Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of biochar on nutrient supply, crop yield and microbial respiration on sandy soils of northern Germany

The application of biochar to agricultural soils to increase nutrient availability, crop production and carbon sequestration has gained increasing interest but data from field experiments on temperate, marginal soils are still under‐represented. In the current study, biochar, produced from organic residues (digestates) from a biogas plant, was applied with and without digestates at low (3.4 t ha−1) and intermediate (17.1 t ha−1) rates to two acidic and sandy soils in northern Germany that are used for corn (Zea mays L.) production. Soil nutrient availability, crop yields, microbial biomass and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from heterotrophic respiration were measured over two consecutive years. The effects of biochar application depended on the intrinsic properties of the two tested soils and the biochar application rates. Although the soils at the fallow site, with initially low nutrient concentrations, showed a significant increase in pH, soil nutrients and crop yield after low biochar application rates, a similar response was found at the cornfield site only after application of substantially larger amounts of biochar. The effect of a single dose of biochar at the beginning of the experiment diminished over time but was still detectable after 2 years. Whereas plant available nutrient concentrations increased after biochar application, the availability of potentially phytotoxic trace elements (Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr) decreased significantly, and although slight increases in microbial biomass carbon and heterotrophic CO2 fluxes were observed after biochar application, they were mostly not significant. The results indicate that the application of relatively small amounts of biochar could have positive effects on plant available nutrients and crop yields of marginal arable soils and may decrease the need for mineral fertilizers while simultaneously increasing the sequestration of soil organic carbon.
DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF RAPID REVERSE PHASE HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUS ESTIMATION OF STIGMASTEROL AND β-SITOSTEROL IN EXTRACTS OF VARIOUS PARTS (LEAVES, STEMS, AND ROOTS) OF XANTHIUM STRUMARIUM LINN.

Objective: X anthium strumarium is a cocklebur or burweed belonging to family Asteraceae and commonly found as a weed, is widely distributed in North America, Brazil, China, Malasia, and hotter part of India. The herb is traditionally used mostly in treating several ailments. The present study deals with development and validation of a reliable reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for the simultaneous estimation of Stigmasterol and β-sitosterol in the various extracts of the plant. Methods: The proposed method utilizes a Qualisil Gold C18 column (250×4.6 mm), 5 µm particle size, under isocratic elution conditions with themixture of acetonitrile:ethanol:water (85:14:1 v/v/v) at 25° as a mobile phase. An effluent flow rate of 1 ml/minute and ultraviolet detection at202 nm was used for the analysis of Stigmasterol and β-sitosterol. R esults: The described method was linear in the range of range of 100-500 µg/ml and 10-500 µg/ml for stigmasterol and β-sitosterol respectively, with excellent correlation coefficients. The precision, robustness, and ruggedness values were also within the prescribed limits (<2%). The recovery values were within the range, which indicates that the accuracy of the analysis was good and that the interference of the matrix with the recovery of phytosterols was low. The phytosterols were found to be stable in a stock solution for 24 hrs (percentage relative standard deviation was below 2%) and no interfering extra peaks were observed under controlled stress conditions. C onclusion: The proposed method is simple, specific, precise, accurate, and reproducible and thus can be used as appropriate method for routine analysis of X. strumarium phytosterols in quality control laboratories. Keywords: Xanthium strumarium , Reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography method, Precision, Phytosterols, Quality control
Blood vessel segmentation in narrow band imaging bronchoscopic video

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer fatalities in the world. A recent trend has begun to focus on the idea of using bronchoscopy for early detection of suspect cancerous lesions developing along the airway walls. Because standard white-light bronchoscopy has insufficient sensitivity in locating suspect lesions, researchers are turning to the promising modality referred to as narrow band imaging (NBI). NBI bronchoscopy has the advantage of highlighting the blood vessels contained in the lung mucosa. Since cancer lesions tend to exhibit abnormal vessel growth, NBI bronchoscopy is able to highlight such lesions. Unfortunately, the task of locating lesions and their vessel patterns in an NBI bronchoscopy video stream proves to be tedious for the physician. We present automatic methods for enhancing and segmenting the major blood vessels depicted in NBI bronchoscopic video. Results with ground-truth data indicate that our methods can achieve superior results to a popular existing vessel-segmentation method. We also consider a preliminary application of deep learning to this task; while this approach gives low sensitivity compared to the other approaches, it achieves higher specificity and accuracy.
A tapered CPW fed leaky‐wave antenna based on substrate integrated waveguide with reduced side‐lobe level

A novel method for confining the undesired radiation of the feed transition of a low‐profile leaky‐wave antenna (LWA) is demonstrated in this paper. The proposed design method uses novel tapered CPW transitions resulting in variation of the parasitic capacitance and electrical length of the feed. This leads to the reduction of the side‐lobe level (SLL), which is dictated by the feed and the slotted sections of the antenna. The undesired radiation from the feed becomes crucial in the low‐profile antenna in which the surface‐mounted connector along feed transition is the only practical feeding mechanism. The key novelty of the proposed approach is the reduction of SLL by exclusively modifying the feed structure rather than the slotted radiation section. To validate the proposed approach, a modified compact feeding mechanism for LWA is designed. The antenna is realized based on the substrate integrated waveguide (SIW). The antenna's length, width, and height are 110 mm, 31 mm, and 0.5 mm, respectively. The operating frequency band was chosen as 26 to 30 GHz, covering an allocated 5G band. The measured peak realized gain and SLL are 6.1 dBi and − 11.4 dB, respectively. An improvement of 5.7 dB in SLL compared to the conventional LWA was observed. The simple fabrication process and efficiency of the proposed method make it a viable approach for reducing the SLL of the low‐profile antennas. Compactness, low SLL, and proper gain of the reported antenna make it a suitable candidate for 5G vehicle to everything (V2X) communications and mm‐wave navigation systems.
Foraging behavior and association with mixed flocks by the Critically Endangered Alagoas Tyrannulet Phylloscartes ceciliae (Aves: Passeriformes: Tyrannidae)

The Alagoas Tyrannulet Phylloscartes ceciliae is a Critically Endangered species with a restricted distribution to the Atlantic Forest of the Pernambuco Endemism Center. It seems to specialize in using the sally-strike maneuver (68.85%) to catch prey on green foliage (50.82%) and in the air (34.42%). We calculated a catch rate of 2.93 catches/minute, identified a new food item for this species (caterpillars), and included 12 species in the list of birds recorded in mixed flocks with the species. Our results show that majority of the prey capture events by Alagoas Tyrannulet occurred inside tree canopies, thus we can infer that this species needs a more advanced stage of forest sucession, with higher trees, emphasizing the urgency for restoration programs in the region.
The skewness index: uncovering the relationship with volatility and market returns

ABSTRACT The SKEW index of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), launched in February 2011, measures the tail risk not fully captured by the VIX index. In this paper we introduce, for the first time, a skewness index for the Italian stock market (ITSKEW) and investigate the pairwise and trilateral relations of this index with volatility and market returns. The results are compared with those of the US market. Data for the period 3 January 2011 to 29 December 2017 are used and three main results are found. First, in both the US and the Italian markets, the skewness index acts as a measure of market greed, as opposed to market fear, in the sense that it captures investor excitement to a larger extent than investor fear. Second, increases in the skewness index are related to returns with high significance in the Granger causality test, while the reverse is not the case. Last, volatility and skewness may give conflicting signals. When skewness and volatility indices move in the same direction, investors should rely on volatility because it has a stronger influence on market returns. The implications for investors and policy-makers are outlined.
Bayesian Nonparametric Approach to Average Annual Daily Traffic Estimation for Bridges

Every year, the U.S. government provides several billions of dollars in the form of federal funding for transportation services in the U.S.A. Decision making with regard to the use of these funds largely depends on performance indicators like average annual daily traffic (AADT). In this paper, Bayesian nonparametric models are developed through machine learning for the estimation of AADT on bridges. The effect of hyperparameter choice on the accuracy of estimations produced by Bayesian nonparametric models is also assessed. The predictions produced using the Bayesian nonparametric approach are then compared with predictions from a popular Frequentist approach for the selected bridges. Evaluation metrics like the mean absolute percentage error are subsequently employed in model evaluation. Based on the results, the best methods for AADT forecasting for the selected bridges are recommended.
Determination of the Dynamic Load of the Carrying Structure of the Hopper Wagon With the Actual Dimensions of Structural Elements

The object of research is the supporting structure of the pellet wagon with the actual dimensions of the supporting elements. One of the most problematic areas is the determination of the indicators of dynamics and strength of the supporting structure of the hopper wagon with the actual dimensions of the structural elements. A study of the dynamic loading of the supporting structure of the hopper wagon was carried out. At the same time, the actual dimensions of the structural elements were determined by means of field studies. Mathematical modeling of the dynamic loading of the load-carrying structure of a hopper wagon with the actual dimensions of structural elements was carried out by means of mathematical modeling. The studies were carried out in a flat coordinate system. The presence of three degrees of freedom of the supporting structure of the hopper wagon was taken into account: vibrations of twitching, bouncing and galloping. Differential equations were solved in the MathCad software package. In doing so, they were reduced to the Cauchy normal form, and then integrated using the Runge-Kutta method. It was found that the maximum value of the acceleration acting on the supporting structure of the hopper wagon is 38.5 m/s2, which is 2.7% higher than the acceleration of the supporting structure with nominal dimensions. Computer simulation of the dynamic loading of the supporting structure of the hopper wagon was carried out. The calculation was carried out using the finite element method in the SolidWorks Simulation (CosmosWorks) software package. It was found that the maximum accelerations are concentrated in the middle part of the supporting structure of the hopper wagon and amount to 36.2 m/s2. The F-criterion was used to verify the developed model. The calculations showed that the calculated value of the criterion is Fc = 1.09 and is less than the table value Ft = 3.29. The adequacy hypothesis is not rejected. The natural frequencies and vibration modes of the hopper wagon supporting structure were determined. It has been established that the values of natural vibration frequencies of the hopper wagon bearing structure with the actual dimensions of the structural elements are within the permissible limits. The research will contribute to the creation of relevant developments to extend the service life of wagons that have exhausted their standard resource, as well as to increase the efficiency of railway transport operation.
Contexts of organizational learning in developing countries: the role of training programmes in Egyptian public banks

PurposeLittle research into organizational learning in the public sector in developing countries' is known. In this paper, the authors investigated the context of organizational learning in the public banks in Egypt.Design/methodology/approachAn ethnographic field research was employed by spending a month inside each of two public banks in Egypt. The ethnographic experience was operationalised by using direct observations of learning processes, procedures and practices, semi-structured interviews with learning specialists and focus group discussions with bankers. The authors used thematic analysis to determine the main themes in the previous data collection methods of ethnographic approach.FindingsThe findings confirmed a lack of clear focus for the organizational learning practices employed by the banks, which highlights issues of seriousness in undertaking and/or tackling organizational learning, and increased doubts in relation to the added value of the different forms of formal trainings bankers participate in. To enhance the culture and maintain effective functioning of formal organizational learning, the authors suggest considering the following three categories of barriers: purpose-related barriers, implementation and evaluation barriers.Originality/valueDespite the generalisability caveats associated with the organizations studied, the authors believe that this paper contributes to the existing theory of organizational learning as it provides insights and understanding on the purpose, frame, conduct and results of organizational learning in the public sector. More specifically, the study is unique and is different from previous relevant studies as it relies on ethnographical approach in exploring how organizational leaning practices are perceived in public banks in developing countries.
Fabrikasi Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (Dssc) Menggunakan Mawar Merah (Rosa Damascena Mill) Sebagai Pewarna Alami Berbasis Antosianin

Dewi Nugrahawati Fabrikasi Dye Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) Menggunakan Mawar Merah (Rosa damascena Mill) Sebagai Pewarna Alami Berbasis Antosianin Fabrikasi Dye sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) menggunakan pewarna alami ekstrak antosianin dari mawar merah (Rosa damascena Mill) sebagai fotosensitizer telah dilakukan. Sel surya dibentuk dengan struktur sandwich, dimana dua elektroda mengapit elektrolit polimer PEG (polyethylene glycol) yang mengandung kopel redoks I-/I3-. Elektroda pertama yaitu elektroda kerja yang berupa lapisan TiO2 pada substrat kaca berlapis bahan TCO (Transparant Conducting Oxide) disensitisasi dengan dye antosianin sebagai donor elektron dalam sistem sel surya ini. Elektroda lawan merupakan elektroda kedua yang berupa lapisan karbon pada kaca TCO (Transparant Conducting Oxide). Sel yang difabrikasi memiliki luas 1 cm2, sel direndam dengan dye antosianin dengan memvariasi waktu perendaman, masing-masing direndam selama 1 jam, 12 jam, 24 jam, dan 36 jam. Sel-sel ini diuji dengan penyinaran menggunakan lampu Halogen 800 Watt dengan intensitas 262,2 W/m2 pada jarak 5 cm. Hasil pengujian sel-sel ini memperlihatkan efisiensi untuk masing-masing sel dengan variasi perendaman yaitu 0,0009 %, 0,0036 %, 0,0037 %, dan 0,0077 %. Sedangkan dengan menggunakan I-Vmeter Keithley dengan intensitas 1599 W/m2 menghasilkan efisiensi sebesar 0,000846 %, 0,0010%, 0,00154%, 0,0118%. Kata Kunci : Mawar Merah (Rosa damascena Mill), dye, perendaman
STEERING ASSISTING WITH PATH DETECTION AND CAR DETECTION

The recognition of pathways and identification of cars was seen with a perspective camera, which recognizes trajectories and predicts control points. The aim is to propose the location of the path. In this paper, the lane detection algorithm Steering Assistance System(SAS) is introduced. Guiding helps to learn driving and anticipates the control points and defines the direction that makes it easy to learn in a potential way and a lane-keeping assistance system which warns the driver on unintended lane departures. Path keeping is an important element for self-driving cars. This article describes the beginning to end adapting the approach to holding the car in the right direction.
How Corporate Social Responsibility and External Stakeholder Concerns Affect Green Supply Chain Cooperation among Manufacturers: An Interpretive Structural Modeling Analysis

The past decade saw an increasing development and improvement of green supply chain, but the environmental performances cannot be achieved by single enterprises. Therefore, it is necessary to find out the influencing factors that hinder the cooperation of green supply chain, so as to make full use of these influencing factors to improve environmental performance. In consultation with supply chain management practitioners and academics, this paper establishes a set of 19 influencing factors for green supply chain cooperation among Chinese manufacturers The corporate social responsibility as internal effect and external stakeholder concern as external effect is considered in this study and the interpreted structural model (ISM) method is used to analyze the interaction among these influencing factors and its impact on green supply chain cooperation. This study aims to identify the most significant impacts on environmental issues with supply chain partners and to understand how these impacts can help improve the environmental performance throughout the supply chain.
Credentialing Proton Centers for Clinical Trials

This chapter will provide an overview of quality assurance processes to credential proton therapy centers for clinical trial participation. There are a number of credentialing audit steps, including independent output verification, anthropomorphic phantom audits, image guidance credentialing, knowledge assessments, and on-site dosimetry review. The purpose of these credentialing steps is to ensure consistency across proton centers participating in clinical trials, and well as comparability with photon centers for randomized trials. This uniformity ensures high quality data for measuring patient outcomes, which are pivotal at a time when proton therapy is being assessed for superior outcomes.
High pressure hydrates of CO2 & materials for carbon storage

The class of water-ice compound known as gas hydrate has been of interest to science for sometime where, for instance, gas hydrates make excellent candidates for studying the interactions of water and gas molecules. They are also of relevance to industry, where they present an interesting material for the separation, transport, and storage of different gases, and also due to the vast quantities of methane gas that are trapped in natural gas hydrate formations. While much is known about the behaviour of many gas hydrate systems at highpressure, the CO2 hydrate system is less well studied, with apparent hydrate dissociation at just 10 kbar, and (prior to this work) an unsolved crystalline phase in the pressure range 6-10 kbar. In this work the CO2-H2O system has been studied at high-pressure and, by heating samples to the liquid state and observing their behaviour on refreezing, it has been confirmed that there are indeed no hydrate phases in the system above 10 kbar (up to at least 40 kbar). While performing this investigation, an interesting effect of CO2 on the behaviour of water crystallisation was also observed, and additionally, a simple yet effective technique for making solubility measurements in the system at high-pressure has been discovered. Using a combination of neutron and x-ray diffraction techniques, the crystal structure of the previously unsolved ‘HP’ CO2 hydrate phase has been determined by ab-initio methods. It has been found to be a new gas hydrate structure, but is shared by a small number of Zintl compounds, and may also be common to the unsolved C0 phase of H2 hydrate. The structure has a characteristic spiral of guest molecule sites, leading to its suggested label as the spiral hydrate structure (s-Sp). Its composition has been measured as a tri-hydrate, and the compressibility of s-Sp and the low-pressure s-I CO2 hydrate phases have also been measured. On cooling to 77 K it has been discovered that a third CO2 hydrate phase is formed with a significantly larger unit cell, which is thought to possess a structure similar
Rethinking Health Care Approach: From A Bio-Psychosocial Perspective

In today’s world, one of the most grappling concerns is health care. According to WHO, ‘health is not only absence of disease but also taking care of physical, mental and social wellbeing’. This review article is to understand different health models that contributes to well-being. Bio-medical model is found to be the most dominated approach, even though it is unidirectional and considers ‘physicality’ as the basic principle for the treatment. Research has been done to incorporate biological, psychological and social factors in treatment modalities in order to provide holistic health care. This paper aims to explorehow the biopsychosocial model can be used in the health care field with the help of empirical evidence.
28nm pitch single exposure patterning readiness by metal oxide resist on 0.33NA EUV lithography

For many years traditional 193i lithography has been extended to the next technology node by means of multi-patterning techniques. However recently such a 193i technology became challenging and expensive to push beyond the technology node for complex features that can be tackled in a simpler manner by the Extreme UltraViolet Lithography (EUVL) technology. Nowadays, EUVL is part of the high-volume manufacturing device landscape and it has reached a critical decision point where one can push further the single print on 0.33NA full field scanner or move to a EUV double patterning technology with more relaxed pitches to overcome current 0.33NA stochastic limits. In this work we have selected the 28nm pitch dense line-space (P28) as critical decision check point. We have looked at the 0.33NA EUV single print because it is more cost effective than 0.33NA EUV double patterning. In addition, we have conducted a process feasibility study as P28 in single print is close to the resolution limit of the 0.33NA EUV full field scanner. We present the process results on 28nm dense line-space patterning by using Inpria’s metal-oxide (MOx) EUV resist. We discuss the lithographic and etching process challenges by looking at resist sensitivity, unbiased line edge roughness (LER) and nano patterning failures after etching (AE), using broad band plasma (BBP) and e-beam (EB) defectivity inspection tools. To get further understanding on the P28 single patterning capability we have integrated the developed EUV MOx process in a relevant iN7 technology test vehicle by developing a full P28 metallization module with ruthenium. In such a way we were able to carry on electrical tests on metallized serpentine, fork-fork and tip-to-tip structures designed with a purpose of enabling further learning on pattern failures through electrical measurements. Finally, we conclude by showing the readiness of P28 single exposure using Inpria’s MOx process on a 0.33NA EUV full field scanner.