Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Soil moisture and growth of contrasting varieties of Lolium, Dactylis and Festuca species

Varieties of Italian, perennial and Italian × perennial ryegrasses, tall fescue and cocksfoot were used to determine the effects of soil moisture on grass growth. Weather conditions were monitored and herbage accumulation, leaf extension rate, leaf appearance rate and tillering were recorded under natural (control), covered and irrigated treatments. Water deficit reduced crop growth rate in the spring and drought was the major factor influencing crop growth rates in all varieties during the summer. The ryegrasses appeared most sensitive to drought, and particularly poor recovery growth was exhibited by the Italian ryegrass RvP and the hybrid ryegrass Snowdon. Leaf extension rate and leaf appearance rate were both reduced by increasing soil water deficit. Herbage accumulation was increased by irrigation when potential soil water deficits were greater than 100 mm. When water deficits were large, irrigation increased leaf extension more than leaf appearance or tiller number. Increasing moisture deficit had a greater effect upon tiller number than on leaf extension.
Covitality moderates the relationship between victimisation and loneliness

ABSTRACT Objective: Research suggests that low levels of school belonging and high levels of victimisation predict negative emotions, including loneliness. However, few studies have examined this relation among Chinese elementary school students. The protective role of covitality against victimisation and loneliness also remains unexplored. This study examines the relations between bullying victimisation, school belonging, covitality, and loneliness over 6 months, and whether covitality moderates the relations between victimisation and loneliness. Method: Eight hundred students from five elementary schools in China completed self‐report surveys at two time points (6 months apart). Results: Bullying victimisation, school belonging, and covitality predicted loneliness 6 months later. Students who experienced more bullying victimisation, lower levels of school belonging, and lower covitality reported more loneliness 6 months later. Covitality buffered the relation between verbal victimisation at Time 1 (T1) and loneliness at T1 but did not buffer the relation between victimisation T1 and loneliness at Time 2 (T2). Conclusions: Schools should prevent bullying, foster school belonging, and promote covitality (positive psychological traits) to reduce Chinese youths' feelings of loneliness. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: (1) Victimisation is a risk factor for loneliness for children in the United States. (2) School belonging is a protective factor for loneliness for children in United States. (3) Covitality is a protective factor for youth. What this topic adds: (1) Victimisation is a risk factor for loneliness for children in China. (2) School belonging and covitality are protective factors against loneliness for children in China. (3) Covitality moderates the relation between verbal victimisation and loneliness using cross‐sectional data only.
Species Succession and Turf Quality of Tall Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass Mixtures as Affected By Mowing Height

Mixtures of turfgrass species are commonly used throughout the world when establishing cool-season grasses from seed. However, there have been limited studies investigating how various species compete with each other as the turf matures. A study was conducted in Padova, Italy, to investigate the performance and species composition of four mixtures that contained a single cultivar of Kentucky bluegrass (KB; Poa pratensis L.) and two rhizomatous or two nonrhizomatous tall fescue (TF; Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) cultivars. The trial was seeded in September 2010. Three mowing heights (20, 32, and 62 mm) were also applied to all the mixtures. General turfgrass performance of the mixtures was monitored through the 2011 growing season, and species composition was measured regularly to determine the abundance of both species in the mixture. Throughout the study, the mixtures containing the rhizomatous TF consistently had higher turfgrass quality and turfgrass density than mixtures containing the nonrhizomatous types. Mowing height had less effect on the performance of the mixtures, but the lower mowing heights (20 and 32 mm) performed more consistently than the plots mowed at the highest (62 mm) mowing height. Species composition of the mixtures was significantly influenced by the different TF cultivars, in that KB was less abundant in mixtures containing rhizomatous TF cultivars compared to nonrhizomatous cultivars, suggesting an increased competitive ability of rhizomatous TF lines. Mowing height also influenced the species composition, in that KB was significantly more abundant at lower mowing heights.
The Effect of Shadow Banking on the Systemic Risk in a Dynamic Complex Interbank Network System

After the financial crisis triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States in 2008, many scholars believed that the unstable transmission of shadow banking business in the banking system is the main factor causing financial turmoil. This paper proposes a dynamic complex interbank network system model with shadow banking in which the dynamic complex interbank network system differs from the traditional banking network and is formed by the interrelated business between shadow banks and commercial banks to explore the effect of shadow banking on the systemic risk. The results show that the existence of shadow banking will increase the systemic risk, accelerate the speed of bankruptcy of banks, reduce the survival ratio of banks, and increase the strength of central bank assistance. The smaller the number of shadow banks in the system, the higher the degree of credit connection among commercial banks and the smaller the systemic risk.
Revisiting the Dynamic Linkages of Treasury Bond Yields for the BRICS: A Forecasting Analysis

We examined the dynamic linkages among money market interest rates in the so-called “BRICS” countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) by using weekly data of the overnight, one-, three-, and six- months, as well as of one year, Treasury bills rates covering the period from January 2005 to August 2019. A long-run relationship among interest rates was established by employing the Vector Error Correction modeling (VECM), which revealed the validation of the Expectation Hypothesis Theory (EH) of the term structure of interest rates, taking into account long-run deviations from equilibrium and inherent nonlinearities. We unveiled short-run dynamic adjustments for the term structure of the BRICS, subject to regime switches. We then used Markov Switching Vector Error Correction models (MS-VECM) to forecast them dynamically during an out-of-sample period of May 2016 through August 2019. The MSIH-VECM forecasts were found to be superior to the VECM approaches. The novelty of our paper is mainly due to the exploration of the possibility of parameter instability as a crucial factor, which might explain the rejection of the restricted version of the cointegration space, and on the dynamic out-of-sample forecasts of the term structure over a more recent time span in order to assess further the usefulness of our nonlinear MS-VECM characterization of the term structure, capturing the effects of the global and domestic financial crisis.
Variability among Spanish citrus tristeza virus isolates revealed by double‐stranded RNA analysis

A survey for citrus tristeza virus (CTV) strains, based on double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) analysis, was carried out in five locations on the eastern citrus-growing area of Spain. CTV was recovered from 137 trees of different ages, citrus species and varieties, sampled in 53 orchards. The best months for dsRNA recovery were April, May, September, October, and November, and the highest dsRNA yield was obtained from sweet orange cultivars. Sixteen dsRNA profiles differing by the number and/or position of subgenomic bands were detected. One of these profiles was detected in more than half the trees analysed. Maximum diversity of dsRNA patterns was found in the location with the oldest citrus orchards and the highest CTV incidence (Alzira-Carcaixent). In many instances, several dsRNA profiles were detected in neighbouring trees of the same orchard, notably in Alzira-Carcaixent, where 70% of the plots sampled contained more than one profile. The possible causes for the diversity of CTV isolates found in this specific area are discussed.
Frações lábeis e recalcitrantes da matéria orgânica em solos sob integração lavoura-pecuária

The objective of this work was to evaluate the soil total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) stocks, C and N in labile and recalcitrant fractions of the soil organic matter (SOM), and the C management index, in soils under integrated crop-livestock (ICL) system after four (ICL4) and eight years (ICL8) of settlement. For comparison purposes, other management systems were used: pasture and crop under no tillage (NT), besides native vegetation. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized block design, with five replicates. The crop-livestock established in a period of eight years can reach a new steady state equivalent to the no-tillage with 23 years of implementation. There was accumulation in total organic carbon of 101.0 (ICL8) and 104.2 Mg ha -1 (NT), and N total stock of 5.5 (ICL8) and 5.8 Mg ha -1 (NT) in the 0-30 cm layer, as well as increase in the stock of labile and recalcitrant C and N fractions of SOM. For crop-livestock with eight years, the C management index of 88 was higher than other management systems, and not different from native vegetation (0-10 cm), however, it was similar to NT in the analysis of the entire profile (0-30 cm).
Circamensal Rhythmicity and Muscle Function: The Role of Reproductive Hormones in the Regulation of Strength

The human female menstrual cycle is characterised by fluctuations in reproductive and pituitary hormones which regulate the monthly release of an ovum for fertilisation. The circamensal changes in the hormonal milieu may influence exercise performance. The generation of maximal voluntary muscle strength, mediated by changes in the steroid hormones, has been the focus of recent research, particularly ergogenic effects of oestrogen. Peak force of the adductor pollicis, normalised for muscle size, has been reported mid-cycle in concert with the rise in oestrogen. The removal of an oestrogen and progesterone environment results in muscle weakness in humans and animals. These hormones decline concomitantly following natural ovarian failure (i.e., the menopause) and surgical extraction of the ovaries (i.e., bilateral oophorectomy). To overcome the problem of controlling for rapid cyclical changes in reproductive hormones across the menstrual cycle, and to isolate the effects of oestrogen when measuring strength, other models have been adopted. Treatment of in vitro fertilisation patients involves, in part, the down-regulation of gonadotropin releasing hormone receptors followed by up-regulation with exogenous pituitary hormones. This presents a very low and very high oestrogenic milieu while progesterone remains rel atively stable. Under these conditions, maximal strength of the first dorsal interosseus muscle has been unchanged. The rapid loss in strength observed post-menopause is preserved, and possibly restored, in women taking hormone replacement therapy. These findings are significant for the preservation of skeletal and muscular health of post-menopausal women. There is increasing evidence to support the role of reproductive hormones in the regulation of muscle strength. Since the link between the hormone milieu during the menstrual cycle and strength changes is weak, other models must be employed. Strength declines rapidly at the menopause, and offsetting muscle weakness in post-menopausal women has implications in reducing the risk of muscloskeletal injury. Female athletes who are prone to amenorrhoea constitute another target group. A hormone-deficient state may not be beneficial to performance, but may compromise muscle function.
Genetic congruence with new species boundaries in the Melaleuca uncinata complex (Myrtaceae)

Uninformed management decisions have the potential to create significant problems for conservation programs. In the south-western corner of Australia where conservation initiatives are directed towards restoring large tracts of land degraded by broadscale clearing and increasing levels of dryland salinity, Melaleuca uncinata R.Br. (Myrtaceae) is a species complex of considerable interest for restoration. Although M. uncinata is morphologically uniform across most of southern mainland Australia, there is considerable variation in south-western Australia and a recent morphological evaluation has recognised 11 species. Phylogenetic patterns among populations of seven of these species were examined with nuclear RFLP loci to determine whether morphological and phylogenetic boundaries were congruent before the implementation of any broadscale revegetation programs. The phylogenetic analysis was congruent with the morphological assessment, and populations of different species, including those co-occurring at the same site, clustered according to their correct morphological assignment. Some genetic structuring associated with habitat preference was also evident within two of the species. The taxonomic resolution and knowledge of the phylogenetic relationships among the seven species will facilitate their further assessment for issues relevant to revegetation, such as provenance and local adaptation. It will also enable selection of appropriate germplasm in revegetation programs to maximise the genetic adaptation in restoration and minimise negative impact of plantings on remnant vegetation.
Evaluation of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C patients treated with direct-acting antivirals

Background and Aim This study is an evaluation of liver fibrosis measurements determined using transient elastography and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) scores of patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) who were treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). Materials and Methods The liver fibrosis measurements recorded using transient elastography, APRI scores, and the biochemical data from before and after treatment of 40 patients with CHC who were treated with DAA were reviewed. Patients who received paritaprevir+ritonavir/ombitasvir+dasabuvir were included in Group 1 (n=20), and patients who received sofosbuvir+ledipasvir±ribavirin in Group 2 (n=20). Results The mean liver fibrosis measurement of the patients was 15.73±10.63 kPa (min–max: 5.20–45.00 kPa) before treatment and 2.56±8.84 kPa (min–max: 4.30–42.00 kPa) after treatment. There was a significant improvement in liver fibrosis with a regression of 20.16% at the end of treatment compared with the start (p=0.001) with no significant difference between treatment groups (p=0.542). The highest regression rate of 75% was seen in patients with F2 fibrosis at the end of treatment. Significant regression was also found in patients with F3 fibrosis, with a rate of 57.2%, and in those with F4 fibrosis, with a rate of 17.6% (p=0.035). Significant reduction was also observed in the APRI scores of patients at the end of treatment compared with the start of treatment (p<0.001), with no significant difference between treatment groups (p=0.328). Conclusion Noninvasive assessments of CHC patients treated with DAA revealed regression in liver fibrosis measurements and APRI scores and significant improvements were seen in the stage of fibrosis in the early phases following treatment.
Effect of Modified Hexagonal Boron Nitride Nanoparticles on the Emulsion Stability, Viscosity and Electrochemical Behavior of Nanostructured Acrylic Coatings for the Corrosion Protection of AISI 304 Stainless Steel

In this study, the effect of pure and modified hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheet incorporation on the stability, viscosity, and electrochemical behavior of a waterborne emulsion acrylic coating was studied. The functionalization of h-BN nanoplatelets with polyacrylic acid (PAA) plasma polymerization was performed, and the successful surface modification was determined through water dispersion testing, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and also by transmission electronic microscopy. Later, the stability and viscosity properties of emulsion nanostructured acrylic coatings, which were previously prepared by an ultrasound-assisted mixing system, were analyzed using zeta potential and rheometry testing, respectively. The electrochemical behavior was analyzed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results prove an effective deposition of PAA films on the h-BN surfaces, which enhanced the stability and viscosity acrylic of nanostructured coatings due to the interactions between the h-BN nanoplatelets surface and emulsion acrylic paint and also with the thickener additives. On the other hand, the electrochemical analysis demonstrated a significant increase (two orders of magnitude) in corrosion resistance in the acrylic nanostructured coatings with 1 wt. % of unmodified and modified h-BN nanoplatelets concerning pure acrylic paint due to a barrier protection mechanism of corrosion inhibition. Therefore, the results demonstrate that the surface modification of h-BN by plasma polymerization (green technology) helped to solve the low dispersibility issue of BN nanosheet surfaces in a waterborne polymer matrix to obtained green nanostructured acrylic coatings with the right balance in in-can properties and corrosion inhibition of AISI 304 stainless steel.
Wh-indeterminates and Prosody in Hong Kong Cantonese

We report results of a speech production experiment about the prosody of wh -indeterminates and three types of sentences in Hong Kong Cantonese, and discuss our results in relation to the characteristics of focus prosody and the prosodic-syntactic effects on sentence final particles (SFPs). Wh -indeterminates refer to wh -phrases that are ambiguous between interrogative and indefinite readings. do not morphologically differentiate the meanings of wh indeterminates, but they can be differentiated in some types of sentences marked by SFPs. In this study, we used statements as the baseline to systematically study the sentential prosody of wh - and yes/no questions as well as the constituent prosody expressed by wh -indeterminates therein. The results show that wh - and yes/no questions were distinguished from statements by the prosody of SFPs, and that the two readings of wh indeterminates were distinguished in the regions of wh -phrases. We also found that wh -phrases and SFPs together formed a specific duration pattern that distinguishes questions from statements. Our results suggest that the speech prosodic organization considers and interacts with syntax-semantics.
Improving gap light index (GLI) to quickly calculate gap coordinates

Understory light is essential to the establishment and growth of understory plants and varies temporally and spatially within gaps. The previously defined gap light index (GLI) is a good model for assessing understory light levels, but it is time-consuming to determine gap coordinates, which are crucial to GLI, for numerous points within a gap. This paper introduces the geometric calculation (GeoCalc) of gap coordinates. GeoCalc quickly obtains gap coordinates for any specified point within a canopy gap and takes into account the tridimensional profile of the gap and the slope and aspect of the ground. The GeoCalc-based GLI was validated by the GLI derived from hemispherical photographs taken at 93 sampling points within seven natural gaps. Our results demonstrate that GeoCalc-based GLI was strongly positively correlated and not significantly differed from the GLI derived from hemispherical photographs. Next, to analyze gap light regimes and the effects of gap size, canopy height, and topography, three na.
A Radial Basis Function Neural Network Based Approach to Mitigate Soiling from PV Module

Solar power is available in abundance and is free of cost but despite this fact photovoltaic (PV) systems are not reliable as the efficiency of PV module is still not up to the mark. Amount of sun light absorbed by the module is the fuel for the PV modules, there are many factors which play a vital role such as front surface reflectivity, solar beam incidence angle and the most important is the transmissivity of the front surface. Objective of this paper is to examine the function of a neural network based model of a module to mitigate the soiling and improve the accuracy of dust prediction over the module and enhance the efficiency which was degraded by soiling. One of the techniques in artificial intelligence named, radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN) is utilized here to predict the dust data by reading the data of solar irradiance, module temperature, PV voltage, current and power and generates the control signal to the windshield wiper motor that drives the wiper to wipe the dust from the panel. A considerable measure of accessible exploratory information was utilized for the preparation of the RBFNN, and a back propagation algorithm was utilized.
The Mitigating Impact of Land Tenure Security on Drought-Induced Food Insecurity: Evidence from Rural Malawi

Abstract This paper explores household variation in land tenure security and drought shocks across villages to investigate the extent to which land tenure systems matter in households’ capacity to cope with adverse impacts of weather shocks for agricultural dependent households in rural Malawi. Our findings reveal that land tenure security cushions the effects of drought regimes on food security. Further, we establish access to credit facilities for farm investment purposes as the underlying channel that mediates the impact of drought shocks on food insecurity. The results of this study reinforce the growing consensus that property rights through land tenure security are associated with improved agricultural productivity and consequently household food security.
Formulation Design and Optimization of Theophylline Microspheres Containing Akidi Beans ( Vigna Unguiculate ) Starch as Polymer Using Central Composite Design

The aim of the study was to use central composite design in formulating theophylline microspheres containing Akidi beans (Vigna unguiculata L Warp) starch as a controlled-release polymer. Theophylline microspheres containing pregelatinized Akidi beans starch, alginate and chitosan were prepared using ionic gelation. A 2 factor, 2 Level central composite design was used with starch:alginate ratio (X1) and polymer:drug ratio (X2) as variables, and size, entrapment efficiency and quantity of drug released in 12 h, Q12, as responses. Regression parameters and response surface plots were generated. The microspheres were spherical with size 1.68 00 ± 0.12 – 1.95 ± 0.03 mm. Optimized formulation containing 4:1 Akidi starch: alginate and 3:1 polymer: drug ratios, prepared according to levels determined by Minitab software using desirability function, showed significant increase in the responses in comparison to those containing alginate alone. Akidi beans starch demonstrated good potential as an alternative polymer for the controlled delivery of drugs. Key words: Akidi beans starch, central composite design, controlled release, desirability function, sodium alginate, theophylline microspheres