Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of different methods of seedbed preparation on irrigated canola yield after corn in North West Iran

One of the major problems that farmers in the Northwest of Iran contend with after the corn harvest for mechanized cultivation of canola is lack of time and soil moisture over prepared seedbed. Consequently, the effects of five different seedbed preparation methods were analyzed, namely; T1: moldboard plows (conventional tillage), T2: stalk shredder followed by chisel and disk, T3: stalk shredder followed by double-disc, T4: chisel followed by disk and T5: two heavy disk tillage using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. Results showed that the soil bulk density in the 0 to 10 cm layer had nosignificant effect, but the 10 to 20 cm depth was significantly higher than the conventional tillage. However,penetration resistance in 10 to 30 cm under T5 was significantly higher than others. Thus, comparison of the soil bulk density, penetration resistance, and plant establishment showed that reduced tillage in canola seedbed preparation was effective. Besides, the surveys indicated that there was significant difference between mean weight diameter (MWD) after primary and secondary tillage and the MWD’s under T2, T3 and T5 were 1.18, 1.01 and 1.22, respectively lower than T1 with 2.06. Maximum plant height and grain yield were obtained under T2, 117.12 cm and 2941.50 kg ha-1, respectively. Therefore, T2 was recommended as the time limitation on rapeseed bed preparation after corn, due to higher speed of operation and lower cost. Key words: Corn residues, cone index, reduce tillage and yield of canola.
Effect of Cold Work on the Thermal Conductivity of Copper

Measurements were made of the thermal conductivity of each of five samples of copper rod which had been strained to different degrees by cold drawing. The measured thermal conductivity of the most highly strained sample (drawn to 50 per cent reduction of area) was about 11 per cent lower than that of annealed material.The flow of heat through a stationary metal-to-metal joint is inhibited by the reduced conductivities of the plastically deformed surface asperities forming the real contact points within the joint. The complex straining processes involved in the mating of asperities make it difficult to predict quantitatively the overall effect on a joint's conductance, but the reduced thermal conductivities may be partially responsible for the very low joint conductances previously attributed to changes in metal ‘hardness’.
Distribution of Large and Small Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons in Common Marmosets

The aim of this study was to elucidate the size and distribution of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in non-human primates and to compare them with those of rodent DRG neurons. By measuring the size of NeuN-, NF200-, and peripherin-positive DRG neurons in the lumbar spinal cord of rats and marmosets, we found that the cell size distribution pattern was comparable in both species, although DRG neurons in marmosets were larger than those of rodents. This is the first demonstration that DRG neurons in marmosets have a bimodal size distribution, which has been well established in rodents and humans.
Broadband Optical Properties of Atomically Thin PtS2 and PtSe2

Noble transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as PtS2 and PtSe2 show significant potential in a wide range of optoelectronic and photonic applications. Noble TMDCs, unlike standard TMDCs such as MoS2 and WS2, operate in the ultrawide spectral range from ultraviolet to mid-infrared wavelengths; however, their properties remain largely unexplored. Here, we measured the broadband (245–3300 nm) optical constants of ultrathin PtS2 and PtSe2 films to eliminate this gap and provide a foundation for optoelectronic device simulation. We discovered their broadband absorption and high refractive index both theoretically and experimentally. Based on first-principle calculations, we also predicted their giant out-of-plane optical anisotropy for monocrystals. As a practical illustration of the obtained optical properties, we demonstrated surface plasmon resonance biosensors with PtS2 or PtSe2 functional layers, which dramatically improves sensor sensitivity by 60 and 30%, respectively.
Bystanders of Politics? Examining the Political Portrait of Chinese Videogame Players

ABSTRACT This research aimed to understand whether Chinese videogame players are unconcerned and disconnected from politics. Based on a survey conducted with 468 participants, our results showed that the frequency of videogame playing and game community involvement positively predicted political interest, overall political efficacy, and political participation. The results also supported the mediating effect of political interest and efficacy. In general, the current study refutes the stigmatization of Chinese videogame players as being bystanders of politics, highlighting the potential of videogames as political socialization agents. Implications are discussed along with suggestions for further research.
Long non-coding RNA CERS6-AS1 plays a prognostic role in promoting the progression of gastric cancer

ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate the potential clinical function of long non-coding RNA CERS6-AS1 (lncRNA CERS6-AS1) integrated miR-567 in gastric cancer. The expression of CERS6-AS1 in gastric cancer tissues was detected through RT-qPCR in contrast to the normal tissues. The correlation between the expression of lncRNA CERS6-AS1 and the characteristics of clinical data was analyzed. Kaplan-Meier curve was used to assess the survival analysis, while Cox proportional hazards model multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic risk factors of gastric cancer to verify the prognostic possibility of CERS6-AS1. The expression of CERS6-AS1 in different gastric cancer cells was detected, being the development of gastric cancer cells after knockdown CERS6-AS1 studied using CCK-8, Transwell migration, and invasion detection methods. The targeting effect and interaction between CERS6-AS1 and miR-567 through biological analysis and luciferase activity detection. The expression of lncRNA CERS6-AS1 was elevated in gastric cancer tissues and cells. The results of this study demonstrate that the condition of gastric cancer patients was related to the expression of CERS6-AS1, and therefore CERS6-AS1 might be a prognostic factor for the progression of gastric cancer. In addition, the ability of gastric cancer cells to proliferate, migrate and invade could be reduced by knockdown CERS6-AS1. After CERS6-AS1 knockdown, the expression level of miR-567 in gastric cancer tissues decreased, while the expression level of miR-567 increased. In conclusion, lncRNA CERS6-AS1 might promote the progression of gastric cancer and had the potential as a prognostic marker of gastric cancer.
Incidence of Kidney Stones in the United States: The Continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Purpose: The incidence of kidney stones in the United States is currently unknown. Here, we assessed the incidence of kidney stones using recent, nationally representative data. Materials and Methods: We used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2015 to 2018. During this time participants were asked, “Have you ever had a kidney stone? ” and “In the past 12 months, have you passed a kidney stone? ” Demographics analyzed include age, race, gender, body mass index, history of smoking, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and gout. Multivariable models were used to assess the independent impact of subject characteristics on kidney stone prevalence and incidence. Results: Data were available on 10,521 participants older than age 20. The prevalence of kidney stones was 11.0% (95% CI 10.1–12.0). The 12-month incidence of kidney stones was 2.1% (95% CI 1.5–2.7), or 2,054 stones per 100,000 adults. We identified significant relationships between stone incidence and subject age, body mass index, race and history of hypertension. Conclusions: Here we find a substantially higher 12-month incidence of kidney stones than previous reports. We also validate known risk factors for stone prevalence as associated with incidence. The remarkable incidence and prevalence of stones is concerning and has implications for disease prevention and allocation of medical resources.
Benchmarking Water Use and Developing Strategies for Water Conservation in Swine Production Operations

The overall goal of the study was to reduce water consumption in swine operations to mitigate impact on water resources and to reduce production costs. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify water conservation strategies that can be adopted in swine operations, followed by a benchmark survey to determine current rate of water use in hog production operations in Saskatchewan. The comprehensive literature search showed that limited published work on innovative water conservation strategies that can lead to significant reduction in water use in swine barn operations is available. The benchmark survey revealed that there is a wide range of water usage and costs of water incurred per pig among barns which indicated significant opportunities to improve their water use efficiency and reduce costs. Various categories of existing conservation strategies were identified from the literature and from the survey, of which animal drinking and cleaning were identified as the top two areas where potential water savings can be achieved. Evaluation of selected conservation measures involving animal drinkers and different cleaning procedures were done in selected rooms at the barn facility of PSCI. Results indicated that relative to conventional nipple drinkers, the use of a drinking trough with side panel and constant water level saved significant amount of water through reduced water wastage without adversely affecting pig performance. High pressure washing using a conventional nozzle led to lesser time and water consumption during the cleaning process compared to other commercially-available nozzles. Further studies are needed to evaluate the performance of these water conservation measures in the other stages of production (i.e., breeding, farrowing, nursery) in order to provide a comprehensive economic analysis for the entire barn.
Assessing the Perceived Usefulness of Accounting Information in Albania

This study attempts to provide a general overview on the use of accounting information in Albania. An extensive use of accounting information by different stakeholders would be a testimony of the quality and reliability of accounting information, but the opposite would indicate otherwise calling for improvement in the area of financial reporting. Data are collected by means of a questionnaire. All respondents are certified accountants, members of the biggest and most prominent-certified accountants association in Albania. The questionnaire reveals that in general accounting, information is not heavily used neither by entities’ management nor by other users. Surprisingly, users of accounting information that are closest to the entity use it very little or not at all, raising big questions on the quality and trustworthiness of accounting information. The study is just an initial assessment of the perceived usefulness of accounting information in Albania. The questionnaire is addressed to certified accountants who answer on behalf of their client companies. The study investigates the usefulness of accounting information as perceived by various stakeholders in Albania. Even though this is a well-researched topic worldwide, to the knowledge of the authors there are no such studies in Albania.
Implications of COVID-19 on the Loneliness of Older Adults in Residential Care Homes

With little understandings on the loneliness of older adults in residential care homes structured by social contact restrictions, the provision of person-centered care was jeopardized during the pandemic. This study employed hermeneutic phenomenology to explore the lived experiences of loneliness of this population during a 5-month period of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted unstructured face-to-face interviews with 15 older adults living in seven residential care homes. Thematic analysis was guided by Van Manen’s approach. The essence of loneliness was uncovered as “A deprived sense of self-significance in a familiar world contributes to older adult’s disconnection with prior commitments. ” A sub-theme “From collapse to dissolution of self-understanding” revealed how COVID-19 structured their loneliness. Another sub-theme, “Restoring meanings by establishing connections with entities” illustrated the ways to mitigate loneliness during the pandemic. Activities fostering alternative self-interpretation are important to protect older adults against loneliness.
Bank Performance and Board of Directors Characteristics in the Context of Bangladeshi Islamic Banks

This study focuses on investigating how bank performance is being impacted by BOD characteristics, Investment Account Holders (IAHS), and contribution to the society in the context of the Islamic Banking sector in Bangladesh for the period 2008-17. This study used only six Islamic banks' data in Bangladesh during 2008-17, and those banks are full-fledged Islamic banks. A generalized least squares (GLS) regression model has been used for this study. The empirical results show that ROA and ROE are significant, and the result shows Board size has an insignificant positive effect on ROA but the negative effect on ROE. That indicates the BODs are not selected based on their expertise and experience in Islamic banks. The result also shows that a smaller board can make quick decisions and monitoring performance effectively, and creating value. Besides that, the separation of CEO and chairman roles and the IAHs have no effect, while the chairman independence has a positive impact. As for the control variables, bank size positively influences bank performance, whereas leverage negatively affects performance. Zakah and gross domestic product produce no significant effect on bank performance.
Walker-256 Tumour-Induced Cachexia Altered Liver Metabolomic Profile and Function in Weanling and Adult Rats

Cancer cachexia occurs in up to 85% of advanced cancer patients, affecting different tissues and organs, mainly the liver, which plays a central role in body metabolism control. However, liver responses to cancer cachexia progression are still poorly understood. Considering the possible different challenges provided by the rodent’s phase of life and the cachexia progression, we evaluated the liver metabolic alterations affected by Walker-256 tumour growth in weanling and young-adult rats. For this, we applied a metabolomics approach associated with protein and gene expression analyses. Higher amino acid levels and impaired glucose metabolism were important features in tumour-bearing animals’ liver tissue. The weanling hosts had more pronounced cachexia, with higher carcass spoliation, liver lipid metabolism and impaired CII and CIV mitochondrial complexes. The liver alterations in young adult tumour-bearing rats were related to energy status and nucleotide metabolites, such as uridine, NAD+, xanthosine, hypoxanthine and inosine. In conclusion, the Walker-256 tumour-induced cachexia impaired liver metabolism, being more severe in the weanling hosts. Further studies are needed to correlate these changes in the preclinical model, which can be correlated to the clinical features of cancer cachexia, allowing for a translational potential involving the liver function and its responses to potential treatments.
Contact Stress Distributions on Elliptical Contact Surfaces Subjected to Radial and Tangential Forces

The problem of Hertzian bodies in rolling contact and supporting radial and shearing forces in the rolling direction is considered.A modified form of the conventional photoelastic frozen stress technique has been used to study the particular case of flat elliptical contact surfaces. Existing theories are reviewed and new theories are presented which permit the analysis of the frozen stress results. The dependence of the measured stresses on the hysteresis of rolling is studied.
Challenges of Water Policy Involvement of the Community in the East Coast River Basin of Thailand

Water policy-making requires the dedicated involvement of all stakeholders, but difficulties remain for the community sector. This study aims to examine the critical challenges of community involvement in water policy decision-making in Thailand. Both qualitative and quantitative methods used in this research project consisted of 39 interviews with informants from a variety of interested parties and 403 community members from around the East Coast River Basin in Thailand completing a survey questionnaire. The results have shown that although mechanisms to enable community involvement in decision-making, such as public consultation and water-related committees, exist, problems remain within the community sector. The critical challenges lie in the opportunities of being consulted and the sharing of power in water policy-making. Although the networks are important, at the same time, they are also obstructing the community sectors in linking their requirements to a final decision, as well as dealing with politics, policy-makers, and staff who organized the process. Therefore, the government should further develop water committee mechanisms by setting up a comprehensive yet practically easy consultation process so that new or inexperienced community members get an opportunity to practice and learn the vital elements necessary in water policy-making. Further research should be conducted in order to compare the opportunities in water decision-making between communities in rural and urban areas. Studies at the local government level should be carried out, with results used as a mechanism to enable community involvement at higher levels of water policy decision-making.
Dynamic characterizations of underwater structures using non-contact vibration test based on nanosecond laser ablation in water: investigation of cavitation bubbles by visualizing shockwaves using the Schlieren method

A pulsed-laser ablation method for non-contact experimental vibration analysis of completely submerged underwater structures is proposed. Although impact testing with an impulse hammer is commonly used for vibration analysis due to its simplicity, impact testing has limited use in underwater conditions. An input-detection-free frequency response function measurement in water will greatly contribute to the development of high-precision and high-speed positioning autonomous underwater vehicles, underwater vehicle-manipulators, underwater robots, submarines, etc., which are used in dangerous conditions (e.g., deep oceans, under ice, and nuclear reactor plants). To achieve these high-performance underwater systems, vibrations due to hydrodynamic parameters (such as added mass, buoyant force, drag force, and damping coefficient) should be suppressed, and vibration tests should be conducted on the actual equipment submerged in water. The proposed method yields the frequency response function by applying a pulsed-laser-ablation excitation force to an underwater structure and measuring the output using a laser Doppler vibrometer. Because the direction, strength, and effective duration of the pulsed-laser-ablation force are essentially constant, this force can be estimated by measuring these properties in advance. Hence, the proposed method realizes input-detection-free frequency response function measurements in underwater conditions.
Strategi Promosi Wisata Kota Bukittinggi Melalui Kuliner Nasi Kapau

Culinary has become its attraction that captivates the hearts of tourists. This is realized by the Bukittinggi City Government which will develop its tourist attraction through the culinary tourism potential of Nasi Kapau. Culinary Tourism started from additional facilities in the distribution of tourist activities but now the position of Nasi Kapau has turned into a tourist attraction that can be side by side with other attractions. To find out the position of Nasi Kapau to be used as a tourist promotion tool of Bukittinggi City, it needs to be started with an analysis of strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats internally and externally, research seeks information by interviews by all Nasi swords that sell in bukittinggi slope market and spread angket to tourists who eat Nasi Kapau in bukittinggi slope market. The data obtained is analyzed descriptively about the marketing mix and the next data from the questionnaire is given weight and entered in the SWOT matrix so that it can answer the appropriate strategy for the promotion of Bukittinggi City through Nasi Kapau culinary tour. The results obtained are strategies that are suitable for the promotion of the city of Bukittinggi through Nasi Kapau Culinary tour is an aggressive strategy. Continuous promotion can also be done by mouth-to-mouth method or make Nasi Kapau as a talking point so as to attract other tourists to visit Bukittinggi out of curiosity about the taste of Nasi Kapau. In addition, Nasi Kapau costomers has been classified as a royal costomers so that it can dream up its review with pleasure.
High efficiency 18 kW HF link, three-phase, soft commutated DC-AC-AC converter (study of start and stop operations)

In this paper, a new DC/AC/AC converter for variable speed AC drives using soft commutation technique is described. It consists of a dual-thyristor voltage inverter connected to cycle-converters. It combines the advantages of a soft commutated converter and those of PWM control (constant commutation frequency, simple control). The discussed converter is realised with IGBTs; it supplies trapezoidal currents to a three-phase 18 kW brushless permanent magnet motor, with 20 kHz chopping output frequency. The paper focuses on the start and stop transients.
Hot-carrier degradation of the low-frequency noise in MOS transistors under analog and RF operating conditions

We investigate the hot-carrier degradation of the 1/f-noise behavior of nand p-MOS transistors under typical bias conditions for analog and RF operation. The mechanisms responsible for the degradation and a model are discussed for both n- and p-MOS devices. A method for lifetime prediction concerning 1/f-noise degradation is presented and consequences for reliability assurance by measures of circuit design are drawn.
Urban network traffic control

Abstract The optimum control of traffic in urban networks is an important requirement of city authorities as they seek efficient and sustainable transport. A feature of most urban networks is the high density of city streets with numerous road junctions, which require efficient control mechanisms if congestion is to be contained. Traffic signals have become the most widely used form of control in this context, with increasing sophistication in detection and real-time optimization providing new levels of efficiency. A changing policy background in many cities has also required greater emphasis in traffic control on the needs of public transport, cyclists and pedestrians, and on the need to minimize vehicle emissions. This paper provides an overview of problems, methods, systems and applications in the context of urban network traffic control, concluding with a look at future needs. The paper focuses particularly on signallized junctions within computer-controlled urban traffic control (UTC) systems, which are increasingly at the heart of traffic control in cities around the world.