87191 research outputs found
Sort by
Rebuilding Soil Health: Effects of Water Treatment Residual on Soil Biological Properties and Crop Productivity
Get PDFPurpose: This study explored the potential of aluminium water treatment residuals (Al-WTR), a by-product of drinking water purification, to improve soil quality and maize productivity on a degraded sandy soil. Methods: A field experiment was conducted over two cropping seasons (2019/20 and 2020/21), with treatments including sole applications of cattle manure (CM), maize stover (MS), Al-WTR, their co-amendments (Al-WTR + CM and Al-WTR + MS), NPK fertiliser, and an unamended control. Soil samples collected during the 2020/21 season (at 0–10 and 10–20 cm depths, and 3 and 6 weeks after planting) were analysed for soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN), and basal respiration. Maize grain and biomass yields were recorded at physiological maturity for both seasons. Results: Co-amended treatments significantly increased SOC (> 4.90 g kg⁻¹) and TN (> 0.60 g kg⁻¹), compared to single amendments (< 4.80 g kg⁻¹ SOC; ~0.50 g kg⁻¹ TN). At 6 WAP and 0–10 cm depth, Al-WTR + CM recorded the highest MBC (190 ± 1.14 mg C kg⁻¹) and MBN (35.80 ± 0.51 mg N kg⁻¹), while the control recorded the lowest (120 ± 1.58 mg C kg⁻¹; 18.72 ± 0.35 mg N kg⁻¹). Basal respiration also increased with co-amendments. Al-WTR + CM yielded 5.61 ± 0.05 t ha⁻¹ maize grain (2020/21), while the control yielded below 1 t ha⁻¹ in both seasons. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that Al-WTR co-amendments can effectively restore soil function and support resilient maize production in degraded agroecosystems
‘Weed troubles’ in Palestine: Environmental imaginaries of the harmful weed
Get PDFThis article explores creative interventions that challenge colonial environmental imaginaries of Palestine through a discussion of the 2020 Ramallah‐based Weed Control exhibition. The discussion situates environmental imaginaries of the “harmful weed” at the intersection of settler colonialism, visual arts, and the environmental humanities, showing how “weedy” metaphors sustain practices of settler colonial expansion and elimination. Specifically, the article considers the links between the eradication of weeds and the eradication of populations in the Israeli state’s pursuit of territorial control. By centring the work of contemporary visual artists, this paper sheds light on the role of Palestinian art in disrupting settler colonial environmental imaginaries. The article offers an alternative reading to the Zionist environmental imaginaries of healing the land infected by weeds through the analysis of three artworks representing three “harmful seeds”: namely the Carthamus tenuis, the Tordylium peregrinum, and the Melilotus indicus . These creative interventions trace a continuum ranging from affirmative notions of survival as “rebirth” to more introspective engagements that emphasise survival as “defence” and “withdrawal”. The discussion is based on the author’s analysis of the artworks in the exhibition and interviews with some of the participating artists. This is combined with secondary sources, including the exhibition catalogue and archival material
Foraging Observations: Novel Trophic Interactions Between the Andean Gull ( Chroicocephalus serrranus ) and Endangered Vertebrates of Lake Titicaca
Get PDFWe record two new predation events and one new kleptoparasitic Andean Gull ( Chroicocephalus serranus ) behavior, interactions that directly link to the Titicaca Grebe ( Rollandia microptera ) and Titicaca Water Frog ( Telmatobius culeus ). Our reports expand the understanding of the gull's ecological niche and reveal previously overlooked interactions between it and two endemic and endangered Lake Titicaca species which act as indicators of Lake Titicaca's ecosystem health
Enhanced self-affirmation mitigates attentional bias toward test-related threat in youths with elevated test anxiety
No full textWe examined the effect of self-affirmation manipulation in mitigating attentional bias toward test-related threat in secondary school students. In two Experiments, youths with high anxiety and the control group were randomized to an enhanced self-affirmation condition or a no self-affirmation condition, following which they completed an Emotional Stroop task of test-related threat words and test-unrelated neutral words as a measure of attentional bias. A pilot experiment was conducted in 85 11-to-18-year-old youths (43 high test anxiety, 42 low test anxiety) and showed the self-affirmation decreased the response time for both groups. In the main experiment, we recruited a new group of 118 11-to-18-year-old youths (59 high test anxiety, 59 low test anxiety). We used a novel, modified Emotional Stroop task by including a performance comparison condition (upward performance comparison & average performance comparison). Highly test-anxious youths with no self-affirmation showed an attentional bias toward test-related threat (i.e., prolonged RT toward threat vs. neutral words) in the upward comparison trials, whereas high test-anxiety youths with enhanced self-affirmation did not exhibit an attentional bias in the upward comparison trials. We provide novel evidence on the effect of enhanced self-affirmation in mitigating attentional bias toward test-related threat in high test-anxiety youths. Enhancing self-affirmation may be a useful tool to ameliorate attentional bias toward threat in high test-anxiety youths, as a potential alternative to the attentional bias modification technique
Predicting Option Prices From Their Price History Via Machine Learning
No full textWe benchmark the performance of widely used long short-term memory (LSTM) models in predicting standardized implied volatility (IV) of equity options against a range of alternative time series models. We forecast option prices over the period 2018-2023 and find universal models that are trained on data pooled across all underlyings to perform the best. The highest forecasting accuracy is achieved by a bidirectional LSTM model with one hidden layer. This provides evidence outside the stock markets that using universal models with pooled data across underlyings to train neural networks significantly improves the forecasting accuracy for equity option prices. Once the machine learning model is trained, one can inexpensively use the trained models to predict option prices up to 7 years into the future
Human activity and footprint have differential effects on scavenger assemblages at carrion provided by apex carnivores
Get PDFScavengers play a critical role in nutrient cycling and energy flow in ecosystems, yet little is known about the different ways that urban development and human presence may affect scavenger species and their ecological functions. We used video camera traps to monitor scavengers at ungulates killed by pumas (Puma concolor) in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA from 2018 to 2024. We quantified four metrics of scavenger assemblages: species richness, Pielou's evenness, Shannon diversity, and total time spent at carcasses. We applied generalized linear models to assess the effects of human activity and human footprint—along with puma visitation, season, and time to first scavenger arrival—on scavenger assemblages. Human activity had significant positive effects on richness, evenness, and diversity, whereas human footprint reduced total scavenger time at kills. Puma visitation also positively influenced diversity and evenness—when pumas are present, larger scavengers are deterred, allowing birds and smaller mesocarnivore species greater access to carrion, but when pumas are displaced by humans, larger scavengers are released from competition and restrict access for other scavengers. These effects highlight complex human-mediated modifications of apex carnivore feeding and scavenger dynamics. Our results show that human activity can simultaneously enhance and constrain aspects of scavenger assemblages, emphasizing the importance of species-specific dependencies on resources provided by apex carnivores. Conserving these interactions is essential for maintaining intact scavenger assemblages and their ecological functions, but conservation actions should recognize the differential effects of human activity and footprint on scavenger assemblages and their behavior
A muscular dystrophy associated with bi‐allelic LEMD2 variants: Expanding the genotype of nuclear envelopathies
Get PDFQuality participation of physical activity matters for quality of life and subjective wellbeing in people with disabilities
Get PDFMartin Ginis (2025) critically examines the inconsistent and often inconclusive evidence on the effects of physical activity (PA) on quality of life (QOL) and subjective well-being (SWB) in people with disabilities. In this article, we build on her arguments by highlighting conceptual ambiguities, methodological limitations, and measurement challenges that have contributed to these inconsistencies. We then evaluate the Quality Participation Model of PA and QOL/SWB as a promising framework that positions quality participation as central to enhancing well-being. Finally, we outline future directions (e.g., construct refinement, technological tailoring, co-produced research, and critical happiness studies) and call for a shift toward inclusive, high-quality PA experiences to realize PA's full potential in disability contexts
Revisiting the Old Kingdom at Thebes: Extracting meaning from highly fragmentary evidence
Get PDFThe ‘tomb complex’ that developed over time around the New Kingdom tomb of Neferhotep in el-Khokha comprises TT49 (the main tomb), TT187, TT362, TT363, and Kampp -347- and -348-. These tombs were heavily reused starting from the end of the New Kingdom. During the Third Intermediate Period, widespread architectural alterations resulted in a complex network of tombs connected by new passages and shafts. In the process of altering and expanding the original plan of TT362, builders encountered a much earlier tomb dating from the late Old Kingdom, as suggested by its architecture and preserved fragmentary decoration. This elite tomb is part of a cluster of provincial rock-cut tombs in el-Khokha and adds more depth to our knowledge of Old Kingdom Thebes. This paper discusses the observable elements of the tomb’s decorative scheme, providing additional information regarding the still poorly understood role of Thebes in the Old Kingdom
Modeling the Spectral Energy Distribution of Active Galactic Nuclei: Implications for Cosmological Simulations of Galaxy Formation
Get PDFModeling the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) plays a very important role in constraining modern cosmological simulations of galaxy formation. Here, we utilize a physically motivated supermassive black hole (SMBH) accretion disk model to compute the accretion flow structure and AGN SED across a wide range of black hole mass (MSMBH) and dimensionless accretion rates ṁ(≡Ṁacc/ṀEdd) , where Ṁacc is the mass flow rate through the disk, and ṀEdd is the Eddington mass accretion rate. We find that the radiative efficiency is mainly influenced by ṁ , while contributions of MSMBH and ṁ to the bolometric luminosity are comparably important. We have developed new bolometric corrections linking the bolometric luminosity of an AGN to its luminosities in the hard X-ray, soft X-ray, and optical bands. Our results align with existing literature at high luminosities but suggest lower luminosities in the hard and soft X-ray bands at lower bolometric luminosities compared to those from commonly adopted empirical relations. Combined with the semianalytic model of galaxy formation L-Galaxies and Millennium dark matter simulation for the distribution of ( MSMBH, ṁ ) at different redshifts, the model predicted AGN fraction shows good agreement with observational data to z ≲ 2.5, while the luminosity functions align well with observational data at z ≲ 1 but deviate from them for higher redshifts. This deviation may arise from improper treatments of SMBH growth at high redshifts in the galaxy formation model or bias from limited observational data. This AGN SED calculation can be readily applied to other cosmological simulations
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Open Research Online? Become a CORE Member to access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard! 👇