Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nitrogen Fertilization on Pearl Millet and Guinea Grass: Phytomass Decomposition, Cellulose, Lignin, and Nutrients Release

ABSTRACT Nitrogen (N) anticipation in cover crops, besides increasing the accumulation of dry weight and nutrients, may favor the subsequent crop by increasing the availability of N. However, N can alter the decomposition of phytomass, which could reduce the beneficial effects of cover crops. The objective of this study was to evaluate the decomposition rate and nutrients release from Pennisetum glaucum and Panicum maximum syn. Urochloa maxima as a function of N fertilization. A randomized blocks design with four replicates, constituted by four treatments (pearl millet with N, pearl millet without N, guinea grass with N and guinea grass without and six sampling times (0, 14, 34, 41, 51 and 68 days after management (DAM)). The pearl millet produces more shoot dry weight than guinea grass, and the N fertilization increases the amount of dry weight for both species, but does not alter the decomposition rate. Pearl millet accumulates and releases to the soil large amounts of nutrients followed by guinea grass, regardless of N fertilization. N fertilization increases the amount of N accumulated and accelerates the release of N into the soil. The maximum release rates occur in the period of 0–14 DAM, more intensely with the N fertilization for the N.
HPLC fingerprinting coupled with linear discriminant analysis for the detection of adulteration in Orthosiphon aristatus

Abstract Orthosiphon aristatus known as java tea is one of the medicinal plants commonly used in some herbal medicines especially for diuretics and to treat diabetes. Orthosiphon aristatus leaves could be substituted or mixed with Eupatorium riparium and Acalypha siamensis because of the similarity in their morphological leaves. To detect contamination of O. aristatus from the two similar plants, we developed an HPLC fingerprinting in combination with multivariate analysis. By using the developed method, we could also simultaneously determine two bioactive marker compounds in O. aristatus namely rosmarinic acid and sinensetin. Fingerprint chromatogram of the three samples showed a different chromatogram profile, so it could be used to distinguish the three samples. A combination of HPLC fingerprint and linear discriminant analysis was successfully grouped the three samples and adulterated O. aristatus with E. riparium and A. siamensis. The result indicated that the developed method could detect adulterated samples of O. aristatus from the other two plants used in this study and for the quantification of rosmarinic acid and sinensetin in O. aristatus simultaneously. Graphical Abstract
Adapting a Programming Model for Cooperative Extension Service Programs Delivered via Distance Education: A National Delphi Study

MCCASKILL, KENNETH NEIL. Adapting a Programming Model for Cooperative Extension Service Programs Delivered Via Distance Education: A National Delphi Study. (Under the direction of JOHN M. PETTITT and EDGAR JOHN BOONE.) The purpose of this study was to adapt a model for planning, designing and implementing, and evaluating and accounting for nonformal distance education programs in the Cooperative Extension Service. Zetterburg’s five steps were use as a guide in framing this research. The conceptual programming model was adapted through a review of the literature, experts’ opinions and advice, and the researcher’s experience with nonformal distance education in the Cooperative Extension Service. Data were collected from a panel of experts during two rounds of questionnaires using a modified Delphi technique. Round one was conducted as a web based instrument and the follow up round was conducted by electronic mail. Forty-eight panelists were selected representing the four national Extension regions, rural, urbanizing, and urban states, and the Extension Agriculture, 4-H, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Community Resource Development program areas. Twenty-seven participated in the initial round, a fifty-six percent return rate, and twenty-three participated in round two. The questionnaire contained forty-six processual tasks which were placed on a five point Likert-type scale. A processual task was considered accepted when it met both critical and consensual criteria in the second round. Those processual tasks that had a mean score of 3.5 or higher as rated by the panel of experts were considered critical for programming in Extension nonformal distance education programs. Those processual tasks that were rated by 55% or more of the experts as usually or always important (4 and 5) were used to determine consensus. Only those processual tasks that 55% or more of the experts rated four and five were considered for inclusion in the adapted model. The final panel of experts accepted twenty-one of the forty-six processual tasks and rejected
Understanding Consumers’ Post-Adoption Behavior in Sharing Economy Services

ABSTRACT Sharing economy services such as bicycle-sharing have become quite popular. In these services, companies maintain systems which allow consumers to conduct sharing activities. Based upon expectation-confirmation theory, we develop a model investigating the antecedents of consumer confirmation and its consequences in the sharing economy context. Specially, we identify two antecedents including perceived performance and perceived risk. Using an empirical study, our results show that perceived performance has a positive impact on confirmation while perceived risk has a negative effect. Confirmation positively affects service satisfaction, which in turn increases continuance intention and recommendation intention. Further, confirmation is negatively related to dissatisfaction, which in turn increases switch intention. Our study clarifies the process of consumers’ decision-making about using sharing economy, and thus making contribution to the sharing economy literature. Practically, it delivers insights for companies into how to retain customers through increasing the value and reducing the risk associated with sharing economy.
Speculative Parallelization of Object-Oriented Applications

Despite the ubiquity of multicores, and although new applications are being developed to take advantage of multicore systems, many commonly-used applications are still sequential. As a consequence, many chip designers, while actively advocating parallel programming, still dedicate many of their resources to providing faster sequential code execution. This shows that sequential code execution performance is still an important challenge for modern computing systems. In this dissertation, I propose the creation of an automatic parallelization framework that boosts the execution of sequential object-oriented applications running atop managed runtimes. The highly dynamic and irregular nature of these applications and their supporting runtimes requires a different approach to parallelization that defeats many traditional parallelization techniques. To support low-overhead speculative code execution, I propose a novel Software Transactional Memory model that is specialized for speculative parallelization. To allow the proposed framework to use Method-Level Speculation as a task identification strategy, I propose a new algorithm that allows the safe transformation of method call sites into spawn points that return futures. Then, I examine the issues of runtime task queuing and thread mapping, and introduce several new techniques to reduce stalling and increase resource usage efficiency. Finally, I describe the combination of the proposed techniques into a coherent system — the JaSPExMLS framework — that provides an end-to-end solution for boosting sequential Java/JVM applications on commodity hardware, without requiring applications to be previously modified, and yielding performance capable of surpassing production Java runtimes.
Sweep Line Algorithm for Convex Hull Revisited

Convex hull of some given points is the intersection of all convex sets containing them. It is used as primary structure in many other problems in computational geometry and other areas like image processing, model identification, geographical data systems, and triangular computation of a set of points and so on. Computing the convex hull of a set of point is one of the most fundamental and important problems of computational geometry. In this paper a new algorithm is presented for computing the convex hull of a set of random points in the plane by using a sweep-line strategy. The sweep-line is a horizontal line that is moved from top to bottom on a map of points. Our algorithm is optimal and has time complexity $O(nlogn)$ where $n$ is the size of input.
Supramolecular Assemblies in Pb(II) Complexes with Hydrazido-Based Ligands

Herein, we describe the synthesis and single crystal X-ray diffraction characterization of several Pb(II) complexes using Schiff base hydrazido-based ligands and different counterions (NO3−, I– and ClO4). In the three complexes reported in this work, the lead(II) metal exhibits a high coordination number (n > 8) and thus it is apparently not involved in tetrel bonding interactions. Moreover, the aromatic ligands participate in noncovalent interactions that play an important role in the formation of several supramolecular assemblies in the solid state of the three Pb(II) complexes. These assemblies have been analyzed by means of Hirshfeld surface analysis and DFT calculations.
Command and Control vs self Management

It’s estimated that in 2017 there were 111 billion lines of new software code generated by developers and most lines were written within a team. Producing software is a creative activity and therefore very different from mass-production lines, because each algorithm tries to solve a different problem. For many years, traditional system development life cycle has been used as the main algorithm for how programmer teams should work to deliver software products. Waterfall methodology is successfully used in simple, unchanging projects but its main drawback is how it handles change. Scrum encourages the creativity of each member of the team, allowing all of them to take on the role they want during the project. Each person can be a developer, a tester, a designer, depending on the responsibilities he takes between two sprints. Considering the diversity of IT projects, it makes sense to understand in what kind of projects we should use the Scrum methodology and where there is a need for more explicit management and control.
Optimal Power Flow and Unified Control Strategy for Multi-Terminal HVDC Systems

This paper presents an automation strategy for multi-terminal HVDC (MT-HVDC) systems combining a dc optimal power flow (dc OPF) routine and a unified reference controller (URC). In the presented automatic framework, the dc OPF algorithm is implemented at the power dispatch center (PDC) of the MT-HVDC system to find optimal reference operation points of the power converters to minimize the losses during the operation of the MT-HVDC grid and solves the contradiction between minimizing losses and preventing commutation failure. At the local control systems, the operating points of the voltage-source converter (VSC) stations are tuned based on the calculations executed in the PDC, which enables fast response to power fluctuation and ensures a stable dc voltage. However, if the communication between the two control layers is lost, the MT-HVDC grid remains stable based on the pre-defined $V$ – $P$ droop characteristics for the power converter stations till the connection establishes again, and a set of new operating points is generated and sent. The static and dynamic simulations conducted on the CIGRE B4 HVDC test grid establish the efficient and effective grid control performance with the proposed automation strategy. The analysis shows that the proposed control scheme achieves the desired minimum losses while, at the same time, satisfying the system constraints.
Comparative Evaluation of the Gastroprotective Effect of L-Carnitine and Omeprazole on Ethanol-Induced Gastric Ulcer in Male Albino Wister Rats

Aim: The present work aimed to compare between the gastroprotective efficacy of L-carnitine and omeprazole in ethanol-induced gastric ulcer in male albino Wister rats. Methods: This study was carried out on 40 male albino Wister rats were divided into four equal groups: Normal group: Received distilled water, ulcer-control group: Administered with a single dose of 1ml absolute ethanol for gastric ulcer induction, omeprazole-group: Received omeprazole (20mg/kg subcutaneously daily), L-carnitine group: Received L-carnitine (50mg/kg) intragastrically. At the end of experiment, ulcer index and preventive index were assayed. Gastric homogenate was collected for determination of total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities, nitric oxide (NO), acidic mucopolysaccarides, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. Gastric juice was collected for determination of titratable acidity, peptic activity and DNA fragmentation. Results: The ethanol-induced gastric damage significantly increased ulcer index, MPO activity, titratable acidity, peptic activity and DNA fragmentation of gastric juice, with significant decrease in TAC, SOD activity, NO, acidic mucopolysaccarides and PGE2 in gastric mucosa, with no effect on CAT activity compared to normal group. Pretreatment with either omeprazole or L-carnitine significantly decreased ulcer index, gastric MPO activity, titratable acidity, peptic activity and DNA fragmentation compared to ulcer-control group. Also, both omeprazole and L-carnitine significantly increased gastric TAC and SOD activity with insignificant effect on CAT compared to ulcer control group. But Lcarnitine, not omeprazole, significantly increased NO, acidic mucopolysaccarides and PGE2 compared to ulcer control. Conclusions: We conclude that L-carnitine is more effective in healing the gastric ulcer than omeprazole. Further broad spectrum studies as well as clinical trials should be conducted before the use of L-carnitine as routine medicine.
Efficient Removal of TiO2 Nanoparticles by Enhanced Flocculation–Coagulation

TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) in water were removed by enhanced coagulation with polyaluminum ferric chloride (PAFC) and cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM). The flocculation efficiency by PAFC and PAFC/CPAM for three different initial concentrations (0.2, 2, and 30 mg/L) of TiO2 nanoparticles in pure water and a kaolin suspension system (kaolin concentration: 30 mg/L) were investigated with different coagulant dosages, pH values, precipitation times, and hydraulic conditions. Results showed that the removal rate of TiO2-NPs in the kaolin suspension system was slightly higher than that in a pure water system, and the removal rate of TiO2-NPs obtained by PAFC/CPAM was significantly higher than that by PAFC alone. The removal efficiency of TiO2-NPs increased with increased initial concentration of TiO2-NPs. Under the optimal conditions, the removal rates obtained by PAFC/CPAM for 30 mg/L initial concentration TiO2-NPs in pure water and the kaolin suspension system were 97.98% and 98.62%, respectively. Studies on.
A SURVEY ON AGE INVARIANT FACE RECOGNITION METHODS

Face recognition is used in many security and surveillance applications. Some issues, such as aging, partial occlusion, variation in pose and illumination and facial expression directly affect the performance of face recognition approaches. Usually, in many applications, such as checking the passport and visa, images in the database are not updated continuously. In these cases, aging leads to change the important features of the face image. Hence, face recognition across aging can be considered as a common issue in many security and surveillance systems. In this paper, some existing face recognition approaches, in terms of robustness to aging, have been reviewed briefly. Also, the experimental results from these methods have been compared using the common databases in age-invariant face recognition applications. The comparison results indicate that the approaches which consider both component-based representation of facial images and identity factors outperform the other existing methods.
Attitude control of inverted pendulums using reaction wheels: Comparison between using one and two actuators

The attitude control using reaction wheels as actuators has been one of the most popular ways to stabilize and repel external disturbances in aerospace devices. From the controlled change of the angular momentum rate of change using reaction wheels, it is possible to control the oscillation and direction rates of change of rigid bodies in space. Thus, the main idea of this article is to present a case study with different configurations of the well-known reaction wheel pendulum. The first is based on the classical configuration, and the second, a new one, a pendulum with two reaction wheels. For both configurations, proportional–integral–derivative controllers were designed and experimental devices were built to perform real-time controllers using low-cost hardware. The simulated and experimental results have shown that the pendulums were controlled using a simple controller in the inverted position and the results were satisfactory. Four performance indices were calculated to evaluate the results for each configuration. They showed that the pendulum with two reaction wheels worked better than the pendulum with one reaction wheel. Two actuators made it easier to move and control the pendulum in the inverted position.
Performance Analysis and Prediction Student Performance to build effective student Using Data Mining Techniques

In this period of computerization, schooling has additionally remodeled itself and is not restrained to old lecture technique. The everyday quest is on to discover better approaches to make it more successful and productive for students. These days, masses of data are gathered in educational databases, however it stays unutilized. To be able to get required advantages from such major information, effective tools are required. Data mining is a developing capable tool for examination and expectation. It is effectively applied in the field of fraud detection, marketing, promoting, forecast and loan assessment. However, it is in incipient stage in the area of education. In this paper, data mining techniques have been applied to construct a classification model to predict the performance of students.
Characterizing a Novel Ligand for the Farnesoid X Receptor using Transgenic Zebrafish

Nuclear receptors (NRs) are ligand activated transcription factors that are involved in variety of processes, such as metabolism, development, and reproduction. The farnesoid x receptor (FXR) is a NR that is involved in maintaining lipid homeostasis in the liver. When FXR is downregulated in the liver, diseases such as fatty liver disease can arise. Using the ligand-trap system in zebrafish, a novel ligand for FXR, 8215 Ethyl, was identified. This ligand was characterized and it was discovered that 8215 Ethyl induces FXR expression robustly and selectively in the liver at non-toxic concentrations. 8215 Ethyl is also able to induce activation of the NRs PPARγ and RORγ in zebrafish. FXR, PPARγ, and RORγ are regulated by 8215 Ethyl through the direct binding of the ligand to the ligand binding domains of these NRs. These findings indicate that 8215 Ethyl may have therapeutic potential to treat diseases associated with downregulation of FXR.
Predicting CO2 adsorption and reactivity on transition metal surfaces using popular density functional theory methods

ABSTRACT In this work, with Ni (110) as a model catalyst surface and CO2 as an adsorbate, a performance study of Density Functional Theory methods (functionals) is performed. CO being a possible intermediate in CO2 conversion reactions, binding energies of both, CO2 and CO, are calculated on the Ni surface and are compared with experimental data. OptPBE-vdW functional correctly predicts CO2 binding energy on Ni (−62 kJ/mol), whereas CO binding energy is correctly predicted by the rPBE-vdW functional (−138 kJ/mol). The difference in computed adsorption energies by different functionals is attributed to the calculation of gas phase CO2. Three alternate reaction systems based on a different number of C=O double bonds present in the gas phase molecule are considered to replace CO2. The error in computed adsorption energy is directly proportional to the number of C=O double bonds present in the gas phase molecule. Additionally, both functionals predict similar carbon–oxygen activation barrier (40 kJ/mol) and equivalent C1s shifts for probe species (−2.6 eV for CCH3 and +1.5 eV CO3−), with respect to adsorbed CO2. Thus, by including a correction factor of 28 kJ/mol for the computed CO2 gas phase energy, we suggest using rPBE-vdW functional to investigate CO2 conversion reactions on different metals.
The Evolution of Bluetooth Detection Rates

Bluetooth detection is a valuable source to gather data about travel times and traffic state in road networks aiming for the goals of better traffic information and traffic management. Just like for all other available traffic data sources, road operators and authorities rely on a reliable quality of the data collection to fulfil their goal of higher traffic efficiency. First, this data quality depends on the reliability of each individual data set and second on the quantity of data sets, specified by the detection rate. Whereas the quality of Bluetooth-detected travel times has already been discussed in several studies, this research investigates the evolution of detection rates over the past decade in the freeway network of the state of Bavaria, Germany. The objective is to provide reliable information about the current potential and the current trends in the detection rates to road authorities who plan the installation of Bluetooth detection technology. For this purpose, the detection rates, defined by the share of detected vehicles with Bluetooth amongst the overall traffic volume measured with induction loops, were evaluated for this study. The results based on more than 1.7 billion individual Bluetooth detections show a quite steady Bluetooth detection rate of around 25 % since the beginning of measurements in 2009. Additionally, the results show a large systematic bias within the data due to the higher equipment rate with Bluetooth devices amongst trucks, which are equipped about five times more often than regular passenger cars.