Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characteristics of Soil Derived from Ultramafic Rocks for Extensification of Oil Palm in Langgikima, North Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi

Oil palm plantation in Langgikima was mostly grown in soils derived from ultramfic rocks which contain low productivity. Therefore, a study was required to determine the charac-teristics of soils evolved from ultramafic rocks evaluated from the aspects of soil formation and classification as well as land suitability for oil palm extensification. Soil observation in field had been carried out in locations of oil palm plantation with slope gradient Keywords : soil characteristics, ultramafic rock, oil palm
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Economic Growth: an approach in terms of cointegration for the case of Tunisia

Throughout the last decades, the global economy has been completely sophisticated. It has evolved in an increasingly more and more complicated context, given the mechanism of free trade, free haw of capital and goods; investment has become important for developing countries. In this respect, it is necessary to study the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the economic growth of the host country, especially in Tunisia. By using recent techniques of time series analysis over the period 1975-2009. Our empirical results thus suggest that FDI could help boost the process of long-term economic growth.
EMBEDDING RIEMANNIAN MANIFOLDS VIA THEIR EIGENFUNCTIONS AND THEIR HEAT KERNEL

In this paper, we give a generalization of the embeddings of Riemannian manifolds via their heat kernel and via a nite number of eigenfunctions. More precisely, we embed a family of Riemannian manifolds endowed with a time-dependent metric analytic in time into a Hilbert space via a nite number of eigenfunctions of the corresponding Laplacian. If furthermore the volume form on the manifold is constant with time, then we can construct an embedding with a complete eigen- functions basis.
Interactive effects of arbuscular mycorrhizae and maize (Zea mays L.) straws on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth and organic carbon storage in a sandy loam soil

Hu J., Cui X. , Dai J., Wang J., Chen R. , Yin R. , Lin X. (2014): Interactive effects of arbuscular mycorrhizae and maize (Zea mays L.) straws on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth and organic carbon storage in a sandy loam soil. Soil & Water Res., 9: 119–126. A pot experiment was conducted to study interactive effects of arbuscular mycorrhizae (AMs) and maize ( Zea mays L.) straws on wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) growth and organic carbon (C) storage in a sterilized sandy loam soil. The experiment included four treatments: control, inoculation with AM fungus Glomus caledonium (M), amendment with maize straw (S), and amendment with maize straw plus inoculation with G. caledonium (S + M). The inoculation of G. caledonium significantly (P < 0.05) increased wheat root biomass and root-to-straw ratio, but had no significant effects on shoot biomass, grain yield, and soil parameters. The amendment of maize straw significantly ( P < 0.05) decreased soil pH, wheat root biomass, and root-to-straw ratio, and significantly (P < 0.05) increased soil invertase and alkaline phosphatase activities, but had no significant effects on shoot biomass, grain yield, soil organic C content, and urease activity. The combined application of G. caledonium and maize straw had no significant effects on root mycorrhizal colonization rate compared to the M treatment, while significantly (P < 0.05) increased wheat root biomass and significantly ( P < 0.05) decreased soil pH compared to the S treatment, and also significantly ( P < 0.05) increased grain yield, soil organic C content, and urease activity compared to the control. The Two-Way ANOVA also showed interactive effects of G. caledonium and maize straw on soil pH ( P < 0.05) and wheat grain yield ( P < 0.01), and the redundancy analysis result indicated the potential application of AM fungi in straw-returned fields.
Exclusivity principle forbids sets of correlations larger than the quantum set.

We show that the exclusivity (E) principle singles out the set of quantum correlations associated with any exclusivity graph assuming the set of quantum correlations for the complementary graph. Moreover, we prove that, for self-complementary graphs, the E principle, by itself (i.e., without further assumptions), excludes any set of correlations strictly larger than the quantum set. Finally, we prove that, for vertex-transitive graphs, the E principle singles out the maximum value for the quantum correlations assuming only the quantum maximum for the complementary graph. This opens the door for testing the impossibility of higher-than-quantum correlations in experiments.
Advance in Smart Grid by Embedding a Last Meter in Internet of Things

The customer domain of the smart grid naturally blends with smart home and smart building systems, but typical proposed approaches are “distributor-centric” rather than “customer-centric,” undermining user acceptance, and are often poorly scalable. To solve this problem, we propose a detailed architecture and an implementation of a “last-meter” smart grid—the portion of the smart grid on customer premises—embedded in an internet-of-things (IoT) platform. Our approach has four aspects of novelty and advantages with respect to the state of the art: 1) seamless integration of smart grid with smart home applications in the same infrastructure; 2) data gathering from heterogeneous sensor communication protocols; 3) secure and customized data access; and 4) univocal sensor and actuator mapping to a common abstraction layer on which additional concurrent applications can be built. A demonstrator has been built and tested with purposely-developed ZigBee smart meters and gateways, a distributed IoT server, and a flexible user interface.
Supply chain relationships between first and second tier suppliers in South African automotive supply chains : A focus on trust Introduction

http://www.jtscm. co.za doi:10.4102/jtscm.v9i1. 205 Background: The automotive industry is characterised by a network of long term collaborative agreements between component suppliers and assemblers. For collaboration to be successful trust between the supply chain partners is vital. Although many variables influence the efficiency of collaborative relationships, the human behaviour issues related to culture and trust are often much more difficult to solve. Trust is singled out in this article as a contributor to value in the supply chain relationships. Increased trust leads to more confidence resulting in better collaboration.
Constructed preference stability: a test–retest

Preference construction has been argued to undermine the use of stated preference results like willingness to pay (WTP) values in policy evaluations. Preferences constructed at the time of the valuation task are expected to be unstable and hence unreliable. Choice repetition and experience have been shown to stabilize preferences and increase choice consistency. The objective of this article is twofold. First, to examine the effect of self-reported construction bias on stated preferences during a repeated choice contingent valuation (CV) study. Second, to test the effect of choice repetition on the stability of the articulated preferences in a test–retest experiment using a single and double bound CV referendum elicitation format. As expected, unfamiliarity with the environmental good in question results in a significant impact of the survey instrument on preference construction. This in turn influences the respondent decision to participate in the contingent market, but after controlling for self-selection, cognitive and motivational characteristics, not the size of the WTP value. Evidence is found that choice experience filters out possible construction bias. In the test–retest experiment, choice repetition furthermore generates more stable and consistent preferences compared to the results of the NOAA endorsed ‘one-shot’ single bound approach in CV.
OP PREFERRED METHODS OF TEACHING READING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CLASSES IN DAGORETTI AND WESTLANDS DIVISIONS IN NAIROBI COUNTY , KENYA

Proficiency in reading has been identified as one of the most reliable indicators of whether a learner will attain the competence needed to achieve academic success and contribute actively to society. Research findings in Kenyan primary and secondary schools reveal inadequate reading skills among the 'students, Two of the main approaches in teaching of reading in English are Phonics Approach and Whole Word Approach. The purpose of this study was to identify the approaches used in teaching of reading in Early Childhood Education and the usage of phonics and whole word approaches in Pre Unit and class 3 levels. The study sought to establish teachers' orientation towards usage of Phonics and Whole Word Approaches in reading instructions in early childhood settings. A sample of 10 schools from each of the two Divisions, (Dagoretti) and (Westlands) in Nairobi County were studied. The researcher adopted the Descriptive research design using the survey method and observation technique. According to the findings 60% of pre-unit teachers were very confident in the phonics method. The results showed that 100% of class 3 teachers and 70% of Pre-Unit teachers indicated that they faced challenges in the teaching of reading. The study concludes that although the teachers indicated that they were confident, they also acknowledged that there were challenges in teaching of reading which indicates that they are not well equipped with the relevant methods of teaching reading. The study recommends clear policy guidelines on how to teach reading and compulsory in-service training for teachers on how to teach reading.
Influence of hydrogen on interstitial iron concentration in multicrystalline silicon during annealing steps

The influence of in-diffusing atomic H into an annealed multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) wafer on the concentration of interstitial iron [Fei] was investigated. Neighboring wafers with similar initial [Fei] were annealed with and without in-diffusing H. In-diffusion was realized by exposing the samples to a microwave induced remote hydrogen plasma at 400 °C. [Fei] was detected based on lifetime measurements before and after dissociating the FeB complex. Surface passivation was achieved by a quinhydrone-methanol solution at room temperature to avoid further temperature steps or in-diffusion of H during surface passivation. From [Fei] measurements before and after the annealing steps with and without H, the influence of H alone on [Fei] could be accessed. The results were compared to previous experiments where the same SiNx:H layers were used as surface passivation for multiple [Fei] measurements of mc-Si samples before and after several anneals at 400 °C. It could be shown that a H plasma atmosphere has a .
Measuring Residential Real Estate Liquidity

There are many factors, other than price alone, that may affect the liquidity of real estate. This study develops a liquidity measure based on the Cox proportional hazard technique, a statistical model widely used in the epidemiologic and social sciences. The odds ratio, along with an estimate of market value for a home, are used to construct a liquidity measure. This measure can extract from the data a rich statistical profile of the variables that affect liquidity.
Space, Place, and Hunting Patterns among Indigenous Peoples of the Guyanese Rupununi Region

Hunting remains an important subsistence activity for many indigenous peoples of the Neotropics. This paper describes indigenous hunting patterns using a mixed-methods approach in southern Guyana from a space and place perspective that takes into account both biophysical and cultural/spiritual factors. Findings confirm those of others, that distance from community, mediated by characteristics of the biophysical environment, impacts where hunters go. Mapping of the spiritual landscape, however, demonstrates that sense of place is also important. This paper argues that researchers and managers should be careful to incorporate both the local environmental and cultural/spiritual contexts in studies that inform biodiversity and sustainable resource-use management.
No evidence of association between apo E polymorphism and BMI and lipids profile in Turkmen population

Apolipoprotein E (apoE) is a glycoprotein that plays an essential role in lipid transport and metabolism.The present study purposed to determine the distribution of apoE alleles in a Turkman population and its association with lipid profile. In a cross-sectional study 354 healthy Turkman were recruited. Fasting blood samples were collected for biochemical tests and DNA extracting. Genomic DNA was amplified using PCR-RFLP method. The resulting fragments of PCR product digestion were detected by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This study showed that e3 allele and E3/E3 genotype are the most common allele and genotype, while e2 and e4 alleles had lower frequencies, respectively. Two homozygote genotypes E2E2 and E4E4 were not detected in our sample. Results didn’t confirm any association between apo E polymorphism with lipids concentration in Turkmen population.
Editorial: Non-adherence to dietary prescriptions in chronic kidney disease

2008;21(2) S Afr J Clin Nutr Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common disorder affecting more than 50 million people worldwide, with approximately 430 000 people reported as suffering from end-stage renal disease in South Africa in 2003. Of equal concern is the reported increase in the prevalence of CKD from 14.5% (1988–1994 NHANES data) to 16.8% (1999–2004 NHANES data) in the United States in people 20 years of age and older. This increase is also likely to be true for other countries and might be related to the increase in the prevalence of obesity, which has recently been identified as an independent and major risk factor for CKD. The effect of obesity is thought to be related to its link with diabetes and hypertension, both known risk factors for CKD.
Carotid intima-media thickness measurement as a risk predictor of transient ischemic attack

Carotid Intima - Media Thickness measurement as a risk predictor of transient ischemic attack Objectives. To determine if the risk of transient ischemic attack (TIA) is higher in patients with abnormal values of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). Materials and Methods. We evaluated 168 patients with and without TIA by ultrasound of the neck vessels, measuring CIMT. Case and controls were matched according to different variables. Statistical analysis: continuous variables (mean ± SD) were compared using the Student’s t test for related samples. Categorical variables (percentages) were compared using the McNemar tests. In order to assess CIMT as a predictor of TIA, two models of conditional logistic regression were adjusted, considering CIMT both as a continuous variable and as a binary variable: normal CIMT ( 1 mm). A ROC curve was performed to determine the discriminative capacity of CIMT, estimating the sensitivity and specificity for different cutoff values. Results. CIMT value: cases 1.03±0.31 mm (95% CI: 0.971.10); controls 0.77±0.27 mm (95% CI: 0.71-0.83); p<0.001. The risk of TIA was about 9 fold higher in patients with abnormal CIMT (OR=8.8; p<0.001). With 95 % confidence interval we were able to affirm that for each 0.05 mm increase in CIMT, the risk of TIA increased between 16 and 44%. Area under ROC curve: 0.75 (95% CI: 0.67-0.82). Conclusions. Abnormal values of CIMT are significantly associated with a higher probability of suffering a TIA. According to our experience, the carotid wall US examination would allow to predict cerebrovascular preclinical disease. Key words. Carotid intima-media thickness. Transient ischemic attack. Ultrasound.
A Design of Wide Band and Wide Beam Cavity-Backed Slot Antenna Array with Slant Polarization

Design of antenna array under the limitation of restricted size is a challenging problem. Cavity-backed slot antenna is widely used because of its advantages of small size, wide band, and wide beam. In this paper, a design of wide band and wide beam cavity-backed slot antenna array with the slant polarization is proposed. To obtain wide band and wide beam with limited size, the inverted microstrip-fed cavity-backed slot antenna (IMF-CBSA) is adopted as the element of 1 × 4 antenna array. The slant polarized antennas and their feeding networks are adopted because of their simple structures. The performance of the proposed antenna array is verified by the simulations and experiments. The measured VSWR < 2 bandwidth is 55% at the center frequency 21.8 GHz, and the gain is larger than 12.2 dB. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed design achieves wide band and beam with the size of 68 mm × 56 mm × 14.5 mm.
The effect of alumina and magnesia supported germanium nanoparticles on the growth of carbon nanotubes in the chemical vapor deposition method

The effect of alumina and magnesia supported germanium (Ge) nanoparticles on the synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method in atmospheric pressure was investigated. The TEM micrographs confirmed the formation of carbon nanotubes, and the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis suggested a tip-growth mechanism for the grown carbon nanotubes. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern indicated a graphitic nature of the carbon nanotubes. The obtained CNTs using Ge nanoparticles supported by MgO resulted in a higher degree of graphitization than the CNTs obtained using Ge nanoparticles supported by Al2O3. Raman spectroscopy analysis of the CNTs confirmed the presence of radial breathing modes (RBM), which verified the formation of CNTs. High frequency Raman analysis demonstrated that the degree of graphitization of the synthesized CNTs using magnesia supported Ge nanoparticles is higher than that of the alumina supported Ge nanoparticles with the values of (ID/IG) ratios equal to 0.45 and 0.73, respectively.
Objective assessment of ocular surface as an important prognostic factor for dry eye development in patients with glaucoma

Objectives: To investigate and compare the tear volume, tear film stability, Meibomian gland loss of healthy and glaucoma subjects from the Bulgarian population and to assess the relationship between clinical findings and glaucoma therapy. Methods: In this observational cross-sectional study, a random cohort of 68 subjects was enrolled and divided into patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension (POAG/OHT group; n=19) and healthy controls (HC group; n=49). Ocular surface was analysed objectively by Noninvasive tear Break-Up Time (NIBUT), Meibomian gland loss, and Schirmer test for basal secretion. In addition, Central Corneal Thickness (CCT) was measured with pachymetry. Results: Loss of Meibomian glands (39.85% ± 14.49%), as well as a decrease in Schirmer test values (7.29 mm ± 3.92 mm) and NIBUT (8.26 s ± 4.73 s), were typical in the POAG/OHT group, regardless of disease duration. Significant factors affecting the ocular surface state were age, anti-glaucoma treatment (type and duration), and the presence of preservatives. A worsening of all clinical parameters was evident in the glaucoma patients. A correlation between CCT and NIBUT was established (p=0.037; r=0.167). Conclusions: Local glaucoma treatment affects the ocular surface objective parameters according to its duration and the composition of treatment eye drops.
Ageing the European lobster, Homarus gammarus, by the lipofuscin in its eyestalk ganglia

In this study, lipofuscin was examined in the eyestalk ganglia of tagged European lobsters Homarus gammarus released into the wild at Scapa Flow, Orkney. Scotland, at approximately 3 mo of age and recaptured at ages between 5.4 and 9.6 yr. Lipofuscin deposits were often most abundant in cell cluster A of the medulla terminalis (MT-A), where they exhibited typical autofluorescence, histochemical, distributional and structural properties. Confocal fluorescence microscopy and image a'nalysis were used to quantify the deposits The study demonstrated that lipofuscin accumulation in the MTA is age-dependent (r = 0 640, p 0.0002). For the available sample range, no other statistically significant relationships were found (carapace length vs age: r = 0.147, p = 0.359, body weight vs age: r = -0.054, p = 0.738; carapace length vs lipofuscin concentration: r = 0.331, p = 0.0849; body weight vs lipofuscin concentration: r = 0.181, p = 0.358). Body size had no age discriminating power. There was no difference in lipofuscin accumulation rate between males and females. When placed in perspective against the highest lipofuscin concentrations so far measured for wild individuals of this species, it was apparent that the available sample of tagged lobsters, spanning an age interval of about 4 yr, represented only a very small window of the total lifespan. The results indicate that measurement of MT-A lipofusc~n concentration will provide considerably more accurate age determination of fished lobsters than the current body-size-based approach. MT-A lipofuscin concentration correctly ages approximately 4 3 % of lobsters in a sample to within 1 yr or less of their true age, and 95 % of lobsters to within 3.5 yr Carapace length correctly ages only 3% of individuals correctly to withi.n 1 yr The width of the 95% confidence intervals for carapace-length-based age estimates are so large as to render these estimates meaningless. Size-at-age and number-at-age data obtained using lipofuscin will prove useful for estimating growth and mortality in wild lobster populations and provide insight into potential biases in the current, conventionally derived estimates of these parameters. From a practical perspective, it is easier to sample nerve tissue containing lipofuscin from the eyestalk than the brain and has the advantage of leaving the lobsters in marketable condition.
Parallel Image Segmentation using Fiedler Vector

In this work, we propose a parallel algorithm for image segmentation. Our method is an unsupervised image segmentation procedure, which is a combination of a graph based image segmentation algorithm and parallel Fiedler vector computation algorithm. In this work, whole image is handled as a weighted graph, whose vertices are the pixels. As the segmentation method, we use Fiedler vector, which is the eigenvector which corresponds to the second smallest eigenvalue of the graph Laplacian matrix. Laplacian matrices belonging to big images can be undesirably large, thus the Laplacian matrix of an M ×N sized image has the size of (M × N) × (M × N). Parallelization is needed since the calculation of Fiedler vector with a serial algorithm is time consuming and the Laplacian matrix is large. The visual results of segmentation process is satisfactory and also scale-up for parallelization is well for at least 64 processors.
Study on safety monitoring information platform based on Internet of things

Objective: This article based on the analysis of system and system thinking as the foundation, through to the existing problems of coal mine safety monitoring system for a comprehensive analysis of the system, points out the existing problems of China's coal mine safety monitoring system, and expounds the various subsystems need to build coal mine safety networking system, and then combined with the Internet of things technology design perfect and meet the needs of coal mine safety monitoring system for coal demand of Internet of things. Methods: Based on the course of development of security technology in China coal mine the elaboration, pointed out the main problems which exist; results: analyzed the application status of Internet of things technology in safety monitoring system in our country in the coal mine, and points out the main problems existing in the application process. Conclusion: and then on this basis, combined with the basic framework of coal mine safety of Internet of things, build up the application model of coal mine safety of Internet of things.