In the merger-driven galaxy evolution scenario, dust-obscured quasars are considered to be an intermediate population between merger-driven star-forming galaxies and unobscured quasars; however, this scenario is still controversial. To verify this, it is necessary to investigate whether dust-obscured quasars have higher Eddington ratio (λEdd) values than those of unobscured quasars, as expected in the merger-driven galaxy evolution scenario. In this study, we derive black hole (BH) masses of 10 dust-obscured quasars at z ∼ 2, during the peak period of star-formation and BH growth in the Universe, using a newly derived mid-infrared (MIR) continuum luminosity (LMIR)-based estimator that is highly resistant to dust extinction. Then, we compare the λEdd values of these dust-obscured quasars to those of unobscured type-1 quasars at similar redshifts. We find that the measured log (λEdd) values of the dust-obscured quasars, −0.06 ± 0.10, are significantly higher than those of the unobscured quasars, −0.86 ± 0.01. This result remains consistent across the redshift range from 1.5 to 2.5. Our results show that the dust-obscured quasars are at their maximal growth, consistent with the expectation from the merger-driven galaxy evolution scenario at the epoch quasar activities were most prominent in the cosmic history.

The present study investigated the effect of enzyme inclusion on silage quality using meta-analysis tool. A total of 16 research papers reporting the effect of enzyme application on silage quality were employed in the meta-analysis of this study. Mixed model for integrating quantitative results from multiple studies was used first to calculate the predicted error of each study. Individual error from the estimated model was the applied into standard deviation of each study to calculate the mean difference. Finally, summary effect was determined using standard mean difference (SMD) and inversed variance weighting. Mixed model analysis and SMD analysis showed the same effect patterns in all analysis items. Enzyme inclusion in silage significantly (p < 0.05) altered all silage quality characteristics investigated compared to control when enzyme was not included. Our results showed that enzyme treatment increased dry matter content, preserved crude protein effectively, and elevated water soluble carbohydrate content. However, the pH value, acetic acid, propionic acid, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber contents in silage with enzyme inclusion were lower than those of the control.