Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Locust Control Management: Moving from Traditional to New Technologies - An Empirical Analysis

The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria Forskal) has caused great losses to agriculture in Africa, the Middle East and South West Asia. Their annual migrations take them downwind where winter, spring and summer rains fall for breeding. During the period 1863 to 1962 there were ten plagues in India and 18 upsurges from 1963 to 2012. Traditional desert locust control methods were used which were not successful. Newer technologies in the form of pesticides, ULV spraying, GPS, GIS tools, Satellite data imagery, RAMSES and elocust2 with the computers have been introduced for quick data management and analysis for planning desert locust control. The impact of newer technologies for locust control management in India for last 50 years has been successful. The South West Asia and the Middle East countries have taken responsibility for monitoring the breeding grounds and applying plague prevention strategy for desert locust control in the outbreak areas and by exchanging desert locust infestation information through FAO. The early prevention strategy for desert locust control has achieved its original objective of preventing damage to major agricultural zones in invasion area and helps protect the crops of small farmers as well as grazing grounds for the livestock.
The Effects of Stimulus Repetition Rate on Electrically Evoked Auditory Brainstem Potentials in Postlingually Deafened Adult Cochlear Implant Recipients

Background: By using outcome prediction scores, it is possible to distinguish between good and poor performers with cochlear implants (CI) after CI implantation. The reasons for poor performance, despite good basic conditions, can be manifold. On the one hand, the postoperative fitting may be inadequate; on the other, neurophysiological disease processes may impair speech understanding with a CI. These disease processes are not yet fully understood. In acoustics, it is known that the auditory brainstem responses (ABR) and their latencies and amplitudes allow differential diagnosis based on reference values for normal-hearing individuals. The aim of this study was to provide reference values for electrically evoked brainstem responses (EABRs) in terms of rate-dependent latencies and amplitudes. Methods: 20 ears of 18 experienced adult CI recipients with a predicted and measured good postoperative word recognition score were recruited from the clinic’s patient pool. In the same stimulation mode and intensity we measured latencies and interpeak-latencies of EABRs and electrically evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs). With a defined supra-threshold stimulation intensity above the individual ECAP threshold, we applied stimulation at several rates between 11 and 91 stimuli per second. Results: We found rate dependences for EABR latency t3 and t5 in the order of 0.19 ms and 0.37 ms, respectively, while ECAP was not affected by rate. Correspondingly, the interpeak intervals’ rate dependences for t5−t1, t5−t3 and t3−t1 were of the order of 0.37 ms, 0.18 ms and 0.19 ms. Comparing the EABR amplitudes between the stimulation rates 11/s and 81/s, we found that at 81/s the amplitudes were significantly reduced down: to 73% for A3 and 81% for A5. These rate dependences of latency and amplitude in EABR have characteristics comparable to those of acoustic ABR. Conclusions: These data may serve to provide reference values for EABR and ECAP latencies, interpeak intervals and amplitudes with respect to stimulation rate. Altered response patterns of ECAPs and EABRs to normalised stimulation modes could be used in the future to describe and classify neuropathological processes in a better-differentiated way.
PHYSIOCHEMICAL COMPARISON OF TEXTILE EFFLUENT IMPACTED AND UN - IMPACTED AGRICULTURAL SOIL OF JAIPUR CITY, INDIA

Article History: The industrial and technological progress for economic benefits has been imposing negative impact on the environment, in terms of its degradation and pollution. To find the effect of the industrial effluent on agricultural soil this study was conducted on impacted and non -impacted soil of two areas i.e. Sanganer and Durgapura respectively of Jaipur district. The soil quality was analyzed by estimation of physicochemical parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity(EC), water holding capacity, texture analysis, organic carbon, organic matter, total hardness, sodium, potassium concentration, sodium adsorption ratio(SAR), cation exchange capacity(CEC) using standard protocols . The results showed a significant difference between pH, EC, Water holding capacity, total hardness, SAR, CEC of both the soil, inferring the impact of industrial effluent on the quality of soil. Thus, to protect the deterioration soil quality, control on such industrial pollution assumes greater significance which can be assured by planned industrialization.
The Relationship between Promoters’ Holdings, Institutional Holdings, Dividend Payout Ratio and Firm Value: The Firm Age and Size as Moderators

The present paper aims to empirically examine the effect of promoters’ holdings and institutional holdings on dividend payout ratio and the firm value. Most importantly, this paper explores the age and size of the firm as the moderators in the relationships. Data collected from 23 companies from India and 253 data points were analyzed to test the hypothesized relationships. The results indicate that promoters’ holdings and institutional holdings are positively associated with dividend payout ratio and firm value. Further, moderator hypotheses suggest that (i) firm age moderates the relationship between promoters’ holdings and dividend payout ratio, (ii) firm size moderates the relationship between institutional holdings and dividend payout ratio, (iii) firm age moderates the relationship between promoters’ holdings and firm value, and (iv) firm size moderates the relationship between institutional holdings and firm value. The implications for theory and practice are discussed. The conceptual model developed and tested in this research contributes to both the literature on dividend payout ratio and firm value and to the needs of institutional investors interested in increasing the firm value.
Modeling the influence of hypsometry, vegetation, and storm energy on snowmelt contributions to basins during rain‐on‐snow floods

Point observations and previous basin modeling efforts have suggested that snowmelt may be a significant input of water for runoff during extreme rain‐on‐snow floods within western U.S. basins. Quantifying snowmelt input over entire basins is difficult given sparse observations of snowmelt. In order to provide a range of snowmelt contributions for water managers, a physically based snow model coupled with an idealized basin representation was evaluated in point simulations and used to quantify the maximum basin‐wide input from snowmelt volume during flood events. Maximum snowmelt basin contributions and uncertainty ranges were estimated as 29% (11–47%), 29% (8–37%), and 7% (2–24%) of total rain plus snowmelt input, within the Snoqualmie, East North Fork Feather, and Upper San Joaquin basins, respectively, during historic flooding events between 1980 and 2008. The idealized basin representation revealed that both hypsometry and forest cover of a basin had similar magnitude of impacts on the basin‐wide snowmelt totals. However, the characteristics of a given storm (antecedent SWE and available energy for melt) controlled how much hypsometry and forest cover impacted basin‐wide snowmelt. These results indicate that for watershed managers, flood forecasting efforts should prioritize rainfall prediction first, but cannot neglect snowmelt contributions in some cases. Efforts to reduce the uncertainty in the above snowmelt simulations should focus on improving the meteorological forcing data (especially air temperature and wind speed) in complex terrain.
Training and Rewards for Performance Improvement through Personnel Motivation

In this modern era, modern organizations or companies are obliged to promote modern science. In this case, it is Human Resource Management; of all sciences, HR management is the central science in running a current organization or company. HRM is one of the sciences that puts forward a humanist approach; HRM is a tool for achieving organizational or corporate goals through human or personnel management of modern organizations or companies. This study tries to analyze human resources in the Regional Police Unit (POLDA) of South Sulawesi Province; with this research, it is hoped to identify the effect and significant rewards, training and development, and personnel performance on personnel motivation. Because analyzing the data taken will produce good decisions. With this research, it is hoped that it can contribute thoughts or knowledge to the POLDA of South Sulawesi Province. And hopefully, this research can improve performance and motivation for POLDA personnel with proper data management.
Yield Estimation of Wheat Using Cropland Masks from European Common Agrarian Policy: Comparing the Performance of EVI2, NDVI, and MTCI in Spanish NUTS-2 Regions

Monitoring wheat yield and production is essential for ensuring global food security. Remote sensing can be used to achieve it due to its ability to provide global, comprehensive, synoptic, and repetitive information in near real-time. This study used the 2006–2016 Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NVDI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index 2 (EVI2) time series at a 250 m spatial resolution and 2006–2011 MERIS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index (MTCI) time series at a 300 m spatial resolution. The post-maximum period for pixels containing wheat was selected based on the EU’s Common Agrarian Policy (CAP) and Corine Land Cover (CLC) data. It was correlated with yield and production values from governmental statistics (GS) of the largest Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics level 2 (NUTS-2) wheat producers in Spain and for Spain overall. The selection of wheat masks was crucial for the accuracy of the models, with CAP masks offering greater forecasting capability. Models using CLC produced R2 values between 0.45 and 0.7, while those using CAP outperformed the former with R2 values of 0.9 throughout Spain. Production models outperformed yield models, and MTCI was the vegetation index (VI) that provided the greatest R2 value of 0.94. However, model accuracy was heavily conditioned by the precision of input data, where anomalies were detected in some NUTS-2.
Use of airborne video data for the characterization of tropical savannas in northern Australia: The optimal spatial resolution for remote sensing applications

Very high resolution airborne video data were used to assess the optimal spatial resolution for mapping the land cover types occurring in the tropical savannas of northern Australia. Canopy cover and principal component images were extracted for four vegetation communities and investigated separately. Analysis of average variance in conjunction with a proposed visual analysis method proved more successful in establishing the optimal resolution than analysis of spatial autocorrelation using semivariograms. The optimal resolution was found to be dependent on the structure of the vegetation community as well as the image component under investigation. A resolution of between 20 and 27 m is optimal for all instances examined.
Assessing the Socio-Economic Impact of the Chinese Transfer of Values, Skills, and Technology in Infrastructural Development in Kenya

This study assessed the socio-economic impact of Chinese principle of transfer of values, skills and technology in infrastructural development in Kenya. This study was based on dependency, modernization and power theories which informed the conceptual framework of the research. This study adopted descriptive research design. Data was collected by the use of Questionnaires, interview guides and focus group discussion and desk top review. Qualitative and quantitative techniques were used for data analysis and presentation. The data obtained was presented in bar graphs, tables and percentages. The study found that during Chinese infrastructural development in Kenya, the informal sector benefited from China's skill transfer. The study concluded that Kenya-China bilateral relations has impacted positively on Kenya's international relation which is indicated by increased Foreign Direct Investments into Kenya by specifically Western states. The researcher recommends that Kenyan government should formulate a policy that will ensure that the technological skills impacted on Kenyan workers by the Chinese construction firms should be improved and included in the Kenyan schools’ curriculum.
Altering Dissolved Oxygen to Determine Flow Conditions in Fractured Bedrock Wells

A new approach to locate transmissive fractures and decipher vertical borehole flow conditions in fractured crystalline bedrock wells is presented, which uses dissolved oxygen (DO) as a benign tracer. The method was tested in two fractured crystalline bedrock wells previously characterized by televiewer and flow meter logging under both ambient and stressed (slug test) conditions. The method entailed elevating wellbore DO concentrations by circulating water through showerheads or injection of compressed air. The DO dilution was used to locate inflowing fractures. Changes in the DO concentration with time were used to ascertain flow within the borehole and to locate outflowing fractures and stagnant zones. Flow rates were also estimated. Fractures detected by the method corresponded to those observed by televiewer logging and for the most part were comparable to flow meter results. Given the effectiveness, time‐efficiency and low cost, the method is a promising alternative to other methods currently in use to characterize transmissive fractures in wells.
The effect of silymarin on liver enzymes and serum lipid profiles in Iranian patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A double-blind randomized controlled trial

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of silymarin on liver enzyme levels and serum lipid profiles in patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), the most common chronic liver disease worldwide. Methods: This randomized double-blinded clinical trial included 80 NAFLD patients referred to the gastrointestinal clinic of Kowsar Hospital in Semnan. Forty of these patients were supplemented with 150 mg of silymarin twice a day for two months, while the other 40 received a placebo. Both groups were advised to follow a hypertriglyceridemia correction and lifestyle modification. Evaluation of serum lipid profiles and liver enzymes in both groups were performed at the baseline and after two months. Results: The results showed that silymarin use significantly reduced ALT (U/L) (58.72± 32.16 vs 42.2 ± 20.2, p = 0.003) and AST (U/L) (36.62± 13.46 vs 30.3 ± 9.7, p = 0.036) levels compared with the placebo group. Additionally, a statistically significant reducing effect of silymarin on triglycerides (mg/dL) (189.5 ± 65.5 vs 164.6 ± 91.3, p = 0.026), total cholesterol (mg/dL) (192.8 ± 40.3 vs 174.07± 34.5, p = 0.027), and LDL-cholesterol (mg/dL) (114.6±33.9 vs 95.6± 26.5, p = 0.012) levels was found, with no significant statistical difference for HDL-C (mg/dL) (41.5 ± 6.8 vs 43.5± 9.2, p = 0.44). Conclusion: Silymarin, at a dose of 150 mg twice daily, significantly reduced liver enzymes and some lipid markers in patients with NAFLD, suggesting that this compound could be a novel therapy for NAFLD.
Temporal Patterns of Diabetes: Analyzing Disease Burden Among Adults Over 18 (2000-2021) Using the U.S. Diabetes Surveillance System (USDDS) Database

Background This study investigates the temporal patterns of diagnosed diabetes cases among adults aged 18 and above in the United States from 2000 to 2021, using data from the U.S. Diabetes Surveillance System (USDDS) database. The study analyzed variations in diagnosed diabetes cases based on gender, age, education, location, and race to provide insights into the changing disease burden over two decades. Methods A retrospective observational design was employed in analyzing data from the USDDS database. The study population comprised adults aged 18 and above with diagnosed diabetes. Descriptive statistical analysis and subgroup comparisons were performed to identify temporal trends and disparities in diagnosed diabetes cases among different demographic groups. Results The study uncovered significant temporal patterns in diagnosed diabetes cases among US adults. Males consistently reported higher diabetes cases (8.44%) than females (7.45%). Variations existed among age groups, with the 65-74 age group having the highest cases (19.69%) and the 18-44 age group having the lowest cases (2.34%). Disparities by race/ethnicity were evident, with non-Hispanic black individuals (11.80%) and Hispanics (11.07%) having the highest percentages, while Asians (7.84%) and whites (6.81%) had lower rates. Distinct temporal patterns emerged based on education levels, with the less than high school education group having the highest cases (11.77%), followed by those with a high school education (8.50%), and the lowest among those with higher than a high school education (6.60%). Conclusion The study has revealed a complex and evolving landscape of this chronic disease. Over these two decades, we observed significant fluctuations, with an overall upward trend in diagnosed diabetes cases. These findings underscore the need for a multifaceted approach to tackle diabetes effectively. Tailored interventions that consider age, gender, education, and geographic location are crucial to addressing the observed disparities in diabetes prevalence.
Monitoring sismique et sismoélectrique d'un milieux poreux non-consolidé

La propagation sismique dans les milieux poreux est classiquement associee a des phenomenes de dispersion et d’attenuation des ondes sous l’effet des mouvements fluides. Dans certaines conditions, celle-ci peut egalement etre associee a une conversion d’energie sismique en energie electromagnetique dite « sismoelectrique ». La theorie des phenomenes sismoelectriques combinant la theorie de l’electrocinetique a la poroelasticite de Biot, repose en grande partie sur les developpements de Pride (1994). Sur la base de ces developpements theoriques, Pride et Haartsen (1996) relient le champ electrique cosismique a l’acceleration sismique qui le genere par une fonction de transfert. Nous proposons une etude quantitative des couplages sismoelectriques en vue de valider la theorie de Pride et sa generalisation en milieu non sature. Dans ce but, nous avons developpe une experience en laboratoire sur un sable de quartz non-consolide, menee dans la gamme du kilohertz sur la base d’un dispositif d’acquisition electrique modulable. Deux methodes de traitement des signaux sont proposees, l’une temporelle, l’autre spectrale, permettant d’obtenir une analyse complete des vitesses de phase, attenuations et fonctions de transfert. Les experiences realisees se sont focalisees sur l’etude du role de la conductivite du fluide et de la saturation en eau dans le phenomene sismoelectrique cosismique. Une etude time-lapse a ainsi pu etre realisee dans des situations de changements de salinite et de teneur en eau. Dans tous les contextes, l’etude quantitative des rapports d’amplitudes des champs sismoelectriques et sismiques E/u montre une bonne correlation avec les predictions theoriques. Par ailleurs, l’etude des variations de saturation dans une gamme allant de la saturation residuelle en eau (Sw = 0.3) a la saturation totale, montre que: i) les attenuations et fonctions de transfert ont des comportements relies a la distribution des fluides qui influencent fortement les proprietes mecaniques du milieu ; ii) une inversion de polarite du champ sismoelectrique peut etre observee dans le cas tres particulier des milieux non consolides.
The Role of Atypical Chemokine Receptors in Neuroinflammation and Neurodegenerative Disorders

Neuroinflammation is associated with several neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and multiple sclerosis (MS). Neuroinflammation provides protection in acute situations but results in significant damage to the nervous system if chronic. Overexpression of chemokines within the brain results in the recruitment and activation of glial and peripheral immune cells which can propagate a cascading inflammatory response, resulting in neurodegeneration and the onset of neurodegenerative disorders. Recent work has identified the role of atypical chemokine receptors (ACKRs) in neurodegenerative conditions. ACKRs are seven-transmembrane domain receptors that do not follow canonical G protein signaling, but regulate inflammatory responses by modulating chemokine abundance, location, and availability. This review summarizes what is known about the four ACKRs and three putative ACKRs within the brain, highlighting their known expression and discussing the current understanding of each ACKR in the context of neurodegeneration. The ability of ACKRs to alter levels of chemokines makes them an appealing therapeutic target for neurodegenerative conditions. However, further work is necessary to understand the expression of several ACKRs within the neuroimmune system and the effectiveness of targeted drug therapies in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative conditions.
’Don’t Annoy Me With Privacy Decisions!’ — Designing Privacy-Preserving User Interfaces for SSI Wallets on Smartphones

Persistent digital identities allow individuals to prove who they are across the Internet. For decades, individuals have relied on large identity providers (for example, Google and Facebook). In recent years, the advent of so-called self-sovereign identities (SSI) has increasingly been approved by national governments. This decentralized approach provides users with a way to maintain control over the information associated with their identities. Yet, the design of these wallets to enable users to act in a privacy-preserving manner when sharing data with requesting services remains an open question. Based on a qualitative pre-study, we chart the design space for privacy-preserving user interfaces for SSI wallets and explore several designs to understand user adoption and decision-making processes. A qualitative user study (N=16) based on realistic scenarios revealed that while the proposed designs generally increase privacy awareness, participants trade data for convenience. Our study is complemented by guidelines for designers of future user interfaces for smartphone SSI wallets.
Augmented Reality Marketing Implementation in Greek SMEs - A SWOT Analysis

Abstract Augmented Reality (AR) has established itself as a transformative tool in the domain of marketing, enabling both immersive and interactive experiences for consumers. The inherent capability of AR to overlay digital content onto the real world provides marketers with unparalleled opportunities to connect with their target audience. For the effective integration of Augmented Reality Marketing (ARM) within Greek Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), it's essential to capitalize on inherent strengths, address potential weaknesses, exploit existing opportunities, and strategically navigate anticipated threats. Fundamental to the successful incorporation of ARM in this context is the development of a carefully crafted strategy, enriched by a deep understanding of the local market dynamics. From a methodological standpoint, this research draws upon a set of predetermined keywords sourced from renowned databases such as Google, Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar, Science Direct, and Scopus. Using secondary data, the collated information was analyzed using the SWOT framework, facilitating a thorough examination of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. To achieve this, a SWOT analysis was systematically employed, offering a comprehensive view of the potential for integrating augmented reality marketing within Greek SMEs. Keywords: Augmenting Reality Marketing, Digital Marketing, SMEs, Swot Analysis, Greece, Greek enterprises.