Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Switchgrass Cultivar, Yield, and Nutrient Removal Responses to Harvest Timing

Agronomy Journa l • Volume 109, I s sue 6 • 2017 Switchgrass yields and mineral nutrition can be aff ected by harvest timing and latitude, which in turn aff ect desired feedstock traits and producer profi tability (Adler et al., 2006; Madakadze et al., 1999; Vogel et al., 2002; Casler and Boe, 2003). Current recommendations for a one-cut switchgrass biomass harvest in the southeastern United States is following the fi rst killing frost or 1 November, whichever occurs fi rst (Garland, 2008). Th is recommendation is based on maximizing biomass yield and minimizing removal of essential nutrients such as P and K. However, curing conditions are oft en challenging during this time period due to weather. Various studies in the United States have found maximum yield varies according to geographic location and cultivar due to genotype × environment interactions. In a 3-yr study on cultivar Alamo, Sanderson et al. (1999) found that highest biomass yields in a one-cut system occurred in mid-September. Parrish et al. (2003) also observed greater yields during September, but reported that implementing a one-cut harvest in September rather than November decreased yields the following year. Th erefore intra-seasonal gains may off set longterm yield benefi ts (Parrish et al., 2003). Th e observation that early (September) harvesting leads to decreased switchgrass yields the following season has been attributed to removal of higher P and K and depleting carbohydrate reserves that could ordinarily be translocated during the fall from aboveground biomass (leaves and stems) to roots. Nutrient remobilization is believed to occur in response to environmental signaling, and allows plants to store greater quantities of essential nutrients belowground for plant growth and development the following season. However, data reported by Bacon et al. (2016) showed Switchgrass Cultivar, Yield, and Nutrient Removal Responses to Harvest Timing
A Clinical Audit of Pap Smear Test for Screening of Cervical Cancer

Aims: Cervical cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in gynecology clients. It accounts for the most common cancer in women. A Papanicolaou (Pap) smear test (cervical cytology screening) is one of the best tests to screen for cervical cancer in its premalignant stage. The objective of this study is to find out the prevalence of abnormal Pap smear results and to determine the contributing factors for it. Methods : The out patient clinic register was reviewed. Out-patients clinic register from 1 Jan 2008 to 31 Dec 2011showed that a total of 25511 gynecology clients were seen. In these four years duration, a total of 1506 Pap smear samples were taken which accounted for 5.9% of the total gynecology clients. The samples were collected only after proper counseling and consent from the clients who visited the clinic for various gynecology complaints. Assumed predictors of abnormal Pap smear results were examined through inferential way (Chi square test) using Software SPSS version 13.0 for Windows. Results: The preliminary analysis showed the mean age was 37.57 ± 10.72 years (ranging from 18 to 81 years). Most of them were of Newar caste (28.7%), with 3 children (37.6%) and from Kavre District (66%). Most of them (343 clients) were of age group 30 – 34 years whereas 15.8, 10.8, 3.1 and 10.0 % (clients were of 40 – 44, 45 – 49, 50 – 54 and 55 above respectively. A total of 1062 samples were normal whereas 379 samples were suggestive of inflammatory and 39 samples were inadequate for evaluation. We had 22 samples suspicious for malignancy and/or low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) and 4 frank malignant cases. This accounted for 1.7% of total Pap smear samples. These cases were scheduled for colposcopic guided biopsies and histologic evaluations. There was significant difference between the age groups and Pap smear results (p=0.003) and parity with Pap smear results (p=0.000, highly significant). But there was no significant difference between caste and Pap smear results (p=0.166). Conclusions: There is no doubt that Pap test is one of the best and easiest tests to screen for precancerous and cancerous cervical lesions. In order to have a high yield it has to be combined with other alternative tests like HPV testing and/or visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) or Lugol’s Iodine (VILI). Besides its use as screening tool, we can also evaluate for chronic cervicitis, sexually transmitted infection (STI), pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)and genital prolapse (if any) in same setting. Thus the community people will have broader benefits from the screening program. DOI: http://www.dx. doi.org/10.3126/njog.v7i2. 11137 Nepal Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology / Vol 7 / No. 2 / Issue 14 / July-Dec, 2012 / 21-24
In situ Grafting of Chitosan onto Cellulosic Fibers Using Maleic Anhydride for Paper Wet Strength Improvement

The wet strength of paper is an important property in its various applications. In this paper, chitosan was employed as an additive to improve the wet strength of paper using a dipping process, and maleic anhydride (MA) was used to improve the retention of chitosan. The underlying mechanism was the bridging effect of MA, via the formation of esters between MA and cellulose and amides between MA and chitosan, both of which were supported by the FT-IR results. The temporary and permanent wet strengths of the paper increased significantly, and the key parameters were 1) the concentration of MA and chitosan, 2) dipping duration, and 3) curing temperature. The temporary and permanent wet strengths reached 31.6% and 29.7%, respectively, at a concentration of treating solution of 1%, dipping time of 12 h, and curing temperature of 90 °C. At a curing temperature of 170 °C under otherwise the same conditions, both the temporary and permanent wet strengths were higher than 50%.
Indigenous female entrepreneurship: Analytical study on access to finance for women entrepreneurs in South Africa

Research on female entrepreneurship is imperative to create a knowledge base of women’s experiences with regards to being financially excluded in South Africa. There is a realisation, however, that, while race has historically been the primary driver of economic disparities in South Africa, other forms of discrimination also prevent certain groups from accessing economic freedom and opportunities. Women, who represent 52% of the South African population, still suffer from historical and cultural prejudice in accessing opportunities, for a number of reasons that are outlined in this study. While access to financial services continues to be largely racially defined in South Africa, the gender gap between men and women does exist, and is likely to grow if special efforts are not undertaken to address the underlying issues now. Black women are the largest single self-employed segment of the population; a fact that is not reflected in the current industry targets for business activity. This paper examines the extent to which financial service providers in the country were sufficiently aware of the challenges facing women entrepreneurs in South Africa. Key words: Female entrepreneurs, gender inequality, entrepreneurial motivation.
Existing Animal Husbandry Practices in Narmada District of Gujarat in India

The present study was undertaken to document the existing animal rearing practices adopted by the farmers in Narmada district of Gujarat in India. In each of the four talukas comprising Narmada district, 25 animal keepers were selected randomly forming a total of 100 respondents. The study revealed that 48.00% of the respondents reared indigenous cattle along with buffaloes followed by 18.00% indigenous cattle only, 13.00% buffaloes only, 9.00% indigenous along with crossbred cattle, 5.00% crossbred cattle only, 4.00% crossbred cattle along with buffaloes and 3.00% indigenous cattle along with crossbred cattle and buffaloes. The indigenous cattle breeds of the region were Gir, Dangi and nondescript; and the breeds of buffaloes were Surti, Mehsana and nondescript. The milk yield of the indigenous cattle, reared by 68.00% of the farmers was less than 2 litres per day. Majority of the respondents reared medium sized herd dominated by indigenous cattle along with buffaloes. 46.00% of the respondents used mucus and bellowing together to identify estrous in animals followed by mucus discharge alone (38.00%), frequent urination (15.00%) and mounting (1.00%). 88.00% of the respondents got their animals inseminated within 12-18 h of heat detection. In buffaloes, 93.00% of the respondents observed calving interval (CI) of more than 15 months, 7.00% reported CI between 13-15 months. In buffaloes, 90.00% of the respondents observed dry period of more than 3 months, 9.00% between 2-3 months and 1.00% less than 2 months. 10.00% of the respondents practised full hand method of milking, 3.00% stripping and 87.00% knuckling. It was concluded that indigenous cattle and buffaloes were important species of livestock in Narmada district of Gujarat which was lacking in proper health care practices like vaccination, deworming and treatment of livestock. The lack of scientific animal rearing causing poor animal production was the major impediment in good animal husbandry.
Development of a Body Dissatisfaction Scale Assessment Tool

The present research details the development of a new pictorial scale (Body Dissatisfaction Scale) to be used in the measurement of body dissatisfaction. The scale comprises nine female and nine male images of computer generated bodies that increase successively in body weight. Using a sample of 190 students (female = 130, male = 60) results showed that the new scale exhibits good validity, with participants being able to correctly identify body weight differences between all bodies in the scale. Evidence for construct validity was demonstrated by significant correlations between ratings of perceived actual body size using the current scale and participants’ BMI. Body dissatisfaction measured using the current scale was also negatively correlated with a measure of body appreciation. Test-retest reliability remained stable over a 5 week period. The scale improves on previous pictorial scales by offering both male and female versions while offering improved realism and consistency between images.
Determinants of Profitability of Listed Commercial Banks in Developing Countries: Evidence from Malawi

The study of profitability is important in assessing the health of organisations. However, profitability of the banking sector is particularly crucial as the soundness of the sector is closely related to the soundness of the entire economy. The current study attempts to evaluate the determinants of profitability of listed commercial banks in developing countries specifically focusing on Malawi during the period 2009-2012 using internal-based and external (market)-based profitability measurements. The study employed correlation and multivariate regression analysis. Return on Assets (ROA) and Earnings Yield (EY) are used as proxies of internal and external profitability respectively. The results of the regression analysis suggest that bank size, liquidity and management efficiency have a statistically significant impact on ROA however capital adequacy has insignificant effect. On the other hand results suggest that earnings yield is significantly influenced by bank size, capital adequacy and management efficiency, whereas liquidity is found to have insignificant influence on Earnings yield. Keywords: Commercial banks, Malawi, Return on Assets (ROA), Earnings Yield (EY)
"Consumers’ reactions to unsubstantiated marketing claims about ecological products"

Purpose The specific purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of unsubstantiated claims that a product is “ecological”. Method A between-subjects experimental design was used in which the absence versus the presence of an (unsubstantiated) ecological claim regarding a product was a manipulated factor. The design comprised four products, representing non-ingestible/ingestible products and familiar/unfamiliar brands. These two aspects were seen as potentially moderating factors with respect to the impact of ecological claims. Findings The results show that ecological product claims boosted beliefs that a product is indeed ecological. This influence was not moderated by non-ingestible/ingestible and familiar/unfamiliar product characteristics. Moreover, ecological product claims enhanced conceptually related product beliefs, namely beliefs that the product is natural, environmentally friendly and healthy. Ecological claims also had a positive impact on the attitude towards the product. Practical and social implications The results imply that influencers who want a receiver to believe that a product is ecological can expect to be successful by merely claiming that a product is ecological. From a societal point of view, however, and in an era in which “alternative facts” and “post-truths” are becoming the subject of increasing concern, the results are problematic, because they underline that customers can be made to believe in claims even though no supporting evidence is provided. Originality Few previous studies have examined the impact on unsubstantiated claims about product attributes that are related to environment-friendly aspects.
(Non)Retroflexivity of Slavic Affricates and Its Motivation. Evidence from Polish and Czech

The goal of this paper is two-fold. First, it revises the common assumption that the affricate denotes /tíß/ for all Slavic languages. On the basis of experimental results it is shown that Slavic stands for two sounds: /tíß/ as e.g. in Czech and // as in Polish. The second goal of the paper is to show that this difference is not accidental but it is motivated by perceptual relations among sibilants. In Polish, /tíß/ changed to // thus lowering its sibilant tonality and creating a better perceptual distance to /t/, whereas in Czech /tíß/ did not turn to //, as the former displayed sufficient perceptual distance to the only affricate present in the inventory, namely, the alveolar /ts/. Finally, an analysis of Czech and Polish affricate inventories is offered.
New approach for precise computation of Lyman-α forest power spectrum with hydrodynamical simulations

Current experiments are providing measurements of the flux power spectrum from the Lyman-α forests observed in quasar spectra with unprecedented accuracy. Their interpretation in terms of cosmological constraints requires specific simulations of at least equivalent precision. In this paper, we present a suite of cosmological N-body simulations with cold dark matter and baryons, specifically aiming at modeling the low-density regions of the inter-galactic medium as probed by the Lyman-α forests at high redshift. The simulations were run using the GADGET-3 code and were designed to match the requirements imposed by the quality of the current SDSS-III/BOSS or forthcoming SDSS-IV/eBOSS data. They are made using either 2 × 7683 ≃ 1 billion or 2 × 1923 ≃ 14 million particles, spanning volumes ranging from (25 Mpc h−1)3 for high-resolution simulations to (100 Mpc h−1)3 for large-volume ones. Using a splicing technique, the resolution is further enhanced to reach the equivalent of simulations with 2 × 30723 ≃ 58 billion particles in a (100 Mpc h−1)3 box size, i.e. a mean mass per gas particle of 1.2 × 105M⊙ h−1. We show that the resulting power spectrum is accurate at the 2% level over the full range from a few Mpc to several tens of Mpc. We explore the effect on the one-dimensional transmitted-flux power spectrum of four cosmological parameters (ns, σ8, Ωm and H0) and two astrophysical parameters (T0 and γ) that are related to the heating rate of the intergalactic medium. By varying the input parameters around a central model chosen to be in agreement with the latest Planck results, we built a grid of simulations that allows the study of the impact on the flux power spectrum of these six relevant parameters. We improve upon previous studies by not only measuring the effect of each parameter individually, but also probing the impact of the simultaneous variation of each pair of parameters. We thus provide a full second-order expansion, including cross-terms, around our central model. We check the validity of the second-order expansion with independent simulations obtained either with different cosmological parameters or different seeds. Finally, a comparison to the one-dimensional Lyman-α forest power spectrum obtained with BOSS by [1] shows an excellent agreement.
The Semiotics of Emoji: The Rise of Visual Language in the Age of the Internet

This paper reviews Marcel Danesi’s new book on the use of emoji in particular, and the use of visual language more generally. Danesi offers a number of interesting examples of emoji use, pointing out that their use has risen considerably in a number of contexts. He goes on to question how far emoji use can be extended by examining the structure of the emoji ‘language’. Overall this is an accessible book that presents a number of examples of visual languages and comments on the possibilities and challenges for visual language use against a backdrop of technological change.
Yield and dry matter productivity of Japanese and US soybean cultivars

Abstract The difference in yields of cultivars may be causing difference in soybean yield between Japan and the USA. The objective of this study was to identify the effect of the cultivar on dry matter production and to reveal the key factors causing the differences in yield by focusing utilization of solar radiation in recent Japanese and US soybean cultivars. Field experiments were conducted during two seasons in Takatsuki, Japan (34°50′), and in a single season in Fayetteville (36°04′), AR, USA. Five Japanese and 10 US cultivars were observed under near-optimal conditions in order to achieve yields as close to their physiological potential as possible. The seed yield and total aboveground dry matter (TDM) were measured at maturity as long as radiation was intercepted by the canopy. The seed yield ranged from 3.10t ha−1 to 5.91t ha−1. Throughout the three environments, the seed yield of US cultivars was significantly higher than that of Japanese cultivars. The seed yield correlated with the TDM rather than the HI with correlation coefficients from . 519 to . 928 for the TDM vs. . 175 to . 800 for the HI, for each of the three environments. The higher TDM of US cultivars was caused by a higher radiation use efficiency rather than higher total intercepted radiation throughout the three environments. The seasonal change in the TDM observed in four cultivars indicated that dry matter productivity was different between cultivars, specifically during the seed-filling period.
Challenges in Practicum: Views and Perceptions of EFL Pre-service Teachers towards Field Experience Skills in Real Classrooms

The purpose of this classroom action research was to investigate the perceptions of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pre-service teachers towards the challenges they face in teaching experience during the practicum period. The participants were 35 Saudi EFL female pre-service teachers in the Educational Diploma Program (EDP) attending Teaching Practicum (1) Course in Taibah University, Saudi Arabia. A mixed method, which contains both quantitative and qualitative research design, was used to collect data. Research instruments comprised a perception opinionnaire designed to measure the perceptions of EFL pre-service teachers towards the challenges they face in teaching experience during the practicum. The results showed that EFL pre-service teachers considered the observation period during the Teaching Practicum (1) Course between moderately and extremely beneficial. The results of the perceptions of EFL pre-service teachers regarding classroom-teaching skills were between highly and moderately to low challenging. Additionally, their skills related to school environment indicated less challenging than skills related to classroom teaching experiences. The results of the open-ended question were divided into three meaningful and thoughtful categories to add much depth and understanding of the research problem. Some recommendations based on the results were derived. For example, EFL pre-service teachers needed further development in teaching experiences and skills related to classrooms and school setting. Furthermore, meetings, workshops, and/or small discussion sessions need to be conducted between all the stakeholders in the practicum to explore problems and anticipate possible solutions.
Impact of meteorological analyses and chemical data assimilation on modelled long-term changes in stratospheric NO 2

Abstract. We have used a three-dimensional (3-D) off-line chemical transport model (CTM) to investigate long-term changes in stratospheric NO 2 . The basic model was integrated from 1977 to 2001 using ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forcasts) ERA-40 reanalyses. Additional model runs were performed which assimilated HALOE observations of long-lived tracers to constrain the model trace gas distributions. Assimilation of a single long-lived species (CH 4 ) improves not only the distribution of all other long-lived species, via tracer-tracer correlations, but also shorter lived radical and reservoir species. Assimilation of the long-lived species corrects for errors in the model, due to horizontal transport from the ERA-40 reanalyses, and allows a more direct test of the model's chemistry. The basic model significantly underestimates the observed column NO 2 from mid-latitude ground-based sites in the mid-late 1990s. The mean underestimate is ~ 26% for summertime values between 1992 and 1998. Moreover, as the model agreement is better in the early 1990s, it underestimates the increasing trend throughout the decade. However, when the model assimilates HALOE CH 4 data both comparisons are greatly improved. The mean model-observation difference reduces to 8% for summertime values and the trend improves. This indicates that given realistic wind fields to constrain the tracer transport, the model chemistry and aerosol schemes are able to reproduce the observed trends in NO 2 . Implications of this for using analysed wind fields to determine dynamical ozone trends are discussed. Ozone trends derived directly from transport models forced by analysed winds are likely subject to similar errors.
AGE RELATED CHANGES IN FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY OF THE RESTING STATE NETWORKS

Age-related brain changes are the main cause of cognitive decline. Active cognitive task performance as well as resting-state activity might be a sensitive index for studying differences in aging. We investigated age-related changes in the spontaneous neuronal activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a resting-state condition. To evaluate differences in aging, we analyzed functional connectivity between resting-state networks in two groups of older and younger healthy volunteers. Seven resting-state networks were isolated, and cross-correlation matrices were computed for the time courses. Older subjects showed decreased activity of the auditory, visual, sensory-motor networks, frontoparietal and salience networks accompanied by increased coupling of the salience network with the sensorimotor and default mode network compared to younger subjects. The age-related differences in functional connectivity may be due to aging impairment of the prefrontal cortex leading to a loss of activation in the salience, sensorimotor and visual networks in older subjects compared to the younger subjects. However, the default mode network was more prominent in the left hemisphere and showed more coupling with the salience network in older subjects than in younger subjects, indicating possible compensatory engagement of cognitive control regions in resting-state cognition. The results show that independent of task design and performance the functional connectivity method reflects neural changes in the aging brain.