Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of nitrogen, Azospirillum sp. and farmyard manure on growth, yield and inci- dence of stem gall disease in coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.)

The influence of Azospirillum sp. (biofertilizer), nitrogen fertilizer, farmyard manure and theircombinations on coriander (Coriandrum sativum), was studied at Ajmer (Rajasthan). Azospirillum sp. inoculation along with nitrogen and farmyard manure increased plant heightand number of primary branches plant-1 as compared to Azospirillum sp. alone and absolutecontrol. Number of umbels plant-1 and number of grains umbel-1 increased significantlywhen Azospirillum sp. was applied in combination with 100% nitrogen + 5 t farmyard ma-nure, 75% nitrogen + 5 t farmyard manure and 50% nitrogen + 5 t farmyard manure ha-1.Higher seed yield was recorded in Azospirillum sp. + 100% nitrogen + 5 t farmyard manure(10.8 q ha-1) followed by Azospirillum sp. + 75% nitrogen + 5 t farmyard manure (10.2 q ha-1)and Azospirillum sp. + 50% nitrogen + 5 t farmyard manure ha-1 (9.7 qha-1). The use ofAzospirillum sp. + 50% nitrogen + 5 t farmyard manure ha-1 was the most economical treat-ment for obtaining higher seed yield. The Azospirillum sp. treatment combinations also re-duced the incidence of the seed-borne stem gall disease of coriander.
An Introduction to Fungal Biotechnology

Production Techniques Used in Fungal Biotechnology. The Production of Biochemicals by Fungi. Fungi in Medical Biotechnology. Novel Industrial Uses for Fungi. Fungi in Environmental Biotechnology. Fungi as Agents of Biodeterioration and Biodegradation. Fungi in the Food Industry. Fungi in Agricultural Biotechnology. Biotechnology and the Control of Pathogenic Fungi. Postscript: Some of the Most Recent Applications of Fungal Biotechnology. Index.
Robust Sensor Suite Combined With Predictive Analytics Enabled Anomaly Detection Model for Smart Monitoring of Concrete Sewer Pipe Surface Moisture Conditions

Globally, the water industry considers microbial induced corrosion of concrete sewer pipes as a serious problem. There are reported analytical models and data analytic models that are used to predict the rate of corrosion throughout the sewer network. Those models incorporate surface moisture conditions of concrete sewer pipes as observations. Due to the unavailability of sensors to monitor concrete sewer surface moisture conditions, water utilities use surrogate measures such as relative humidity of the air as an observation for the model. Hence, the corrosion predictions are often hampered and associated with prediction uncertainties. In this context, this paper presents the development and successful evaluation of an electrical resistivity based sensor suite for estimating the surface moisture conditions of concrete sewer pipes. The sensor was deployed inside a municipal sewer pipe of Sydney city, Australia to carry out field measurements. The post-deployment study revealed the survival of the sensing system under hostile sewer conditions and demonstrated their suitability for long-term monitoring inside sewer pipes. Besides sensor development, a predictive analytics model was proposed for anomaly detection. The model incorporates a forecasting approach using a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average technique for anomaly detection. The model was evaluated using the sensor data and results demonstrated its effective performance. Overall, the proposed sensor suite can ameliorate the way water utilities monitor sewer pipe corrosion.
ASEAN countries CG disclosure practices: a comparative analysis of one-tier and two-tier board structures

Study focal point is to access the influence of CEO characteristics and audit quality on disclosure quality in the comparison between one-tier and two-tier board structures. Tobit regression model with the random effect is used to access influence on disclosure quality by using the sample of 200 non-financial firms of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore for the period from FY 2011 to FY 2015. The study empirically analyses the various characteristics of one and two-tier board structures. Findings of the study observe CEO dual role inversely and audit committee expertise directly impact disclosure quality for both structures. Further, observed audit committee size and firm size directly impact disclosure quality for one-tier structure and CEO age and leverage inversely impact two-tier structure. Finally, CEO tenure, audit quality and audit committee independence having no impact on disclosure quality for both board structure.
Toxicity of seven acaricides to teranychid and phytoseiid mites in apple orchards and under laboratory conditions.

The tox1c1ty of seven acaricides (abamectin, amitraz, azocyclotin, fenbutatin oxide, propargi~e, pyrimidifin and spirodiclofen) to Tetranychus urticae Koch, Panonychus ulmi Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) and the predatory phytoseiid mites (Neoseiulus fallacis German and Typhlodromus cotoneastri Wainstein) was evaluated in both laboratory and apple orchards in two different sites on the Syrian Coast (ShakriehLattakia and Premmant El-MasheikTartous). All tested acaricides were highly toxic to T.urticae and P.ulmi, except spirodiclofen, which was slightly to moderately toxic after lday, and moderately to highly toxic after 7 days in field. For the phytoseiid mites; amitraz, azocyclotin and pyrimidifin were highly toxic in laboratory and field, abamectin was moderately toxic in both laboratory and field, fenbutatin oxide was moderately toxic in laboratory and non-toxic in field, propargite was moderately toxic in laboratory and slightly toxic in field, and spirodiclofen was slightly toxic in laboratory and non toxic in field.
Effectiveness and safety of exercise training and rehabilitation in pulmonary hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a chronic progressive disease characterized by increasing pulmonary vascular resistance, poor prognosis and high disability rate. Although many targeted drugs for PH have been put to clinical use, most patients still have poor exercise tolerance and quality of life. Exercise training is considered to further improve exercise capacity and quality of life in patients with PH, but it has not been fully studied and utilized. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of exercise training in patients with PH. Methods A search was conducted for the meta-analysis using the databases PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, including literature published before December 2018. The primary outcome of this meta-analysis was a change in the 6-minute walk distance (6MWD). In addition, peak oxygen uptake (PeakVO2), resting pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASPrest), resting heart rate (HRrest), peak exercise heart rate (HRpeak), oxygen uptake anaerobic threshold (VO2 at AT), maximum workload and quality of life (QoL) were also assessed. Results A total of 651 patients in 17 studies were included. A meta-analysis showed that exercise training was associated with significant improvement in the 6MWD [weighted mean difference (WMD): 64.75 m (95% CI: 53.19–76.31 m, P<0.001)], peakVO2 [WMD: 1.78 mL/min/kg (95% CI: 1.27–2.29 mL/min/kg, P<0.001)], HRpeak [WMD: 11.07 beats/min (95% CI: 8.04–14.11 beats/min, P<0.001)] and QoL measured by SF-36 questionnaire subscale scores. Furthermore, exercise training is well tolerated, and no major adverse event occurred related to exercise training. Conclusions Exercise training is associated with a significant improvement in exercise capacity, cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life among patients with PH and proved to be safe for stable PH patients with optimization of medical therapy. However, more large-scale multicenter studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness and safety of exercise training in patients with PH.
Regulation of the metabolism of the Alzheimer's amyloid precursor protein by contactin 5 and BIN1

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive form of dementia, which currently has no cure. The metabolism of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) is an important determinant in the development of AD. APP is proteolytically processed either in the amyloidogenic pathway, generating the AD-causing amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide, or in the non-amyloidogenic pathway which prevents the generation of Aβ. The role of four different proteins, BIN1, contactin 5, neurofascin and Thy-1, in the regulation of APP proteolytic processing was investigated. Contactin 5, neurofascin and Thy-1 have been shown to interact with APP, whereas BIN1 has been genetically related to AD by genome-wide association studies. Over-expression of each protein in cell lines showed that BIN1 and contactin 5, but not neurofascin or Thy-1, regulate the production of Aβ. Contactin 5 over-expression prevented Aβ generation by inhibiting cleavage of APP by the γ-secretase. Western blots of human brain samples showed that contactin 5 levels in the brain are not altered during aging or in AD. BIN1 over-expression decreased APP levels, and decreased Aβ, whereas BIN1 knockdown increased APP, suggesting that BIN1 redirects APP from processing in the amyloidogenic pathway to a compartment of the cell where it is degraded. BIN1 did not alter either Aβ uptake, or the endocytosis or cell surface levels of APP. BIN1 levels were shown to be reduced in the brain during aging and in AD. This has led to the hypothesis that during aging and AD, BIN1 levels decrease, so more APP is trafficked into the amyloidogenic pathway rather than being degraded, resulting in more Aβ generation so increasing the risk of developing AD. This is the first time a mechanism for the role of BIN1 in AD has been suggested.
Adding Value to a Field‐Based Course with a Science Communication Module on Local Perceptions of Climate Change

Field courses, while generally considered as beneficial for students, are challenging to implement and can lead to strained relationships between local residents and visiting scientists. Thus, it is critical to both maximize the educational value of field courses and help students develop contextualized science communication skills. We report on the development of a science communication module, integrated into an existing field- based ecology course, which aims to add value to an international field course enrolling students from multiple countries. Specifically, students surveyed local residents about their knowledge and perceptions of climate change, and then discussed their findings.
The Influence of Auditor’s Reputation and Underwriter’s Reputation to Underpricing Shares When Initial Public Offering

—Underpricing is an initial public offering phenomenon that often occurs in the capital market. This study aims to obtain empirical evidence about the influence of auditor reputation and underwriter reputation on underpricing of shares. The population in this study are all companies that go public in Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2013-2017. The research method used is basic research with sample selection using purposive sampling method. The sample used in this research is 94 samples. The data of sample is using idx fact book and prospectus published on www.idx. co.id. This research uses multiple linear regression analysis and classical assumption test include descriptive statistic, normality test, multicollinearity test, autocorrelation test, and heteroscedasticity test. T test (partial test) were used to test the research hypothesis. The results of this research showed that the reputation of auditors and underwriter reputation proved to be significant on underpricing of share.
Gender-biased public perception of STEM fields, focusing on the influence of egalitarian attitudes toward gender roles

Many studies have examined the impression that the general public has of science and how this can prevent girls from choosing science fields. Using an online questionnaire, we investigated whether the public perception of several academic fields was gender-biased in Japan. First, we found the gender-bias gap in public perceptions was largest in nursing and mechanical engineering. Second, people who have a low level of egalitarian attitudes toward gender roles perceived that nursing was suitable for women. Third, people who have a low level of egalitarian attitudes perceived that many STEM fields are suitable for men. This suggests that gender-biased perceptions toward academic fields can still be found in Japan. Abstract
Digital pop-ups: studying digital pop-ups and theorising digital pop-up pedagogies for preschools

ABSTRACT Whilst a lot is known about the digital environments of preschools, less is understood about the emerging digital pedagogies of teachers. This paper presents the findings of a cultural-historical study of pedagogical practices of teachers as they implemented a digitally enhanced play-based programme where the MyCreate app was used to make an animation of a fairytale. Over a period of 5.4 weeks, digital observations (27.3 h) of 5 teachers and their 31 children (aged 3.4–5.5 years; mean age of 4.4 years) were undertaken. The central findings capture both the existing practices found in the literature and a new practice named as a digital pop-up. The microgenetic analysis identified that the same digital pop-up afforded very different actions by the teacher to realise the goal for making a digital animation. It is argued that the new digital pop-up needs new pedagogies where teachers act as co-actors, co-animators, co-directors with sensitivities around person and digital intersubjectivity, virtual-concrete combination; virtual designing; stimulating digital motive; digital authenticity; pop-up digital area; digital imaginary situations. A digital pop-up is purposefully oriented towards the goals of preschool education and its original institutional structure, but in ways that capture the digital dynamic world of the young child.
Effect of ZnO Nanoparticles on Cement Mortar for Enhancing the Physico-Chemical, Mechanical and Related Properties

Zincoxide nanoparticles have been incorporated into the cementitious materials for enhancing their physico-chemical and mechanical properties. The decrease in particle size will leads the increase in surface to volume ratio as compared to conventional micro-particles. In this investigation to evaluate physical, chemical and mechanical properties of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) containing zinc oxide nanoparticles. Zinc oxide nanoparticles used with replacement of various properties such as 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% by weight with ordinary Portland cement. The ordinary Portland cement mortar, nano zincoxide cement mortars prepared with the water-binder ratio (w/b ratio) as 0.4 and cement-sand ratio as 1:3 by weight. The prepared mortars are analyzed through compressive strength, setting time, flexural strength, porosity, water absorption, sulphate attack, electrical resistivity and with SEM analysis. The setting time of zinc oxide nano particle significantly decreased and enhanced the compressive strength of Portland cement mortar. The flexural strength outcomes showed that the cement mortars with zinc oxide nanoparticle were higher rather than Portland cement mortar. Microstructure of mortar contained zinc oxide nano particles illustrate that the nano zinc oxide particles filled the pores significantly and so large size of calcium hydroxide crystals reduced afterwards more hydration products formed.
Association of Acid-Base Balance in the Renal Proximal Tubule and Blood Pressure Alterations: Potential Role of Local Mediators

Disturbances in acid-base balance leading to the development of hypertension are currently gaining increased attention among researchers. Perturb acid-base balance characterized by metabolic acidosis has been demonstrated in hypertensive animals and humans. Research suggests that acid-base changes are not only the consequences of elevated blood pressure but can precede the development of hypertension. However, no exact mechanism has been identified to link acid-base imbalance with alterations in blood pressure. The kidney proximal tubule is the major site for maintaining normal bicarbonate concentrations which is an important component of acid-base balance. Acid-base transporter proteins in the renal proximal tubule such as Na+/HCO-3 cotransporters, Na+/H+ exchangers, and anion-exchangers play important roles in controlling acid secretion, ammonia production and bicarbonate reabsorption for maintaining acid-base balance. It is well known that sodium retention in the renal tubules leads to increase in blood volume and consequently increases in blood pressure. Therefore, it is the purpose of this review to discuss the role of sodium-coupled acid-base transporters in regulating proximal tubular sodium retention and controlling blood pressure homeostasis. We will also focus on the capacity of local mediators; angiotensin II, cortisol, prosta-glandin and aldosterone, to regulate acid-base and blood pressure homeostasis.
Genetics of Cone Morphology of Black Spruce [Picea-mariana (Mill). B. S. P.] in Newfoundland Canada

The paper presents the results of a study conducted to determine the relative role of genotypic and environmental control over characters of cone morphology and seed weight in black spruce (Picea mariana (MILL.) B.S.P.) A three-stage cluster sampling scheme was adopted with the sampling stages of populations, trees within populations and cones within trees. Nine characters of cone morphology were measured on each cone and mean 1,000-seed weight was determined for each tree. Statistical analyses comprised (1) calculation of popula­ tion means and standard deviations for each character, (2) cone length-cone diameter correlations at the populations and tree levels, (3) hierarchical analyses of variance and (4) comparison of the cone length-cone diameter correlations with similar values obtained six years earlier. Genetic ana­ lyses consisted of (1) calculation of repeatibility with stand­ ard error and confidence limits for each character at the population level as estimates of heritability; and (2) multiple regression analysis for each character. The latter was con­ ducted using the stepwise zig-zag procedure with cone character as the dependent variable and 12 environmental factors together with their squares and first order inter­ actions as independent variables to identify the subset which contributes most to the variation in the character. Though the means and repeatabilities of all characters vary with populations, no geographic trends can be dis­ cerned. Repeatability values have been shown to be good estimates of heritability. All characters are under statisti­ cally significant genotypic as well as environmental con­ trol and the most important subset of the latter has been identified. Cone length, diameter, and oven dry weight as well as dimensions of the middle scale are under strong, and length and width of the base and tip scale, under weak genotypic control. The earlier indications of pleiotropic control over cone length and diameter is supported. Seed weight is under weak environmental control.
Temperature effect on free vibration response of a smart multifunctional sandwich plate

A smart multifunctional sandwich plate with a wide range of applications can be produced by proper arrangement of its layers. This paper offers a smart multifunctional sandwich plate with one central lightweight porous layer, two middle polymer/graphene nanocomposite layers and two active faces made of a piezoceramic material. The coupled effects of temperature conditions and piezoelectric behavior on the natural frequencies of the proposed smart multifunctional sandwich plate located on elastic foundations have been studied in the current research. For the dispersions of graphene particles and pores inside host layers, different functional profiles have been considered. Moreover, graphene particles and polymeric materials with temperature-dependent material properties have been adopted. The mechanical properties of polymer/graphene nanocomposite are evaluated by employing Halpin-Tsai approach which is modified to capture nanoscale effects. Eventually, the coupled governing eigenvalue equations of the proposed smart multifunctional sandwich plate are derived using a third-order theory called TSDT and are studied by a developed meshless solution. In addition, the effects of graphene, porosity, geometric and foundation aspects on the natural frequency of the proposed smart multifunctional sandwich plate are studied. The results disclose that the natural frequencies of the proposed smart multifunctional sandwich plates are improved by embedding pores in core layer due to the remarkable reduction of structural weight. It is worth noting that nanocomposite layers can completely compensate the structural stiffness reduction caused by embedding pores in the core.
Segmentasi Citra Menggunakan Metode Watershed Transform Berdasarkan Image Enhancement Dalam Mendeteksi Embrio Telur

Image processing dapat diterapkan dalam proses deteksi embrio telur. Proses deteksi embrio telur dilakukan dengan menggunakan proses segmentasi, yang membagi citra sesuai dengan daerah yang dibagi. Proses ini memerlukan perbaikan citra yang diproses untuk memperoleh hasil optimal. Penelitian ini akan menganalisis deteksi embrio telur berdasarkan image processing dengan image enhancement dan konsep segmentasi menggunakan metode watershed transform. Image enhacement pada preprocessing dalam perbaikan citra menggunakan kombinasi metode Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) dan Histogram Equalization (HE). Citra grayscale telur diperbaiki dengan menggunakan metode CLAHE, dan hasilnya diproses kembali dengan menggunakan HE. Hasil perbaikan citra menunjukkan bahwa metode kombinasi CLAHE-HE memberikan gambar secara jelas daerah objek citra telur yang memiliki embrio. Proses segmentasi dengan menggunakan konversi citra ke citra hitam putih dan segmentasi watershed mampu menunjukkan secara jelas objek telur ayam yang memiliki embrio. Hasil segmentasi mampu membagi daerah telur memiliki embrio secara nyata dan akurat dengan persentase sebesar » 98%.
Shifting Teaching and Learning in Online Learning Spaces: An Investigation of a Faculty Online Teaching and Learning Initiative

We examined the adoption of online teaching strategies by faculty members at a large midwestern research university who participated in a year-long learning community. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to investigate changes in teaching approaches resulting from a year-long e-learning professional development initiative; and 2) to understand the perceptions of factors that influenced faculty members’ decision to adopt online or hybrid teaching approaches. The analysis was based on survey data and semi-structured interviews. Barriers, challenges, and successes to the adoption of online teaching strategies are also described in this article.