Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tillage Effects on Soil Compactness and Wheat Root Morphology

Tillage systems influence soil physical, chemical and biological characteristics which in turn may alter, root characteristics, growth, and development. A three year study was conducted to investigate the effects of seven tillage systems on some soil (fine-loamy mixed, Typic Haplocambids) physical characteristics and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) root morphology. Tillage treatments included moldboard plowing + disking (MD) as conventional tillage, chisel plowing + disk (CD), chisel plowing + rotary tilling (CR), chisel plowing (twice) + disking (2CD), plowing with a khishchi (a regional rigid cultivator) (KD), as non-inversion methods, and till planting with cultivator combined drill (TP), and no-tillage (NT) as direct drilling methods. Soil texture, bulk density (BD), organic matter (OM) and compactness (CI) were determined. At the depths 0-0.1, 0.1-0.2, 0.2-0.3 and 0.30.4m, root mass density (RMD) was obtained, root length density (RLD) was determined and average root diameter (RD), surface area density (RSD), and root fineness (RF) were calculated. A randomized complete block design consisting of four blocks (replications) was used. For all treatments, the upper layer (0-0.lm) contained a higher quantity of RMD, RLD and RSD, but the reverse was observed for the lower layer (0.3-0.4m). The upper layer (0-0. lm) contained almost 46% of the total RMD (average of all treatments), while the second (0.1-0.2m) the third (0.2-0.3m) and fourth (0.3-0.4m) depths contained 23, 18.5 and 12.5% of the total RMD, respectively. The average RLD of four depths for MD, CD, CR and 2CD were significantly (P≤ 10)higher than KD, TP and NT systems (24.9, 25.1, 24.2, and 23.8, as compared with 22.3,21.8 and 21.6km m -3 , respectively). Results of this study showed that, for the arid soils of central Iran, with weak structure and low organic matter content, as the number of tillage operations increased, root morphological characteristics improved.
Role of bedside methods in evaluation of diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Objective The prevalence of peripheral neuropathy was 34.9 % with VPT. Foot care practices were followed by only 214 (20.5%) patients. When compared with VPT, ankle reflex was the most sensitive (90.7%) but least specific (37.3%). The tuning fork and monofilament tests respectively had lower sensitivity (62.5 and 62.8%) but better specificity (95.3 and 92.9%) and accuracy (78.9 and 77.9%). Significant correlations we re observed between the VPT score and the DNE (r=0.532, p<0.001) and DNS (r=0.546, p<0.001)
ANN and RSM modelling of antioxidant characteristics of kombucha fermented milk beverages with peppermint

Antioxidant activity to stable DPPH radical (AADPPH) and unstable hydroxyl radicals (AA.OH) and nutraceuticals (monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and ascorbic acid) content of kombucha fermented milks with peppermint (KFM-P) were modelled and optimised. Beverages were produced by the addition of 10 % of kombucha peppermint inoculum to the milk containing 0.8, 1.6 and 2.8 % milk fat at 37, 40 and 43 °C. Response surface methodology (RSM) indicated opposite response surfaces for AADPPH and AA.OH PUFAs and ascorbic acid, as most significant and influential factors, were included in graphical optimization and gave the working region for obtaining products of highest antioxidant quality: lower temperatures and milk fat up to 1.8 %; higher temperatures and milk fat of maximum 1.6 %. ANN modelling of antioxidant characteristics of kombucha fermented milk beverages with peppermint was, as expected, more accurate than RSM.
Criteria of algebraic independence with multiplicities and interpolation determinants

We generalize Gel’fond’s criterion of algebraic independence by taking into account the values of the derivatives of the polynomials, and show how the new criterion applies to proving results of algebraic independence using interpolation determinants. We also establish a new result of approximation of a transcendental number by algebraic numbers of bounded degree and size. It contains an earlier result of E. Wirsing and also a result announced by A. Durand.
Chemical compositions and biological activities of essential oils obtained from some Apiaceous and Lamiaceous plants collected in Thailand

Objective: To determine the chemical composition, as well as the antioxidant, antityrosinase and antibacterial activities of essential oils obtained from some Apiaceous and Lamiaceous plants collected in Thailand. Methods: The essential oils of the specified spices and aromatic herbs were obtained by hydro-distillation, and their chemical constituents were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Antioxidant assays were based on the scavenging effects of 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2’-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) free radicals as well as the lipid oxidation inhibition of ß-carotene bleaching by linoleic acid. Tyrosinase enzyme inhibition was evaluated by the dopachrome method. Broth microdilution technique was performed for the purposes of studying microbial growth inhibition against the isolated bacterial strains. Results: The essential oils of Elsholtzia stachyodes, Coleus amboinicus (I) and Trachyspermum ammi presented a high degree of potency in DPPH, ABTS and ß-carotene bleaching assays. The Trachyspermum ammi oil, which mainly contained thymol (49.04%) and p-cymene (22.06%), proved to be the most effective in terms of antibacterial activity. The major compositions of Coleus amboinicus (I) were carvacrol (51.57%), y-terpinene (18.04%) and p-cymene (7.81%); while thymol (43.76%) and y-terpinene (24.61%) were identified as the major components of Elsholtzia stachyodes oil, with p-cymene (6.73%) being identified as a minor constituent. Moreover, Cuminum cyminum oil containing cuminaldehyde (49.07%) and Elsholtzia communis oil composed with geranial (44.74%) and neral (35.27%) as the major components displayed a specific ability for the inhibition of the mushroom tyrosinase enzyme. Conclusions: The results indicated that these bioactive essential oils obtained from indigenous herbs are of significant interest as alternative raw materials in food, cosmetic and medicinal products.
Effects of ICT Integration in Management of Private Secondary Schools in Nairobi County, Kenya: Policy Options and Practices

The convergence between telecommunication, broadcasting multimedia and related technologies commonly known asInformation and Communication Technologies (ICT), promises a fundamental change in educational management.ICT could be the missing tool in improving efficiency of private secondary schools to cope with rapidly changingworld to effectively meet management tasks combined with flexibility in learning and administrative activitiesessential in enhancing efficiency in educational institutions. Little evidence explains effect of ICT in private secondaryschools management across the globe. The study investigated effects of ICT in management in private secondaryschools in Nairobi. A survey design was adopted with target population of 140 private schools and information wassourced from 40 principals, who were randomly sampled. The study found that the adoption of ICT is high in privateschools irrespective of curriculum offered. The use of ICT with schools having installed current hardware and softwarerequired for implementation of ICT strategy in management. Findings revealed that use of ICT is more in schools withhigher enrollment and having both day and boarding components. Uses of ICT enabled institutions achieveimprovements in financial, administrative and instruction management. In financial management 62.5% of schools hadautomated accounts, 71.9% payroll and 53.1% budgeting operations. In administrative management 68.75%automated stores, 56.25% students’ records and 62.50% staff records. In instructional management 53.10% automatedtimetabling, 84.30% examinations and 76.90% students’ progress reports. The study recommends regular training ofadministrators and staff on emerging technologies in school management, deliberate budgetary allocation to procurehardware and software to support ICT in management and government policy to implement ICT in management at alltiers of the economy.
Status of the Nile Monitor (Varanus niloticus) in Southwestern Florida

The Nile Monitor (Varanus niloticus), the longest lizard in Africa, was first observed in southwestern peninsular Florida in the Cape Coral area of Lee County ca. 1990. From April 2001 through 7 July 2003, we compiled 146 sightings or captures of this species by local residents or ourselves. Numerous individuals of all size classes have been observed or collected, suggesting the occurrence of a reproducing population. Although our records are mostly confined to Cape Coral, our data indicate that V. niloticus has recently expanded its range northwards and to nearby islands. Because this large lizard has the potential to disperse into nearby ecologically sensitive areas and preserves where it could pose a serious threat to waterbirds, burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia), sea turtles, and other native wildlife, population monitoring and eradication are warranted.
Climate governance after Copenhagen: research trends and policy practice

Climate change is unprecedented with respect to scale, severity and complexity. Like no other environmental problem it unsettles contemporary society and calls into question the ways in which we collectively have come to organize and conduct social and political life in the twentyfirst century. The elevated concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are intimately linked to the rise of industrial capitalism and are today fueled by globalized patterns of production, consumption and trade. While the causes and effects of humaninduced climate change are local and directly tied to everyday urban and rural life, the biogeochemical drivers of a changing climate are global and stretched out over long time periods. Given these complicated spatial and temporal dynamics, climate change has proven inherently difficult to govern. As the collective action problem par excellence, climate change has since the late 1980s spurred a plethora of stateled, private and hybrid governance activities across multiple jurisdictional, administrative and political levels. Although these activities currently are intensifying in scale and scope, we are regularly told that the political response to climate change remains inadequate. In October 2014, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that global greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, global mean temperatures are on the rise, glacial ice caps are melting and weather extremes are more frequent (IPCC 2014). Instead of limiting global mean warming to 2°C above preindustrial levels—a goal that today is endorsed by most political leaders—we may very well be heading towards a 4° or even 6°C world (IPCC 2014). In this Handbook we have brought together contributions from more than 50 of the world’s leading scholars of climate governance to take stock of the political response to climate change. We do so in a time when society is increasingly ‘climatechallenged’ (Dryzek et al. 2013) and diplomatic efforts to craft a forceful global response are intensifying. While none of the authors included in this Handbook question the severity or magnitude of the climate problem, they disagree on how to make political sense of this problem and how to devise effective and just solutions. Mirroring the heterogeneous and evolving practice of climate governance, this volume mobilizes a wide range of disciplinary and theoretical resources to discuss how the ‘wicked problem’ of climate change (Rittel and Webber 1973) is best governed. These diverse scholarly approaches range from grand theorizing to close empirical studies of micropolitical practices, and span the ideational and the material, the historical and the contemporary, the normative, empirical and the critical. No single volume can of course represent a synthesis of a rich and heterogeneous field in the making. The scholarship on climate governance has expanded dramatically in recent years and now engages with numerous theoretical traditions and
Marginalisation of men in family planning texts: An analysis of training manuals

Objective: Men’s engagement in family planning has become part of the global health agenda; however, little is known about the training manuals health practitioners’ use and how these manuals describe and explain men’s roles within a family planning context. Design: To further understand engagement, this paper examines how training manuals written for health practitioners describe and define men’s participation within family planning. Setting: The training manuals were written for UK health practitioners and covered men’s contributions to family planning. Method: Discourse analysis was used to examine the three training manuals focused upon. Results: Three main discourses were identified: ‘contraception is a woman’s responsibility’, ‘men disengage with health practitioners’ and ‘men are biologically predisposed to avoid sexual responsibility’. Conclusion: Together, these three discourses function to marginalise men in family planning, constructing them as detached accessories that lack the ability to engage.
Variability and potential sources of predictability of North American runoff

Understanding the space‐time variability of runoff has important implications for climate because of the linkage of runoff and evapotranspiration and is a practical concern as well for the prediction of drought and floods. In contrast to many studies investigating the space‐time variability of precipitation and temperature, there has been relatively little work evaluating climate teleconnections of runoff, in part because of the absence of data sets that lend themselves to commonly used techniques in climate analysis like principal components analysis. We examine the space‐time variability of runoff over North America using a 50‐year retrospective spatially distributed data set of runoff and other land surface water cycle variables predicted using a calibrated macroscale hydrology model, thus avoiding some shortcomings of past studies based more directly on streamflow observations. We determine contributions to runoff variability of climatic teleconnections, soil moisture, and snow for lead times up to a year. High and low values of these sources of predictability are evaluated separately. We identify patterns of runoff variability that are not revealed by direct analysis of observations, especially in areas of sparse stream gauge coverage. The presence of nonlinear relationships between large‐scale climate changes and runoff pattern variability, as positive and negative values of the large‐scale climate indices rarely show opposite teleconnections with a runoff pattern. Dry soil moisture anomalies have a stronger influence on runoff variability than wet soil. Snow, and more so soil moisture, in many locations enhance the predictability due to climatic teleconnections.
Household Demand and Willingness to Pay for Solid Waste Management Service in Tuobodom in the Techiman-North District, Ghana

The study was to examine whether respondents’ demographic characteristics (sex, age, educational level, income and employment) could affect the willingness to pay for waste management services in Tuobodom in the Techiman-North District of Ghana. The quota, systematic and convenience sampling techniques were employed in the selection of the 200 respondents. Even though many respondents demanded for improved waste management services, the study revealed that majority of the respondents (62%) were unwillingness to pay for the waste management services and 38% were willing to pay for waste services. The study observed illicit burning, open dumping of waste and lack of waste collection containers to receive refuse in the Tuobodom community which might be the reasons for their unwillingness to pay for improved waste management service. Probit analysis reveals that respondent’s socio-economic characteristics such as age, education, income and employment has no significant influence in the respondent’s willingness to pay for improved waste service. Based on the findings of this study, it is therefore recommended that the Techiman-North District Assembly should provide waste collection containers to receive waste generated to curb the menace of solid waste disposal that threatened the achievement of the seventh Millennium Development Goals.
Serum CA-125 in Ectopic Pregnancy

INTRODUCTION: Ectopic pregnancy remains a considerable cause of maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide (1,2,3) . Tubal ectopic pregnancies occur in 1-2% of pregnancies in the developed world and remain a leading cause of pregnancy-related first trimester deaths (2,4) . In the developing world, the incidence is much higher (5) . Currently it is diagnosed using a combination of transvaginal ultrasound and serial serum β-human chorionic gonadotrophin levels. Diagnosis is often delayed and these tests are timeconsuming and costly, both psychologically to the patient and financially to health services. The development of a biomarker that can differentiate a tubal ectopic from an intrauterine implantation is therefore important (3) . Over 20 serum biomarkers have been identified to date in an attempt to permit earlier diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy, the
Morphological analysis of breast cystic lesions in shear wave elastography

a great cause of concern in oncology, with high prevalence. Besides mammography, ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance imaging, elastography is an imaging technique recently developed and offers new breast imaging possibilities, mapping breast elasticity. The aim of our study was to evaluate the morphology of cystic breast lesions with special attention to quantification of Young moduli distribution and possible modification of the morphological elastographic score in breast lesions. Material and methods: Eighteen breast cystic lesions were evaluated in patients aged 26-55 (36.6 ±8.8) with sonography, shear wave elastography and fine needle biopsy. Results: All lesions were diagnosed as benign cysts. The difference between glandular tissue stiffness and cystic lesion residual stiffness was not statistically significant (p = 0.64). But comparing the cystic lesion with the area under the cyst and margin, the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001 and p = 0.025 respectively). The differences in stiffness heterogeneity between cyst and glandular tissue, margin and area under the cyst were significant (p < 0.001; p = 0.014; p = 0.017 respectively). The mean percentage of area within the lesion with detectable shear wave propagation was 61.6% (10-100%). The percentage of detectable propagation within the lesion negatively correlated with lesion volume (Rs = –0.65, p = 0.003). Also lesion elastographic heterogeneity correlated negatively with cyst volume (Rs = –0.53, p = 0.02). Conclusions: Shear wave elastography predicts breast cysts with characteristic morphology. Further research to compare it with malignant lesions is needed.
Removal of chromium (vi) in aqueous environments using cork and heat-treated cork samples from quercus cerris and quercus suber

Chromium (VI) removal and its reduction to chromium (III) from aqueous solution by untreated and heat-treated Quercus cerris and heat-treated Quercus suber black agglomerate cork granules was investigated. Initial screening studies revealed that among the sorbents tested, untreated Q. cerris and Q. suber black agglomerate are the most efficient in the removal of Cr(VI) ions and were selected for adsorption essays. Heat treatment adversely affected chromium adsorption and chromium (VI) reduction in Q. cerris cork. The highest metal uptake was found at pH 3.0 for Q. cerris and pH 2.0 for black agglomerate. The experimental data fitted the Langmuir model and the calculated qmax was 22.98 mg/g in black agglomerate and 21.69 mg/g in untreated Q. cerris cork. The FTIR results indicated that while in black agglomerate, lignin is the sole component responsible for Cr(VI) sorption, and in untreated Q. cerris cork, suberin and polysaccharides also play a significant role on the sorption. The SEM-EDX results imply that chromium has a homogenous distribution within both cork granules. Also, phloemic residues in Q. cerris granules showed higher chromium concentration. The results obtained in this study show that untreated Q. cerris and black agglomerate cork granules can be an effective and economical alternative to more costly materials for the treatment of liquid wastes containing chromium.
The Evolution Of The Greek Urban Centers: 1951-2011

The aim of this paper is to study the evolution of urban hierarchies and the nature of urban growth processes in Greece from 1951 to 2011 using data provided by the Greek Statistical Authority. The paper delivers three series of results: firstly, when using an administrative definition of the city, the Greek cities converge towards a middle city-size population; secondly, when taking into account spatial dependence, the sizes of Greek cities still converge but this movement starts in the middle of the period, after 1981. In both cases, the preeminence of the Athens agglomeration slowly decreases; finally, the paper delivers evidence concerning the changes that affect urban demographical trends in Greece over the last decade. These changes can be related to the economic crisis and the profound socioeconomic upheaval that Greece has undergone since the beginning of the 21st century.
Vajinal Doğum Ve Sezaryen Doğum Yapan Gebelerin Durumluk Kaygı Düzeylerinin Karşılaştırılması

Dogum, fizyolojik bir olay olmakla beraber, dogurganlik donemi kadinlar icin psikolojik kaygilar acisindan yuksek riskli bir donemdir. Bu calisma, vajinal ve sezaryen dogum yapan gebelerde antepartum ve postpartum donemde durumluk kaygi duzeyinin karsilastirilmasi amaciyla yapilan tanimlayici bir calismadir. Bu calisma, Ege Universitesi Hastanesi Dogumhanesine Ocak-Mart 2012 tarihlerinde vajinal ya da sezaryen dogum yapan 200 kadin alinmistir. Calismada veri toplama araci olarak sosyodemografik ve dogurganlik bilgileri iceren tanilama formu ve Spielberger Durumluk Kaygi Olcegi kullanilmistir. Verilerin analizinde; yuzdelik, t testi, ki-kare ve korelasyon kullanilmistir. Vajinal dogum yapan gebelerin %45’i 24-29 yas araliginda olup sezaryen dogum yapan gebelerin %39’u 30-35 yas araligindadir. Ayrica gebelerin %50’si vajinal dogum ve %50’si sezaryen dogum yapmistir. Gebelerin dogum yontemine gore durumluk kaygi puan ortalamalari incelendiginde; vajinal ve sezaryen dogum yapacak iki grupta da antepartum donemde yuksek kaygi puan ortalamasi belirlenirken (sirasiyla X=48.88±11.61, X=46.75±12.32), postpartum donemde kaygi puan ortalamasinin azaldigi saptanmistir (sirasiyla X=29.20±7.21, X=30.38±7.89). Dogum yontemi ile antepartum ve postpartum donemdeki kaygi durumu arasinda istatistiksel olarak anlamli bir fark bulunmamaktadir (p>0.05). Calismanin sonucunda, antepartum donemde kayginin her iki grupta da postpartum donemdeki kaygidan daha yuksek oldugu ve vajinal dogum yapanlar ile sezaryen dogum yapanlarin kaygi duzeylerinin benzer oldugu saptanmistir. Saglik profesyonellerine antepartum takipler ve eylem suresince gebe kadinlari doguma hazirlama ve dogum kaygilarinin azaltilmasinda onemli gorevler dusmektedir.