Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Can we manipulate root system architecture to control soil erosion

Abstract. Soil erosion is a major threat to soil functioning. The use of vegetation to control erosion has long been a topic for research. Much of this research has focused on the above-ground properties of plants, demonstrating the important role that canopy structure and cover plays in the reduction of water erosion processes. Less attention has been paid to plant roots. Plant roots are a crucial yet under-researched factor for reducing water erosion through their ability to alter soil properties, such as aggregate stability, hydraulic function and shear strength. However, there have been few attempts to specifically manipulate plant root system properties to reduce soil erosion. Therefore, this review aims to explore the effects that plant roots have on soil erosion and hydrological processes, and how plant root architecture might be manipulated to enhance its erosion control properties. We demonstrate the importance of root system architecture for the control of soil erosion. We also show that some plant species respond to nutrient-enriched patches by increasing lateral root proliferation. The erosional response to root proliferation will depend upon its location: at the soil surface dense mats of roots may reduce soil erodibility but block soil pores thereby limiting infiltration, enhancing runoff. Additionally, in nutrient-deprived regions, root hair development may be stimulated and larger amounts of root exudates released, thereby improving aggregate stability and decreasing erodibility. Utilizing nutrient placement at specific depths may represent a potentially new, easily implemented, management strategy on nutrient-poor agricultural land or constructed slopes to control erosion, and further research in this area is needed.
Diversity and Management of Banana and Plantain (Musa spp.) Varieties in Togo

A b s t r a c t A r t i c l e I n f o Banana and plantain are important economic and food crops in Togo but neglected by scientific research and development programs. Its production is still marginalized and its diversity is unknown. To assess the varietal diversity of both Banana and plantain at the community level and define strategies for its management, 36 villages and 188 households were selected and surveyed using participatory research appraisal tools (questionnaire) and techniques (focus group discussion, individual survey, field visit). A total of 113 farmer-named varieties were recorded among which 57 banana varieties and 56 plantain varieties. The number of the local varieties found varies from3 to 12 with an average of 8 per village. The analysis of distribution revealed that on average 3 varieties per village are grown by many households on large area and considered as elite varieties. In the villages where some varieties are threatened, the rate of endangered varieties varies from 16.75% to 75% with an average of 40.07%. The principal reasons of diversity loss identified were of agronomic, economic and nutritional nature. Producers’ varietal preferences criteria and production constraints were also documented.
Effect of climate change on the distribution of a critically threatened species

Climate change (CC) is modifying the habitat and distribution of wild fauna, causing distribution area reduction and/or altitudinal or latitudinal movements of species in response to increased temperatures and changes in precipitation. This increases the risk of species extinction, particularly for those with small population sizes, habitat specialists, microendemics and/or those with already restricted distributions. We examine how the effects of CC could influence the distribution and availability of habitat for the critically threatened and endemic species: the Tehuantepec jackrabbit (Lepus flavigularis) as well as the species of grasses on which it feeds. Our models were constructed using Maxent. Occurrence data of jackrabbits and grasses from the years 1959 to 2014 were analyzed, along with climatic and slope variables for three time periods, present (2014) and future (2050 and 2070). The climatic variables were taken from WorldClim (resolution: 30”), utilizing the HadGEM2-ES model with scenarios 4.5 and 8.5. Potential distribution models estimate an area of 9,274 ha of habitat suitable for the jackrabbit in 2014, with a 19.3% increment in this area to 11,071 ha by 2070 with scenario 4.5 and 9% increment with an area of 10,111 ha by 2070 with scenario 8.5. According to a Jackknife analysis, Precipitation of Wettest Month (BIO13), and Precipitation of Warmest Quarter (BIO18) are the variables that contribute most to the construction of the potential distribution models of L. flavigularis, from 2014 to 2070. Future scenarios (4.5 and 8.5) estimate temperature increase and precipitation reduction in places where jackrabbits and grasses currently inhabit. Also, these scenarios estimate an increase in areas with suitable climatic conditions in the future. However, anthropogenic factors (not considered in this study) have influenced the distribution and retention of the populations of L. flavigularis in the study area, so the outlook of the species is not encouraging. It is clear that CC will have an effect on the distribution of this critically threatened and endemic species, through modification of the area and distribution of its available habitat.
Organizational Factors and Quality of Production in Malaysia’s Manufacturing Companies

The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether there is any correlation between organizational factors andquality of production in Malaysia’s manufacturing companies. A theoretical model of the relationships amongthe constructs of organizational factors that consist of organizational resources, rewards and recognitionstructure, and information system and quality of production are proposed and tested using multi-regressionanalysis. The results showed positive relationship between organizational factors and quality of production inMalaysia’s manufacturing industry, except for one which is related to rewards and recognition structure. Thefindings of this study will assist managers to make appropriate decisions when adopting the three elements intheir respective organizations especially in the manufacturing sector.
The Impact of Learning Styles on Learning Outcomes at FFA Camp: What Campers Retain over Time.

Twenty-four states host FFA summer camps to support adolescent maturation along with indoctrination into the culture and values of the FFA. Camps typically include a variety of activities designed to engage members in social activities and non-formal academic content. More than 1500 campers attend the Oklahoma FFA Alumni Leadership Camp annually and are taught leadership curriculum. Using a split-plot factorial repeated measures quasi-experimental design, we established learning styles of campers and the relationship between learning style and learning outcomes. Preferred learning style had no effect on the amount of information learned or retained by campers when comparing mean scores of pretests, posttests, and delayed posttests. However, extroverts had more positive attitudes toward camp than introverts. Camp planners are advised to developmentally evaluate academic curriculum used during camp in an effort to attend to the unique psychosocial needs of introverts to improve their attitudes toward camp.
A model of solid‐solution interactions in acid organic soils, based on the complexation properties of humic substances

SUMMARY CHAOS (Complexation by Humic Acids in Organic Soils) is a quantitative chemical model of organic soils that incorporates complexation by the functional groups of humic substances and non-specific ion-exchange reactions. The two types of interaction are linked by the net humic charge, Z, which depends on the extents of proton and metal complexation, and which in turn determines ionic concentrations in the diffuse part of the electrical double layer, by a Donnan equilibrium. CHAOS was found to account satisfactorily for the results of acid-base titration experiments (pH range 3–5) with soil samples, giving reasonable simultaneous predictions of solution pH and concentration of A13+. Predictive calculations with CHAOS suggest that organic soils acidified by acid rain would respond on a time-scale of years-to-decades to reductions in rain acidity. An associated effect might be an increase in the concentration of dissolved organic matter in the soil solution.
Curie temperatures for site-diluted Ising ferromagnets

The dilution dependence of the Curie temperature is studied in quenched, randomly site-diluted Ising ferromagnets for square- and simple-cubic lattices by the Swensen and Wang Monte Carlo method. In the lirait of small dilutions and at the critical dilution the results are discussed in comparison with other available approaches. We obtain good agreement with accepted theoretical results in three dimensions, and found discrepancies with mean-field like methods for the square lattice. The critical dilutions are found to be very close to the site-percolation thresholds.
Distance to Which Frontier? Evidence on Productivity Convergence from International Firm-Level Data

An extensive literature on the convergence of productivity between countries examines whether productivity is pulled towards the global frontier country, perhaps due to learning and knowledge spillovers. More recently, studies within countries use the wide dispersion of productivity across firms to explore convergence to the national frontier. Given this within-country dispersion however between country-dispersion is hard to interpret, for it is quite possible that the best firms in a laggard average country are above at least some firms in a leading average country. This paper therefore uses micro data sets across many countries to build better measures of global and national frontiers and firms’ distance from them. Using UK data, we then find that (a) the national frontier exerts a stronger pull on domestic firms than does the global frontier and (b) the pull from the global frontier falls with technological distance, while the pull from the national frontier does not. This result suggests that firms might lag so far technologically that they cannot learn from the global frontier, while they still are able to benefit from domestic knowledge.
PHOSPHATE SOLUBILIZING BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH VEGETABLES ROOTS IN DIFFERENT ECOLOGIES

Forty two isolates were recovered as phosphorus solubilizing bacteria (PSB) from rhizosphere of healthy plants of pea, spinach, lady’s finger, French bean, kulfa, cauliflower, turnip, brassica, cucumber, coriander, onion, potato, capsicum, salad, eggplant and field mint from 25 locations in Mansehra district, Taxila area and Islamabad. PSB population ranged from 1.95x10 7 in lady’s finger to 5.33x10 9 in turnip in Mansehra area. It ranged from 1.9x10 6 in spinach to 1.3x10 9 in field mint in Taxila area while in Islamabad up to 8x10 5 in spinach. Highest Solublization Index (4.25) was found in one isolate from spinach in Mansehra while 10 isolates from 10 vegetables had PSB of Solublization Index in the range of 3.5-4.4 from Taxila area. Solubilization capacity ranged from 5.32-151 μgmL -1 . Among the tested isolates, SAFA-2 was found as the best in solubilizing phosphate 151 μgmL -1 with the drop in pH from 7.02-3.55. Population in Taxila area was found negatively correlated with clay, phosphorus and organic matter while, positively correlated with soil pH, EC and soil nitrate. The results indicated that soils of the study area inhabit PSB with great potential to be used as bio inoculants.
Induction of oestrus and conception rates in Bulgarian Murrah buffaloes after fixed-time artificial insemination (a preliminary study).

Summary Atanasov, A. , S. Yotov, A. Antonov & P. Kolev, 2011. Induction of oestrus and conception rates in Bulgarian Murrah buffaloes after fixedtim e artificial insemination (a preliminary study). Bulg. J. Vet. Med. , 14, No 3, 165 −170. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of oestrus induction and timed artificial insemination on conception rates in Bulgarian Murrah buffaloes. Fifteen lactating nonprimiparous buffaloes weighing 550 −650 kg, fed and reared uniformly, were included in the survey. The animals were submitted to transrectal ultrasonography and divided into two groups depending on the ovarian follicle size: Group I (n=8) with follicle size 10 mm. The Ovsynch protocol for oestrus synchronization and programmed insemination was used. The clinical signs of oestrus (uterine tone, oestral discharges, cervical passage), conception rates and oestrus signs in nonfertilized animals were determ ined. The results showed that follicle size could be used as a criterion in selecting candidates for oestrus and ovulation synchronization in buffaloes from the studied breed. Oestrusrelated discharges were observed in considerably higher number of animals from group II (71.4%; P<0.05) as compared to group I (37.5 %). This oestrus synchronization and scheduled insemination protocols could be successfully used in Bulgarian Murrah buffaloes.
Determinant of Academic Performance of Under Graduate Students: In the Cause of Arba Minch University Chamo Campus

This study was designed to investigate the determinant factors affecting academic performance of regular undergraduate students of Arba Minch university (AMU) chamo campus students. The study employed the use of correlation design to establish the nature of the relationships. Data were collected from 100 respondents selected from all the 12 departments of Arba Minch university chamo campus students using the stratified sampling method. To analyze the data, the Pearson product moment correlation statistical tool and econometrics data analysis (OLS regression) method were used with the aim of establishing the relationship between factors related to student’s background and family background on academic performance of regular undergraduate students at Arba Minch university chamo campus students. The findings revealed the existence of a significant relationship between gender difference, university entrance exam and studying hours and academic performance (CGPA). The findings also revealed that there was a significant relationship between students former academic back ground, studying hours, and student’s behavior on taking of alcoholic drug and chat on academic performance of students. On the basis of the findings, the researcher recommended that emphasis should be taken to improve the academic performance of female students and improving students’ performance earlier before the joined in to university. Keywords: Academic performance, Determinant, OLS regression
Downsizing of Housing

Housing is one of the major sources of the environmental impact of consumption. An aspect of housing that has rarely been considered in previous studies on sustainable housing is the size of the dwelling, even though research has shown the impact of dwelling size on the environmental impact of housing to be significant. This study analyzes socio-cultural meanings about downsizing as well as norms about dwelling size. The study analyzes naturally occurring, cultural texts (media texts and corporate communications about small-sized dwellings). The study offers a view on how the meaning of downsizing is negotiated, the (in)voluntariness of downsizing emerging as the main point to be negotiated. Additionally, the study offers understanding for how norms about dwelling size are negotiated in order to normalize smaller dwellings. In these ways, the study offers researchers insights about how downsizing can be advanced in order to reduce the environmental impact of housing.
A Nonlinear Specification Of Demand For Narrow Money In Colombia

A nonlinear smooth transition regression(STR) model of the demand for narrow money in Colombia is specified using monthly data for cash, prices, the scale variable (industrial GDP), the interest rate and the rate of depreciation, within the single equation framework allowed by the data. In comparison with linear error correction model, the nonlinear specification is highly superior according to the statistics. The dynamics described by this model matches both the magnitudes and the behaviour of the aggregate demand for narrow money in Colombia during the sample period (1980.5-1998.11).
Do cyanobacteria dominate in eutrophic lakes because they fix atmospheric nitrogen

SUMMARY 1. The sources of nitrogen for phytoplankton were determined for a bloom-prone lake as a means of assessing the hypothesis that cyanobacteria dominate in eutrophic lakes because of their ability to fix nitrogen when the nitrogen : phosphorous (N : P) supply ratio is low and nitrogen a limiting resource. 2. Nitrogen fixation rates, estimated through acetylene reduction with 15 N calibration, were compared with 15 N-tracer estimates of ammonium and nitrate uptake monthly during the ice-free season of 1999. In addition, the natural N stable isotope composition of phytoplankton, nitrate and ammonium were measured biweekly and the contribution of N2 to the phytoplankton signature estimated with a mixing model. 3. Although cyanobacteria made up 81–98% of phytoplankton biomass during summer and autumn, both assays suggested minimal N acquisition through fixation (<9% for the in-situ incubations; <2% for stable isotope analysis). Phytoplankton acquired N primarily as ammonium (82–98%), and secondarily as nitrate (15–18% in spring and autumn, but <5% in summer). Heterocyst densities of <3 per 100 fixer cells confirmed low reliance on fixation.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT MATURITY: AN ANALYSIS WITH FUZZY EXPERT SYSTEMS

The assessment of Project Management is a growing business practice. It can be verified with the development of several Project Management Maturity (PMM) models. This paper reports results of a survey on the PMM of Brazilian companies. That survey was based on a well known PMM model. A Fuzzy Expert System was applied to deal with model’s subjectivity and to check the consistency of survey’s responses. Methodological approaches of previous PMM researches only included general statistical analysis. This way, the present work innovates when presents the usage of intelligent techniques, as Fuzzy Sets and Expert Systems, in the PMM analysis.
Exploring the Potential of Organic Waste as a Source of Methane Gas for Electricity Generation in Nigeria

Open dumps and ill equipped landfills are some of the characteristics of solid waste management in Nigeria. This paper therefore seeks to investigate the viability of anaerobic digestion as part of an integrated waste management strategy for the city of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. In order to achieve this aim, the paper reviews literature on solid waste management in the study area. Alaboratory experiment was also conducted using organic solid wastefrom Port Harcourt. From the findings, it was revealed that anaerobic digestion could play a major role towards the attainment of sustainable solid waste management in Port Harcourt. The small laboratory sample of 10 grams used for the experiment produced about 0.796 litres of methane gas, means that 1 tonne of organic waste in Port Harcourt will generate about 79600 litres of methane gas with energy equivalent of about 1592000_kj. The paper concluded that in a city like Port Harcourt where several tonnes of solid wastes are produced every day, a substantial amount of methane gas could be recovered for electricity generation. It was therefore recommended that anaerobic digestion should be used in order to boost the electricity capacity of the city whilst also improving the quality of life of the people.
Why Black Hole Information Loss Is Paradoxical

I distinguish between two versions of the black hole information-loss paradox. The first arises from apparent failure of unitarity on the spacetime of a completely evaporating black hole, which appears to be non-globally-hyperbolic; this is the most commonly discussed version of the paradox in the foundational and semipopular literature, and the case for calling it `paradoxical' is less than compelling. But the second arises from a clash between a fully-statistical-mechanical interpretation of black hole evaporation and the quantum-field-theoretic description used in derivations of the Hawking effect. This version of the paradox arises long before a black hole completely evaporates, seems to be the version that has played a central role in quantum gravity, and is genuinely paradoxical. After explicating the paradox, I discuss the implications of more recent work on AdS/CFT duality and on the `Firewall paradox', and conclude that the paradox is if anything now sharper. The article is written at a (relatively) introductory level and does not assume advanced knowledge of quantum gravity.
Ownership Patterns and Control of Top 100 Turkish Listed Companies

This study aims to highlight the importance of protecting investors’ rights, and particularly those of minority shareholders. This study addresses the predominant control-ownership structure of the top 100 firms listed in Bursa Istanbul (BI) using the data for 2015. It shows the most common control-ownership structure within business groups, in which shareholders exercise control over a group of firms and maintain a small stake of firms’ equities. Turkish firms are categorised with highly concentrated ownership and families’ being the dominant shareholders owning more than 80% of all publically listed firms in BI. The study results indicate that the divergence between cash rights and control rights (wedge)in the top 100 Turkish firms is mainly achieved through pyramidal-ownership structure, dual class shares, and cross-ownership at about 41%, 40% and 11%, respectively, while approximately 8% of firms do not use wedge. Hence, wedge exacerbates Type II Agency Problems. This paper calls for future research to study the environment of wedge for Turkish firms listed in BI.
Population Genetic Structure of the Year-Round Spawning Tropical Eel, Anguilla reinhardtii, in Australia

The population genetic structure of tropical freshwater eels is less well investigated than that of their temperate counterparts. To understand both the spatial and temporal population genetic structures of the year-round spawning tropical eel, Anguilla reinhardtii, variability at 6 microsatellite loci was examined in 799 glass eels. Samples were collected from 5 estuaries across the range of the species in East Australia in 1997-1999. F ST , a measure of differentiation among populations, did not significantly differ among months or estuaries, suggesting that A. reinhardtii populations are panmictic. An oceanic and prolonged spawning period, which lasts nearly the entire year, appears to facilitate interbreeding between adult eels from different generations and areas. A short pelagic larval duration decreases larval dispersal, and therefore decreases the effect of latitude-correlated environmental variables on the spawning migration. Mixing of individuals from different areas in ocean gyres may also contribute to genetic homogeneity among streams. ht
Location, location, location: Extracting location value from house prices

The price for a single-family house depends both on the characteristics of the building and on its location. We propose a novel semiparametric method to extract location values from house prices. After splitting house prices into building and land components, location values are estimated with adaptive weight smoothing. The adaptive estimator requires neither strong smoothness assumptions nor local symmetry. We apply the method to house transactions from Berlin, Germany. The estimated surface of location values is highly correlated with expert-based land values and location ratings. The semiparametric method can therefore be used for applications where no other location value information exists or where this information is not reliable.