Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stability of stored N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) treated urea-based fertilizers

ABSTRACT The effectiveness of N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) in reducing ammonia volatilization from urea-based fertilizers has been thoroughly investigated. However, the stability of this inhibitor during storage of NBPT treated urea and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) needs further investigation. We compared ammonia volatilization from NBPT treated urea (360 mg NBPT kg−1 urea) and UAN (180 mg NBPT L−1 UAN) that were stored at room temperature for 6, 3 and 0 months. We measured ammonia volatilization with cylindrical chambers fitted with acid-charged discs at five times for 21 d. Total ammonia volatilization (measured as a % of applied nitrogen) was significantly greater in untreated urea and UAN (32% to 33%) than those in NBPT treated urea and UAN (6% to 12%). Reduction of ammonia volatilization was not significantly different among NBPT treated urea (73% to 81%) and UAN (63% to 73%) irrespective of storage time. This implies that farmers can mix their urea-based fertilizers with NBPT formulation 6 months prior to fertilization without compromising the ammonia volatilization reducing property of the NBPT.
Identification and Abundance of Fruit Fly Species Responsible for Fruit Drop of Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) in Benue State, Nigeria

Background and Objective: Citrus is one of the most important and among the top ten widely cultivated fruits in Nigeria. It is produced more in the Guinea and Sudan Savanna zones of the country with Benue State having the highest annual production. In the South of Savanna region of Africa, particularly in Nigeria; despite the economic, nutritional and health benefits of citrus, limited research work has been carried out on the identification and control of fruit flies of economic importance to the crop. The objectives of this study are to identify and determine the abundance of the fruit fly species responsible for fruit drop of citrus in Benue State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Fruit fly identification was done through fruit culture experiment carried out in the College of Agronomy Teaching and Research Farm, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi in October 2014 and October 2015.The experiment was a 2 x 3 factorial in a completely randomized design with four replications. The two factors were Zones (Zone A and B) and Varieties (Ibadan Sweet, Valencia and Washington Navel). Ten naturally infested orange fruits from four Original Research Article Atanu et al.; AJRCS, 5(1): 7-13, 2020; Article no.AJRCS. 53822 8 randomly selected citrus trees of each variety in each zone were weighed and placed in each plastic rearing box with dimension 39 x 27 x 26 cm containing sterilized moist soil securely covered with 1 mm mesh net for pupation and adult insect emergence. Emerged adults were killed using Mobil insecticide (Cyphenothrin), counted, sexed and stored in specimen bottles with 70% alcohol for preservation and later identification. Results: Fruit fly species identified from citrus fruit culture were: Bactrocera invadens (Drew), Ceratitis capitata (Weid) and Dacus bivittata (Biggot). Bactrocera invadens were the most abundant species and accounted for 63.70% in Washington navel and 63.10% in Valencia in 2014 and 2015 respectively. The varieties showed no significant differences (p>0.05) on the abundance of Ceratitis capitata and Dacus bivittata in 2014. In 2015 however, Ibadan Sweet variety showed significant difference (p < 0.05) on the abundance of Ceratitis capitata (28.30%) when compared with other varieties (15.8%) each. Conclusion: Fruit fly species responsible for citrus fruit drop in Benue State were Bactrocera invadens (Drew), Ceratitis capitata (Weid) and Dacus bivittata (Biggot) with Bactrocera invadens (Drew) recorded as the most abundant species.
Ultrafast photophysical studies and femtosecond third-order nonlinear optical properties of a Soret-band excited zinc phthalocyanine

Herein, results from the investigation of ultrafast photophysical and third-order nonlinear optical properties of newly synthesized Zn phthalocyanine, namely [Zinc (II) 2,10,16,24tetrakis(2,6-dichloropyridin-3-yl) phthalocyanine, PyCl2PC] molecule are presented. The photophysical properties were studied using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy while the NLO properties were measured using the single beam Z-scan and degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) techniques. The transient absorption spectra were obtained at 400 nm photoexcitation and a white light continuum probed the corresponding dynamics from (440-780 nm) in the solution phase. The obtained transient absorption spectra were globally fitted using a kinetic model which yielded the different photophysical constants after photoexcitation such as (i) internal conversion from higher electronic excited state (Sn) to lower electronic state (S1) happening in 1 ps (ii) Vibrational relaxation (6.25 ps) occurring within the S1 states (III) Intersystem crossing (1.78 ns) (IV) relaxation from the triplet states to ground state (0.11 μs). Nonlinear absorption properties were measured at 800 nm wavelength utilizing ~70 fs, 1 kHz laser pulses in the solution phase. A large two-photon absorption coefficient (β) of ~8×10-13 cm/W was obtained and the corresponding cross-section was estimated to be 659 GM. Time-resolved degenerate four-wave-mixing measurements revealed a large magnitude and an ultrafast response of χ(3).
Design Exploration of Energy-Efficient Accuracy-Configurable Dadda Multipliers With Improved Lifetime Based on Voltage Overscaling

This article investigates an energy-efficient accuracy-configurable Dadda (X-Dadda) multiplier. The structure employs the voltage overscaling and approximate width setting as the approximation knobs for improving the energy consumption as well as the reliability and lifetime of the multiplier. While the former may be set in the design time as well as the runtime, the latter may only be invoked in the design time. For a given accuracy level, the partial product columns and the overscaled voltage for optimizing the energy are determined. Normally, to have the error within a tolerable limit, the voltage overscaled columns are those at lower bit significances which have higher switching activities. The structure makes use of a low number of level shifters for a low-overhead realization. The approximate columns which start from the first column are contiguous. To further improve the efficiency of the multiplier, four-bit truncation of the multiplier output is also suggested. The efficiency of the X-Dadda structure is investigated using a 15-nm FinFET technology. The results indicate that, for example, when the approximate mode with the mean relative error distance (MRED) of 0.11 is considered, up to 43% energy saving is achieved. In addition, for this case, the Bias temperature instability (BTI)-induced delay degradation of the multiplier decreases up to 9.9% compared to 50% in the case of the exact mode. Also, the impact of process variations on the accuracy of the X-Dadda is studied. Finally, the efficacy of the X-Dadda multiplier, when used in neural networks for image classification and image-processing applications, is assessed.
Safety Climate and Safety Performance Management for Improved Road Safety Practices in the transport sector

Road accidents in the World in recent years leave much to be desired. Road accidents have become an international canker eating deep into the core fabric of peoples’ lives. Safety climate among organizations could play an important role in increasing road safety. This study tests the proposition that the organizational climate-behavior relationship is based primarily on extrinsic Safety Performance Management induced by climate perceptions. Using safety climate as exemplar, the effect of climate-induced extrinsic Safety Performance was compared with that of engagement-induced intrinsic Safety Performance Management on Improved Road Safety Practices in the transport sector and subsequent injury outcomes. Using a sample of Bus and truck drivers representing 290 employees, (individual-level) safety climate perceptions and employee engagement predicted safety Performance Management, which mediated their effect on subsequently measured road injury outcomes. Consistent with mea-analytic evidence suggesting a non-symmetric compensatory relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic Safety Performance Management on the transport sector. The results of this study would help the concerned transport sector in improving their ability to assess the road safety indicators and to the future development of the safety performance management for road safety practices in transport sector.
Clinical Study of Aspirin in the Prevention of Thrombosis in Breast Cancer Patients with Postoperative Chemotherapy after PICC Insertion

Objective: To study the clinical effect of aspirin in the prevention of venous thrombosis in breast cancer patients with postoperative chemotherapy after peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) insertion. Methods: 240 cases of female breast cancer patients with postoperative chemotherapy after PICC insertion in The First People’s Hospital of Jingzhou from June 2014 to December 2017 were selected and divided into experimental group (n = 120) and control group (n = 120) according to the length of stay. The modified Seldinger technique was used in both groups. The experimental group had oral Aspirin enteric-coated tablet on the day of PICC insertion, 100 mg/day until the PICC catheter was removed, while the control group did not take anticoagulant drugs. The therapeutic effects were evaluated by color Doppler ultrasound, Coagulation analysis, and complete blood count. Results: There were three cases with venous thrombosis in the experimental group, and the incidence rate was 2.5%, while ten cases in the control group developed venous thrombosis, and the incidence rate was 10%. There was a statistically significant difference in the incidence of thrombosis between the two groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that oral Aspirin can effectively reduce the incidence rate of venous thrombosis in breast cancer patients with postoperative chemotherapy after PICC insertion. Therefore, it is worthy of clinical application.
The effect of guided inquiri based chemistry teaching module on students independent learning attitude: An experimental study on the characteristics of colligative solution teaching material

The purpose of this study was to work out the effect of the employment of chemistry learning modules based of colligative nature of the answer to boost of scholars independent learning attitudes. Population of this study was senior high school School PSKD 7 Depok by purposive sampling tecnique which was class XII with thirty students. Design of this study is one group pre non tes post non test group experiment. Data collection tecniques with questionnaries of 20 statement items and likert scale option. In processing data used the SPSS programs. The results of t paired test concluded that value of t count is bigger than the worth of t Table (-18.83> -23.80). Furthermore, it's also known that the importance value or post-nontest probability value (p-value) of 0,000 is smaller than 0.05 (0.000<0.05). It means there is effect of the use of chemistry learning modules based of colligative nature of the solution to improve of students independent learning attitudes. Based on the gain test to increase of students independent learning attitudes is in the high category, namely 0.82. Thus Guided Inquiri Based Chemistry Teaching Module are needed in learning nature of colligative solution. Keywords: Module; guided inquiri; learning
DC/DC Power Converter Control-Based Deep Machine Learning Techniques: Real-Time Implementation

The recent advances in power plants and energy resources have extended the applications of buck-boost converters in the context of dc microgrids (MGs). However, the implementation of such interface systems in the MG applications is seriously threatened with instability issues imposed by the constant power loads (CPLs). The objective is that without the accurate modeling information of a dc MG system, to develop a new adaptive control methodology for voltage stabilization of the dc–dc converters feeding CPLs with low ripples. To achieve this goal, in this letter, the deep reinforcement learning (DRL) technique with the Actor–Critic architecture is incorporated into an ultralocal model (ULM) control scheme to address the destabilization effect of the CPLs under the reference voltage variations. In the suggested control approach, the feedback controller gains of the ULM controller are considered as the adjustable controller coefficients, which will be adaptively designed by the DRL technique through online learning of its neural networks (NNs). It is proved that the suggested scheme will ensure the rigorous stability of the power electronic system, for simultaneous effects of CPL and reference voltage changes, by adaptively adjusting the ULM controller gains. To appraise the merits and usefulness of the suggested adaptive methodology, some dSPACE MicroLabBox outcomes on a real-time testbed of the dc–dc converter feeding a CPL are presented.
Functional cognitive disorders: memory clinic study

‘Functional cognitive disorders‘ (FCD) is a terminology suggested to denote patients who present with memory complaints but in whom no underlying cognitive disorder is found. Rather than a diagnosis of exclusion, FCD may be positively identified on the basis of typical symptom profiles. Dr Bharambe and Dr Larner examine their data from a dedicated memory clinic, in which historically >50% of patients have not received a diagnosis of either dementia or mild cognitive impairment. The frequency of FCD was examined, along with any factors helpful in diagnosis. FCD accounted for more than 50% of clinic attenders and the data also revealed other common aspects about the FCD patients.
Power relations in a school context: Resistance of Chinese caregivers of school-aged children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

This study draws on Michel Foucault’s framework on power relations to explore the power of parents, as evidenced by various resistance strategies, in relating to teachers of their children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This qualitative study had seven focus group interviews, involving 58 caregivers from 47 Chinese families of children with ADHD. Thematic analysis was used and three themes were identified: (1) cognitive resistance, (2) behavioral resistance, and (3) the transcendent vision of education. Resulting from the study, a culturally sensitive three-dimensional empowerment model is proposed for social workers to engage in advocacy that can facilitate a transformation of family–school power relations.
Cranial computed tomography scan findings in acute head injury

Background and objective: Head injury is a common injury seen in emergency departments. Early diagnosis and treatment may ameliorate the morbidity and mortality associated with intracranial injury. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the brain is a reliable imaging modality for identification of intracranial lesions in patients with an acute head injury. This study aimed to assess the cranial CT scan findings in patients with acute head injury, find out the main indication for requesting CT scan imaging, detect main etiologic factors and its distribution among different age groups. Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study of cranial CT scan findings of 210 patients with acute head injury admitted to an emergency hospital in Hawler during three months. Numerical and graphical descriptors were used to summarize the data. Results: The age of the studied patients ranged from 2 to 67 years with a mean± SD of 29.23±15.1 with males dominating the sample (78.6%). Road traffic accident was the main cause of injury (65.7%). The most common indication for requesting a CT scan was an altered level of consciousness and vomiting. Intracranial CT scan findings related to head injury were seen in 82% of victims of which fractures (50%) and intracranial hematomas (45.2%) were the main findings followed by combined injuries(31.8) and soft tissue injuries (31.6%). Incidental intracranial findings not related to trauma were seen in 6.2% of cases. Conclusion: In patients with acute head injury, CT scan can be used as the initial imaging investigation as it can yield various types of head injuries and their consequences related to trauma.
Dimensions of tax burden: a review on OECD countries

Purpose The tax burden, defined as the ratio of the collected taxes in a particular period against the total product, is commonly used to determine the effect of fiscal and tax policies on the socioeconomic structure. The purpose of this study is to examine how the changes in some macroeconomic indicators affect the tax burden. Design/methodology/approach System generalized method of moments approach is used for 34 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members in the period of 1993-2016. Findings Based on the research findings, variables such as income per capita, foreign trading volume, the capacity of employment, unemployment and economic share of industry sector effect tax burden in a statistically significant and positive direction. The reason that lies behind the positive effect of unemployment on tax burden is the fact that the sense of social state is not abandoned. Thus, it is predicted that the state will increase public transfer expenditures in the short term due to unemployment, this increase will impose a financial burden on the public sector both in the medium and long term and finally, there will be an increase in the tax burden. Originality/value Results in the literature suggest that there are many reasons for increasing tax burden such as socio-economic development, financial and organizational structure and the globalization process. However, according to this study, it seems that gross domestic product per capita, the size of the industry sector, openness, employment capacity and unemployment rate also have a positive and significant effect on tax burden in the long run. Ultimately, these results demonstrate that tax burden, one of the most important indicators of the public sector size in the sample of the states and period in hand, is influenced positively by all independent variables and increases slightly but surely. These results suggest that the tax state is still a determinative factor in the socioeconomic field within its taxation tools.
Macroevolutionary analyses indicate that repeated adaptive shifts towards predatory diets affect functional diversity in Neotropical cichlids

1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Wilcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B2 2Department of Biology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA, 37132 3Department of Biology, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX 75964, USA 4Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, 2258 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-2258, USA 5Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-2125, USA 6Departamento de Conservación de la Biodiversidad, CONACYT El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, 29290, Mexico 7Centro de Investigación de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad Autónoma del Carmen, Ciudad del Carmen, 24155, Campeche, Mexico 8Biology Department, Winona State University, Winona, MN 55987, USA 9Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2C6
Platelet volume indices: markers of carotid atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes mellitus?

Background. Platelet volume indices (PVI) such as mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW), and platelet large cell ratio (P‑LCR) are the indicators of platelet activity and may have a role in subclinical atherosclerosis and microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We evaluated PVI in diabetics for their association with carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) and micro-vascular complications. Methods. Participants — 105 T2DM patients and age, gender matched 105 controls were evaluated by history and complete blood counts (CBC) including PVI, blood sugars, HbA 1c , lipid profile and microvascular complications. PVI were compared between cases and controls. Carotid Doppler was done and CIMT was correlated with PVI. Results. PVI were found significantly higher in diabetic patients compared to controls. Mean MPV in cases vs . controls was (11.09 ± 1.02 fL vs. 10.28 ± 0.96 fL, p ≤ 0.001), mean PDW (13.46 ± 1.96 fL vs . 12.85 ± 3.54 fL, p = 0.12), mean P-LCR (31.92 ± 6.23% vs. 27.94 ± 5.94%, p ≤ 0.001). CIMT showed a positive significant association with MPV, PDW and PLCR, dyslipidemia and negative with glycemic control. PVI, especially MPV was significantly elevated in those with neuropathy, nephropathy and retinopathy. Conclusion. PVI i.e. MPV, PDW, P-LCR are increased in diabetic patients. They correlate positively with CIMT, implying cardiovascular risk. PVI have a positive association with microvascular complications also. PVI as determined by simple automated CBC can be used as markers of subclinical atherosclerosis and predictor of future cardiovascular events in T2DM.
Inverse Design of Artificial Materials Based Lens Antennas through the Scattering Matrix Method

The design of spatially varying lens antennas based on artificial materials is of high interest for their wide range of applicability. In this paper, we propose a novel design procedure relying on an inverse formulation of the scattering matrix method (SMM). Differently from many adopted approaches, which resort to global optimizations or homogenization procedures, the inverse SMM (I-SMM) allows the synthesis of optimal parameters (geometrical and/or electromagnetic) for the inclusions realizing the overall device in a very effective manner. With reference to the 2D TM case, the proposed tool has been successfully assessed through the synthesis of different kinds of lenses radiating a pencil beam.
Effectiveness of Certain Biocides and Essential Oils in Controlling Damping-Off and Root-Rot Diseases of Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)

Damping-off and root-rot are some of the most important diseases attack soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr. ) in Egypt. The effect of biocides, i.e. Bio-Cure-F, Plant guard, and Rhizo-N, and essential oils of eucalyptus, thyme, and lemongrass oils, as well as the fungicide Vitavax-200, were evaluated in vitro, greenhouse and under field conditions during the two successive growing seasons, 2018 and 2019 to control damping-off and root-rot diseases of soybean. All the tested biocides and essential oils used significantly inhibited the linear growth of the tested pathogenic fungi, i.e., Fusarium moniliforme, Fusarium solani and Rhizoctonia solani compared with the control. Under greenhouse and field conditions in both growing seasons, obtained results indicated that all the tested biocides and essential oils significantly reduced the percentages of soybean damping-off and root-rot severity furthermore improved photosynthetic pigments content, growth parameters, and seed yield. Vitavax-200 and Plant guard gave the highest values of reduction in this respect, followed by Rhizo-N, lemongrass oil, Bio-Cure-F, thyme oil, and eucalyptus oil respectively. Besides, the quality parameters of soybean seeds showed a favorable elevation in total oil content, on the contrary, there was a general decrease in the seeds protein content. However, the correlations between seeds oil and protein contents were negatively correlated. It could be concluded in biocides and essential oils examined can be recommended for biocontrol of soybean damping-off and root-rot diseases.