Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of salinity and water stress on nitrogen metabolism in Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Poir

The nitrate nitrogen and total nitrogen contents decreased due to water as well as salt stresses. Nitrite nitrogen content decreased with increasing concentration of salt salinity, while it was accumulated under water stress conditions. The accumulation of insoluble protein nitrogen was more in the leaves under water stress conditions, but, decreased in the stem. The free amino acids and amide contents were affected due to salinity stress than the water stress. The activity of nitrate reductase was inhibited by salinity treatments in leaves, roots and nodules. On the contrary, its activity increased under water stress conditions. Nitrite reductase in leaves was inhibited, while got stimulated in the roots and nodules due to salinity stress. However, reverse pattern was observed under water stress conditions.
Expression Patterns of Transposable Elements in Magnaporthe oryzae under Diverse Developmental and Environmental Conditions

Hyunjung Chung, Seogchan Kang, Yong-Hwan Lee, and Sook-Young Park* Crop Cultivation and Environment Research Division, National Institute of Crop Science, Rural Development Administration, Suwon 16613, Korea Department of Plant Pathology & Environmental Microbiology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Interdisciplinary Program in Agricultural Genomics, Center for Fungal Genetic Resources, and Center for Fungal Pathogenesis, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea Department of Plant Medicine, Sunchon National University, Suncheon 57922, Korea
Executive Pay for Luck: New Evidence Over the Last 20 Years

Pay for non-performance is among the most prominent arguments of executive rent extraction, especially Bertrand and Mullainathan’s (2001) pay for luck. We revisit their finding over the last two decades, 1997 through 2016. Pay for luck presents in the first decade but declines in the second decade. This decrease is robust to different measures of luck, industry dynamics, and the financial crisis of 2008-9. The structural break in pay for luck associates with transparency-based regulations, such as option expensing and new performance pay disclosures. These regimes plausibly enhance shareholder monitoring, which pushes compensation committees to decrease pay for luck.
Underemployment and well-being in Europe

This article examines the consequences of underemployment for the well-being of workers in European countries. Previous studies of the impact of underemployment on well-being have tended to focus on a single country or occupational group and have examined single dimensions of underemployment. This article, by contrast, examines experiences across several European economies and explores two different dimensions of underemployment: the gap between hours of work and workers’ desired hours and the underutilisation of their skills and abilities. The article uses data from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) and explains the consequences of underemployment for well-being by drawing on the international comparative political economy literature, particularly the theorisation and analysis of comparative employment and welfare regimes. We find that while underemployment is generally associated with lower levels of well-being, the nature and strength of relationships between different dimensions of underemployment and well-being vary between employment regimes. The article also highlights the detrimental consequences of ‘overemployment’ for workers’ well-being, and shows that the well-being of women tends to be lower than that of men, regardless of employment regime.
The Welfare State as Universal Social Security: A Global Analysis

Over the past decades, the geography of comparative welfare state research has transformed. Whereas scholars used to focus on a limited number of advanced industrialised democracies, they now increasingly study developments in Europe’s periphery, East Asia, and Latin America. So, does this mean that the welfare state has spread around the world? To answer this question, we analyse different ways to measure welfare states and map their results. With the help of International Labour Organization and International Monetary Fund data, we explore measurements based on social expenditures, social rights, and social security legislations and show that each of them faces serious limitations in a global analysis of welfare states. For some measurements, we simply lack global data. For others, we risk misclassifying the extent and quality of some social protection systems. Finally, we present a measurement that is grounded in the idea that the welfare state is essentially about universalism. Relying on a conceptualisation of the welfare state as collective responsibility for the wellbeing of the entire population, we use universal social security as a yardstick. We measure this conceptualization through health and pension coverage and show that a growing number of countries have become welfare states by this definition. Yet, it is possible that at least some of these cases offer only basic levels of protection, we caution.
Modeling and Control of Piezoelectric Hysteresis: A Polynomial-Based Fractional Order Disturbance Compensation Approach

Piezoelectric hysteresis is a critical issue that significantly degrades the motion accuracy of piezo-actuated nanopositioners. Such an issue is difficult to be precisely modeled and compensated for, primarily due to its asymmetric, rate, and input amplitude-dependent characteristics. This article proposes a novel method to deal with this challenge. Specifically, a polynomial-based fractional order disturbance model is proposed to accommodate and characterize the complex hysteresis effect. In this model, the rate dependence is captured by a general method of implementing curve fitting in Bode magnitude plot. The inverse model for control purposes is immediately available from the original one. The proposed method does not require expensive computational resources. In fact, this article shows that this controller can be easily implemented in an analog manner, which brings the advantages of high bandwidth and low cost. Extensive modeling and tracking experiments are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. It is shown that the piezoelectric hysteresis nonlinearity can be significantly suppressed over a wide bandwidth.
Quantitative taxonomic analyses of Actinidia (Actinidiaceae) in China based on micromorphological characters of foliar trichomes

WT5BZ]There are various arguments on classification of the genus Actinidia Lindl. , a genus with approximately 63 species, 59 of which have been found in China. The paper investigated the characteristics of foliar trichomes of 35 taxa from China under optical microscope, including size, celluar structure, distribution and density. According to their micromorphological characteristics, foliar trichomes can be classified into the following six categories: 1) single cell hairs; 2) uniseriate hairs, including linear, bulbous, twisted, straight walled, and bent walled hairs; 3) multiseriate hairs, including twisted, straight walled and gradually sharpening, straight walled and suddenly sharpening, bent walled and gradually sharpening, and suddenly sharpening hairs; 4) multiseriate thick hairs, including pillar hairs, gradually sharpening thick hairs, and suddenly sharpening thick hairs; 5) stellate hairs, including parenchyma stellate and sclerenchyma stellate (normal state and special states such as rosulate, peltate stellate, and overlopping stellate) hairs ; and 6) dichotomous hairs. On the basis of the micromorphological characteristics of foliar trichomes in Actinidia, with Clematoclethra lasioclada as an outgroup, both the quantitative cladistic analysis and phenetic analysis were performed using Wagner method and UPGMA clustering method respectively to reconstruct the phylogeny of Actinidia in China. The phylogenetic tree generated by cladistic analysis suggests that the sect. Leiocarpae be a monophyletic group, but other three sections, i.e., sect. Maculatae, sect. Strigosae and sect. Stellatae, be non monophyletic groups. The results obtained from the phenetic analysis reflect relationships among the taxa of Actinidia in China, especially a close relationship between A. chinensis and A. deliciosa, and a relatively remote relationship between A. callosa var. henryi and A. callosa var. discolor. In conclusion, the micromorphological characters of foliar trichomes and the methods of quantitative taxonomic analysis are of key importance to studies on phylogenetic and phenetic relationships of Actinidia.
Development and Psychometric Testing of the Thai-Nutrition Literacy Assessment Tool for Adolescents

Nutrition literacy is a major component contributing to healthy food consumption behaviors and prevention of diet-related non-communicable diseases; however, existing nutrition literacy assessment tools are limited in their ability to assess Thai adolescents. We report in part the findings of a larger study that used qualitative and quantitative methods to develop and test the psychometric properties of Thai-Nutritional Literacy Assessment Tool for Adolescents. A descriptive design consisting of two phases and six steps was used. A literature review and in-depth interviews (n=30) were employed to clarify the concept of nutrition literacy in Thai adolescents and generate the items, and in-depth findings regarding these will be reported elsewhere. Content validity was reviewed by a panel of seven experts, whereas face validity was conducted in 10 Thai adolescents. Then, preliminary testing was undertaken with 275 Thai adolescents, and item analysis performed. The final version of this instrument consisted of 61 items. Psychometric testing used concurrent validity to examine the association with the Thai Healthy Eating index as a gold standard. Analysis of the discrimination index revealed that baseline criteria were met. Construct validity using the known-group technique was employed, revealing that nutrition literacy score on energy balance was higher in the healthy group than the unhealthy group. This is the first instrument aiming to measure nutrition literacy among Thai adolescents, that focuses on understanding the functional, interactive and critical nutrition literacy in various situations. Our instrument has sufficient reliability and validity, and nurses and other health professionals can apply it for nutrition literacy screening and determine suitable interventions for Thai adolescents. Further testing of the instrument warranted with other populations in Thailand.
Coal tar refining by aromatic-aliphatic solvent extraction for preparing QI-free pitch

To obtain suitable material for making needle coke, the aromatic and aliphatic solvents were blended for extracting desirable compositions from coal tar and simultaneously removing heavy components, particularly quinoline insoluble (QI). The results show that the low QI content (0.06 Wt%) in refined coal tar was acquired when the aromatic portion in the mixed solvent was ~30 Wt%, while the yield of refined tar increased with increasing aromatic solvent. Under the given ratio of aromatic to aliphatic (2:3 by mass), the QI contents and refined tar yields both reduced as the ratio of mixed solvent to coal tar increased. The fractions (HS, HI-TS, TI-QS) in refined tar were largely affected by the nature of solvent and solvent-tar solution. The distribution of molecular sizes in refined tars were determined by the solubility of tarry compositions in mixed solvent and the precipitating process due to the agglomeration of QI-like materials in solvent. [Received: March 3, 2018; Accepted: April 9, 2018]
Toward Understanding FinTech and its Industry

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to define FinTech, differentiating it from financial technology and use the definition to develop an industry framework.Design/methodology/approachUsing the existing literature on FinTech and incorporating these contributions into a traditional financial structure, characteristics are outlined and placed into a framework that describes the FinTech industry.FindingsFinTech is a specific type of Financial Technology, defined as technology used to provide financial markets a financial product or financial service, characterized by sophisticated technology relative to existing technology in that market. Firms that primarily use FinTech are classified as FinTech firms. Using these definitions, the paper provides a structure for the FinTech industry, classifying each type of FinTech firm by FinTech characteristics.Research limitations/implicationsResearch that would inform the economic importance of FinTech would be served with an increased understanding of FinTech firms and the FinTech industry.Originality/valueThis paper contributes by defining FinTech and developing a comprehensive framework to describe the emerging FinTech industry.
Stable Sparse Model with Non-Tight Frame

Overcomplete representation is attracting interest in image restoration due to its potential to generate sparse representations of signals. However, the problem of seeking sparse representation must be unstable in the presence of noise. Restricted Isometry Property (RIP), playing a crucial role in providing stable sparse representation, has been ignored in the existing sparse models as it is hard to integrate into the conventional sparse models as a regularizer. In this paper, we propose a stable sparse model with non-tight frame (SSM-NTF) via applying the corresponding frame condition to approximate RIP. Our SSM-NTF model takes into account the advantage of the traditional sparse model, and meanwhile contains RIP and closed-form expression of sparse coefficients which ensure stable recovery. Moreover, benefitting from the pair-wise of the non-tight frame (the original frame and its dual frame), our SSM-NTF model combines a synthesis sparse system and an analysis sparse system. By enforcing the frame bounds and applying a second-order truncated series to approximate the inverse frame operator, we formulate a dictionary pair (frame pair) learning model along with a two-phase iterative algorithm. Extensive experimental results on image restoration tasks such as denoising, super resolution and inpainting show that our proposed SSM-NTF achieves superior recovery performance in terms of both subjective and objective quality.
mRNA profiles of piRNA pathway genes in emerald ash borer Agrilus planipennis

Recent advances of Piwi‐interacting RNAs (piRNAs) have enabled a better understanding of their putative roles in the protection of germ cells against selfish genetic elements. The germ plasm proteins namely, PIWI and VASA, are key players in regulation of piRNAs. However, the biogenesis of piRNAs remains poorly understood. We report the characterization and the transcript profiles of a PIWI and VASA gene in various tissues and developmental stages of the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), an exotic invasive insect pest that has attained a high impact status worldwide. The deduced amino acid sequences of both these genes (herein referred to “ApPIWI and ApVASA”) revealed homology with similar proteins from other insect and non‐insect taxa. Peak transcript levels for ApPIWI and ApVASA were observed in the ovaries (compared to the other tissues assayed) and in adults (compared to the other developmental stages assayed). To our knowledge this is the first report of profiling piRNA pathway genes in A. planipennis. These results provide new insights into the putative function of the PIWI and VASA proteins in insects.
Underactuated rotary inverted pendulum control using robust generalized dynamic inversion

The article applies the robust generalized dynamic inversion control methodology to the problem of stabilizing upright equilibrium configuration of the under-actuated rotary inverted pendulum system while tracking rotary motion of the actuated arm. The proposed robust generalized dynamic inversion control law comprised equivalent and switching control parts. The equivalent control part works to enforce a virtual constraint dynamics of the controlled state variables by means of Moore–Penrose generalized inversion. The switching control part is of the sliding mode type, and it improves robustness against unmodeled system dynamics, parametric uncertainties, and external disturbances. The robust generalized dynamic inversion control design on the linearized model of the under-actuated rotary inverted pendulum is shown to guarantee semi-global asymptotically stable tracking performance. Numerous computer simulations and experiments are conducted on the Quanser rotary inverted pendulum system, revealing that the proposed algorithm has better convergence and tracking performance than conventional sliding mode and generalized dynamic inversion control strategies when both are applied separately.
Origin of high piezoelectricity of inorganic halide perovskite thin films and their electromechanical energy-harvesting and physiological current-sensing characteristics

Halide perovskite materials have been recently recognized to possess potentially strong ferroelectricity and piezoelectricity even though the experimental evidence is very limited. Herein, we report high piezoelectricity of representative inorganic halide CsPbBr3 thin films and their energy harvesting and current-sensing characteristics with an optimization process. This is the very first report of introducing an effective piezoelectric coefficient and energy-harvesting performance for inorganic halide perovskites. A record high piezoelectric coefficient of ∼40.3 pm V−1 was obtained for the optimized CsPbBr3, which was attributed to the extended bonding angles of Pb–Br–Pb and Br–Pb–Pb arising from the applied electric field according to structural simulations. As expected from the high piezoelectricity, the electromechanical energy-harvesting performance was very competitive with excellent values of a ∼16.4 V output voltage and ∼604 nA output current achieved for a large-scale harvester of 5 cm2. Highly strain-sensitive devices were also successfully exemplified to identify specific body-motion from the detected current values in the sensitive inorganic halide patches.
Microbial fuel cell: An energy harvesting technique for environmental remediation

Pollution of soil and water environments is mainly due to different anthropogenic factors, and the presence of organic contaminants, in particular persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic ones, arouses concern for their possible effects on environment and human health. One nature-based technology that can be used in biodegradation of contaminated soil and water is microbial fuel cells (MFCs). They are also capable of producing energy and of being used as environmental sensors. In this context, this article aims at presenting the capacity of MFCs to reduce environmental pollution by exploiting the process of bioelectrochemical utilization of organic matter via microbial metabolism, to generate usable byproducts, fuels and bioelectricity. The main characteristic of an MFC, when used for energy harvesting, is the absence of emissions of pollutant gases such as CO, CO 2 , SOx or NOx. This characteristic, together with the intrinsic capacity of bioreactors to decontaminate soils and water, is stimulating the research into engineering solutions exploiting the MFC potential. Among the different types of MFCs, as bioelectrochemical systems (BESs), the terrestrial microbial fuel cells and the wastewater microbial fuel cells convert energy using a biocatalyst (microorganism) and a biofuel (organic substrate) in basic environments such as soil and water. Consequently, MFCs can be used as energy sources for powering sensors with low-power and low-voltage characteristics or complete single nodes of a distributed wireless sensor network, if coupled with smart although more complex electronic circuit. Moreover, MFCs can be environmental sensors, suited to monitoring some environmental parameters influencing MFC functional behaviours such as pH and temperature. This article introduces the polluted environment scenarios where these technologies could be suitably applied together with the description of two main types of MFC structures and their functioning. Furthermore, some case studies in which MFCs are used in decontamination of polluted environments are described.
Is an ADHD Observation-Scale Based on DSM Criteria Able to Predict Performance in a Virtual Reality Continuous Performance Test?

The Diagnosis of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) requires an exhaustive and objective assessment in order to design an intervention that is adapted to the peculiarities of the patients. The present study aimed to determine if the most commonly used ADHD observation scale—the Evaluation of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity (EDAH) scale—is able to predict performance in a Continuous Performance Test based on Virtual Reality (VR-CPT). One-hundred-and-fifty students (76% boys and 24% girls) aged 6–16 (M = 10.35; DT = 2.39) participated in the study. Regression analyses showed that only the EDAH subscale referring to inattention symptoms, was a statistically significant predictor of performance in a VR-CPT. More specifically, this subscale showed 86.5% prediction-accuracy regarding performance in the Omissions variable, 80.4% in the Commissions variable, and 74.5% in the Response-time variable. The EDAH subscales referring to impulsivity and hyperactivity were not statistically significant predictors of any variables in the VR-CPT. Our findings may partially explain why impulsive-hyperactive and the combined presentations of ADHD might be considered as unique and qualitatively different sub-categories of ADHD. These results also highlighted the importance of measuring not only the observable behaviors of ADHD individuals, but also the scores in performance tests that are attained by the patients themselves.
Thinking Transformational System Change

ABSTRACT The dire condition of planetary systems, growing inequality, and other grand challenges seem to make system transformation, either purposeful or not, inevitable. This paper argues transformation agents using approaches that involve seeing the system and its patterns, sensemaking that constructs new narratives and stories about the system built on resonant memes, and connecting across a range of boundaries are necessary for purposeful transformation towards human and planetary wellbeing. The paper further argues that it is such purposeful transformation towards global goals around wellbeing for all (including non-humans) that is needed. MAD statement The world is in significant trouble in its future capacity to support human civilization as we know it. There is growing recognition that major and purposeful systemic transformation of human systems, e.g. economic, social, and human-nature interact, is needed. Transformation change agents can purposefully work toward system transformations using approaches of seeing and making sense of the current system to figure out where leverage points for change are, creating new stories and memes that resonate broadly through sensemaking processes, and connect actors already working toward similar ends.