Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of weed management methods on weeds and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield

An experiment was conducted at Holetta Agricultural Research Center to study the effect of weed management practices on weeds and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) during 2010 to 2011 crop seasons in randomized complete block design with three replications. The experiment comprised of twelve weed management practices as treatments. The crop was infested with Avena fatua L. Cynodon dactlylon (L) Pers, Digitaria abbisinica (A. Rich) Stapt and Phalaris paradoxa L. among grass weeds and Amaranthus spinosus L. , Caylusea abyssinica (Feresen.) fisch and May, C. trigyna L. , Conolvulus arvenesis L. , Chenopodium album L. , Chenopodom nobile L. , Corrigoala capensis Willd. , Galinsoga parviflora Cov. Guizotia scabra (Vis.) Chiov. , Medicago polymorpha L. , Oxalis latifolia H.B. K. , Polygonum nepalense L. , Plantago lanceolata L. , Raphanus raphanistrum L. , Spergula arvensis L. and Tagetes minuta L. were among broad leaf weeds. The results showed that broadleaved, grass and total weed density as well as dry weight were significantly influenced by weed management practices. Hand weeding + 15 cm row spacing followed isoproturon at 1.5 kg ha + 15 cm row spacing significantly reduced density and dry weight of weeds. Among herbicides, isoproturon + 15 cm row spacing provided better control of broadleaved and total weeds, whereas; clodinafop-propargyl + 15 cm row spacing proved better than isoproturon at 1.50 kg haand hand weeding + 15 cm row spacing in controlling grass weeds. Highest grain yield (2289.4 kg ha) in was recorded in hand weeding + 15 cm row spacing followed by isoproturon at 1.50 kg ha + 15 cm row spacing (2177.3 kg ha). Maximum N uptake was also recorded in these treatments. Uncontrolled weed growth throughout the crop growth caused a yield reduction 57.6 to 73.2%. Post emergence herbicides (isoproturon at 1.50 kg/ha) and /or hand weeding and hoeing at tillering + narrow spacing (15 cm) can further enhance the weed suppressive effect of the crop.
Under what conditions do climate-driven sex ratios enhance versus diminish population persistence?

For many species of reptile, crucial demographic parameters such as embryonic survival and individual sex (male or female) depend on ambient temperature during incubation. While much has been made of the role of climate on offspring sex ratios in species with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), the impact of variable sex ratio on populations is likely to depend on how limiting male numbers are to female fecundity in female-biased populations, and whether a climatic effect on embryonic survival overwhelms or interacts with sex ratio. To examine the sensitivity of populations to these interacting factors, we developed a generalized model to explore the effects of embryonic survival, hatchling sex ratio, and the interaction between these, on population size and persistence while varying the levels of male limitation. Populations with TSD reached a greater maximum number of females compared to populations with GSD, although this was often associated with a narrower range of persistence. When survival depended on temperature, TSD populations persisted over a greater range of temperatures than GSD populations. This benefit of TSD was greatly reduced by even modest male limitation, indicating very strong importance of this largely unmeasured biologic factor. Finally, when males were not limiting, a steep relationship between sex ratio and temperature favoured population persistence across a wider range of climates compared to the shallower relationships. The opposite was true when males were limiting – shallow relationships between sex ratio and temperature allowed greater persistence. The results highlight that, if we are to predict the response of populations with TSD to climate change, it is imperative to 1) accurately quantify the extent to which male abundance limits female fecundity, and 2) measure how sex ratios and peak survival coincide over climate.
The atmospheric frontal response to SST perturbations in the Gulf Stream region

The link between sea surface temperature (SST) gradients and atmospheric fronts is explored in a general circulation model across the Gulf Stream (GS) region from December to February 1981–2000. Two model experiments are analyzed, one with a realistic control SST distribution and one with a spatially smoothed SST distribution. The analysis shows a noticeable change in regional atmospheric frontal frequency between the two experiments (up to 30%), with the distribution of change exhibiting a clear imprint of the GS SST front. Further analysis of the surface sensible heat flux gradient across cold fronts reveals the pattern of change to be mediated by a thermal interaction between the oceanic and atmospheric fronts (“thermal damping and strengthening”). These results not only emphasize the significance of the GS SST gradient for storm development in the North Atlantic but also highlight the importance of resolution in assessing the role of frontal air‐sea interaction in midlatitude climate variability.
High Speed Cylindrical Gravitational Collapse with Anisotropic Pressure

This paper focuses on the cylindrical symmetric gravitational collapse in the presence of anisotropic fluid. The high speed approximation scheme was used. In this perspective, the effect of anisotropy of pressure in fluid distribution on the collapsing process with the Equation of State (EoS) p t = λ ρ and p r = l ρ , ( l + 2 λ < - 1 ) . The effect of pressure on collapse in radial and tangential direction was observed for all values of λ and l. It is determined that, for some values of constants, i.e., λ and l, collapse results in a Naked Singularity (NS) while, for some values of constants, it does not form NS or Black Hole (BH). This study presents the effect on the collapsing process for all values of λ and l.
A Quantitative Examination of the Relationship between Servant Leadership and Age on Organizational Commitment in Faith-Based Organizations

Servant leadership has grown slowly over the past four decades as an organizational style of leadership. Servant leadership is an excellent style for developing followers into their full potential, as it focuses first on the individual, while simultaneously developing capacity to achieve organizational goals. The workforce is constantly circulating, with older workers retiring and younger workers coming into the workforce. There are many factors influencing workers’ commitment to their organization, age is one of these factors and perception of leadership is another. Younger workers have different needs and different motivations than older workers. Faith-based organizations are a smaller segment of organizations with unique characteristics that effect servant leadership and commitment; potentially differently in different age workers. The purpose of this quantitative research was to examine servant leadership with paid and volunteer workers of different ages in faith-based organizations for relationship with organizational commitment. Data was collected through an anonymous survey of faith-based organizations in the Northeast United States (U.S.) and analyzed through multiple regression (and ANOVA for generational cohorts). The analysis used age (birth year – current year) and servant leadership as independent variables and organizational commitment scores as the dependent variable. The findings indicated that age does not have a significant relationship with commitment in faith-based organizations, but servant leadership is predictive of commitment in faith-based organizations. These findings lead to several suggestions for practice and future research.
Three-dimensional strength-reduction finite element analysis of slopes: geometric effects

The vast majority of slopes, both natural and constructed, exhibit a complex geometric configuration and three-di- mensional (3D) state, whereas slopes satisfying the assumption of plane strain (infinite length) are seldom encountered. Ex- isting research mainly emphasizes the 3D dimensions and boundary effect in slope stability analysis; however, the effect of complex geometric ground configuration on 3D slope stability is rarely reported. In this paper, an elastoplastic finite-element method using strength-reduction techniques is used to analyze the stability of special 3D geometric slopes. A typical 3D slope underlain by a weak layer with groundwater is described to validate the numerical modeling, safety factor values, and critical slip surface for the 3D slope. Furthermore, a series of special 3D slopes with various geometric configurations are analyzed numerically, and the effects of turning corners, slope gradient, turning arcs, and convex- and concave-shaped sur- face geometry on the stability and failure characteristics of slopes under various boundary conditions are discussed in detail.
Rainfall variations induced by the lunar gravitational atmospheric tide and their implications for the relationship between tropical rainfall and humidity

Classical tidal theory predicts that the lunar gravitational semidiurnal tide (L2) should induce perturbations in relative humidity (RH). Adiabatic expansion in divergent flow in advance of the L2 pressure minimum cools the air and reduces its saturation vapor pressure, thereby increasing the rate of condensation in saturated air parcels and causing the relative humidity (RH) of unsaturated parcels to rise. Here we detect a statistically significant L2 signature in precipitation rate (P) in a 15 year, eight times daily, global precipitation data set acquired in the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. Consistent with tidal theory and with the notion that L2 modulates P mainly by perturbing RH, P varies out of phase with pressure, and it increases at a rate of about 10% per 1% increase in RH. These measurements thus provide a measure of the sensitivity of P to planetary‐scale changes in RH. Analysis of solar semidiurnal (S2) tidal statistics yields similar results.
The Graph Induced by Affine m-Flats over Finite Fields I

Let IF q be the finite field with q elements,where q is a power of a prime.The graph γ induced by m-flats of n-dimensional affine space AG(n,IF q)over IF q is studied.In particular,the distance between any two vertices in γ is determined by means of dimension of their join,and the neighborhood of any vertex in γ is given in a explicit form.
Hemorrhage in mouse tumors induced by dodecaborate cluster lipids intended for boron neutron capture therapy

The potential of boron-containing lipids with three different structures, which were intended for use in boron neutron capture therapy, was investigated. All three types of boron lipids contained the anionic dodecaborate cluster as the headgroup. Their effects on two different tumor models in mice following intravenous injection were tested; for this, liposomes with boron lipid, distearoyl phosphatidylcholine, and cholesterol as helper lipids, and containing a polyethylene glycol lipid for steric protection, were administered intravenously into tumor-bearing mice (C3H mice for SCCVII squamous cell carcinoma and BALB/c mice for CT26/WT colon carcinoma). With the exception of one lipid (B-THF-14), the lipids were well tolerated, and no other animal was lost due to systemic toxicity. The lipid which led to death was not found to be much more toxic in cell culture than the other boron lipids. All of the lipids that were well tolerated showed hemorrhage in both tumor models within a few hours after administration. The hemorrhage could be seen by in vivo magnetic resonance and histology, and was found to occur within a few hours. The degree of hemorrhage depended on the amount of boron administered and on the tumor model. The observed unwanted effect of the lipids precludes their use in boron neutron capture therapy.
The Exchange Rate Response Puzzle∗

We present a new data fact: in response to a monetary tightening, the nominal exchange tends to appreciate in developed countries but depreciate in developing countries. A model is formalized to rationalize this puzzling pattern. It has three key channels of monetary transmission: a liquidity demand channel, a fiscal channel and an output channel. These have offsetting effects on the exchange rate. The paper shows that a calibrated version of the model can explain the contrast between developed and developing countries. Using counterfactual experiments we identify differences in the liquidity demand effect as being key to the contrasting responses generated by the model. Finally, the paper provides independent evidence of systematic variation between appreciating and depreciating countries in the strength of the liquidity
Religion and cognitive dysfunction in an elderly cohort.

OBJECTIVES This study examines whether attendance at religious services has an inverse association with cognitive dysfunction in an elderly cohort in whom it has already been shown that religious attendance has an inverse association with physical disability and that social engagement has an inverse association with cognitive decline. METHODS The study population is a racially and religiously diverse sample of 2,812 community-dwelling men and women from New Haven, Connecticut; it was representative of New Haven in 1982, but not of the United States then or now. The primary study hypothesis proposes that attendance at religious services as measured in 1982 contributes to the prediction of lower levels of cognitive dysfunction in 1985 and 1988. A multivariate logistic regression analysis controlling for seven sociodemographic, four behavioral, and seven biomedical covariables is conducted. RESULTS Study results show an inverse association between religious attendance in 1982 and cognitive dysfunction in 1985 (odds ratio = 0.64; 95% confidence interval = 0.49, 0.85). Religious attendance as measured in 1982 no longer contributes to the prediction of cognitive dysfunction in 1988. DISCUSSION The short-term nature of the effect is partially explained by differential mortality. Persons with infrequent religious service attendance and with high levels of cognitive dysfunction in 1982 were more likely to die in the period from 1985 to 1988.
The Economic Structure of World Tourism

The economic development of world regions has been linked increasingly to tourism development and particularly to the volume of tourist arrivals. International tourism is a form of trade that represents exports as tourist arrivals. Particular countries have been more or less successful in developing tourism exports and imports. It has been assumed sometimes that most world regional international tourism flows from the developed to the underdeveloped world and forms a process of foreign exchange income from developed to underdeveloped economies. This paper examines the question of which countries are linked economically in world tourism and, more importantly, analyses the structure of this linkage.
How Does Corporate Investment Respond to Increased Entry Threat

The authors use large reductions of import tariffs to examine how incumbent firms modify investment when the threat of entry by foreign rivals intensifies. Incumbents reduce investment by 7.2% of capital in response to higher entry threat. This effect is robust, pervasive, and likely causal. Consistent with predictions of strategic investment models, the investment reduction concentrates in markets where competitive actions are strategic substitutes, where deterring entry is costly, and where investment makes incumbents look soft. Moreover, firms only reduce tangible investment which comprises commitment value, but do not reduce intangible investment. The authors' results provide novel evidence on how and why market structures and strategic interactions influence corporate investment.
Does Ambiguity Aversion Reinforce Risk Aversion? Applications to Portfolio Choices and Asset Prices

It is often suggested that ambiguity aversion makes individuals more precautionary , thereby offering a potential explanation for the equity premium puzzle. We show that this is not true in general. We consider a model in which risk-and-ambiguity-averse agents can invest in an unambiguously safe asset and in an ambiguous risky asset. We exhibit some sufficient conditions to guarantee that, ceteris paribus, an increase in ambiguity aversion reduces the demand for the ambiguous risky asset, and raises the equity premium. For example, this is the case when the set of plausible distributions of returns can be ranked according to the monotone likelihood ratio order. We also show how ambiguity aversion distorts the price kernel.
Food flows between counties in the United States from 2007 to 2017

Food supply chains are essential for distributing goods from production to consumption points. These complex supply chains are important for food security and availability. Recent research has developed novel methods to estimate food flows with high spatial resolution, but we do not currently understand how fine-grained food supply chains vary in time. In this study, we use an improved version of the Food Flow Model to estimate food flows (kg) between all county pairs across all food commodity groups for the years 2007, 2012, and 2017 (which requires estimating 206.3 million links). We then determine the core counties to the US food flow networks through time with a multi-criteria decision analysis technique. Our estimates of county-to-county food flows in time are freely available with this paper and could be useful for future research, policy, and decision-making.
Fractal stochastic modeling of aeromagnetic data

We present a convolutional linear data model for the processing of aeromagnetic data. The model assumes that the data derive from the superposition of a deterministic system function and a stochastic innovation process. The two‐dimensional system function is described by a four‐pass autoregressive (AR) filtering procedure and is radially symmetric. The innovation process represents the distribution of near‐surface magnetic sources and is modeled as a spectrally self‐scaling (i.e., fractal) noise. The appropriate fractal noise is determined by examining aeromagnetic power spectra from various areas of the Canadian Shield. The AR coefficients of the system are determined using an iterative deconvolution procedure. For computational convenience, we make the traditional assumption of a spectrally white innovation, but modify the data prior to its deconvolution by prewhitening the assumed fractal innovation. The recovered system function is then removed from the original data in order to produce the fractal st.
Analysis of Ecological Gradients in Forest Communities in the Malan Forest Region on the Loess Plateau

To identify ecological relationships among different forest community types in the Malan Forest Region on the Loess Plateau,45 forest community plots in the region were evaluated.Twinspan was applied to analyze and classify the forest community types,while CCA and partial DCA were used to study the environmental gradients among these forest community types.The results were as follows:(1) Eight forest types were divided into 45 forest communities;(2) CCA ordination revealed that the litter thickness,aspect,elevation and organic matter content are the most important environmental factors impacting the distribution of forest community types.In addition,partial DCA ordination revealed that disturbance is an important potential environmental factor that affects the distribution of forest community types;(3) Regular distribution of all of the forest community types in the ordination diagraph indicates that the plant species adapt to their environment,and that there is a tendency for planted forests of Pinus tabulaeformis develop gradually in a fashion similar to natural forests;(4) CCA and partial DCA are effective methods of evaluating an ecological gradient in plant communities.
A Hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization Solution to Ramping Rate Constrained Dynamic Economic Dispatch

Particle Swarm Optimization (EPSO) combined with Gaussian Mutation (GM) for solving the Dynamic Economic Dispatch (DED) problem considering the operating constraints of generators. The EPSO consists of the standard PSO and a modified heuristic search approaches. Namely, the ability of the traditional PSO is enhanced by applying the modified heuristic search approach to prevent the solutions from violating the constraints. In addition, Gaussian Mutation is aimed at increasing the diversity of global search, whilst it also prevents being trapped in suboptimal points during search. To illustrate its efficiency and effectiveness, the developed EPSO-GM approach is tested on the 3-unit and 10-unit 24-hour systems considering valve-point effect. From the experimental results, it can be concluded that the proposed EPSO-GM provides, the accurate solution, the efficiency, and the feature of robust computation compared with other algorithms under consideration.
Failed pilonidal surgery: new paradigm and new operation leading to cures.

HYPOTHESIS Refractory pilonidal disease is due to damage of the epidermis in the deep gluteal cleft by moisture and bacteria, rather than to damage in deep tissues. A new paradigm suggests that a procedure to change the shape of the gluteal cleft will improve results. DESIGN Before-and-after trial. SETTING Community private practice with extensive experience in pilonidal disease, providing ambulatory and hospital care. PATIENTS Thirty-one patients with severe refractory pilonidal disease, with a median follow-up of 20 months in 27 patients (87%). Patients had undergone a total of 141 operations with wounds still open for a combined total of 252 years. INTERVENTION The deep gluteal cleft was reshaped with a skin flap. Deep tissue was left essentially intact. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Number healed, time to healing, number of operations required. RESULTS Wounds in all 31 patients healed, 28 after a single procedure. The time to healing was rapid, within 1 week in 22 patients. There were no recurrences. CONCLUSIONS For refractory pilonidal disease, the cleft lift procedure produced rapid results by drawing intact skin over the cleft and bringing the suture line out to open air. The failures of old methods and success of this new one suggest a need for a paradigm shift in our understanding of pilonidal disease. The source of disease is not the deep tissue but rather the epidermis in the moist, hypoxic, and bacteria-laden gluteal cleft. This also has implications for initial treatment of pilonidal disease, where simple, nonoperative treatments are often effective.
Rent extraction by super-priority lenders∗

We present striking evidence of supra-competitive pricing of debtor-in-possession (DIP) loans obtained by large firms filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Fully collateralized and with super-priority and strong covenants, these loans are effectively near-risk-free: Over the past three decades, all but one DIP loan were fully repaid (principal and interest). Nonetheless, the average loan spread is a whopping 600 basis points, which is 70% higher than the average spread on high-risk leveraged loans obtained by the same firms three years prior to Chapter 11 filing. Equally surprising, the rent extraction in DIP loans is no lower for new (non-prepetition) lenders—hedge funds or private equity funds in particular—which is when lender competition ought to be at its strongest. Junior claimants often contest DIP-loan terms in court—but apparently to little avail. JEL classification: G14, G34