Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Riparian seed banks: structure, process and implications for riparian management

After a brief description of the evolution of seed bank research, this review highlights the importance of the seed bank in understanding the character and dynamics of river margins. Through a discussion of published research on wetlands in general, the lack of research focused on riparian systems is highlighted. This is followed by an evaluation of current knowledge concerning the nature and dynamics of riparian seed banks and the factors that control the erosion, transport and deposition of riparian seeds. The paper concludes by (i) indicating the complexity of the interactions that control the riparian seed bank and that require understanding if the consequences of alterations in river flow regime and riparian management are to be fully understood and (ii) identifying some major research gaps relating to interactions between fluvial processes and riparian seed banks.
The Effect of Prophylactic Carbapenem Use on Outcomes in Acute Pancreatitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of prophylactic use of carbapenems for acute pancreatitis on clinical outcomes. Materials and Methods: It was conducted according to the preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines by using the keywords “Pancrea* AND carbapenem OR imipenem OR ertapenem OR meropenem OR doripenem. ” Primer outcomes were mortality, surgical intervention, and pancreatic and non-pancreatic infection. Subgroup analyses were also performed to reduce the risk of bias. Results: Ten studies with 4038 patients were included in the meta-analyses. While eight of ten were randomized controlled trials, two were observational studies. The prophylactic use of carbapenems had no statistically significant effect on mortality (OR=0.82, 95% CI=0.65-1.04, I²=0%) and surgical intervention. (OR=0.81, 95% CI=0.57-1.17, I²=0%). However, the real impact of prophylaxis on reducing the incidence of mortality and surgical intervention was uncertain due to the insufficient sample size. The prophylactic use of carbapenems was significantly associated with a lower risk of peripancreatic (OR=0.37, 95% CI=0.25-0.55, I²=61%) and non-pancreatic infection risk (OR=0.60, 95% CI=0.46-0.78, I²=65%). The definitions of infection in the articles were not clear, and the diagnostic approach to infection was based on subjective criteria. In addition, there was inadequate collateral damage and safety assessments. In high-quality studies with a low risk of bias, prophylactic carbapenems had no effect on peripancreatic infection (RR=1.54, 95% CI=0.65-3.47, I²=0%) and non-pancreatic infection (RR=0.72, 95% CI=0.48-1.07, I²=0%). Conclusion: Although there is a reduction in the infection risk, routine carbapenem use in acute pancreatitis cases should not be recommended based on current evidence. Cooperation with Infectious Disease specialists and developing diagnostic algorithms are required instead of routine prophylaxis to prevent infection, especially non-pancreatic infection. Keywords: acute pancreatitis, necrotizing pancreatitis, carbapenem, prophylaxis, systematic review, meta-analysis
Estrategias para incrementar la producción de carne de ovinos de pelo en la Huasteca Potosina, México

The objective of the study was to evaluated the birth (BW) and weaning weights (WW) of Blackbelly (BB) lambs and its Katahdin crosses (KK) x BB (KB) in a fl ock kept under grazing conditions and supplementation from Huasteca Potosina. The work was carried out in the “Barrancon” farm located at Tanlajas, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The climate is classifi ed as warm sub-humid with an average precipitation and annual temperature of 1,678.5 mm and 24.5°C, respectively. The farm has padlock of Cynodon dactylon and Cynodon nlemfuensis. One hundred BB ewes were used, with an average weight of 23 kg, with two KK and two BB males. They were assigned to a 2 (feeding) by 2 (parental breed) factorial arrangements. The feeding types were single grazing, and grazing plus 250 grams of protein supplementation, and the parental breeds were BB and KK. The lambs were weighed at born and weaning in a roman scale. Analysis of variance was carried out by least square methods. The averages at BW and WW were 2.74 ± 0.74 and 11.4 ± 0.4 kg, respectively. The breed affected only the birth weight (P<0.01) with the lambs sired by KK weighting 11.2% more than the BB’s ones. The lambs that received
Procalcitonin As a Metric Septic Inflammatory Biomarker in Young Calves

Septicemia in large animals is one of the common causes of mortality with the difficulties of early diagnosis. To diagnose sepsis in animals, clinical signs and blood cultures are combined with hematological values, inflammatory biomarkers and serum biochemistry. Biomarkers specific to sepsis, such as procalcitonin (PCT), have been the subject of recent research in humans and animals. This study evaluated PCT concentration using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in serum samples collected from 50 calves with clinical septicemic disease and 20 healthy calves. PCT concentration was 66.86±0.15 pg/mL (25.4-140.2 pg/mL) in the control healthy group and 756.1±3.65 pg/mL (90.23-2185 pg/mL) in the diseased group. The optimal cutoff value for distinction between healthy and sick calves was 148.4 pg/mL. Using a receiver operator characteristic (ROC curve) revealed the highest area under the curve (AUC) value of procalcitonin 0.99; 95% conﬁdence interval [CI]. ELISA procalcitonin test shows high diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for diagnosis of septicemia, and the result emphasized the importance of ELISA procalcitonin as a faster, more accurate, and metrically efficient diagnosis for sepsis in calves.
Effects of Rootstock and Location on Open Field ‘BHN 589’ and ‘Nebraska Wedding’ Grafted Tomato Yield

Grafted tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) production is popular, particularly in high tunnels, because grafted plants can mitigate soilborne disease incidence in highly infested soils and increase water and nutrient use efficiency and crop yield and quality. However, these potential benefits are not as well documented in open field production systems with less disease pressure. The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of tomato grafting on fruit yield, number, and size across 2 years (2018 and 2019) and three diverse open-field production environments in Nebraska (Lincoln, North Platte, and Dwight). At each location, a scion from one of two determinant fresh market tomatoes, ‘Nebraska Wedding’ (heirloom) or ‘BHN 589’ (commercial hybrid), were grafted onto one of two rootstocks, ‘Estamino’ and ‘Maxifort,’ and the nongrafted scion cultivars were controls. In year 2, a fertilizer treatment was introduced (0 and 50 kg·ha−1 N). Ripe tomatoes were harvested weekly, sorted as marketable or cull, counted, and weighed fresh. No marketable or total yield benefits of grafting were observed in 2018 for any scion by rootstock combination across locations. Marketable yield of grafted plants was reduced by 32% in Lincoln. However, grafted ‘Nebraska Wedding’ plants (regardless of rootstock) in North Platte (with coarse-textured, lower organic matter soil) increased fruit number (but not yield) by 50% to 63%. In 2019, grafting ‘BHN 589’ to ‘Maxifort’ increased total tomato yield by 24% across all locations. The heirloom variety Nebraska Wedding did not benefit from grafting in 2019. ‘Estamino’ rootstock did not increase tomato yield, number, or size for either scion variety in either year. Nitrogen fertilizer increased yield as expected in 2019, but grafted plants did not perform better than nongrafted under reduced nitrogen fertility. Results from this study suggest that grafting is not consistently beneficial to ‘BHN 589’ and ‘Nebraska Wedding’ in open field production systems in Nebraska, particularly if there are no known soilborne disease issues.
Public Health Risks and External Food Safety in the Canadian Marketplace

The expansion of the food industry has increased the demand for diverse food products, which poses new challenges to food safety. The production, transportation, and handling of food products from various sources and countries can increase the likelihood of foodborne illness outbreaks and product contamination. Regulatory developments, such as the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) systems, have helped mitigate trade barriers and ensure a safe food supply chain. However, different food safety regulations and standards in importing countries can make it challenging to determine if imported goods are as safe as domestically produced ones. Total coliform testing is a commonly used indicator of potential fecal contamination in food products. Thus, this study aims to provide a comparative analysis between a domestic and an international pasteurized dairy product falling under category 3 to provide literature and the means to mitigate safety risks.
A transmission line analogy for the development of equatorial ionospheric bubbles

The Pedersen conductivity of the conjugate E regions couples to the equatorial F region through geomagnetic field lines and plays an important role in the development of equatorial spread F bubbles. Earlier work has suggested that the coupling between the E and F regions is effected through field‐aligned currents (FACs). However, these currents have not yet been explicitly introduced into theoretical models. This paper considers oppositely propagating Alfvén waves which are launched by equatorial F region perturbations as carriers of FACs and transverse polarization currents. A transmission line analogy is drawn, with the E region loads at the two ends and the generator in the equatorial F region. The currents which flow through the E regions depend on the plasma density of the propagation medium in which the transmission line is immersed. We conclude that whereas small angles between the solar terminator and the magnetic meridian favor the growth of equatorial bubbles, an increase in the plasma density of the propagation medium and a higher altitude of the equatorial F layer allow greater relaxation of the restriction imposed by the E region conductivities on the growth of equatorial bubbles.
A comprehensive analysis of the occurrence and characteristics of midperiod ULF waves at low latitude

A long‐term analysis (1985–2012) allowed to investigate the occurrence and characteristics of clearly defined ULF events (f ≈ 10–100 mHz) detected during daytime at low‐latitude (L'Aquila, Italy; L ≈ 1.6) during quiet and moderately perturbed magnetospheric conditions. Selected events (≈30,000 on each component) typically have much greater amplitude on the H component with respect to D. They often reveal two prominent spectral peaks, one in band A (f < ≈ 45 mHz), mostly related to the transmission of upstream waves, and the other one in band B (f > ≈ 55 mHz), including resonances of local field lines and higher‐frequency upstream waves. The occurrence of resonant phenomena on the D component is also clearly evidenced. The solar wind speed is confirmed as the key element for the manifestation of events; by contrast, their appearance is inhibited during extremely low solar wind densities. The events mostly manifest between dawn and early afternoon, with highest occurrence at ≈08:00–10:00 LT, as might be expected for the usual distribution of the interplanetary magnetic field orientation determining more or less favorable conditions for a foreshock region on the morning flank of the bow shock. No evidence is found for a favorite occurrence for low cone angles (θXB < ≈ 10°); rather, they preferentially manifest for θXB ≈ 25°–40°. The polarization pattern, much more definite in the afternoon, is consistent with the expected antisunward propagation; in the morning sector, it also suggests the possible occurrence of sunward propagating modes, mostly at f < ≈ 22 mHz. The tilt angle of the major axis of the polarization ellipses during daytime hours is oriented in the NW/SE quadrant and experiences remarkable changes at sunrise and sunset; it also shows a seasonal modulation with larger angles in the winter.
Purchase Descriptor Effects on Consumer Happiness

The research highlights the results from a multivariable study on the effect of purchase descriptors on consumer happiness. Using an established consumer decision making paradigm, participants were randomly assigned to hypothetical scenarios where purchase descriptors were experimentally manipulated. Consumer happiness, subjective well being, consumer choice, and additional consumer attitude variables were utilized as outcome variables. There was evidence that participants differed in consumer happiness based on the specific purchase descriptor condition they were assigned to. This research contributes to the scholarly consumer decision making literature by adding clarity on the role of important purchase-related variables on consumer happiness. It also provides practical application for consumers as they attempt to maximize future happiness levels in the many consumption decisions they encounter on a daily basis.
CONFLICT AND COOPERATION OVER INTERNATIONAL FRESHWATER RESOURCES: INDICATORS OF BASINS AT RISR 1

ABSTRACT: In this paper we seek to identify historical indicators of international freshwater conflict and cooperation and to create a framework to identify and evaluate international river basins at potential risk for future conflict. We derived biophysical, socioeco‐nomic, and geopolitical variables at multiple spatial and temporal scales from GIS datasets of international basins and associated countries, and we tested these variables against a database of historical incidents of international water related cooperation and conflict from 1948 to 1999. International relations over freshwater resources were overwhelmingly cooperative and covered a wide range of issues, including water quantity, water quality, joint management, and hydropower. Conflictive relations tended to center on quantity and infrastructure. No single indicator—including climate, water stress, government type, and dependence on water for agriculture or energy—explained conflict/cooperation over water. Even indicators showing a significant correlation with water conflict, such as high population density, low per capita GDP, and overall unfriendly international relations, explained only a small percentage of data variability. The most promising sets of indicators for water conflict were those associated with rapid or extreme physical or institutional change within a basin (e.g., large dams or internationalization of a basin) and the key role of institutional mechanisms, such as freshwater treaties, in mitigating such conflict.
Single-Stage Totem-Pole AC–DC Converter Based on Boost Half-Bridge Structure for Battery Chargers

In this article, a new single-stage bridgeless totem-pole ac–dc converter is proposed. The proposed converter is composed of two single-stage boost half-bridge ac–dc converters with the interleaved operation. Besides, while preserving the advantages of the L-type half-bridge-based single-stage totem-pole ac–dc converter, the proposed converter has the ability of phase-shedding operation, which helps to increase the total efficiency of the converter due to reduced switching and core losses by half under medium and light loads. A hybrid harmonic injection in phase shift and duty cycle according to battery voltage is proposed, which not only improves total harmonic distortion to smaller than 4% under the whole load range but also extends the zero-voltage switching range of the converter under a wide voltage range. The proposed control method can be utilized in the general dual-active-bridge-based single-stage converter. Experimental results from a 1.5-kW prototype are provided to validate the proposed concepts.
Détermination de la courbe de retrait de la phase argileuse à partir de la courbe de retrait établie sur échantillon de sol non remanié. Application à une séquence de sols de Côte-d'Ivoire

The structural shrinkage model (model MRS) was applied to the shrinkage curve of undistributed soil samples which were collected from a soil sequence in Ivory Coast. The micro-pore volume which was calculated with the model MRS at the shrinkage limits is consistent with the pore volume of the clayey phase which was measured by mercury porosimetry. Then, the shrinkage curve of the clayey phase was calculated; it showed high variation of the properties for the studied soils
Effect of Planting and Weed Control Methods on Yield and its Attributes of Egyptian Cotton (Giza 90 cultivar)

A field experiment was conducted during the 2019 and 2020 seasons to investigate the influence of different weed management treatments namely; Butralin as pre-emergence herbicide (2.5 L/fed.), butralin (2.5 L/ fed.) + hoeing once at one month after planting (DAP), hand hoeing thrice at 15, 30 and 45 DAP and un-weeded treatment under different planting methods, i.e., rows and raised beds planting, on weeds density, yield and its attributes of cotton cultivar Giza 90. Results indicated that weeds density was decreased significantly with all studied weed control methods compared with un-weeded treatment(control) in both seasons. In addition, the plant height, sympodial branches number, opening bolls number, boll weight and cotton yield were also increased with all studied weed management treatments over no-weed treatment. Also, hand hoeing thrice during the growing season gave higher values for seed cotton yield as compared to the other studied weed control treatments in the two grown seasons. Furthermore, the obtained result showed that among the tested planting methods, beds width 120cm planting gave the highest results in terms of controlling weeds, decreasing weeds dry weight, increasing number of sympodial branches plant -1 , total number of opening bolls plant -1 , boll weight and seed cotton yield. The interaction between planting methods and weed control methods was significant in its effect on all studied traits. The interaction showed that applying hand hoeing thrice in beds with planting width 120 cm led to a reduction in the dry weight of total weeds either broad or grassy weeds, giving the best results for sympodial branches number, total number of opening bolls, weight of boll and seed cotton yield.
The Creep of Ice Shelves Theory

Abstract Budd’s expressions for strain-rate gradient along the centre line of a bounded ice shelf are shown to be applicable only to ice shelves with almost constant thickness and very small longitudinal strain-rates. A general expression is derived for creep in an ice shelf where the sole restriction is that of zero shear stresses in vertical planes. This is applied to the two special cases: (1) movement of an ice shelf restricted in at least one direction by sea-water pressure only; (2) movement of an ice shelf flowing between roughly parallel sides.
Interannual Variability in Mediterranean Heat and Buoyancy Fluxes

Abstract The flux of heat through the Strait of Gibraltar is known well enough that the Mediterranean Sea may be used as a climate test basin. After adjusting reported winds for changes in observing practice, the COADS for 1946 to 1988 was used together with standard heat flux formulas to estimate the long-term mean heat flux into the sea, giving 36 W mm2 more than is compatible with the Gibraltar exchange. As the estimated latent heat flux is consistent with the freshwater budget, it is suggested that standard formulas overestimate insulation in the Mediterranean. If a constant adjustment factor is used for the insulation, or for the latent heat loss, interannual variability of ±15 W m−2 is found in the total heat flux. Changes in the latent heat flux dominate, with contributions from both the humidity of the air and the saturation humidity at the temperature of the sea surface. The buoyancy flux from the sea is also examined and shows that the contributions from precipitation and runoff are import.
Exploring User Experience in Sustainable Transport with Explainable AI Methods Applied to E-Bikes

Sustainable modes of transport are being promoted to achieve global climate goals. The perceived user experience is decisive for the choice of transport mode. To increase the share of sustainable transport in total traffic, the user experience is placed into the spotlight, raising the need for appropriate exploration methods. Machine learning (ML) techniques have become increasingly popular in the transport domain, but the black-box nature of ML models poses significant challenges in interpreting the relationship between model input and output. Explainable AI methods (XAI) can fill this gap by providing post hoc interpretation methods for black-box models. The aim of the present work was therefore to assess the potential of XAI to explore user experience in transport. The introduced method was based on a popular XAI method named SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations). Applied to the use case of e-bikes, we aimed to explore factors influencing the riding experience on e-bikes. We applied Gaussian process regression to data collected in a cycling study from 55 e-bike riders including rider behaviour, motor power and riding dynamics. Applying SHAP, we compared the riding experience of four rider types identified by hierarchical cluster analysis. The results provide insights into the riding experience on e-bikes: motor power, rider behaviour and riding dynamics were found to be meaningful predictors differing in their impact between rider types. Our results can be regarded as a proof of concept and demonstrate the potential of XAI to enhance the understanding of user experience in transport.
Marketing of Medicinal Plants of Utror-Gabral Valleys, Swat, Pakistan

This paper is based on the results of an ethnobotanical project carried out in the area comprising Utror-Gabral Valleys of upper Swat. The residents of the area use indigenous medicinal plants for curing diseases and also sell some of them in the local market for earning their live hood. About 44 medicinal plants are collected in the area during the months of May, June, July and August. Out of these 44 species collected and marketed, 8 species of medicinal plants are endangered, 8 species are vulnerable and 8 species are rare. Bulk of these medicinal plants are used locally and only Berberis lycium, Bergenia ciliata, Podophyllum hexandrum, Colchicum luteum, Dioscoria deltoides, Viola spp. , Pistacia integrimma, Morchella esculenta, Paeonia emodi, Rheum australe, Aconitum hetrophyllum, Valeriana jatamansi, Acorus calamus, Juglans regia, Diospyrus lotus and Bistorta amplexicaulis makes their way to national and international markets. A survey conducted shows that medicinal plants collectors include womenfolk (48.26%), men folk (27.0%) and children (24.74%). Almost 90% of these medicinal plants are sold in the local market in fresh form as the collectors are poor and needy. Some species are cleaned, dried in the sun and stored in plastic bags. The percentage of losses is much higher in the storage because the collectors are unaware about the proper storage methods of these plants. The availability of medicinal plants decreased during the past 20 years. According to aged villagers, medicinal plants were abundant in the vicinities of human settlements some 20 years back. However, the population of medicinal plants drastically decreased due to increased marketing pressure on medicinal plants, lack of job opportunities in the area, non sustainable harvesting methods like digging of whole plant and increased population of the area. The medicinal plants are now collected in large volumes from remote areas of Desan, Ghos, Ladhu, Pala-Shair, Sind, Molat, Gozba, Deej, Tosi and Kagishdin.