Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of Beauveria bassiana against Piezodorus guildinii (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), a key pest of soybeans in the neotropics

ABSTRACT Redbanded stink bug, Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood), is a neotropical pest of soybean in the southern United States and the Neotropical Americas. Two strains of Beauveria bassiana (Bals.-Criv) Vuill. (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) were evaluated for potential control of redbanded stink bug. Four concentrations (104, 105, 106, and 107 spores/mL) of both a Mississippi Delta native strain (NI8) and a commercially available formulation (GHA) were tested against field-collected redbanded stink bug adults in the laboratory and evaluated at four time points (3, 5, 10, and 15 days after application). Application methods simulated field sprays and were similar to those previously used to screen several other pests and beneficial insects. Both isolates of B. bassiana tested were pathogenic to redbanded stink bug adults. A significant overall difference between strains (regardless of the concentration) was observed at 3 days after treatment, while differences among concentrations were observed at 10, and 15 days after treatment. The lethal concentration (LC50) and lethal sporulation (LS50) were not significantly different between strains at either 10 or 15 days after treatment. However, higher mortality was observed in cohorts sprayed with GHA at lower concentrations than those sprayed with NI8. Unlike other control options, B. bassiana has a short re-entry interval and no harvest interval, making it a potentially attractive and environmentally benign alternative to conventional synthetic insecticides for control of redbanded stink bug in soybeans. Further testing on juvenile life stages and field testing is needed to evaluate the potential for in-field control.
The Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio is Increased in Patients with Behçet's Disease

Behcet’s disease is a chronic and inflammatory disorder characterized by recurrent oral aphthous ulcers, genital ulcers, uveitis and involvement of various organ systems. The aim of this study was to analyze the diagnostic value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in patients with Behcet disease and uveitis. The records of 62 Behcet’s disease patients (29 females and 33 males) who had received a diagnosis of uveitis at Dicle University Faculty of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology were retrospectively analyzed. Neutrophil, lymphocyte and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio values during the attack of uveitis and three months after the attack were noted and compared. In addition, the same values were compared with the values of age and sex-matched 89 healthy controls (41 females and 48 males). Neutrophil and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte values were significantly higher during the attack, compared to after resolvement of the attack. Neutrophil, lymphocyte counts and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio was significantly higher in the patient group compared to the healthy controls. The sensitivity and specificity of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in distinguishing disease from healthy status was 62,9% and 61,6%, respectively, at a cut-off value of 1.85.
[Representations of colorectal cancer screening: the GPs point of view]

OBJECTIVES Various studies have shown that general practitioners (GPs) have a strong influence on adherence to organized screening for colorectal cancer. Faced with very low screening rates (29.8%), this study aims to apprehend the context of screening, the representations of GPs and the context of the arrival of new screening test in how to consider medical practice. METHODS On the basis of a qualitative methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 general practitioners in 2014-2015. A thematic content analysis was then performed. RESULTS The doctors interviewed said that they discussed colorectal cancer screening quickly at the end of the consultation, along with other screening tests (mammography), due to lack of time and management of several reasons for consultation. GPs had very little information about the new test, so they had no specific expectations for the new test. The analysis revealed an inconsistency between the role that GPs feel they should play with patients in prevention and screening and the reality of their practice that leaves them little time to devote to it. CONCLUSIONS A lack of information regarding the arrival of the new test and the difficulties associated with the organization of care has an impact on the representations of screening management. Setting up a consultation dedicated to prevention could be a prospect of improvement.
Opportunistic Computed Tomography and Spine Surgery: A Narrative Review

Study Design: Narrative review. Objective: This article seeks to provide a narrative review regarding the ability of opportunistic information available from computed tomography (CT) scans to guide decisions in spine surgery related to patient bone quality. Methods: A review of the literature (limited to human and English language) was performed via PubMed and Google Scholar using the search terms; “osteoporosis” AND “opportunistic” AND “computed tomography” AND “spine surgery. ” The titles and then abstracts of all identified citations were reviewed for inclusion by 2 of the authors (MS, BAF). Relevant articles were then studied in full text. Results: A review of the literature found 25 articles that were selected for inclusion in this narrative review. These articles were broadly divided into 4 subcategories: (1) opportunistic CT (oCT) and osteoporosis detection, (2) oCT data and the quality of screw fixation, (3) utilization of Hounsfield units to assess clinical and/or radiographic outcomes following spine fusion, and (4) virtual stress testing in spine surgery. Conclusion: The literature on oCT, as well as associated virtual stress-testing techniques, demonstrate the potential to enhance spine surgery outcomes by preoperatively identifying at-risk patients in need of bone health optimization and informing best techniques for performing spinal fusion surgery on patients with diminished bone quality. While our narrative summary of the limited literature to date suggests a promising future for oCT data, significant additional research and/or radiographic workflow standardization is needed to validate these methods for clinical use.
Strengthening the Primary Care Delivery System: A Catalytic Investment Toward Achieving Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria

A Framework for Implementation Conclusion References Nigeria, with its current population estimated at 184 million people (accounting for 20% of the African population), has 36 states and 774 local government areas (LGAs). The country operates a presidential system of governance. Health care provision is a responsibility of all three tiers of government, with federal government primarily responsible for tertiary health care, state government responsible for secondary care, and local government authority responsible for primary health care. Over the years, successive governments have not paid desired attention to primary health care as a gateway to accessing health care delivery in the country. Nigeria devolved primary health care services to the LGAs in the late 1980s, but the local government structure had little capacity for governance and resource mobilization, with weak absorptive capacity to manage allocated resources and take on an implementation role. In 1992, the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency was established to represent the federal government’s support to primary health care with a mandate to provide technical assistance to states for primary health care development, planning, management, monitoring and evaluation, and mobilization of national and international resources. Management of Nigeria’s primary health care system has been fragmented with the involvement of different stakeholder institutions. This has included federal institutions— the Federal Ministry of Health and National Primary Healthcare Development Agency—and state and local government platforms: the State Ministry of Health, Local Government Service Commission, Local Government Council, and Local Government Health Department/Local Government Primary Health Care Authority individually responsible for provision of services, recruitment, retention and deployment of staff, mobilization and allocation of funds, development of support Received 18 July 2016; revised 2 September 2016; accepted 2 September 2016. *Correspondence to: Isaac F. Adewole; Email: ifadewole@yahoo.co.uk Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline. com/khsr.
Commitment in First-Price Auctions

We study the role of commitment in a first-price auction environment. We devise a simple two-stage model in which bidders first submit an initial offer that the auctioneer can observe and then make a counteroffer. There is no commitment on the auctioneer's side to accept an offer as is or even to choose the lowest bidder. We compare this setting to a standard first-price auction both theoretically and experimentally. While theory suggests that the offers and the auctioneer's revenue should be higher in a standard first-price auction compared to the first-price auction with renegotiation, we cannot confirm these hypotheses in the experiment.
Modeling heterogeneous traffic with cooperative adaptive cruise control vehicles: A first-order macroscopic perspective

ABSTRACT This paper proposes a modeling framework to characterize steady-state traffic flow relations for heterogeneous traffic composed of both standard (S) and Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC, labeled C here) vehicles, capturing the impact of C market penetration and vehicle sequence within a lane. The resulting parameterized fundamental diagram is then integrated with a first-order macroscopic traffic model, allowing us to characterize the operational performance on a network for heterogeneous traffic with varying C market penetration rates. This approach is demonstrated through an illustrative case study which considers a small freeway section with time-varying demand, merging traffic from an entrance ramp, and C market penetration ranging from 0.0–1.0. The results indicate that maximum throughput does not change appreciably as C traffic is first introduced, but eventually increases significantly for mid-to-high C penetration rates. Additionally, it shows that increasing C market penetration and separating vehicle classes slows upstream congestion propagation.
Resultantes da greve dos caminhoneiros (2018): um hibridismo de estatística bilionária e o óleo diesel em face à macroeconomia

O presente trabalho utiliza uma revisão de literatura a fim de apresentar características e informações relacionadas aos impactos diretos gerados imediatamente na economia brasileira diante o cenário de uma crise de combustíveis atrelada ao acontecimento da greve dos caminhoneiros. Essa crise afetou principais pontos econômicos desencadeados pelo fenômeno das manifestações dos caminhoneiros nas rodovias federais e estaduais do Brasil. O estudo traz como objetivo geral sintetizar informações através de referências políticas e econômicas. Logo, serão abordados os dados das perdas à macroeconomia mais relevantes preliminarmente – e, portanto, compreender o fenômeno da greve dos caminhoneiros e sua relação direta na cadeia econômica quando se há dependência elevada do serviço rodoviário sob alerta de agravos que transcorrerá durante muito tempo. A resultante do movimento social mais expressivo no primeiro semestre de 2017 através de uma pesquisa de natureza quantitativa, técnica de pesquisa descritiva sob métodos de pesquisa: estatísticos, histórico e comparativo. O levantamento estatístico advém das seguintes fontes: principais revistas, jornais, especialistas, plataformas de dados especializados. Diante o contexto, pode-se compreender o quanto a paralisação influenciou na economia do Brasil, assim como, tem-se a possibilidade de criar um parâmetro às dimensões socioeconômicas desencadeada por fenômenos dessa natureza. Dados comprovam que as perdas chegaram a variar entre R$ 75 bilhões a R$ 100 bilhões. Frente à greve, uma inflação prevista no mercado financeiro que migra de 3,65% para 3,82%, e a de alta do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) retrocedeu de 2,18% para 1,94% neste ano (2018).
Neural network solution of the direct kinematics problem for a hexapod with ball-screw drives of legs

This research is a part of the work implemented by BSTU “VOENMEH” under the financial support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation for design and development of a precision mechanism with the parallel kinematics called “Hexapod”. The object of research is the mechanism, in which the control of leg lengths is implemented by linear drives with ball-screw gears. The article proposes the solution of the extended inverse kinematics of the hexapod. The neural networks solution of the forward kinematics of hexapod is presented, i.e. the calculation of the position and orientation of the moving platform for given rotation angles of the ball-screw drives. The results of the synthesis of neural networks to achieve a given accuracy of solving the forward kinematics are presented. An estimate of the implementation of kinematic problems in the hexapod control system based on an ARM microprocessor is obtained.
Effects of microwave processing conditions on microbial safety and antimicrobial proteins in bovine milk

The simultaneous effects of microwave processing variables affecting the microbial quality and preservation of milk bioactive proteins were evaluated. Response surface methodology was used to investigate the individual and combined effects of ramp time (2.9–5.5 min), holding time (6.6–23.4 s), and final temperature (60–80°C) on the inactivation of two surrogates (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) added to the milk and on the preservation of the main antimicrobial proteins present in milk (lysozyme, lactoferrin, lactoperoxidase, xanthine oxidase, and immunoglobulin G). Experimental conditions resulting in 5 log reduction of E.coli and S. aureus (75°C, ramp time of 4.10 min, and holding time of 20 s) were replicated in quintuplicate for validation of the observed effects. At this experimental condition, more than 95% of the naturally present antimicrobial proteins were inactivated. The inactivation of antimicrobial proteins observed in this study was similar to the ones observed for ultra‐high temperature milk. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The current study demonstrates that microwave heating conditions leading to microbial safety (5 log reduction of surrogates) result in significant inactivation of bovine milk antimicrobial proteins (>95%), being similar to the ones observed for ultra‐high temperature milk.
Contextual Approach In Developing Communicative Competence In Foreign Language Lessons At University

The problem of the contextual approach in the formation of communicative competence by means of foreign language lessons at the technical university informed this research. The purpose of our research is to define the contextual approach feasibility and advantages during the development of communicative competence by means of foreign language lessons at technical university. The appeal of the educational process to the contextual learning system becomes relevant. It assumes the change of ideas about the development of communication skills, skills in higher school education. New educational standards provide a link between fundamental and practical training, between general education and specialized disciplines updating the content and methods, forms and means of education from the position of the complex integrated training process. Practically all academic teachers believe that the formation and development of a professionally-trained graduate of a higher educational institution is impossible without context-based education which forms the graduate’s professional skills using interdisciplinary integration. The contextual approach is important for the communicative culture formation to educate students of technical universities. The submission of educational material occurs in the process of generalization, metaphorization of educational knowledge, the search for mechanisms of their application in practical activities. The ideas of vocational training and self-development of the personality are updated. This idea is especially relevant to foreign language because it is one of main foundations of future competitive specialist communicative competence. 2357-1330 © 2020 Published by European Publisher.
Examining multi-dimensional trust of technology in citizens’ adoption of e-voting in developing countries

Prior research has highlighted the pivotal role of trust in the adoption of e-voting. However, trust as a construct has generally been studied without clear specifications of its underlying dimensions. As part of building a more comprehensive understanding of trust in e-voting, we propose and validate the underlying dimensions of trust in technology to be security, usability, privacy and validity. In an application to e-voting, we propose that greater trust in its technology could mitigate its perceived risks, and lead to higher intentions to use e-voting. To test our model, we collected data from 426 voters in East Java province, Indonesia. The findings confirmed the validity of all proposed dimensions of trust of technology. Trust of technology is a significant determinant of intention to use e-voting. Trust of technology also indirectly influences intentions to use e-voting through perceived risks.
Why Do Enterprise Multiples Predict Expected Stock Returns?

The enterprise multiple (EM) effect has been documented across global stock markets. EM is a robust predictor of expected average returns and generates a stronger value effect than traditional value metrics. We find evidence that the EM effect is primarily attributable to mispricing and cannot be explained by higher systematic risk. We document that earnings announcement returns, forecast errors, and forecast revisions all support the notion that the EM effect is driven by mispricing associated with predictable investor expectation errors. Finally, we show that the EM effect is stronger during times of strong market sentiment, which also supports the mispricing-based hypothesis. TOPICS: Factor-based models, equity portfolio management, portfolio construction, portfolio theory Key Findings • We revisit the enterprise multiple (EM) effect and document that the EM effect is primarily attributable to mispricing and cannot be explained by higher systematic risk. • We document that the EM effect is stronger during times of strong market sentiment, which is further evidence that the effect is driven by mispricing. • Over 80% of the alpha associated with the best EM portfolio is generated by the short leg. If managing short positions is costly, these results suggest that the mispricing associated with the high-mispricing EM portfolio is difficult to exploit profitably.
The consistency of export and agricultural policies in Egypt

First and foremost, I would like to offer my utmost gratitude to my advisor Dr. Khaled Abdelhalim, assistant professor of the Public Policy and Administration Department for his guidance and dedication in helping me complete my thesis. He was always open to advice and support every step of the way. He constantly steered me in the right direction towards completing my work in a timely and efficient manner. I am most grateful for his precious time and careful attention to detail. I would like to acknowledge Dr. Ghada Barsoum, associate professor and the Chair of the Public Policy and Administration Department and Dr. Charles Kaye-Essien, assistant professor of the Public Policy and Administration Department, as the readers of this thesis, and I am most indebted to them for the time they have spent and the valuable comments given on this thesis. I would also like to thank the experts who were involved in the validation of my research: Executive Manager of the Agricultural Export Council, Dr. Ali Hozayen, Senior Agricultural Specialist and Supervisor of Statistics Department at the Agricultural Quarantine, Eng. Gamal Abdel-Baky, and researcher Dr. Hala Abdul-Moneim. Without their dedicated effort and input, the validation of this paper could not have been successfully conducted. Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my parents and my brother for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my journey of study and throughout the process of researching and writing this thesis. This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. Words are not enough to express how grateful I am to have you all in my life. Thank you very much.
The Effects of Fiscal Policy on Ghanaian Economy

As part of the Government role in formulating and implementing policies that drives economic output, the need to examine whether or not these policies affect economic growth is useful and timely. The study was conducted by regressing economic output on four fiscal variables such as: government consumption expenditure, taxes, and government investment expenditure and government transfers whilst private investments, labour force and terms of trade as the non-fiscal variables. The analyses were based on time series data covering the period of 1980-2016. The study applies the Dickey-Fuller test for stationary and bounds test approach to cointegration for the estimation of an autoregressive distributed lag model. The result shows that in the long-run government investments and government expenditure affect economic growth positively. Keywords : Expenditure, Growth, Fiscal policy; Budget; Government spending; GDP DOI : 10.7176/EJBM/11-26-14 Publication date :September 30 th 2019
Applying hyperspectral remote sensing methods to ship detection based on airborne and ground experiments

ABSTRACT Recent advances in hyperspectral remote sensing using hundreds of spectral channels make it possible to derive oceanic variables and to understand the spatial distribution of diverse oceanic phenomena. In this study, hyperspectral measurements were obtained using airborne and ground experiments and hyperspectral data processing techniques were applied for the detection of vessels. The observed hyperspectral data were analysed by using the spectral characteristics of endmembers and a representative spectral mixture analysis technique. The pixels in the image were classified into endmembers by using spectral matching algorithms and the marine library spectra from preliminary experiments. The estimated lengths and widths of the detected ships based on a series of hyperspectral data processing methods show root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.28% and 8.72% with respect to actual ship sizes, respectively. The investigation of the errors revealed that undulating surface waves, surface water penetration of the deck, and the submerged portion of the ship below the water surface potentially contributes to unclear ship boundaries. In this study, an optimal method for the objective determination of the threshold of abundance fractions based on pixels with multiple endmember contributions is proposed. The validation results based on the proposed hyperspectral method are in good agreement with the actual sizes of the ships.