Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of precocene I and II on the sensory system of antennae and mouthparts of Colorado potato beetle larvae, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Col.: Chrysomelidae)

سوسک برگخوار سیبزمینی، Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say)، یکی از آفات مهم سیبزمینی و دیگر محصولات خانوادهی Solanaceae میباشد. تأثیر پریکاسن I و II، و مهارکنندههای هورمون جوانی، روی ویژگیهای مورفولوژیکی گیرندههای حسی شیمیایی شاخک و قطعات دهانی لارو سوسک برگخوار سیبزمینی مورد مطالعه قرار گرفت. جهت آزمایش، غلظتهای مختلف پریکاسن روی لارو سن دوم بهکار برده شد. نتایج حاکی از ایجاد تغییرات در شکل و تعداد گیرندههای حسی شاخکها و ضمائم قطعات دهانی بود. همچنین، کاربرد پریکاسن روی لاروهای سن دوم، تغییرات مورفولوژیکی در ساختمان کوتیکولی گیرندههای حسی شیمیایی شاخک و پالپهای آروارهای و لبی را بعد از اولین پوستاندازی نشان داد. علاوهبراین، تغییرات دیگری از قبیل باقیماندن کوتیکول مرحلهی قبلی و نیز تحلیل تعدادی و یا تمام گیرندههای حسی روی بند دوم و سوم شاخک و بند انتهایی پالپها، و کاهش تعداد سلولهای حسی و دندریتهای آنها مشاهده شد. با توجه به تأثیر پریکاسن روی سیستم حسی حشرات، نقش آن در ایجاد اختلال در اکولوژی شیمیایی و یافتن میزبان مورد بحث قرار گرفته است.
ROBUST SERVOMECHANISM PROBLEM FOR NEUTRAL DISTRIBUTED

An important ptoblem in control engineering is to design a controller which stabilizes a given system and achieves robust tracking of a reference signal despite certain disturbance signals. The present paper considers this problem, which is usually termed as the robust servomechanism problem, for linear time-invariant time-delay systems of neutral type with distributed time-delay. It is assumed that the reference and the disturbance signals satisfy a delay-differential equation, which is linear and has constant-coefficients and is of neutral type with distributed time-delay. Discrete time-delays, whether in the system dynamics or in the delay-differential equation satisfied by the reference and the disturbance can also be included. The present paper presents the necessary and sufficient conditions for the solvability of the robust servomechanism problem, as well as the structure of the controller when it exists, for linear time-invariant neutral time-delay systems with distributed time-delay.
Angular dependence of pump‐induced bottomside and topside ionospheric plasma turbulence at EISCAT

[1] We experimentally observe the location and angular size of the high-frequency (HF) radio window in the bottomside ionosphere, which permits radio wave propagation to the topside ionosphere, with high angular resolution at the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) facility. HF pump-induced ion line enhancements were observed by the EISCAT UHF incoherent scatter radar on the ionospheric bottomside and topside. The radar zenith angle was scanned in small steps in the magnetic meridian. The HF pump duty cycle was deliberately kept low enough to minimize the growth of artificial field-aligned irregularities. The locations of the bottomside radio window and topside enhanced radar echoes are consistent with the expected position determined by ray tracing performed using the observed plasma densities.
Economics of new technologies for sustainable agriculture

Sustainable agriculture is prescribed as a policy approach that maximizes economic benefits while maintaining environmental quality. It is argued that this approach is human capital-intensive and encourages new scientific developments. To attain sustainability, economic incentives for the development and adoption of precision technologies (with minimal residues that cause environmental damage) have to be developed. Taxation and tradeable permits are desirable policies to attain first-best solutions; however, when heterogeneity and lack-of-information problems are significant, alternative institutions have to be developed. The paper presents and discusses such institutions.
CFEST Coupled Flow, Energy & Solute Transport Version CFEST005 Theory Guide

This document presents the mathematical theory implemented in the CFEST (Coupled Flow, Energy, and Solute Transport) simulator. The simulator is a three-dimensional finite element model that can be used for evaluating flow and solute mass transport. Although the theory for thermal transport is presented in this guide, it has not yet been fully implemented in the simulator. The flow module is capable of simulating both confined and unconfined aquifer systems, as well as constant and variable density fluid flows. For unconfined aquifers, the model uses a moving boundary for the water table, deforming the numerical mesh so that the uppermost nodes are always at the water table. For solute transport, changes in concentration of a single dissolved chemical constituent are computed for advective and hydrodynamic transport, linear sorption represented by a retardation factor, and radioactive decay. Once fully implemented, transport of thermal energy in the groundwater and solid matrix of the aquifer can also be used to model aquifer thermal regimes. Mesh construction employs “collapsible”, hexahedral finite elements in a three-dimensional coordinate system. CFEST uses the Galerkin finite element method to convert the partial differential equations to algebraic form. To solve the coupled equations for momentum, solute and heat transport,more » either Picard or Newton-Raphson iterative schemes are used to treat nonlinearities. An upstream weighted residual finite-element method is used to solve the advective-dispersive transport and energy transfer equations, which circumvents problems of numerical oscillation problems. Matrix solutions of the flow and transport problems are performed using efficient iterative solvers available in ITPACK and PETSc, solvers that are available in the public domain. These solvers are based on the preconditioned conjugate gradient and ORTHOMIN methods for symmetric and a nonsymmetric matrices, respectively. « less
Bioinformatics with basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) and fast alignment (FASTA)

Following advances in DNA and protein sequencing, the application of computational approaches in analysing biological data has become a very important aspect of biology. Evaluating similarities between biological sequences is crucial to our understanding of evolutionary biology, and this can be achieved by basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) and fast alignment (FASTA). BLAST and FASTA have become fundamental tools of biology and it is essential to know how they operate, the task they can accomplish and how to accurately interpret their output. This paper provides an analysis of BLAST and FASTA in sequence analysis. Both BLAST and FASTA algorithms are appropriate for determining highly similar sequences. However, BLAST appears to be faster and also more accurate than FASTA. Both BLAST and FASTA are limited in sensitivity and may not be able to capture highly divergent sequences in some cases. Consequently, evolutionarily diverse members of a family of proteins may be missed out in a BLAST or FASTA search. Key words: Bioinformatics, basic local alignment search tool (BLAST), fast alignment (FASTA), sequence alignment, prokaryotes.
TAXONOMY OF FRUIT-ROTTING FUNGAL PATHOGENS: WHAT∑ S REALLY OUT THERE?

This paper discusses the role of taxonomy in understanding the epidemiology of fruit rotting diseases and in determining the biosecurity status of the fungi associated with those diseases. The taxonomy of most highly specialised fruit-rotting pathogens is well understood, but some degree of uncertainty or confusion applies to the taxonomy of many less specialised pathogens. The taxonomic lumping of morphologically similar but genetically and biologically distinct taxa often confounds our ability to understand diseases, frustrates the interpretation of research data, and can result in misinformation about biosecurity status. Such unspecialised pathogens are widespread in New Zealand, but whether they cause a problem in a specifi c orchard depends on environmental conditions, management of the orchard, and host plant susceptibility. As management practices and preferred cultivars change, so does the spectrum of these low-specifi city taxa that cause disease problems. Five examples illustrate the need for unambiguous taxonomy to facilitate more effective control and management strategies of plant pathogens. Accurate identifi cation allows a clear understand the biology of the pathogens and subsequently the epidemiology of their associated diseases.
PREDICTION OF DEMAND FOR PRIMARY BOND OFFERINGS USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS

Purpose: Primary bond markets represent an interesting investment opportunity not only for banks, insurance companies, and other institutional investors, but also for individuals looking for capital gains. Since offered securities vary in terms of their rating, industrial classification, coupon, or maturity, demand of buyers for particular offerings often overcomes issued volume and price of given bond on secondary market consequently rises. Investors might be regarded as consumers purchasing required service according to their specific preferences at desired price. This paper aims at analysis of demand for bonds on primary market using artificial neural networks. Design/methodology: We design a multilayered feedforward neural network trained by Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm in order to estimate demand for individual bonds based on parameters of particular offerings. Outcomes obtained by artificial neural network are compared with conventional econometric methods. Findings: Our results indicate that artificial neural network significantly outperformed standard econometric techniques and on examined sample of primary bond offerings achieved considerably better performance in terms of prediction accuracy and mean squared error. Originality: We show that proposed neural network is able to successfully predict demand for primary obligation offerings based on their specifications. Moreover, we identify relevant parameters of issues which are able to considerably affect total demand for given security. Our findings might not only help investors to detect marketable securities, but also enable issuing entities to increase demand for their bonds in order to decrease their offering price.
Changes in Sperm Parameters of Adult Male Rabbits by Phenol Extract of Lepidium Sativum Seeds

This research included the impact of phenol extract of Lepidium sativum seeds in sperm parameters of adult male rabbit. The In Vivo study included the estimation of the Medium Effect Dose (MED 50 ) for phenol extraction by using Dose-Response Curve. The mean of MED 50 was 36.1 mg /kg body weight (b.w.) of phenol. The results showed a significant increase (P in testicular sperm concentration, epididymus sperm concentration and in the sperm count per gm of the testis, sperm motility percent, grade activity, sperm viability percent,and abnormal sperm morphology percent of epididymis caudal at MED 50 of phenol. The results reveal that supplement with low doses of phenol could be enhance rabbit fertility. Keywords : Lepidium sativum , seeds, phenol, soxhlet device, rabbits, sperm parameters
What Makes Commodity Prices Move Together? An Answer From A Dynamic Factor Model

This paper aims to investigate the common movement of commodity prices. Two alternative hypotheses explaining the origin and nature of this common movement are put forward: the interdependence and the common latent factor hypotheses. This latter is assessed by specifying a DF/FAVAR model whose latent factors move around a zero-mean short-term level and a non-stationary long-run equilibrium level, respectively. Four heterogeneous and mostly unrelated commodities are considered (crude oil, copper, wheat, beef). Using IMF monthly prices over the 1980:1-2016:4 period, a Kalman Filter ML estimation is performed and results suggest that, beside the increasing price volatility, the last decade experienced a significant rise of the long-term equilibrium price. Some implications of this major result are also discussed
Success of spatial statistics in determining underlying process in simulated plant communities

Spatial statistics are widely used in studies of ecological processes in plant communities, especially to provide evidence of neutral or non‐neutral mechanisms that might support species coexistence. The contribution of such statistics has been substantial, but their ability to identify any links between underlying processes and emergent patterns is not certain. We investigate the ability of a number of spatial statistics to distinguish theorized mechanisms of species coexistence (spatial and temporal niche differentiation, neutrality, the Janzen–Connell effect and heteromyopia) in a simulated plant community. We find that individual statistics differ substantially in their sensitivity to these mechanisms, with those based on nearest neighbour species identities being the most sensitive. These differences are largely robust to changes in the strength of the modelled mechanisms when simulated independently and in combination. The spatial signal of niche differentiation is always distinct in simulations that combine mechanisms. Synthesis. We describe full spatial signals of modelled coexistence mechanisms that are observed consistently across statistics and simulated strengths and combinations of mechanisms, and identify a set of spatial statistics that holds particular promise for empirical studies designed to investigate mechanisms of these kinds.
Etude du comportement d'investigation du grand requin blanc (Carcharodon carcharias) en fonction du stimulus visuel, dans le cadre d'une activité de foraging en surface, au sein de la population de Dyer Island (Afrique du Sud)

Les travaux de recherche presentes dans ce memoire ont ete effectues au sein de l'unite de recherche du « Centro Studi Squali » (Italie). L'un des themes majeurs developpes par cette equipe est le comportement de predation de la population de grands requins blancs (Carcharodon carcharias) de Dyer Island (Afrique du Sud). Cette etude se focalise plus particulierement sur l'investigation visuelle du grand requin blanc, dans le cadre d'une activite de foraging (recherche alimentaire) en surface. L'expedition scientifique de 2013 s'est concentree sur un test d'approche entre deux maquettes inanimees en surface, l'une de forme familiere (lion de mer) et l'autre de forme inconnue (carre). Les 34 requins observes au cours de cette annee ont montre, a travers 114 approches, un interet envers les deux maquettes. Cet interet varie cependant en fonction du regime alimentaire du requin : en effet les requins plus âges, dont le regime alimentaire inclut des mammiferes marins, presentent une preference d'approche vers la maquette en forme de lion de mer par rapport aux jeunes requins exclusivement piscivores, avec une probabilite d'erreur de 7,5% selon notre modele lineaire generalise mixte. Le memoire contient un etat de l'art sur le comportement de predation du grand requin blanc, il expose le protocole experimental, elabore suite a l'etude preliminaire des expeditions precedentes, puis applique pendant la campagne d'observation 2013. Enfin il presente et discute les resultats obtenus a partir de notre modele statistique.
Business Performance Measurement and Management - ReadingSample

This research attempts to explore the process of change and to examine in more depth the nature of the changes in management control which accompany the adoption of the new information technologies within small and medium enterprises. In particular, recognizing that management control change is a continuous organizational process (rather than an outcome), the trajectory of which is shaped by an incessant inter-play of several influences, this research intends to explore the way in which the implementation of a new integrated information system contributes to this process. To address this issue, the current research combines theoretical and empirical insights. After having reviewed the literature on the main topics and produced a theoretical understanding to illuminate the nature of the aforementioned changes, the research relies upon an illustrative case study concerning a medium-size cooperative society based in Italy. Recognising the complexity of organizational life, the field study does not aspire to isolate and define how and by how much ICT has been a driver of the management control change, but rather to explore the whole process of change in order to appreciate the diversity of interrelated influences which have shaped its trajectory and how these influences interacted with each-other. Among this inter-play of influences, the study aims then to investigate the particular role played by the two-way relationship between ICT and management control. The implementation of the new integrated information system has opened up several opportunities for the business management and in particular for the management control. However, so far, only part of these opportunities have been exploited. Furthermore, while it could be acknowledged that the new system facilitated the changes in management control both in its material and immaterial dimensions, it could not be concluded that they were the result of the implementation of the new system. Many other factors have interacted within the process of management control change. For example, of paramount importance has been the controller’s determination to enact the change. The case study analyzes M.P. Maraghini (B) Department of Business and Social Studies, University of Siena, Piazza S. Francesco, 7, 53100 Siena, Italy e-mail: maraghini@unisi.it 13 P. Taticchi (ed.), Business Performance Measurement and Management, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-04800-5_2, C © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010
Spontaneous vesicle formation in aqueous mixtures of cationic gemini surfactant and sodium lauryl ether sulfate

Molecular aggregates of surfactant molecules consisting of one or more bilayers arranged in a hollow, closed, usually spherical geometry are termed “vesicles” or “liposomes”. In recent years it has been found that in certain systems the vesicular structure forms spontaneously and is long lived, and it has been suggested that these structures may in fact constitute the equilibrium state in these cases (as is true of micelles) This paper deals with the mixed CMC, vesicles, phase behavior, phase transition, geometrical structure, their formation and characterization in the aqueous solutions of mixed cationic/anionic surfactants systems. TEM micrographs revealed that the vesicles were of spherical shape and that their size was of around 180 nm. The zeta potentials are positive at CGS1-rich regions and negative at SLES-rich regions. In the region where SLES/CGS1 (6/4), the zeta potentials are very small, implying that the vesicles at this surfactant ratio may be less stable. At other surfactant ratios, the vesicles are thought to be stable, supported by large absolute values of zeta potentials and little change in UV absorbance for several months.
Sigmoid Models for the Growth Curves in Medium-Growing Meat Type Chickens, Raised under Semi-Confined Conditions

Abstract The study analyzed the growth of medium-growing chickens of the CCGP experimental line, using Gompertz, Logistic, and Richards models as well as body gain curves. The birds were reared until 9 wk of age. To fit BW values to the applied models, determination coefficients (R2 ,Ř2) and standard error of the mean (±SE) were calculated for 487 male and 493 female chickens. The comparison of results obtained demonstrated the Gompertz model to be the most precise equation to describe the growth of both sexes of CCGP chickens, though in all examined models the determination coefficients were approximating 99%. According to the Gompertz model, the chickens may reach the maximum BW at the age of 16 wk (5900 g - males and 4000 g - females), whereas the maximum daily BW gain - on day 47 (69.0 g) in males and on day 41 (50.0 g) in females. Values achieved in the Logistic model were the most diverging from the values obtained with other models, whereas the Richards model may be successfully applied to estimate BW of chickens. Females were reaching the maximum BW gains earlier, but the curve of their BW gain was proceeding with two peaks (at ca. 4 wk - 313.09 g/wk and at 6 wk - 327.59 g/wk), which was probably due to partial growth deceleration as a result of allowing the birds to use free ranges on day 14. In the case of males, the maximum BW gain (727.35 g/wk) was reached at 6.2 wk.
Ultra low-dose catheter directed CT angiography (CCTA) for the assessment of vascular suitability prior to endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) and ischemic lower extremity vasculature

Poster: "ECR 2014 / C-1596 / Ultra low-dose catheter directed CT angiography (CCTA) for the assessment of vascular suitability prior to endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) and ischemic lower extremity vasculature" by: "D. M. Santos, A. Formosa, A. Common, D. Marcuzzi, V. Prabhudesai; Toronto, ON/CA"
Assessment of Serum Levels of the Adipocytokine Chemerin in Colorectal Cancer Patients

Summary Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. The tumor microenvironment is very important for determining cancer cell growth and spreading. Chemerin, a newly identified adipokine secreted by adipose tissue, is known to be associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance. The present study was carried out to investigate the association between serum levels of chemerin and colorectal cancer. Thirty-two patients with colorectal cancer aged 57.6±6.5 years, and twenty age, sex and BMI matched healthy controls were included in the study. Serum che me rin levels were determined using enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay. C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were determined using a turbidimetric immunoassay. Carcino embryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen (CA 19-9) were measured by radioimmunoassay. Chemerin levels were found to be significantly higher in patients relative to the controls (P<0.001) and gradually increased with the TNM tumor stage progression. The mean CRP, CEA and CA 19-9 levels were also significantly higher in patients (P<0.001). There was a significant correlation between the serum levels of chemerin and the other measured parameters in CRC patients. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for serum chemerin was 1 at a cut-off value ≥ 161.5 with 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Conclusions: The observed results suggest that chemerin may have a potential role in the pathogenesis and progression of colorectal malignancy and may be a good biomarker of colorectal cancer and stage progression.
A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR SUCCESSFUL SUCCESSION OF GENERATION Y TEACHERS THROUGH SHARED LEADERSHIP

Educational systems are experiencing a global leadership crisis. A large number of school principals represent Baby Boomers Generation, that is, individuals born between 1946 and 1964. These principals are increasingly retiring from leadership and principal positions and there are a fewer applicants for the job. Therefore, it is critical that education systems develop the leadership capacity of teachers able to assume formal leadership positions as the current cohort of principals retire. Currently, the teaching population is made up Generation Y (Gen Y) teachers, that is, individuals born approximately between 1981 and 1995. This is the generation that must be groomed and nurtured for future leadership position in schools. Shared leadership can be an effective strategy to develop these aspiring leaders group belonging to Gen Y into leadership position. This theoretical study offers shared leadership strategies that can be considered for development of Gen Y teachers into leadership positions