Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Benthic macroinvertebrates in Italian rice fields

Rice fields can be considered man-managed temporary wetlands. Five rice fields handled with different management strategies, their adjacent channels, and a spring were analysed by their benthic macroinvertebrate community to i) evaluate the role of rice agroecosystem in biodiversity conservation; ii) find indicator species which can be used to compare the ecological status of natural wetlands with rice agroecosystems; and iii) find the influence of environmental variables on biodiversity. Different methods of data analysis with increasing degree of complexity – from diversity index up to sophisticated multivariate analysis – were used. The investigation provided a picture of benthic macroinvertebrates inhabiting rice agroecosystems where 173 taxa were identified, 89 of which detected in rice paddies. Among them, 4 phyla (Mollusca, Annelida, Nematomorpha, and Arthropoda), 8 classes (Bivalvia, Gastropoda, Oligochaeta, Hirudinea, Gordioida, Insecta, Branchiopoda, and Malacostraca), 24 orders, 68 families, 127 genera and 159 species have been found. Ten threatened and 3 invasive species were detected in the habitats examined. The information obtained by the different methods of data analysis allowed a more comprehensive view on the value of the components of rice agroecosystems. Data analyses highlighted significant differences between habitats (feeding channel and rice field), with higher diversity observed in channels, and emphasised the role of the water chemical-physical parameters. The period of water permanence in rice fields resulted to be only one of the factors influencing the community of benthic macroinvertebrates. The presence of rare/endangered species allowed characterising some stations, but it was less informative about management strategies in rice paddies because most of these species were absent in rice fields.
Hybrid Masking Algorithm for Universal Hearing Aid System

Technological advances witnessed in cochlear implant (CI) devices, most CI users can now achieve reliable speech intelligibility in controlled quiet scenarios, particularly in predictable conversations. Environmental distortions, such as reverberation and additive noise, on the other hand, are known to significantly degrade speech intelligibility. This paper validates a novel approach to predict speech intelligibility for Cochlear Implant users (CIs) in reverberant environments. First, energy thresholding is proposed to reduce the variability caused by the differences in modulation spectral representations for different phonemes and speakers, as well as speech enhancement algorithm artifacts. Second, a narrower range of Fourier domain based echo Filter is employed to reduce fundamental frequency effects. Results indicate substantial improvements in intelligibility over that attained by human listeners with unprocessed stimuli. The findings from this study show that algorithm can estimate reliably the SNR and can improve speech intelligibility.
TianQin: a space-borne gravitational wave detector

TianQin is a proposal for a space-borne detector of gravitational waves in the millihertz frequencies. The experiment relies on a constellation of three drag-free spacecraft orbiting the Earth. Inter-spacecraft laser interferometry is used to monitor the distances between the test masses. The experiment is designed to be capable of detecting a signal with high confidence from a single source of gravitational waves within a few months of observing time. We describe the preliminary mission concept for TianQin, including the candidate source and experimental designs. We present estimates for the major constituents of the experiment’s error budget and discuss the project’s overall feasibility. Given the current level of technological readiness, we expect TianQin to be flown in the second half of the next decade.
The Chasm between Beliefs and Practice: A Case Study of the Epistemological Positions of Pre-Service Agricultural Education Teachers.

Recent trends in epistemological research suggest that teachers’ epistemological beliefs influence the approaches he or she employs in both teaching and learning. Therefore, the purpose of this instrumental case study was to understand the initial epistemological positions of pre-service agricultural education teachers at Oklahoma State University. The study’s findings are reported through five themes. Themes one, two, three, and four align with Perry’s (1970) four epistemological positions. However, the fifth theme represents an interesting departure from the theory. This theme showcases the lack of continuity between participants’ articulated views and how they propose to operationalize those beliefs as an agricultural educator. As such, we recommend examination into the following questions, “Does the chasm exist beyond first year pre-service teachers? ” and “How can the chasm be bridged? ”
Nutrient management for higher fodder production of sorghum: A review

Adequate supply of quality forage is the basic necessity for sustainable livestock production. In India, supply of forage has always been a limiting factor for enhancing livestock production. The scope of increasing the area cultivated for forages is rather limited, because of mounting pressure and preferential need for food and commercial crops. Hence, fodder production has to be increased per unit area per unit time. Quality of forage is also very important to animal health and performance. Forage quality can be improved and the toxic principles can be alleviated by efficient nutrient management. Keeping these points in view, the literature pertaining to the fertilizer management in sorghum forage crops to obtain higher biomass production and good quality fodder has been reviewed.
Effects of forest conservation and management on volume growth, harvested amount of timber, carbon stock, and amount of deadwood in Finnish boreal forests under changing climate

We employed a forest ecosystem model (SIMA) to study how the changes in forest conservation area and management affect the volume growth, harvested amount of timber, carbon stock, and amount of deadwood in Finnish boreal upland forests under current and changing climates (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) over 2010–2099. Simulations were carried out on National Forest Inventory plots using three different forest conservation scenarios (baseline and 10% and 20% increases of conservation area) and three thinning regimes (baseline and maintenance of ±20% stocking in thinning compared with recommendations). An increase of forest conservation area increased the volume growth, carbon stock, and quantity of deadwood in forests, as did the maintenance of 20% higher stocking in thinning. Maintenance of 20% lower stocking in thinning increased, in general, the amount of harvested timber, but it could not compensate for the decrease of harvested timber due to increase of conservation area. Climate warming greatly increased all of .
Preliminary Study on Mass Flow Rate in Passive Cooling Experimental Simulation During Transient Using NC-Queen Apparatus

The research related to thermal management has been significantly inreased, especially for NPP safety. The use of passive cooling systems both during the accident and operation become reliable in the advanced reactor safety systems. Therefore it should be enhanced through experimental studies to investigate heat transfer phenomenon of the heat decay in transient cooling condition . An i nvestigation has been performed through experimen t using an NC-Queen apparatus constructed with rectangular loop. Piping were consisting of tubes of SS316L with diameter, length, and width of 3/4 inch, 2.7 m, and 0.5 m respectively. The height between heater and cooler was 1.4 m. The experiment used initial water temperature at 70 o C, 80 o C, and 90 o C in heater area. Transient temperature was used as experimental data to calculate water mass flow rate. The results showed that the temperature in heater area and cooler area were decreasing of about 90.6% and 95.7% at initial temperatur of 80 o C, and of about 71.1% and 59.4% at initial temperature of 70 o C. Those results were at higher initial temperature of 90 o C compared with the initial temperature of 90 o C. The average of water mass flow rate increased 81.03% from initial temperatur of 70 o C. It was shown that the average s of removed heat in every second from water due to heat loss and cooler , were 3.51 watts, 5.06 watts and 6.85 watts respectively. T he initial condition of heat stored in the water was quite different , but to the cooler heat removal capacity and heat loss was almost the same . Received: 10 November 2014; Revised: 23 December 2014: 24 December 2014
Panchromatic Diffraction Gratings for Miniature Computationally Efficient Visual-bar-position Sensing

We describe the design and performance of an ultraminiature lensless computational sensor optimized for estimating the one-dimensional position of visual bars. The sensor consists of a special-purpose wavelength- robust optical binary phase diffraction grating affixed to a CMOS photodetector array. This grating does not produce a traditional high-quality human interpretable image on the photodetectors, but instead yields visual information relevant to the bar-position estimation problem. Computationally efficient algorithms then process this sensed information to yield an accurate estimate of the position of the bar. The optical grating is very small (120 µm diameter), has large angle of view (140◦), and extremely large depth of field (0.5 mm to infinity). The design of this sensor demonstrates the power of end-to-end optimization (optics and digital processing) for high accuracy and very low computational cost in a new class of ultraminiature computational sensors. Copyright © 2015 IFSA Publishing, S. L.
Shifting The Balance between Pattern Separation and Pattern Completion

Are people’s memories influenced by neurocognitive states? If so, what establishes them? Theoretical models suggest that after detecting familiarity, as opposed to novelty, the hippocampus is biased towards pattern completion due to decreased cholinergic input. I investigated the behavioral implications of this theory by designing a paradigm which assesses how recent familiarity influences aspects of memory retrieval that differentially depend on pattern completion: associative retrieval and item recognition. I found that recent familiarity selectively benefited associative retrieval (Experiment 1). I then measured the time course of this mnemonic state by varying the ISI between retrieval trials (Experiment 2). I found that recent familiarity robustly benefited associative retrieval at short ISIs, but that the benefit decreased at long ISIs. This decay is consistent with the timescale of cholinergic modulation of the hippocampus. Thus, I used a subtle, biologically motived manipulation to bias basic memory
Seasonal Variation in Zooplankton Community Structure of Ramgarh Lake, Jaipur, Rajasthan

Ramgarh Lake (Jaipur, Rajasthan) was studied for a period of one year from October 2005 to September 2006 for physico-chemical parameters and zooplankton community structure. Collections were taken on monthly basis and both qualitative and quantitative analysis were made to investigate the abundance and distribution of zooplankton. Biodiversity of zooplankton has been calculated using Shannon-Weaver index. The zooplankton community was composed of 17 species of rotifera, 12 species of copepoda, 10 species of cladocera, 5 species of protozoan, 3 species of ostracoda and 2 species of insecta. Numerically copepoda was dominated for 6 months from December to May with Mesocyclops hyalinus constituting the largest share of copepoda. Cladocera was dominated during July to November while in the month of June, rotifera was the dominant group. The observations further reveal that 2 species of cladocera (Diaphanosoma excisum and Moina dubia) and one species of copepoda (Mesocyclops hyalinus) were reported to be perennial. Correlation between various physico-chemical parameters and zooplankton density was calculated according to Karl Pearson's formula. Some of the changes in zooplankton community structure was found associated with seasonal changes in temperature, BOD, COD and nutrient content of the lake water. A highly significant positive correlation was found between rotifera and nitrate content of water whereas ostracoda showed a positive relationship with both nitrate and phosphate content. Total zooplankton density and cladocera showed a negative relationship with COD and BOD while copepoda showed a negative relationship with COD.
IMPACT OF SILICON CARBIDE NANOPARTICLES ON HATCHING AND SURVIVAL OF SOIL NEMATODES CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS AND MELOIDOGYNE INCOGNITA

Silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles are widely used in industrial applications; however, some reports indicate they are safe while others claim the opposite. We aimed to characterize the physicochemical properties of SiC nanoparticles and investigate their impact on the multicellular animal model, Caenorhabditis elegans and the plant parasitic nematode Meloidogyne incognita. The X-ray diffractogram patterns and chemical analyses confirmed that the content is SiC. Furthermore, N2 sorption isotherm analyses revealed that Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area was 37.6 m2/g and single point adsorption total pores volume of pores less than 126.1853 nm in diameter at p/p° = 0.984417366 was 0.124975 cm3/g. Furthermore, adsorption average pore width was 13.26382 nm. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the SiC nanoparticles have a semi-crystalline shape with uncompleted faces. Some edges are angular whereas others are curved and smooth with an average particle size of 50 nm ± 21.5. The bioassays indicated that SiC nanoparticles did not affect hatching of larvae of both nematodes, whereas they affected dramatically the survival of the first stage larvae (L1) of C. elegans, but not the second stage juveniles J2s of M. incognita. There was no effect of SiC on length and width of the dead L1; however, internal organs, particularly the intestine, exhibited black color indicating uptake of the SiC nanoparticles.
Revisiting Wagnerâ€™s Law for Selected African Countries: A Frequency Domain Causality Analysis

This study examines the causal relationship between government expenditure and economic growth and tests the validity of Wagnerâ€™s Law for ten African countries. Wagnerâ€™s law hypothesizes that there is a one-way causality running from national income to government expenditure. We employ Granger causality tests in the frequency domain which allows us to distinguish short, medium and long run causality. The empirical results show that Wagnerâ€™s law holds for Cameroon only in the medium term, for Ghana in the short, medium and long terms and for Nigeria in the long-run. The opposite view is supported for Gabon and Senegal in the short, medium and long run, and for South Africa both in the medium and short run. There is bidirectional causality between government expenditure and income for Burkina Faso over the short, medium and long run.
Correlation Analysis of Flag Leaf with Yield in Several Rice Cultivars

The uppermost leaf below the panicle is the flag leaf that provides the most important source of photosynthetic energy during reproduction and grain filling, thereby has great impact in panicle development and grain yield in rice. In the present investigation in order to explore the relationship between grain yield and flag leaf parameters, yield composition, length and width of the flag leaf, and panicle length were measured in some rice cultivars. Statistical analysis indicated that flag leaf length was positively correlated with panicle length for the studied cultivars demonstrating higher grain yield. Chlorophyll measurement indicated that flag leaf contained more chlorophyll than penultimate leaf. Yield of all the cultivars upon excision of flag leaf was also compared. Removal of flag leaf led to a decline in the seed-setting rate which eventually reduced the grain yield. Besides this, variable pollen viability was also noticed in the different cultivars. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3329/jles.v8i0. 20139 J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 49-54, 2013
X-RAY CHERENKOV RADIATION AS A SOURCE FOR RELATIVISTIC CHARGED PARTICLE BEAM DIAGNOSTICS *

Recent progress in development of accelerator technology for future linear colliders and X-ray free electron lasers has generated an interest in developing novel diagnostics equipment with resolution surpassing tunique beam parameters. Cherenkov radiation (CR) in the X-ray region in the vicinity of the absorption edges is one of the promising sources for relativistic charged particle beam diagnostics. In this paper we have demonstrated that the CR in the X-ray region is naturally monochromatic, because the CR is only generated in the frequency region in the vicinity of the atomic absorption edges, where the well-known Cherenkov condition is fulfilled. This peculiarity can be explained by a resonance behaviour of the permittivity in the frequency range. It will result in the fact that the CR will stand out of any other types of polarisation radiation both on intensity and shape of angular distribution giving a unique opportunity to apply this phenomenon for charged particle beam diagnostics.
An overview of Brazilian mammalogy: trends, biases and future directions

Mammals are among the most charismatic and well-studied organisms, and Brazil harbors the largest mammal diversity of the world. The Brazilian Society of Mammalogy was established in 1985, and since 2001 it organizes the Brazilian Congress of Mammalogy. We used the proceedings of all three editions of this congress together with papers indexed in Web of Science and Scielo to evaluate trends in Brazilian mammalogy. All contributions were categorized according to mammalian order, biome, topic of research and state of authors' affiliation. Our results show that mammalian orders with higher species richness receive more attention, but the ranking is different between abstracts and papers. Higher species richness did not translate into more attention for more speciose biomes, and again the ranking was different between papers and abstracts. There are research topics that receive much higher attention than others, and also other important ones, like Taxonomy, that have been neglected. States with greater human populations produce both more papers and abstracts. We conclude that the higher number of publication in the Atlantic Forest is caused by the concentration of mammalogists in the south and southeastern regions of the country. Contrary to what is normally believed, mammalian orders received attention according to their species richness, and not their charisma, probably because richer orders provide more study models. We suggest that additional funding mechanisms should be set in place in order to encourage more research on mammalian orders, topics, and states which have been neglected so far, in order to improve the knowledge on important Brazilian mammal biodiversity.
Parameter esimation for stage-structured projection models using real data

Herbivores, particularly introduced ones such as sheep and rabbits, have reduced the levels of regeneration of a number of species of native trees and shrubs in the arid rangelands of southern Australia since European settlement. These reduced levels of regeneration mean that populations of some species are declining whilst others, less palatable to herbivores, are being maintained, hence gradually altering the composition and/or overall cover of vegetation. In the long term, this could result in loss of palatable species valuable to the pastoral industry for animal production. To investigate the effects of grazing, we describe a model which projects the age-structured populations of some native Australian tree and shrub species under grazing and non-grazing regimes. The technique we are applying is an extension of the Leslie growth model, where the grazing and rainfall events are incorporated by the use of separate transition matrices. The preliminary results indicate that rangeland management practices will need to be adjusted to ensure the longterm sustainability, biodiversity and usability of the arid regions. The purpose of this paper is to frame the context for study in the application of this methodology, as well as to indicate the problems involved in parameter estimation and delineate the extent of our deliberation thus far.
ENABLING SIMULTANEOUS ANALYSIS OF THE CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL COMPONENTS OF MOVEMENT DISORDER

Tremor, characterized by involuntary and rhythmical movements, is the most common movement disorder. Tremors can have peripheral and central oscillatory components which properly assessed and separated may improve diagnostics. An MR-safe haptic wrist manipulator enables simultaneous measurement of proprioceptive reflexes (peripheral components) and brain activations (central components) through fMRI. For such a MR-safe manipulator, this study determined the design criteria, created the design and presented its prototype. The prototype is divided into an MR-safe and MR-unsafe part. The hydraulic MR-safe vane motor (end effector) and optical sensors in the MR-environment are connected to the MR-unsafe part in the control room via hydraulic tubes and optical fibers. As a result, the fMRI quality is ensured and the manipulator is suited for safe use in any MRenvironment. During a test in an MR-scanner (AMC, Amsterdam) no distortions in the MR-image or sensor signal were observed. The vane motor has a range of motion from −67◦ to 67◦ (134◦ total) with a designed torque delivery of 8 Nm at a 3 bar pressure difference. The achieved accuracy for the torque sensor is ±2% full scale (F.S. = 14.3 Nm) and for the absolute position sensor ±1% full scale (F.S. = 70◦=1.22 rad). The measurement range for the position sensor was 70◦, however with an adjusted encoder disc this can be increased to match the vane motor’s range of 134◦. The prototype vane motor had some leakage along the axis, this prevented the use of pre-pressure and consequently reduced the bandwidth and maximum torque. However the maximum achieved torque of 1.5 Nm was still enough to met the requirement of 1.2 Nm. A PI controller was used to control the system, however this controller could not cope with the inherent non-linearities of hydraulics over the intended bandwidth (20 Hz). During the tuning of the PI controller good position tracking results were obtained for 1 and 2 Hz sine commanded motions, which showed no signs of stick-slip effects. Despite the fact that the controller was not optimal, typical responses were obtained with impedance FRFs of two inertial loads. For future research it is recommended to remedy the axis leakage and implement a model-based controller. The open-loop FRF of the commanded velocity to the measured vane velocity was determined to characterize the system. Even with leakage and without pre-pressure, the measured bandwidth (-3 dB or √ 0.5 ≈0.707 gain) was approximately 5 Hz and the -180 ◦ phase is passed at 7 Hz. Although the bandwidth does not fulfill the requirement for proprioceptive reflex identification it does allow for various motor control experiments. With the recommendations carried out, it is expected that the next prototype will be suited for proprioceptive reflex identification during fMRI