Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cluster Analysis of Fish Community Data : “ New ” Tools for Determining Meaningful Groupings of Sites and Species Assemblages

—Community ecologists face the challenge of summarizing considerable amounts of information regarding species distributions and environmental conditions. Often, this challenge is met through the use of multivariate statistical approaches. Stream fish community ecologists, much like the broader ecological community, appear to favor the use of ordination methods over clustering approaches. One potential reason is due to the development of various tools to help us determine the interpretability or “significance” of ordination axes, whereas ecologists appear unfamiliar with the comparable tools available for examining cluster analysis. We use fish abundance data from two river systems to demonstrate several of these approaches. We demonstrate how the methods may be used to determine the relative strength of groups of sampling locations and species assemblages relative to the background variability. We contrast the methods to demonstrate their relative merits, both advantages and disadvantages, in studies commonly conducted by stream ecologists. * Corresponding author: don.jackson@utoronto.ca Introduction Understanding factors regulating species abundance and distribution remains a challenge to ecologists. Population ecologists typically focus on one or two species to determine the mechanisms controlling population abundance and demography, yet often find it difficult to easily resolve the relationships in these systems. Community ecologists are faced with incorporating these challenges too, but they are multiplied many fold due to considering many species, often comparing these groups of species across numerous sites and a range of habitats. Working at the community level, we examine questions related to understanding the roles of biotic, abiotic, spatial, and historical factors in determining the structure of communities—a task requiring considerable amounts of data. We fortunately now have increasing abilities to obtain large amounts of environmental data using remote sensing and data loggers, but also face the challenges of having to summarize underlying relationships within such extensive data sets (Guisan and Zimmermann 2000). The simplest approaches to these problems involve summarizing sites with measures such as species richness, diversity, or measures of “biotic integrity. ” Yet such measures provide no indication of the types of species present, nor whether sites that have similar levels of richness, diversity or integrity even contain any species in common. Alter-
Vulnerability of riparian ecosystems to elevated CO2 and climate change in arid and semiarid western North America

Riparian ecosystems, already greatly altered by water management, land development, and biological invasion, are being further altered by increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) and climate change, particularly in arid and semiarid (dryland) regions. In this literature review, we (1) summarize expected changes in [CO2], climate, hydrology, and water management in dryland western North America, (2) consider likely effects of those changes on riparian ecosystems, and (3) identify critical knowledge gaps. Temperatures in the region are rising and droughts are becoming more frequent and intense. Warmer temperatures in turn are altering river hydrology: advancing the timing of spring snow melt floods, altering flood magnitudes, and reducing summer and base flows. Direct effects of increased [CO2] and climate change on riparian ecosystems may be similar to effects in uplands, including increased heat and water stress, altered phenology and species geographic distributions, and disrupted trophic and symbiotic interactions. Indirect effects due to climate‐driven changes in streamflow, however, may exacerbate the direct effects of warming and increase the relative importance of moisture and fluvial disturbance as drivers of riparian ecosystem response to global change. Together, climate change and climate‐driven changes in streamflow are likely to reduce abundance of dominant, native, early‐successional tree species, favor herbaceous species and both drought‐tolerant and late‐successional woody species (including many introduced species), reduce habitat quality for many riparian animals, and slow litter decomposition and nutrient cycling. Climate‐driven changes in human water demand and associated water management may intensify these effects. On some regulated rivers, however, reservoir releases could be managed to protect riparian ecosystem. Immediate research priorities include determining riparian species' environmental requirements and monitoring riparian ecosystems to allow rapid detection and response to undesirable ecological change.
Cities and Satellites: Spatial Effects and Unobserved Heterogeneity in the Modeling of Urban Growth

The confluence of factors driving urban growth is highly complex, resulting from a combination of ecological and social determinants that co-evolve over time and space. Identifying these factors and quantifying their impact necessitates models that capture both why urbanization happens as well as where and when it happens. Using a database that links five satellite images spanning 1976-2001 to a suite of socioeconomic, ecological and GIS created explanatory variables, this study develops a spatial-temporal model of the determinants of built-up area across a 25,900 square kilometer swath across central North Carolina. Extensive conversion of forest and agricultural land over the last decades is modeled using the complementary log-log derivation of the proportional hazards model, thereby affording a means for modeling continuous-time landscape change using discrete-time satellite data. To control for unobserved heterogeneity, the model specification includes an error component that is Gamma distributed. Results confirm the hypothesis that the landscape pattern surrounding a pixel has a major influence on the likelihood of its conversion and, moreover, that the omission of external spatial effects can lead to biased inferences regarding the influence of other covariates, such as proximity to road. Cartographic and nonparametric validation exercises illustrate the utility of the model for policy simulation.
EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON OZONE-RELATED MORTALITY 1729 and their association is enhanced by the temperature dependence of other ozone precursors

Climate change is expected to alter the distribution of ambient ozone levels and temperatures which, in turn, may impact public health. Much research has focused on the effect of short-term ozone exposures on mortality and morbidity while controlling for temperature as a confounder, but less is known about the joint effects of ozone and temperature. The extent of the health effects of changing ozone levels and temperatures will depend on whether these effects are additive or synergistic. In this paper we propose a spatial, semi-parametric model to estimate the joint ozone-temperature risk surfaces in 95 US urban areas. Our methodology restricts the ozone-temperature risk surfaces to be monotone in ozone and allows for both nonadditive and nonlinear effects of ozone and temperature. We use data from the National Mortality and Morbidity Air Pollution Study (NMMAPS) and show that the proposed model fits the data better than additive linear and nonlinear models. We then examine the synergistic effect of ozone and temperature both nationally and locally and find evidence of a nonlinear ozone effect and an ozone-temperature interaction at higher temperatures and ozone concentrations.
Evaluation Measures for Models Assessment over Imbalanced Data Sets

Imbalanced data learning is one of the challenging problems in data mining; among this matter, founding the right model assessment measures is almost a primary research issue. Skewed class distribution causes a misreading of common evaluation measures as well it lead a biased classification. This article presents a set of alternative for imbalanced data learning assessment, using a combined measures (G-means, likelihood ratios, Discriminant power, F-Measure Balanced Accuracy, Youden index, Matthews correlation coefficient), and graphical performance assessment (ROC curve, Area Under Curve, Partial AUC, Weighted AUC, Cumulative Gains Curve and lift chart, Area Under Lift AUL), that aim to provide a more credible evaluation. We analyze the applications of these measures in churn prediction models evaluation, a well known application of imbalanced data Keywords: imbalanced data, Model assessment, accuracy , G-means, likelihood ratios, F-Measure, Youden index, Matthews correlation coefficient, ROC, AUC, P-AUC,W-AUC, Lift, AUL
Explanatory IRT Analysis Using the SPIRIT Macro in SPSS

Item Response Theory (IRT) is a modeling framework that can be applied to a large variety of research questions spanning several disciplines. To make IRT models more accessible for the general researcher, a free tool has been created that can easily conduct one-parameter logistic IRT (1PL) analyses using the convenient point-and-click interface in SPSS without any required downloads or add-ons. This tool, the SPIRIT macro, can fit 1PL models with person and item covariates, DIF analyses, multidimensional models, multigroup models, rating scale models, and several other variations. Example explanatory models are presented with an applied dataset containing responses to an ADHD rating scale. Illustrations of how to fit basic 1PL models as well as two more complicated analyses using SPIRIT are given.
Polymorphism in matrix metalloproteinase-9 1562 C / T contributes to the risk of coronary artery disease

We aimed to investigate the association between MMP-9 1562 C/T and susceptibility to coronary artery disease in a Chinese Han population. Between May 2012 and January 2015, samples from 194 patients with coronary artery disease and 252 control subjects were collected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University. Genotyping of MMP-9 1562 C/T was carried out by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). There were significant differences in the genotype distributions of MMP-9 1562 C/T between patients with coronary artery disease and control subjects in codominant (χ2=12.45, P=0.002), dominant (χ2=7.61, P=0.006) and recessive models (χ2=9.88, P=0.002). Unconditional logistic analysis revealed that individuals with the TT genotype was associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease in a codominant model, and the OR (95% CI) was 3.68 (1.60-9.02). In dominant model, we found that the CT+TT genotype was correlated with increased risk of coronary artery disease (OR=1.64, 95% CI=1.10-2.44). In recessive model, the TT genotype was also associated with an elevated risk of coronary artery disease when compared to the CC+CT genotype (OR=3.24, 95% CI=1.44-7.82). In conclusion, we suggest that the MMP-9 1562 C/T polymorphism is correlated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease in the Chinese population.
Fractional Langevin equation with α-stable noise. A link to fractional ARIMA time series

We introduce a fractional Langevin equation with α-stable noise and show that its solution {Yκ(t), t ∈ R} is the stationary α-stable Ornstein-Uhlenbeck-type process recently studied in [14]. We examine the asymptotic dependence structure of Yκ(t) via the measure of its codependence r(θ1; θ2; t) being the difference between the joint characteristic function of (Yκ(t), Yκ(0)) and the product of the characteristic functions of Yκ(t) and Yκ(0). We prove that Yκ(t) is not a long-memory process in the sense of codependence r(θ1; θ2; t). Moreover, we have found a natural continuous-time analogue of fractional ARIMA time series. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 60G52.
Influence of glutamine and vitamin E on the performance and the immune responses of broiler chickens

This study aimed at evaluating the influence of Glutamine (Gln) and Vitamin E (VE) supplementation on the performance and immune response of broilers. A completely randomizes experimental design with a 2 x 3 (VE x Gln) factorial arrangement was used. VE was supplemented at 10 and 500 mg/kg feed, with or without Gln (1%) addition, and two periods of supplementation in the starter diets (1-7 and 1-14 days of age), with five replicates of 50 birds each. The analyzed parameters were: live performance (weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio); relative weights of the spleen, bursa, and thymus; antibody titers (with sheep red blood cells suspension - SRBC) and cutaneous basophilic hypersensivity (CBH). Data were submitted to the analysis of variance, and means were compared using the test of Tukey. Treatments did not influence (P>0.05) live performance parameters or antibody titers. VE reduced (P=0.01) CBH, with the level of 10 mg VE/kg allowing higher cell proliferation as compared to 500 mg VE/kg. As to lymphoid organs, only the spleen was affected (P=0.035) by Gln, which resulted in higher spleen relative weight when fed during the first week of age. Results showed that 10 mg VE/kg with Gln (1-7 days) promoted better immune responses.
Acute and subchronic toxicity studies of kernel extract of Sclerocarya birrea in rats

Sclerocarya birrea fruits are widely eaten in developing countries especially in rural areas and serves as nutrients supplements. However, they also contain phyto-toxin which may affect the normal functioning of the body. Acute toxicity was performed by a single oral administration at a dose of 3000 mg/kg body weight. Sub chronic evaluation was done by oral feeding of the rats with the seed kernel extract daily at doses of 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 mg/kg body weight for 28 days. The results of acute toxicity showed no mortality and general behavior changes. The lethal dosage (LD50) was greater than 3000 mg/kg body weight. Rats fed with 1000 and 2000 mg/kg body weight of the extract showed increased body weights throughout the period of treatment but not significantly (p<0.05) different from the control group. Significant (p<0.05) reduction in the body weights were noticed in those administered with 3000 and 4000 mg/kg body weight at the 4th and all the weeks respectively. Significant (p<0.05) increased in serum total protein, albumin, bilirubin, transaminases, creatinine, urea, uric acid and electrolytes were observed in rats fed with 3000 to 4000 mg/kg body weight of the extract, suggesting liver and kidney toxicity. Therefore, the seed kernel extract of S. birrea may be relatively toxic at doses of 3000 and 4000 mg/kg body weight.
Perceived Organizational Support , Work Motivation , and Organizational Commitment as determinants of Job Performance

This study explored the extent to which perceived organizational support, work motivation, and organizational commitment predict individual differences in job performance workers. We expected positive relationship between POS, WM, and OC, and their substantial contribution in predicting job performance. 231 male skilled workers (28-45 yrs.) from different units of National Fertilizer Ltd. India participated in the study and completed Perceived Organizational Support Questionnaire, Employees Motivation Schedule, and Occupational Commitment Questionnaire. The job performance of the participants was rated by their immediate superiors through Performance Rating Scale. The findings supported the hypotheses of modest level positive correlation between POS, OC, and WM and their significant contribution in determining job performance. Among all the three classes of predictor variables, POS showed highest correlation with job performance followed by WM measure monetary gains, and affective commitment. Continuance commitment, need for goal achievement and competition, and non financial rewards have shown modest level association with performance. The stepwise regression identified a set of five variables which predicted best the job performance. In close agreement with social exchange views, perceived organizational support appeared to be most potent predictor of job performance. Two components of work motivation, i.e., need for monetary gains and goal achievement and competition were found contributing significantly to the prediction of job performance. It points to the importance of extrinsic sources of motivation for lowly paid industrial workers but at the same time they value intrinsic sources also. Among three components of OC, affective and continuance commitments were the better predictors of JP.
Mi Casa es su Casa? Examining Airbnb Hospitality Exchange Practices in a Developing Economy

We present a study involving twenty in-depth, semi-structured interviews, a street survey, and online data to understand Airbnb hospitality exchange practices in the context of a developing country. As case studies, we investigate Airbnb practices of both hosts and guests in two tourist venues in Mexico -- the eighth most visited country worldwide. The analysis of the data revealed that Airbnb practices in Mexico have some similarities but also important differences with those previously reported in the literature. We found (1) that money is the main motivation for hosts to participate in Airbnb and that the earned money contributes significantly to the overall income of hosts; (2) that traditions that permeate the Mexican culture motivate hosts to engage in more personal hospitality experiences; (3) that Airbnb host practices lead to the creation of informal jobs that support the local community; and (4) that Airbnb local guests suggest that the lack of contextual information (i.e., the characteristics of the neighborhood where the accommodation is located) is a problem when renting in Mexico owing to safety issues.
Transdermal Drug Delivery of Asiatic Acid Influences Renal Function and Electrolyte Handling in Plasmodium berghei - Infected Sprague-Dawley Male Rats

Background: Malaria is one of the most important infectious inflammatory diseases worldwide which affects vital organs including gastrointestinal and kidneys. Higher prevalence of malaria related renal failure, current malaria drugs nephrotoxicity and drug resistance to malaria calls for continued research in anti-parasitic as well as anti-disease inflammatory pharmaceuticals. Asiatic acid, a plant phytochemical extract, has antioxidant, pro-oxidant and diuretic properties. Here we report influence of Asiatic acid-pectin hydrogel matrix patch application in P. berghei -infected Sprague Dawley rats on renal function and electrolyte handling. Materials and Methods: Asiatic acid (5mg/kg)-pectin patch was applied on the dorsal neck region of the rat on day 7 post infection and monitored for parasitaemia, and physicochemical changes. Urine and blood were collected for measuring various biochemical parameters to estimate renal function and electrolyte handling. Results: Asiatic acid-pectin patch application had significant influence on food and water intake as well as weight changes, urine electrolytes, glomerular filtration rate, and antioxidant markers together with hormonal changes of aldosterone and vasopressin. Conclusion: Application of the once-off Asiatic acid (5mg/kg)-pectin patch influence renal function and renal electrolyte handling while ameliorating, biochemical and hormonal derangements induced by malaria. Novelty of the Work Here we show for the first time a) the efficacy of Asiatic acid (AA) in suppressing murine malaria by way of administering the phytochemical using the amidated pectin hydrogel matrix patch transdermal drug delivery system, b) diminution of asiatic acid dose applied from 10mg/kg oral to 5mg/kg by transdermal, c) reduction of time once-off patch application from five days to three days, d) attenuation of oxidative and hormonal derangements in malaria and e) the amelioration of renal function together with improvement in renal electrolyte handling. The results may be of benefit in patient care replacing the multiple dosing approaches used in malaria management.
The relationships between firm’s strategy, resources and innovation performance: resources-based view perspective

Besides basic competitive priority (quality, cost, delivery and flexibility), innovation has been recognised as one of the primary sources of competitive advantage for manufacturing industry to compete in global markets. This paper, therefore, presents an empirical study on the relationship between firm strategy, resources and innovation performance. Drawing from the grounded theory of resource-based view, and using 218 responses from Thai production/operation managers, this paper shows that differentiation strategy had a positive relationship with both internal capital or internal resources (represented by knowledge and creativity management) and networks capital or external resources (represented by customer and supplier network). The findings also revealed that only internal capital had a positive effect on innovation performance. Finally, contributions to industry practitioner, academia and national agency in supporting and promoting innovation are presented.
High-throughput Sequencing-based Analysis of the Intestinal Microbiota of Broiler Chickens Fed Genetically Modified Rice Expressing Cry1Ac/Cry1Ab Chimeric Bacillus thuringiensis Protein

Many types of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-crops are being grown worldwide, triggering concerns about their potential impact on humans and livestock. To ensure better yield and food safety in China, an attempt has been made to develop Bt-rice targeting a broad range of insects. We aimed to investigate whether feeding genetically modified rice expressing the Bt chimeric Cry1Ac/Cry1Ab protein has any effects on the intestinal microbiota of broilers. Broilers were fed either Bt-rice or its unmodified isogenic parent line for 42 days, and total DNA was isolated from cecum contents for high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. In total, 1,241,005 reads, assigned to 12 phyla, 31 families, and 48 genera were generated. No significant differences were observed in the relative abundance of organisms identified among the major phyla, families, and genera, except for two less abundant families, Thermoanaerobacteraceae and Peptostreptococcaceae, and two less abundant genera, Anaerotruncus and Gelria. The results were in agreement with those from culture-based analysis and Biolog EcoPlates. These results illustrate that feeding Bt-rice has no adverse effects on the broiler intestinal microbiota and provide sufficient support for the food safety of Bt-rice.