REACTION OF SUNFLOWER GENOTYPES TO THERMAL STRESS CONDITIONS IN THE SANDY SOILS AREA OF SOUTHERN OLTENIA

The researches carried out during 2016-2017 at RDCSPS Dabuleni aimed at the behavior of biological sunflower material, created at NARDI Fundulea, under conditions of thermal water stress from the sandy soils in southern Oltenia. The results obtained at 109 sunflower genotypes underline the favorability of Romania's southern area for sunflower culture. It showed significantly distinct positive correlation between the rate of  photosynthesis in the plant, and photosynthetic active radiation (r = 0.282 **) as well as between foliar sweating rate and leaf surface temperature (0.412 **). The production was differentiated according to the genotype and the climatic conditions of the agricultural year, ranging from 2299-5180 kg / ha, with an average of 4307 kg / ha

Addressing the Impact of Time-Dependent Social Groupings on Animal Survival and Recapture Rates in Mark-Recapture Studies

Mark-recapture (MR) models typically assume that individuals under study have independent survival and recapture outcomes. One such model of interest is known as the Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS) model. In this dissertation, we conduct three major research projects focused on studying the impact of violating the independence assumption in MR models along with presenting extensions which relax the independence assumption. In the first project, we conduct a simulation study to address the impact of failing to account for pair-bonded animals having correlated recapture and survival fates on the CJS model. We examined the impact of correlation on the likelihood ratio test (LRT), the ̂ correction, and the achieved coverage of 95% confidence intervals around the recapture and survival probabilities estimated from the CJS model. We find that correlated fates between mated animals may result in underestimated standard errors for parsimonious models, deflated LRT statistics, and underestimated values of ̂ for models taking sex-specific effects into account. In the second project, we present a novel conditional data approach to estimating recapture and survival correlations between mates. We provide a simulation study which demonstrates that for sufficiently large sample sizes the estimators of recapture and survival correlations between mated pairs are unbiased and achieve at least nominal coverage for 95% confidence intervals. The study shows that the variance correction using an alternative ̂ estimator addresses the issue of undercoverage and demonstrate the application of my model extension to a mark-recapture dataset of Harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus), a large monogamous waterfowl species. The final project in this work is focused on presenting extensions to both the CJS and Jolly-Seber (JS) model which allow mortality of members within a group to influence the future survival outcomes of remaining members with Bayesian methods. We conduct a simulation study which demonstrated that the models produce unbiased estimates and credible intervals which achieve nominal coverage. Finally, we apply the CJS model extension to a dataset of Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) and find that there is evidence to suggest that mortality results in reduced survival rates for remaining group members

Kant on Metaphysics as Science

My paper focuses on what and how Kant had accomplished with his intended “re- form of metaphysics” through “reason’s entering the secure path of science”. In this respect, I will argue that the influence of (pure) sciences on Kant’s programme was a major one, and this may be best highlighted if one assumes that he developed his mature theory only in the B edi- tion of his Critique (1787), where the influence of the model of pure a priori sciences turn to be decisive. This influence, as we already know, is closely related to the “reform of metaphysics” by “reason’s entering the secure path of science”. My claim is upheld also by the historical ar- gument that only in the Prolegomena (1783) and in the B edition of the Critique Kant explicitly conceived the idea of “metaphysics as science”. Therefore, the necessary steps in dealing with “metaphysics as science” must consider the A Critique, the Prolegomena, and the B Critique in this precise order. Assuming this order, my approach will involve three parts: in the first I will investigate the idea of the reform of metaphysics from the A Critique, in the second I will take into account “reason’s entering the secure path of science” (in the Prolegomena and the B Cri- tique), i.e., philosophy as science (the discipline within the B Critique); finally, I will argue that understanding Kant’s “idea of philosophy as science” can best be achieved by focusing on the role and place that pure sciences have in the transcendental philosophy of the B Critique, where its structure and content are themed and projected within the methodological frame of the “ex- periment of pure reason”

RESEARCH ON THE FERTILIZATION OF SWEET POTATOES ACCORDING TO THE NUTRITIONAL SPACE, IN THE SANDY SOIL CONDITIONS FROM ROMANIA

Research conducted during 2015-2017, in the climatic conditions of sandy soils in Romania, highlights the role of fertilization and plant density on the growth and development of sweet potato plants (Ipomoea batatas). The obtained results, show the positive implications of chemical and foliar fertilization on the physiological processes in the plant and on the quantity and quality of the obtained production. The fertilization of the sweet potato culture with N150P80K80, prior to planting and the use of a density of 50000 plants / ha led to a maximum yield of 27907 kg / ha. From the point of view of the quality of the production, the application of two foliar fertilizations with the product Timasol in a concentration of 1%, having N15P15K30 + 13 microelements, determined the increase of the biochemical components from the sweet potato tubers, compared to the only radicular fertilized

An efficient hardware architecture for a neural network activation function generator

This paper proposes an efficient hardware architecture for a function generator suitable for an artificial neural network (ANN). A spline-based approximation function is designed that provides a good trade-off between accuracy and silicon area, whilst also being inherently scalable and adaptable for numerous activation functions. This has been achieved by using a minimax polynomial and through optimal placement of the approximating polynomials based on the results of a genetic algorithm. The approximation error of the proposed method compares favourably to all related research in this field. Efficient hardware multiplication circuitry is used in the implementation, which reduces the area overhead and increases the throughput

Antioxidant activity in selected tomato genotypes cultivated in conventional and organic culture systems

The present study is a compilation of results obtained at the Vegetable Research and Development Station Bacau regarding the influence of the culture system on the quantitative and qualitative yield of tomatoes. The present study provides comparative information regarding yield achievements of tomato genotypes cultivated in two different culture systems (conventional and organic), in order to highlight the suitability of the cultivation system. The best yield results were obtained at a density of 30,000 plants per hectare in both culture systems. All studied genotypes resulted in quantitatively superior yield in the conventional system as opposed to the organic system. Another purpose of this study was to determine the difference in antioxidant activity of tomato genotypes cultivated in the ecological and the conventional culture systems. The results indicate the suitability of the tomato to organic cultivation, highlighting the potential of the tomato species to be utilized as a significant source of natural antioxidants, and also the influence of cultivation systems on the accumulation of antioxidant compounds.Keywords: Lycopersicon esculentum, polyphenols, flavones, yieldAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(20), pp. 2884-289

EFFECTS OF SUCROSE MEDIUM CONTENT AND STERILANT TREATMENT ON MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION OF SWEET POTATO CULTURES INITIATED IN VITRO

The main objective of this study was finding solutions for reducing the level of microbial contamination occurred during in vitro cultivation of sweet potato introduced from the ex vitro environment. For this purpose, growth medium variants with different concentrations of sucrose (20 g/L, 30 g/L and 40 g/L) were tested as well as different periods of time during the biological material was in contact with the sterilizing agent: 70% ethanol for 3, 4 and 5 minutes followed by 1% sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) solution for 10, 13 and 16 minutes respectively. Culture medium variants with a sucrose content of 20 g/L and 30 g/L combined with an explants sterilant treatment in 70% ethanol for 4 minutes followed by 1% NaClO for 13 minutes were the most effective in reducing the percentage of microbial contamination

Journalism Studies

This entry traces the history of journalism studies and asks whether journalism studies are a discipline or field or research method. Different interests involved in journalism studies – journalists, journalism educators and journalism scholars - make it difficult to find a single vision of what it entails. As a new field it requires its own methodologies even though these may be borrowed from other disciplines. It also requires its own body of literature. The origins of journalism studies are somewhat imprecise but we can identify five phases of evolution: normative, empirical turn, sociological turn, global-comparative turn, and digital turn. Journalism studies also encompass the education of journalists. Many journalism scholars now reside in journalism departments side by side with their practitioner colleagues. Historically the study and practice of journalism was entwined over the debate of whether the occupation of journalism should be regarded as a craft or a profession and indeed its place in the academy