Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
I don’t care about who you are, but what you are doing for me? Examining perceptions of helpful comments and identity in user-generated content

ABSTRACT User-generated content is common feature of news websites. Individuals use these features to express thoughts, opinions, and suggestions about news stories. Previous research suggests an impact of identity and helper heuristics on specific outcomes in user-generated contributions in online news commenting forums. The current research sought to extend previous research to specifically examining agency cues and information in online heuristic processing. Results suggest that being helpful in computer-mediated contexts results in several positive perceptions for the helpful agent, more so than providing ambiguous cues about the identity of the user posting the content. The findings help establish conditions under which agency affordances positively impact perceptions and have direct implications for the MAIN model.
When a male changes his ways: sex differences in feeding behavior in the pied flycatcher

Although sexual dimorphism is a well-known phenomenon, several aspects of it remain unresolved. For example, it is not clear how environmental conditions influence sexual dimorphism, especially in behavioral traits. In a study of pied flycatchers, we tested whether there are differences in the composition of food brought to young by the different parents and whether such sex differences are dependent on the hunger level of nestlings. We found that in normal feeding conditions, female parents provisioned nestlings with relatively more food collected from the tree canopy (caterpillars), whereas males brought more food caught in flight (adult lepidopterans). To imitate a temporary worsening of environmental conditions, we experimentally increased the hunger level of nestlings. Male parents responded to this manipulation by changing their foraging behavior such that the sex difference in provisioning behavior diminished. Possible explanations for the observed sex differences are discussed. This result is in accordance with the general pattern previously found for sex differences in animal size and certain other traits—namely that sex differences tend to diminish in harsh environmental conditions. It is possible that a decrease in sex differences in harsh conditions represents a more general pattern than previously assumed.
Ecology and management of Ericaphis fimbriata (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in relation to the potential for spread of Blueberry scorch virus1

Abstract Aphids were sampled in commercial blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L. (Ericaceae), fields in southwestern British Columbia, Canada, from 2001 through 2003. Ericaphis fimbriata (Richards), the dominant aphid, overwintered as eggs on blueberry and emerged in late February and March during bud break. Apterous adult fundatrices were found during April. The fundatrices produced both alate and apterous virginoparae. There was a positive curvilinear relationship between production of alatae and aphid density on flower clusters, but not on leaf terminals. Peak densities in late June or early July varied from 300 to 9000 aphids per plant in different fields, suggesting that there may be considerable variation in Blueberry scorch virus transmission rates among fields infected with the virus. Production of alate virginoparae (percentage of all fourth-instar aphids with wing pads) declined from May through August. Sexual morphs were produced in late September and October. The efficacy of postbloom insecticide applications in June, by growers, was variable. Experimental trials showed that dormant oil is not effective in preventing aphid emergence. Aphids on blueberry should be controlled before bloom, before alatae are produced and large populations occur, but the efficacy of this approach in reducing virus transmission needs to be tested. Résumé Nous avons échantillonné des bleuetières commerciales à Vaccinium corymbosum L. (Ericaceae) dans le sud-ouest de la Colombie-Britannique de 2001 à la fin de 2003. Ericaphis fimbriata (Richards), le puceron dominant, passe l'hiver au stade d'oeuf sur les myrtilles et émerge à la fin de février et en mars lors de l'ouverture des bourgeons. Des fondatrices adultes aptères se retrouvent en avril. Les fondatrices produisent des virginipares tant ailées qu'aptères. Il existe une relation curvilinéaire positive entre la production d'ailées et la densité de pucerons sur les grappes de fleurs, mais non sur les feuilles terminales. Les densités maximales en fin de juin et au début de juillet varient de 300 à 9000 pucerons par plant dans les différents champs, ce qui indique qu'il peut exister une grande variation dans les taux de transmission du virus de la brunissure nécrotique du bleuet dans les champs infectés par le virus. La production de virginipares ailées (pourcentage de pucerons de quatrième stade avec des ptérothèques) décline de mai jusqu'à la fin d'août. Les formes sexuelles apparaissent à la fin de septembre et en octobre. L'efficacité des épandages d'insecticides par les producteurs en juin après la floraison est variable. Des essais expérimentaux montrent que l'huile de dormance n'empêche pas de façon efficace l'émergence des pucerons. Il faut faire la lutte aux pucerons sur les myrtilles avant la floraison, donc avant la production des ailées et la présence de fortes densités; cependant, l'efficacité de cette méthode pour réduire la transmission du virus reste à vérifier. [Traduit par la Rédaction]
Hibernation and emergence pattern of Tupinambis merianae (Squamata: Teiidae) in the Taim Ecological Station, southern Brazil

The emergence period and winter aggregations of a population of Tupinambis merianae from southern Brazil as well as some behavioural aspects from its post‐emergence period are examined. Fifty‐six individuals were captured and marked in 64 days (640 h) of field study. Most of the hibernacula identified were beneath human constructions. The first individuals emerged in August and the last active ones were observed in April. The population's emergence shows a protandric pattern, where males emerge before females, both in adults and juveniles. After emerging, males basked in aggregations of up to 13 individuals, in which individuals changed positions following audible resonant signals emitted by the lizards. Sibilated sounds were emitted in stress situations or in agonistic interactions. Future studies are necessary to elucidate behaviour patterns of the species in the natural environment, mainly related to the utilization of sound communication.
Ninth international workshop on Principles of software evolution: in conjunction with the 6th ESEC/FSE joint meeting

IWPSE 2007 - Fresh blood for Software Evolution Bits of History. Greetings and welcome to IWPSE 2007, the 9th International Workshop on Principles of Software Evolution! IWPSE 2007 is held in conjunction with the joint meeting of the European Software Engineering Conference (ESEC) and the ACM SIGSOFT Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering (FSE). The IWPSE series started in 1998, in Kyoto, and since then continued being held annually over Asia, Europe, and the USA. To provide a broader perspective on software evolution, IWPSE has always been co-located with major international conferences, such as ICSE, ESEC/FSE and RE. Since the first edition, IWPSE has acquired momentum and it is now a truly international forum. This year, IWPSE is held for the first time in Eastern Europe, in the beautiful location of Dubrovnik, Croatia. As the message title implies, this past few years have seen a renewed interest in the topic of software evolution. This is tangible by the number of young and energetic researchers who have joined the research community by opening up new directions, such as the mining of software repositories, which ultimately has given a great impetus to the research field as a whole. This is also attested by the number of sibling venues of IWPSE, such as MSR (the International Workshop on Mining Software Repositories) and EVOL (the ERCIM Symposium on Software Evolution). Technical Program. As always, the technical papers represent the core of the workshop program. This year there were 33 technical paper submissions. After rigorous review of each paper by at least three international reviewers, the program committee selected 9 full papers, 8 short papers, and 3 demo papers for presentation at the workshop and inclusion in the proceedings. We were very pleased with the high quality of paper submissions. Also, we are more than pleased that IWPSE features a provocative keynote address by a leading researcher in the area, prof. Giuliano Antoniol, the Canada Research Chair Tier I in Software Change and Evolution of the Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal.
Molecular mechanism of thermal sensitization effect of potential materials for microwave hyperthermia

ABSTRACT The materials susceptible to microwave irradiation has the potential to improve the heating efficiency of microwave tumour ablation. A molecular dynamics simulation was performed to investigate the mechanisms of thermal sensitisation of the potential susceptible materials including pure water, normal saline, hydrogel, sodium alginate and calcium alginate under microwave heating conditions. The comparison result of the temperature rises of these materials indicated that calcium alginate gels was the highest and that of pure water was lowest. The reasons were analysed by calculating the variations in translational and rotational kinetic energies, dielectric constant and energy contribution of the components of the materials in the presence of an external electromagnetic field of 2.45 GHz. It is found that the rapid translational molecular motion of salt ions leads to higher temperature rise of normal saline compared with pure water. The polymeric network structure of hydrogel can trap the water molecules in a small space and pack the surrounding water molecules more closely, and the temperature rise increases nonlinearly with the increase of the density of the water molecules. A combination of the heating mechanisms of normal saline and hydrogel induces the highest temperature rise of the alginates among all of the investigated materials.
The fate of Prosopis ferox seeds from unremoved pods at National Park Los Cardones

Prosopis ferox is a tree that grows at the National Park Los Cardones. After abscission, its pods lie under the tree canopy and are removed by small mammals, donkeys and goats. The objectives of this study were to analyse whether P. ferox seeds are released from pods by pericarp decomposition and to assess the extent of seed loss by bruchid predation. Seven-hundred and twelve fruits from 15 trees were marked and released on the ground. After 1 and 2 years the marked fruits were counted. In the sixth year the remaining marked fruits were collected and their seeds were classified into intact or predated. None of the pods showed signs of decomposition after 6 years and 99% of their seeds had been predated. The incorporation of seeds to the bank through pericarp decomposition is unlikely because of the hardness of the fruits and bruchid predation.
Ocular Biodistribution of 89Zr-Bevacizumab in New Zealand Rabbits Determined Using PET/MRI: A Feasibility Study

Background: Despite studies on positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in oncological imaging with high soft-tissue contrast resolution, PET/MRI has not been studied in ophthalmology. Zr-bevacizumab, designed as a probe for PET, targets vascular endothelial growth factor, which is highly expressed in ocular angiogenesis. Intravitreal injections of bevacizumab agents have curative effects on ocular disease. Objectives: To study the ocular biodistribution of Zr-bevacizumab in New Zealand rabbits using PET/MRI. Materials and Methods: Zr-bevacizumab, synthesized from conjugated bevacizumab and Zr-oxalate, and the purity of radiolabeled antibodies were determined using radio high-performance liquid chromatography (radio-HPLC). Instant thin-layer chromatography (ITLC) was utilized to differentiate the labeled product from aggregates and unlabeled Zr. Zr-bevacizumab was injected 2 mm from the left limbus into the vitreous humor of six normal New Zealand white rabbits. Micro-PET was utilized for dynamic imaging from 5 minutes to 60 minutes postinjection and for static imaging at 4 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, 120 hours, and 144 hours (10-minutes scans) postinjection. PET/MRI scans were fused using PMOD software. Results: Zr-bevacizumab with a radiochemical purity of 93.21% was monitored via PET imaging. Radioactivity levels in the eyes plateaued approximately 5 minutes after administration of Zr-bevacizumab, and the measured vitreous values decreased from 340.52 ± 41.6% injected dose (ID)/g to 21.53 ± 3.39%ID/g by 144 hours. The half-life of the drug in the eye was calculated for 84.25 hours. Conclusion: Zr-bevacizumab could be monitored in animals by PET imaging, and the radiolabel exhibited high sensitivity in the vitreous body. Radioactivity levels in the eyes plateaued approximately 5 minutes after administration. This study clearly demonstrates the biodistribution of Zr-bevacizumab.
HT-2 toxin and T-2 toxin in commercial cereal processing in the United Kingdom, 2004-2007

Legislation for mycotoxins in the European Union is being considered for T-2 toxin (T-2) and HT-2 toxin (HT-2). A four-year study on the fate of Fusarium mycotoxins in commercial milling and processing of cereals examined the incidence and concentrations of T-2 and HT-2 in wheat, oats and maize at intake to United Kingdom mills and during subsequent processing. Levels in wheat and maize were low and were not found in maize from Argentina although they did occur in some French consignments of maize. However, every sample of oats was contaminated with levels >20 µg/kg up to 1,600 and >3,000 µg/kg of T-2 and HT-2 respectively, the highest being found in consignments from the United Kingdom and Ireland while levels from Scandinavia were usually lower. Because of the low incidence and concentrations little information could be obtained on their fate during milling and food processing although their distribution in milling streams of wheat and maize was similar to that for other mycotoxins. In oats, most of the mycotoxins were found in the hulls after their removal from the groats so that levels in oats flakes produced from the groats never exceeded 65 and 55 µg/kg respectively. De-hulling of oats thus resulted in a co-product in which mycotoxins were concentrated, >100 µg/kg each of T-2 and HT-2. Two samples analysed for T-2 and 15 for HT-2 contained residues >1000 µg/kg, with maxima of 6,100 and 24,000 µg/kg respectively. Removal of discoloured oat groats by colour sorting reduced mycotoxin levels in the oat flake end product. Manufacture of batches of retail products from wheat and maize resulted in one snack product in which HT-2 at 12 µg/kg was detected. T-2 and HT-2 were undetected in other products. HT-2 was detected in 2 samples of the aqueous liquid drained from cookers during breakfast cereal manufacture.
Uncovering the nature of the relationship between outsourcing motivations and the degree of outsourcing: An empirical study on Finnish small and medium-sized enterprises

Prior literature has identified several outsourcing motivations, such as cost reduction and access to expertise, and deciphered the influence of these variables on outsourcing decisions. In another stream of outsourcing studies, researchers have gauged the degree of outsourcing, unearthing how companies may choose to outsource a set or processes instead of the whole business function. In this article, we draw on both of these streams of outsourcing research to study the relationship between outsourcing motivations and the degree of outsourcing within a particular business function. We probe the effect of nine motivation items on outsourcing decision through an empirical study using survey data gathered from 337 small and medium-sized enterprises. We find that cost reduction, a focus on core competence and business/process improvements are all associated with a higher degree of outsourcing, but interestingly, access to expertise is negatively associated with the degree of outsourcing. This finding suggests that companies that outsource mainly to acquire external expertise outsource only a limited number of processes within a specific business function. Our main theoretical contribution lies in uncovering the dynamic nature of outsourcing motivations, meaning that as companies outsource a larger degree of their business processes, some motivation items become more accentuated and others fade in importance.
Enterprise Social Software Platforms and Team Improvisation

ABSTRACT Enterprise social software platforms (ESSPs) have emerged as an important infrastructure that enables teams to perform in the turbulent business environment. The current study adds to the scanty literature on ESSP by revealing and confirming the underlying mechanisms through which ESSP contributes to a team’s ability to improvise. By surveying current ESSP users, we find that ESSP exercises its effect on team improvisation ability through team social capital as an important mediator. However, our results confirm the existence of two distinctive mediation mechanisms. First, intra-team ESSP use shapes improvisation ability through a team’s internal bonding social capital partially, whereas inter-team ESSP use contributes to improvisation ability through external bonding social capital fully. Second, intra-team (not inter-team) ESSP use casts an additional impact on improvisation ability through within-team (not outside-team) bridging social capital; however, this mediation effect exists only among teams that are equipped with a high level of absorptive capacity. Therefore, the current research sheds new lights on the ESSP and contributes to the research on information technology–assisted team improvisation. Our findings also inform practitioners in leveraging ESSP for enhancement of the improvisation ability of teams in the workplace.
The application of zeolite in poultry production

Zeolites are crystalline, hydrated aluminosilicates of alkali and alkaline earth cations which have infinite, three dimensional structure. Among many properties attributed to zeolites, two most characteristics that relates to their effectiveness in animal nutrition are their ability to lose and gain water reversibly and being capable of exchanging selectively a variety of cations in their structure without much major changes of structure. However the effect of zeolites on food intake, weight gain, growth rate, egg production, egg weight, shell thickness and internal egg characteristic are in dispute. While some of the experiments report beneficial effect due to inclusion of zeolite in the diet of birds, others show no changes and yet there are results that indicate the negative effects. Reasons such as level of usage, type of zeolite (natural vs. synthetics) and even within natural ones, the levels of impurities, are to be blamed for discrepancies reported from the experiments. On the other hand there has been evidence that zeolites has beneficial effect on feed efficiency ratio, water consumption, nutrient utilization, manure and litter condition and more importantly on aflatoxicosis.
An Improved Approach for Selecting and Validating Burn Severity Indices in Forested Landscapes

Abstract Burn severity maps based on remotely sensed reflectance data provide a useful way for land managers and researchers to represent and compare spatial variation in fire effects among wildfires and prescribed fires. A need exists for an objective and rigorous selection approach that ensures the best possible spatial predictions of burn severity. The aim of this study was to present and test a methodology for selecting the optimal burn severity index from a suite of calculation and validation options that can be used to produce data for more rigorously comparing ecological effects of fire that occur in contrasting phenologies. In our study, we cross-validated remote sensing data with field data and we tested the predictive ability of 12 cross-validated index calibrations that were generated using common statistical approaches, to predict field-measured burn severity indices collected at burned and unburned areas in New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve. We demonstrate the utility of our approach, provide convincing evidence for the use of CBI as a field-based index over WCBI, and provide a cross-validated method for calculating burn severity in this vegetation type that can be used by managers and researchers.
Improving the microbial quality and shelf life of chicken carcasses by trisodium phosphate and lactic acid dipping.

This study determined the influence of Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) and Lactic Acid (LA) dipping on the microbial load and shelf life of broiler chicken carcasses during refrigerated storage for 8 days at 2±1 C. The results indicated that both TSP (12%) and LA (2%) dipping significantly reduced the initial o microbial load of Aerobic Plate Counts (APC), Psychrotrophic Counts (PTC), Total Proteolytic Counts (PLC) and Enterobacteriaceae Counts (EBC) just after dipping and throughout the storage period in comparison with the control. At the beginning of storage (day 0), no significant differences in the microbial reductions were detected between TSP and LA treatments. By the day 8 of the storage, however, LA-dipping indicated a higher (p<0.01) mean reductions in APC, PTC and PLC than the corresponding reductions obtained by TSP-dipping. The untreated carcasses would have a refrigerated shelf life between 4 and 5 days while after chemical dipping, the shelf life extended to about 7 days in TSP-treated carcasses and 8 days in LA-treated carcasses. Therefore, both TSP and LA can be applied on poultry carcasses to reduce their microbial load and extend their shelf life during refrigerated storage.
Prediction of the nutritional composition of the crop contents of free-living scarlet macaw chicks by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy

Abstract Context. It is difficult to determine with accuracy the nutrition of bird diets through observation and analysis of dietary items. Collection of the ingested material from the birds provides an alternative but it is often limited by the small sizes of samples that can be obtained. Aims. We tested the efficacy of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to assess the nutritional composition of very small samples of growing-parrot crop content. Methods. We used 30 samples of the crop content of free-living scarlet macaw (Ara macao) chicks. Samples were scanned with a near-infrared reflectance analyser, and later analysed by traditional wet laboratory methods for crude protein/N, fat, ash, neutral detergent fibre, P, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn and S. A calibration model was developed using principal components analysis. Key results. Coefficients of determination in the calibration (R2) and standard errors of cross-validation (SECV) for most of the nutrients showed a good performance (mean R2 of 0.91 ± 0.11 s.d., n = 10) when excluding Zn (R2 of 0.15, SECV = 25.37). Conclusions The present results established NIRS as a valid technique for the non-destructive, low-cost prediction of a variety of nutritional attributes of avian crop contents as small as 0.5-g dry weight. Implications. The use of NIRS expands the possibilities of wild-animal nutrition research.