Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sustainable alternative crop rotations to the irrigated rice-wheat cropping system of Indo-Gangetic plains of India

ABSTRACT In recent years, the sustainability of the rice-wheat cropping system in Indo-Gangetic Plains is facing many problems in various fronts viz., agricultural, ecological, environmental and economical. Therefore, to ensure long-term sustainability, the rice-wheat cropping system needs to be diversified. The present study was conducted to identify an alternative cropping system for Indo-Gangetic Plains region of India by diversifying and intensifying the current rice-wheat cropping system. Ten treatments (rice-wheat = control, rice-wheat-green gram, rice-potato-green gram, rice-wheat-cowpea fodder, rice-potato-cowpea fodder, rice-berseem fodder-maize fodder, rice-berseem fodder-cowpea fodder, rice-mustard-sudan grass fodder, rice-mustard-cowpea fodder and rice-cabbage-cowpea fodder) were compared consecutively two years in randomized block design with three replications. Diversification of rice-wheat cropping system with rice-potato-green gram resulted in increase in system productivity (142.35%), gross returns (99.57%), net returns (130.34%), profitability (130.96%), relative production efficiency (142.53%), relative economic efficiency (130.79%) and labour employment (55.73%). The inclusion of legume crops in cropping sequences was found better in improving the soil quality parameters. Our results revealed the significance of diversification and intensification of rice-wheat cropping system under irrigated ecosystem of IGP as it enhanced system productivity, profitability and soil health.
Injury potential of herbicide combinations on XtendFlex® cotton

Abstract XtendFlex® technology from Bayer allows growers to apply glyphosate, glufosinate, and dicamba POST to cotton. Since the evolution and spread of glyphosate-resistant weed species, early POST applications with several modes of action have become common. However, crop injury potential from these applications warrants further examination. Field studies were conducted from 2015 to 2017 at two locations in Mississippi to evaluate XtendFlex® cotton injury from herbicide application. Herbicide applications were made to XtendFlex® cotton at the three- to six-leaf stage with herbicide combinations composed of two-, three-, and four-way combinations of glyphosate, glufosinate, S-metolachlor, and three formulations of dicamba. Data collection included visual estimations of injury, stand counts, cotton height, total mainstem nodes, and nodes above whiteflower at first bloom. Data collection at the end of the season included cotton height, total mainstem nodes, and nodes above cracked boll. Visual estimations of injury from herbicide applications were highest at 3 d following applications containing glufosinate + S-metolachlor (36% to 41% injury) and glufosinate + S-metolachlor in combination with dicamba + glyphosate (39% to 41% injury), regardless of the dicamba formulation. Crop injury decreased at each rating interval and dissipated by 28 d following applications (P = 0.3748). Height reductions were present at first bloom and at the end of the season (P < 0.0001), although cotton yield was unaffected (P = 0.2089), even when injury at 3 d after application was greater than 30%. Results indicate that growers may apply a variety of herbicide tank mixtures to XtendFlex® cotton and expect no yield penalty. Furthermore, if growers are concerned with cotton injury after herbicide applications, the use of glufosinate in combination with S-metolachlor should be approached with caution in XtendFlex® cotton. Nomenclature: Dicamba; glufosinate; glyphosate; S-metolachlor; cotton; Gossypium hirsutum L.
Umbrella of protection: spatial and temporal dynamics in a temperate butterfly Batesian mimicry system

Batesian mimicry involves both spatial and temporal interactions between model, mimic and predator. Fundamental predictions in Batesian mimicry involve space, time and abundance; specifically, that the model and mimic are found in sympatry and that protection for the mimic is increased when predators interact with the model first and more frequently. Research has generally confirmed these predictions for Batesian mimicry at large spatial scales, with recent work on two nymphalid butterflies in western North America, the mimic Limenitis lorquini (Boisduval, 1852) and its model Adelpha californica (Butler, 1865) in western North America indicating that the mimic generally has lower abundance and emerges later in the season among widely separated populations in the California Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada. However, no studies have investigated model–mimic dynamics at small scales in the temperate zone to test whether temporal habitat use and movements conform to predictions. If mimicry is as important a part of the biology of these temperate species as it is for their tropical counterparts, then in addition to emerging later and being less abundant overall, the mimic should be less widespread, should be less abundant in each habitat and should move less among available habitats. Our results using mark–release–recapture methods confirm these predictions and indicate that the mimic, L. lorquini, is enjoying an umbrella of protection against habitat specialist and generalist predators alike.
Adhesion of Flk1-expressing cells under shear flow in phospholipid polymer-coated immunoaffinity channels

Label-free cell separation is a promising method in the field of stem-cell research to obtain desired cell populations. Here, we report on phospholipid polymer-coated microfluidic channels with immobilized antibodies as devices for the capture of cells expressing target antigens in a label-free manner. We fabricated a microfluidic channel containing immobilized antibodies against vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (Flk1), a potential marker for cardiac, angiogenic, and hematopoietic cell regeneration. A series of investigations was carried out to elucidate the effect of the immobilized antibodies on the adhesion behavior of the Flk1-expressing cell subpopulation derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. Increasing the immobilized antibody density (0.18–5.0 × 109 ligands mm−2) led to an increased number of cells adhering to the channel. The antibody-immobilized polymer-coated surface suppressed nonspecific cell adhesion, which was swept away by a weak shear flow, and captured Flk1-expressing cells under a wall shear stress of 1.7 Pa. Flk1 expression was 2.8-fold higher in the cells that adhered than in those that did not adhere. Therefore, an optimal antibody density and sweeping flow are required for effective label-free separation of Flk1-positive cells.
DFT Calculations on Corrosion Inhibition of Aluminum by Some Carbohydrates

We have performed a DFT calculations on glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose and sucrose as corrosion inhibitors of aluminum with complete optimization of geometries using B3LYP/6-31 G level (d, p) to find a relation between the molecular structure and corrosion inhibition. Frontier orbitals and quantum parameters together with calculated thermodynamic function ∆G for adsorption of the inhibitors on aluminum are reported. Glucose and fructose are found to be the most efficient, followed by lactose and maltose. Sucrose shows poor inhibitive effect.
Faculty Perspectives on Using High School Data in an Era of Placement Testing Reform

Objective: Community colleges across the country are making dramatic shifts away from traditional reliance on placement testing for developmental education and toward using high school measures to assess college-readiness. Yet the views of faculty dealing with these changes, including their perspectives on the quality and usefulness of high school data, are not well-understood. We explore faculty views of high school transcript and placement testing data, attributions made with the data, and beliefs about the extent to which these data are useful for instruction. Methods: We conducted a survey and semi-structured interviews with math faculty in one community college math department (n = 21). We used real high school records to develop a Personalized Student Profile of student math backgrounds to engage faculty in sensemaking about high school and placement testing data. Results: Faculty did not appear to readily trust high school data, tending only to do so when it fit their existing understandings of student ability as measured by placement tests. Although faculty described opportunities to use the data to inform instruction, they noted the challenges of actually doing so. Conclusions: The findings reveal significant faculty concerns about high school measures and point toward shifts in faculty attitudes and beliefs that may need to be addressed in order for reforms that upend traditional approaches to remediation and instruction to be successful. We discuss critical future research directions for this new paradigm of developmental education in community colleges.
Delivering bad news fairly: The influence of core self-evaluations and anxiety for the enactment of interpersonal justice

What motivates managers to deliver bad news in a just manner and why do some managers fail to treat recipients of bad news with dignity and respect? Given the importance of delivering bad news in a just manner, answering these questions is critical to promote justice in the workplace. Drawing on appraisal theories of emotions, we propose that people with higher core self-evaluations may be less likely to deliver bad news in an interpersonally just manner. This is because these actors are more likely to appraise the delivery of bad news as a situation in which they have high coping potential and are therefore less likely to experience anxiety. However, we propose that anxiety can be important for propelling the enactment of interpersonal justice. We test our predictions across three studies (with four samples of full-time managers and employees). Theoretical and practical contributions include enhancing our understanding of who is motivated to enact interpersonal justice, why they are motivated to do so, and how to enhance justice in the workplace. Our findings also challenge the assumption that negative emotions are necessarily dysfunctional for the enactment of interpersonal justice and instead highlight the facilitative role of anxiety in this context.
Mindsets as sources of L2 speaking anxiety and self-confidence: the case of international teaching assistants in the U.S.

ABSTRACT Second language (L2) researchers have often studied how L2 speaking anxiety and self-confidence influence various aspects of the language learning process whereas the sources of these emotions have remained under-explored. Drawing on Dweck’s (1999) theory of motivation, the present study examined L2 learners’ mindsets (beliefs about the malleability of their language learning intelligence) as potential sources of L2 speaking anxiety and L2 self-confidence. Questionnaire data was collected from 92 international teaching assistants who use English as a second language in their teaching practice at a U.S. university. Multiple regression results showed that whereas the Fixed L2 Mindset (the belief that language learning ability cannot change) positively predicted L2 Speaking Anxiety, the Growth L2 Mindset (the belief that language learning ability can grow) positively predicted L2 Speaking Self-Confidence, confirming the hypothesized relationships between the conceptual principles of the mindsets theory and the nature of L2 anxiety and self-confidence. Theoretical and educational implications and future research directions are discussed.
A path analysis model examining self-concept and motivation pertinent to undergraduate academic performance: A case of Kenyan public universities

The academic performance of undergraduates is as a result of several factors involving student- and school-level characteristics. Understanding the effect of these factors is beneficial to both students and the entire institution. The current study examines the relationship between the independent variable (self-concept) and dependent variable (student academic performance) through a proposed mediator (motivation). Correlation design, multiple regression and mediation analysis were employed as the procedures of analyzing our data. The study sample comprises 365 final-year students drawn from arts and science faculties in selected universities based in Kenya. Correlation output revealed that academic performance positively correlated with motivation (r=0.333, P<0.01). Further composite regression analysis revealed a significant influence of motivation (β = 0.97, P<0.001) on academic performance. Mediation analysis identified indirect-only mediation (a ×b= 0.049, P < 0.01). Both Sobel z-test and bootstrap results indicated a significant indirect effect a × b while the direct effect C is not significant, thus signaling the presence of indirect-only mediation. Generally, motivation has a mediating role (β = 0.311, r = 0.333) in relation to self-confidence and academic performance. These results imply that students’ levels of motivation and self-concept are vital to enhance academic performance. Key words: Academic performance, mediation, path analysis, self-concept, motivation.
Epidemiology of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Korea

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterised by symmetrical involvement of the joints, associated extra-articular manifestations and functional disability. In Korea, several epidemiologic studies reporting prevalence and incidence rates of RA have been conducted using large databases such as claims databases, national surveys, prospective cohort databases or electronic health records; according to these data sources, the estimated prevalence ranged from 0.27% to 1.85%. The prevalence of extra-articular manifestations such as interstitial lung disease (ILD) and Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) were also reported, but an issue of external validity of the study results persisted. In this review, we detail the epidemiology of Korean RA patients, focusing on the prevalence of RA and the frequency of systemic extra-articular manifestations including ILD and SS reported in previous studies. In addition, we discuss the current methodological issues which are inherent in Korean epidemiologic studies for patients with RA with understanding of the characteristics of each database.
Inter-specific and inter-individual trait variability matter in surface sediment reworking rates of intertidal benthic foraminifera

Although benthic foraminifera are an important component of meiofauna and contribute to carbonate production and carbon/nitrogen cycles, their role in bioturbation processes remains poorly known. Five dominant intertidal benthic foraminiferal species were recently classified into functional bioturbator groups according to their sediment reworking mode and intensity. Our study aimed at identifying potential drivers (i.e. size and/or travelled distance) of species-specific surface sediment reworking rate. The travelled distance and surface sediment reworking rate of Haynesina germanica, Cribroelphidium williamsoni, Ammonia tepida, Quinqueloculina seminulum and Miliammina fusca were assessed through image analysis. Our results show that the surface sediment reworking performed by these species is not size-dependent, but dependent on their motility traits through interspecific differences in the travelled distance. Smaller species (i.e. Quinqueloculina seminulum and Haynesina germanica ) contributed more to surface sediment reworking than larger ones (i.e. Ammonia tepida, Cribroelphidium williamsoni and Miliammina fusca ). These observations stress the critical role of motion behaviour in surface sediment reworking processes by intertidal foraminifera. Finally, we stress that the high inter-individual variability observed in conspecific motion behaviour may be important to decipher the role of foraminifera in sediment bioturbation. Noticeably, the species characterized by a strong inter-individual variability are also the species that have the highest surface sediment reworking rates. This last observation may inform on the species-specific phenotypic plasticity and, therefore, the potential for the functional role of these species to be maintained in their natural environment. This is particularly relevant in an era of global change where ecosystem balance is increasingly threatened by various stressors such as heat-waves, ocean acidification and pollution.
Development and sensory evaluation of products containing the Brazilian Savannah fruits araticum (Annona crassiflora Mart.) and cagaita (Eugenia dysenterica Mart.)

The objective of this study was to use the pulp of the Brazilian Savannah fruits araticum and cagaita to develop new products, and to evaluate their sensory acceptance by children from 7 to 9 years of age. The products developed were: three milk caramel formulations: DP (standard), DA (araticum pulp) and DB (araticum pulp and grated coconut); three cagaita refresher formulations: RP (cagaita pulp), RA (cagaita pulp and orange juice) and RB (cagaita pulp and carrot juice); and a cagaita jam formulation. It was found that the three formulations of milk caramels were equally accepted (p>0.05), whereas the RA refresher was more accepted (p 0.05) of gender on the sensory acceptability of the products evaluated. It was concluded that the products developed showed good acceptability from a sensory point of view, which suggests high market potential.
Seasonal shifts of microbial methane oxidation in Arctic shelf waters above gas seeps

The Arctic Ocean subseabed holds vast reservoirs of the potent greenhouse gas methane (CH4), often seeping into the ocean water column. In a continuously warming ocean as a result of climate change an increase of CH4 seepage from the seabed is hypothesized. Today, CH4 is largely retained in the water column due to the activity of methane‐oxidizing bacteria (MOB) that thrive there. Predicted future oceanographic changes, bottom water warming and increasing CH4 release may alter efficacy of this microbially mediated CH4 sink. Here we investigate the composition and principle controls on abundance and activity of the MOB communities at the shallow continental shelf west of Svalbard, which is subject to strong seasonal changes in oceanographic conditions. Covering a large area (364 km2), we measured vertical distribution of microbial methane oxidation (MOx) rates, MOB community composition, dissolved CH4 concentrations, temperature and salinity four times throughout spring and summer during three consecutive years. Sequencing analyses of the pmoA gene revealed a small, relatively uniform community mainly composed of type‐Ia methanotrophs (deep‐sea 3 clade). We found highest MOx rates (7 nM d−1) in summer in bathymetric depressions filled with stagnant Atlantic Water containing moderate concentrations of dissolved CH4 (< 100 nM). MOx rates in these depressions during spring were much lower (< 0.5 nM d−1) due to lower temperatures and mixing of Transformed Atlantic Water flushing MOB with the Atlantic Water out of the depressions. Our results show that MOB and MOx in CH4‐rich bottom waters are highly affected by geomorphology and seasonal conditions.
Long- and Short-Run Forest Dynamics: An Empirical Assessment of Forest Transition, Environmental Kuznets Curve and Ecologically Unequal Exchange Theories

Forest dynamics are changing at a local and global level, with multiple social and environmental implications. The current literature points to different theories and hypotheses to explain these forest dynamics. In this paper, we formalized some of those theories, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), the forest transition and the ecologically unequal exchange, into hypotheses tested with a panel dataset covering 111 countries during the period the period 1992–2015. Considering the nature of our data, we relied on cointegration techniques to assess both long- and short-run dynamics in forest change, avoiding possible spurious results. Moreover, we attempted to disentangle direct and indirect effects of our independent variables to uncover the mechanisms that underly forest change dynamics. The results show that there is a long-run dynamic equilibrium relationship between forest cover area, economic development, agricultural area and rural population density. Furthermore, our results confirmed an EKC for high-income countries and post-forest transition countries, while low- and middle-income economies are experiencing different paths. We showed the importance of government quality as a positive feedback mechanism for previous periods of deforestation when tested for all countries together as well as for pre-transition and middle-income economies. Moreover, in low-income economies, economic development affects forest mainly indirectly through the agricultural area.
Creating social innovation in urban development through collaborative processes

Uncertainty is a major factor in urban development as a consequence of a changing society. Major theoretical approaches to urban development, such as place-based leadership or coproduction, emphasize the importance of the public sector. This study aims to enhance the understanding of urban development processes as a collaborative and participatory concept through social innovation. We apply the concept of socially creative milieus to analyze the emergence of social innovation under the constraint of uncertainty. The criteria ‘agents of innovation’, ‘adopters’, ‘diffusion channels’, ‘constraints’, ‘inertia’, and ‘impacts’ are analyzed using a holistic case study in the field of urban development. Our results show that the presence of high social capital supersedes the coercive power of the public sector. By applying the creative milieus approach, environments like the density of networks and contacts in the governance of urban places make innovative development possible.
Deep-learning-based precipitation observation quality control

We present a novel approach for the automated quality control (QC) of precipitation for a sparse station observation network within the complex terrain of British Columbia, Canada. Our QC approach uses Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to classify bad observation values, incorporating a multi-classifier ensemble to achieve better QC performance. We train CNNs using human QC’d labels from 2016 to 2017 with gridded precipitation and elevation analyses as inputs. Based on the classification evaluation metrics, our QC approach shows reliable and robust performance across different geographical environments (e.g., coastal and inland mountains), with 0.927 Area Under Curve (AUC) and type I/type II error lower than 15%. Based on the saliency-map-based interpretation studies, we explain the success of CNN-based QC by showing that it can capture the precipitation patterns around, and upstream of the station locations. This automated QC approach is an option for eliminating bad observations for various applications, including the pre-processing of training datasets for machine learning. It can be used in conjunction with human QC to improve upon what could be accomplished with either method alone.