Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IMPACT OF LAND USE ON DISTRIBUTION AND DIVERSITY OF Fusarium species IN TAITA TAVETA

The effect of Land Use Types (LUTs) on distribution and diversity of Fusarium species in soil were evaluated in Taita Taveta district, Kenya. Soil samples were collected from sixty points across a land use gradient covering six different LUTs, at 0 to 10 and 10 to 20 cm soil depths. Using Fusarium-selective media, a total of 1865 Fusarium isolates were recovered from the soil samples which resulted into 26 Fusarium species with Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium solani being the dominant species in this area. Difference in Fusarium abundance, diversity and richness across the LUTs was significant (P<0.001) with horticulture being the richest and the most diverse LUT. The top soil layer had significantly higher Fusarium abundance and richness (P<0.05). A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based on the relative Fusarium species abundance differentiated the LUTs with 79.69 %. There were significant positive correlation between P and pH levels with Fusaria abundance, richness and diversity (P<0.001). Abundance and diversity of Fusarium was also positively correlated with soil Mg and K (P<0.05). However, a significant negative correlation between exchangeable acidity and abundance (r=-0.605), richness (r=-1.317) and diversity (r=-0.16) was observed (P<0.05). Negative correlation was also observed between Nitrogen and richness (r=-2.94) and diversity (r=-0.67) of Fusarium species.
Protein Interactions Network of Hepatitis E Virus RNA and Polymerase With Host Proteins

Host-pathogen interactions are crucial for the successful propagation of pathogens inside the host cell. Knowledge of interactions between host proteins and viral proteins or viral RNA may provide clues for developing novel antiviral strategies. Hepatitis E virus (HEV), a water-borne pathogen that causes acute hepatitis in humans, is responsible for epidemics in developing countries. HEV pathology and molecular biology have been poorly explored due to the lack of efficient culture systems. A contemporary approach, to better understand the viral infection cycle at the molecular level, is the use of system biology tools depicting virus-host interactions. To determine the host proteins which participate in the regulation of HEV replication, we indentified liver cell proteins interacting with HEV RNA at its putative promoter region and those interacting with HEV polymerase (RdRp) protein. We employed affinity chromatography followed by liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF/MS) to identify the interacting host proteins. Protein-protein interaction networks (PPI) were plotted and analyzed using web-based tools. Topological analysis of the network revealed that the constructed network is potentially significant and relevant for viral replication. Gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis revealed that HEV RNA promoter- and polymerase-interacting host proteins belong to different cellular pathways such as RNA splicing, RNA metabolism, protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum, unfolded protein response, innate immune pathways, secretory vesicle pathway, and glucose metabolism. We showed that hnRNPK and hnRNPA2B1 interact with both HEV putative promoters and HEV RdRp, which suggest that they may have crucial roles in HEV replication. We demonstrated in vitro binding of hnRNPK and hnRNPA2B1 proteins with the HEV targets in the study, assuring the authenticity of the interactions obtained through mass spectrometry. Thus, our study highlights the ability of viruses, such as HEV, to maneuver host systems to create favorable cellular environments for virus propagation. Studying the host-virus interactions can facilitate the identification of antiviral therapeutic strategies and novel targets.
Effect of Seed Pretreatment on Summer Squash (Cucurbita pepo) Seed Germination and Seedling Characteristics under Salinity Condition

Salinity impairs seed germination and reduces crop yield. Salt and osmotic stresses are responsible for both inhibition or delayed seed germination and seedling establishment. Seed priming is one of the physiological methods that improve seed performance under salinity. This research was carried out in order to assess the effect of seed priming on seed germination of summer squash (Cucurbita pepo). Germination percentage was not influenced by salt stress and priming treatment. Salt stress increased mean germination time and decreased seedling fresh weight, root and shoot length in summer squash seedlings. Results show that seed priming with PEG solution decreased seedling fresh weight and shoot length under saline conditions (at -2 MPa). Under saline conditions, seed priming with KNO3 (-1.27 MPa at Ec = 7 ds/m) was better than other priming treatments because seedling fresh weight, root and shoot length increased.
Beyond waist-hip ratio: experimental multivariate evidence that average women's torsos are most attractive

One of the most iconic findings in human behavioral ecology is the fact that women with waist-hip ratios (WHRs) of approximately 0.7 are most attractive and that this ratio indicates maximum fecundity and reproductive value. However, the effects of WHR and of other indices of body shape and size on attractiveness are far from fully resolved. We adopt a recently developed method that combines multivariate manipulation of experimental stimuli with evolutionary selection analysis to test the linear and nonlinear effects of waist, hip, and shoulder width and the interactions between these traits on the attractiveness of 200 line-drawn models to 100 men. There was no general support that WHR or body mass (expressed as perimeter--area ratio) significantly influences attractiveness. There was, however, strong preference for average values of all 3 traits indicating that attractiveness is due to the tight integration of these 3 traits. We plot the mean waist and hip sizes of 8 samples of women on our response surface, including Playboy centerfolds, models from the 1920s and 1990s, Australian escorts, and Australian women in 4 different age categories (collectively we refer to this latter group as the "regular women"). The regular women in the 25- to 44-year age-group were closest to the peak attractiveness value on our response surface. Our results highlight the strong integration of and interrelationships among different parts of the body as determinants of attractiveness. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.
2 Statistical Theory in QTL Mapping

Variability may be introduced in an observed phenotype by a range of elements. Inherited genetic factors, as well as environmental and behavioral conditions, may affect the phenotype. The blend of all these interactions gives rise to the unique being every living creature is. Experimental genetics has traditionally been, and still is, a very powerful tool for dissecting the genetic factors out of the blend that results in the observed phenotype complexity. Unlike human genetics, a major advantage of experimental genetics is the ability to control the genetic background through inbred strain crosses, whereas nongenetic factors are kept relatively constant under controlled laboratory conditions. In reality, the ideal experiment is almost never feasible, and uncontrolled sources of variation and complex interactions may still obscure the underlying genetic effect. Even under the best conditions, mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL) is a demanding endeavor. Any given QTL or genomic polymorphism contributes only a limited fraction of the phenotypical variation. This complex inheritance may involve partial penetrance, heterogeneity, the joint action of several genes, environmental effects, and more. The genetic dissection of complex traits is unavoidably based on a statistical approach. The aim in this chapter is to describe our view of the fundamental principles on which the statistical approach is based. In a nutshell, the theory we will discuss involves the attempt to detect and locate weak signals in a noisy environment. This calls for the usage of large samples. Thereby, our probabilistical framework involves the distribution of statistics computed from large samples in the context of what is known as local alternatives. In statistical language, this theory is called large sample theory. Modern technology puts at our disposal the ability to genotype these
State of the art barriers in validation of digital mock-ups in immersive virtual environments

This contribution addresses state of the art barriers from a user perspective in validation of digital mock-ups in immersive virtual environments. A qualitative one-shot case study was conducted with (n=12 vehicle experts) of an immersive validation tool and process in a car manufacturing company. Data collection was performed by means of semi-structured interviews and analyzed by method of Muhlfeld et al. (1981). The results show major challenges when VR technology is used in operational environment. Several users reported symptoms of cybersickness caused by poor system performance or usability of VR devices. A rather surprising result was the self-assessment of experts that were asked to validate from “end customer’s point of view”. Shortly after the start of validation they unconsciously resumed their expert’s role. Another result shows a disparity in perception of digital (DMU) and physical mock-ups (PMU) incorporated in the validation. Users have adjusted the PMU like a real car (seat, steering-wheel, mirrors) but only a minority has done this with the DMU. Insights were provided into needs and expectations of IVDMU users. In the consequence more applied research should be conducted for example to understand effects of perception disparities of PMUs and DMUs (e.g. treated like a real car vs. treated like a visual presentation) under the aspect of validation reliability. The self-assessment of the expert’s role in IVDMU should also be further examined. Further research should be conducted on factors contributing to cybersickness in order to raise user acceptance of IVDMU.
Electrochemical Synthesis of Red Fluorescent Silicon Nanoparticles

Herein, we report on the preparation of red fluorescent Si nanoparticles stabilized with styrene. Nano-sized Si particles emit fluorescence under UV excitation, which could be used to open up new applications in the fields of optics and semi-conductor research. Unfortunately, conventional methods for the preparation of red fluorescent Si nanoparticles suffer from the lack of a fully-established standard synthesis protocol. A common initial approach during the preparation of semi-conductors is the etching of crystalline Si wafers in a HF/ ethanol/H2O bath, which provides a uniformly-etched surface of nanopores amenable for further nano-sized modifications via tuning of various parameters. Subsequent sonication of the etched surface crumbles the pores on the wafer, resulting in the dispersion of particles into the solution. In this study, we use styrene to occupy these platforms to stabilize the surface. We determine that the liberated silicon particles in ethanol solution interact with styrene, resulting in the substitution of Si-H bonds with those of Si-C as determined via UV photocatalysis. The synthesized styrene-coated Si nanoparticles exhibit a stable, bright, red fluorescence under excitation with a 365 nm UV light, and yield approximately 100 mg per wafer with a synthesis time of 2 h. We believe this protocol could be further expanded as a cost-effective and high-throughput standard method in the preparation of red fluorescent Si nanoparticles.
General Election 2015 : dealing with austerity

This article investigates the nature of the conversation around austerity on Twitter during the 2015 general election in the UK. Specifically, it explores the kinds of messages referring to austerity, as well as the kinds of accounts involved (whether they referred to a private or public role on Twitter and in society) and their affiliation to politically or non-politically oriented organizations/bodies. The search on Twitter concerning the austerity topic (for the 39-day time period from 3 March to 8 May 2015) resulted in 16,015 tweets, which generally referred to austerity, and 11,146 tweets, which contained at least one relevant hashtag. While austerity was rarely mentioned by mainstream media accounts in the Twittersphere, this topic was widely discussed during the election campaign by private users. This could be seen as a limitation of agenda setting, since there is no correlation between the agenda set by the media on Twitter and the public discussion about it. However, we found a relationship between the offline mainstream media agenda and the discussion led by private users on Twitter, thus confirming, to some extent, the validity of intra-agenda setting. In fact, offline media events (talk shows, news articles and question times) seemed to trigger peaks in tweet-based discussions or mentions about austerity, showing that the agenda set by the offline media influenced the discussion in the Twittersphere. Finally, we found that, while austerity has clear implications for citizens’ daily life, it seems to be more of an “elitist” topic, mainly addressed by those who are already politically oriented and well informed on the topic.
Unimolecular Exciplexes by Ugi Four-Component Reaction

Exciplex or excited complex emission is an excited state process, arising from considerable charge transfer of an excited energy donor to an acceptor, which can be identified by the occurrence of a redshifted emission band that is absent in the individual constituents. Particularly interesting are exciplexes that are formed by intramolecular excited state interaction, which are inherently concentration independent. Based upon our previous experience in the Ugi-4CR syntheses of donor-acceptor conjugates capable of photo-induced intramolecular electron transfer (PIET), that is, generation of light-induced charge separation, we now disclose the diversity-oriented approach on unimolecular exciplex emitters and their reference systems by Ugi-4CR. The photophysics is studied by absorption and emission spectroscopy and accompanied by density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations.
22 Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Ferroelectric Thin Films

Nowadays, nonlinear optical materials play a crucial role in the technology of photonics, nano-photonics, and bio-photonics. Among a wide variety of materials, thin films have the additional design advantage of small volume and good compatibility with fabrication of waveguide and integrated nonlinear photonics devices over solutions and single crystals. Interestingly, most ferroelectric thin films exhibit notable physical characteristics of large spontaneous polarization, high dielectric constant, high optical transparency, and large nonlinear response with respect to the electromagnetic radiation in the optical range. During the past decade, ferroelectric thin films such as Bi2Nd2Ti3O12, Ba0.6Sr0. 4TiO3, and Bi3.25La0. 75Ti3O12 have been received intense interest due to their high optical transparency and remarkable optical nonlinearity for potential applications on nonlinear photonic devices (Gu et al., 2004, Liu et al., 2006, Shi et al., 2006, Shin et al., 2007). Moreover, most of these investigations have been performed under the excitation of nanosecond and picosecond laser pulses. Owing to today’s fast advance of laser sources with ultrashort pulse duration, the femtosecond nonlinear optical response has been detected in several ferroelectric thin films. Enlightened by a recent report on the third-order nonlinear optical response presented in CaCu3Ti4O12 at a wavelength of 532 nm (Ning et al., 2009), observations indicate that the optical nonlinearities depend strongly on the pulse duration of the excitation laser, although many reports declared that the observed nonlinear effect is an instantaneous optical nonlinearity in the nanosecond and picosecond regimes. Apparently, it is imperative to gain an insight on the underlying physical mechanisms for the observed optical nonlinearities at different time scales. In this chapter, the linear transmittance spectrum and Z-scan technique are used to characterize the linear and nonlinear optical properties of ferroelectric thin films, respectively. Two methodologies are based on measurements of the sample’s transmittance under weak or intense light excitation. The nonlinear optical properties of representative ferroelectric films in nanosecond, picosecond, and femtosecond regimes are presented. In particular, the underlying mechanisms for the observed optical nonlinearities are also discussed in details.
Hydrologic Transport of Dissolved Inorganic Carbon and Its Control on Chemical Weathering

Chemical weathering is one of the major processes interacting with climate and tectonics to form clays, supply nutrients to soil microorganisms and plants, and sequester atmospheric CO2. Hydrology and dissolution kinetics have been emphasized as factors controlling chemical weathering rates. However, the interaction between hydrology and transport of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in controlling weathering has received less attention. In this paper, we present an analytical model that couples subsurface water and chemical molar balance equations to analyze the roles of hydrology and DIC transport on chemical weathering. The balance equations form a dynamical system that fully determines the dynamics of the weathering zone chemistry as forced by the transport of DIC. The model is formulated specifically for the silicate mineral albite, but it can be extended to other minerals, and is studied as a function of percolation rate and water transit time. Three weathering regimes are elucidated. For very small or large values of transit time, the weathering is limited by reaction kinetics or transport, respectively. For intermediate values, the system is transport controlled and is sensitive to transit time. We apply the model to a series of watersheds for which we estimate transit times and identify the type of weathering regime. The results suggest that hydrologic transport of DIC may be as important as reaction kinetics and dilution in determining chemical weathering rates.
Coupling Effect for Dielectric Metamaterial Dimer

In this paper we report on coupling effects of dielectric metamaterial dimer experimentally and numerically. With various configurations and alignment of dimer resonator, magnetic and electric resonance shows a red/blue shift, resulting from longitudinal or transverse coupling effects of dipoles. Beside, the emergences of quasi bound states between tightly stacked dielectric cubes are pointed out for the electric Mie resonance, which shows an unexpected frequency shift with a reverse variation.
HRD and Organizational Change: Evidence-Based Practice

Most HRD practitioners are, or wish to become, actively involved as strategic business partners of managers, particularly with respect to helping them bring about effective and beneficial organizational change within their own organizations, or within host organizations. This article discusses the complexities of HRD related process issues in the effective management of organizational change, and the value of using HRD-related theory, change management-related theory, and/or academically rigorous internal in-company research to help inform, shape, and evaluate the change agency practice of HRD professionals and the managers they partner. Following a discussion of why many organizational change programmes fail, the author argues that ‘evidencebased HRD’ geared to the strategic thrust of the business will likely lead to the HRD function maximizing its contribution to organizational effectiveness and sustainable business success. Two UK case examples of evidence-based HRD are presented, followed by a discussion of the worth of ‘professional partnership’ research and empirical generalization ‘replication’ research.
Cardiovascular risk factors in women of different age and exercise training status

Objective. Since it has been clearly shown that the prevalence and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases increase with age, the aim of our study was to assess the potential of exercise training, as one of the of the major modifiable behavioral risk factors which greatly affects a number of physiological cardiovascular risk factors, in reducing the effects of aging on cardiovascular risk profiles in women. Method. A group of 44 women who exercised regularly and 34 age-matched women who performed no physical activity, all of whom were aged between 21 and 60 years, were subjected to morphofunctional testing and blood sampling. Measurement of body composition was performed by using an apparatus for bioelectrical impedance analysis BC-551 InnerScan Body Composition Monitor. The participants were subjected to a maximal progressive exercise test on a treadmill Technogym Excite Jog 500 by using Bruce's protocol. Plasma lipid status (total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, triglycerides) was analyzed. Results. The results of our study showed that regular exercise positively influences aerobic capacity and weight of women, but it does not alleviate the influence of aging on majority of morfo-functional and physiological risk factors (the increase of total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, triglycerides, body mass index, visceral fat and decrease of aerobic capacity with age). After the age of 40 and especially after the age of 50, women experience significant rise of cardiovascular risk factors no matter if they exercise or not. Conclusion. The results of this cross sectional research showed that there is no significantly positive effect of exercise on cardiovascular risk profile of aging women.
Dynamics of dissipative Bose-Einstein condensation

We resolve the real-time dynamics of a purely dissipative s=1/2 quantum spin or, equivalently, hard-core boson model on a hypercubic d-dimensional lattice. The considered quantum dissipative process drives the system to a totally symmetric macroscopic superposition in each of the S3 sectors. Different characteristic time scales are identified for the dynamics and we determine their finite-size scaling. We introduce the concept of cumulative entanglement distribution to quantify multiparticle entanglement and show that the considered protocol serves as an efficient method to prepare a macroscopically entangled Bose-Einstein condensate.
Parametric Workflow (BIM) for the Repair Construction of Traditional Historic Architecture in Taiwan

Abstract. In Taiwan, numerous existing traditional buildings are constructed with wooden structures, brick structures, and stone structures. This paper will focus on the Taiwan traditional historic architecture and target the traditional wooden structure buildings as the design proposition and process the BIM workflow for modeling complex wooden combination geometry, integrating with more traditional 2D documents and for visualizing repair construction assumptions within the 3D model representation. The goal of this article is to explore the current problems to overcome in wooden historic building conservation, and introduce the BIM technology in the case of conserving, documenting, managing, and creating full engineering drawings and information for effectively support historic conservation. Although BIM is mostly oriented to current construction praxis, there have been some attempts to investigate its applicability in historic conservation projects. This article also illustrates the importance and advantages of using BIM workflow in repair construction process, when comparing with generic workflow.