Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stem reserve accumulation and mobilization in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as affected by sowing date and N – P – K levels under Mediterranean conditions

Some parts of the dry matter accumulated in the wheat stem during the vegetative period are translocated to grain during the grain-filling period. This study assesses the changes in dry matter accumulation in wheat, and the translocation of different internodes of the main stem as affected by some cultural practices. Field experiments, including 3 sowing dates (early, conventional, and late), and 4 N - P - K levels, F1 - (0 - 0 - 0), F2 - (110 - 90 - 80), F3 - (70 - 50 - 40) and F4 - (150 - 130 - 120), were conducted at the Agricultural Faculty of Shahid Chamran University during 2008 and 2009. The main stem internodes length, weight, dry matter accumulation, and mobilization were measured. Our results showed that the behaviors of the 4 N - P - K levels were similar as they ranged in the same order for pre-anthesis and post-anthesis dry matter accumulation; also, differences in fertilizer application induced similar changes in dry matter accumulation and remobilization. Dry matter translocation was an average of 2% higher for all fertilized treatments, when compared to the control, which has shown the low influence of fertilization on this efficiency in our study. The effect of sowing dates in pre-anthesis dry matter contribution to reproductive organs was much more than the influence associated with the N - P - K levels. However, we recorded differences in dry matter, mobilization efficiency, and mobilization dry matter among sowing dates. The early sowing dates show the best value for mobilized dry matter and dry matter in all stem internodes. Nevertheless, mobilization efficiency had lowest value at this time. The highest mobilization efficiency in all stem internodes was associated with lowest N - P - K level application; also, mobilized dry matter decreased with increasing fertilizer application with all sowing dates and stem internodes, except with early sowing dates for peduncle internodes. With a delay in sowing date, and/or increase in N - P - K levels, the amount of dry matter remobilization decreased, mainly due to a decrease in stem weight. However, the sowing dates had greater influence on dry matter accumulation and remobilization than the fertilizer application.
A Qualitative Analysis of Isotopic Changes Reported in LENR Experiments

A few patterns are identified in the isotopic changes seen in LENR experiments. These patterns are shown to be consistent with the parallel operation of several related processes: α decay, α capture, fragmentation of heavier nuclides following upon α capture, and β decay/electron capture. The results of several researchers working in the field are examined in the light of these processes. The analysis developed here is then applied to the 2014 report by Levi et al. on the test of Andrea Rossi’s E-Cat in Lugano, Switzerland, whose fuel and ash assays are found to be broadly consistent with the isotope studies. The different processes are seen, then, to operate in systems making use of palladium, nickel, electrolysis, gas diffusion and glow discharge. A suggestion is made as to what might be inducing these decays and capture and fragmentation reactions.
Investigation of the ice surface albedo in the Tibetan Plateau lakes based on the field observation and MODIS products

ABSTRACT The Tibetan Plateau (TP) lakes are sensitive to climate change due to ice-albedo feedback, but almost no study has paid attention to the ice albedo of TP lakes and its potential impacts. Here we present a recent field experiment for observing the lake ice albedo in the TP, and evaluate the applicability of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products as well as ice-albedo parameterizations. Most of the observed lake ice albedos on TP are <0.12, and the clear blue ice albedo is only 0.075, much lower than reported in the previous studies. Even that of ice covered with snow patches is only 0.212. MOD10A1 albedo product has the best agreement with observations, followed by those of MYD10A1. MCD43A3 product is consistently higher than the observations. Due to an error of snow flag and inconsistent time windows in MCD43A2 and MCD43A3, at certain times, the albedo of the ice without snow is even higher than that covered with snow. When the solar zenith angle is not considered, there is no significant correlation between the albedo and the ice surface temperature. None of the existing ice-albedo parameterizations can reproduce well the observed relationship of the albedo and surface temperature.
Sustaining School Colleagues' Commitment to a Long-term Professional Experience Partnership

This paper presents findings from a qualitative study that investigated school participants' perceptions of the benefits, challenges and supportive factors related to their involvement in a long-term school/university professional experience partnership. Data were collected through interviews with coordinators and a written survey completed by mentor teachers from 4 schools. The findings indicate that participants perceived the program to have a number of benefits for both staff and school students and that participation was supported by effective communication, flexible funding arrangements, local autonomy to interpret and adapt the program and the continuity arising from the long-term nature of the partnership. The benefits and supportive factors appear to have compensated for challenges such as organisational demands, negotiating university expectations and stresses on workload, time, space and resources. The discussion focuses on features that appear to have contributed to the sustainability of the partnership over many years.
POSTHARVEST QUALITY OF MANGO (MANGIFERA INDICA L.) FRUIT AFFECTED BY DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GIBBERELLIC ACID DURING STORAGE

The experiment consisted of two popular mango varieties in Bangladesh (viz., Langra and Khirshapat) and four different levels of Gibberellic acid (GA3) solution, namely, control, 100, 200 and 400 ppm. The two factors experiment was assigned in randomized complete block design with three replicates. Data obtained from various biochemical analyses in terms of physicochemical properties and shelf life of postharvest mango, were recorded and statistically analyzed for comparison among the mean values using Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) and Least Significant Difference (LSD). The Khirshapat showed better performance in achieving higher quantity of moisture, progressively lost physiological weight, increased pulp pH, TSS after 6 th day of storage, produced more quantity of sugar (total, reducing and non-reducing), as well as extended shelf life and delayed skin color changes than Langra at all the storage duration. Different levels of GA3 solution subjected to the investigation demonstrated significant variation in most of the physicochemical properties and shelf life of mango at different days after storage. The results explored that some physicochemical properties viz., physiological weight loss, moisture content, pulp pH, TSS, sugar (total, reducing and non reducing), were rapidly increased from untreated mangoes. GA3 at 400 ppm showed better performance in delaying the changes in physicochemical properties and extended shelf life.
TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND ACCESS TO CREDIT IN WEST BENGAL, INDIA: A STOCHASTIC FRONTIER APPROACH

Access to credit significantly influences land leasing decisions, and thus ultimately has a significant implication on ensuring efficiency in agricultural production. This paper attempts to examine the instrumental role of credit in ensuring efficiency in the context of West Bengal agriculture by disaggregating the analysis for two mutually exclusive groups: bank customers and non-bank customers. Empirical analysis based on Stochastic Frontier Analysis confirms that farming households having access to formal credit are, in general, practicing cultivation more efficiently by channelizing credit in the utilization of agricultural inputs. In addition, contractual arrangements and operated farm size are found to be significant determinants of observed variation of technical efficiency estimates in case of bank customers. In the context of higher probability of access to credit in case of fixed rent tenants and large farmers, it can be argued that farmers having access to credit achieved a higher efficiency level by adopting the improved technology in agricultural production. Thus an access to institutional credit would provide an incentive to the farmers to adjust the operational land by the mechanism of tenurial contract so as to bring about efficiency in agricultural production.
The Effect of Ownership Structure on Firm Value in Indonesia

The company owner plays an important role in company performance. The company owner can be classified into several categories (ownership structure types). And, it has been well-known that type of ownership has different impact on the value of firm. Therefore, it is interesting to deeply look at Indonesian setting with a unique evolution of firms. In Indonesian companies’ ownership structure is very unique. Most Companies in Indonesia evolved from a single-owner firm into a conglomerate (firm with many branch firms but small in size). The ownership and control are on the hand of a founder/s and his/her family members. Consequently, one family controls a lot of firms. Recently, the companies have surrendered a small portion of ownership but the control remains with the family founder. This study aims to identify and analyze the influence of managerial ownership, institutional ownership and foreign ownership on the value of firm. Research was conducted on manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) in the period of 2004-2008 with a sample of 455 firms. Dependent variable used in this study is value of firm (as proxied by market capitalization) and independent variables consist of managerial ownership, institutional ownership, foreign ownership and control variables (size and leverage). Panel data analysis with fixed effect model is employed to analyze the data. The results shows that simultaneously, managerial ownership, institutional ownership, and foreign ownership significantly influence the value of firm on manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange. Furthermore, managerial ownership and institutional ownership have negative significant impact on firm value. This finding is consistent with theory and a number of empirical studies. On the other hand, foreign ownership has no significant impact on the firm value. Thus, it does not enough evidence that foreign ownership has impact on the firm value.
A Comparative Analysis of the Influence of Weather on the Flight Altitudes of Birds

Abstract Birds pose a serious risk to flight safety worldwide. A Bird Avoidance Model (BAM) is being developed in the Netherlands to reduce the risk of bird–aircraft collisions. In order to develop a temporally and spatially dynamic model of bird densities, data are needed on the flight-altitude distribution of birds and how this is influenced by weather. This study focuses on the dynamics of flight altitudes of several species of birds during local flights over land in relation to meteorological conditions. We measured flight altitudes of several species in the southeastern Netherlands using tracking radar during spring and summer 2000. Representatives of different flight strategy groups included four species: a soaring species (buzzard Buteo buteo), an obligatory aerial forager (swift Apus apus), a flapping and gliding species (blackheaded gull Larus ridibundus), and a flapping species (starling Sturnus vulgaris). Maximum flight altitudes varied among species, during the day and among days. Weather sign.
COMBINED EFFECT OF SULPHUR AND BORON ON YIELD AND YIELD CONTRIBUTING CHARACTERS , NUTRIENT AND OIL CONTENT OF MUSTARD

This experiment was conducted in the experimental field of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka during 2014-2015 to know the combined effect of different levels of sulphur (S) and boron (B) on yield and yield contributing characters, nutrient and oil content of mustard and to find out the suitable combination of sulphur (S) and boron (B) for yield maximization of mustard. There were 16 treatment combinations comprising four levels each of S (S0= 0, S1=10, S2= 20 and S3= 30 kg S ha) and B (B0= 0, B1= 1, B2= 2 and B3= 3 kg B ha). It was replicated thrice in a randomized complete block design. Results showed that the combination of S and B (20 kg S ha and 3 kg B ha) contributed positively for better performance of yield contributing characters of mustard. The combination S2B3 (20 kg S ha and 3 kg B ha) produced the highest grain yield (2180 kg ha) followed by S3B2 and S3B3 treatment combination. The highest protein and oil content of mustard were recorded from S3B3 (30 kg S ha and 3 kg B ha) treatment followed by S2B3 treatment combination. Therefore, the combination of S and B (20 kg S ha and 3 kg B ha ) might be suitable dose for cultivation of mustard in tejgaon series soils under agro-ecological zone of 28 (Madhupur Tract) Bangladesh.
DISCOVER Travels to Lebanon

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of DISCOVER, a performance-based assessment, in identifying gifted students in Lebanon. DISCOVER is grounded in Gardner’s MI theory and consists of tasks involving problem-solving and creative abilities. The sample consisted of 49 middle-class 5-th graders, with a mean age of 10.2 years attending a private school in Beirut, Lebanon. High correlations were found between the participants’ DISCOVER ratings and their corresponding school grades in mathematical, spatial analytical and written linguistic intelligences. Discrepancies were found between students’ grades and corresponding DISCOVER ratings in spatial artistic and oral linguistic intelligences. However, 19% of the participants were identifi ed, with no gender differences.Findings were corroborated by interviews with the teachers. The researcher concludes the DISCOVER instrument holds promise for identifying gifted Lebanese children, but advises research on larger samples of Lebanese students should be conducted before drawing solid conclusions
1 Consumer Ethnocentrism : Reconceptualization and Cross-cultural Validation

Consumer ethnocentrism (CE) is a popular construct in international marketing research and is generally measured using the CETSCALE, a reliable scale with proven predictive validity but with limited evidence about its construct validity, dimensionality and crosscultural measurement invariance. This note addresses these gaps by reconceptualizing CE as an attitude construct consisting of three dimensions: 1) affective reaction, 2) cognitive bias and 3) behavioral preference. A revised CE Scale (CES) is developed and tested using two empirical studies with adult consumers from four different countries (China, India, UK and USA), showing that CES is a reliable, valid and cross-culturally invariant scale and it explains greater variance than the CETSCALE and other similar scales, in customer evaluations and behavioral intentions for a wide range of products and services.
Diversity of zooplankton in Dekhu reservoir from Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Zooplanktons by their heterotrophic activity play a key role in the cycling of organic materials in aquatic ecosystems and are used as bioindicators of environmental quality. The present study was carried out from February 2009 to January 2010 which deals with diversity and abundance of zooplankton in Dekhu reservoir from Aurangabad district. A total 25 species of zooplankton were recorded in which rotifers were more abundant with 11 species followed by copepods and cladocerans 6 species each and 2 species of Ostracods. Results indicated that Dekhu reservoir is more productive.
On the existence of finite collapsing systems of plane vortices

A rigorous criterion for a finite system of plane vortices to be close to the set of all collapsing configurations is given. The criterion is a consequence of a general theorem (based on the topological degree of a map) on the existence of solutions of the nonlinear systems of equations, combined with some analytical bounds for derivatives of the equations satisfied by collapsing configurations. The criterion can be used to prove the existence of collapsing configurations of vortices for many circulations for which the existence theory of O'Neil does not work. A detailed application of the criterion to a sample collapsing system of seven vortices is given.
Reid, Gavin C. and Smith, Julia and Xu, Zhibin (2017) Intangible assets and determinants of firm growth in China. In: European Accounting

This paper reports on fieldwork within Chinese small firms, aimed at acquiring data to measure the impact of intangible assets on firm growth. We extend a sizeand age-based model to define growth as a function of size, age, entrepreneurship and intangible assets. We use statistical analysis to create measures of entrepreneurship and intangible assets from these data. Intangibles are classified into six categories: human capital; enterprise culture, intellectual property; technology; reputation; and network. Finally, we estimate models of small firm employment growth using our new measures. For our sample, we find that entrepreneurial attributes have little significant impact on small firm growth; whereas intangible asset attributes have a positive and significant impact on growth, with networking and technological knowledge being of prime importance.
Large‐scale mantle discontinuity topography beneath Europe: Signature of akimotoite in subducting slabs

The mantle transition zone is delineated by seismic discontinuities around 410 and 660 km, which are generally related to mineral phase transitions. Study of the topography of the discontinuities further constrains which phase transitions play a role and, combined with their Clapeyron slopes, what temperature variations occur. Here we use P to S converted seismic waves or receiver functions to study the topography of the mantle seismic discontinuities beneath Europe and the effect of subducting and ponding slabs beneath southern Europe on these features. We combine roughly 28,000 of the highest quality receiver functions into a common conversion point stack. In the topography of the discontinuity around 660 km, we find broadscale depressions of 30 km beneath central Europe and around the Mediterranean. These depressions do not correlate with any topography on the discontinuity around 410 km. Explaining these strong depressions by purely thermal effects on the dissociation of ringwoodite to bridgmanite and periclase requires unrealistically large temperature reductions. Presence of several wt % water in ringwoodite leads to a deeper phase transition, but complementary observations, such as elevated Vp/Vs ratio, attenuation, and electrical conductivity, are not observed beneath central Europe. Our preferred hypothesis is the dissociation of ringwoodite into akimotoite and periclase in cold downwelling slabs at the bottom of the transition zone. The strongly negative Clapeyron slope predicted for the subsequent transition of akimotoite to bridgmanite explains the depression with a temperature reduction of 200–300 K and provides a mechanism to pond slabs in the first place.
Option pricing and corporate report disclosures: managerial incentives to undervalue

This study examines disclosures of the value of executive stock options by Australian listed companies in annual reports for periods ending 2002 and 2003. Drawing on ‘managerial power’ theory, the study posits that managers have incentives to limit disclosures to the lowest level possible without causing significant stakeholder outrage, The study examines also the relation between the extent to which firms underprice the disclosed value of options (ie relative to a computed benchmark) and factors that are known to influence option valuation. The results show that Australian companies underprice executive stock option disclosures in annual reports, which is consistent with US evidence that provides similar findings. The results suggest also the possibility that Australian firms manipulate the Black-Scholes (BS) valuation model opportunistically to undervalue options issued to directors and the top five executives. Size, leverage, firm age and profitability are found to be significant factors in explaining option underpricing. Further, the smaller the value of stock option remuneration in proportion to market capitalisation, the higher the undervaluation of stock options. As well as opportunism, this latter finding is consistent with less familiarity and expertise in valuing these instruments when options represent a lower proportion of management compensation to market capitalisation. The findings in this study have potential implications for market participants in understanding the nature and extent of management remuneration and the relation between remuneration and firm performance. It has also implications for the implementation of AASB 2 Share-based Payment which requires expensing of options granted as executive remuneration. Moreover, there may be regulatory and policy implications if it can be established that preferred models of pricing options for report disclosure purposes are ‘managed’ for opportunistic reasons.
The study of relationship between supervisions manager moral judgment and financial resources attract in Iran post Bank

The research has done to study the relationship between supervisions manager moral judgment and financial resources attract in Iran post Bank. The research is a applied one base on its goal and is a descriptive research in respect of in information collection and is a correlative research among descriptive researches. Statistic population include all supervisors managers in Iran Bank organization (N= 33) which are selected by censun. Research tools has been kolber moral bill which was confirmed its reliability and validity. The most of results showed that there is a meaningful, positive relationship between supervisors manager moral judgment and financial resources attract in Iran Bako manager who have post convention attract more financial resources relative to managers who have pre convention.
Fate of non O157 Shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli in ovine manure composting

Livestock manure may contain pathogenic microorganisms which pose a risk to the health of animal or humans if the manure is not adequately treated or disposed of. To determine the fate of Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) non O157 in composted manure from naturally colonized sheep, fresh manure was obtained from animals carrying bacterial cells with stx1/ stx2 genes. Two composting systems were used, aerated and non-aerated, and the experiments were done in Dracena city, Sao Paulo State. Every week, for seven weeks, one manure sample from six different points in both systems was collected and cultured to determine the presence of E. coli, the presence of the virulence genes in the cells, and also the susceptibility to 10 antimicrobial drugs. The temperature was verified at each sampling. STEC non-O157 survived for 49 days in both composting systems. E. coli non-STEC showing a high degree of antibiotic resistance was recovered all long the composting period. No relationship was established between the presence of virulence genes and antibiotic resistance. The presence of virulence genes and multiple antibiotic resistances in E. coli implicates a potential risk for these genes spread in the human food chain, which is a reason for concern.