Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Models for estimating leaf area in the ‘Palmer’ mango

Techniques for measuring leaf area are basic for evaluating plant growth in the mango. As such, the aim of this study was to determine the leaf area of the ‘Palmer’ mango using mathematical models proposed by the present study, and compare the results of the proposed models with models available in the literature for other mango cultivars. The mango leaf was simulated as a function of leaf length (L) and width (W) using two distinct geometric models: an ellipse and a rosacea petal. Models found in the literature and determined for other cultivars, were also tested. The values for leaf area were obtained using the ImageJ software and taken at their actual value; these were later compared with the values achieved by the geometric models. The models were tested for quality of prediction through cross-validation. The models proposed in the present study were not superior to the best models found in the literature. The model LA = 3.80 + 0.67 (LW) achieved the best performance, with a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 3.78%. Using only length, the best model was LA = 0.0142C2 + 6.1902C - 49.444, with a MAPE of 4.07%. The use of mathematical models proved to be a suitable option for estimating leaf area in the ‘Palmer’ mango. Moreover, the use of R2 as the only form of model quality assessment can lead to errors in choosing the best model.
Social Inequalities of Oral Anticoagulation after the Introduction of Non-Vitamin K Antagonists in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

Background and Objectives Nationwide social inequalities of oral anticoagulation (OAC) usage after the introduction of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have not been well identified in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). This study assessed overall rate and social inequalities of OAC usage after the introduction of NOAC in Korea. Methods Between January 2002 and December 2016, we identified 888,540 patients with AF in the Korea National Health Insurance system database. The change of OAC rate in different medical systems after the introduction of NOAC were evaluated. Results In all population, overall OAC use increased from 13.2% to 23.4% (p for trend <0.001), and NOAC use increased from 0% to 14.6% (p for trend <0.001). Compared with pre-reimbursement (0.48%), the annual increase of OAC use was significantly higher after partial (1.16%, p<0.001), and full reimbursement of OAC (3.72%, p<0.001). Full reimbursement of NOAC (adjusted odds ratio, 2.10; 95% confidence interval, 2.04–2.15) was independently associated with higher OAC use. However, the difference of overall OAC usage between tertiary referral hospitals and nursing or public health centers increased from 17.9% in 2010 to 36.8% in 2016. Moreover, usage rate of NOAC was significantly different among different medical systems from 37.2% at the tertiary referral hospital and 5.5% at nursing or public health centers. Conclusions Introduction of NOACs in routine practice for stroke prevention in AF was associated with improved rates of overall OAC use. However, significant practice-level variations in OAC and NOAC use remain producing social inequalities of OAC despite full reimbursement.
Effect of silicon and algae extract foliar application on growth and early yield of globe artichoke plants.

Field experiments were carried out in Vegetables Research Farm of Kaha, Kalyoubia, Horticulture Research Institute, A.R. C. , Egypt to investigate the effect of sprayingwith silicon (1000 and 2000 ppm SiO2) or algae extract (2 ml/L and 4 ml/L) sprayed twice at 45 and 60 days after planting on the growth, early yield, total yield and chemical components on globe artichoke plants of French cultivar (Hyrious) which were grown under drip irrigation during the two successive seasons of 2015/2016 and 2016/2017. The obtained results showed that globe artichoke plants were sprayed with silicon (2000 ppm SiO2) or algae extract (4 ml/L) recorded the highest significant increase in all studied growth characters (i.e., plant height, numbers of leaves per plant, total leaves area per plant, fresh and dry weight of shoot). As well as significant increase in the yield parameters (i.e., head diameter, fresh head weight, head length, fresh and dry weight of receptacle) also, the same treatments recorded the highest values of early and total yield per feddan and significant increase chlorophyll a, b , total chlorophyll , in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium concentrations as well as total sugar and total amino acid concentrations followed by plants sprayed with silicon (1000 ppm SiO2) or algae extract (2 ml/L) in the two successive seasons when compared with untreated plants. Conclusively, from that obtained data in this study, it can be recommend the use silicon (2000 ppm SiO2) or algae extract (4ml/L)as foliar spray on globe artichoke plants for improve their growth, early and total yield.
Tipping positive change

Tipping points exist in social, ecological and climate systems and those systems are increasingly causally intertwined in the Anthropocene. Climate change and biosphere degradation have advanced to the point where we are already triggering damaging environmental tipping points, and to avoid worse ones ahead will require finding and triggering positive tipping points towards sustainability in coupled social, ecological and technological systems. To help with that I outline how tipping points can occur in continuous dynamical systems and in networks, the causal interactions that can occur between tipping events across different types and scales of system—including the conditions required to trigger tipping cascades, the potential for early warning signals of tipping points, and how they could inform deliberate tipping of positive change. In particular, the same methods that can provide early warning of damaging environmental tipping points can be used to detect when a socio-technical or socio-ecological system is most sensitive to being deliberately tipped in a desirable direction. I provide some example targets for such deliberate tipping of positive change. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions'.
National mitigation potential from natural climate solutions in the tropics

Better land stewardship is needed to achieve the Paris Agreement's temperature goal, particularly in the tropics, where greenhouse gas emissions from the destruction of ecosystems are largest, and where the potential for additional land carbon storage is greatest. As countries enhance their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement, confusion persists about the potential contribution of better land stewardship to meeting the Agreement's goal to hold global warming below 2°C. We assess cost-effective tropical country-level potential of natural climate solutions (NCS)—protection, improved management and restoration of ecosystems—to deliver climate mitigation linked with sustainable development goals (SDGs). We identify groups of countries with distinctive NCS portfolios, and we explore factors (governance, financial capacity) influencing the feasibility of unlocking national NCS potential. Cost-effective tropical NCS offers globally significant climate mitigation in the coming decades (6.56 Pg CO2e yr−1 at less than 100 US$ per Mg CO2e). In half of the tropical countries, cost-effective NCS could mitigate over half of national emissions. In more than a quarter of tropical countries, cost-effective NCS potential is greater than national emissions. We identify countries where, with international financing and political will, NCS can cost-effectively deliver the majority of enhanced NDCs while transforming national economies and contributing to SDGs. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions’.
Soil microbial community responses to climate extremes: resistance, resilience and transitions to alternative states

A major challenge for advancing our understanding of the functional role of soil microbial communities is to link changes in their structure and function under climate change. To address this challenge requires new understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the capacity of soil microbial communities to resist and recover from climate extremes. Here, we synthesize emerging understanding of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence the resistance and resilience of soil microbial communities to climate extremes, with a focus on drought, and identify drivers that might trigger abrupt changes to alternative states. We highlight research challenges and propose a path for advancing our understanding of the resistance and resilience of soil microbial communities to climate extremes, and of their vulnerability to transitions to alternative states, including the use of trait-based approaches. We identify a need for new approaches to quantify resistance and resilience of soil microbial communities, and to identify thresholds for transitions to alternative states. We show how high-resolution time series coupled with gradient designs will enable detecting response patterns to interacting drivers. Finally, to account for extrinsic factors, we suggest that future studies should use environmental gradients to track soil microbial community responses to climate extremes in space and time. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions’.
Thermal Remote Sensing for Global Volcano Monitoring: Experiences From the MIROVA System

Volcanic activity is always accompanied by the transfer of heat from the Earth’s crust to the atmosphere. This heat can be measured from space and its measurement is a very useful tool for detecting volcanic activity on a global scale. MIROVA (Middle Infrared Observation of Volcanic Activity) is an automatic volcano hot spot detection system, based on the analysis of MODIS data (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer). The system is able to detect, locate and quantify thermal anomalies in near real-time, by providing, on a dedicated website (www.mirovaweb.it), infrared images and thermal flux time-series on over 200 volcanoes worldwide. Thanks to its simple interface and intuitive representation of the data, MIROVA is currently used by several volcano observatories for daily monitoring activities and reporting. In this paper, we present the architecture of the system and we provide a state of the art on satellite thermal data usage for operational volcano monitoring and research. In particular, we describe the contribution that the thermal data have provided in order to detect volcanic unrest, to forecast eruptions and to depict trends and patterns during eruptive crisis. The current limits and requirements to improve the quality of the data, their distribution and interpretation are also discussed, in the light of the experience gained in recent years within the volcanological community. The results presented clearly demonstrate how the open access of satellite thermal data and the sharing of derived products allow a better understanding of ongoing volcanic phenomena, and therefore constitute an essential requirement for the assessment of volcanic hazards.
VvSWEET7 Is a Mono- and Disaccharide Transporter Up-Regulated in Response to Botrytis cinerea Infection in Grape Berries

The newly-identified SWEETs are high-capacity, low-affinity sugar transporters with important roles in numerous physiological mechanisms where sugar efflux is critical. SWEETs are desirable targets for manipulation by pathogens and their expression may be transcriptionally reprogrammed during infection. So far, few plant SWEET transporters have been functionally characterized, especially in grapevine. In this study, in the Botrytis-susceptible variety “Trincadeira,” we thoroughly analyzed modifications in the gene expression profile of key SWEET genes in Botrytis cinerea-infected grape berries. VvSWEET7 and VvSWEET15 are likely to play an important role during fruit development and Botrytis infection as they are strongly expressed at the green and mature stage, respectively, and were clearly up-regulated in response to infection. Also, B. cinerea infection down-regulated VvSWEET17a expression at the green stage, VvSWEET10 and VvSWEET17d expression at the veraison stage, and VvSWEET11 expression at the mature stage. VvSWEET7 was functionally characterized by heterologous expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a low-affinity, high-capacity glucose and sucrose transporter with a K m of 15.42 mM for glucose and a K m of 40.08 mM for sucrose. VvSWEET7-GFP and VvSWEET15-GFP fusion proteins were transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana epidermal cells and confocal microscopy allowed to observe that both proteins clearly localize to the plasma membrane. In sum, VvSWEETs transporters are important players in sugar mobilization during grape berry development and their expression is transcriptionally reprogrammed in response to Botrytis infection.
A Taxonomic Revision of Espeletia (Asteraceae). The Venezuelan Radiation

Abstract. Subtribe Espeletiinae (Asteraceae) represents the best example of morphological and ecological diversification in the Northern Andes high-elevation ecosystem known as páramo. These plants, formerly considered as belonging to a single genus, Espeletia, were later referred to eight genera defined mainly according to their habit, branching pattern, and inflorescence position and structure. However, several molecular phylogenetic analyses have shown that this classification system is artificial since the larger genera, regrouping ca. 85% of the species, are polyphyletic. Here, a return to the previous classification system of the subtribe at the generic level is proposed, adopting the view that only Espeletia should be recognized, with the other seven genera considered as (heterotypic) synonyms. At the species level, a taxonomic revision is made of the nomenclature, morphology, and distribution of the taxa in the Venezuelan clade of Espeletia, one of the two major clades that compose the genus. Fifty-four species are accepted, 48 entirely endemic to the Venezuelan Cordillera de Mérida, 2 broadly distributed in this range and nearby areas in Colombia and Venezuela, and 4 endemic to the northern section of the Colombian Cordillera Oriental and Sierra de Perijá. Distribution maps for all species are proposed, along with brief morphological descriptions and lists of diagnostic features that facilitate their identification against similar species. Thirteen hybrid taxa and their putative parental species are also given, eight of them proposed here for the first time.
Outcomes associated with the intention of loco-regional therapy prior to living donor liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND Loco-regional therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) during the period awaiting liver transplantation (LT) appears to be a logical approach to reduce the risk of tumor progression and dropout in the waitlist. Living donor LT (LDLT) offers a flexible timing for transplantation providing timeframe for well preparation of transplantation. AIM To investigate outcomes in relation to the intention of pre-transplantation loco-regional therapy in LDLT for HCC patients. METHODS A total of 308 consecutive patients undergoing LDLTs for HCC between August 2004 and December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were grouped according to the intention of loco-regional therapy prior to LT, and outcomes of patients were analyzed and compared between groups. RESULTS Overall, 38 patients (12.3%) were detected with HCC recurrence during the follow-up period after LDLT. Patients who were radiologically beyond the University of California at San Francisco criteria and received loco-regional therapy as down-staging therapy had significant inferior outcomes to other groups for both recurrence-free survival (RFS, P < 0.0005) and overall survival (P = 0.046). Moreover, patients with defined profound tumor necrosis (TN) by loco-regional therapy had a superior RFS (5-year of 93.8%) as compared with others (P = 0.010). CONCLUSION LDLT features a flexible timely transplantation for patient with HCC. However, the loco-regional therapy prior to LDLT does not seem to provide benefit unless a certain effect in terms of profound TN is noted.
Occupational Health Problems Faced by Female Beedi Workers at Khajamalai, Trichy District, Tamil Nadu

This study aimed at gaining insight into the "Occupational Health Problems Faced by Female Beedi Workers at Khajamalai, Trichy. The research design used for this study is descriptive. The research selected 50 families for the study using a purposive sampling method. Only those female heads of the families who were involved in Beedi work and who were willing to answer the schedule were included for the study. The main objective of the study was to know the working conditions, health status. Most of the respondents 62 percent had work for less than 20 days. Therefore their earning capacity was also less. Majority 72 percent of the respondents were working for contractors which showed that they were subjected to exploitation. 46 percent of the respondents rolled 31-40 bundles daily. This shows that respondents were involved in very hard work. Majority 76 percent of the respondents stated that they had health problems. Majority 70 percent of the respondent stated that their health problems were due to their occupation. Majority 76 percent of the respondents expressed that they had a spouse who was alcoholic and as a result.
Sagittal Spinal and Pelvic Alignment in Middle-Aged and Older Men and Women in the Natural and Erect Sitting Positions: A Prospective Study in a Chinese Population

Background This prospective study aimed to compare the sagittal spinopelvic parameters in the erect and natural sitting positions in healthy middle-aged and older men and women in a Chinese population. Material/Methods Ninety healthy middle-aged and older men and women underwent lateral whole spinal radiography in the natural and erect sitting positions. The radiographic sagittal spinopelvic parameters were measured. They included the sagittal vertical axis (SVA), the T1 pelvic angle (TPA), the pelvic incidence (PI), the pelvic tilt (PT), the sacral slope (SS), thoracic kyphosis (TK), thoracolumbar kyphosis (TLK), the T1 slope (T1S), cervical lordosis (CL), and lumbar lordosis (LL). Results In the natural sitting position, LL decreased by 14.5°, TK and TLK increased by 3.2° and 2.5°, respectively, PT increased by 10.3°, T1S increased by 6.9°, and CL increased by 3.4° compared with the erect position. In the natural sitting position, the mean forward-moving SVA was 33.4 mm, and the C2–C7 SVA was 6.1 mm. Men had a larger LL and smaller PT than the women when sitting in the erect position, and a greater TK, T1S, and C2–C7 SVA than women when sitting in the natural position. Conclusions In the natural sitting position, a reduction in LL was associated with TK, SVA and PT increased, and there were differences between men and women. The characteristics of spinopelvic alignment in healthy older adults should be considered when planning corrective spinal surgery.
The Welfare Effects of Nudges: A Case Study of Energy Use Social Comparisons

“Nudge”-style interventions are often deemed successful if they generate large behavior change at low cost, but they are rarely subjected to full social welfare evaluations. We combine a field experiment with a simple theoretical framework to evaluate the welfare effects of one especially policy-relevant intervention, home energy social comparison reports. In our sample, the reports increase social welfare, although traditional evaluation approaches overstate gains because they ignore significant costs incurred by nudge recipients. Overall, home energy report welfare gains might be overstated by $620 million. We develop a prediction algorithm for optimal targeting; this approach would double the welfare gains. (JEL C93, D91, L95, Q41, Q48)
Investigating ADS-B MOPS Compliance using Open Data

The introduction of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) in Aviation as mandated in the US [3,4] and in Europe [1,2] rests on the (at least theoretical) benefits of the switch of paradigm in ATC surveillance from (continuously) active interrogation of aircraft positions by primary radars to (almost always) automatic broadcast of data by the aircraft. The cost/benefit analysis in favour of this shift weights on the 1) higher frequency and precision of the aircraft information (position, speed, . . . ) made available to ATC/neighbouring aircraft leading to increased safety and increased airspace capacity and 2) on the (at least one) order of magnitude reduction in ground infrastructure costs [5]. Infrastructure needs nontheless to be deployed both on the ground and in the air; and in the end it is the passenger who pays via taxes on tickets or airports services: so what is the status of deployment? This paper investigates, using only open and free data, the status of compliance of aircraft in the European airspace, i.e. how many aircraft flying in Europe comply to the EASA ADS-B mandate.
Evaluation of Flight Efficiency for Stockholm Arlanda Airport using OpenSky Network Data

Identification of causes of the delays within transition airspace is an important step in evaluating performance of the Terminal Maneuvering Area (TMA) Air Navigation Services: without knowing the current performance levels, it is difficult to identify which areas could be improved. Inefficient vertical profiles within TMA and deviations from the optimal flight paths due to bad weather conditions are the main sources of performance decline. In this work, we analyse punctuality and vertical efficiency of Stockholm Arlanda airport arrivals, and seek to quantify the fuel consumption impact associated with the inefficient vertical flight profiles within the Terminal Maneuvering Area (TMA). We use Opensky Network data for evaluation of the Stockholm Arlanda airport performance, comparing it to the DDR2 data provided by Eurocontol, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of both.
ASSESSING THE FARMER’S OPINION TOWARDS USAGE OF MOBILE PHONE SMS SERVICE : A STUDY OF UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

Telecommunications, especially mobile phones, have the potential to provide solution to the existing information asymmetry in various sectors like agriculture. Study focused on the opinion of the farmers regarding IKSL service through mobile phone. To study the socio-personal and communication characteristics of mobile SMS alert/ user farmers. To find out farmers’ opinion towards mobile based IKSL service. Uttar Pradesh was selected purposively, where large majority of the subscribers were benefitting from this service. Maximum number of IKSL subscribers from Lucknow and Kanpur followed by other districts in the eastern Uttar Pradesh. Therefore, Lucknow and Kanpur dehat were selected purposively. From each selected districts, 80 subscribers (who received more than 25 Voice SMS in a month and have used the service for at least two years) were randomly selected (using Probability Proportionate to Size Sampling). Therefore, total sample size was 160 subscribers. Descriptive as well as analytical research design was used. Data was collected using structured interview schedule. Frequency, Percentages, Weighted Mean Scores, Standard Deviation, Range and number of statements was used for data analysis. The study findings revealed that majority of the respondents were male, belonging to middle age group, educated upto intermediate, medium farmers,involved insubsistence farming as well as commercial farming. It was indicated that mobile phone was ranked first closely followed by other media. It is evident that majority (78.13 per cent) of the respondents were most favorable opinion regarding service. It was observed that farmers have positive opinion regarding IKSL service, which is one of the innovative service, provide timely, relevant and trustworthy information to farmers.