Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maximizing Water Productivity of Maize using Alternate Furrow Irrigation at Clay-loam Soil, Raya valley, Ethiopia IJPBCS Maximizing Water Productivity of Maize using Alternate Furrow Irrigation at Clay-loam Soil, Raya valley, Ethiopia

Nowadays, water availability is a major limiting factor for development of agriculture in arid and semiarid areas. Under conditions of scarce water supply and drought, irrigation practices demand the maximum use of every drop of water to maximize water productivity for irrigated crops. A field experiment with a split-plot design was carried out to evaluate the combined effect of three furrow irrigation techniques and three irrigation levels treatments on maize grain yield and water productivity at Mekhoni Agricultural Research center (MeARC), Raya valley district. Irrigation was applied through furrows in three ways as the main plots: conventional furrow irrigation (CFI), alternate furrow irrigation (AFI), and fixed furrow irrigation (FFI). In CFI, irrigation was applied to every furrow at each irrigation event; in AFI irrigation was applied to alternate furrows which were dry in the preceding irrigation cycle, while in FFI, irrigation was applied to fixed furrows throughout the growing season. Each irrigation technique was further divided into three subirrigation treatments: two deficit irrigation levels 75% and 50% ETc and a control of 100% ETc as sub-plot were investigated. Results showed that maximum water productivity was obtained under the AFI system without a trade-off in grain yield and considerably save water. Hence, it is recommended as efficient irrigation technique in areas with limited water resources.
Sampling for Plant-parasitic Nematodes in Corn Strip Trials Comparing Nematode Management Products

Gregory L. Tylka, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011; Timothy C. Todd, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506; Terry L. Niblack, Department of Plant Pathology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210; Ann E. MacGuidwin, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706; and Tamra Jackson, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588
Modelling and Control of Furuta´s Pendulum by Sliding Modes Technique

A non-linear system is one that does not comply with the principles of homogeneity and superposition, this means that its dynamics cannot be written or expressed as the sum of the components that describe it. These systems are problems of interest for engineering, physics and mathematics, because most of real systems have variables whose behavior moves away from linear trends. In this work a hybrid architecture is proposed to control the non-linear model of Furuta's inverted pendulum, in the flatness output space, achieving a tracking of a desired trajectory. To estimate the behavior of the plane outputs, the methodology of integrating reconstructors was used, framed in a control law proposed in the concept of sliding modes.
Linking coastal community livelihoods to marine conservation in Aceh, Indonesia

Abstract Many tropical biodiversity projects seek to combine development and conservation goals. Here, we assess the performance of a revolving fund, established by Fauna & Flora International (FFI), in delivering sustainable and equitable benefits to coastal community livelihood groups and individuals while ensuring that it did no apparent harm to the environment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 103 loan recipients to determine changes in attitude, perception and behaviour. After a 9 month preparation phase the project succeeded in changing a community view towards the fund from being overwhelmingly pessimistic to overwhelmingly optimistic and then loaned IDR 602,977,400 (USD 66,261), with near perfect repayment rates thereafter (indicating financial sustainability). Most (92%) respondents thought that the fund had been a success, mainly (56%) because it had increased their perceived daily income. Even though most (59%) of the loan recipients met with FFI staff at least once per month on average during the project, the linkages between conservation and development were only understood by some (40%). Nevertheless, understanding was highest amongst the project's main target group, fishermen. Furthermore, nearly half of all respondents said they now acted if they found people fishing with spear guns or throwing litter into the sea (a violation of customary law), indicating a positive change in behaviour. Although this study cannot unambiguously demonstrate that this change was purely due to the fund, as FFI was conducting other conservation activities, it helped to develop a strong relationship with the community and create an enabling environment for implementing this broader set of activities.
Phenotypic plasticity of growth and survival in the common lizard Lacerta vivipara

1. In this study we investigated sources of variation in growth rate and survival in the common lizard Lacerta vivipara. 2. We conducted two experiments to identify factors that explain the pattern of geographic variation of life-history traits in this species. In the first experiment, we raised hatchlings from two French populations of L. vivipara, located at low (150 m) and high (1400m) altitudes, under identical laboratory conditions. The hatchlings grew at the same rate when experiencing the same environmental conditions irrespective of their origin. This finding suggests that the observed differences in growth rate between these two populations of L. vivipara are driven by environmental factors (e.g. thermal environment) rather than genetic divergence. Although we did not find any genetic difference between populations, we found some evidence of within-population variation in growth rate. 3. In a second experiment, we raised hatchlings from the high altitude population in outdoor enclosures located at low and high altitudes. The site where hatchlings were raised had a large impact on both growth and survival. Lizards located in the low altitude site grew faster and had a higher mortality rate than lizards located in the high altitude site. These findings are consistent with the observed differences in growth and survival between the natural populations inhabiting the two localities. 4. In spite of the low statistical power of the models used to detect the family x environment interactions, we found a marginally significant interaction for survival (P = 0.054), which suggests that phenotypic plasticity of this trait may have some degree of genetic variance. 5. Finally, we did not find any evidence for a genetic correlation between growth and survival in the high altitude population. This suggests that the observed phenotypic trade-off between the two traits may arise from environmental constraints (e.g. more active lizards have higher growth rates but also have higher risks of predation). 6. Overall, our findings emphasize that environmental factors may play a major role in shaping patterns of life-history association in L. vivipara, and in explaining geographic variation of life histories.
Self Organising Fuzzy Logic Classifier for Predicting Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus using ACO-ANN

In today’s digital world, a dataset with large number of attributes has a curse of dimensionality where the computation time grows exponentially with the number of dimensions. To overcome the problem of computation time and space, appropriate method of feature selection can be developed using metaheuristic approaches. The aim of this work is to investigate the use of ant colony optimization with the help of neural network to select near optimal feature subset and integrate it with the self-organizing fuzzy logic classifier for improving the recognition rate. The proposed fuzzy classifier derives prototype from the collected data through an offline training process and uses it to develop a fuzzy inference system for classification. Once trained, it can continuously learn from streaming data and later adapts the changing facts by updating the system structure recursively. The developed model is not based on predefined parameters used in the data generation model but is derived from the empirically observed data.
Nutrient and anti-nutritional constituents of Penisetum purpureum and four indigenous tree legume of South-Western Nigeria: A potential ruminant feed

A study was carried out to investigate the nutrient composition as well as anti-nutritional constituents of some tree plants ( Ficus sur , Bridelia macarrantii , Gmelina arborea and Albizia saman ) and forage grass ( Penisetum purpureum ) in south- western Nigeria. Results indicated significant (P<0.05) variability in values of percentage crude protein (9.71 - 23.67%) where Penisetum purpureum recorded the least value and highest value observed in Ficus sur . Dry matter (DM), Crude fiber (CF), Organic matter (OM) and Ash contents varied significantly (p<0.05) from (23.52-46.23%, 8.45 - 30.22%, 64.01 - 96.95% and 2.66 – 8.44%) respectively. Albizia saman recorded significantly (p<0.05) higher ADF value (35.39%) with intermediate value (4.14%) of NDF. Penisetum purpureum had most ADL value (17.19%) while the least value was recorded in Gmelina arborea . Hemicellulose value ranged between (4.45 - 22.23%) with least value recorded by Ficus sur and highest by Penisetum purpureum plants. The concentrations of anti-nutritional factor was generally low, tannin content significantly (p<0.05) ranged from (0.75 - 3.56%) in Ficus sur and Albizia saman respectively. Penisetum purpureum had the least phytate (0.94 %) while Bridelia macarrantii recorded the most phytate value (2.65%). Saponin, Alkaloid and Oxalate level ranged from (0.10 - 1.51%, 0.36 - 1.58% and 0.34- 1.41%) respectively. The results show that the investigated plants seem to have good nutrient composition as well as low level of anti-nutritional factors and therefore can best be incorporated into ruminant feeding systems. Key words : Nutrient composition; Anti-nutritional constituents; tree plants; forage grass
Variation in blacklegged tick Ixodes scapularis questing behavior has implications for human Lyme disease risk in the eastern United States

Animal behavior can have profound effects on pathogen transmission and disease incidence. We studied the questing (= host-seeking) behavior of blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) nymphs, which are the primary vectors of Lyme disease in the eastern United States. Lyme disease is common in northern but not in southern regions, and prior ecological studies have found that standard methods used to collect host-seeking nymphs in northern regions are unsuccessful in the South. This led us to hypothesize that there are behavior differences between northern and southern nymphs that alter how readily they are collected, and how likely they are to transmit the etiological agent of Lyme disease to humans. To examine this question, we compared the questing behavior of I. scapularis nymphs originating from one northern (Lyme disease endemic) and two southern (non-endemic) US regions at field sites in Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Florida. Laboratory-raised uninfected nymphs were monitored in circular 0.2 m arenas containing wooden dowels (mimicking stems of understory vegetation) for 10 (2011) and 19 (2012) weeks. The probability of observing nymphs questing on these stems (2011), and on stems, on top of leaf litter, and on arena walls (2012) was much greater for northern than for southern origin ticks in both years and at all field sites (19.5 times greater in 2011; 3.6-11.6 times greater in 2012). Our findings suggest that southern origin I. scapularis nymphs rarely emerge from the leaf litter, and consequently are unlikely to contact passing humans. We propose that this difference in questing behavior accounts for observed geographic differences in the efficacy of the standard sampling techniques used to collect questing nymphs.
Performance Analysis of Haar Wavelet Transform and Huffman Coding Compression Techniques for Human Object

- Image compression is one of the most important steps in image transmission and storage. The need for an efficient technique for the compression of images is ever increasing because the raw images need large amounts of disk space is a big disadvantage during transmission and storage. In order to have an efficient utilization of disk space and transmission rate, images need to be compressed. For this purpose there are basically two types of methods introduced, namely, lossy and lossless image compression techniques. In this proposed work a Huffman algorithm is analyzed in detail and compared with another common compression technique HAAR wavelet transform. The results are analyzed to compare the efficiencies of the compression between the two methods. Different parameters like compression ratio, elapsed time and size have been used to compare . The result shows that the time of compression using lossy compression wavelet method is less than Huffman method and the compression ratio in the wavelet is greater than the Huffman coding.
Short-Term Passenger Flow Forecast of Rail Transit Station Based on MIC Feature Selection and ST-LightGBM considering Transfer Passenger Flow

To solve the problems of current short-term forecasting methods for metro passenger flow, such as unclear influencing factors, low accuracy, and high time-space complexity, a method for metro passenger flow based on ST-LightGBM after considering transfer passenger flow is proposed. Firstly, using historical data as the training set to transform the problem into a data-driven multi-input single-output regression prediction problem, the problem of the short-term prediction of metro passenger flow is formalized and the difficulties of the problem are identified. Secondly, we extract the candidate temporal and spatial features that may affect passenger flow at a metro station from passenger travel data based on the spatial transfer and spatial similarity of passenger flow. Thirdly, we use a maximal information coefficient (MIC) feature selection algorithm to select the significant impact features as the input. Finally, a short-term forecasting model for metro passenger flow based on the light gradient boosting machine (LightGBM) model is established. Taking transfer passenger flow into account, this method has a low space-time cost and high accuracy. The experimental results on the dataset of Lianban metro station in Xiamen city show that the proposed method obtains higher prediction accuracy than SARIMA, SVR, and BP network.
Research on Similarity Nodes Query Algorithm Based on the Snapshots for Large Dynamic Graph

In the evolution of dynamic graph topology, in order to quantify the change of the change of the relation between the nodes within a certain time, a concept, namely ubiquitous similarity node, was defined, and the level of ubiquitous similarity with the current node was measured by the frequent degree of interaction with the current node and the uniformity of distribution, and a similarity node query processing algorithm for large dynamic graph based on the snapshots was proposed. The concrete content includes: the snapshot expression of the dynamic evolution of graph, namely evolution dynamic graph; the semantic representation and its formal representation of the nodes` ubiquitous similarity in the dynamic evolution of graph, which was characterized by the frequent degree of interaction and uniformity coefficient of distribution; the matrix representation and processing method of the semantic of the nodes` ubiquitous similarity; the query algorithm for ubiquitous similarity nodes. The experimental results on the synthetic dataset and the real dataset show that the proposed algorithm can deal with the nodes` ubiquitous similarity query on the large dynamic graph, and be implemented in the practical applications.
Computer-Aided Chorology of Middle Eastern Grasses

The approach adopted in this analysis was developed by Clayton & Hepper (I974) and applied to the grasses of West Africa. The technique was subsequently used by Clayton & Panigrahi (I975) for a study of the Indian grasses and a similar study of the grasses of the Middle East was prompted by their intermediate position between West Africa and India and greatly facilitated by Bor's excellent taxonomic treatments. The method was described in detail in the above papers and need not be reiterated here.
Improved Predictive Control for an Asymmetric Multilevel Converter for Photovoltaic Energy

This article proposes a 27-level asymmetric cascade H-bridge multilevel topology for photovoltaic applications, which considers a predictive control strategy that allows minimization of the commutations of the converter. This proposal ensures a highly sinusoidal and stable photovoltaic injection when there are solar irradiance disturbances, generating a low distortion in the current waveform and low switching losses. To validate the performance of the control and the proposed topology, the dynamic model of the alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) side system is first obtained, which is checked by computational simulations. Subsequently, the implementation of a master–slave control is carried out, focused on the control of DC voltage and AC current. The proposal is simulated, and the total harmonic distortion (THD) is obtained in the voltage and current waveforms. Undesired commutations, typical of the predictive control, are eliminated in the AC voltage waveform, and a proper DC voltage tracking is achieved for the high-power cell. In order to demonstrate the performance of the proposed control strategy, a low-power proof-of-concept prototype is implemented, in which the energy is injected to the grid, under the event of solar irradiance disturbances (with DC control). Then, the undesired switching in the main cell is eliminated, generating THDs in the voltage and current signal of 7.76% and 2.65%, respectively.
Identification of microRNA-451a as a Novel Circulating Biomarker for Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. Successful treatment of CRC relies on accurate early diagnosis, which is currently a challenge due to its complexity and personalized pathologies. Thus, novel molecular biomarkers are needed for early CRC detection. Methods Gene and microRNA microarray profiling of CRC tissues and miRNA-seq data were analyzed. Candidate microRNA biomarkers were predicted using both CRC-specific network and miRNA-BD tool. Validation analyses were carried out to interrogate the identified candidate CRC biomarkers. Results We identified miR-451a as a potential early CRC biomarker circulating in patient's serum. The dysregulation of miR-451a was revealed both in primary tumors and in patients' sera. Downstream analysis validated the tumor suppressor role of miR-451a and high sensitivity of miR-451a in CRC patients, further confirming its potential role as CRC circulation biomarker. Conclusion The miR-451a is a potential circulating biomarker for early CRC diagnosis.
Fingerprint Liveness Detection by a Testing and Trained Data using Convolutional Neural Network

— It is understood that fingerprints are synthesized quickly to deceptively classify structures. In this paper we suggest a latest approach integrating for fingerprint as trained data which are stored in the liveliness detection device for identification. In order to fit new fingerprints that want to get to the network, the testing fingerprint ID Application will have a set of sample fingerprints saved. The proposed method uses the fingerprints referring to the trained and test fingerprints use convolution neural networks to render a judgment on liveliness. The proposed methodology shows an accuracy of 90.8 % for classification of data. The dataset are being classified through various algorithm for their precision.
CONTRIBUTIONS REGARDING A FLUID BARRIER SUPER CIRCULATION TECHNIQUE

This paper discusses and tests a new technique for super-circulation without the use of the Coandã effect. The method used is numerical, parametric tests were made on a conventional airfoil with and without the proposed fluid barrier. Results indicate that the principle can be applied on the entire range of conventional angles of attack, providing substantially higher section loadings while maintaining a high lift to drag ratio. Although experimental validation is required, the tests described here may be used as a baseline for this technique. If validated, the fluid barrier may be as an alternative to conventional flaps.
Detection and evaluation of ELISA analysis for the circulating cancers sera antigens by monoclonal antibody UNIVmAB and pembrolizumAB.

Detection and diagnosis of multiple human blood cancers sera remain a challenge, Recently we have reported a research note on a common sera biomarker for various cancers sera. However, a highly sensitive assay is required for the early and late cancers detections. We have developed an ELISA for an antigen detected by a specific monoclonal antibody, named UNIVmAb and with pembrolizumAb for comparison in all human cancers of different grades. This first method is based on the UNIVmAb antibody reaction, which is highly accurate and reproducible for serum antigen present in sera of different grades of cancer patients compared to the normal subjects. In this report, human sera from >90 cancer patients with known TNM classification along with sera from 72 normal healthy individuals were analyzed by UNIVmAb/PembrolizumAb for blood cancers sera antigen. This ELISA using UNIVmAb has identified the antigen from human sera as a complex hyaluronan binding protein composed mainly of multiple unknown proteins, including human serum albumin. The limit of detection for the antigen ELISA with UNIVmAb is 4ng to 12ng, giing>80%-85% higher values than the healthy donors. However, anti PD 1(PembrolizumAb) is 30%-40% higher the healthy donors in most of the cancer patients. We validate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for quantification of human sera specific antigen in various cancers sera samples and to compare the protein levels in normal subjects to cancer patients. Such results indicate that this ELISA value may be useful as a diagnostic marker for various cancer patients with UNIVmAb than with anti PD 1 antibody. Even though the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors have provided a breakthrough in immunotherapy for malignant tumors, PembrolizumAb or Nivolumab has significantly improved the survival of patients with melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), renal cell carcinoma, and classic Hodgkin lymphoma . Biomarkers that predict the treatment response to immune checkpoint inhibitors have also been explored. PD-1 expression in tumor cells was associated with objective response rates (ORRs) to nivolumab in some studies. Clinically approved immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-PD1 or anti-CTLA 4 demonstrate clinical efficacy in only a small proportion of cancer patients. The majority of cancer patients either show primary resistance or develop acquired resistance. The present data with ELISA indicate that the UNIVmAb is more applicable in detecting all primary or progressive cancers in circulating human sera and potentially can be used as a common cancer biomarker.