Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Magnetotelluric and teleseismic study across the Snowbird Tectonic Zone, Canadian Shield: A Neoarchean mantle suture?

The Snowbird tectonic zone (STZ) is a fundamental boundary within Canada's Western Churchill Province, one of the world's largest yet poorly‐known fragments of Archean crust. Geophysical data from a collocated magnetotelluric and teleseismic transect across the northeastern segment of the STZ provide an image of its subsurface geometry and indicate that it may have been previously mislocated. The model suggests that (1) the STZ has played a major role in the Neoarchean assembly and Paleoproterozoic reworking of the western Canadian Shield, (2) it was reactivated in a manner comparable to other crustal‐scale features such as the Kapuskasing zone of the Superior Province, Canada, and the Redbank thrust of the Arunta block, central Australia, and (3) it juxtaposes mantle blocks with contrasting geophysical properties, revealing a lithosphere‐scale overlap of the leading edges of the Rae and Hearne domains. The STZ thus records plate interactions in the Neoarchean comparable in scale with that of modern orogenic belts.
Detecting forest cover and ecosystem service change using integrated approach of remotely sensed derived indices in the central districts of Uganda

Natural forests in Uganda have experienced both spatial and temporal modifications from different drivers which need to be monitored to assess the impacts of such changes on ecosystems and prevent related risks of reduction in ecosystem service benefits. Ground investigations may be complex because of dual ownership, whereas remote sensing techniques and GIS application enable a fast multi-temporal detection of changes in forest cover and offer a cost-effective option for inaccessible areas and their use to detect ecosystem service change. The overarching goal of this study was to use satellite measurements to study forest change and link it to ecosystem service benefit reduction (fresh water) in the study area using a representative sample of Landsat scenes, also testing whether the inclusion of ecosystem service benefits improves the classification. In this paper, an integrated approach of remotely derived indices was used together with post-classification comparison to detect forest cover and ecosystem service changes. Our contribution novelty is the ability to detect at multi-temporal scale private and central reserve forest cover decline along with ecosystem benefit reduction using remotely derived indices in the 20 year period (1986-2005). Change detection analysis showed that forest cover declined significantly in five sub-counties of Mpigi, than in Butambala by 5.99%, disturbed forest was 3%, farm land increased by 44%, grassland declined by 62.5% and light vegetation increased by63.6%. The two most affected areas also experienced fresh water reductions. For sustainable supply of ecosystem service benefits, resource managers must also involve private resource owners in the conservation effort. Keywords: Change detection, forest cover, ecosystem service, remotely sensed derived indices, central districts of Uganda
Effect of Production Method on the Dietary Fibre Composition of Akamu- A Nigerian Fermented Maize Product

This study utilized the Integrated total dietary fibre assay in evaluating the total dietary fibre (TDF) components: insoluble dietary fibre (IDF), soluble dietary fibre precipitates (SDFP) and soluble dietary fibre soluble (SDFS), of porridges from ground maize slurries fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum strain and porridges from akamu sample. The traditional process was modified by skipping the soaking, wet milling and wet sieving stages to fermenting ground whole maize slurries with pure culture of L. plantarum strain. The aim was to investigate the effect of the production method on the dietary fibre composition of the new in comparison to akamu sample. The samples had similar physical and microbiological characteristics: pH of 3.43 – 3.95, titratable acidity of 1.05 – 1.59% and lactic acid bacteria count of 8.56 CFU mL-1. The most available sugar from the SDFS was glucose (43 - 54 mg mL-1 for 24 h L. plantarum fermentation and the akamu sample, respectively). The akamu sample had the lowest IDF and the highest SDF (50.80 mg g-1) with particular reference to its SDFS (35.40 mg g-1) content. This study has brought to knowledge the dietary fibre component of a Nigerian fermented maize food.
Validating Patent Indicators that Asses Technological Radicalness: The Case of Biotechnology

Technological innovations vary considerably in terms of novelty and impact with only a minority of new inventions contributing considerably to economic growth. More recently a number of patent-based indicators have been advanced to capture the different characteristics of technologically important inventions among which the notion ‘radical’ figures prominently. Radical inventions combine a high degree of novelty with a significant impact on future technology trajectories. Within this contribution, we compare and validate these indicators within the field of biotechnology. An extensive analysis of the recent history of biotechnology allows to identify important inventions (n=290) for the time period 1976 – 2001. A considerable number of these inventions have been patented between 1976 and 2001 (n= 216; 75%). For all USPTO biotech patents filed between 1976 and 2001 (n= 84,119) relevant indicators have been calculated. Within a next step, logistic regression models are used to assess which indicators allow to distinguish between important, radical, inventions and their less noticeable counterparts. Our findings suggest the relevance of using multiple, complementary, indicators to capture the multidimensional nature of technological radicalness whereby ex post indicators clearly outperform ex ante indicators in terms of precision and recall. Introduction: Some inventions are more radical than others While the importance of technological innovation is widely acknowledged in terms of wealth creation, both on the level of economies and firms, the nature and impact of technological inventions vary widely. While some new technologies imply a relatively small extension of prior art, others completely disrupt or reshape the technological landscape of a field. In this respect, a variety of relevant distinctions have been advanced to delineate important inventions ranging from radical to revolutionary, breakthrough, discontinuity and disruptive. Important or radical inventions introduce new concepts that depart significantly from past practices, have the potential to disrupt existing markets, generate new markets and elicit follow-up innovations. As such, they can be seen as critical building blocks of a company’s or nations’ creative destruction capacity and long-term economic growth.
Two cycles of recurrent selection for grain yield in bread wheat. Direct effect and correlated responses

El objetivo del presente trabajo fue evaluar 2 ciclos de seleccion recurrente para rendimiento en grano en trigo pan y determinar las respuestas directa y correlacionadas.Dieciseis variedades comerciales argentinas de trigo pan (Triticumaestivum L.) con buen comportamiento agronomico, fueron cruzadas al azar para formar la poblacion base. Se evaluaron 45 familias S1 derivadas (15 por cada ciclo analizado) en 5 ambientes. Se observo un aumento del 15% en el rendimiento al cabo de 2 ciclos de seleccion recurrente. Aunque el indice de cosecha no fue caracter objeto de seleccion, se observo un aumento significativo del 11,4% del C2 respecto al C0. El esquema de seleccion recurrente empleado en este trabajo modifico el caracter sujeto a mejora permitiendo la identificacion de genotipos superiores.
Synthesis of monodisperse iron oxide nanoparticles without surfactants

Monodisperse iron oxide nanoparticles could be successfully synthesized with two kinds of precipitants through a precipitation method. As-prepared nanoparticles in the size around 10 nm with regular spherical-like shape were achieved by adjusting pH values. NaOH and NH3ċH2O were used as two precipitants for comparison. The average size of nanoparticles with NH3ċH2O precipitant got smaller and represented better dispersibility, while nanoparticles with NaOH precipitant represented better magnetic property. This work provided a simple method without using any organic solvents, organic metal salts, or surfactants which could easily obtain monodisperse nanoparticles with tunable morphology.
Investigation on Biochemical and Molecular Analysis of Echinacea Genotypes

Genotype identification of medicinal plants remains important for botanical drug industry. Limitations of chemical and morphological approaches for authentication have generated need for newer methods in quality control of botanicals. In this study, the difference between Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea pallida were studied by molecular markers. First of all, genomic DNA from Echinacea genotypes was extracted with EZ1 automatic nucleic acid isolation system and was amplified with OPA primer series. The study showed some relationship between six primers (OPA1, OPA2, OPA3, OPA4, OPA6 and OPA15) with productive performance of Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea pallida. However, secondary metabolites and fatty acids of Echinacea purpurea extract were identified by high performance liquid and gas chromatography, respectively. In addition, antioxidant activity associated with chemical structure of the extract was determined by 1,1 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity.
Ambulatory anesthesia and postoperative nausea and vomiting: predicting the probability

The full terms of the License are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 2016 Hegarty et al. This work is published and lic nsed by Dove ical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress. com/terms. p p and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unp rted, v3.0) Licen e (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms (https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php). Ambulatory Anesthesia 2016:3 27–35 Ambulatory Anesthesia Dovepress
Germination and antioxidant action in melon seeds exposed to salt stress

Salinity influences all germination stages and may adversely affect the seedlings establishment in the field. This study aimed at assessing the effects of salt stress on the physiological potential of melon ( Cucumis melo L.) seeds. Germination and activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POX) enzymes were assessed at the osmotic potentials of 0.0 MPa, -0.1 MPa, -0.2 MPa, -0.3 MPa, -0.4 MPa and -0.5 MPa. The enzymatic activity was assessed after 24 h, 48 h and 72 h of imbibition. Seed germination was zero at -0.5 MPa and 91 % and 85 % at -0.1 MPa and -0.2 MPa, respectively. In general, the activity of SOD, CAT and POX enzymes increased with the salt-induced stress, in the different times of imbibition, and these increases were more evident at -0.4 MPa and -0.5 MPa. The salt stress induced by NaCl diminishes the germination rate of melon seeds, particularly from the osmotic potential of -0.2 MPa. There is a significant increase in the activity of SOD, CAT and POX enzymes, mainly after 48 h of exposure.
The lithium content of omega Centauri. New clues to the cosmological Li problem from old stars in external galaxies

A discrepancy has emerged between the cosmic lithium abundance inferred by the WMAP satellite measurement coupled with the prediction of the standard big-bang nucleosynthesis theory, and the constant Li abundance measured in metal-poor halo dwarf stars (the so-called Spite plateau). Several models are being proposed to explain this discrepancy, involving either new physics, in situ depletion, or the efficient depletion of Li in the pristine Galaxy by a generation of massive first stars. The realm of possibilities may be narrowed considerably by observing stellar populations in different galaxies, which have experienced different evolutionary histories. The WCen stellar system is commonly considered as the remnant of a dwarf galaxy accreted by the Milky Way (MW). We investigate the Li content of a conspicuous sample of unevolved stars in this object. We obtained moderate resolution (R=17000) spectra for 91 main-sequence/early sub-giant branch (MS/SGB) WCen stars using the FLAMES-GIRAFFE/VLT spectrograph. Li abundances were derived by matching the equivalent width of the LiI resonance doublet at 6708A, to the prediction of synthetic spectra computed with different Li abundances. Synthetic spectra were computed using the SYNTHE code along with ATLAS9 model atmospheres. The stars effective temperatures are derived by fitting the wings of the Ha line with synthetic profiles. We obtain a mean content of A(Li)=2.19+-0.14~dex for WCen MS/SGB stars. This is comparable to what is observed in Galactic halo field stars of similar metallicities and temperatures. The Spite plateau seems to be an ubiquitous feature of old, warm metal-poor stars. It exists also in external galaxies, if we accept the current view about the origin of WCen. This implies that the mechanism(s) that causes the "cosmological lithium problem" may be the same in the MW and other galaxies.
On the Duality between Existence and Information

Recent developments in pure mathematics (category theory) and in mathematical logic (partition logic) have uncovered a fundamental duality between "existence" and "information. " In logic, the duality is between the Boolean logic of subsets (mis-specified as the logic of "propositions") and the logic of quotient sets, equivalence relations, or partitions. The analogue to an element of a subset is the notion of a distinction (a pair of elements in different blocks) of a partition, and that leads to a whole stream of dualities or analogies -- including the development of new logical foundations for information theory parallel to Boole's development of logical finite probability theory. After outlining these dual concepts in mathematical terms, we turn to a more metaphysical speculation about two dual notions of reality, a fully definite notion using Boolean logic and appropriate for classical physics, and the other objectively indefinite notion using partition logic which turns out to be appropriate for quantum mechanics. The existence-information duality is used to intuitively illustrate these two dual notions of reality. The elucidation of the objectively indefinite notion of reality leads to the "killer application" of the existence-information duality, namely the interpretation of quantum mechanics.
The Role of Microcredit in Promoting Women's Entrepreneurship Skills: Lesson from Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), Malaysia

Some scholars’ view of microcredit’s potential as a tool of women’s involved in a globalized capitalist economy.It seems that this scheme create opportunities for women to get involve in the entrepreneurship programme.In the case of Malaysia, AIM’s microcredits programs is an individual-based lending, and a near exclusive focus on women as loan clients, have become platform to produce entrepreneur as well as antipoverty intervention.Microcredit aims to break the rural poor in developing countries especially groups of unable to access bank loans and poor villagers rely on local moneylenders. For these people, microcredit provides an alternative source of credit and offering collateral-free loans. Previous studies shown that microcredit has changed the socio-economic of the participant in increasing empowerment, entrepreneur skills, transformational thinking and a desire to improve get out from poverty.The finding presented here provided the empirical evidence and augment previous research on the factor role of microcredit in promoting women’s entrepreneurship skills and the effectiveness of AIM in encourage women to venture into the world of entrepreneurship.
Purposes of education for young people with severe learning difficulties: exploring a vocational teaching resource – ‘A stepping stone to…’ what?

Abstract This article examines the purposes of education with a particular focus on young people with severe learning difficulties (SLD). The topic is explored with reference to a specific case, whereby some of the key findings of an evaluation of the first year of ‘The Greenside Studio’, an English special school’s vocational teaching resource for young people with SLD, are presented. A conceptualisation of different ‘sides’ to the Studio is discussed in relation to the purposes of education for these learners in which the view of vocational learning as a stepping stone to paid employment and independence is presented as problematic. With a broader interpretation of vocational education this stepping stone is reconfigured as a bridge to life after school, whatever form that takes. It is argued, however, that the nature of this life must be viewed aspirationally.
Blind Image Restoration via the Integration of Stochastic and Deterministic Methods

This paper addresses the image restoration problem which remains a significant field of image processing. The fields of experts- (FoE-) based image restoration has been discussed and some open issues including noise estimation and parameter selection have been approached. The stochastic method FoE performs fairly well; meanwhile it might also produce unsatisfactory outcome especially when the noise is grave. To improve the final performance, we introduce the integration with deterministic method K-SVD. The FoE-treated image has been used to obtain the dictionary, and with the help of sparse and redundant representation over trained dictionary, the K-SVD algorithm can dramatically solve the problem, even though the pretreated result is of poor quality under severe noise condition. The experimental results via our proposed method are demonstrated and compared in detail. Meanwhile the test results from both qualitative and quantitative aspects are given, which present the better performance over current state-of-art related restoration algorithms.
Characterizing Teline monspessulana as a Green Sustainable Source of Biofibers

Invasive Teline monspessulana can be an important source of biomass to supply fibers for the rising demand of cellulose bioproducts, especially for the development of advanced materials. Its fibers can be extracted via a thermo-alkaline process at 170 °C with 40 g/L of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and characterized by crystallographic, thermo-analytical, and mechanical techniques. The cellulose proportion in the wood of this species is approximately 47.6 wt. % ± 1.05 wt. %. However, its fibers are relatively small, and they have a wide range of aspect ratios from 25 to 287, with an average diameter of 9.3 μm ± 2.5 μm. These characteristics and mechanical properties make the fibers unattractive for the textile and paper industries. Meanwhile, crystalline cellulose was prevalent in the monoclinic phase, with a crystalline index and crystalline portion of 78 and 41%, respectively, observing crystal domains of c.a. 3.2 nm. Nanoindentation tests revealed favorable values of elastic modulus and hardness of c.a. 16 GPa and 0.28 GPa, respectively. Thus, this bioresource is expected to see promising applications in materials engineering, such as reinforcement in material composites, in drug delivery carrier, and electronic devices, among other biomultifunctional components.
Impact of Interference Competition on Exploration and Food Exploitation in the Ant Lasius niger

Competition acts as a major force in shaping spatially and/or temporally the foraging activity of ant colonies. Interference competition between colonies in particular is widespread in ants where it can prevent the physical access of competitors to a resource, either directly by fighting or indirectly, by segregating the colony foraging areas. Although the consequences of interference competition on ant distribution have been well studied in the literature, the behavioral mechanisms underlying interference competition have been less explored. Little is known on how ants modify their exploration patterns or the choice of a feeding place after experiencing aggressive encounters. In this paper, we show that, at the individual level, the aphid-tending ant Lasius niger reacts to the presence of an alien conspecific through direct aggressive behavior and local recruitment in the vicinity of fights. At the colony level, however, no defensive recruitment is triggered and the “risky” area where aggressive encounters occur is not specifically avoided during further exploration or food exploitation. We discuss how between-species differences in sensitivity to interference competition could be related to the spatial and temporal predictability of food resources at stake.
All Types of Inequality are Not Created Equal: Divergent Impacts of Equality on Economic Growth

Evidence of an increase in various forms of inequality since the 1970s has motivated research on its relationship to growth and development. The findings of that research are contradictory and inconclusive. One source of these divergent results is that researchers rely on different group measures of inequality. Inequality by gender, household, class, and ethnicity may produce divergent effects on growth since they operate on macroeconomic outcomes via alternative pathways. Further, even within groups, the effect of inequality on growth depends on the measure used. For example, inequalities in capabilities (such as education and health status) may operate differently on growth than inequality in wages and income. This paper explores the different conceptual approaches to measuring between-group and within-group inequality and delineates the sometimes contradictory pathways by which these measures affect economic growth and development. The typology is applied to the cases of East Asia and Latin America.
Knowledge Quality Effect on Process Based Management Effectiveness

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of knowledge quality (KQ) on process-based management effectiveness (PBME). The knowledge quality for effective process-based management is an increasingly important issue to the business community. The current review conducted on research work in Knowledge Management and Quality Management Systems field has shown that there are deficiencies in the current research domain which, investigation on knowledge quality and its effect on process-based management was not an interest of previous researchers. The deficiencies shed light for future research that explores in details the effect of KQ on PBME. This issue has initiated interest amongst academicians to empirically examine the effect of knowledge quality on the process-based management effectiveness especially on the ISO9001:2008 certified organization. This study has found that KQ has significant direct effect with PBME in the certified ISO9001:2008 organization. This is indicated by the path coefficients and t-statistics of the relationship between KQ and PBME using PLS-SEM. The results is in line with the opinion derived from semi-structured interview conducted and also accords with earlier research which showed that the quality of knowledge can improve the performance of the processes. The evidence from this result suggests that organization should emphasize on the quality of knowledge to increase the process-based management effectiveness.