Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of a Combination of Moderate-Temperature Heat Treatment and Subsequent Wax Impregnation on Wood Hygroscopicity, Dimensional Stability, and Mechanical Properties

Wood is an environmentally friendly material, but some natural properties limit its wide application. To study the effect of a combination of heat treatment (HT) and wax impregnation (WI) on wood hygroscopicity, dimensional stability, and mechanical properties, samples of Pterocarpus macrocarpus Kurz wood were subjected to HT at a moderate temperature of 120 °C and a high temperature of 180 °C, for a 4 h duration. Subsequently, half of the 120 °C HT samples were treated with WI at 90 °C. The results showed that 180 °C HT and WI decreased the capacity of adsorption and liquid water uptake and swelled the wood significantly, while WI had the biggest reduction. The effect of 120 °C HT was significant only on decreasing the capacity of adsorption and the swelling of liquid water uptake. The bending strength (MOR) of wood decreased only after 180 °C HT, and 120 °C/4h HT and WI had no significant influence on MOR. The bending stiffness (MOE) increased significantly after 180 °C HT and WI, while 120 °C/4h HT had no significant influence on MOE. Therefore, the combination of moderate-temperature HT can act synergistically in the improvement of certain aspects of wood properties such as capacity of water adsorption and liquid water uptake. WI effectively improved wood hygroscopicity, dimensional stability, and mechanical properties.
Performance of river buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) from Buffalypso breed in feeding systems based on grazing: fifteen years of researches in the Instituto de Ciencia Animal

The progress of researches carried out in the Instituto de Ciencia Animal were showed out, they were about productive behavior, feeding behavior, milk and carcass composition, as well as the characterization of lactation and growth curves of buffaloes from Buffalypso breed in feeding grazing systems. Values of milk production per lactation of, approximately, 800kg as average were informed. The equation that was fitted to lactation curve Yt = 1.86 + 0.03 t + 0.00003 t2 + 1.13 ln t, where t is the time in lactation days, showed maximum production values of 4.87 l.buffalo-1.day-1in the interval between 31 and 40 days. In the first 100 d, more than the half and at 200d more than 91% of the total milk production were obtained. The lactation persistence was above 4kg up to 120 d, while correlations between milk production and buffaloes post-parturition weight were not observed. The buffaloes liveweight gain showed 1.6 times higher values in comparison with cattle, and the fattening time was significantly decreased in Buffalypso animals, although they dedicated less time to grass intake, and use it more efficiently. The equations that are adjusted to the growth curve are 4.92 +18.43 (± 0.21) age, where: 3 < age (month) < 24 in males and 546.34/ (1+exp (-0.13 (± 0.003) age + 2.28 (± 0.039), where: 0 < age (month) < 43 in females. Buffaloes showed carcass yield (50.0 to 50.2%) and meat (61.6 to 62.2%) lower to those observed in cattle, but higher in meat production per time and surface unit, as consequence of the best productive behavior. It is discuss about the elements that influence in the behavior and it is suggested to carry out studies with the new crossbreeding of this specie. Key words: buffaloes, behavior, lactation curve, growth curve
Effects of dietary conjugated linoleic acid on the intestinal mucosal immunity of broiler chickens

Abstract The effects of dietary conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on the intestinal mucosal immunity of broiler chickens were investigated. A total of 96 1-day-old Arbor Acres male broiler chickens were assigned to two dietary treatments (0 and 1% CLA) with eight replicates/each of six chickens. The intestinal mucosal immune status of broiler chickens was evaluated at 21-day old. The jejunal mucosa SIgA level increased by 43.58% (p < .01) while its mRNA expression increased by 22.95% (p < .01). The broilers receiving the CLA diet exhibited higher gene expression of jejunal peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) (p < .01) while the mRNA expression level of transforming growth factor β4 (TGFβ4) was not different between two dietary treatments group (p > .05). After dietary CLA supplementation, the percent of Peyer's node CD8+ T lymphocytes increased (p < .01) and lymphocytes proliferation of Peyer's node increased (p < .05). In conclusion, the CLA diet enhanced jejunal SIgA expression, and increased lymphocyte transformation rate and the percent of CD8+ T lymphocyte in Peyer's node of broiler chickens.
Influence of soybean bioactive peptides on growth performance, nutrient utilisation, digestive tract development and intestinal histology in broilers

A biologically active peptide derived from soybeans by enzymatic hydrolysis was evaluated for its potential benefits on chicken growth performance, apparent ileal nutrient digestibility and intestinal histology in young broilers. Seven broiler starter diets, based on maize and soybean meal, were formulated to contain 0.0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 g/kg of a commercial soybean bioactive peptide (SBP) product (Fortide, Chengdu Mytech Biotech Co. Ltd., Chengdu, Sichuan, China). All diets were equivalent in respect of energy density, and digestible protein, amino acids, and other nutrients. A total of 336, one-day-old male broilers (Ross 308) were allocated to 42 cages (eight birds/cage), which were randomly assigned to the six dietary treatments. There was no significant effect of SBP on weight gain and feed intake of the birds. A significant (P 0.05) on apparent ileal digestibility of nutrients and energy utilisation. Though not statistically significant, SBP inclusion, regardless of level, resulted in 5.7% and 6.3% increases in digestibility of dry matter and nitrogen, respectively. Birds receiving no SBP had the shortest villi and those fed SBP at 3.0 and 6.0 g/kg of feed tended (P = 0.075) to have the greatest villus height. The current findings suggested that including SBP in broiler diets may benefit production through improving feed efficiency, and, to some extent, nutrient digestion and intestinal histology parameters.
Does Scientific Evaluation Matter? Improving Digital Simulation Games by Design-Based Research

Grounded in a design-based research approach, the aim of this article is to determine whether scientific evaluations help to (a) identify and fix problems in educational interventions and (b) eventually foster a more effective and positive evaluated intervention. Therefore, data from a longer-term evaluation of short digital simulation games about the European Parliament for civic education in schools were used. The data included three cycles of interventions with pre- and post-evaluations starting with the first prototype in 2015/2016 (n = 209), the second cycle in 2017/18 (n = 97), and the last one in 2019/20 (n = 222). After each evaluation, major problems and critiques regarding the simulation game were discussed with the developers, and changes were implemented in the game design. The four most important problems, the processes by which they were improved and the reactions of the participants in the following evaluations are pointed out in the article. A comparison of the last and first evaluation cycle showed an overall improvement of the simulation game regarding its effectiveness in transferring EU knowledge and the participants’ general satisfaction with the simulation game. This study underlines the value of the design-based research approach for developing educational interventions and can be useful for further work on civic education measures and the implementation of digital simulation games.
Sustainable Mobility in the Mobile Risk Society—Designing Innovative Mobility Solutions in Copenhagen

The issue of creating more sustainable mobility systems has been revisited during the past 50 years. So far, we are still waiting for an innovative systemic change that is not simply an iteration of existing technologies. This standstill is to a large degree due to the hegemonic mobility paradigm, working under a “predict and provide”-driven approach, with little attention being paid to environmental and social externalities. This paper calls for a new understanding of mobility transition interlinked with the cultural values of modern societies, deeply rooted in the mobile risk society. To create sustainable mobility practices we need robust, socially coherent, and inclusive mobility systems that are more than just transportation systems and connections. The empirical starting point is a visionary workshop on designing “Sustainable Innovative Mobility Solutions” in three urban areas in Copenhagen. The workshop created a cross-disciplinary space for actors to meet across dominant silos and acknowledge the need for intervention framings to focus on innovation as a matter of interlinking sustainable mobilities practices within everyday living in a mobile risk society.
Determinants of Bank Performance in Nigeria: Do they Behave Differently with Risk-Adjusted Returns?

The failure of banks in Nigeria has hitherto become a recurring phenomenon. Worried by the syndrome, this paper examines the determinants of bank performance in Nigeria taking into cognizance the duality of financial measures of bank performance. From an analysis of 115 bank-year observations of a sample of 17 Nigerian deposit money banks and macroeconomic data for the period 2012-2018 using Arellano-Bover one-step system GMM estimation approach, differences in the explanatory potential of these factors between the models with risk-neutral and risk-adjusted measures of performance as dependent variables are empirically established. This suggests that there is a higher probability of investors, depositors and other stakeholders being indecisive when analyzing the performance of banks. However, relying on the assumptions of risk-return hypothesis and level of risk embedded in banks’ operations could warrant them opting for determinants of risk-adjusted returns in their decision making. This study is exceptional in the bank performance literature for its long list of measures and drivers of bank performance.
Bird Observatories: An Underutilized Resource For Migration Study

ABSTRACT Since the first bird observatory was established over a century ago, hundreds have been established around the world. Classic observatories share a focus on capture and study of birds in the hand, particularly migrants. Many professionals were first inspired by working at a bird observatory, and researchers have long been using observatory data and facilities in collaborative studies. Results from observatories have made major contributions to knowledge of migration: timing, routes and destinations, body condition and local movement during stopover; as well as tracking long-term population change. Nonetheless, observatories are an underutilized resource for researchers, and this paper highlights the benefits they offer and opportunities for further cooperation.
Autumn Migration Strategies and Trapping Numbers in the Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula in Southern Sweden

In this study we compare autumn migration strategies in two subspecies of the Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula in the southern Baltic Sea. This species exhibits a leap-frog migration pattern, whereby northerly breeding populations (C. h. tundrae; henceforth tundrae) migrate past the whole range of the southern population (C. h. hiaticula; henceforth hiaticula). Hiaticula migrates the shortest distance and is hypothesised to minimize energy spent on migration, whereas tundrae is hypothesized to minimize time, because a longer migration imposes time constraints upon other stages of a migrant's life history, such as moult and breeding. We use biometric data collected at Ottenby Bird Observatory, southern Öland, Sweden, between 1946–2012, to test whether each subspecies demonstrates characteristics associated with either an energy- or time-minimized migration. We used the decline in wing and total-head length over the season to distinguish the subspecies. Hiaticula migrated earlier in the season (July—mid August) compared to tundrae (late July—late September). Also the relative timing of age groups between the two subspecies differed. Juvenile and adult hiaticula migrated synchronized in time, whereas tundrae had two main periods of passage for adults (earlier) and juveniles (later). The timing fits that of other studies and gives complementary information about the passage in Europe. Juvenile tundrae showed a positive trend of observed fuel loads as the season progressed, whereas the other groups did not. Daily fuelling rates within the same season were low compared to other wader species that use Ottenby as a stopover and no difference between subspecies was found. However, tundrae stopped over for a shorter time compared with hiaticula. There was no difference in average migration speed between the subspecies, although tundrae had a higher maximum speed. There was large variation in yearly numbers between age classes in the two subspecies. In hiaticula the yearly average was 8 adults and 37 juveniles. The ratio of juvenile to adult tundrae on the other hand was almost 1:1, indicating equal use of Ottenby as stop over site in autumn. No trends in observed fuel loads over the season in hiaticula are consistent with an energy minimizing migration. As for tundrae, a shorter stopover time compared to hiaticula and a positive relationship between observed fuel load and time, are consistent with time minimizing migration. However, there are many uncertainties and more studies of migratory behaviours at several sites along the migration route are needed to understand the differences in migration strategies in this species.
Impact Forecasting to Support Emergency Management of Natural Hazards

Forecasting and early warning systems are important investments to protect lives, properties, and livelihood. While early warning systems are frequently used to predict the magnitude, location, and timing of potentially damaging events, these systems rarely provide impact estimates, such as the expected amount and distribution of physical damage, human consequences, disruption of services, or financial loss. Complementing early warning systems with impact forecasts has a twofold advantage: It would provide decision makers with richer information to take informed decisions about emergency measures and focus the attention of different disciplines on a common target. This would allow capitalizing on synergies between different disciplines and boosting the development of multihazard early warning systems. This review discusses the state of the art in impact forecasting for a wide range of natural hazards. We outline the added value of impact‐based warnings compared to hazard forecasting for the emergency phase, indicate challenges and pitfalls, and synthesize the review results across hazard types most relevant for Europe.
When Is a Governmental Mandate not a Mandate? Predicting Organizational Compliance Under Semicoercive Conditions

While institutional theorists have long viewed governmental mandates as a prototypical coercive pressure generating homogeneous organizational compliance, we suggest that such mandates are often subject to enforcement uncertainty, resulting in a pressure more aptly characterized as “semicoercive” and a compliance result more aptly characterized as heterogeneous. We advance and test a theoretical framework to predict the specific form of heterogeneous compliance in semicoercive contexts, with particular attention to the differential sensitivity of firms to pressures to comply, based on differences in their specific legal, political, and social context. We use the setting of a mandated corporate governance reform in China requiring listed Chinese firms to add independent directors and find general evidence of noncompliance and more specific evidence consistent with the predictions from our sociopolitical framework. We discuss the implications of our theoretical approach and findings for future research on institutional environments, governmental regulations, organizational compliance, and corporate governance.
Core Self-Evaluations, Self-Leadership, and the Self-Serving Bias in Managerial Decision Making: A Laboratory Experiment

The self-leadership construct has received great attention from scholars over the last 40 years due to its capacity to influence personal effectiveness. However, despite strongly influencing individuals’ self-efficacy, performed studies did not determine whether self-leadership is connected, and how, with the Core-Self Evaluation (CSE) trait—a complex personality disposition based on self-efficacy, self-esteem, locus of control, and emotional stability—that has been found impacting decision-making processes within organizations. Moreover, it has not been identified whether individuals with a high level of self-leadership are more prone to be victims of some cognitive biases in decision-making processes, such as the internal attribution of successes and external attribution of failures (i.e., Self-Serving Bias, SSB) that are usually led by the strong belief of individuals in their own capacities. The outlined gaps can be substantiated by the following two research questions: “How is self-leadership related with CSE? ” and “How does self-leadership influence the attribution of successes/failures? ”. To answer these questions, the following were identified and analyzed for 93 executives: (i) the tendency in the attribution of successes and failures, (ii) the CSE, and (iii) their self-leadership level. Results show that: (i) a high level of CSE is connected with high levels of self-leadership; (ii) high levels of self-leadership bring individuals to the internal attribution of successes and external attribution of failures. This work reinforces the stream of (the few) studies that considers a high level of CSE and self-leadership as not always being desirable for managerial decision-making processes and consequent performance. This paper aims to enrich the debate concerning the relations between, on the one hand, self-leadership and, on the other hand, personality traits between self-leadership and decision making.
Resistance to Ceratocystis Wilt (Ceratocystis fimbriata) in Parents and Progenies of Eucalyptus grandis x E. urophylla

Abstract Ceratocystis wilt, caused by Ceratocystis fimbriata, is one of the most damaging diseases in eucalyptus plantations worldwide. Although there are resistant genotypes, the genetic basis of resistance is still poorly understood. In this paper we studied the resistance level by a stem inoculation experiment of genotypes of Eucalyptus grandis and E. urophylla and estimated the heritability and gains of selection in families derived from controlled interspecific crosses. In both species, highly resistant as well as highly susceptible genotypes to Ceratocystis wilt were found. Out of 21 parents assessed, twelve were resistant and nine susceptible. Estimates of individual narrow (50%) and broad (59%) sense heritability suggested a high degree of genetic control and low allelic dominance of the trait. There was great genetic variation among and within families, a fact that contributes to high heritability and genetic gain. A genetic gain in lesion size of up to -74.4% was obtained from selection of the 50 best clones in the evaluated families, i.e., the mean lesion length in the progeny population can be reduced by 74,4%.
Distribution and risk assessment of heavy metals in river surface sediments of middle reach of Xijiang River basin, China

ABSTRACT Xijiang River is the main surface water source in Guangxi province, South China. This study was carried out to investigate the distribution and potential ecological risks of seven heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, As, Cd, Ni, and Cr) in surface sediments in Xijiang River basin. The results illustrated that the average concentrations of Zn, Pb, Cd, Cu, As, Ni, and Cr were 483.9, 207.5, 13.35, 23.50, 312.1, 28.75, and 50.62 mg/kg, respectively. Among them, Zn, Pb, Cd, and As were the major heave metals with concentration exceeding Class 3 threshold value of Chinese national standard. The result also showed samples with high ecological risk were mainly located in the upstream of Xijiang River basin as Diaojiang River, Hongshui River, Jincheng River, and Dahuan River. Based on the pollution risk assessment, the area manifested composite pollution of heavy metals in the sediments, signifying As, Pb, and Cd as the dominant heavy metals, and there were high ecological risk in sediments for these metals. According to correlation matrix and factor analysis (FA), the seven heavy metals were divided into three types/classes, Cd, as and Zn attributed by anthropogenic sources, natural sources corresponds for Ni and Cr while both natural and anthropogenic sources were attributed to Cu.
Numerical Prediction of the Fatigue Crack Growth Rate in SLM Ti-6Al-4V Based on Crack Tip Plastic Strain

This study presents a numerical model to predict the fatigue crack growth (FCG) rate in compact tension specimens under constant amplitude cyclic loadings. The material studied is the Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy produced by selective laser melting, which was submitted to two different post-treatments: (i) hot isostatic pressing, and (ii) heat treatment. The developed finite element model uses the cumulative plastic strain at the crack tip to define the nodal release. Two different FCG criteria are presented, namely the incremental plastic strain (IPS) criterion and the total plastic strain (TPS) criterion. The calibration of the elasto-plastic constitutive model was carried out using experimental data from low cycle fatigue tests of smooth specimens. For both proposed crack growth criteria, the predicted da/dN-ΔK curve is approximately linear in log-log scale. However, the slope of the curve is higher using the TPS criterion. The numerical predictions of the crack growth rate are in good agreement with the experimental results, which indicates that cyclic plastic deformation is the main damage mechanism. The numerical results showed that increasing the stress ratio leads to a shift up of the da/dN-ΔK curve. The effect of stress ratio was dissociated from variations of cyclic plastic deformation, and an extrinsic mechanism, i.e., crack closure phenomenon, was found to be the cause.
Double-Double Row Planting Mode at Deficit Irrigation Regime Increases Winter Wheat Yield and Water Use Efficiency in North China Plain

Low water availability coupled with poor planting method has posed a great challenge to winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) productivity. To improve productivity and water use efficiency (WUE) under deficit irrigation, an effective water-saving technology that is characterized by three planting modes has been developed (uniform with 30-cm row spacing (U), double-double row spacing of 5 cm (DD), and furrow-ridge row spacing of alternated 20 cm and 40 cm (F)) combined with three irrigation regimes (50 mm water each at growth stage 34 (GS34) and GS48 (W1), and 100 mm water at GS48 (W2), or 100 mm each water at GS34 and GS48 (W3)). Results showed that DD increased yield by 9.7% and WUE by 12.6% due to higher soil water status and less soil water depletion and evapotranspiration compared with U. Although the soil water status, soil water depletion, evapotranspiration, and yield increased with increasing irrigation amount, more soil water depletion and evapotranspiration resulted in low WUE. The deficit irrigation was beneficial for improving WUE as W1 had significantly increased yield by 5.4% and WUE by 7.1% compared with W2. Yield and evapotranspiration showed a quadratic dynamic equation indicating that yield increased with increasing evapotranspiration. Considering WUE and relatively higher yield under deficit water, W1 combined with DD is suggested to be a good management strategy to be applied in winter wheat of water-scarce regions.