Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simulation of economic injury levels for leaf folder (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis guenee) on rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Leaf folder incidence on rice (Pusa Sugandha 3) was 1.2-20.5% folded leaves with highest infestation between 45-55 days after transplanting (DAT). Two spray applications with endosulfan 35 EC at 50 and 70 DAT were found optimum for preventing yield loss (26%) due to pest. Leaf folder damage was calibrated and validated through a generic crop growth model, InfoCrop. Validated model was used for simulating economic injury levels (ElLs) of the pest. Simulated EIL was found to be 9, 11 and 12% folded leaves at 50 DAT and 12, 15 and 14% at 70 DAT during 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively. Simulation models could account for changes in weather, inputs and crop-pest interactions, and therefore, could be potential tools for formulating site specific EILS for pests.
The effects of habitat fragmentation by forestry and agriculture on the abundance of small mammals in the southern boreal mixedwood forest

To determine the effects of forest fragmentation on the abundance of small mammals, we livetrapped at edges and in the interior of forest patches in contiguous, logged, and agricultural landscapes in the southern boreal mixedwood forest of Saskatchewan. From 1994 to 1996, we captured 1548 small mammals (11 species) during 8172 trap-nights. The abundance of all small mammals combined was lower in forest patches isolated by logging than in contiguous forest or farm woodlots surrounded by agricultural land. This pattern was consistent in all years, despite significant annual fluctuations in numbers of the boreal red-backed vole (Clethrionomys gapperi), one of the most abundant species in our study area. Red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) and northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) were more abundant in farm woodlots. The abundance of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) was significantly lower in forest patches surrounded by clearcuts, and we speculate that they may have used clearcuts more than forest patches. In contrast, the numbers of boreal red-backed voles were similar among landscapes. The only species showing a response to edge was the deer mouse, which was significantly more abundant at edges of farm woodlots than in interiors. We also found no significant difference in abundance of any species between small (10 ha) and large (>20 ha) farm woodlots. For most species, within-landscape attributes such as edge and patch size seemed to have little effect on their abundance. However, for a variety of reasons, small-mammal numbers seem to vary considerably among forest patches in different landscapes.
Knowing How to Project Objects: Probing the Generality of Children's Action Knowledge

Previous work on the development of intuitive knowledge about trajectories has shown a dissociation between young children's aimed throwing actions, in which they are highly sensitive to the physical laws of motion, and their explicit judgments, in which they exhibit misconceptions. This research investigated the generality of children's action knowledge by having the participants project a ball with a sling. Instead of adjusting sling stretch, and hence sling force, correctly as a function of both the release height and the target distance, 5- and 6-year-olds (Experiment 1, N = 32) and, without flight feedback, even most 7- to 10-year-olds (Experiment 2, N = 96) considered distance only and ignored the height dimension. Similarly, children's judgments of the required sling stretch tended to follow a distance-only rule, especially with children younger than 9 years of age. These results show that young children's action knowledge exhibited in throwing does not generalize to arbitrary means of force production. They further suggest that there is no developmental trend toward such generalization in the age range examined.
Induction of defensive enzymes (isozymes) during defense against two different fungal pathogens in pear calli

Activities of defensive enzymes peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and esterase (EST) and their isozymes in pear calli were studied to reveal their role in the defensive response to different fungal infections and to find some clues to enhance their antimicrobial properties. The results confirm the fact that the activities and isozymes of these five enzymes showed differences in response to different fungal infections. After the inoculation of two different fungi for the same calli, its defensive enzymes’ activities changed relatively when compared with those of the control and in Botryosphaeria berengriana f.sp. piricola (BBP)-infected calli, the enzymes’ activities changed more significantly than those of Monilinia fructigena Honcy (MFH). Meanwhile, more new isozymes were induced by BBP infection. These are in agreement with the fact that the BBP-infected calli decay was slower than that of the MFH. These results suggest that enhancing defensive enzymes’ activities and inducing new isozymes may be related to mitigating pathogen-induced oxidative damage which result in the decrease of calli decay, and this implies that antioxidant defense response may be involved in the mechanisms of plant against fungal pathogen. Keywords: Pear callus, fungi infection, defense enzyme, isozyme, biochemical defense mechanism
Job Search Among Millennial Students in Malaysia

This study aims to determine the factors influenced online job search among millennial students in Malaysia Technical University Network (MTUN). A total of 300 university students through on-oneself-reported questionnaires were collected from four MTUN namely Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) and Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP). This study performs descriptive analysis, reliability testing, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis by using IBM-SPSS software version 22. The results indicate that factors such as userperception, social networking sites, and smartphone technology are significantly related to the online job search enhancement. Amongst these three factors, user perception appears to be the strongest predictor toward online job search enhancement. This study concludes that besides consideration of the identified factors which lead to the successful adoption of online job search, effortless and interactive online job search websites in creating a convenient and favorable job search environment would be able to increase the use of online job search. Info Article History Article: Received Januari2017 Approved Februari 2017 Published Maret 2017
How does a simulated soccer match affect regional differences in biceps femoris muscle architecture

Gonçalves, Basílio 2017. How does a simulated soccer match affect regional differences in biceps femoris muscle architecture? Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä Master’s Thesis in Biomechanics. 75 pp. Soccer is played by thousands of athletes across the globe and its participation increases the overall risk of injury, in particular, hamstring strain injuries (HSI). Biceps femoris (BF) has been shown to be involved the in 5 out of 6 HSI cases and risk factors including fatigue and short BF fascicle length (FL) have been identified. Furthermore, previous studies suggest that different muscle regions may undergo different strains during dynamic tasks, which could contribute to injury risk. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a soccer match on regional differences in the BF muscle architecture. A secondary aim was to assess the reliability of the extended field of view (EFOV) 2D ultrasound imaging to measure muscle architecture parameters. Muscle architecture was assessed, using ultrasound, in 9 amateur soccer players and 5 physically active men, before and after a 45 minutes soccer specific fatigue protocol (SAFT) or 20 mintues of rest, respectively. Significant muscle architecture changes were found after SAFT, however, these were smaller than the minimal detectable change associated with the scanning method. No correlations were found between force reductions and muscle architecture changes. Good reliability was found for FL measurements but poor reliability was found for pennation angle and muscle thickness. Muscle architecture changes after 45 minutes of a football match may not be a mechanism to explain the increased HSI rates. Furthermore, when using EFOV ultrasound, care must be taken when interpreting statistically significant results, since these can be below the minimal detectable change or not reliable for all the parameters.
Change management in dairy farming.

Policy changes and the introduction of AMSs (automatic milking systems) have accelerated changes in the Norwegian dairy sector. Loose housing, joint farming operations and AMSs are in some cases introduced all at once or over a short period. Thus the ability to manage technical and organizational change successfully is becoming increasingly important for dairy farmers. To explore how farmers manage change we visited and interviewed four farmers who have invested in new loose housing and AMSs since 2003. Three of them have also entered joint farming. Further, we interviewed four dairy farming consultants. In this article we explore change using a change framework. We present and analyse four farm cases in depth and develop a conceptual model for change management on dairy farms. Our cases show that new technologies and farming systems can be introduced on similar farms with very different results. Continuous gradual changes, former experience with change, inner motivation, deliberate use of consultants, and careful planning of joint farming operations have a positive impact on farming performance during and after change. A key finding is that change should be recognized as a managerial challenge and not only as a matter of implementing new technology.
REGIONAL SCALE MODELING OF EROSION RELATED TO LAND COVER EVOLUTION. BRAZILIAN

Accelerated soil erosion is, at present, one of the most widespread environmental problems in the world. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have become an essential tool in soil erosion studies and consequently in the development of appropriate soil conservation strategies. The objective of this paper was to assess the degree of soil erosion associated with land cover dynamics through GIS analysis and to validate the modeling with indicators of soil erosion. Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) model, GIS technology and ground-truth dataset (erosion indicators) were employed to elaborate the soil loss maps for four dates at Sorocaba Municipality (SP, Brazil). It was verified that, although the predicted soil loss rate is normally small along the study area, such rate is significantly greater than the soil formation rate. This shows a non-sustainable situation of soil and land cover management. Unplanned urban expansion seems be the main driving force that acts in increasing the erosion risk/occurrence along the study area.
Longitudinal relationship between social skills and academic achievement in a gender perspective

Abstract Previous studies found that girls have higher academic achievement than boys in most school subjects. Teachers’ grading of academic achievement seems to be based not only on students’ knowledge but also their social skills, and teachers tend to assess girls as having better social skills than boys. The main aim of this study was to examine through multilevel analysis the extent to which teacher-rated social skills predicted teacher-rated academic achievement in Norwegian, mathematics and English over two years when controlling for age, cultural background and previous academic achievement. Possible gender differences were also investigated. Few studies on student achievement in school subjects have included multiple grades, but this study included 1st–8th grade at time point 1 (TI) and 3rd–10th at time point 2 (T2). Data on 2,266 Norwegian students were gathered in the autumn of 2012 and 2014. The results showed that teacher-rated social skills at T1 had a significant influence on boys’ and girls’ academic achievement two years later, but the fixed effect varied by subject. Social skills seemed to explain the variance in mathematics and Norwegian but not English, when controlling for previous academic achievement. There were no gender differences in the influence of social skills on academic achievement.
Acceleration of radio network optimisation algorithms

The increasing demand for cheaper-faster-better services anytime and anywhere has made radio network optimisation much more complex than ever before. In order to dynamically optimise the serving network, Dynamic Network Optimisation (DNO), is proposed as the ultimate solution and future trend. The realization of DNO, however, has been hindered by a significant bottleneck of the optimisation speed as the network complexity grows. This paper presents a multi-threaded parallel solution to accelerate complicated proprietary network optimisation algorithms, under a rigid condition of numerical consistency. ariesoACP product from Arieso Ltd serves as the platform for parallelisation. This parallel solution has been benchmarked and results exhibit a high scalability and a run-time reduction by 11% to 42% based on the technology, subscriber density and blocking rate of a given network in comparison with the original version. Further, it is highly essential that the parallel version produces equivalent optimisation quality in terms of identical optimisation outputs.
Wages, Job Queues, and Skills

We study the relationship between wages and the number and quality of applicants that a vacancy attracts. Using data from a large US employment website, we show that higher wages attract better applicants. Surprisingly, higher wages are associated with fewer applications, and this is robust to controlling for industry and occupation fixed effects. Only within specific job titles are higher wages associated with more applications. Our theoretical model shows that such a pattern is consistent with skills demanded by firms being highly job specific. The model has additional testable implications about rent sharing and unemployment rates by skill.
Barriers And Facilitators Relating To Thai Clinical Nurses Use Of Qualitative Software Tools: Informing Hospital Policy

Background This paper discusses the research approaches and experiences of Thai clinical nurses from a purposefully selected group of Thai private hospitals in Bangkok. A public search for research conducted by Thai clinical nurses revealed that little is written about their experiences or their engagement and testing of qualitative software tools related to clinically identified problems or issues.MethodsThe paper utilises a qualitative approach employing a focus group drawn from 4 Thai private hospitals creating a concentrated facet of context and flexibility. This paper addresses issues relating to the conduct of qualitative research by clinical nurses in a small number of private hospitals in Bangkok. Results The developed research questions were mapped to the generated 8 major themes, and supported by 21 sub-themes. The qualitative outcomes presented, highlight the various experiences, perspectives, opportunities and challenges that Thai clinical nurses face. The outcomes indicate that there are 8 barriers and 13 facilitators and that these together illustrate the diversity of research practice opinion of Thai clinical nurses, and underpins the managerial task to reduce the barriers impact and enhance the facilitating factors for Thai clinical nurses.ConclusionsThe impact of this research suggests that hospital management have to address the need to build a more equitable resource base to streamline the available research provision. This would provide greater support for clinical nurses using qualitative methods that lead to clinical research outcomes when engaging in evidence-based qualitative research.
Market Response to Investor Sentiment

Recent empirical research suggests that measures of investor sentiment have predictive power for future stock returns over the intermediate and long term. Given the widespread publication of sentiment indicators, smart investors should trade on the information conveyed by such indicators and thus trigger an immediate market response to their publication. The present paper is the first to empirically analyze whether an immediate response can be identified from the data. We use survey-based sentiment indicators from two countries (Germany and the US). Consistent with previous research we find there is predictability at intermediate time horizons. For the US, however, the predictability all but disappears after 1994. Using event study methodology we find that the publication of sentiment indicators affects market returns. The sign of the immediate response is the same as that of the predictability over the intermediate term. This finding is consistent with the idea that sentiment is related to mispricing, but is inconsistent with the idea that the sentiment indicator provides information about future expected returns.
Empirical Hα emitter count predictions for dark energy surveys

Future galaxy redshift surveys aim to measure cosmological quantities from the galaxy power spectrum. A prime example is the detection of baryonic acoustic oscillations, providing a standard ruler to measure the dark energy equation of state, w(z), to high precision. The strongest practical limitation for these experiments is how quickly accurate redshifts can be measured for sufficient galaxies to map the large-scale structure. A promising strategy is to target emission-line (i.e. star-forming) galaxies at high redshift (z∼ 0.5–2); not only is the space density of this population increasing out to z∼ 2, but also emission lines provide an efficient method of redshift determination. Motivated by the prospect of future dark energy surveys targeting Hα emitters at near-infrared wavelengths (i.e. z > 0.5), we use the latest empirical data to model the evolution of the Hα luminosity function out to z∼ 2 and thus provide predictions for the abundance of Hα emitters for practical limiting fluxes. We caution that the estimates presented in this work must be tempered by an efficiency factor, e, giving the redshift success rate from these potential targets. For a range of practical efficiencies and limiting fluxes, we provide an estimate of nP0.2 where n is the 3D galaxy number density and P0.2 is the galaxy power spectrum evaluated at k= 0.2 h Mpc−1. Ideal surveys must provide nP0.2>1 in order to balance shot-noise and cosmic variance errors. We show that a realistic emission-line survey (e= 0.5) could achieve nP0.2=1 out to z∼ 1.5 with a limiting flux of 10−16 erg s−1 cm−2. If the limiting flux is a factor of 5 brighter, then this goal can only be achieved out to z∼ 0.5, highlighting the importance of survey depth and efficiency in cosmological redshift surveys.
The Influence of Leverage and Its Size on the Earnings Management

This study aimed to determine the effect of leverage and firm size on earnings management. Sampling was done by purposive sampling method with the criteria listed in the Indonesia Stock Exchange and has a complete set of financial statements. The study sample consisted of 30 manufacturing companies, used multiple regression analysis techniques and to test the research hypothesis, F test and t test.From the results of calculations using SPSS for Windows version 20, showed that: 1) The value of operating leverage coefficient of 0.215, significant operating leverage affect earnings management by 21.5%; 2) financial leverage coefficient of 0.505, meaning financial leverage affect earnings management by 50.5%; 3) The size of the company coefficient of 0.417, meaning the size of the company affect earnings management of 41.7%. Rated R square (R2) of 0.603, illustrates that earnings management (Y), can be explained by the operating leverage, financial leverage, and the size of the company amounted to 60.3%, while the remaining 39.7%, can be explained by other factors, which are not included in this study.From the results of hypothesis testing F, obtained value of F (2,082) <F table (2.769), this means that there is no effect of operating leverage, financial leverage, and the size of the companies jointly to earnings management. While the results of hypothesis testing t, obtained the following results: 1) tcount (-0.537) <t table (1.672) which means that there is no effect of operating leverage on earnings management; 2) tcount (-0.153) <t table (1.672) which means that there is no financial leverage effect on earnings management; 3) tcount (0.686) <t table (1.672) which means that there is no effect of firm size on earnings management. Keywords: operating leverage, financial leverage, firm size, earnings management
Mineral and physiochemical evaluation of Cockle shell (Anadara granosa) and other selected Molluscan shell as potential biomaterials

Molluscan shells are attracting research interest due to the diverse application properties possessed. As shells are very similar to bones, this study was conducted to analyze the mineral and physiochemical composition of Cockle (Anadara granosa) shell and three other types of molluscan shell, namely Strombus canarium, Oliva sayana and Terebra dislocata as potential biomaterial for bone tissue engineering applications. Approximately 200 g of shells from each species were processed and powdered for the purpose of this study. Carbon was analyzed using the carbon analyzer while minerals and heavy metals through ICP-MS. The phase purity and crystallographic structures of the powders were identified using X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) while the chemical functionality was determined using the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer. The analysis showed that Cockle shells contained higher content of calcium and carbon including varying amount of other minor elements comparatively. However, all four types of shell powders were found to contain below detectable levels of toxic elements. Physiochemical analysis on phase purity and crystallographic structures showed similar characteristics of carbonate group present in all four shell types. A predominantly aragonite form of calcium carbonate was detected in both XRD diffractogram and FTIR spectra for all samples. Our findings demonstrated that different types of molluscan shells have almost similar mineral and physiochemical characteristics and a predominantly aragonite form of calcium carbonate that provides a strong basis for their use as a potential bone tissues engineering material.
Determination of Enrofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin Residues in Five Different Kinds of Chicken Tissues by Dispersive Liquid–Liquid Microextraction Coupled with HPLC

Contamination of food producing animals by veterinary drug residues, particularly quinolones, is an essential issue in food safety that causes increasing concern in consumers. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of enrofloxacin and its main metabolite, ciprofloxacin, in chicken tissue samples slaughtered in Tabriz, Iran. Totally 250 samples including liver, muscle, gizzard, heart, and skin were studied. Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction technique (DLLME) was used as a simple, high performance, low-cost, and fast sample pre-treatment method followed by a high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection for quantitative analysis. The residues of enrofloxacin were detected and quantified in 26 liver (52%) and 10 skin (20%) samples and ciprofloxacin residues were detected in 3 skin (6%) samples and accurately determined in 15 liver (30%) samples; however they were not detected in gizzard, heart, and muscle samples. The results showed the accumulation of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin residues in chicken liver and skin.