Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seed bank and its restoration potential in Estonian flooded meadows

Questions What is the overall restoration potential of the persistent soil seed bank of abandoned flooded meadows? To what degree does the share of typical flooded meadow species in the soil seed bank change during secondary succession from traditionally managed hayfields to stages overgrown by woody vegetation? Location Flooded meadows in Alam-Pedja Nature Reserve, central Estonia (26°14′ E, 58°33′ N). Methods The species composition of above-ground vegetation and the persistent soil seed bank were investigated with PerMANOVA and non-metric multidimensional scaling in mown, 25-yr abandoned and 50-yr abandoned sedge and tall forb meadows subjected to annual flooding. Particular attention was given to typical flooded meadow species in the persistent soil seed bank. General linear models and non-parametric tests were used to assess successional trends in seed bank richness, density, similarity to target vegetation and percentage of flooded meadow species to assess the restoration potential of the soil seed bank. Results The cessation of traditional management has led to considerable changes in both above-ground and seed bank communities, differences between successional stages being more pronounced in the soil seed bank. The density of the seed bank was higher in abandoned meadows. Diversity in the vegetation and soil seed bank was lowest in the 25-yr abandoned tall forb meadows. Although the soil seed bank similarity to above-ground mown meadows (locally defined target vegetation) was relatively low across different successional stages, the proportion of flooded meadow species in the seed bank remained high – even after 50-yr abandonment, on average 42% of emerged seeds from sedge meadow and 34% from tall forb meadow were typical flooded meadow species. Conclusions Abandoned floodplain meadows in central Estonia still contain a relatively large grassland community species pool, including a large and effective soil seed bank. The soil seed bank could thus play an important role in the restoration of abandoned and overgrown meadow communities. Targeted experiments addressing the optimal techniques for activating the soil seed bank in flooded meadow soil are needed.
Dietary microbial phytase supplementation and the utilization of phosphorus, trace minerals and protein by rainbow trout [Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum)] fed soybean meal‐based diets

Effects of thermal and enzymatic treatments of soybean meal on apparent absorption of total phosphorus, phytate phosphorus, nitrogen (protein), ash, calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, manganese, strontium and zinc were examined using rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), as the test species. Absorption of the test nutrients was estimated using yttrium as an inert non-absorbable indicator. Thermal treatments (microwaving, dry roasting, steam heating, cooking) had no measurable effect on the apparent absorption of phosphorus and other minerals. Phytase supplementation increased the apparent absorption of phosphorus, nitrogen (protein), ash, calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, strontium and zinc in low-ash diets containing soybean meal, but had little effect in high-ash diets containing both soybean and fish meal. In low-ash diets, the apparent absorption of phosphorus increased in accord with the level of phytase added to the diet, from 27% (no phytase added) up to 90% (phytase added, 4000 units kg−1 diet) or 93% (predigested with phytase, 200 units kg−1 soybean meal). In high-ash diets, dietary acidification with citric acid decreased the effect of phytase, whereas in low-ash diets, acidification markedly increased the effect of the enzyme. Excretion of phosphorus in the faeces of fish fed a low-ash diet containing phytase-treated soybean meal was 0.32 g per kg diet consumed, a 95%−98% reduction compared with phosphorus excretion by fish consuming commercial trout feeds.
Membrane Modification in Activity of Plant Molluscicides

In the cyclooxygenase assay (3) 1 showed 100% inhibition at 100 tM in human platelets. None of the compounds tested was significantly active against the 1 2-lipoxygenase assay. Subsequently, 1 was tested in the phorbol ester-induced mouse ear edema assay (4) and found to block the inflammation in a dose-dependent manner (Table 2) with an IC50 of 90mM which is an equivalent activity to lonapalene (Syntex) used as a positive control. It is concluded that I has significant activity in the above assays and work is in progress to further evaluate its topical anti-inflammatory activity and to prepare other analogs for optimum effects.
Bacterial leaf spot of cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) in Ontario

Bacterial leaf spot of cilantro (coriander; Coriandrum sativum), incited by Pseudomonas syringae pv. oriandricola, caused losses in yield and quality of several hectares of cilantro in Halton-Peel county and in the marsh regions of Bradford, Ontario, in 1993–1994. Isolates recovered from diseased tissues were Gram negative with a single polar flagellum and nonfluorescent on king's medium B. Tests for levan production, oxidase reaction. potato (Solanum tuberosum) soft rot, arginine dihydrolase, and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) hypersensitivity were positive for levan production and tobacco hypersensitivity but negative for oxidase and arginine dihydrolase. Identification of the species and pathovar was based on host symptoms, fulfillment of Koch's postulates, cultural characteristics, physiological and determinative tests, and specificity of host range. Integrated disease control measure are outlined. This is the first report of P. syringae pv. coriandricola on cilantro in Ontario.
Relationship between Brand Perceptions and Satisfaction: Empirical Study on Skin Products in Malaysia

In the highly competitive marketplace, marketers for the skin care product are facing challenges with identifying the consumer’s brand perception and brand satisfaction. Brand satisfaction is perceived as an important issue on skin care industry. Obviously, customers are the important stakeholders in organizations and their satisfaction is a priority to the company. This study aims to investigate the relationship between brand perceptions and brand satisfaction on skin care products with four independent variables (quality, promotion, image and preference). This study employed the statistic software of SPSS version 19.0 to evaluate 200 sets of questionnaires which collected from students, undergraduates, working adults and other respondents. The findings in this study shows that the brand perceptions on quality, image and preference have positive and significant relationship with brand satisfaction on skin care products. However, the relationship between brand perception on promotion and brand satisfaction is being rejected. Thus, the marketers can focus on perception on quality, image and preference to increase customers’ brand satisfaction to capture and retain them.
Effect of host diet on acceptance of eastern spruce budworm eggs by Trichogramma minutum

The acceptance behaviour of the parasitic wasp, Trichogramma minutum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), was studied on two types of egg masses of eastern spruce budworm (SBW), Choristoneura fumiferana Clemens. Host eggs were obtained from moths that had been fed balsam fir or artificial diet during their larval stages. Parasitoids were reared from both types of hosts. Host acceptance assays were conducted where females were provided with a single egg mass and with a choice between egg masses. Regardless of the parasitoid's rearing host, females parasitised hosts reared from artificial diet more often than those from balsam fir. Response was consistent in both no‐choice and choice assays. Rejection of hosts tended to occur during the examining stage of behaviour, suggesting that acceptability is judged externally. If a host was accepted, the same number of eggs were laid per egg mass regardless of treatment.
Behavioral and Physiological Responses of Largemouth Bass to Rain-Induced Reductions in Dissolved Oxygen in an Urban System

AbstractWaters in urban areas often experience hypoxic events due to combined sewer overflows, which have the potential to negatively affect aquatic biota. Despite these hypoxic events, many urban areas have diverse fish assemblages, suggesting hypoxia has a minimal impact. Data to quantify the impacts of aquatic hypoxia in urban systems are currently lacking. The current study sought to define how rain-induced hypoxia affected the movement, distribution, and physiology of individual Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides residing in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), an urban area prone to episodes of hypoxia. Following the onset of hypoxic events, the likelihood of Largemouth Bass remaining in hypoxic water was reduced, but fish did not completely avoid hypoxic areas. This suggests that hypoxia exerts only a moderate influence on the movement of Largemouth Bass. Field sampling showed that Largemouth Bass from the site prone to hypoxia were not in poor nutritional condition and were not suffering fr.
Consistent Commitment: Patterns of Engagement across Time in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are being used across the world to provide millions of learners with access to education. Many who begin these courses complete them successfully, or to their own satisfaction, but the high numbers who do not finish remain a subject of concern. In 2013, a team from Stanford University analysed engagement patterns on three MOOCs run on the Coursera platform. They found four distinct patterns of engagement that emerged from MOOCs based on videos and assessments. Subsequent studies on the FutureLearn platform, which is underpinned by social-constructivist pedagogy, indicate that patterns of engagement in these massive learning environments are influenced by decisions about pedagogy and learning design. This paper reports on two of these studies of learner engagement with FutureLearn courses. Study One first tries, not wholly successfully, to replicate the findings of the Coursera study in a new context. It then uses the same methodological approach to identify patterns of learner engagement on the FutureLearn platform, and indicates how these patterns are influenced by pedagogy and elements of learning design. Study Two investigates whether these patterns of engagement are stable on subsequent presentations of the same courses. Two patterns are found consistently in this and other work: samplers who visit briefly, and completers who fully engage with the course. The paper concludes by exploring the implications for both research and practice.
Feeding ecology of the Common Tern Sterna hirundo in a wintering area in southern Brazil

The wintering diet of Common Terns Sterna hirundo was studied by using 714 pellets collected on roosting sites at the mouth of the Lagoa dos Patos and on adjacent coastal beaches, in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, from March 1999 to February 2000. A total of 12 340 individual prey items of 35 different food types was found. Fish was the most important food type in the diet, constituting 32% by number and 93% by mass. Insects contributed 67% by number but only 3% by mass. The main food types were sciaenid fishes Paralonchurus brasiliensis, Micropogonias furnieri, Cynoscion guatucupa and Macrodon ancylodon. Several of these are important commercial species; fisheries potentially impact food availability to the terns, and terns may contribute significantly to the natural mortality of these fishes. Clupeiform fishes, the urophycid fish Urophycis brasiliensis and flying ants (Camponotus sp.) were also important. Species composition of the diet (food types), both by number and by mass, differed significantly between months. Prey sizes ranged in length from 12.7 mm to 217.4 mm. The average estimated total length of fish taken was 77.7 mm, but the mean differed significantly among prey species. The importance of demersal sciaenids to the diet of the Common Tern, a surface predator, may be explained by their association with aquatic predators, especially adult Bluefish Pomatomus saltatrix and Striped Weakfish Cynoscion guatucupa, and the Franciscans Dolphin Pontoporia blainvillei, which drive these fish to the surface. The occurrence of flying ants in the diet was related to offshore winds, which carried these insects out to sea. The occasional high availability of insects possibly changed the cost/ benefit relationship of several food types, causing diet changes. The high number of prey species, the temporal variations in the composition of the diet and the wide range of prey sizes are evidence of the high dietary plasticity of the Common Tern, at wintering areas in southern Brazil.
Metabolic Activity of Zooplankton from the Antarctic Ocean

Eight species of live zooplankton were transported from the Antarctic Ocean to a tropical laboratory in Queensland, Australia. Their respiration and ammonia excretion rates measured at - 0.5o C were in the order of 0.15-0.55 µl O2/mg dry wt. h and 0.002-0. 06µg N mg dry wt. h, respectively. As an indirect estimate enzyme activity of the respiratory electron transport system (ETS) was determined on frozen specimens of 15 zooplankton species brought back from the Antarctic Ocean. The ratio of ETS activity to respiration rate measured in this study was 1.863 ± 0.738 (n = 12). The respiration rates thus directly and indirectly obtained were in agreement with results of previous workers. Effect of temperature on respiration and ammonia excretion rates were examined on two selected animal groups of zooplankton- copepods belonging to the family Calanidae and euphausiids of the genus Euphausia- and the results were compared with those for species from other seas where the temperature varies from 5.0 to 27.6oC. From this comparison, acceleration of the rate (standardized to 1 mg dry wt of body) by the increase of temperature (expressed as a Q10 value) was 2.18 for respiration rate and 2.58 for ammonia excretion rate.
Ecophysiology of the cacao tree

Cacao, one of the world's most important perennial crops, is almost exclusively explored for chocolate manufacturing. Most cacao varieties belong to three groups: Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario that vary according to morphology, genetic and geographical origins. It is cropped under the shade of forest trees or as a monocrop without shade. Seedlings initially show an orthotropic growth with leaf emission relatively independent of climate. The maturity phase begins with the emission of plagiotropic branches that form the tree crown. At this stage environmental factors exert a large influence on plant development. Growth and development of cacao are highly dependent on temperature, which mainly affects vegetative growth, flowering and fruit development. Soil flooding decreases leaf area, stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rates in addition to inducing formation of lenticels and adventitious roots. For most genotypes drought resistance is associated with osmotic adjustment. Cacao produces caulescent flowers, which begin dehiscing in late afternoon and are completely open at the beginning of the following morning releasing pollen to a receptive stigma. Non pollinated flowers abscise 24-36 h after anthesis. The percentage of flowers setting pods is in the range 0.5 - 5%. The most important parameters determinants of yield are related to: (i) light interception, photosynthesis and capacity of photoassimilate distribution, (ii) maintenance respiration and (iii) pod morphology and seed fermentation, events that can be modified by abiotic factors. Cacao is a shade tolerant species, in which appropriate shading leads to relatively high photosynthetic rates, growth and seed yield. However, heavy shade reduces seed yield and increases incidence of diseases; in fact, cacao yields and light interception are tightly related when nutrient availability is not limiting. High production of non-shaded cacao requires high inputs in protection and nutrition of the crop. Annual radiation and rainfall during the dry season explains 70% of the variations in annual seed yields.
Breaking Dormancy In Gmelina arborea Roxb. Through Treatment Of Seeds With Chemical Substances And Alternating Temperature

Seeds of Gmelina arborea Roxb. were subjected to different treatment [chemical scarification with concentrated sulphuric acid (H 2 S0 4 ), potasium nitrate (KNO 3 ), potasium nitrite (KNO 2 ) and alternating temperature regimes] to ascertain the best treatment for terminating dormancy in the seeds. Initial viability and germination tests showed that the seeds of G. arborea are viable but dormant. Seed viability percentage of 96 was recorded. Dormancy in the seeds was found to be the physical type caused by hard seed coat. Chemical scarification for 10 minutes with concentrated H 2 S0 4 was very effective in breaking seed dormancy in the species. This increased water uptake in the seeds to 68% compared with the 15% in unscarified seeds after 7 days. Scarification gave a germination percentage of 80 over 43% for the unscarified after 26 days. 1mM and 10mM KNO 3 and KNO 2 terminated dormancy and highly enhanced germination in the scarified than unscarified seeds. Alternating temperatures promoted germination of G. arborea seeds with the best results recorded at 9 cycles of alternating temperature at 30 °C for 16hours and 45 °C for 8 hours. Key Words: Dormancy, Gmelina arborea, Chemicals, Alternating temperature Bio-Research Vol.2(1) 2004: 59-66
Effect of various starters on the quality of Kefalotyri cheese

Summary The effect of 3 combinaisons of lactic acid bacteria, namely A = Streptococcus thermophilus + Lactobacillus bulgaricus, B = Streptococcus thermophilus + Lactobacillus bulgaricus + Lactobacillus casei, C = Streptococcus lactis + Lactobacillus bulgaricus + Lactobacillus casei, on the chemical composition, microflora and organoleptic characteristics of Kefalotyri cheese was studied here in. Significant differences in their pH and water soluble nitrogen during ail stages of ripening were determined. Sorne differences were also observed in the size and the tendency of the total counts and the lactobacilli of the various cheeses, during their ripening. Ali combinations of bacteria gave good quality of cheese, with type A combination surpassing ail others.
Acoustic structure and variation in mountain and western gorilla close calls: a syntactic approach

Our understanding of the functioning of a species’ vocal repertoire can be greatly improved by investigating acoustic variation and using objective classification schemes based on acoustic structure. Here we used a syntactic approach to investigate the acoustic structure of the gorilla close distance vocalizations (‘close calls’), which remain as yet little understood. We examined 2130 calls of 10 mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, and 5 western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) from Bai Hokou, Central African Republic. We segmented calls into units using distinct acoustic features and employed model-based cluster analyses to define the repertoire of unit types. We then examined how unit types were combined into calls. Lastly, we compared unit type use between age–sex classes and the two study groups. We found that the gorilla close calls consist of 5 intergraded acoustic unit types which were flexibly but yet non-randomly concatenated into 159 combinations. Our results are in line with previous quantitative acoustic analyses demonstrating a high degree of acoustic variation in a variety of animal vocal repertoires, particularly close distance vocalizations. Our findings add on to (1) the recent argument that the common practice of describing vocal repertoires as either discrete or graded may be of little value as such distinctions may be driven by human perception and non-quantitative descriptions of vocal repertoires, and (2) recent studies indicating that flexibility in close range social calls can come about through combinatorial systems, which previously have been studied primarily in long distance vocalizations. Furthermore, our study highlights differences in the vocal repertoire of western and mountain gorillas, as expected given differences in environment and social behaviour. Our results offer opportunities for further in-depth studies investigating the function of the gorilla close calls, which will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of ape vocal communication in general.
Estimation of genetic parameters for growth traits in Tabapuã cattle using a multi-trait model

To provide information that can contribute to the genetic evaluation and selection in Tabapua cattle, genetic parameters were estimated for growth traits using a multi-trait animal model. (Co)variance components were estimated by a Bayesian approach using the Gibbs Sampler. Moderate and similar responses to selection are expected when selecting for weights at the four ages evaluated, since the direct heritability estimates were similar and of average magnitude (0.18 to 0.19). The direct and maternal additive genetic correlations between all pairs of weights were higher than 0.70, indicating a high degree of association between the four traits. This suggests that using any of them as selection criteria will result in correlated response in the others and that multi-trait analysis are recommended for the genetic evaluation of growth traits in beef cattle for exploiting this association.
Moult of the emperor penguin: travel, location, and habitat selection

All penguins except emperors Aptenodytes forsteri and Adelies Pygoscelis adeliae moult on land, usually near the breeding colonies. These 2 Antarctic species typically moult some- where in the pack-ice. Emperor penguins begin their moult in early summer when the pack-ice cover of the Antarctic Ocean is receding. The origin of the few moulting birds seen by observers on pass- ing ships is unknown, and the locations are often far from any known colonies. We attached satellite transmitters to 12 breeding adult A. forsteri from western Ross Sea colonies before they departed the colony for the last time before moulting. In addition, we surveyed some remote areas of the Weddell Sea north and east of some large colonies that are located along the southern and western borders of this sea. The tracked birds moved at a rate of nearly 50 km d -1 for more than 1000 km over 30 d to reach areas of perennially consistent pack-ice. Almost all birds traveled to the eastern Ross Sea and western Amundsen Sea. Sea-ice conditions were observed directly in the Weddell Sea from ship and helicopter. Most floes selected for moulting were ridged, and usually >100 m 2 . From these observa- tions we predict where the most likely moult refuges are for emperor penguins from other colonies around the Antarctic continent.
GENOTYPE Ã— ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION AND YIELD STABILITY ANALYSIS IN MULTIENVIRONMENT.

The present study was carried out in 8 genotypes with their 56 F1s hybrids over three locations to study stability in the performance of different environmental conditions for various economic traits. The mean squares due to genotype were significant for oil content, seed cotton yield, micronaire and fiber strength. The genotype A— environment mean square was significant for seed cotton yield and fiber strength indicating different response of the genotypes in different environments. Three crosses, namely 23 ES A— B 58-1290, B 58-1290 A— 23ES and B 58-1290 x 23 K were found more stable for oil content (%) over the years as indicated by their non-significant deviation from regression. For boll weight and seed cotton yield, among the crosses VCH (F) x RS 810 and RS 810 x 23 ES had high mean and was stable and responsive to favorable environments as indicated by the regression coefficient more than unity. Â