Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF GROWING SEASON ON CHIPPING QUALITY OF POTATOES UNDER SUB-TROPICAL CLIMATES

Four potato cultivars were grown as early, main and spring season crops at Modipuram (west-central Indian plains) to investigate the impact of growing season on chipping quality of the tuber. There was significant interaction between genotype and growing season irrespective of the maturity of the crop. Minimum mean values of reducing sugar ( 0.1% and > 0.4%, respectively), whereas the mean chip colour scores were acceptable in early and main seasons. Though reducing sugar contents, in general, increased in spring crop, a marked decrease was registered in cv. Kufri Jyoti when compared to main crop. The reducing sugar to sucrose ratio was lowest in early-planted crop. The cultivar Kufri Chipsona-2 accumulated the highest dry matter in the early crop of 75 days compared to the other three cultivars. The study emphasizes the need for evaluating the chipping potential of a cultivar according to its specific seasonal requirements, so that industry can get good quality freshly harvested raw material for most part of the year in relatively warmer sub-tropical regions.
COLLABORATION, CONTINUITY AND EMERGENCE: CHANGE-ORIENTATED COMMUNICATION FROM A POSTMODERN STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION PERSPECTIVE ABSTRACT The pressure on organisations to become more global and information intensive and the increasing uncertainty and complexity of the organisational environment have i

The pressure on organisations to become more global and information intensive and the increasing uncertainty and complexity of the organisational environment have increased the convolution of organisational change. Globalisation and interactive technologies such as Web 2.0 have transformed traditional media and created a communication environment of connection, convergence, and collaboration which is labelled as the ‘collaborative turn’. This changing communication landscape has stimulated postmodern thought in the field of strategic communication and emphasises purposeful communication of the communication agent on behalf of the communicative entity in the public sphere. As a starting point towards developing the concept of change-orientated communication from a postmodern strategic communication perspective (termed as ‘strategic change-orientated communication’), this literature paper aims to provide a contextualisation of this conceptual problem. Furthermore, since communication professionals are ostensibly slow in the uptake of postmodern developments in communication, this paper aims to expand the body of knowledge on the changing communication landscape with specific focus on change orientated-communication. By doing so, the paper provides an elaboration on the changes in the field of strategic communication with an emphasis on contemporary postmodern thought which serves as basis to emphasise the necessity for changeorientated communication from an emergent change context and, most importantly, the subsequent conceptual development thereof. This paper will conclude with a proposition of preliminary attributes of ‘strategic change-orientated communication’ which not only serve as one of the first steps in the concept development process, but also a heuristic for future research. Prof Yolandi Slabbert University of South Africa (Unisa)
BULANIK ZAMANA DAYALI FAALİYET TABANLI MALİYET SİSTEMİ: BİR HASTANE UYGULAMASI

Maliyet calismalari hastanelerde saglik hizmetlerinin topluma daha etkin sunumu icin gereklidir. Hastanelerde verilen hizmet faaliyetleri karmasik yapidadir ve dolayisiyla faaliyet sonuclarini etkilemektedir. Bu nedenle saglik hizmeti uretilen isletmelerde verilen saglik hizmetlerinin her birinin maliyeti ve bu maliyeti olusturan maliyet etkenlerinin belirlenmesi daha fazla caba gerektirmektedir. Hastanelerde gercege yakin bir maliyet analizinde hizmet maliyetlerini etkileyen her etkenin maliyetler uzerinde ki etkisinin gozden kacirilmamasi gerekir. Bu baglamda hastanelerde yanlis maliyet tahminleri kaynaklarin etkinligi ve verimliligi uzerinde olumsuz etki yaratmaktadir. Ayrica maliyet kontrolunun kaybedilerek harcama yukunun artmasina neden olmaktadir. Bu nedenledir ki hastanelerde sunulan her hizmetin maliyetinin hesaplanmasi son derece onemlidir. Bu calismada cagdas maliyet yontemlerinden olan zamana dayali faaliyet tabanli maliyetleme sistemi ile bulanik mantik yaklasimi birlestirilerek bir agiz ve dis sagligi hastanesinin dis protezi birim hizmet maliyetleri hesaplanarak, maliyet kontrolu, kapasite kullanimi gibi konularda alinacak kararlarda hastane yoneticilerine yardimci olacak bilgilerin ortaya cikarilmasi amaclanmistir.
Fermentation profile and microbial population in soybean silages with inoculant and powdered molasses

Fermentation profile and microbial population were assessed in soybean silages without any additive (control), with inoculant (I), with I + powdered molasses (I+M), and with powdered molasses only (M). Soybean plants were harvested at the R6 stage and ensiled in 2kg-capacity laboratory silos. The additives were added to the natural matter base of silages. The assessed fermentation periods were 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, and 56 days. A 4 × 6 factorial arrangement (4 additives × 6 fermentation periods) in a completely randomized design with 3 replicates was used. Lactic, acetic, and butyric acids concentrations were influenced by additives and periods (P< 0.05). It was observed higher lactic acid values to control silages, on the 56 th day. Lower average values of acetic and butyric acids were observed to I+M and M silages. It was observed quadratic effect to pH values with a reduction estimated of 0.5504, 0.5358, 0.6312 and 0.6680 units to pH values to control, I, I+M, and M silages in the first 10 days. A maximum lactic acid bacteria population was observed at the 28 th day of fermentation in silages with inoculant. The inoculant and powdered molasses improve the fermentation profile of soybean silages.
A Cost Effective Image Steganography Application for Document Security

Steganography is the art or practice of concealing a message, image, or file within another message, image, or file. In image steganography, a document is not just encrypted or locked as conventional security techniques could provide, which could leave room for hacking attempts; rather the documents are disguised from their original nature (document hiding behind an image) and as such hacking attempt may not be considered. The image can only be retrieved by individuals with the applications running on their computers. This paper presents an easy to use light weight application that can be used to secure documents within images. This application is developed using C programming language and can be applied in any organization ranging from educational institutions, government agencies financial institutions and private agencies.
Managing Saline Groundwater Impacts from Irrigation - Designing and Testing Emissions Trading in Coleambally Irrigation Area

Irrigated agriculture often leads to recharge to local and regional groundwater systems greater than what the systems can absorb, resulting in the development of shallow watertables causing salinity and waterlogging. Policy based on emissions trading offers one option for effective management of existing recharge externalities if effective property rights to diffuse emissions can be defined. In this paper we combine the conclusions drawn from biophysical research with economic principles underpinning emissions trading to present such a system. Allocation of net recharge contracts to irrigation farms will internalize the costs associated with saline aquifer impacts. Irrigators may reduce their compliance costs by creating or purchasing credits that reduce recharge through perennial vegetation, engineering solutions or crop rotation options. We discuss the economic impacts of adopting such a policy in the Coleambally Irrigation Area in southwestern New South Wales, Australia. We also demonstrate some of the conclusions drawn from our research using experimental economics.
A DEM-CFD APPROACH TO PREDICT THE PRESSURE DROP THROUGH AN AIR-ROCK BED THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM: PART 2 OF 2

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a method to determine the pressure drop trough packed beds using CFD. The focus of this study is on uniform spherical particle. The lessons learned will be extended in the future to irregular shaped particles. The three most important factors examined in this paper are the turbulence model, mesh and geometry. A more detailed investigation into a contact treatment method is presented in this study. The RNG k- turbulence model was selected to model turbulence and the interparticle bridge model is selected as a contact treatment method to minimise skew and/or fine cells from forming in the mesh. Further it is recommended that the interparticle bridge diameter should be between 0.2 d p and 0.3 d p . The commercial CFD-code ANSYS-FLUENT was used for all simulations.
arameters affecting electrospray performance of ot-embossed open-channel polymer icrofluidic chips

ana Malahat io G. Iovenitti gor Sbarski winburne University of Technology aculty of Engineering and Industrial Sciences ohn Street awthorn, Victoria 3122 ustralia malahat@swin.edu. au Abstract. We investigate the effect of chip tip-to-counter electrode spacing gap , channel-size aspect ratio, onset voltage on electrospray ionization ESI performance of embossed polymer microfluidic chips. Planar polymer substrates were hot embossed using an electroformed tool and a laser machined tool. The embossed microchips were tested for successful ESI demonstration with minimum sample consumption and high throughput. Factors influencing the stability of electrospray were analyzed by a series of experiments. Theoretically and experimentally, it was observed that the distance of the microchannel tip to the counter electrode directly relates to the onset voltage applied. Furthermore, the overall pattern observed is the decrease in Taylor cone size with a decrease in channel dimensions. The total ion current was analyzed as a function of time and onset voltage at various gaps. Five electrospray modes, namely, drop mode, pulse mode, Taylor-cone jet mode, multijet mode, and oscillating jet mode recorded at the open channel tips were identified and the electrospray cycle investigated. These results are in good accordance with theory, and comparisons are drawn with the findings of other researchers. © 2010 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. DOI: 10.1117/1.3309710
Piezoceramic composite actuators for a solid-state variable-camber wing

A solid-state piezocomposite variable-camber morphing wing is proposed for fixed-wing aircraft that operate in the low Reynolds number regime. An experimental evaluation of the wing which employs a continuous inextensible surface, continuous boundary conditions, and surface-bonded piezoelectric actuators is presented. The partially active surface is designed to have sufficient bending stiffness in the chordwise and spanwise directions to sustain shape under aerodynamic loading. In contrast, the in-plane stiffness is relatively high; however, the necessary deformations that are required to change the aerodynamic response can still be attained while maintaining the surface area constant. Coupled with the continuous boundary conditions and the spar structure, the prototype piezocomposite wing can achieve desired change in aerodynamic response quantified in terms of lift coefficient and lift-to-drag ratio. The experimental variable-camber, shell-like, morphing wing sustains aerodynamic loading at the maximum tested free-stream velocity of 22.8 m/s and at a Reynolds number of 251,000 without degradation of aerodynamic authority.
Intrinsic instrumental polarization and high-precision pulsar timing

Radio telescopes are used to accurately measure the time of arrival (ToA) of radio pulses in pulsar timing experiments that target mostly millisecond pulsars (MSPs) due to their high rotational stability. This allows for detailed study of MSPs and forms the basis of experiments to detect gravitational waves. Apart from intrinsic and propagation effects, such as pulse-topulse jitter and dispersion variations in the interstellar medium, timing precision is limited in part by the following: polarization purity of the telescope's orthogonally polarized receptors, the signal-to-noise ratio of the pulsar profile, and the polarization fidelity of the system. Using simulations, we present how fundamental limitations in recovering the true polarization reduce the precision of ToA measurements. Any real system will respond differently to each source observed depending on the unique pulsar polarization profile. Using the profiles of known MSPs, we quantify the limits of observing system specifications that yield satisfactory ToA measurements, and we place a practical design limit beyond which improvement of the system results in diminishing returns. Our aim is to justify limits for the front-end polarization characteristics of next-generation radio telescopes, leading to the Square Kilometre Array.
Female-Led Firms: Performance and Risk Attitudes

This paper investigates the relationship between gender of the CEO and composition of the board of directors (female chairman and share of women in the boardroom) and firm's risk attitudes measured as variability in four firm outcome variables (investments, profits, return to equity, and sales). Using a merged employer-employee panel sample of Danish companies with more than 50 employees, we find extensive evidence of a negative association between female CEO and firm's risk attitudes. This finding might be consistent with the theoretical assumption according to which women typically present a substantially higher risk aversion profile and put more effort in monitoring firm activities than men in the financial matter domains. A number of robustness checks corroborate and better explain our main findings.
FROM A MICRO-POLYMERIC PIPE TO A MINI-POLYMERIC PULSATING HEAT PIPE

In this work, a preliminary study related to the design and manufacturing of a micro polymeric pipe for micro heat exchangers was performed. Among possible polymeric materials, a thermoplastic copolyester elastomer composed of polybuthylene-terephthalate, as crystalline phase, and long glycol chains, as the amorphous one (Hytrel ® 6356, Dupont) was selected, both unloaded and loaded with 7 % w/w carbon powder. A microextrusion process was set up to obtain microtubes and the thermo-mechanical characteristics of the produced pipes were studied. Thermal properties of extruded Hytrel ® remained almost the same, in terms of melting temperature (Tm ≅ 208 °C) and enthalpy change of fusion (∆H ≅ 45 mJ/mg), although the material was C-loaded. The thermomechanical tests performed on unloaded and C-loaded Hytrel ® microtubes at 25 and 70 °C (possible working temperature) detected a considerable increase in the mechanical properties of C-loaded Hytrel ® , compared to the unloaded one. In particular, a relevant improvement of the elastic modulus at 70 °C for the C-loaded microtubes was observed, demonstrating a better thermal stability at high temperature. Moreover, the fabrication of a micro heat exchanger prototype and prteliminary tests with different cooling fluids confirmed the possibility of using Hytrel® for electronic applications, as a good thermal exchange was evidenced.
Papaya (Carica papaya) seed as a low-cost sorbent for zinc removal

The potential of using papaya seed as a sorbent for the removal of Zn from aqueous solution was investigated. The sorption characteristics of the sorbent was studied under various experimental conditions, such as pH, contact time, concentration of Zn(II), agitation rate and sorbent’s particle size. The equilibrium data have been studied using Langmuir, Freundlich and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller equations. The best correlation was obtained using Langmuir isotherm with the regression coefficient value of 0.9799 and maximum sorption capacity of 19.88 mg/g. The effective pH for the maximum uptake of Zn(II) was at pH 5.0. An increase in percentage uptake of Zn(II) can be observed with increasing contact time and agitation rate. Decrease in sorbent particle size led to an increase in the sorption of Zn(II) and this could be explained by an increase in surface area and hence binding site. Equilibrium was attained around 60 min indicating this sorbent could be a potential material for continuous flow system.
Petroleum Hydrocarbon Spills in the Environment and Abundance of Microbial Community Capable of Biosurfactant Production

Petroleum industries generate wastes, some of which may be considered hazardous because of the presence of toxic organics and heavy metals. The wastes can bioaccumulate in food chains where they disrupt biochemical or physiological activities of many organisms, thus causing carcinogenesis of some organs, mutagenesis in the genetic material, impairment in reproductive capacity. Bioremediation constitutes the primary mechanism for the elimination of hydrocarbons from contaminated sites by natural existing populations of microorganisms. In this work, microbial community composition and metabolic potential have been explored in petroleum-hydrocarbon contaminated wood treatment plant soil. A collection of strains, adapted to grow on minimal medium supplemented with coal tar creosote, was obtained and the diversity of the bacterial collection was analysed by 16S rRNA gene-based 454 pyrosequencing. Sequencing of the bands revealed a high proportion of Proteobacteria represented by the Alpha, Beta and Gamma subclasses, suggesting that Proteobacteria and especially Gamma subclass is a dominant group in coal tar creosote contaminated soils. The biotechnological potential of the operational taxonomic units (OUTs) revealed a significant degradation of creosote PAHs and production of biosurfactant with important emulsification activities during the bioremediation process.
Pollen Germination and Pollen Tube Elongation of Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum L.) Regulated by Cell Wall Invertase through Sucrose Hydrolysis

Sucrose is a sugar required for pollen germination and pollen tube elongation. It is little known on the regulation mechanism. As such, this research was conducted to reveal mechanism pathway of the sugar in regulating pollen germination and pollen tube elongation by cell wall invertase. The pollen grains, respectively originated from wild type and transgenic tomato plants, which had been silenced their inhibitor gene (INVINH1) of the cell wall invertase were used in this study. The pollen grains were cultured in media containing glucose, fructose or sucrose. Results of the study showed that percentage of the pollen germination derived from transgenic plants was much higher than that from wild type plants. Moreover, pollen tube elongation was longer in transgenic plants compared with wild type plants. Interestingly, these results were observed in medium containing sucrose only, but not in glucose and fructose. This result suggests that cell wall invertase activity regulates pollen germination and pollen tube elongation through sucrose hydrolysis.
Cloud Computing for Health Information in Africa? Comparing the Case of Ghana to Kenya

Background and Purpose : A number of African countries have in recent years deployed online, web-based health information systems (HIS). We look at the opportunities and challenges of this new architecture by comparing recent HIS implementations in Ghana and Kenya. Methods : This article is based on several years of involvement by the authors in a large action research project (the Health Information Systems Programme) that focuses on developing and implementing health information systems. The project has a strong focus on active participation of the researchers in the research context, drawing on the Scandinavian tradition of participatory action research. All authors have been directly involved in the HIS implementations in Ghana and/or Kenya discussed in this article. Results : We show how the two countries studied in this article, Ghana and Kenya, have rapidly transitioned from having an offline, decentralised HIS based on standalone software installations, to a new architecture that is online, web-based and centralised. Conclusions : The cases of Ghana and Kenya demonstrate how a web-based, online architecture for HIS provides a number of advantages over the standalone, offline systems that have been the norm until recently. However, important aspects of such implementations, like developing skills and policies for system administration and ensuring system ownership need emphasis in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of these systems.
Effectiveness of Early Retirement Disincentives: Individual Welfare, Distributional and Fiscal Implications

In aging societies, information on how to reform pension systems is essential to policy makers. This study scrutinizes effects of early retirement disincentives on retirement behavior, individual welfare, pensions and public budget. We employ administrative pension data and a detailed model of the German tax and social security system to estimate a structural dynamic retirement model. We find that retirement behavior is strongly influenced by the level of disincentives. Further, disincentives come at the cost of increasing inequality and individual welfare losses. Still, net public returns are about three times as high as monetarized individual welfare losses. Our estimates also suggest that similar levels of net public returns, if achieved by indiscriminating pension cuts, are associated with individual welfare losses that are more than twice as high.
Educational Intervention to Improve Nursing Practice in the Critical Care Setting

A variety of educational interventions may have an impact on patient assessment and patient outcome. Studies have reported an inconsistency in the use of Neurological assessments performed by nurses, such as the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) in the acute care setting. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention for nurses on the number of performed neurological assessments over time. Intervention: A total of 60 health care staff was offered education on neurological assessment (GCS) of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at a level one-trauma center. Method: A quasi-experimental design to evaluate the change in the number of performed neurological assessments in children. The amount of GCS assessments was compared before and after the educational intervention. Findings: The educational intervention showed a significant increase in GCS assessments during the one and two-month periods after the intervention but with a decline at three months post-intervention.
Aesthetic and Mathematical Research: A Comparison with two Examples

This paper examines the emerging eld of aesthetic research and my experience in two research projects. I would like to outline an argument that suggests that the methods of mathematical and aesthetic research may be more closely related to one another than they are to many other areas of research. In this process I will discuss why it is that the elds are, in my mind, closely related. In particular I would like to underline that research communication is not external to research practice, but an integral part of the research process.