Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DISTRIBUTION OF WINTER BROWSING BY MOOSE: EVIDENCE OF LONG-TERM STABILITY IN NORTHERN SWEDEN

Predicting spatial distribution of large herbivore foraging is important for successful management, but accurate predictions remain elusive against a background of multiple causes modified by environmental stochasticity. Moose ( Alces alces ) might prefer to browse areas with high plant density, but if snow depth co-varies with plant density, this could restrict access to these sites and force use of sites with lower plant density and snow depth. Moose browsing was measured in 72 plots distributed within the subarctic birch ( Betula spp.) forest landscape at Abisko in northern Sweden in 1996. In 2010, the same plots were revisited and the measurements repeated. A generalized linear model predicted moose browsing on birch in 2010 from the browsing pattern on birch measured in 1996. The model suggested that neither total density of willow and birch stems nor snow depth were influential of foraging distribution of birch at multiple spatial scales. The spatial scale at which clustering of browsing on birch occurred, coincided with the scale of clustering of birch and willow ( Salix spp.) stems at distances of 1000-2500 m; at lesser distance browsing was distributed randomly. We concluded that moose demonstrate stability in spatial browsing patterns after 14 years which corresponds to 3- 4 generations of moose, and that plant density represents a cue for moose only at certain scales. Predictability of feeding sites is valuable for long-term moose and forest management, and conservation planning.
Targeted Genomic Mapping of a Red Seed Color Gene (R-A1) in Wheat

Seed color is on important trait affecting flour yield and quality in wheat. Seed color also is either tightly linked to or pleiotropically controls seed dormancy in wheat, because most of the red-seeded wheats are tolerant to preharvest sprouting in comparison to white-seeded wheats. Seed color in hexaploid wheat is controlled by the dominant red seed color genes R-A1, R-B1, and R-D1 located in orthologous positions on chromosome arms 3AL, 3BL, and 3DL, respectively. By using wheat ESTs and synteny with rice, we identified one STS marker and one EST marker flanking R-A1 in a 4.4-cM interval by using an RIL and F 2 populations of Langdon (LDN)/LDN-DIC3A (disomic substitution of T. turgidum subsp. dicoccoides chromosome 3A for 3A of LDN). Physical mapping of the R-A1 gene using tightly linked markers on a set of deletion lines specific to the long arms of group-3 chromosomes indicated that the red seed color genes are located in the distal region (less than 10% of the chromosome arm 3L), which is a high-recombination, generich region in wheat. Comparative genomic analysis indicated that, except for a very minor rearrangement of gene sequences in wheat relative to rice, macrocolinearity is well conserved between the consensus distal deletion bin of wheat 3L-0.80-1.00 and rice chromosome arm 1L. The R-A1 gene of wheat was targeted into a single PAC of rice using colinear flanking markers.
The Effects of the Egg Shell Strength Puncture Test on the Subsequent Hatchability of Eggs from White Leghorn and Broiler Hens

Abstract Two experiments were done to determine the effects of puncturing eggs from Leghorn or broiler hens, one, two, or four times before they were set in the incubator on hatchability, egg weight loss during the first 18 days of incubation, and the growth of chicks 21 days posthatching. For some eggs, a drop of bees’ wax was put over each puncture site; the shells of other eggs were not punctured but received either one or four drops of wax. The eggs in the control treatment for both experiments were neither punched nor waxed. Except for the hatchability of eggs from Leghorn hens in Experiment 1, puncturing the eggs did not affect (P>.05) the hatchability of either fertile eggs or those set. Placing a drop of bees’ wax over the puncture site(s), or on the shell, produced a nonsignificant decrease (P>.05) in hatchability of eggs from both genotypes. The incidence of late embryonic death and pips were higher (P>.05) for the eggs punctured four times than those punched once or twice in either experiment. Puncture and wax, or puncture treatment only, had little effect on the loss of weight during early incubation, chick weight at hatching, and body weight gains between hatching and 21 days of age. The weight decreased an average of 12.5% for the Leghorn and 11.9% for the broiler eggs, while the chick weight at hatching was 66. 9 and 67.9%, respectively, of the egg weight at setting. Shell puncture strength or egg weight loss during early incubation had little influence (P>.05) on subsequent hatchability. The results from these experiments indicate that, if researchers or poultry breeders wish, the puncture strength can be measured at one or two sites on the shell of hatching eggs from Leghorn or broiler hens without influencing the subsequent hatchability of punctured eggs.
Explanatory Model of Voluntary Childlessness among Iranian Couples in Tehran: A Grounded Theory Approach

Background: Global and Iranian statistics indicate a rise in the newly emerging phenomenon of voluntary childlessness as a permanent status among couples. Childlessness is one of the main challenges of modern society. In Iran, studies on the process of voluntary permanent childlessness are scarce. The present study aimed to investigate the causes and underlying factors of voluntary childlessness and to provide an explanatory model of this phenomenon among Iranian couples. Methods: The present qualitative study was conducted using the grounded theory approach proposed by Strauss and Corbin. Married couples from Tehran (Iran) with no infertility problems who chose to be permanently childless were invited to take part in this research. Theoretical saturation was reached after 33 semi-structured in-depth interviews. Results: Based on the results, the causal conditions of childlessness included the high-risk society and adverse experiences. Contextual and intervening conditions included social problems, social support, transitional society, natural resources, social presence of women, and marriage age. The strategies and interactions observed in childless couples included the suppression of feelings, conflicts, rationality, and malingering. The core phenomenon was individualism. Conclusion: Increased social problems and reduced social support endanger a society in transition toward modernity. Individualists resort to permanent childlessness by suppressing parental feelings, overcoming doubts about childbearing, and becoming nonchalant by running away from child-rearing responsibilities. Such people may resort to child adoption or to have pets in order to cope with loneliness.
EFFECTS OF STOCKING DENSITY, CAGE AND FLOOR TYPE ON THE MEAT QUALITY OF GROWING RABBITS

The experiment was carried out with Pannon White growing rabbits, which were divided into four experimental groups: 1. rabbits were reared in pens, on wire net floor, at 16 rabbits/m2 stocking density; 2. rabbits were reared in pens, on wire net floor, at 12 rabbits/m2 stocking density; 3. rabbits were reared in pens, on straw litter, at 12 rabbits/m2 stocking density; 4. rabbits were reared in conventional cages (2 rabbits/cage, 16 rabbits/m2). The experiment took place between 5 and 11 weeks of age. At the end of the trial animals were slaughtered, and the following meat quality parameters were measured: pH 24 hours after slaughter in the m. Longissimus dorsi and in the thigh muscle, dry matter content in the m. Longissimus dorsi and in the thigh muscle, meat color (L, a*, b*) in the m. Longissimus dorsi, drip, cooking and thawing loss in the m. Longissimus dorsi and the shear force also in the m. Longissimus dorsi. The effects of cage type, floor type and stocking density on the meat quality parameters were evaluated by means of multi-factor analysis of variance. For testing the significance of differences between the meat quality of rabbits reared in pens or in conventional cages (control) the Dunnett-test was used. Based on the results it was established, that the pH was not affected by the cage type, floor type and stocking density. The dry matter content of the thigh muscle was significantly higher in the conventional cages, on the wire net floor and at 12 rabbits/m2 stocking density. The drip and thawing loss of the m. Longissimus dorsi was the highest in rabbits reared on the straw litter floor. The cooking loss was affected significantly only by the type of cage. The shear force was significantly affected by the cage type and stocking density. Based on our results it could be concluded that compared to the conventional cages rearing rabbits in pens on wire net or straw bedded floor had no substantial effect on the rabbits’ meat quality.
David

David Hume (1711-1776) is widely recognized as one of the most influential and significant critics of religion in the history of philosophy. There remains, nevertheless, considerable disagreement about the exact nature of his views. According to some, he was a skeptic who regarded all conjectures relating to religious hypotheses to be beyond the scope of human understanding – he neither affirmed nor denied these conjectures. Others read him as embracing a highly refined form of “true religion” of some kind. On the other side of this spectrum, it is claimed that Hume was committed to atheism, although due to social conditions at the time, this had to be (thinly) concealed or masked. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of Hume’s core concerns and arguments on this subject and to provide the reader with a framework for interpreting and assessing his various contributions.
The ibex Capra pyrenaica returns to its former Portuguese range

The ibex Capra pyrenaica has recently recolonized its former Portuguese range from a contiguous Spanish protected area. The first observations of ibex in Portugal were in Peneda-Gerês National Park in 1998. In 2001 we began a survey to confirm ibex presence in Portuguese territory, and to determine the current status of the species there. There are three ibex nuclei in the general area of the international border, and they are expanding their geographical range with two of the nuclei almost restricted to Portuguese territory. In 2003 the ibex population consisted of a minimum of 75 individuals. Different founder histories have led to distinct age structures in each nucleus, but in general they exhibit the population dynamics typical of a recently reintroduced population with high reproductive potential. Priority conservation actions for this newly established population need to include increased monitoring, and reinforcement of the population with individuals from elsewhere. Effective conservation will require collaboration between staff of both Portuguese and Spanish protected areas and an integrated Spanish-Portuguese conservation plan.
Structural and Functional Analysis of an mRNP Complex That Mediates the High Stability of Human β-Globin mRNA

ABSTRACT Human globins are encoded by mRNAs exhibiting high stabilities in transcriptionally silenced erythrocyte progenitors. Unlike α-globin mRNA, whose stability is enhanced by assembly of a specific messenger RNP (mRNP) α complex on its 3′ untranslated region (UTR), neither the structure(s) nor the mechanism(s) that effects the high-level stability of human β-globin mRNA has been identified. The present work describes an mRNP complex assembling on the 3′ UTR of the β-globin mRNA that exhibits many of the properties of the stability-enhancing α complex. The β-globin mRNP complex is shown to contain one or more factors homologous to αCP, a 39-kDa RNA-binding protein that is integral to α-complex assembly. Sequence analysis implicates a specific 14-nucleotide pyrimidine-rich track within its 3′ UTR as the site of β-globin mRNP assembly. The importance of this track to mRNA stability is subsequently verified in vivo using mice expressing human β-globin transgenes that contain informative mutations in this region. In combination, the in vitro and in vivo analyses indicate that the high stabilities of the α- and β-globin mRNAs are maintained through related mRNP complexes that may share a common regulatory pathway.
Response to Dr Edmeades’ letter: 'The effects of nitrification inhibitors on pasture production'

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Dr Edmeades’ criticisms of our paper ‘Pasture dry matter responses to the use of a nitrification inhibitor: a national series of New Zealand farm trials’ (Carey et al. 2012). We offer the following as a rebuttal and hope this will allay any concerns about the integrity of the data and methodology used in the paper. With respect, Dr Edmeades’ criticism of rising plate meter measurements conflicts with the large body of published peer-reviewed scientific papers that prove that rising plate meters can be used successfully to measure pasture dry matter yield (e.g. Piggot 1989; Thomson et al. 1997; Morton et al. 2005; Gillingham et al. 2007, 2008; Litherland et al. 2008). A study by L’Huillier & Thomson (1988) showed that the rising plate meter reliably and accurately estimated herbage mass of ryegrass/white clover dairy pastures at Ruakura and Taranaki, and Piggot (1989) concluded it was also accurate in Northland. In addition, Lile et al. (2001) conducted a detailed evaluation of the use of rising plate meters on New Zealand dairy farms and concluded that the rising plate meter gives reliable information when using 50 readings per paddock taken in paddocks ranging from 1000 to 4000 kg DM/ha, and appropriate calibrations are used. Dr Edmeades’ criticism of rising plate meter measurements not only conflicts with the published literature but also implies that the results from all previously published peer-reviewed papers that used the rising plate meter are invalid. This cannot be an acceptable conclusion since it would imply that the excellent peer-reviewed published work by renowned scientists such as Piggot (1989), Thomson et al. (1997), Morton et al. (2005) and Gillingham et al. (2008) is now being questioned. Clearly, Dr Edmeades’ criticism of the method of measurement used in the Carey et al. (2012) paper is untenable and should be rejected. Dr Edmeades admits in his letter that his DCD trials were all conducted on either pumice or ash soils (in the North Island). However, the pasture data reported by Carey et al. (2012) includes data from 24 farm trials on sedimentary soils in the South Island. It is unscientific for Dr Edmeades to attempt to dismiss all of the Carey et al. (2012) data based on his own trials (on pumice and ash soil) when it appears that he has not provided any results whatsoever from sedimentary soils. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 2013 Vol. 56, No. 1, 81 85, http://dx.doi. org/10.1080/00288233.2012. 751926
ONTOGENETIC NICHE SHIFT IN THE BRACHIOPOD TEREBRATALIA TRANSVERSA: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LOSS OF ROTATION ABILITY AND ALLOMETRIC GROWTH

Abstract: Many articulated brachiopods experience marked life habit variations during ontogeny because they experience their fluid environment at successively higher Reynolds numbers, and they can change the configuration of their inhalant and exhalant flows as body size increases. We show that the extant brachiopod Terebratalia transversa undergoes a substantial ontogenetic change in reorientation governed by rotation around the pedicle. T. transversa′s reorientation angle (maximum ability to rotate on the pedicle) decreases during ontogeny, from 180 degrees in juveniles to 10–20 degrees in individuals exceeding 5 mm, to complete cessation of rotation in individuals larger than 10 mm. Rotation ability is substantially reduced after T. transversa achieves the adult lophophore configuration and preferred orientation with respect to ambient water currents at a length of 2.5–5 mm. We hypothesize that the rotation angle of T. transversa is determined mainly by the position of ventral and dorsal points of attachment of dorsal pedicle muscles relative to the pedicle. T. transversa shows a close correlation between the ontogenetic change in reorientation angle and ontogeny of morphological traits that are related to points of attachment of dorsal pedicle muscles, although other morphological features can also limit rotation in the adult stage. The major morphological change in cardinalia shape and the observed reduction of rotation affect individuals 2.5–10 mm in length. The position of ventral insertions of dorsal pedicle muscles remains constant, but contraction of dorsal pedicle muscles is functionally handicapped because dorsal insertions shift away from the valve midline, rise above the dorsal valve floor, and become limited by a wide cardinal process early in ontogeny (<5 mm). The rate of increase of cardinal process width and of distance between dorsal pedicle muscle scars substantially decreases in the subadult stage (5–10 mm), and most of the cardinalia shell traits grow nearly isometrically in the adult stage (>10 mm). T. transversa attains smaller shell length in crevices than on exposed substrates. The proportion of small‐sized individuals and population density is lower on exposed substrates than in crevices, indicating higher juvenile mortality on substrates prone to grazing and physical disturbance. The loss of reorientation ability can be a consequence of morphological changes that strengthen substrate attachment and maximize protection against biotic or physical disturbance (1) by minimizing torques around the pedicle axis and/or (2) by shifting energy investments into attachment strength at the expense of the cost involved in reorientation.
Dimethoate, fenvalerate and their mixture affects Hylyphantes graminicola (Araneae: Linyphiidae) adults and their unexposed offspring

1 Mixtures of organophosphorus and pyrethroid insecticides are widely used to combat resistance in agricultural pests, although few studies have been conducted on the effects of pesticide mixtures on beneficial nontarget organisms. 2 In the present study, we exposed adult females (F0) of Hylyphantes graminicola (Araneae: Linyphiidae) to fenvalerate, dimethoate and their commercially available 1 : 1 mixture (by mass). We investigated the acute toxicity of these pesticides to the exposed adults, as well as sublethal effects on reproduction and acetylcholinesterase and carboxylesterase activity. We also studied the effects of parental exposure on the size, development and enzyme activity of unexposed offspring. 3 All three formulations were acutely toxic to H. graminicola, with synergism between dimethoate and fenvalerate leading to greater toxicity in the 1 : 1 mixture than for the two insecticides alone. The sublethal effects of direct pesticide exposure were a reduction in acetylcholinesterase and carboxylesterase activity and a reduction in the number of egg sacs produced by exposed spiders relative to the control spiders. The unexposed offspring of the fenvalerate and mixture exposed spiders were smaller and took longer to mature than the control spiders. Offspring of all exposed spiders also had significantly reduced carboxylesterase activity relative to control spiders. 4 We concluded that the effects of parental exposure on the offspring were likely to increase their susceptibility to future pesticide exposures, and reduce the capacity of this spider to serve as a pest control agent.
Ovarian ages of tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) caught from mobile and stationary baits in the presence and absence of humans

Ovarian ages were obtained for tsetse flies Glossina morsitans morsitans Westwood and G. pallidipes Austen caught in Zimbabwe using a stationary bait ox, an odour-baited trap in the presence or absence of humans, a mobile ox fly-round and a vehicle-mounted electric net. The biggest daily catches were obtained from the electric net and the unacccompanied trap, but while for G. m. morsitans the ratio of the catches from these two methods was 7:1, for G. pallidipes it was 0.7:1. Evening catches were 1.3–5.5 and 2.9–18.8 times higher than morning catches for the two species, respectively; the differences were greater for stationary than for mobile baits. The sample age structures differed significantly (P < 0.05: x2) between methods in six of the ten possible contrasts between pairs of methods in G. m. morsitans and for all ten in G. pallidipes. The differences in age distribution and mean catch levels are attributed to increases in flight activity with age; at each age G. pallidipes is more active than G. m. morsitans. Man's presence in the trapping system reduced catches significantly (P < 0.05: t test) but this effect was small in the youngest and oldest flies. Odour-baited traps are biased in favour of G. pallidipes and, for both species, in favour of older flies; mortalities calculated from age distributions of trap samples therefore underestimate the true value.
The pattern of growth in swards of two contrasting varieties of white clover in winter and spring

In a study of growth rates and developmental morphology of simulated swards of two contrasting white clover varieties, Katrina and Kent, it was found that both varieties continued to produce dry matter throughout the winter at Aberystwyth. The gross crop growth rate in the coldest periods was about 7 kg ha-1 d-1. The rates of formation and loss of new leaves were approximately equal so that there was no net increase in weight until the latter part of March. This initial net weight increase in both varieties was observed in the same harvest interval, the most important factor being the difference in weight between the new leaf plus petiole unit and the weight of the unit which it replaced. The weight of laminae and petioles throughout the experiment was somewhat higher in Katrina which has come to be regarded as the ‘earlier’ variety. The prospects for improving spring production in white clover by variety improvement are discussed.
PeDSS: Privacy Enhanced and Database-Driven Dynamic spectrum Sharing

Database driven dynamic spectrum sharing is one of the most promising dynamic spectrum access (DSA) solution to address the spectrum scarcity issue. In such a database-driven DSA system, the centralized spectrum management infrastructure, called spectrum access system (SAS), collects sensitive operational data of both incumbent users (IUs) and secondary users (SUs), which makes privacy protection critical in this paradigm. However, the few existing solutions rely on online trusted third party, which requires extra infrastructure and brings the risk of single point failure. To address the shortcomings of existing solutions, we propose a privacy enhanced and database-driven dynamic spectrum sharing (PeDSS) framework in this paper, which preserves the privacy for both IUs and SUs in database-driven DSA systems without the need for online trusted third party. Privacy for both IUs and SUs are formally defined and analyzed, and experiment results show that SAS under PeDSS is able to handle a single spectrum request in 0.51 ms on average, which is three orders of magnitude faster than prior arts.