Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of plant clinic advice among farmers in Ethiopia: implications for sustainable pest management service

Abstract This study examined the use of crop health advices that farmers received at village-based plant clinics and their determinants in Ethiopia. Data were collected from 210 randomly selected plant clinic users from three districts of Ethiopia, and analysed using descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression model. Plant clinic users were smallholders with an average landholding of 0.8 ha, predominantly male, with a mean age of 46 years. Most recommendations for pest management were a combination of monitoring, cultural practices and pesticides, in line with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles. About 64% and 34% of the clinic users fully or partially, respectively, applied the recommendations. After visiting plant clinics, farmers demonstrated improved knowledge and practices in using pesticides, although no significant difference was observed between the types of pesticides they used. Stability of plant doctors, distance to plant clinics, and education significantly and positively influenced the use of plant clinic advice, whereas age was negatively associated. The findings suggest that plant clinics provide relevant and practical advice that address plant health problems of farmers. Thus, such project-based intervention should be fully integrated into regular programmes to ensure their sustainability.
Grain Production of the Winter Barley Under Growingin the Condititions of the Climatic Changes

In conditions of deficient and unstable moistening studying of growing and development winter barley plants in period of autumn vegetation and at the time of formation stability of winter plants under adverse weather conditions of winter has obtained important meaning as it had influence on yield. Aim of the researches was studying influence agro-technical ways of growing on winter barley production in conditions of northern Steepe of Ukraine. According to the results of three-year field researches (2016-2019 years) it was cleared up influence of sowing date, norms of seed sowing on plant production of barley after a precursor – sunflower. It is established on average during the years of researches, morphological-biological indexes of winter barley plants differed substantially depending on hydro-technical conditions in autumn period of vegetation. Barley plants with early date of sowing (September, 20) formed more vegetative mass since 17,8 till 18,7g depending on norms of seed sowing, number of sprouts 3,2 – 3,7 pieces and a nodal roots 2,4 – 3,1 pieces. Displacement sowing date for each 10 days from early to later ones led to lessening all indexes. In dependence on state of a plant during cessation of autumn vegetation and weather conditions in winter period (2016-2019 years), survival rate of plants varied within 93 – 98%. Sowing on September, 30 and October, 10 provided the highest level of survival rate and was – 96 – 98%. In phase of whole ripeness of seeds after sowing on September, 30 winter barley plants formed bigger production while after early (September, 20) and late (October, 20) date of sowing average yield by years depending on seed sowing reduced to 1,5 and 2,3 t/ha accordingly.
Medical students’ perceptions of nutrition in medical education and future practice

Keywords: medical education, nutrition, medical students, physicians, undergraduate, lifestyle medicineBackground: Physicians are relied upon as knowledgeable sources of nutrition information; however, many report low nutrition knowledge.Objective: The present study assessed first and second-year medical students’ perceptions of nutrition education within the medical curriculum, in terms of their attitudes, learned body of knowledge, and satisfaction.Methods: An online questionnaire was administered to Dalhousie University medical students completing their first or second year (N=125). Mann-Whitney U tests compared the responses of first-year to second-year students, as well as those with and without previous nutrition education.Results: 97.6% of respondents agreed that nutritional counselling can positively influence patient outcomes, with 91.2% agreeing that physicians play a key role in nutritional counselling. Compared to second-year students, first-year students had greater self-perceived knowledge of basic nutrition concepts (p<0.001) and nutrition in the treatment of disease (p=0.005), as did students with previous nutrition education compared to those without (p=0.019 and 0.018 respectively). Satisfaction was <30% agreement, with first-year students more satisfied with their nutrition education than second-year students (p<0.05). Conclusion: First and second-year medical students regard nutrition as an important component of medical practice that can positively impact patient outcomes. However, low satisfaction with their nutrition education suggests that additional nutrition curriculum would better prepare them for future practice.
Investigating three patterns of new particles growing to the size of cloud condensation nuclei in Beijing's urban atmosphere

Abstract. The growth of newly formed particles with diameters from ∼ 10 nm to larger sizes was investigated in Beijing's urban atmosphere during 10–23 December 2011, 12–27 April 2012, and June–August 2014. In 11 out of 27 new particle formation (NPF) events during June–August, the maximum geometric median diameter ( Dpgmax ) of newly formed particles exceeded 75 nm, and the grown new particles may contribute to the population of cloud condensation nuclei. In contrast, no apparent growth in new particles with Dpgmax 20 nm was observed in all of the events in December, in approximately half of the NPF events in April, and in only two events during June–August. New particles observed in the latter NPF events were too small to be activated as cloud condensation nuclei. Apparent new particle growth with Dpgmax ≤ 50 nm was observed in the remaining 18 NPF events. The 11 NPF events during June–August with Dpgmax exceeding 75 nm were analyzed in detail. The particle growth patterns can be clearly classified into three types: one-stage growth and two-stage growth-A and growth-B patterns. The one-stage growth pattern is characterized by a continuous increase in Dpg with Dpgmax ≥ 80 nm (4 out of 11 NPF events), and the two-stage growth-A and growth-B patterns are characterized by no apparent growth and shrinkage of particles, respectively, in the middle 2–4 h of the growth period (7 out of 11 NPF events). Combining the observations of gaseous pollutants and measured (or modeled) concentrations of particulate chemical species, the three growth patterns were discussed in terms of the spatial heterogeneity of NPF, formation of secondary aerosols, and evaporation of semivolatile particulates. Secondary organic species and NH4NO3 were argued to be two major contributors to the growth of new particles, but NH4NO3 likely contributed to growth only in the late afternoon and/or at nighttime.
Effect of Impact Velocity, Flooring Material, and Trochanteric Soft-Tissue Quality on Acetabular Fracture during a Sideways Fall: A Parametric Finite Element Approach

A low-energy acetabular fracture, as a result of falling from standing height, is common among elderly patients and the number of cases is increasing rapidly in developed countries. Several biomechanical factors contribute to the incidence, severity, and type of acetabular fractures, such as body configuration at the impact moment or bone and soft-tissue quality. The current parametric study developed a comprehensive finite element model of the pelvic girdle and simple representation of the whole body and investigated the effects of impact velocity, conventional indoor/outdoor flooring material, and trochanteric soft-tissue stiffness on an acetabular fracture. Our results show that whereas the impact velocity has a substantial influence on the incidence and type of acetabular fracture, the effects of conventional flooring materials and trochanteric soft-tissue quality are not remarkable. It seems that other factors such as the quality of bone (healthy vs. osteoporotic), the thickness of trochanteric soft-tissue, and body configuration at the impact are more critical in the occurrence and type of the acetabular fracture. These results can be valuable in the prevention of acetabular fractures and the design of protective measures such as hip pads or novel flooring materials.
Local Coupling and Conversion of Surface Waves due to Earth’s Rotation. Part 2: Numerical Examples

Rotation of the Earth affects the propagation of seismic waves. The global coupling of spheroidal and toroidal modes by the Coriolis force over time is described by normal-mode theory. The local action of the Coriolis force on the propagation of surface waves can be described by coefficients for the coupling between propagating Rayleigh and Love waves as derived by (Landau & Lifshitz 1959). Using global wavefield simulations we show how the Coriolis force leads to coupling and conversion between both surface wave types depending on latitude, propagation direction, frequency, and local velocity structure. Surface wave coupling is most efficient for periods where the modes have similar phase velocities, a condition that is equivalent to the selection rules of the angular degree in the normal-mode framework, a phenomenon that we refer to as resonant coupling. In the time-domain, resonant coupling gradually converts energy from one wave type–Rayleigh waves or Love wave–into the other, which then propagates independently. Due to the lateral heterogeneity, the condition of equal phase velocity renders the rotational coupling location-dependent. East-west oriented ray path segments and segments at high latitudes (across the Poles) only weakly couple the fundamental mode Rayleigh and Love waves while coupling is strongest for propagation along the meridians across the equator. At 250 s period, where Love and Rayleigh waves have similar phase velocities, the net energy transfer from Rayleigh to Love wave reaches about 10% for one orbit.
Adoption and Use of Learning Management Systems in Education: The Role of Playfulness and Self-Management

This article investigates the factors affecting primary and secondary education teachers’ behavioral intention to adopt learning management systems (LMSs). Information technology (IT) innovations have the power to change the way we work, educate, learn, and basically the way we live. The effect of IT innovations on education makes it critical to understand the current usage situation of LMSs and the factors affecting their adoption by teachers. The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) was extended with factors from education and game-based learning literature. In order to see the effect of individual- and organizational-level characteristics, multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was conducted and discrepancies in relationships were reported. Evaluation of users and non-users and teachers of different fields were also compared to each other. The findings of this study not only contribute to theory through the development and testing of a thorough model relating technology features and individual characteristics to behavioral intention to use, but also offer strong implications for practitioners who would like to increase LMS usage and create a more effective learning environment.
Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Essential Oils from Populations of Baccharis dracunculifolia DC. in Southern Brazil

: Baccharis dracunculifolia DC. is a Brazilian native plant, presenting wide chemical diversity and numerous pharmaceutical and industrial applications. This research assessed the yield, antioxidant activity and the chemical similarity of essential oils from 10 populations of B. dracunculifolia in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil. The extraction of the volatile compounds was carried out by hydrodistillation, the chemical composition was determined by GC/FID and GC/MS and the antioxidant activity by the DPPH method. The essential oil yield of wild B. dracunculifolia populations ranged from 0.14 to 0.87%. The oils were predominantly composed of oxygenated sesquiterpenes (34.16 - 51.01%), monoterpene hydrocarbons (18.02 - 46.17%) and sesquiterpenes hydrocarbons (9.60 - 17.70%). The major compounds found in all populations were β-pinene (7.65 - 29.8%) and (E)-nerolidol (9.11 - 21.68%). Essential oil solutions (20%) from different populations presented antioxidant capacity ranging from 27.78 to 91.67%. A negative correlation found between antioxidant spathulenol (r = -0.696). Multivariate analyses separated the populations into three groups: (1) low concentrations of α-pinene (2.02 - 2.06%), (2) high concentrations of α-pinene (4.17 - 4.61%) and β-pinene (22.54 - 29.80%), and (3) intermediate concentrations of α-pinene (2.38 - 3.31%), β-pinene (12.77 - 19.03%) and spathulenol (6.02 - 9.06%).
Does Demand Uncertainty Moderate the Relationship of Risk Attitude and Sticky Cost? Evidence From Egypt

The current paper explores the relation between managers’ risk attitude and cost stickiness behavior and the role of demand uncertainty as a moderation variable in the Egyptian business environment. Managers’ risk attitudes are measured using Bo and Sterken (2007) proxy measure [Bo, H. , & Sterken, E. (2007). Attitude towards risk, uncertainty, and fixed investment. The North American Journal of Economics and Finance , 18 (1), 59–75]. Demand uncertainty is measured by the standard deviation of firms’ sales over the sample period. The study sample includes 114 Egyptian-listed firms over a 14-year period (2004 - 2017) which results in 1,419 firm-year observations. The study models are estimated using the ordinary least squares (OLS) with a fixed-effects model. Findings show that in the presence of high demand uncertainty, risk-averse managers respond to sales decrease by cutting resources which lowers cost stickiness. One of the limitations is that some factors like firms’ policies, corporate governance mechanisms, and board of directors’ characteristics could dilute the effect of manager’s risk attitude on cost stickiness. The current research emphasizes the importance of considering the firm’s operating environment when selecting a manager for the firm, and the role of directed training to align the manager’s personal characteristics with the firm's objectives. The current research contributes to the previous literature by documenting the effect of manager’s risk attitude on cost stickiness and the role of a firm’s demand uncertainty as a moderating variable between these two variables.
Green Growth and Agriculture in Brazil

This paper addresses Green Growth and Agriculture in Brazil, analysing the National Plan for Low Carbon Emission in Agriculture (ABC Plan). The main focus is to detail the structure and actions proposed and implemented by the ABC Plan, and also to identify its economic, environmental and social effects. Using a qualitative research approach, desk research was conducted through reports, newspaper articles, and official documents from the Brazilian government and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA). The outcomes indicated that the ABC Plan did not address the main components of the literature on green growth policies, such as proper training of human resources in sustainable agricultural techniques, and access to financial support for promoting the implementation of sustainable agriculture systems. The lack of participation of local institutions in the creation and implementation of the ABC Plan is also pointed out.
A novel blockchain-based privacy-preserving framework for online social networks

ABSTRACT Online social networks (OSNs) are nowadays an important field of applications thanks to the recent surge in online interaction. However, the illegal disclosure of user's private data can cause damaging consequences and even threaten the safety of users' life. The privacy issues of OSNs have become a matter of great concern for many people. In recent years, there are some research works to address this privacy issue, yet they do not always focus on providing the normal social network services for users, such as data sharing, data retrieval and data access services. Therefore, it is a challenge to ensure the security of sensitive data while providing efficient and privacy-preserving social network services for users. In this paper, we propose a novel blockchain-based privacy-preserving framework for online social networks, called BPP. Combined blockchain and public-key cryptography technique, the BPP framework can achieve secure data sharing, data retrieving, and data accessing with fairness and without worrying about potential damage to users' interest. Specifically, based on blockchain and public key encryption with keyword search technique, a secure, fair and efficient keyword search algorithm is proposed, with which the BBP framework realises privacy preservation of user's query and then obtain accurate query results with assurance and without needing for any further verification operation in online social network. Finally, we implement a prototype of our framework and deploy it to a locally simulated network. The extensive experiments and security analysis demonstrate the security, efficacy and efficiency of our proposed framework.
Sorption Characteristics of Radioactive Cesium and Strontium on Smectite

Sorption of Cs and Sr on smectite has been studied by combining sorption and desorption experiments. In the desorption experiments, the Cs and Sr were desorbed from the smectite by 0.1 Ν different desorption reagents solution of Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Mg, Ca and Ba. The effects of Cs and Sr concentrations on sorption were examined by desorption experiments using 1 Ν KCl as a desorption reagent over a Cs and Sr concentrations range from 10"® to 1 Ν (saturated). All of Sr sorbed was desorbed with a 1 Ν KCl solution over Sr concentrations range of 10" and 1 M. Approximately 50% of the Cs sorbed at a concentration of 10~ Μ was desorbed with a 1 Ν KCl solution, and the fraction desorbed increased with increasing a Cs concentration. These results show that all Sr was reversibly sorbed on smectite, and a fraction of Cs was irreversibly sorbed on smecite. Thus, smectite has reversible sorption sites for Sr and both reversible and irreversible sorption sites for Cs. The fractions of Sr desorbed were related to the products of an ionic radius and charge of a desorption reagent, and those of Cs were related to the hydration energy. These results suggest that sorbed Sr and Cs reversibly on smectite form hydrated and dehydrated ions, respectively.
Leaf trait co‐variation and trade‐offs in gallery forest C3 and CAM epiphytes

Despite their unique adaptations to thrive in canopy environments without access to soil resources, epiphytes are underrepresented in studies of functional traits and of functional composition of tropical plant communities. We investigated functional traits of spermatophytic (seed‐bearing) C3 and CAM epiphyte communities in flooded and non‐flooded gallery forests in Central Brazil. The two forest types differ in floristic, structure, microclimate, and edaphic conditions. We studied plant size, leaf thickness, leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf water content, leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf C, N, P, K, Mg, and Ca, and stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N). Because photosynthetic pathway (C3 or CAM) is an important aspect of ecological differentiation for spermatophytic epiphytes, we expected that functional trait syndromes in a multivariate space would be more associated with photosynthetic pathway than forest type, and changes in abundance of C3 and CAM epiphytes would drive functional trait composition at the community level. C3 and CAM epiphytes segregated in the multivariate trait space; however, more complex functional typologies were also evident. Despite lower light levels, CAM epiphytes were more abundant in the flooded gallery forest. There, they accounted for 80% of all individuals, whereas C3 epiphytes dominated in the non‐flooded forest. These large differences in the proportion of CAM and C3 epiphytes strongly affected functional trait values at the community level, despite very little intraspecific variation in trait values between forest types for species that occurred in both forests.
Virtual Workload Measurement for Assessing Systems Utilizing Automation Technology

With the increasing integration of automation technologies, the role of the operator is changing from sole actor to a shared supervisor/actor role. Studies on unmanned ground vehicle operators and recent crashes partially blamed on automation technologies demonstrate the need to measure and assess operator awareness and workload. Overcoming these challenges requires an assessment early in the design cycle for operator awareness and workload. This methodology integrates concepts from cognitive engineering into operations analysis to better capture and analyze the eﬀectiveness of increasingly automated systems. An agent-based model is created using Operational Event Sequence Diagrams and concepts from situation awareness research to guide agent formulation. The agent rule set is then mapped to the NASA Task Load Index scales to provide a dynamic output throughout the simulation. A traﬃc model is built in AFSIM to compare the mental workload associated with city versus highway driving. The dynamic workload measurement is the ﬁrst step in a framework which will enable automation technologies to be traded during the conceptual design phase.
EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT AND MOLECULAR DOCKING: NANOSTRUCTURED LIPID CARRIERS (NLCs) OF COENZYME Q10 USING STEARIC ACID AND DIFFERENT LIQUID LIPIDS AS LIPID MATRIX

Objective: To develop coenzyme Q10 (co-Q10) nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) using stearic acid (SA) and various liquid lipids with different lipophilicity as well as highlights the use of in silico studies for predicting and elucidating the interaction of drug-lipid used as carries in NLCs, at the molecular level. Methods: The co-Q10 NLCs were prepared using SA as solid lipid and oleic acid (OA), isopropyl myristate (IPM), as well as isopropyl palmitate (IPP) as liquid lipids by the high shear homogenization method. Firstly, the formulas were optimized by the appropriate required HLB (rHLB). The optimized NLCs were characterized in the particle size, distribution of particle size, zeta potential, crystallinity behavior, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, morphology, entrapment efficiency (EE), drug loading (DL), and pH value. The interaction of drug-lipids in silico was studied using the AutoDock Vina program. Results: The co-Q10 NLCs using SA and the various liquid lipid possessed the mean particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, EE, DL, and pH values were 180 to 350 nm,<0.5,<-30 mV, 83 to 88%, 10 to 11%, and 5.0 to 5.6, respectively. The EE and DL of co-Q10 NLCs increased with decreasing in binding energy (∆G) in silico. Conclusion: The co-Q10 NLCs using SA as solid lipid and OA, IPM, as well as IPP as liquid lipids were developed successfully. Furthermore, in silico study by molecular docking is a potential approach in predicting and elucidating the interaction of drug-lipid in the development of NLCs formulation.