Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predation risk and the evolution of odours in island birds

i List of Figures . v List of Tables . vii Acknowledgements . viii 1. General Introduction . 1 Origin of odours in birds . 2 Preen wax composition . 3 Preen wax functions . 4 Thesis outline . 7 2. A comparative analysis of uropygial gland size and preen wax composition between island and continental species of birds . 12 Introduction . 13 Methods . 15 Uropygial gland . 16 Preen wax collection . 16 Gas chromatography analysis . 17 Statistical analysis . 18 Results . 19 Uropygial gland . 19 Preen wax . 19 Discussion . 20 3. Do the odours of island birds increase their risk of predation from exotic mammalian predators? 33 Introduction . 34 Methods . 35 Study species . 35 Preen wax collection . 35 Laboratory experiment . 36 Field experiment . 39 Results . 41 Laboratory experiment . 41 Field experiment . 41 Discussion . 42
A comparison of simple rheological models and simulation data of n-hexadecane under shear and elongational flows

The microscopic origins of five rheological models are investigated by comparing their predictions for the conformation tensor and stress tensor with the same tensors obtained via nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations for n-hexadecane. Steady-state simulations were performed under both planar Couette and planar elongational flows, and the results of each are compared with rheological model predictions in the same flows, without any fitting parameters where possible. The use of the conformation tensor for comparisons between theory and experiment/simulation, rather than just the stress tensor, allows additional information to be obtained regarding the physical basis of each model examined herein. The character of the relationship between stress and conformation is examined using model predictions and simulation data.
Focus on Stem Cells Reprogramming somatic cells into stem cells

Recent scientiﬁc achievements in cell and developmental biology have provided unprecedented opportunities for advances in biomedical research. The demonstration that fully differentiated cells can reverse their gene expression proﬁle to that of a pluripotent cell, and the successful derivation and culture of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have fuelled hopes for applications in regenerative medicine. These advances have been put to public scrutiny raising legal, moral and ethical issues which have resulted in different levels of acceptance. Ethical issues concerning the use of cloned human embryos for the derivation of stem cells have stimulated the search for alternative methods for reversing differentiated cells into multi/pluripotent cells. In this article, we will review the present state of these reprogramming technologies and discuss their relative success. We also overview reprogramming events after somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), as they may further instruct ex ovo strategies for cellular manipulation.
Factors affecting genetic correlation estimates from dairy sires' genetic evaluations to assess genotype-environment interaction*

Effects of trait heritability (0.05 or 0.25), effective daughters number (30 to 500), sires number (10 to 500), and sire selection (selecting or not the top 50% sires), were evaluated based upon standard error (SE) and bias of genetic correlations (r G ) between countries estimated from Calo’s method (r G ) using simulated data. Calo’s method is based on correlations between sire’s predicted transmitting abilities (PTA) in two countries adjusted for reliabilities. Unselected sire’s data analysis gave nearly unbiased rG in all cases, but selected sire’s data analysis gave underestimates. Bias was from -0.34 to -0.05 for the 0.25 heritability trait (milk yield), and from -0.42 to -0.17 for the 0.05 heritability trait (functional). Underestimation of r G decreased with increased effective number of daughters (PTA’s reliability), but was quite insensitive to number of sires. The SE of genetic correlations estimates decreased with increased PTA’s reliability and sires number, and was higher for selected sires. Approximately 50 sires with PTA’s reliabilities≥0.97 on each country are required to obtain accurate (SE≤0.02) and unbiased (bias≤0.05|) r G with Calo’s method using the best 50% selected sires. Many genetic correlation estimates between countries, already published using the Calo’s method, may be underestimates, particularly for low heritability traits, and with low number of effective daughters in the importing country. Therefore, caution is required before interpreting the published r G <1 as evidence for genotype-environment interaction.
The impact of work-life balance on employees' job satisfaction and turnover intention; the moderating role of continuance commitment

Work-life imbalance has several negative impacts on employees’ attitudes and behaviors and consequently influences organizations’ performance and effectiveness. The purpose of this article is to investigate the impact of work-life balance (WLB) on employees’ job satisfaction and turnover intention. Moreover, we study the moderating role of continuance commitment on job satisfaction – turnover intention relationship. Regression analysis was used to analyze the data collected from 265 questionnaires completed by employees in an Iranian industrial company. The findings supported that WLB has a significant positive relationship with job satisfaction, and a significant negative relationship with turnover intention. Besides, job satisfaction fully mediates the WLB – turnover intention relationship. The main contribution of the paper is that we found continuance commitment moderates the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover intention. Therefore, employees with low levels of WLB and job satisfaction do not necessary have high turnover intention, unless they have low continuance commitment.
Indian Ocean Dipole: Processes and impacts

Equatorial Indian Ocean is warmer in the east, has a deeper thermocline and mixed layer, and supports a more convective atmosphere than in the west. During certain years, the eastern Indian Ocean becomes unusually cold, anomalous winds blow from east to west along the equator and southeastward off the coast of Sumatra, thermocline and mixed layer lift up and the atmospheric convection gets suppressed. At the same time, western Indian Ocean becomes warmer and enhances atmospheric convection. This coupled ocean-atmospheric phenomenon in which convection, winds, sea surface temperature (SST) and thermocline take part actively is known as the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Propagation of baroclinic Kelvin and Rossby waves excited by anomalous winds, play an important role in the development of SST anomalies associated with the IOD. Since mean thermocline in the Indian Ocean is deep compared to the Pacific, it was believed for a long time that the Indian Ocean is passive and merely responds to the atmospheric forcing. Discovery of the IOD and studies that followed demonstrate that the Indian Ocean can sustain its own intrinsic coupled ocean-atmosphere processes. About 50% percent of the IOD events in the past 100 years have co-occurred with El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the other half independently. Coupled models have been able to reproduce IOD events and process experiments by such models – switching ENSO on and off – support the hypothesis based on observations that IOD events develop either in the presence or absence of ENSO. There is a general consensus among different coupled models as well as analysis of data that IOD events co-occurring during the ENSO are forced by a zonal shift in the descending branch of Walker cell over to the eastern Indian Ocean. Processes that initiate the IOD in the absence of ENSO are not clear, although several studies suggest that anomalies of Hadley circulation are the most probable forcing function. Impact of the IOD is felt in the vicinity of Indian Ocean as well as in remote regions. During IOD events, biological productivity of the eastern Indian Ocean increases and this in turn leads to death of corals over a large area.Moreover, the IOD affects rainfall over the maritime continent, Indian subcontinent, Australia and eastern Africa. The maritime continent and Australia suffer from deficit rainfall whereas India and east Africa receive excess. Despite the successful hindcast of the 2006 IOD by a coupled model, forecasting IOD events and their implications to rainfall variability remains a major challenge as understanding reasons behind an increase in frequency of IOD events in recent decades.
IDENTIFYING EPIGENETIC ENDPOINTS OF PESTICIDE EXPOSURE CAN CURTAIL RISK TO DEVELOP CANCER: A REVIEW.

Rituparna Das 1 *, Kulbhushan Thakur 2 *, Anju Shrivastava 3 , Akshita Puri 3 and Mousumi Mutsuddi 1 . 1. Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India 2. Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India 3. Department of Zoology, Delhi University, New Delhi, India . Manuscript Info Abstract . Manuscript History
TOLERANCIA A LA SOMBRA EN PLANTAS DE CALÉNDULA (Calendula officinalis)

Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) is the second most commonly-sold medicinal herb in Colombia. The study was performed in Tunja, Colombia, in which chlorophyll and carotenoid content were evaluated in pot marigold grown under low and high light conditions (35% and 100% of full daylight). Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and electron transport rate were also evaluated. Compared to full sun plants, shaded plants had a higher ratio of chlorophyll a to chlorophyll b, and a lower ratio of carotenoids to chlorophyll. Values for maximum fluorescence (Fm), variable fluorescence (Fv), and maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (the ratio Fv/Fm) increased in shaded plants, while electron transport rate was reduced. These results suggest that pot marigold plants are very sensitive to low-light conditions.
TUMORIGENESIS AND NEOPLASTIC PROGRESSION Death-Associated Protein Kinase Controls STAT 3 Activity in Intestinal Epithelial Cells

Death-Associated Protein Kinase Controls STAT3 Activity in Intestinal Epithelial Cells Saritha Chakilam,*y Muktheshwar Gandesiri,*y Tilman T. Rau,y Abbas Agaimy,y Mahadevan Vijayalakshmi,z Jelena Ivanovska,*y Ralph M. Wirtz,x Jan Schulze-Luehrmann,*y Natalya Benderska,*y Nadine Wittkopf,{ Ajithavalli Chellappan,z Petra Ruemmele,k Michael Vieth,** Margret Rave-Fränk,yy Hans Christiansen,yyzz Arndt Hartmann,y Clemens Neufert,{ Raja Atreya,{ Christoph Becker,{ Pablo Steinberg,xx and Regine Schneider-Stock*y
EMPOWERMENT: A NECESSARY ATTRIBUTE OF A LEARNING ORGANIZATION?

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the role of empowerment in a learning organization. This research tries to explore whether empowerment is a necessary attribute for organizations to enhance their learning capability or not. It attempts to address two fundamen - tal questions: •� Whatistheroleofempowermentinanorganization'slearningcapability? •� Isempowermentanessentialattributeofalearningorganization? � Methodology: The study adopted a mixed method of research design, which includes both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis. The quantitative survey comprised of two questionnaires was used to survey 213 executives from various IT organiza- tions. Interviews were also conducted with executives of two case organizations where in-depth study was conducted. Qualitative data was analyzed using the grounded theory methodology. Findings: The findings indicate that only the decision making dimension of empowerment has emerged as a significant predictor of organizational learning, not the power sharing and people valuing dimensions. Further, no difference is observed in high and low learning organi - zations on their empowerment pattern. Research Limitations/Implications: The sample organizations were from one geographical location (National Capital Region) of India and the study was conducted in the IT sector only. Future studies may investigate this further in different regions and sectors.
Development of Critical and Creative Thinking Skills in CLIL

CLIL offers such a learning environment where learners get a chance to use their cognitive skills and to construct their own knowledge. They are intellectually challenged to transform information, to solve problems, to discover meaning using creative thinking. For meaning-making learners use especially the following thinking skills: analyzing, differentiating, organizing, classifying, comparing, matching, synthesizing, guessing, evaluating and creating. This kind of learning works to develop flexibility in their thinking. In our study several techniques enabling development of critical thinking skills in the CLIL context are introduced. Critical thinking skills can be supported and developed systematically e.g. via an application of the tasks offered by the revised Bloom’s taxonomy. Statistically significant increases of critical and creative thinking skills in CLIL can be achieved using various proven techniques, e.g. via De Bono’s six thinking hats, SCAMMPERR technique, Lotus blossom technique or mind-mapping. These techniques have proven to be efficient with both younger and older learners via action research at a higher educational institution and at a primary school. Examples of qualitative data from the evaluation of this inventive CLIL course are presented.
Prospects for the Use of Pongamia pinnata Oil-Based Products against the Green Peach Aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

This study is devoted to an estimation of the action of preparations based on Pongamia pinnata oil on the life cycle (survival, fecundity) of green peach aphid Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae). The M. persicae is a widespread pest and damages more than 100 species of plants. All test formulations had aphicidal activity for M. persicae adults and larvae. Moreover, they possess prolonged action, exerting a negative influence on the offspring. The preparations differed in speed of onset of mortality. The single treatment with these formulations provides significant reduction in the number of aphids during the observation period, because of the efficiency rising in time.
Title Does Study Partner Type Impact the Rate of Alzheimer ' s Disease Progression ?

Most patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) do not have a spouse. Despite this, the majority of AD research participants enroll with a spouse study partner. It remains unclear if differences between AD patients who do and do not have a spouse may bias study results. In this study, we examined whether AD patients with different study partner types (spouse vs adult child) demonstrate different rates of disease progression over two years on three outcome measures commonly used in AD research, including clinical trials. We used data from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set to examine disease progression in participants age 55–90 with probable AD dementia. We examined disease progression as measured by the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale-Sum of the Boxes score, the Mini Mental Status Examination, and the Functional Assessment Questionnaire. Analyses were performed on data for all available eligible participants from the NACC UDS and after performing a propensity-matching model to better account for inherent differences between the populations of interest. Propensity matching was successful only when models did not include age and gender. For both propensity-matched analyses and those of all available data, we did not observe any differences between the study partner populations for any outcome measure. These results suggest that, if investigators can improve in recruiting AD patients with adult child caregivers to research, the implications to study results may be minimal.
Temperature stress during flowering time affects yield and quality parameters of waxy barley

Temperatur hat einen Einfluss auf das Wachstum und die Qualitat von Nutzpflanzen. In dieser Studie wurden die Auswirkungen von Temperaturstress wahrend der Blute auf Ertrags- und Qualitatskomponenten von waxyGersten untersucht. Hierfur wurden drei waxyGersten-Linien sowie eine Gerstensorte (Lomerit) mit einer normalen Starkezusammensetzung verschiedenen Temperaturen (10, 20 [Kontrolle] und 30 °C) ausgesetzt. Der Temperaturstress wurde zu Beginn des Ahrenschiebens eingeleitet und endete mit Beginn des Kornansatzes. Es konnte ein hoch signifikanter Einfluss der Bluhtemperatur auf den Ertrag nachgewiesen werden. Hohe Temperaturen (30 °C) fuhrten bei allen Gersten zu einer Reduktion von Kornanzahl und -gewicht pro Pflanze. Ertragssteigerungen wurden vor allem bei niedriger Bluhtemperatur von 10 °C ermittelt. Der Protein- und Starkegehalt sowie die Starkezusammensetzung im Korn wurden ebenfalls von der Bluhtemperatur und vom Genotyp beeinflusst. Alle Linien zeigten infolge einer hohen Temperatur einen erhohten Proteingehalt bei gleichzeitiger Abnahme des Starkegehalts im Vergleich zur Kontrolle (20 °C). Sinkende Protein- und steigende Starkegehalte wurden hingegen bei niedrigen Bluhtemperaturen ermittelt. Der Proteingehalt korrelierte negativ mit dem Starkegehalt und positiv mit der s-Amylaseaktivitat. Verglichen mit Lomerit zeigten die waxyGersten eine starkere Variation der Ertragsparameter in Abhangigkeit der Temperaturstufen und sind somit als temperatursensitiver einzuschatzen.
Comparison of Standard and Fast Charging Methods for Electric Vehicles

This paper describes a comparison of standard and fast charging methods used in the field of electric vehicles and also comparison of their efficiency in terms of electrical energy consumption. The comparison was performed on three-phase buck converter, which was designed for EV’s fast charging station. The results were obtained by both mathematical and simulation methods. The laboratory model of entire physical application, which will be further used for simulation results verification, is being built in these days.
Scale‐dependent determinants of plant species richness in a semi‐arid fragmented agro‐ecosystem

Aims: (1) Understanding how the relationship between species richness and its determinants depends on the interaction between scales at which the response and explanatory variables are measured. (2) Quantifying the relative contributions of local, intermediate and large-scale determinants of species richness in a fragmented agro-ecosystem. (3) Testing the hypothesis that the relative contribution of these determinants varies with the grain size at which species richness is measured. Location: A fragmented agro-ecosystem in the Southern Judea Lowland, Israel, within a desert–Mediterranean transition zone. Methods: Plant species richness was estimated using hierarchical nested sampling in 81 plots, positioned in 38 natural vegetation patches within an agricultural matrix (mainly wheat fields) among three land units along a sharp precipitation gradient. Explanatory variables included position along that gradient, patch area, patch isolation, habitat heterogeneity and overall plant density. We used general linear models and hierarchical partitioning of variance to test and quantify the effect of each explanatory variable on species richness at four grain sizes (0.0625, 1, 25 and 225 m2). Results: Species richness was mainly affected by position along a precipitation gradient and overall plant density, and to a lesser extent by habitat heterogeneity. It was also significantly affected by patch area and patch isolation, but only for small grain sizes. The contribution of each explanatory variable to explained variance in species richness varied with grain size, i.e. scale-dependent. The influence of geographic position and habitat heterogeneity on species richness increased with grain size, while the influence of plant density decreased with grain size. Main conclusions: Species richness is determined by the combined effect of several scale-dependent determinants. Ability to detect an effect and effect size of each determinant varies with the scale (grain size) at which it is measured. The combination of a multi-factorial approach and multi-scale sampling reveals that conclusions drawn from studies that ignore these dimensions are restricted and potentially misleading.
Composite Magnetostrictive Materials For Advanced Automotive Magnetomechanical Sensors

In this paper we present the development of a composite magnetostrictive material for automotive applications. The material is based on cobalt ferrite, CoO⋅Fe2O3, and contains a small fraction of metallic matrix phase that serves both as a liquid-phase sintering aid during processing and enhances the mechanical properties over those of a simple sintered ferrite ceramic. In addition the metal matrix makes it possible to braze the material, making the assembly of a sensor relatively simple. The material exhibits good sensitivity and should have high corrosion resistance, while at the same time it is low in cost.
of Geophysical Research : Solid Earth Blind Thrusting , Surface Folding , and the Development of Geological Structure in the Mw 6 . 3 2015 Pishan ( China ) Earthquake

The relationship between individual earthquakes and the longer-term growth of topography and of geological structures is not fully understood, but is key to our ability to make use of topographic and geological data sets in the contexts of seismic hazard and wider-scale tectonics. Here we investigate those relationships at an active fold-and-thrust belt in the southwest Tarim Basin, Central Asia. We use seismic waveforms and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) to determine the fault parameters and slip distribution of the 2015 Mw 6.3 Pishan earthquake—a blind, reverse-faulting event dipping toward the Tibetan Plateau. Our earthquake mechanism and location correspond closely to a fault mapped independently by seismic reflection, indicating that the earthquake was on a preexisting ramp fault over a depth range of ∼9–13 km. However, the geometry of folding in the overlying fluvial terraces cannot be fully explained by repeated coseismic slip in events such as the 2015 earthquake nor by the early postseismic motion shown in our interferograms; a key role in growth of the topography must be played by other mechanisms. The earthquake occurred at the Tarim-Tibet boundary, with the unusually low dip of 21∘. We use our source models from Pishan and a 2012 event to argue that the Tarim Basin crust deforms only by brittle failure on faults whose effective coefficient of friction is ≤0.05 ± 0.025. In contrast, most of the Tibetan crust undergoes ductile deformation, with a viscosity of order 1020 –1022 Pa s. This contrast in rheologies provides an explanation for the low dip of the earthquake fault plane.