Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Risk‐Assessment System for Screening Out Invasive Pest Plants from Hawaii and Other Pacific Islands

Abstract: Ecosystems of Hawaii and other Pacific Islands have been greatly affected by invasive pest plants, and ongoing, deliberate plant introductions make it likely that additional pest plants will become established. We tested the ability of a modified version of the Australian and New Zealand weed risk‐assessment system to identify pest plants in Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. We used information taken from outside Hawaii to predict the behavior—“pest” or “not a pest”—of almost 200 plant species introduced to Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. The screening system initially recommended further evaluation of 24% of these species, but an additional secondary screening was applied to this group, thereby reducing the rate of indecision to only 8%. To independently test the accuracy of the screening system, we compared its decisions—pest or not a pest—to opinions of 25 expert botanists and weed scientists who had substantial field experience in Hawaii or other Pacific Islands. We asked the experts to rate each species as “major pest,”“minor pest,” or “not a pest” in native or managed ecosystems. The screening system correctly identified 95% of major pests and 85% of nonpests. Among minor pests identified by the experts, 33% were classified as nonpests by the screening system. Use of the screening system to assess proposed plant introductions to Hawaii or other Pacific Islands and to identify high‐risk species used in horticulture and forestry would greatly reduce future pest‐plant problems and allow entry of most nonpests. The screening process is objective, rapid, and cost‐efficient. With minor modifications, it is likely to be useful in many parts of the world.
The effect of intravenously given dexketoprofen trometamol on postoperative pain in ovariohysterectomized dogs

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the postoperative analgesic effect of dexketoprofen trometamol in dogs subjected to ovariohysterectomy. Materials and Methods: Seventeen adult bitches were randomly allocated to two groups. Dexketoprofen trometamol (n=10, 1 mg/kg, IV) was administered to DEX group after recovery of anaesthesia, while those assigned to the control (C) group (n=7) were not given any analgesic after recovery of anesthesia. The ovariohysterectomy procedure was performed on all dogs by the same researcher using a median laparotomy access. Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR) and body temperature were measured during the postoperative period. Pain level was assessed by two researchers 0, 1, 4 and 6 hours after surgery. A modified University of Melbourne Pain Scale (UMPS) was used to evaluate pain in both groups. Results: According to modified UMPS test, postoperative first hour pain score decreased statistically significant (P 0.05) determined at other measurement times. Conclusions: The presence of stable vital signs of dexketoprofen administration is a promising finding. Dexketoprofen may used for postoperative pain management in dogs due to its clinical advantage shown by the pain scale.
Plant species size and density‐dependent effects on growth and survival

Question: Experimental evidence suggests that competition among plant species is generally hierarchical and that relatively large species are at a competitive advantage when competition is predominantly above-ground. However, regional species pools are dominated numerically by relatively small plant species, and small species generally have higher local densities of resident plants within natural communities. One explanation is that larger plant species suffer disproportionately more under effects of intra-specific competition (i.e. greater density dependence). We tested this prediction using ten herbaceous plant species in a competition experiment. Location: Kingston, Ontario, Canada, glasshouse. Methods: Using a glasshouse experiment, we tested whether relatively large species suffer disproportionately more in monoculture relative to mixtures of all ten herbaceous plant species. We measured the effects of competition on biomass production and survival by monitoring both in monocultures and mixtures of our species. Results: Larger plant species suffered more under intra-specific relative to diffuse inter-specific competition in terms of survival; however, the slope of this relationship was not significantly greater than one, indicating that larger species did not suffer disproportionate density-dependent suppression. Conclusions: Our results support a role for size in plant competition, but also indicate that this role is reduced because relatively larger species suffer greater density-dependent mortality when competing with other, equally large plants. As such, size-based competitive hierarchies may not function as clearly in natural systems because the increased negative density dependence for larger species contributes to balancing out competition across size hierarchies.
Survey on Various Routing Protocols WSN

This paper surveys recent routing protocols for sensor networks and presents a classification for the various approaches pursued. The three main categories explored in this paper are data-centric, hierarchical and location-based. Each routing protocol is described and discussed under the appropriate category. Moreover, protocols using contemporary methodologies such as network flow and quality of service modeling are also discussed.
Use of a probiotic yeast strain in technology of bread from wheat flour

For the modern bakery is interesting to study yeast strains with good biotechnological properties and simultaneously antagonistic activity against pathogens of microbial spoilage of bread. The purpose of research — to study the effect of the probiotic strain of S. cerevisiae RCAM 01730 on the technological parameters of preparation of bread from wheat flour on the quality indicators of finished products and the suppression of rope in bread. Yeast antagonistic activity against spore-forming bacteria were determined by diffusion into agar. Immediate and total gas evolution in dough was evaluated using automatic risograph (USA). In order to detect signs of disease of rope in bread used method of placement the products in provoking conditions. The antagonistic activity of the strain of yeast S. cerevisiae RCAM 01730 with respect to the bacteria of the genus Bacillus was determined. The results of the research of the possibility of using a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae RCAM 01730 in wheat bread technology with sponge dough, straight dough, rapid dough methods were represented. It is shown that the use of a strain of S. cerevisiae RCAM 01730 instead of 02150 S. cerevisiae RCAM accelerating gas formation in the dough, intensifies the maturation process of the dough. The study found that a strain of the yeast S. cerevisiae RCAM 01730 has a bacteriostatic effect on the pathogens of potato disease of bread. In contrast to existing labor-intensive and time-consuming biological methods of combating microbial spoilage of bread, the use of the yeast S. cerevisiae RCAM 01730 can be an effective way to increase microbiological resistance without any additional costs.
An Indirect Approach to Construct Insurance Service Price Index

We propose an indirect method to construct the price index for insurance sector, which does not require (or partially requires) the knowledge of prices of various products across time. It is important to appreciate that pricing of products is done actuarially with statistical adjustments by the insurance provider, which have underlying assumptions and several bases, such as, mortality rate, discounting rate (or interest rate), lapse rate etc. These bases do change over time, which leads to corresponding changes in the price of insurance products. Nevertheless, the mathematical framework remains the same. Accordingly, rather than tracking the prices of products as such, it is demonstrated to track the changes in these said bases over time, which could indirectly measure the change in prices of products without knowing them. The paper provides illustrations from hypothetical products and displays very interesting applications. In the end, it discusses the need to have close coordination between the government’s statistical office/regulator, the constructor of index, and the insurer, one of the users of index. This is because the knowledge of changes in the bases rests with the insurer, which would be required to construct the indices under the proposed approach.
A Novel 3D Object Categorization and Retrieval System Using Geometric Features

In this paper, we propose a novel geometric features based method to categorize 3D models using probabilistic neural network and support vector machine classifiers. The employed features are extracted from face and vertex characteristics. In addition, we utilize the proposed features in 3D object retrieval. To achieve this end, each model is decomposed into a set of local/global geometrical features. We use histograms of two variables, i.e., deviation angle of normal vector on the object surface point from the vector that connect shape center to that point; and distance of object surface point from shape center. To achieve better separability of different models, mutual Euclidean distance histogram for the pairs of surface points is also used. The most advantage of using histogram to represent the features is that it shows the density of data and enables creating of low dimensional feature vector and consequently decreasing of computational cost in classification process. The effectiveness of our proposed 3D object categorization system has been evaluated on the generalized McGill 3D model dataset in terms of both accuracy and speed measures. Widespread experimental results and comparison with the other similar methods, demonstrate efficiency of the proposed approach to improve both accuracy and speed of categorization system.
Teachers' perception of the differences in the reading profiles of students with dyslexia and the role of dyslexia assessment for an appropriate choice of teaching strategy

The paper discusses how literacy teachers approach the differences in the reading profiles of their students with dyslexia, and the value of an available diagnosis of dyslexia in their choosing the most appropriate teaching methods. The research was carried out in the Greater London area in 2014. It involved interviews with six practitioners directly involved in teaching reading skills to pupils with dyslexia in various capacities. All of the participants demonstrated awareness of the wide range of difficulties on the dyslexia spectrum. This underlay their commitment to personalized teaching based on a detailed assessment of the pupils' weaknesses and strengths. Provided that such an assessment and special educational expert's recommendations for teaching were available to inform their approach, five out of the six interviewees, who were working only at a school level, did not find the availability of a diagnosis of dyslexia necessary. However, the participant with the most extensive expertise, occupying a leadership role in a borough's literacy support centre, strongly defended and insisted on the existence and the instructional necessity of the dyslexia category. The overall conclusion is that applying the most appropriate teaching strategies would depend on the availability of a detailed assessment, which poses the question how teachers who have no access to such information will be able to adjust their instruction to the needs of the particular student.
DOD-DOA Estimation Based on Cyclic Statistics of Bistatic MIMO Radar

Focused on the DOD-DOA estimation of bistatic MIMO radar, we present a method using cyclostationary broadband signal to process MUSIC algorithm. More information is carried in broadband signal and its cyclostationary property restrains Gaussian noise as well as interference from different frequencies effectively. The result of simulation shows that the method has high angel resolution and signal selectivity.
Effect of sound environment on homework performance

Noise may impair childhood development and education, which may have lifelong effects on academic achievement and health. Children are known to be exposed to unhealthy levels of noise at home and at school. Long term exposure to environmental noise, especially to airport noise, in schools, effect attention, comprehension, recall and recognition skills. Acute noise exposure was found to effect recall and recognition in students. Irrelevant speech, even in an unfamiliar language, interferes with serial recall skills and causes attentional distraction. Although the studies on noise exposure of children are executed in schools, home learning environment should provide auditory comfort conditions for homework performance. In this study, the effect of various sound environments on homework performance was investigated through the duration and correctness of solving algebraic equations in multiple choice tests. High school students (17-18 years, N=32) solved quadratic equations listening to sound clips (LAeq=55 dBA): quiet (no sound), aircraft takeoff sound, continuous road traffic sound, verbal television sound, a music piece and children playing (talking, screaming, running). Statistically, aircraft, verbal and children sounds effected homework performance, road traffic and music piece did not. Playing children sounds, which include speech, screaming and running, had a more impairing effect than speech from television, even though they had the same equivalent sound level. Participants’ self-reported activity disturbance was dependent on the duration to solve the algebraic equations. The study shows the importance of sound insulation against airport noise, neighbor noise and even noise inside the home, for the academic performance of children.
The Impact of IFRS Adoption on Accounting Conservatism in the European Union

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to analyze mandatory IFRS adoption’s impact on accounting conservatism. Design/methodology/approach – Our empirical study is conducted on a sample of 15 European countries, observed from the year 2000 to 2010. We analyze both conditional and unconditional conservatism, which we measured, respectively, by timely bad news recognition as compared to recognition of good news and discretionary accruals. Findings – The results of the empirical study confirm a significant reduction of accounting conservatism in the IFRS adoption period. This reduction is affected by the accounting model prevailing in a particular country. Moreover, the study shows a reduction of the gap between the two accounting models in the post-IFRS adoption period. Practical implications – The results obtained would be relevant for many decision makers such as investors, standard setters, IASB, European Union countries as well as those wishing to adopt International Standards. Originality/value – Our study complements and enriches the existent literature about the impact of the International Standards adoption. It dresses an important issue in a relatively long period to better assess the impact of IFRS.
RESHAPING THE BUSINESS NETWORKS - A STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF REGULATIONS ON THE CO-OPERATION

This paper purports to explore how changes in regulations affect the co-operation in business networks in practice. Regulations are often used by governmental authorities as a tool to steer the market. Governmental authorities tend to strive towards perfect markets and avoid market failures by trying to influence industries through rules and regulations. For this reason, some markets can be described as more protected than other markets, i.e. they are characterised by high degree of regulations and control from the authorities. When governmental authorities are not satisfied with how markets perform new regulations or changes in existing regulations can be introduced. When the regulations are changed in an industry so are the circumstances for business activities. The question is whether governmental authorities can steer actors in existing networks or not? Extending the question above this paper seeks to explore the influence of expected and introduced changes in regulations on relationship and network development in protected industries. The results show that the effects of changes in regulations vary and are difficult to predict. It is argued that this can be explained through the translation processes taking place in the networks.
GOLD RECOVERY OF REFRACTORY SULFIDE CONCENTRATES USING DIRECT CYANIDE LEACHING WITH NITRITE AS AN OXIDANT

The problem of refractory sulfide gold ore that has a gold recovery less than 50% when direct cyanidation applied, still exists until now. It needs oxidative pretreatment for cyanidation to be effective in gold recovery the objective of this study is figuring out the effect of sodium nitrite as an oxidizing reagent on cyanidation of refractory gold ore. Cyanide leaching of the concentrate was performed at 20%-w/w of solid (500 gram of refractory sulfide gold ore concentrate) in a 2.5-liter glass reactor with aeration and stirred at 250 rpm. Leach solutions were prepared using deionized-distilled water at the prescribed concentration of reagents. Recovery of gold increased gradually to its maximum value of 93.05% as the value of cyanide strength increased from 0.8 to 1.2% and the addition of sodium nitrite raise to 1.2 M. No improvement for further addition of nitrites. This introduction of new hydrometallurgical pre-treatment process has given more option for treating refractory ores.
Inclination of Iraqi Medical Students Towards Creative Thinking : A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background: There have been several attempts in the past centuries to quantify the human intelligence, many of these attempts were successful. On the other hand, there have been parallel trials to identify and quantify an individual’s creativity. To date, there is no universal definition of creativity nor a quantifying system to measure it with a reliable accuracy. Materials and Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study in an Iraqi population of undergraduate medical students aged 18-20 years; the male-to-female ratio is 3 to 10. The total number of participants was 195 (n=195) who were allocated into three groups; A, B, and C (nA=67, nB=61, nC=67). Each group was interviewed separately, and the participants were given a choice to either correspond to a quiz on an already taught medical subject or write down ideas (one or more) with creative-innovative potentials. There was no restriction on time, language, or the theme of the topics to be written. Results: There was a significant difference in between the three groups’ tendency to take the quiz (p-value=0.040). However, inter-group and intra-group analyses failed to detect any significant difference in students’ tendencies towards either a creative or a classical form of thinking. Besides, gender was not found to be of a determinant effect on an individual’s tendency towards creativity (p=0.633) or traditional thinking based on an already taught medical knowledge (0.905). Conclusion: There were no statistically significant differences in the tendencies of students towards either an original (creative) or a standard pattern of thinking. However, inter-group analyses indicated some substantial differences in students’ affinity towards exploring an already taught medical knowledge.
Enhancing the Credibility of Agent-Based Model for the Study of Workers' Group Behavior by Comparing Simulation Data with Survey Data

Construction workers’ behavior is an important factor of productivity and safety on a job site. Worker behavior is not only determined by individual’s inherent characteristics, but also largely shaped by contexts which include the social interactions within a project. As a result, construction workers’ behavior on a job site is under the influence of the social norms and work culture of their workgroup. However, our current understanding of the social aspect of worker behavior is limited. To expand our understanding of workers’ social behavior and its impact on project performance, researchers have begun using an agent-based modeling approach because it allows researchers to observe the complex group-level behavior emerging from individuals’ interactions. One of the important issues in using agent-based models for organizational research is enhancing the credibility of model predictions. With this background in mind, the objective of this paper is to propose a methodology that can help enhance the credibility of an agent-based model for the study of workers’ social behavior using survey data. Specifically, it is suggested in this paper that the perceptual/attitudinal/behavioral data from surveys and the corresponding data from simulations be transformed into categorical data, and then compared to each other to show a quantitative agreement of the model behavior with empirical data. The proposed methodology is illustrated by an example of construction workers’ absenteeism research that we have conducted. With the results of this research, it is argued that demonstrating the correspondence of simulation data to survey data using a data categorization method is an effective means to enhance the credibility of an agent-based model.
Sanitary quality of sands from marine recreational beaches of São Paulo, Brazil

A sanitary evaluation of sand and water from 16 beaches of Sao Paulo State, Brazil, was undertaken during spring of 1997 and summer of 1998. Ninety six samples each of wet and dry sand and seawater were collected and analysed for fecal indicator bacteria. A parasitological examination and Candida albicans analysis were also performed in sand samples and F-specific bacteriophages were determined in seawater. Statistical analysis of the results demonstrated higher concentrations of fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci in dry sand during summer. Correlation analysis indicated a significant relationship between fecal indicator densities in wet sand and seawater. There was a significant correlation between the densities of fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci for both types of sand, and this correlation was higher in wet sand. Cysts and eggs of parasites were detected in 4.2% of the samples and Candida albicans was isolated in 18% of the samples. The high concentrations of fecal indicators detected in sand during summer demonstrate that there is a health risk to the users of these recreational areas and suggest the necessity of some criteria for microbiological control. Preventive measures, such as education campaings and some management actions are important precautionary measures.
Inquiry-Based Laboratory Practices in a Science Teacher Training Program.

In this study, the effects of inquiry-based learning practices on the scientific process skills, creative thinking, and attitudes towards science experiments of preservice science teachers have been analyzed. A non-experimental quantitative analysis method, the single-group pre test posttest design, has been used. In order to observe the scientific skill level development of pre-service teachers, the Scientific Process Skills Test and experiment worksheets have been used. Furthermore, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking has been used for determining the development of creative thinking levels and to specify the development of attitudes towards science experiments, the Attitude Scale towards Understanding the Purpose of Science Experiments has been used. At the end of the study, it was determined that inquirybased laboratory practices improved the scientific process skills and all creative thinking levels and attitudes towards science experiments of pre-service science teachers.