Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Melon/cowpea intercropping pattern influenced the N and C soil cycling and the abundance of soil rare bacterial taxa

The high use of pesticides, herbicides, and unsustainable farming practices resulted in losses of soil quality. Sustainable farming practices such as intercropping could be a good alternative to traditional monocrop, especially using legumes such as cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp). In this study, different melon and cowpea intercropping patterns (melon mixed with cowpea in the same row (MC1); alternating one melon row and one cowpea row (MC2); alternating two melon rows and one cowpea row (MC3)) were assayed to study the intercropping effect on soil bacterial community through 16S rRNA region in a 3-year experiment. The results indicated that intercropping showed high content of total organic carbon, total nitrogen and ammonium, melon yield, and bacterial diversity as well as higher levels of beneficial soil microorganisms such a Pseudomonas, Aeromicrobium, Niastella, or Sphingomonas which can promote plant growth and plant defense against pathogens. Furthermore, intercropping showed a higher rare taxa diversity in two (MC1 and MC2) out of the three intercropping systems. In addition, N-cycling genes such as nirB, nosZ, and amoA were more abundant in MC1 and MC2 whereas the narG predicted gene was far more abundant in the intercropping systems than in the monocrop at the end of the 3-year experiment. This research fills a gap in knowledge about the importance of soil bacteria in an intercropping melon/cowpea pattern, showing the benefits to yield and soil quality with a decrease in N fertilization.
MANAGERIAL, ORGANIZATIONAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF ICT ADOPTION: SURVEY OF ACADEMIC STAFF IN BAUCHI STATE

Information and Communication Technology Adoption (ICTA) among academic staff is of paramount importance towards effective service delivery in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). However, the poor ICTA by many academics in the teaching and learning process is of particular concern especially in Nigeria. Against this background the paper examines the influence of managerial (top management support), organizational (organizational competence and ICT Infrastructure) and technological (perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use) factors on ICTA. A total of 350 structured 5-point likert scale questionnaires were distributed using stratified sampling for the purpose of data collection. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire was tested using Cronbach’s Alpha and factor loading while data was analyzed using multiple regression. The overall model account for 45% of ICTA, the result also revealed that technological factors are the most important driver followed by organizational factors. The research concludes with recommendations, implication and suggestion for research direction.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) The influence of ortho-and para-diphenoloxidase substrates on pigment formation in black yeast-like fungi

Dothideaceous black yeast-like fungi (BYF) are known to synthesise DHN-melanin that is inhibited by the systemic fungicide tricyclazole. The final step of the DHN melanin pathway is the conjoining of 1,8-DHN molecules to form the melanin polymer. There are several candidate enzymes for this step, including phenoloxidases such as tyrosinase and laccases, peroxidases, and perhaps also catalases. We analysed the type polyphenoloxidases that are involved in biosynthesis of BYF melanins. For that purpose we used substrates of o-diphenoloxidases (EC 1.10.3.1.): 4-hydroxyphenyl-pyruvic acid, L-β-phenyllactic acid, tyrosine, pyrocatechol, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine and homogentisic acid, as well as substrates of p-diphenoloxidases (EC 1.10.3.2.): syringaldazine, resorcinol, p-phenylenediamine, phloroglucinol, guaiacol and pyrogallic acid. Fourteen strains of black yeasts originating from different natural biotopes were investigated. The tested strains could be divided into four groups based on their ability to produce dark pigments when cultivated on aromatic substrates of oand on p-diphenoloxidases. It was established that syringaldazine, pyrogallic acid and 4-hydrophenyl-pyruvic acid, β-phenyllactic acid optimally promote melanin biosynthesis. Average intensity of pigmentation of all strains studied was minimal when guaiacol was used as a substrate. The present investigation indicates that the melanisation process may involve more enzymes and more substrates than those commonly recognised. Black yeasts are likely to contain a multipotent polyphenoloxidase.
OF FORMING THE SYSTEM OF ENSURING FINANCIAL STABILITY OF CREDIT INSTITUTIONS

METHODOLOGY OF FORMING THE SYSTEM OF ENSURING FINANCIAL STABILITY OF CREDIT INSTITUTIONS Abstract. This paper is devoted to the research of methodological foundations for ensuring financial stability system of credit institutions. The ensuring credit institutions’ financial stability should be based on the value-oriented, risk-oriented approaches and, above all, on the systemic approach. The formation of a system of ensuring financial stability of credit institutions can’t be set only by the organizational and managerial influence on the unbalancing resources of the credit institutions, but also foresee an arrangement of an appropriate informal institutional environment that would serve as a world-view platform for successful implementation of measures on financial stability. Original results. It’s determined the nature of the system of ensuring financial stability of credit institutions, the goals and targets of its functioning, object and subject composition, internal structure and scientific principles that determine its nature and peculiarities of its interaction with the external environment. The main components of the studied system include: informal institutional environment; formal institutional environment; the methodical (cognitive) and supplying subsystems. The informal institutional environment is one. Its quality influence on the effectiveness of measures to ensure the financial stability of credit institutions and the ability to maintain it in a long-term period. Practical relevance. The functionality of the proposed system largely depends on the quality of corporate ethics and the depth of its implementation in the activities of credit institutions. Thus, fraudulent actions, provoked by a business entity (a credit institution), including intentional actions to create a crisis situation in the institution, cannot be turned away by the system. The proposed system is only capable of managing the real threats to financial stability, namely those caused by objective internal or external factors.
What's next for size-sound symbolism?

This text reviews recent research in phonetic size-sound symbolism – non-arbitrary attributions of size properties to speech acoustic properties. Evidence from a wide range of research works is surveyed, and recent findings from research on the relationships between fundamental frequency, vowel articulation, consonant articulation, phonation type, mora count, and phonemic position, are discussed. It is argued that a satisfactory explanatory model of phonetic size-sound symbolism should meet two criteria: they should be able to explain both (1) the relationship between size and speech acoustics (Association criterion), and (2) the inconsistent findings observed across languages in the relevant literature (the Inconsistency criterion). Five theories are briefly discussed: The frequency code, Embodied cognition, Sound-meaning bootstrapping, Sapir-Whorf hypotheses, and Stochastic drift. It is contended that no currently available explanatory model of size-sound symbolism adequately meets both criteria (1) and (2), but that a combination of perspectives may provide much of the necessary depth. Future directions are also discussed.
Syddansk Universitet Effects on mortality of a nutritional intervention for malnourished HIV-infected adults referred for antiretroviral therapy a randomised controlled trial

Background: Malnourished HIV-infected African adults are at high risk of early mortality after starting antiretroviral therapy (ART). We hypothesized that short-course, high-dose vitamin and mineral supplementation in lipid nutritional supplements would decrease mortality. Methods: The study was an individually-randomised phase III trial conducted in ART clinics in Mwanza, Tanzania, and Lusaka, Zambia. Participants were 1,815 ART-naïve non-pregnant adults with body mass index (BMI) <18.5 kg/m who were referred for ART based on CD4 count <350 cells/μL or WHO stage 3 or 4 disease. The intervention was a lipid-based nutritional supplement either without (LNS) or with additional vitamins and minerals (LNS-VM), beginning prior to ART initiation; supplement amounts were 30 g/day (150 kcal) from recruitment until 2 weeks after starting ART and 250 g/day (1,400 kcal) from weeks 2 to 6 after starting ART. The primary outcome was mortality between recruitment and 12 weeks of ART. Secondary outcomes were serious adverse events (SAEs) and abnormal electrolytes throughout, and BMI and CD4 count at 12 weeks ART. Results: Follow-up for the primary outcome was 91%. Median adherence was 66%. There were 181 deaths in the LNS group (83.7/100 person-years) and 184 (82.6/100 person-years) in the LNS-VM group (rate ratio (RR), 0.99; 95% CI, 0.80–1.21; P = 0.89). The intervention did not affect SAEs or BMI, but decreased the incidence of low serum phosphate (RR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.55–0.97; P = 0.03) and increased the incidence of high serum potassium (RR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.19–2.15; P = 0.002) and phosphate (RR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.10–1.37; P <0.001). Mean CD4 count at 12 weeks post-ART was 25 cells/μL (95% CI, 4–46) higher in the LNS-VM compared to the LNS arm (P = 0.02). Conclusions: High-dose vitamin and mineral supplementation in LNS, compared to LNS alone, did not decrease mortality or clinical SAEs in malnourished African adults initiating ART, but improved CD4 count. The higher frequency of elevated serum potassium and phosphate levels suggests high-level electrolyte supplementation for all patients is inadvisable but the addition of micronutrient supplements to ART may provide clinical benefits in these patients. Trial registration: PACTR201106000300631, registered on 1 June 2011.
SUPERIMPOSITION-SP : 304 / 04

Skull/image superimposition is the most prevalent method by which unknown skulls are being identified, since a photograph of the suspected dead person may be easily obtained from the victim's family. The sculls were photographed under the same angle as the head of the subjects during their lives. The most delicate part of the work was the correct positioning of the scull on the stand, and proportional magnification of the scull image. The Adobe Photoshop 6.0. (PWW600R724387 473) computer program was used during the experiments. After being incorporated in the computer memory, digitalized images of the scull and face were put one over the other and showed on the monitor in order to determine their possible congruence or differences. A special attention was paid to the congruence of the same anthropometrical spots of the scull with the face, as well as to following their contours. The process of fitting the skull into the image usually begins by positioning the eyes in correct relation to the orbits. The skull must not be broader or longer than the soft tissue on the image, and the chin, mouth, nose, ears and so on, should be in their correct positions. All difficulties, associated with the superpositioning process were recorded, with the special attention to the critical evaluation of negative and positive superimposition. The social justification of this method for identification, on both state and international level (Interpol) was noted. The paper has been fully illustrated with images showing all stages of the work by chronological and logical order. This is the one of the first papers trying to complete superimposition in our country.
‘ Is this wallet made of real leaves ? ’ : A Study of the Emotions Evoked by Sustainable Materials

In a linear economy most resources used are disposed of at the end of their life. In order to move towards a more sustainable future, many product stakeholders are adopting circular economy processes hence taking a different approach to how materials are currently sourced, produced, used and disposed of. The central aim is to circulate the flows of materials and minimise the ecological impact of materials. Following the direction set by the circular economy, many products that are made of sustainable materials such as recycled post consumer waste and renewable materials have been developed. These sustainable materials often have unique sensorial qualities and the brands marketing these products seem to make a strategic use of the biography of the materials by providing information about the resource origin, both to position themselves as well as to accentuate their environmental concerns. Nevertheless, little is known about how users experience these materials. This paper reports a preliminary study to understand users’ emotional experiences resulting from interaction with sustainable materials. Ten study participants were prompted with ten stimuli made of sustainable materials. They were asked to report their emotional responses towards the stimuli and describe the reasons for the emotions triggered by the stimuli. This study has found that the stimuli evoked 163 emotions consisting of 114 positive emotions and 49 negative emotions. The most reported positive emotion is ‘surprise’, whereas the most reported negative emotion is ‘disgust’. The emotions were clustered into seven positive emotion typologies and four negative emotion typologies. The analysis of the emotion reports led to the identification of 170 emotional triggers in the form of appraisal themes. Four prominent appraisal themes were identified, namely systemic, expressive semantic, sensorial and technical appraisals. The interplay of these themes in participants’ evaluation of sustainable materials caused a mix of positive and negative emotions to be evoked by most stimuli. Systemic appraisals pertained predominantly to the benefits and the impact of material use and were always positive, whereas other appraisal themes evoked both positive and negative emotions thus contributing to ambigous feelings towards the stimuli. Only two recycled plastics stimuli that embody conventional sensorial properties were found to elicit little negative emotions. In contrast, stimuli with unconventional sensorial properties made of unfamiliar materials evoked a larger number of negative emotions. This research sheds new light on the emotional experiences of sustainable materials supporting the journey to facilitate their uptake.
Effect of Leucaena and Gliricidia Supplementation on N Balance and Urinary Purine Derivative Excretion of Sheep Fed Ammonia Treated Rice Straw

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of Leucaena leucocephala (Leucaena) and Gliricidia sepium (Gliricidia) supplementation on nitrogen balance and urinary purine derivative (PD) excretions of sheep fed ammoniated rice straw (ARS). Three cannulated wethers were used and were fed ad libitum with ARS alone or ARS supplemented with 200 g of either Leucaena or Gliricidia. Supplementation increased total nitrogen (N) intake (p < 0.05), subsequently resulting in improved N utilization. Nitrogen balance revealed that absorbed and retained N was significantly higher in the 2 supplemented groups. The higher total urinary PD excretions in the Leucaena and Gliricidia fed group indicated a higher microbial N supply compared with the ARS only group. In conclusion the added N from Leucaena and Gliricidia improved N utilization and microbial nitrogen supply in sheep receiving ARS diets, and N from Gliricidia could elicit similar effect as that from Leucaena.
Effect Of Strategic Human Resource Management practices On The Performance Of Bidco Africa Limited

viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Background of the Study . 1 1.1.1 Strategic Human Resource Management . 2 1.1.2 Organization Performance . 3 1.1.3 BIDCO Limited . 4 1.2 Research Problem . 5 1.3 Research Objective . 8 1.4 Value of the Study . 9 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW . 10 2.
Discrete Cosine Transform , Discrete Wavelet Transform , Stationary Wavelet transform order statistic filters Corresponding

Received Jan 12 th , 2018 Revised Apr 20 th , 2018 Accepted Jun 26 th , 2018 The Image denoising is the retrieval of quality image from the noisy image corrupted by channel noise at the time of transmission. Without denoising process it becomes very tough to carry further analysis on these types of images. In this paper, transform based image denoising techniques are proposed to address these issues for the removal of noise. The flow of work initiated with generation of sub-band coefficients using transform techniques like DCT, DWT, SWT etc. These coefficients are under goes spatial filtering process with order statistic filters like (min, max, median etc.) Then inverse transform is applied on the processes coefficients to generate denoised image. The resultant image is noiseless quality image and this can be used for further analysis. Keyword:
The Effect of pH and Aging Time on The Synthesis of TiO 2 – Chitosan Nanocomposites as Photocatalyst by Sol-Gel Method at Room Temperature

The synthesis of TiO2–chitosan nanocomposite photocatalyst using Titanium(IV)-Isopropoxide (TTIP) as precursors and chitosan as host material has been conducted. The synthesis was carried out using a sol-gel method at room temperature and aging to grow crystal seeds and generate nanoparticles. The success of forming nano-sized anatase phase TiO2 nanocrystal was strongly influenced by the sol pH system during hydrolysis and the aging time. The effect of sol pH system and aging time to the crystallinity level and particle size were examined using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Diffuse Reflectance UV-Spectroscopy (DR-UV). The results showed that TiO2 produced in acidic pHs (pH 2-4) tended to have higher crystallinity level than that produced in weakly alkaline (pH > 6), which prone to be amorphous. The longer aging time (> 14 days) also tended to produce the amorphous phase. Furthermore, chitosan as a host material had a notable influence in determining the crystallinity level and particle size of TiO2 in TiO2–chitosan nanocomposite.
Consensus Statement on Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke Stroke Council-Argentine Society of Cardiology

This consensus of experts was made to provide management recommendations during the first 6 hours after an ischemic stroke. A systematic review of the literature published in the Medline database from January 1965 to June 2011 was performed. The collected information was classified following the American Heart Association guidelines to establish the Level of Evidence (Appendix 1). In the absence of clinical trials to account for indications, recommendations were based on expert opinion, taking into account Good Clinical Practice Guidelines (GCPG). Applicability of these recommendations was evaluated according to the 2005 Directions for the Adaptation of Clinical Practice Guidelines of the Epidemiological Research Institute of the National Academy of Medicine in Argentina, which considers a range from 1 to 7 to establish applicability according to the following parameters: organization and operation of the health care system, population needs, costs, resources availability, beliefs, values of the target population, and equity (Appendix 2). (1) Stroke is a serious public health issue in Argentina, producing a significant burden of disease in terms of healthy life-years lost due to disability and premature death. According to data provided by the World Health Organization, 15 million people are affected every year by cerebrovascular diseases out of which one third dies and another third is permanently disabled. (2) Stroke is the second cause of death and the first cause of disability in the adult population. (3, 4) There is only one study on the prevalence of cerebrovascular disease in Argentina, conducted in the city of Junín, with 79.6% ischemic events and 20.4% hemorrhagic reported events. Point prevalence ratio was 868.1 cases per 100000 inhabitants (473.4/100000 rate adjusted to the worldwide population). In both sexes, prevalence increased with age, and significant disability was reported in 52% of the cases. (5) Two hospital registries in Argentina provided data on the most prevalent vascular risk factors, the type of events, and the implementation of fibrinolytic therapy in ischemic stroke. The first registry was the ARENAS study, conducted for six months by the Stroke Council of the Argentine Society of Cardiology, with the participation of 84 centers throughout the country, including data from 1235 patients. The major risk factor was arterial hypertension (78.5%), followed by history of heart disease (34%), smoking (32%), dyslipidemia (31%), previous stroke (22%), diabetes (17%), and atrial fibrillation (15%). (6)
Open innovation , external information sourcing and time-based competition

At least since the 1980s when Japanese products challenged existing world markets, it is well-known amongst scholars and practitioners that lead time advantages are a crucial factor in competition. Consequently, this paper argues that certain innovation strategies might be conducive for achieving an effective lead-time advantage with respect to innovation. In particular, open innovation and external knowledge sourcing may be systematically used to incrementally innovate and thus obtain an effective lead-time advantage over rivals’ products. In this paper, I study, based on firm level Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data, how the effectiveness of using lead time advantages as a means of appropriation is influenced by the openness of the innovation process in general and the information search strategy more specific. I find that firms with a closed innovation process, i.e. indicating they realized their innovations or imitations without involvement of external parties, are having a harder time to profit from lead time advantages. Firms drawing information from consumers, suppliers, and science are benefiting from more effective appropriation from lead time advantages. The effects of drawing information from competitors and consultants are insignificant. Furthermore, I find decreasing returns to the efficiency of using lead time advantage for appropriation from both breadth and depth of the external search strategy. Lead time advantages can seemingly come with diverse and deep knowledge sourcing, with diminishing returns, however.
Draft 1 1 Scientists ’ warning on wildfire — a Canadian perspective 2

Journal: Canadian Journal of Forest Research Manuscript ID cjfr-2019-0094.R1 Manuscript Type: Review Date Submitted by the Author: 10-May-2019 Complete List of Authors: Coogan, Sean; University of Alberta, Renewable Resources Robinne, François-Nicolas; University of Alberta, Renewable Resources jain, piyush; Natural Resources Canada Flannigan, Mike; University of Alberta Keyword: wildfire, climate change, Scientists' Warning, fire ecology, fire hydrology Is the invited manuscript for consideration in a Special Issue? : Not applicable (regular submission)