Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of alkaline fertilizer and rice cultivation (Oryza sativa L.) on remediation of soils polluted with cadmium (Cd)

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a simple and feasible methodology which makes possible restoration of soils polluted by cadmium using two types of fertilizers (alkaline and conventional), and the technique of phytoremediation (low rice variety, and hyper accumulator of cadmium). Methodology and results: Its application mode was experimented at Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Environmentally Friendly Fertilizer Engineering Technology in Guangzhou, republic of china. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse, with an average daytime temperature of 25.5°C, in the city of Guangzhou (China). Polyethylene pots with an inner diameter of 25 cm and a height of 25 cm were each filled with 5 kg of air-dried soil and passed through a 1cmx1cm mesh of a sieve. Four factors were studied, soil contamination level (soil contaminated with Cd, soil with low Cd contamination), pH of the fertilizer (high, pH = 9.5, normal pH 5.8), dosage of the fertilizer applied (low level, medium level, high level) and low Cd accumulating rice variety (Xiangwanxian 12) and hyper Cd accumulating rice (Yuzhenxiang). Soil samples taken from a depth of 0 to 30 cm were delivered to the laboratory for analyses. Results obtained showed that the soil pH was higher with the treatment of alkaline fertilizer compared to that of normal fertilizer. The pH in the soil contaminated with Cd was 5.80 (alkaline fertilizer applied), higher than that of 5.74 (normal fertilizer applied), alkaline fertilizer improve pH soil, cure Cd pollution, bring to rice specific nutrients, at specific moment that rice need to growth and achieve the effect of inhibiting soil pollution, more in hyper accumulation rice than that low accumulation one. Conclusion and application of results: The results should be helpful in determining appropriate amounts of alkaline fertilizer rice farmers should use to return farm land to productive food crop use, beyond that it was thought cane would be helpful in cadmium uptake from soil. Some rice farmers were reluctant to follow this transition and insisted on growing their rice for survival, alkaline fertilizers can better stop soil pollution and increase the soil pH value. The application of alkaline fertilizer achieves the effect of "controlling Cd pollution with fertilizer".
Scarring Recessions and Credit Constraints: Evidence from Colombian Firm Dynamics

Using a rich dataset of Colombian manufacturing establishments between 1995 and 2004, we illustrate potential scarring effects of recessions operating through credit constraints. In contrast with the view that recessions are times of cleansing, we find that financially constrained businesses might be forced to exit the market during recessions even if they are highly productive. For instance, during recessions, an establishment with TFP at the lowest 10 percentile but not facing credit constraints has the same exit probability as a constrained plant with TFP at least as high as the 39 percentile. The gap is much smaller during expansions. The contribution of the paper is threefold. First, it evaluates the role played by credit constraints in explaining firm dynamics throughout the business cycle, a phenomenon the literature has dealt with mostly from a theoretical standpoint. Second, it sheds light on the implied long-run consequences of exits induced by lack of credit on efficiency. Finally, it is the only study we know of providing direct evidence to judge the empirical merits of proposed micro foundations behind the long-run consequences of crises.
Marine macrophyte composition during summer, southwest and northeast monsoons in Verde Island, Batangas City, Batangas, Philippines

Verde Island Passage is the world’s center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity, located in southwestern Luzon Island in the Philippines. The passage is named after Verde Island, which is located at its middle. Although the island is located within a key biodiversity area, studies on its marine macrophyte biodiversity are scant. The present study was conducted to determine the composition, distribution, and dominance of marine macrophytes, specifically seaweeds and seagrass, during the northeast monsoon, summer, and southwest monsoon in four coastal areas in Verde Island using the line transect-quadrat method. Results revealed 63 macrophyte species, of which 92% were seaweeds and 8% were seagrass. The majority of the seaweeds were green (41%), followed by red (35%) and brown (16%) seaweeds. In most sites, the brown seaweed Padina sp. was dominant during summer and cover decreased during both monsoons. The green seaweed Neomeris annulata was present in all sites and seasons. The differences in cover across sites may be due to substratum type and topography where a relatively wider intertidal zone with different substratum such as rocky and sandy to muddy provides complex habitat promoting higher macrophyte cover. Temporal differences in marine macrophyte composition were more pronounced in macroalgae-dominated sites than in the seagrass-dominated site. Several important seaweeds that could be studied as bioindicators were recorded, such as Padina sp. , which registered high cover especially in sites near populated areas and backyard pig pens. Ulva spp. , which are known to form green tide blooms, and Caulerpa verticillata were also noted and should be monitored. Some red seaweeds with potential for cultivation were observed (i.e., Halymenia durvillei and Portieria hornemannii). Claudea sp. , an uncommon red seaweed with limited distribution in the Philippines, was recorded and needs verification. This study is the first extensive marine macrophyte assessment at the heart of the Verde Island Passage. KEYWORDS: biodiversity, bioindicator, eutrophication, microbenthic algae, seagrass, Verde Island Passage
Evaluation of antidepressant effects of hydroalcoholic extract of Kelussia odoratissima Mozaffarian in male mice

Background and aims: Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders with serious impacts on individuals, and is often associated with physiological symptoms. In this study, we investigated the antidepressant effects of Kelussia odoratissima Mozaffarian extract in male mice. Methods: A total of 56 male mice (weight: 25-35 g; age: 6-8 weeks) were used. K. odoratissima Mozaffarian hydroalcoholic extract was prepared by maceration method. The forced swim test, open field test, and splash test were used to investigate the antidepressant effects. The mice were assigned into eight equal groups (n=7 each) as follows: receiving 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg/kg of K. odoratissima Mozaffarian extract; receiving 5 mg/kg reserpine; receiving 5 mg/kg reserpine along with 20 mg fluoxetine; and normal saline. All injections were done intraperitoneally for one week before the test. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and antioxidant capacity of serum and brain were also measured in all groups. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s test. Results: Extract of K. odoratissima Mozaffarian significantly decreased the immobility time in forced swim test (P<0.001). The extract also significantly increased splash time and elapsed time in the open field test, which was statistically significant compared with reserpinated mice (P<0.001). Reserpine increased MDA levels and decreased the antioxidant capacity of serum and brain, whereas hydroalcoholic extract of K. odoratissima decreased MDA dose-dependently and increased antioxidant capacity (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that hydroalcoholic extract of K. odoratissima has antidepressant effects, but further studies are necessary to investigate the involved mechanisms.
CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOVERNMENT SIZE AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN TURKEY: EVIDENCE FROM THE TODA-YAMAMOTO APPROACH

The main objective of this paper is to test whether there exists a causal linkage between government size and economic growth for Turkey over the period 1961 and 2016. To this end, the ARDL bounds test and Toda-Yamamoto (1995) Granger-causality tests are used. Empirical findings show that there is a cointegration relationship between the two variables. The findings also yield different results changing in accordance with the proxy measure used for the size of government. Regarding government spending related proxy measures, there is a one-way causality running from government size to economic growth that confirm the validity of the Keynesian‘s view on the government spending-growth nexus. However, when tax related proxy measures are considered, the results partially differ. Accordingly, in case of direct taxes, there is oneway causality running from direct taxes to economic growth but when it comes to indirect taxes, this causal relationship reverses, running from economic growth to indirect taxes.
CONSTRUCTION OF PREDICTION OF DYNAMIC RISK MEASURES VAR AND CVAR FOR FINANCIAL TIME SERIES WITH DIFFERENT VOLATILITY

The article considers the method of constructing of predictive values of dynamic risk measures VaR and CVaR on the basis of an optimizational smoothing of autocorrelation function, proposed by the authors in the previous works. The method is based on the heteroscedastic time series model and is designed to predict the time series with long range dependence. For dispersion modeling the FIGARCH model is used, which is reduced to the AR model of the infinite order. In this paper, we study the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method for obtaining predicted values of dynamic risk measures VaR and CVaR for time series with different volatility. We consider tree time series of logarithmic return on a daily basis of the Nasdaq-100 index over the period 2005-2015: the original time series data, and two modified time series obtained from the original by deleting time periods with high volatility. So we have the opportunity to compare the forecasts built for data with similar statistical characteristics, but different volatility. The forecast values of risk measures are built in accordance with the procedure of direct multi-step prediction. Analysis of the predicted values is carried out using the Kupiec test, the Kristoffersen, the V-test and analysis of Probability of Exceedance values. The obtained predicted values and test results are shown in the figures and are displayed in tables. The analysis of the test results shows the effectiveness of this approach for obtaining risk measures VaR and CVaR prediction values for time series with long range dependence in a wide range of volatility. The proposed algorithm allowes to obtain the forecast that qualitatively repeats both the regular behavior and emissions of time series.
Utilisation of industrial by-products in water treatment : carbon-and silicate-based materials as adsorbents for metals and sulphate removal

Pollutant (such as metals and sulphate) contamination exists in the wastewaters of many industries, including mining operations, metal plating facilities, and tanneries. Adsorption is one of the most commonly used processes for the removal of pollutants from waters and wastewaters due to its high efficiency and simple operation. Activated carbon is the most frequently used adsorbent material, although its high cost inhibits its widespread use in wastewater treatment. Therefore, there is a need to develop other adsorbents from alternative inexpensive raw materials such as locally available industrial and mineral waste and by-products. The aim of this thesis was to study the possibility of using industrial waste materials such as carbon residue, metakaolin, blast-furnace slag and analcime as an inexpensive sorbent for iron, copper, nickel, arsenic, antimony and sulphate removal from aqueous solutions. To enhance their adsorption capacity, different chemical treatments (i.e. activation, modification, geopolymerisation) were performed. As a result, the level of removal of iron, copper and nickel by carbon residue and zinc chloride activated carbon residue was higher than that by the commercial activated carbon. Iron chloride modified carbon residue was the most effective sorbent material for sulphate removal when compared to the other studied chemically modified/activated carbon residues. Blast-furnace slag and metakaolin geopolymers as well as their raw materials, were examined for the simultaneous removal of nickel, arsenic and antimony from the spiked mine effluent. In the case of blast-furnace slag, geopolymerisation clearly increased the efficiency of nickel, arsenic and antimony removal to a beneficial level. The barium chloride modified blast-furnace-slag geopolymer was a very efficient sorbent material for sulphate removal and it could thus be a technically feasible sulphate sorbent for wastewater treatment (e.g. in the mining industry in applications in which very low sulphate levels are desired). Barium chloride modified acid washed analcime could also be a potential sorbent for sulphate removal.
Real-world Embodied AI: A Morphologically Adaptive Quadruped Robot in the Wild

no Robots are traditionally bound by a ﬁxed morphology during their operational lifetime, limited to adapting only their control strategies. Here, we present the ﬁrst quadrupedal robot that can morphologically adapt to diﬀerent environmental conditions in outdoor, unstructured environments. Our solution is rooted in embodied AI, and comprises two components; (i) a robot that permits in-situ morphological adaptation, and (ii) an adaptation algorithm that transitions between the most energy-eﬃcient morphological conﬁgura-tions based on sensed terrain. First, we build a model that describes how the robot morphology aﬀects performance on selected terrains. We then test continuous adaptation on previously unseen terrains while allowing the robot to constantly update its model. We show that the robot exploits its training to eﬀectively transition between diﬀerent morphological conﬁgurations, showing signiﬁcant performance improvements over a non-adaptive approach. The demonstrated beneﬁts of real-world morphological adaptation show the potential for a new embodied way of incorporating adaptation into future robotic designs.
Evaluation on the receptor-binding preference and drug resistance of H9N2 influenza viruses

Jiazi Su Jilin Business and Technology College Xiaoyu Deng Institute of special Economic Animal and Plant Sciences, chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun Yixue Sun Changchun University Haiying Yu Jilin University Yulin Cong Jilin University Yanlong Cong (  ylcong@jlu.edu.cn ) Laboratory for Infectious Diseases College of Veterinary Medicine, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, China https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9497-4882
A Correlational Neural Network for Gender Classification

A convolutional neural network (CNN) can perform well in a variety of applications such as human face gender classification, but requiring flips of convolutional kernels in implementation. By replacing convolution with correlation, we propose a correlational neural network (CorNN) instead of a CNN. A CorNN takes advantage over a CNN in that it requires no flips of correlational kernels in implementation, saving a lot of training and testing time. Experimental results show that an 8-layer CorNN for gender classification can not only perform as well as the corresponding CNN, but also run surprisingly faster with a relative reduction of 11.29%~18.83% training time, and 10.16%~16.57% testing time.
Study of Market-Oriented Cloud Techniques

:- In recent times, Cloud computing has emerged as one of the most preferred computing paradigm that offers assorted services to the users without violating SLA and QoS requirements. With the increased use of ICT enabled services, it is paramount to understand the current market scenario from both user and service provider’s perspectives and utilize the cloud resources. The survey work carried out in this research presents a comprehensive study of Market-Oriented Cloud Computing, its architecture and taxonomy of resource management techniques as per current market trend.
Tunable induced transparency and Fano-resonance in double cavity optomechanical system

We analyze optomechanically induced Transparency and asymmetric Fano-line shape Profi le in a two-mode cavity system, coupling at weak and strong coupling regimes. The model system consists of one mechanical mode and two optical modes. The transmission shows nonreciprocal behavior. Both the forward transmission and backward refl ection for the system are analyzed for both optic-optic and mechanical-optic cavities by considering various system parameters. The output spectra lead to sharp asymmetric Fano-resonance and tunable transparency. Double line-shape profi le is observed in the output Spectrum. Our proposal provides a new platform for application in quantum telecommunications and a photonic device like optical Switches.
Purple sweet potato extract and vitamin C increase the proliferation of endothelial progenitor cells from stable coronary artery disease patients

Purple sweet potato extract and vitamin C increase the proliferation of endothelial progenitor cells from stable coronary artery disease patients Luh Oliva Saraswati Suastika1*, Yudi Her Oktaviono2, Djoko Soemantri2, Ferry Sandra3 Introduction: Endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) numbers are reduced in stable coronary artery disease (CAD), partly due to oxidative stress. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different antioxidants, purple sweet potato (PSP) extract and vitamin C, on EPC proliferation in stable CAD patients. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and cultivated on fibronectin-coated plates with the colonyforming unit (CFU)-Hill medium for three days. Non-adherent cells were divided into control, PSP extract (1, 5, 25 μg/ml), and vitamin C (10, 50, 250 μg/ml) groups; then cultured for two days. EPC proliferation was assessed with MTT Cell Proliferation Assay Kit. EPCs were identified by detecting the expression of CD34. Resulted CFU-Hill colonies were counted under an inverted light microscope. Results: EPC proliferation was increased in low, moderate, and high doses of PSP extract and vitamin C compared to control (all groups vs. control, p<0.001). The high dose of PSP extract increased EPC proliferation non significantly compared to the moderate dose (p=0.289). Vitamin C increased EPC proliferation better than PSP extract in moderate and high dose groups (p=0.042 and p<0.01, respectively). Meanwhile, the low dose of both treatments increased the EPC proliferation equally (p=0.353). CFU numbers, representing EPC differentiation capability, were highest in the groups given PSP extract compared to control and vitamin C groups. Conclusions: PSP extract and vitamin C increased EPC proliferation dose-dependently. Vitamin C induced EPC proliferation better than PSP extract. Furthermore, PSP extract was presumably a better EPC differentiation inducer.
Reasoning about modern datacenter infrastructures using partial histories

Modern datacenter infrastructures are increasingly architected as a cluster of loosely coupled services. The cluster states are typically maintained in a logically centralized, strongly consistent data store (e.g., ZooKeeper, Chubby and etcd), while the services learn about the evolving state by reading from the data store, or via a stream of notifications. However, it is challenging to ensure services are correct, even in the presence of failures, networking issues, and the inherent asynchrony of the distributed system. In this paper, we identify that partial histories can be used to effectively reason about correctness for individual services in such distributed infrastructure systems. That is, individual services make decisions based on observing only a subset of changes to the world around them. We show that partial histories, when applied to distributed infrastructures, have immense explanatory power and utility over the state of the art. We discuss the implications of partial histories and sketch tooling for reasoning about distributed infrastructure systems.
Comparison of Spi, Spei and Sri Drought Indices for Seyhan Basin

Today, mitigation of the adverse impacts of drought has gained considerable importance in the context of the management of water resources, which is adversely affected by climate change. In this context, to be able to achieve drought risk analyses, meteorological and hydrological data should be sufficient; if they are not, they should be completed. Seyhan Basin spread across the Seyhan River to an area of 2.203. 544 ha, extending from Sivas to the Eastern Mediterranean. With 22.035 km2, the basin area constitutes 2.07% of Turkey's surface area. In this study, by using the meteorological and hydrological data of Seyhan basin between 1970 and 2016, drought risk analyses of the basin with the most widely used around the world SPI, SRI and SPEI drought indices were discussed. In first step of this study, incomplete data was completed with regional analyses. According to these indices, drought severity and magnitude were found. Analyses were performed according to 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 48-month repeat intervals. Classification of droughts and threshold values were determined. The indices were compared, the correlation between them was examined, and drought risk analyses and drought maps were made separately for each index.
Estudo da microdureza do esmalte bovino submetido ao tratamento clareador ativado por diferentes fontes de luz

A técnica de clareamento em consultório com peróxido de hidrogênio em forma de gel, pode ter seu tempo clínico diminuído após exposição a diferentes fontes de luz. Este trabalho avaliou a ação de diferentes fontes de luz na microdureza do esmalte dentário bovino, submetido a clareamento com peróxido de hidrogênio à 35% (Opalescence® XTRA). Foram utilizadas 20 coroas de incisivos, seccionadas em quatro fragmentos e incluídos em resina acrílica. Posteriormente, foi realizado o aplainamento da superfície. As amostras foram divididas em quatro grupos de estudo: laser de diodo (grupo A), LED (grupo B), sem ativação por luz/ controle (grupo C) e laser de Nd:YAG (grupo D). A leitura da microdureza das amostras foi realizada antes e após o tratamento clareador, obtendo-se assim a 1ª e 2ª leituras, respectivamente. Em seguida, as amostras foram armazenadas em saliva artificial por 14 dias à ±37°C, sendo tomada uma 3ª leitura da microdureza após esse período. A análise estatística ANOVA e o teste de Tukey revelaram diferença estatística entre a 1ª e 2ª leitura, nos quatro grupos estudados. Os grupos A, B e C mostraram diferença significativa entre a 1ª e 3ª leitura, com exceção do grupo D. Concluiu-se que o tratamento realizado sem ativação por luz ou com LED, levou a mesma alteração da microdureza do esmalte. O laser de diodo alterou a dureza da superfície de esmalte sem recuperação da microdureza após 14 dias. No grupo do Nd:YAG houve aumento da microdureza da superfície após o período de armazenamento.