Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biomass structure and allometry of Abies nephrolepis (Maxim) in Northeast China

Aboveand below-ground tree biomass structure and allometric relationships of Abies nephrolepis (Maxim) were assessed in an old secondary forest dominated by A. nephrolepis, Pinus koraiensis, Quercus mongolica, Tilia amurensis, Fraxinus mandshurica and Acer mono in northeast China. Based on the breast-height diameter (D), a total of 21 sample trees were divided into three tree size classes: the small trees (1 cm ≤ D < 10 cm), the medium trees (10 cm ≤ D < 20 cm) and the big trees (D ≥ 20 cm). The greatest amount of live branch biomass was located in the middle and bottom layers of the crown, while the largest foliage biomass was found in the middle layer in each tree size category. The relative contribution of canopy biomass components (live branches and foliage) decreased with increasing tree size, while that of coarse root biomass remained almost constant. The relationship between aboveand belowground biomass was linear. D and tree height (H) decreased with increasing competition intensity. The small trees had lower average crown ratio and higher average height-to-diameter ratio than those of the medium and big trees. The big trees had higher average stem to foliage mass ratio than those of the small and medium trees. Crown ratio, height-to-diameter ratio and stem to foliage mass ratio were not correlated with competition intensity in the same tree size class. Root to shoot mass ratio was almost constant among tree sizes. Allometric equations based on D gave higher correlations compared to those with other stem diameters: at tree base, at 30-cm height and at crown base.
Propagation Along Single - Crystalline Silver Filaments with Pearl - Chain - Like Structures

Single-crystalline silver filaments with periodic pearlchain-like structures are fabricated by electrodeposition without using any templates, surfactants, and additives. Simulations demonstrate that excited surface waves may sustain on silver pearl chains in middle infrared (Mid-IR) range. The propagation features of surface waves on the silver filaments indicate the structure application for Mid-IR wave transmittance.
Microbial responses in a cold waterlogged paddy field to different distances from a drainage ditch

Cold waterlogged paddy field is a type of low-yield paddy soil, and opening a drainage ditch has been suggested to improve waterlogged paddy soil and to increase the rice yield. However, little has been done on the role of a drainage ditch in ameliorating waterlogged soil. In the present study, rice ( Oryza sativa L.) yield, soil physicochemical properties, microbial abundances and community structures in the surface soil of a cold waterlogged paddy field, which has three treatments with different distances from a drainage ditch including 5, 15 and 25 m were investigated. The results showed that opening a drainage ditch had a significant effect on the rice yield and soil physicochemical properties. Sampling sites near the drainage ditch such as 5 m-site had higher yield and soil nutrients, however, 25 m-site had lower values. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene did not exhibit a regular pattern but fungal abundance decreased sharply with increasing distance from the drainage ditch. The most abundant bacterial phyla across all soil samples were Proteobacteria , Acidobacteria , Planctomycetes and Chloroflexi . Abundant fungal phyla were Ascomycota , Zygomycota and Basidiomycota . Three treatments had similar microbial community compositions but with different relative abundances. The Bray-Curtis distance demonstrated that microbial community structures were divided into two major groups, samples of 5 m- and 15 m-site clustered into one group and samples of 25 m-site was another group. Moreover, redundancy analysis revealed that soil redox potential and total reducing substances were significant factors in shaping microbial community structures. The abundant aerobic bacteria were observed at the 5 m- and 15 m-site, in contrast, abundant anaerobic bacteria were observed at the 25 m-site. In conclusion, opening a drainage ditch in cold waterlogged paddy fields affects rice yield, soil nutrients, microbial abundances and community structures. ABSTRACT
Inorganic dopants in polymer cholesteric liquid crystals

A variety of dopants are used for different types of polymers to change their properties. Inorganic dopants are usually used to change the dielectric properties of the polymers. These compositions find different applications especially in electronic systems due to ease of polymer processing, increased functionality and low cost of novel materials that are with relatively high dielectric constant compared to the base polymer material. In this study, polymer cholesteric liquid crystal (PCLC) is used as a host material that is doped by different inorganic dopants, BaTiO 3 and TiO 2 , all of them affected the dielectric constant of the polymer matrix. This is important from the fact that doped PCLC can be used for a variety of electro-optical applications, e.g. display applications and low energy consuming e-book application. The behaviour of inorganic dopants in PCLC is calculated by various existing mixing models; the best fit is observed by use of logarithmic equation.
Evaluation of Entomopathogenic Fungus Metarhizium anisopliae Formulated with Suneem (Neem Oil) against Anopheles gambiae s.l. and Culex quinquefasciatus Adults

Biological control using pathogenic fungi is a promising alternative to chemical control. In this study, the pathogenicity of Metarhizium anisopliae formulated with neem oil (Suneem 1%) was evaluated against Anopheles gambiae s.l. and Culex quinquefasciatus adults. Under laboratory conditions, conidia were sprayed into 30 × 30 × 30 cm netting cages at 6 × 10 7 spores/ml. With neem oil formulation, the percentages of surviving adults after 4 days were from 67±3. 4t o 5±0.5% for An. gambiae, and from 51 ± 4. 1t o 12± 1.1% for Cx quinquefasciatus. With the aqueous formulation, the survival rates were from 97 ± 3. 2t o 58± 2.1% and 95 ± 2. 5t o 70± 2.1% for An. gambiae and Cx quinquefasciatus. Very low mortality was observed in the water control. M. anisopliae in Suneem formulation could be developed for a spray technique, before being introduced in vector control.
Interactive comment on “ Distribution of micro-organisms along a transect in the South-East Pacific Ocean ( BIOSOPE cruise ) from epifluorescence microscopy ” by S . Masquelier and D . Vaulot

We have prepared a revised version of the paper taking into account the comments by the referees (see below, referee comments appear in bold and our response is below). One of the major changes we introduce is to estimate the carbon contribution of the different populations using conversion factors (Worden et al., 2004). We also discuss our data in the light of other papers recently submitted to the special BIOSOPE issue of Biogeosciences.
EFFECTS OF COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION ON INDEPENDENT LEARNING SKILLS OF ECONOMICS STUDENTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

The study investigated “Effects of Computer Assisted Instruction on Independent Learning Skills of Economics Students in Secondary Schools in Kaduna State”. ICT are information handling tools used for producing, processing, distributing exchanging and storing of information. Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) is an ICT-Driven Instructional technique in which computer system is used as an instructional material and the teacher monitors, the learning that takes place. The objective of the study among others was to determine the rate at which independent learning skills acquisition could be enhanced among Economics students taught with the use of Computer Assisted Instruction and those taught with the conventional method of teaching. Hypotheses were drawn from the objectives of the study. The research design was the two by two pre-test post-test quasi experimental control group design. The targeted population were the twenty-three thousand four hundred and sixty Public Senior Secondary two (SS2) students in twelve educational zones of Kaduna State. A stratified random sampling technique was adopted to draw two hundred SS2 Economics students from the rural and urban centres of two educational zones of the State. An Economics Achievement Test (EAT) was developed and validated as test instrument for data collection. The hypothesis was tested using covariance at 0.05 level of significance for acceptance or rejection. The results amongst others revealed that students taught with the use of CAI performed significantly better than those taught without CAI, and also the result shows that the use of CAI in teaching Economics is not significantly affected by school location. However, it was therefore recommended amongst others that, the “Opon Imo” meaning “Tablet of Knowledge” used in Osun State Senior Secondary Schools should be adopted by government for all Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria. Article visualizations:
Best simultaneous Diophantine approximations. II. Behavior of consecutive best approximations

It is well-known that the best Diophantine approximations to a single real number θ are exactly the convergents of the continued fraction expansion of θ. The properties of one-dimensional best approximations that make this true are shown not to hold in general for best simultaneous Diophantine approximations to a e R when n ^ 2. They do hold in a weak form for all badly approximate vectors a e R.
Antioxidant properties of various extract from selected wild Moroccan aromatic and medicinal species

Antioxidant properties of various extracts from different wild Moroccan aromatic and medicinal plants (Achillea ageratum L., Salvia officinalis L., Thymus satureoiedes Cosson., Mentha suaveolens subsp. timija (Briq.) Harley and Cotula cinerea Del. ) were examined by applying DPPH free radical-scavenging activity, β-Carotene/linoleic acid bleaching and reducing power assays. Total phenol and flavonoid contents of the extracts were also determined. Antioxidant activity was compared with that of synthetic antioxidants (Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and Quercetin). Overall, the highest antioxidant properties were shown by the hot water and methanolic extracts obtained from all species studied. The hot water extract of M. suaveolens subsp. timija (Briq.) presented the best contribution in DPPH and reducing power assays (IC50 = 14.04 ± 0.14 and 17.36 ± 0.1 µg/mL, respectively) which was significantly associated with its high phenolic content (134.49 ± 2.14 µg GAE/mg extract). However, in β-carotene-linoleic acid bleaching assay, the hot water extract of S. officinalis L. was the most effective with an IC50 value of 14.49 ± 0.40 µg/mL. These findings provide new information on the considerable potential of the five Moroccan medicinal and aromatic plants as a source of natural antioxidant substances. Therefore, they could be suitable for using as antioxidative additives in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Potential effects of two stressors on morphological traits of Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) nestlings

Anthropogenic and natural stressors can affect ecosystems negatively and it is therefore important to have a clear understanding of the responses of organisms to stressors. The Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) is a common raptor species of the boreal forest ecosystem and its location at the top of its food chain makes it a special target for two important stressors; endoparasitism and environmental contaminants. The present study examined potential effects of these two stressors on morphological traits of Northern Goshawk nestlings in Troms County, Norway. A randomly assigned group of nestlings was treated with an anti-helminthic drug while a control group was placebo treated. In all nestlings, blood residues of a set of environmental contaminants were measured. The effects of anti-helminth treatment and contaminant concentrations on the size of morphological traits were assessed using statistical models. Nestlings of the treated group showed increased tail growth while the other morphological traits were unaffected by anti-helminth treatment. Further, no negative effects of the measured contaminant concentrations on morphological traits were found. There was, however, a positive relationship between tail growth and contaminant concentrations which may be interpreted as a result of the quality or quantity of the diet rather than an effect of contaminants. The findings may either imply that stress due to both helminths and environmental contaminants was rather low in the Northern Goshawk nestlings in the study area or that morphological traits are poor indicators for the stressors investigated.
Tournaments with Prize‐Setting Agents

In many tournaments it is the contestants themselves who determine reward allocation. Labor-union members bargain over wage distribution, and many firms allow self-managed teams to freely determine internal resource allocation, incentive structure, and division of labour. We analyze, and test experimentally, a rank-order tournament where heterogenous agents determine the spread between winner prize and looser prize. We investigate the relationship between prize spread, uncertainty (i.e. noise between e¤ort and performance), heterogeneity and effort. The paper challenges well-known results from tournament theory. We find that a large prize spread is associated with low degree of uncertainty and high degree of heterogeneity, and that heterogeneity triggers effort. By and large, our real-effort experiment supports the theoretical predictions.
Evolution of the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) beef grading system

The Australian Beef Industry identified variable eating quality as a major contributor to declining beef consumption in the early 1990s and committed research funding to address the problem. The major issue was the ability to predict the eating quality of cooked beef before consumption. The Meat Standards Australia (MSA) program developed a consumer testing protocol, which led to MSA grading standards being defined by consumer score outcomes. Traditional carcass grading parameters proved to be of little value in predicting consumer outcomes. Instead a broader combination of factors forms the basis of an interactive prediction model that performs well. The grading model has evolved from a fixed parameter ‘Pathway’ approach, to a computer model that predicts consumer scores for 135 ‘cut by cooking method’ combinations for each graded carcass. The body of research work conducted in evaluating critical control points and in developing the model predictions and interactions has involved several Australian research groups with strong support and involvement from the industry.
Isolation and Identification of Bacterial Species Associated with Spoilage of Clarias gariepinus.

This study was carried to isolate and identify the bacteria species that are associated with fish spoilage using standard bacteriological techniques. The results of the bacteriological quality of the cat fish showed variation in the total bacterial and coliform counts to different anatomical parts (skins, gills and intestine). The highest total bacterial counts was recorded from gills (83 x 105cfu/ml) and lowest in skin (53 x 105cfu/ml) from cat fish. The total coliform counts of the cat fish ranges from 16 x 103cfu/ml, 36 x 103cfu/ml and 43 x 103cfu/ml in skin, intestine and gills respectively. A total of 288 colonies belonging to eleven genera where identified after comparing the morphological characteristics, gram staining reaction, biochemical tests and sugar utilization with those of known taxa. The identified genera were Streptococcus sp. , Staphylococcus sp. , Salmonella sp. , Shigella sp. , Pseudomonas sp. , E. coli, Klebsiella sp. , Enterobacter sp. , Enterococcus sp. , Campylobacter sp. , and Proteus sp. The prevalence of these genera shows that Pseudomonas sp ( 96.95% ) was the most prevalent on all the anatomical parts followed by E. coli (14.64%) Enterococcus sp (9.74%), Klebsiella sp. , (6.90%), Enterobacter sp (6.72%). The presence of these bacteria genera could pose serious health problem if consumed, it is therefore advised that proper care must be taken to prevent spoilage of the fish through major preservation techniques.
The effectiveness of knowledge sharing on projects: How companies prosper by what they know

The topic focuses specifically on knowledge sharing on project team, specifically around project teams in the Information Systems (IS) sector. The paper review show knowledge sharing can be effective on IS projects, up to the point where the software is used by the business. A survey was conducted with participants who were actively involved in project teams. The focus was on key role-players, such as Project Managers, Business Analysts and Developers. The study established the knowledge sharing approaches on project teams and re-emphasised the importance of having a knowledge-sharing environment. Furthermore, the study proposed questions to understand the knowledge sharing approaches used on projects, how team members shared knowledge amongst each other, the systems they used to create a knowledge hub, the work environment which also including cultural aspects and also the types of rewards and recognitions that are in place at the workplaces. Despite the low volume of respondents some answers can be explored in further research, however serves as a platform for future studies to understand and assess knowledge sharing approaches. Key words: Knowledge, Knowledge sharing (KS), Knowledge transfer (KT), Knowledge management (KM).
Quantum chaos dynamics in long-range power law interaction systems

We use out-of-time-order commutator (OTOC) to diagnose the propagation of chaos in one dimensional long-range power law interaction system. We map the evolution of OTOC to a classical stochastic dynamics problem and use a Brownian quantum circuit to exactly derive the master equation. We vary two parameters: the number of qubits $N$ on each site (the onsite Hilbert space dimension) and the power law exponent $\alpha$. Three light cone structures of OTOC appear at $N = 1$: (1) logarithmic when $0.5<\alpha\lesssim 0.8$, (2) sublinear power law when $0.8 \lesssim \alpha \lesssim 1.5$ and (3) linear when $\alpha \gtrsim 1.5$. The OTOC scales as $\exp(\lambda t)/x^{2\alpha} $ and $t^{2 \alpha / \zeta} / x^{ 2 \alpha} $ respectively beyond the light cones in the first two cases. When $\alpha \geq 2$, the OTOC has essentially the same diffusive broadening as systems with short-range interactions, suggesting a complete recovery of locality. In the large $N$ limit, it is always a logarithmic light cone asymptotically, although a linear light cone can appear before the transition time for $ \alpha \gtrsim 1.5$. This implies the locality is never fully recovered for finite $\alpha$. Our result provides a unified physical picture for the chaos dynamics in long-range power law interaction system.
A Non-Random Walk down Canary Wharf

In this paper I perform a panel data analysis to evaluate whether �- nancial technical indicators are able to predict stock market returns. By using a panel of 40 stocks taken from the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) observed in 2004, I test the ability of 75 amongst the most famous technical indicators used by traders to predict next-day returns. Surpris- ingly, results are robust in demonstrating that many of these are good predictors, supporting the validity of the technical analysis.
Revision of the Frasnian marine deposits from the Booischot borehole (Campine Basin, Belgium)

Above Givetian and Frasnian continental deposits, the Upper Frasnian transgression starts in the Booischot borehole, within the Aisemont Formation which is represented by its middle shaly part and its upper limestone level containing Frechastraea limitata (Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1851) and Phillipsastrea ananas (Goldfuss, 1826). In the Heibaart borehole also situated in the Campine Basin, the Silurian basement is capped by a few metres of the Middle Frasnian Huccorgne Formation where have been observed Thecostegites bouchardi (Michelin, 1846), Stachyodes and a very small remain of a massive cerioid rugose coral. Then, the Aisemont Formation seems to be completely developed. At its top, a mineralization of sulphides is similar to that of Chaudfontaine, in the same lithostratigraphic context. Additionally, Frechastraea pentagona (Goldfuss, 1826) is present in the Heibaart borehole, at the base of the shaly sequence overlying the Aisemont Formation in the two investigated wells. The Frasnian marine deposits of the Booischot and Heibaart boreholes are related to those of the Soumagne and Bolland boreholes at the southeastern border of the Brabant Massif. But, they are very different from those of the unstable area of Vise located at the eastern end of the same structural unit.
Study of Effects of Different Levels of Irrigation Interval, Nitrogen and Superabsorbent on Seed Yield and Morphological Traits of Sesame

In order to study the effect of different levels of irrigation interval, N and superabsorbent on seed yield and morphological traits of sesame, a split-split-plot experiment was conducted in Khosr Region, Birjand, Iran in 2009 based on a randomized complete block design. The main plot was irrigation interval at three levels (6, 12 and 18 days), the sub-plot was N fertilization at three levels (0, 100 and 200 kg/ha) and the sub-sub-plot was superabsorbent at two levels (0 and 200 kg/ha). The results of analysis of variance showed that irrigation interval significantly affected seed yield, plant height, stem diameter, auxiliary branch number per plant, first capsule distance from ground and capsule length, so that the increase in irrigation interval from 6 to 18 days decreased seed yield, plant height, stem diameter, auxiliary branch number per plant and capsule length by 44.5, 35.8, 64.3, 49 and 45.7%, respectively. N fertilization significantly affected all studied traits, so that the increase in N level from 0 to 200 kg/ha increased them by 26.6, 14.2, 55.8, 39.9 and 23.7%, respectively. Also, the effect of superabsorbent was significant on all traits except capsule length. In total, given the results of the study, it can be recommended to use irrigation interval of 6 days with the application of 200 kg N/ha in order to realize optimum yield of sesame in Birjand, Iran.
PROSPECTIVE RADIOLABLED BOMBESIN CONJUGATES FOR PROSTATE CANCER IMAGING AND THERAPEUTIC AGENTS

An active area of prostate cancer research is in the synthesis of radiolabeled peptides for in vivo tumor imaging or therapy. This method is possible since specific receptors are expressed in high concentration on certain tumor tissue. One receptor that is expressed in high concentration on prostate cancer tissue is the gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP). The amphibian peptide, bombesin (BBN), has high affinity and specificity to the GRP receptors; therefore, when BBN is radiolabeled with an appropriate radionuclide, noninvasive prostate tumor images and therapy can be obtained. The aim of this research was to produce kinetically inert bifunctional chelate complexes that would effectively contain the radionuclide Rhenium-188 ( 188 Re), Technetium-99m ( 99m Tc), Copper-64 ( 64 Cu) or Bismuth-213 ( 213 Bi).
EXPLORING THE URBAN-RURAL LABOR INCOME GAP IN URUGUAY: A QUANTILE REGRESSION DECOMPOSITION EXPLORANDO LA BRECHA DE INGRESOS LABORALES URBANO-RURAL EN URUGUAY: UNA DESCOMPOSICION DE REGRESION POR CUANTILES

This paper analyzes the differences in real hourly labor income (RHLI) distributions between urban and rural workers for Uruguay in 2006. A quantile regression decomposition technique is applied in order to examine the urban-rural gap across the entire RHLI distribution. The urban-rural gap was primarily explained by the differences in the distribution of covariates along the entire distribution. Differences in distribution of returns favored the rural workers in most of the RHLI distribution although its contribution decreased across quantiles. The resulting gap in returns was most relevant for the worst off rural workers compared to the urban counterparts in both Montevideo and the rest of the urban centers.