ability improve some mood domains. The study was in part supported by the California Walnut Commision. The funders had no role in the implementation, data collection, management, analysis, or interpretation of the study or preparation of this publication.
Possible effects of pair echoes on gamma-ray burst afterglow emission

High-energy emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is widely expected but had been sparsely observed until recently when the Fermi satellite was launched. If >TeV gamma-rays are produced in GRBs and can escape from the emission region, they are attenuated by the cosmic infrared background photons, leading to regeneration of ∼GeV–TeV secondary photons via inverse-Compton scattering. This secondary emission can last for a longer time than the duration of GRBs, and it is called a pair echo. We investigate how this pair echo emission affects spectra and light curves of high-energy afterglows, considering not only prompt emission but also afterglow as the primary emission. Detection of pair echoes is possible as long as the intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF) in voids is weak. We find (1) that the pair echo from the primary afterglow emission can affect the observed high-energy emission in the afterglow phase after the jet break and (2) that the pair echo from the primary prompt emission can also be relevant, but only when significant energy is emitted in the TeV range, typically E γ, >0.1TeV >Y (1 + Y ) −1 � eEk. Even non-detections of the pair echoes could place interesting constraints on the strength of IGMF. The more favourable targets to detect pair echoes may be the ‘naked’ GRBs without conventional afterglow emission, although energetic naked GRBs would be rare. If the IGMF is weak enough, it is predicted that the GeV emission extends to >30–300 s.
Point-to-Point Unconstrained Gestures: Modeling Wrist and Elbow Trajectories

Although point-to-point reaching motions have received a lot of attention, the way these movements are controlled remains incompletely resolved. Different controllers seem to be recruited depending on the task. Unconstrained reaching movements in space are strongly curved, in opposition to the widely accepted view of quasi-straightness. We argue that the curvature of the movement is due to environmental constraints that affect directly the planning of the movement. We propose a mathematical model whereby movements are planned through the combination of two concurrent controllers for the wrist and elbow in space. Coherence constraints are enforced between the two systems to simulate biomechanical constraints at the wrist, elbow and shoulder levels. External constraints, such as the presence of obstacles, are encapsulated in a virtual force which affects the planning of the movement. The predictions of the model are validated against kinematic data from human reaching motions. Four types were contrasted: intransitive versus transitive reaching motions and natural versus un-natural motions. In the un-natural case, subjects were requested to exaggeratedly elevate the elbow during the movement. In all four movements types, the movements are highly curved. The model renders with high accuracy the kinematics of the movements and accounts for the curvature as an effect of the virtual force.
Bayesian optimization of hyper-parameters in reservoir computing

We describe a method for searching the optimal hyper-parameters in reservoir computing, which consists of a Gaussian process with Bayesian optimization. It provides an alternative to other frequently used optimization methods such as grid, random, or manual search. In addition to a set of optimal hyper-parameters, the method also provides a probability distribution of the cost function as a function of the hyper-parameters. We apply this method to two types of reservoirs: nonlinear delay nodes and echo state networks. It shows excellent performance on all considered benchmarks, either matching or significantly surpassing results found in the literature. In general, the algorithm achieves optimal results in fewer iterations when compared to other optimization methods. We have optimized up to six hyper-parameters simultaneously, which would have been infeasible using, e.g., grid search. Due to its automated nature, this method significantly reduces the need for expert knowledge when optimizing the hyper-parameters in reservoir computing. Existing software libraries for Bayesian optimization, such as Spearmint, make the implementation of the algorithm straightforward. A fork of the Spearmint framework along with a tutorial on how to use it in practice is available at this https URL
Social Contagion: An Empirical Study of Information Spread on Digg and Twitter Follower Graphs

Social networks have emerged as a critical factor in information dissemination, search, marketing, expertise and influence discovery, and potentially an important tool for mobilizing people. Social media has made social networks ubiquitous, and also given researchers access to massive quantities of data for empirical analysis. These data sets offer a rich source of evidence for studying dynamics of individual and group behavior, the structure of networks and global patterns of the flow of information on them. However, in most previous studies, the structure of the underlying networks was not directly visible but had to be inferred from the flow of information from one individual to another. As a result, we do not yet understand dynamics of information spread on networks or how the structure of the network affects it. We address this gap by analyzing data from two popular social news sites. Specifically, we extract follower graphs of active Digg and Twitter users and track how interest in news stories cascades through the graph. We compare and contrast properties of information cascades on both sites and elucidate what they tell us about dynamics of information flow on networks.
'Overcoming Sleeplessness': Role and Workload of Secondary School Principals in Queensland

This study is concerned with the role and workload of secondary school principals in government schools throughout Queensland, Australia. Questionnaire responses from 105 principals, in addition to interviews with three principals and three system officers, were conducted to investigate perceptions of roles and workload. The majority of principals reported that pressure in the role and hours worked per week had increased, and role overload, role ambiguity and role conflict now characterised the job to some extent. Although the findings suggest that the demands of the job have intensified, 80 percent of principals reported to be satisfied or very satisfied with the role. A discrepancy between how principals spend their typical week and how they desired to spend time in an ideal week was observed. Typical activities included management/administration, parent/community issues and staffing issues, yet principals described the ideal week as one where they could dedicate time to strategic leadership, curriculum leadership and parent/community issues. Leadership skills and financial management skills were areas of professional development identified by principals
Representation at work: themes and issues

As trade unions have declined, a representation gap has appeared in British workplaces over the past two decades. In examining the nature of this gap and assessing current attempts to close it, this book draws on original research from the ESRC's prestigious Future of Work Programme. In this edited collection, some of the UK's leading employment relations researchers present insightful evidence of new developments in trade union and worker representation, focusing on key themes such as partnership, gender, and worker attitudes and organization in the 'knowledge economy'. This chapter examines the themes and issues surrounding representation at work.
Policy Transfer of Choice-based Lettings to Britain and Australia: How Extensive? How Faithful? How Appropriate?

Abstract This paper seeks to inject a new dimension into comparative housing research by exploring policy transfer in the case of choice-based lettings (CBL). Conceived in the Netherlands around 1990, CBL has attracted widespread interest in other developed countries as a ‘consumerist’ quasi-market technique replacing a traditionally bureaucratic process of regulating access to social housing. We examine the implications of importing the concept to two different social housing contexts—the UK and Australia. First, we identify the aspects of the CBL model found attractive in these jurisdictions and the extent to which it has been implemented in practice. Second, we explore how far it can be effectively operated within policy and institutional contexts substantially different from the country of origin. In ensuring compatibility with established institutional frameworks, has importation of CBL to the UK been rendered an empty gesture and to what extent have such frameworks acted as a barrier to the implementation of CBL in Australia? And, third, we consider the broader implications of the CBL case in relation to the international transfer of social policies as discussed in the literature.
Hemangiomas in Children: Challenges and Outcome of Surgical Management in Benin City, Nigeria

Objective Treatment of hemangioma/vascular tumors emphasize minimal invasion which require sophisticated facilities. This study reports the role of surgery in the management of symptomatic, and hemangioma which failed to respond to other modalities of treatment in resource-limited subregion. Methods A six-year (2004-2009) prospective study on the challenges and outcome of children referred for surgical management of hemangioma/vascular tumors was undertaken at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Findings Sixty-three children aged between a day and six years (median 5 years) comprising 38 males and 25 females (ratio 1.5:1) were managed. Upper limbs involvement, 18 (28.6%), and face/neck, 12 (19.1%), were most common and were present at birth in 27 (42.9%) babies, appeared between 2-3 weeks in 32 (50.8%), and after six months in 4 (6.3%). Cavernous hemangioma in 19 (30.2%) children, mixed cavernous/strawberry in 31 (49.2%) and strawberry in 13 (20.6), were the major types that ranged from spot-like to extensive huge lesions measuring 12×15 cm in diameter. Failure of 46 (65.1%) cases to respond to non operative treatment, ulceration in 3 (4.8%), infection in 5 (7.9%) and hemorrhage in 2 (3.2%) were indications for surgical intervention. Surgical options included complete excision and primary wound closure in 34 (54%) children, immediate skin graft after complete excision in 10 (15.9%), injection sclerotherapy in 2 (3.2%), serial ligation of feeder vessels in 2 (3.2%), and conservative treatment in 5 (7.9%). Excision and primary wound closure gave better outcome compared with others (P<0.0001). No mortality was recorded on 1-6 years follow-up but ugly scar, 8 (12.7%) and limb deformity, 3 (4.8%) were problems. Conclusion Surgical excision and primary wound closure gave good outcome which could be employed in complicated and hemangioma which failed to respond to other treatment in regions with limited resources.
Formality of Language: definition, measurement and behavioral determinants

A new concept of formality of linguistic expressions is introduced and argued to be the most important dimension of variation between styles or registers. Formality is subdivided into "deep" formality and "surface" formality. Deep formality is defined as avoidance of ambiguity by minimizing the context-dependence and fuzziness of expressions. This is achieved by explicit and precise description of the elements of the context needed to disambiguate the expression. A formal style is characterized by detachment, accuracy, rigidity and heaviness; an informal style is more flexible, direct, implicit, and involved, but less informative. An empirical measure of formality, the F-score, is proposed, based on the frequencies of different word classes in the corpus. Nouns, adjectives, articles and prepositions are more frequent in formal styles; pronouns, adverbs, verbs and interjections are more frequent in informal styles. It is shown that this measure, though coarse-grained, adequately distinguishes more from less formal genres of language production, for some available corpora in Dutch, French, Italian, and English. A factor similar to the F-score automatically emerges as the most important one from factor analyses applied to extensive data in 7 different languages. Different situational and personality factors are examined which determine the degree of formality in linguistic expression. It is proposed that formality becomes larger when the distance in space, time or background between the interlocutors increases, and when the speaker is male, introverted or academically educated. Some empirical evidence and a preliminary theoretical explanation for these propositions is discussed. Short Abstract: The concept of "deep" formality is proposed as the most important dimension of variation between language registers or styles. It is defined as avoidance of ambiguity by minimizing the context-dependence and fuzziness of expressions. An empirical measure, the F-score, is proposed, based on the frequencies of different word classes. This measure adequately distinguishes different genres of language production using data for Dutch, French, Italian, and English. Factor analyses applied to data in 7 different languages produce a similar factor as the most important one. Both the data and the theoretical model suggest that formality increases when the distance in space,
Vision, Space, and Embodiment: Interpretation of English Idioms by Serbian Students

The study tries to evaluate two approaches to conceptualisation by testing how Serbian respondents interpret literally translated English idioms. The development of concepts is a pressing issue in cognitive science and the importance of visuo-spatial relations on the one hand and embodiment on the other in this process is particularly stressed, depending on the approach. We have presented 90 undergraduate Serbian students with no formal training in English with literally translated English idiomatic expressions and asked them to guess their meanings. The goal was to investigate whether the expressions would be properly interpreted and whether there would be differences in the degree of correct interpretation between the groups of idioms offered. The idioms had no direct equivalents in Serbian and were classified into three groups: (1) visuo-spatial bodily idioms; (2) bodily only idioms; (3) random non-bodily idioms. The results suggest that there is a clear difference between the understanding of the three groups of idioms: those with the visuo-spatial component are understood best, followed by idioms referring to the body only and random idioms respectively. This result could provide some support to the idea that embodiment, especially when coupled with visual cognition, is a primary source of conceptualisation.
Swabbing Often Fails to Detect Amphibian Chytridiomycosis under Conditions of Low Infection Load

The pathogenic chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (denoted Bd), causes large-scale epizootics in naïve amphibian populations. Intervention strategies to rapidly respond to Bd incursions require sensitive and accurate diagnostic methods. Chytridiomycosis usually is assessed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) amplification of amphibian skin swabs. Results based on this method, however, sometimes yield inconsistent results on infection status and inaccurate scores of infection intensity. In Asia and other regions where amphibians typically bear low Bd loads, swab results are least reliable. We developed a Bd-sampling method that collects zoospores released by infected subjects into an aquatic medium. Bd DNA is extracted by filters and amplified by nested PCR. Using laboratory colonies and field populations of Bombina orientalis, we compare results with those obtained on the same subjects by qPCR of DNA extracted from swabs. Many subjects, despite being diagnosed as Bd-negative by conventional methods, released Bd zoospores into collection containers and thus must be considered infected. Infection loads determined from filtered water were at least 1000 times higher than those estimated from swabs. Subjects significantly varied in infection load, as they intermittently released zoospores, over a 5-day period. Thus, the method might be used to compare the infectivity of individuals and study the periodicity of zoospore release. Sampling methods based on water filtration can dramatically increase the capacity to accurately diagnose chytridiomycosis and contribute to a better understanding of the interactions between Bd and its hosts.
Gamification in Employee Selection: The Development of a Gamified Assessment

Gamification has attracted increased attention among organizations and human resource professionals recently, as a novel and promising concept for attracting and selecting prospective employees. In the current study, we explore the construct validity of a new gamified assessment method in employee selection that we developed following the situational judgement test (SJT) methodology. Our findings support the applicability of game elements into a traditional form of assessment built to assess candidates' soft skills. Specifically, our study contributes to research on gamification and employee selection exploring the construct validity of a gamified assessment method indicating that the psychometric properties of SJTs and their transformation into a gamified assessment are a suitable avenue for future research and practice in this field.
Effect of the Schroth method of emphasis of active holding on Cobb’s angle in patients with scoliosis: a case report

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the Schroth method (three-dimensional convergence exercise) of emphasis of active holding on pain and Cobb’s angle in patients with scoliosis. [Subjects and Methods] It applied the Schroth method program of emphasis of active holding individually to three subjects three time per week for 15 weeks. All subject were measured Cobb’s angle and pain. [Results] After 15 weeks, pain and Cobb’s angle decreased compared to values before. [Conclusion] These results demonstrate the benefit of the Schroth exercise program of emphasis of active holding on decreasing pain and Cobb’s angle in patients with idiopathic scoliosis.