Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of different mulching materials on weed dynamics and yield of direct seeded rice in Chitwan, Nepal

An experiment was carried out at farmers' field to compare the effects of live mulches and herbicide on weed growth and dynamics, yield, and economic performance of direct seeded rice under humid sub-tropical condition at Phulbari, Chitwan in 2009. The experiment was conducted in Randomized Complete Block Design with eight treatments and three replications. The treatments consisted of i) control, ii) three hand weeding, iii) herbicide application (bispyribac sodium @ 80 ml/ha) + one hand weeding, iv) wheat straw mulch @ 5t/ha + one hand weeding, v) Eupatorium mulch @ 5t/ha + one hand weeding, vi) brown manuring with Sesbania aculeata @ 30 kg/ha, vii) brown manuring with Sesamum indicum @ 2kg/ha, and viii) brown manuring with Crotolaria juncea @ 30 kg/ha. Weed dry matter accumulation was significantly lower with herbicide application (1.15 g/m 2 ) than wheat straw mulch (6.75 g/m 2 ). The treatments with brown manuring and Eupatorium mulch were found to be equally effective in suppressing the weed growth by reducing both dry matter content and weed density. Application of Eupatorium mulch one day after sowing produced significantly higher grain yield (3.5 t/ha) than control (1.77 t/ha), Sesamum brown manuring (2.97 t/ha) and wheat straw mulch (2.83 t/ha). Yield attributes like effective tillers/m 2 , panicle length and panicle weight were positively correlated with grain yield (r = 0.540, 0.705, 0.531 and 0.613 respectively). The net profit (Rs. 63.17 x 1000/ha) obtained from the treatment with Eupatorium mulch was higher than other tested treatments. Eupatorium mulch and herbicide application recorded equal benefit cost ratio of 2.4. Cultivation of direct seeded rice with the application of Eupatorium mulch or brown manuring (BM) of Sesamum was found effective for increasing yield and net returns in humid subtropical condition of Chitwan. Live mulching could be an eco-friendly weed control options in DSR. The BM option also provides crop residue for the addition of organic matter. This result suggests that BM is a potential alternative of herbicide application. Either mulching with Eupatorium and wheat straw or growing of Sesbania and Crotolaria as BM with rice up to 30 DAS are advisable to increase productivity with reduced cost of production at Chitwan and similar condition. Agronomy Journal of Nepal (Agron JN) Vol. 3. 2013, Page 73-81 DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/ajn.v3i0. 9008
Rehabilitation of Allergic Diseases in Children — Climatothalassotherapy as a Power Tool in Achieving Optimal Disease Control

Incidence of allergic diseases is overall increasing in last few decades. This increase is especially outlined in pediatric population. In European Union prevalence is between 2-11% [1]. Reha‐ bilitation of allergic diseases, primarily asthma or recurrent obstructive bronchitis is a powerful mechanism to achieve better control of the disease which is not sufficiently used for this purpose. The cost of treating asthma takes fifth place in health systems since they are accu‐ mulated over a lifetime. Direct costs go for medications and hospitalization costs, and indirect in terms of loss of working and school days.
Production variables and nutrient retention in single comb White Leghorn laying pullets fed diets supplemented with direct-fed microbials.

Two experiments were carried out for six and seven 28-d periods, respectively, with DeKalb XL Single Comb White Leghorn laying pullets to ascertain the effect of feeding 1,100 mg Lactobacillus (Lacto)/kg diet (ppm) and 2,200 ppm Lacto diets, and the supplementation of these diets with 1 and 3% fat, on layer performance and nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus retention. The dietary treatments were corn-soybean meal (C-S) control, C-S plus condensed cane molasses solubles (CCMS)-1,100 ppm Lacto (4.4 x 10(7) cfu/mg Lacto), and C-S plus CCMS-2,200 ppm Lacto (8.8 x 10(7) cfu/mg Lacto) without fat (Experiment 1) and without and with 1 and 3% supplemental fat to each Lacto level (Experiment 2). In both experiments, layers fed the 1,100 ppm Lacto diets had better (P < .05) hen-day production, daily feed consumption, egg mass, egg weight, egg size, and feed conversion than layers fed diets without Lacto. Egg mass, interior egg quality, and feed conversion (Experiment 1), mean body weight gains, and nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus retention (Experiment 2) were further improved (P < .05) with feeding 2,200 ppm Lacto diets. Feeding Lacto diets with 1% fat provided (P < .05) larger eggs and better (P < .05) nitrogen and phosphorus retention, whereas 3% fat decreased (P < .05) feed consumption and nutrient retention and improved (P < .05) feed conversion and body weight gain. Positive correlations between Lacto diets and nitrogen and calcium retentions, daily feed consumption, and egg size were observed. Feeding 1,100 ppm Lacto diets to layers stimulated appetite and improved egg production, egg mass, egg weight, egg size, and feed conversion. Addition of fat to Lacto diets reduced daily feed consumption and provided better feed conversion, egg masses, egg sizes, body weight gains, and nutrient retentions.
Transcriptomic profiling of gene expression and RNA processing during Leishmania major differentiation

Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania are the etiological agents of leishmaniasis, a group of diseases with a worldwide incidence of 0.9–1.6 million cases per year. We used RNA-seq to conduct a high-resolution transcriptomic analysis of the global changes in gene expression and RNA processing events that occur as L. major transforms from non-infective procyclic promastigotes to infective metacyclic promastigotes. Careful statistical analysis across multiple biological replicates and the removal of batch effects provided a high quality framework for comprehensively analyzing differential gene expression and transcriptome remodeling in this pathogen as it acquires its infectivity. We also identified precise 5′ and 3′ UTR boundaries for a majority of Leishmania genes and detected widespread alternative trans-splicing and polyadenylation. An investigation of possible correlations between stage-specific preferential trans-splicing or polyadenylation sites and differentially expressed genes revealed a lack of systematic association, establishing that differences in expression levels cannot be attributed to stage-regulated alternative RNA processing. Our findings build on and improve existing expression datasets and provide a substantially more detailed view of L. major biology that will inform the field and potentially provide a stronger basis for drug discovery and vaccine development efforts.
Impact of Fouling on Flow-Induced Vibration Characteristics in Fluid-Conveying Pipelines

This paper has addressed the common monitoring problems in petrochemical companies, which are caused by fouling and clogging in the circulating water heat exchangers, and has introduced techniques to monitor the heat exchanger's wall vibrations for early failure detection. Due to the difficulties encountered in simulation caused by the large number of tubes inside the heat exchanger, such monitoring methods are discussed by studying the fouling of a fluid-conveying pipeline. ANSYS was used to establish the normal and fouling models of a fluid-conveying pipeline so as to analyze the changing rules of various parameters that are influenced by different inlet velocities. These parameters include flow velocity, direction, pipeline wall load, wall displacement, and the acceleration of fluid domain in a fluid-conveying pipeline. It is shown that, as the inlet velocity and fouling severity continuously increase, the wall load and the vibration acceleration increase as well, leading variations in wall vibration signals. This paper conducts extensive experiments by using straight pipes to compare the results from simulation with those from the normal fluid-conveying pipelines under the same working conditions. By such comparison, the efficacy of the simulation model has been demonstrated.
Pioglitazone together with imatinib in chronic myeloid leukemia: A proof of concept study

We recently reported that peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ agonists target chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) quiescent stem cells in vitro by decreasing transcription of STAT5. Here in the ACTIM phase 2 clinical trial, we asked whether pioglitazone add‐on therapy to imatinib would impact CML residual disease, as assessed by BCR‐ABL1 transcript quantification.
Some physiological responses of turkeys selected for high and low adrenal response to cold stress.

Abstract Two lines were developed from the Ohio Randombred Control (RBC) population on the basis of their plasma corticosterone level after cold stress. One line (HL) was selected for increased plasma corticosterone, while the other line (LL) was selected for low corticosterone level after cold stress. By the F6 generation the mean corticosterone level after cold stress of the HL (14.8 (μg.%) was nearly double that of the LL (7.6 μg.%). Correlated responses measured were body weight, egg production, fertility, hatchability, resistance to disease, response to ACTH, and response to heat stress. At four weeks of age the LL was significantly heavier than the RBC or the HL birds in all generations. The LL birds produced significantly more eggs than the RBC or HL birds after the 4th generation. Although there were few significant differences among lines for fertility and hatchability, the trend was toward slightly better reproductive performance for the LL. This, coupled with better egg production, resulted in superior over-all reproductive performance for the LL. Both natural mortality and mortality due to cold stress and blood collection were significantly lower in the LL than in the RBC and the HL for the F3 through F7 generations. In addition, it appears that the response to cold stress is negatively correlated with resistance to Mycoplasma meleagridis. The response to heat stress in the HL and the LL birds was similar to that from cold stress indicating that the response was nonspecific. The HL birds were nearly twice as sensitive to ACTH injections as the LL birds. The response to ACTH injections strongly suggests that genetic selection altered the adrenal response to ACTH.
A multicomponent matched filter cluster confirmation tool for eROSITA: initial application to the RASS and DES-SV data sets

We describe a multicomponent matched filter (MCMF) cluster confirmation tool designed for the study of large X-ray source catalogues produced by the upcoming X-ray all-sky survey mission eROSITA. We apply the method to confirm a sample of 88 clusters with redshifts 0.05 < z < 0.8 in the recently published 2RXS catalogue from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) over the 208 deg2 region overlapped by the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Science Verification (DES-SV) data set. In our pilot study, we examine all X-ray sources, regardless of their extent. Our method employs a multicolour red sequence (RS) algorithm that incorporates the X-ray count rate and peak position in determining the region of interest for follow-up and extracts the positionally and colour-weighted optical richness λMCMF as a function of redshift for each source. Peaks in the λMCMF–redshift distribution are identified and used to extract photometric redshifts, richness and uncertainties. The significances of all optical counterparts are characterized using the distribution of richnesses defined along random lines of sight. These significances are used to extract cluster catalogues and to estimate the contamination by random superpositions of unassociated optical systems. The delivered photometric redshift accuracy is δz/(1 + z) = 0.010. We find a well-defined X-ray luminosity–λMCMF relation with an intrinsic scatter of δln (λMCMF|Lx) = 0.21. Matching our catalogue with the DES-SV redMaPPer catalogue yields good agreement in redshift and richness estimates; comparing our catalogue with the South Pole Telescope (SPT) selected clusters shows no inconsistencies. SPT clusters in our data set are consistent with the high-mass extension of the RASS-based λMCMF–mass relation.
Delegated Expertise, Authority, and Communication

A decision maker needs to reach a decision and relies on an expert to acquire information. Ideal actions of expert and decision maker are partially aligned and the expert chooses what to learn about each. The decision maker can either get advice from the expert or delegate decision making to him. Under delegation, the expert learns his privately optimal action and chooses it. Under communication, advice based on such information is discounted, resulting in losses from strategic communication. We characterize the communication problems that make the expert acquire information of equal use to expert and decision maker. In these problems, communication outperforms delegation. (JEL D82, D83)
Deep Neural Networks as a Computational Model for Human Shape Sensitivity

Theories of object recognition agree that shape is of primordial importance, but there is no consensus about how shape might be represented, and so far attempts to implement a model of shape perception that would work with realistic stimuli have largely failed. Recent studies suggest that state-of-the-art convolutional ‘deep’ neural networks (DNNs) capture important aspects of human object perception. We hypothesized that these successes might be partially related to a human-like representation of object shape. Here we demonstrate that sensitivity for shape features, characteristic to human and primate vision, emerges in DNNs when trained for generic object recognition from natural photographs. We show that these models explain human shape judgments for several benchmark behavioral and neural stimulus sets on which earlier models mostly failed. In particular, although never explicitly trained for such stimuli, DNNs develop acute sensitivity to minute variations in shape and to non-accidental properties that have long been implicated to form the basis for object recognition. Even more strikingly, when tested with a challenging stimulus set in which shape and category membership are dissociated, the most complex model architectures capture human shape sensitivity as well as some aspects of the category structure that emerges from human judgments. As a whole, these results indicate that convolutional neural networks not only learn physically correct representations of object categories but also develop perceptually accurate representational spaces of shapes. An even more complete model of human object representations might be in sight by training deep architectures for multiple tasks, which is so characteristic in human development.
No Man Left Behind: Effectively Engaging Male Military Veterans in Counseling

Ex-military men have emerged as a vulnerable subgroup for mental illness amid long-standing trends signaling men’s reticence to seek professional help. Less explored is how men engage or disengage when they actually do enter helping programs. Contrasting decades of quantitative research pairing masculine ideology with low help seeking (i.e., describing the problem), this article draws on qualitative data to distill factors that help men become engaged and committed to counseling (i.e., identifying solutions). Shared is an evaluation of a treatment program with high success rates and virtually no dropouts—a unique occurrence in men’s counseling. Enhanced Critical Incident Technique data suggest that helping men feel competent and free from judgment in the company of down-to-earth peers and genuine practitioners are instrumental in helping men draw benefit from counseling. While appealing to male gender roles may be critical in recruiting men to counseling, men can transition to embrace virtues (i.e., that might be shared by men and women alike) and universal human needs as counseling progresses.
Intervention for phantom limb pain: A randomized single crossover study of mirror therapy

Introduction: Mirror therapy suggested to help relieve phantom limb pain (PLP) by resolving the visual- proprioceptive dissociation in the brain, but studies so far either had shorter follow-up or smaller sample size. Materials and Methods: In this randomized single crossover trial, 64 amputees with PLP in the age group of 15–75 years of age were distributed into test and control groups by simple randomization method. Of these 28 in control and 32 in test groups, respectively, completed the 4 weeks of mirror therapy and 12 weeks of follow-up assessments. A standardized set of exercises for 15 min/day for 4 and 8 weeks in test and control groups (in the first 4 weeks, the mirror was covered), respectively, was administered under supervision of one of the authors. All were assessed using the visual analog scale and Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire on day 0 and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after therapy. In control group for the initial 4 weeks, the mirror was covered. The assessing author was blinded to the group to which the participants belonged. Results: Significant reduction in PLP was noted in the test group at 4 weeks compared to the control group (P < 0.0001). Significant reduction was seen in control group also after the switchover and sustained for 12 weeks in both. No harm was reported. Conclusion: Mirror therapy is effective in relieving the intensity, duration, frequency, and overall PLP, and improvement is maintained up to 12 weeks' posttherapy.
The Morphologies of the Semiconductor Oxides and Their Gas-Sensing Properties

Semiconductor oxide chemoresistive gas sensors are widely used for detecting deleterious gases due to low cost, simple preparation, rapid response and high sensitivity. The performance of gas sensor is greatly affected by the morphology of the semiconductor oxide. There are many semiconductor oxide morphologies, including zero-dimensional, one-dimensional, two-dimensional and three-dimensional ones. The semiconductor oxides with different morphologies significantly enhance the gas-sensing performance. Among the various morphologies, hollow nanostructures and core-shell nanostructures are always the focus of research in the field of gas sensors due to their distinctive structural characteristics and superior performance. Herein the morphologies of semiconductor oxides and their gas-sensing properties are reviewed. This review also proposes a potential strategy for the enhancement of gas-sensing performance in the future.
Combination Immunotherapy after ASCT for Multiple Myeloma Using MAGE-A3/Poly-ICLC Immunizations Followed by Adoptive Transfer of Vaccine-Primed and Costimulated Autologous T Cells

Purpose: Myeloma-directed cellular immune responses after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) may reduce relapse rates. We studied whether coinjecting the TLR-3 agonist and vaccine adjuvant Poly-ICLC with a MAGE-A3 peptide vaccine was safe and would elicit a high frequency of vaccine-directed immune responses when combined with vaccine-primed and costimulated autologous T cells. Experimental Design: In a phase II clinical trial (NCT01245673), we evaluated the safety and activity of ex vivo expanded autologous T cells primed in vivo using a MAGE-A3 multipeptide vaccine (compound GL-0817) combined with Poly-ICLC (Hiltonol), granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) ± montanide. Twenty-seven patients with active and/or high-risk myeloma received autografts followed by anti-CD3/anti-CD28–costimulated autologous T cells, accompanied by MAGE-A3 peptide immunizations before T-cell collection and five times after ASCT. Immune responses to the vaccine were evaluated by cytokine production (all patients), dextramer binding to CD8+ T cells, and ELISA performed serially after transplant. Results: T-cell infusions were well tolerated, whereas vaccine injection site reactions occurred in >90% of patients. Two of nine patients who received montanide developed sterile abscesses; however, this did not occur in the 18 patients who did not receive montanide. Dextramer staining demonstrated MAGE-A3–specific CD8 T cells in 7 of 8 evaluable HLA-A2+ patients (88%), whereas vaccine-specific cytokine-producing T cells were generated in 19 of 25 patients (76%). Antibody responses developed in 7 of 9 patients (78%) who received montanide and only weakly in 2 of 18 patients (11%) who did not. The 2-year overall survival was 74% [95% confidence interval (CI), 54%–100%] and 2-year event-free survival was 56% (95% CI, 37%–85%). Conclusions: A high frequency of vaccine-specific T-cell responses were generated after transplant by combining costimulated autologous T cells with a Poly-ICLC/GM-CSF–primed MAGE-A3 vaccine. Clin Cancer Res; 20(5); 1355–65. ©2013 AACR.
Application of Victorian brown coal for removal of ammonium and organics from wastewater

ABSTRACT Brown coal is a relatively abundant and low-cost material, which has been used as an effective ion-exchanger to remove ammonium from wastewater. In this study, the influences of pH, ammonium concentration and brown coal dose were investigated for removal of ammonium content from synthetic wastewater. Raw brown coal (RBC) treated with base solution has superior ammonium removal efficiency compared to RBC, which was due to chemical alterations and thus greater attachment of ammonium molecules to base-washed brown coal (BWBC), confirmed by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy-electron diffraction scattering has identified the augmented sodium content in BWBC, which was subsequently replaced with nitrogen upon wastewater treatment. Crystallographic analysis showed a higher crystallinity formed in BWBC compared to RBC, which was likely due to formation of sodium salt crystals during NaOH treatment. Fitting batch experimental results to adsorption kinetic models suggested that the removal of ammonium was mainly governed by the reaction process rather than the physical diffusion mechanism. Both kinetic and isotherm studies confirmed higher adsorption capacity for BWBC compared to RBC. RBC in column mode was also experimented with to show organics removal from a secondary effluent. A comparatively lower removal of organics was obtained due to inability of charge neutralization as both brown coal and organics are positively charged.
Nutritional evaluation of sunflower products for poultry as affected by the oil extraction process.

The nutritional value of sunflower seed (SFS) products was determined in two experiments using 180 adult Leghorn-type roosters (Hy-Line). In Experiment 1, press and solvent SFS oils were included in a basal diet at four graded levels (from 1.3 to 20%). Each diet was force-fed (30 g) to 10 roosters to determine their TMEn and true fat digestibility. Dietary TMEn and true digestible fat increased linearly (P < 0.0001) with oil inclusion. There were no differences in nutritional value between oils; their digestibility was 90%, which led to 8,385 +/- 39 kcal TME/kg DM. In Experiment 2, the effect of oil extraction on TMEn, true fat, and amino acid digestibility (TAAD) of SFS products was studied. Several products were derived from the oil extraction process: SFS, press extracted SFS (PESFS), and SFS meal (SFSM), as well as recombined products (mix of meal and oil) of SFS and PESFS, and were force-fed directly to 10 roosters each. Oil extraction produced a decrease (P < 0.0001) in true fat digestibility, TAAD, and TMEn (4,555, 2,591, and 1,754 +/- 59 kcal/kg DM for SFS, PESFS, and SFSM, respectively). Digestible fat content explained the difference between TME, of SFS and PESFS, whereas the difference between the TMEn of PESFS and SFSM was lower than expected. Recombined and original products had similar (P > 0.05) TMEn, despite solvent oil showing higher digestibility when released. Recombined SFS showed lower (P < 0.005) TAAD than original SFS (84.2 and 90.4%, respectively), indicating protein damage caused by heat and mechanical pressure. However, there were no differences, except for lysine, in TAAD between original and recombined PESFS (86.3 and 86.6%, respectively); both feeds showed higher (P < 0.05) TAAD than SFSM (83.9%), which indicates a positive effect of fat addition at this step.