Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials Elicited from Early Visual Cortex Reflect Both Perceptual Color Space and Cone-Opponent Mechanisms

Abstract Colors are represented in the cone-opponent signals, L-M versus S cones, at least up to the level of inputs to the primary visual cortex. We explored the hue selective responses in early cortical visual areas through recordings of steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs), elicited by a flickering checkerboard whose color smoothly swept around the hue circle defined in a cone-opponent color space. If cone opponency dominates hue representation in the source of SSVEP signals, SSVEP amplitudes as a function of hue should form a profile that is line-symmetric along the cardinal axes of the cone-opponent color space. Observed SSVEP responses were clearly chromatic ones with increased SSVEP amplitudes and reduced response latencies for higher contrast conditions. The overall elliptic amplitude profile was significantly tilted away from the cardinal axes to have the highest amplitudes in the “lime-magenta” direction, indicating that the hue representation in question is not dominated by cone-opponency. The observed SSVEP amplitude hue profile was better described as a summation of a perceptual response and cone-opponent responses with a larger weight to the former. These results indicate that hue representations in the early visual cortex, measured by the SSVEP technique, are possibly related to perceptual color contrast.
Performances and Egg Quality of Laying Ducks Fed Diets Containing Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Leaf Meal and Golden Snail (Pomacea canaliculata)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of feeding cassava leaf meal and golden snail on performances, chemical, and physical qualities of local duck egg. The experiment used 180 Pajajaran laying ducks of 20 weeks of age and was offered dietary treatments up to 26 weeks of age. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with a 3 x 2 factorial arrangement. The first factor was the treatment of cassava leaf meal consisted of 3 levels, i.e., 0%, 5%, and 10%. The second factor was the treatment of golden snail consisted of 2 levels, i.e., 0% and 10%. Each experimental unit used three replicates and each replicate consisted of ten ducks. The results showed that there was no interaction effect of cassava leaf meal and golden snail treatments on laying duck performances and egg qualities. There were significant effects of cassava leaf meal and golden snail treatments (p 0.05) by treatments of cassava leave meal and golden snail. The utilization of 10% cassava leaf meal in the diet significantly improved egg production, feed intake, egg mass, and yolk color (p<0.05). The lowest egg index was found in the eggs produced by ducks fed diet containing 5% cassava leaf meal, but it is still within the normal range. Ducks fed a diet containing 5% golden snail significantly had higher feed intake, egg mass, percentage of albumen, and yolk color. It was concluded that there was no interaction effect of cassava leaf meal and golden snail treatments on laying duck performances and egg qualities. A diet containing 10% cassava leaf meal or a diet containing 5% golden snail had the greatest effects on the performance and physical quality of egg without affecting the chemical quality of the egg.
Mothers in the woods: Multithrophic interactions and oviposition preference in the bronze bug Thaumastocoris peregrinus, a pest of Eucalyptus

Optimal oviposition theory predicts that female herbivores will prefer to oviposit on those plants that maximize offspring performance, also known as the ‘mother knows best’ paradigm. This is the general pattern within the insect order Lepidoptera with specialist diets and reduced larval mobility. In that context, mother’s decisions are crucial to the development of the offspring. In this review we discuss oviposition-site selection behavior by the Heteroptera, focusing on the particular traits of this taxon in comparison to the most studied holometabolous insects. This review takes a multitrophic perspective and focuses on three main factors affecting the behavioral ecology of oviposition-site selection in true bugs: 1) life-history characteristics of the bugs, including host plant specialization and mobility of larvae; 2) plant characteristics, including morphology and induced responses to feeding and oviposition and 3) interactions with natural enemies, including parasitoid foraging behavior and strategies of bugs to interfere with the activity of parasitoids. New insights to the ‘mother knows best’ paradigm of the behavioral ecology of oviposition-site selection by insects are provided by comparing the oviposition decisions displayed by true bugs with those of the well-studied Lepidoptera. The review ends with the identification of questions to be addressed in future studies on the behavioral ecology of oviposition by insects.
Acute toxicity study of seeds of Achyranthes aspera, bark of Berberis aristata and roots of Coleus forskohlii in Wistar rats

Background: Achyranthes aspera is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae. Berberis aristata is a shrub belonging to the family Berberidaceae and the genus Berberis. Plectranthus barbatus is a tropical perennial plant related to the typical coleus species. It produces forskolin, an extract useful for pharmaceutical preparations and research in cell biology. It is belonging to Lamiaceae. The present study has been undertaken to study the toxic effects of hydro alcoholic extracts of A. aspera, B. aristata, C. forskohlii in albino Wistar rats and to establish the hazardous safety category of hydro alcoholic extracts of these plants as per organization for economic cooperation and development (OECD-423) guidelines and GHS classification system respectively. Methods: In acute toxicity study, the hydro-alcoholic extracts of all the above three plants were given orally at the dose of 2000 mg/kg b. w. to three rats in each group respectively in step I. Then, all the animals were observed for initial 4 hours and followed by fourteen days for their clinical signs and mortality in step II. Results: In step I, all the animals were normal and there was no mortality after 48 hours. In step II with the same dose, all the animals showed no adverse effects and no mortality when followed up to 14 days observation period. Conclusions: The result indicates that the hydro alcoholic extracts of A. aspera, B. aristata, C. forskohlii plants can be utilized safely for therapeutic use in pharmaceutical formulations and it falls under category ‘5’ or ‘unclassified’ of GHS system.
The Norfolk Ridge seamounts: Eocene–Miocene volcanoes near Zealandia’s rifted continental margin

Abstract New age and geochemical data are used to investigate the origin of a ∼670 km-long line of eight seamount volcanoes along the western side of the Norfolk Ridge between New Caledonia and New Zealand. Altered lavas and limestones were dredged from three volcanoes during the 2015 Volcanic Evolution of South Pacific Arcs cruise of N/O l’Atalante, so a total of four, including the northernmost and southernmost, have now been directly sampled and analysed. Dating of lava and volcanic breccia clasts by Ar–Ar methods gives north-to-south ages from these sites of 31.3 ± 0.6, 33 ± 5, 21.5 ± 1.0 and 26.3 ± 0.1 Ma. These ages, along with supporting stratigraphic data on a fifth seamount from IODP borehole U1507, provisionally refute the hypotheses that the seamounts represent a southward-younging, age-progressive, intraplate volcanic chain on the Australian Plate or a subduction-related chain of restricted age range. Geochemically, the upper Eocene to lower Miocene lavas have alkaline and subalkaline basaltic compositions, and some could be shoshonitic. The location of the volcanoes along the western side of the Norfolk Ridge suggests an origin related to late Eocene and early Miocene melting near an intracontinental lithosphere–asthenosphere step. Involvement of a deep slab in petrogenesis is also possible. KEY POINTS Eight seamounts form a line along the Norfolk Ridge. Dating and geochemistry indicate the seamount line is not a hotspot track. A rift-related origin, possibly with influence by subduction, is proposed.
Experimental characterization and simulation of amino acid and peptide interactions with inorganic materials

Inspired by nature, many applications and new materials benefit from the interplay of inorganic materials and biomolecules. A fundamental understanding of complex organic–inorganic interactions would improve the controlled production of nanomaterials and biosensors to the development of biocompatible implants for the human body. Although widely exploited in applications, the interaction of amino acids and peptides with most inorganic surfaces is not fully understood. To date, precisely characterizing complex surfaces of inorganic materials and analyzing surface–biomolecule interactions remain challenging both experimentally and computationally. This article reviews several approaches to characterizing biomolecule–surface interactions and illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of the methods presented. First, we explain how the adsorption mechanism of amino acids/peptides to inorganic surfaces can be determined and how thermodynamic and kinetic process constants can be obtained. Second, we demonstrate how this data can be used to develop models for peptide–surface interactions. The understanding and simulation of such interactions constitute a basis for developing molecules with high affinity binding domains in proteins for bioprocess engineering and future biomedical technologies.
Hierarchical mechanistic modelling of clinical pharmacokinetic data

13 Declaration . 14 Copyright . 14 Acknowledgements . 15 Chapter 1: General introduction . 16 1.1. Modelling and simulation in drug development . 17 1.1.1. The drug development process . 17 1.1.2. The role of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modelling in drug development . 18 1.2. Mechanistic modelling of clinical pharmacokinetic data . 23 1.2. 1. Physiologically-based pharmacokinetic models . 23 1.2. 2. Oral absorption models . 26 1.2. 3. Hierarchical pharmacokinetic modelling . 29 1.3. Modelling survival data in cancer research . 32 1.3. 1. Pharmacodynamics in oncology. 32 1.3. 2. Survival analysis . 33 1.4. Project objectives . 38 1.5. List of manuscripts and author contribution statement . 39 1.6. References . 42 Chapter 2: Model-based evaluation of the impact of formulation and food intake on the complex oral absorption of mavoglurant in healthy subjects . 50 Chapter 3: Application of a Bayesian approach to physiological modelling of mavoglurant population pharmacokinetics . 51
The influence of fibre orientation and chemical treatment on the performance of unsaturated polyester/chrysanthemum stem fibre composites

Chrysanthemum flowers are usually used for cultural and religious ceremonies however, the chrysanthemum stems are left for open burning or landfilling on many farmlands. These stems are one of the sources of agricultural waste in Malaysia that cause environmental impacts. In order to reduce the impact of chrysanthemum stems, this research study has utilised these valuable chrysanthemum stems in producing a new polymer composite. Hence, the present research study focuses on the preparation of non-woven and woven chrysanthemum stem fibre (CSF) reinforced unsaturated polyester (UPs) composites via simple hand lay-up method. The results showed the tensile properties (tensile strength and modulus of elasticity) of woven fibre filled UPs was higher than non-woven fibre filled UPs composites. However, non-woven fibre filled UPs presented higher water absorption and elongation at break as compared to woven fibre filled UPs composites. Furthermore, bleaching treatment with hydrogen peroxide is carried out in order to improve the tensile properties and water resistance of UPs/CSF composites. The functional groups of unbleached and bleached fibres were analysed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis. Some lignin, hemicellulose and impurities of CSF have been removed after the bleaching treatment on CSF, as proven by FTIR results.
Characteristics of the Most Productive U.S. Sociology Faculty and Departments: Institution Type, Gender, and Journal Concentration

ABSTRACT Using data for a sample of 2,132 individuals, we examine the characteristics of the sociology faculty and departments that ranked highest on any of four measures of publishing productivity over the 2013–2017 period. While the most productive men tend to work at the top research universities, women with comparable publishing records are especially likely to be found among the most productive faculty at other types of institutions. This suggests that “striving institutions” – those that have faced the greatest competition to improve their standing relative to their peers – have benefited by hiring and retaining highly productive faculty without regard to their gender. Our results further reveal that prolific faculty are similar to other faculty in their publication outlets, although they do exhibit high levels of journal concentration. That is, they tend to publish in the same journals in which they previously published.
Integrative assessment of systematic gene expression variation in response to osmotic shock and environmental toxicants

This thesis applies integrative and systemic approaches to gene expression experiments measuring responses to environmental stress. Methods were developed to identify systematic differences in response strength, functional pathway activation, and gene regulatory network structure. Results in three wild killifish populations revealed high population variability at the level of individual genes, consistent with the killifish’s genetic diversity and ability to adapt rapidly to anthropogenic pollution. Despite gene level diversity, modular network structures, patterns of pathway activation, and patterns of gene expression canalization were conserved in the three populations, demonstrating that gene regulatory networks are preserved by selective processes and may constrain killifish adaptation. The presence of arsenic during killifish acclimation to osmotic shock systematically reduced the magnitude of gene expression responses, and reduced coordination between genes that respond to osmotic shock. Results in the water flea suggested that cadmium tolerance is associated with systematically larger gene expression responses to cadmium stress, and greater network coordination among genes that respond to cadmium. In summary, environmentally responsive gene regulatory networks 1) shape the efficacy of biotic and abiotic stress responses, 2) are targeted by toxic effects, and 3) are shaped by selective forces.
Reptile and frog responses to different farm management practices in grazing landscapes

Managing agricultural landscapes for biodiversity conservation is increasingly difficult as land use is intensified for agricultural production. Finding ways to mitigate the often negative effects of agriculture on biodiversity is therefore critical: Using reptiles and frogs as focal taxa, my broad aim was to examine the effect of different humanmodified land cover types on biodiversity in a grazing landscape. I present my thesis as a series of five conceptually linked journal papers that together address this applied ecological problem. I surveyed reptiles and frogs at 12 sites Box Gum Grassy Woodland grazing landscapes in south-eastern Australia. Each site contained remnant woodland patches and four adjacent paddock types: a) grazed pastures, b) linear plantings, c) coarse woody debris added to grazed pastures, and d) fences between grazed pastures. Each site was either continuously or rotationally grazed. In my first paper, I compared the habitat preferences of reptile and frog species to predictions developed from five conceptual landscape models. Importantly, no one model fully captured the range of species responses to the different land uses, but four of the models provided useful concepts to aid our understanding of faunal responses to humanmodified landscapes. It is important that relevant conceptual models are used by researchers as the different models can result in very different outcomes. These types of models can help inform management, but all models have limitations and often cannot provide useful management recommendations. In my second paper, I recorded higher reptile abundance and species richness in areas with more tree cover and leaf litter, and greater abundance and diversity of rare reptiles in sites with high tree cover in the surrounding 3kms. Management recommendations include: protecting existing remnant vegetation, regardless of amount, and promoting key habitat features of trees, leaf litter and shrubs. Establishing plantings and fences in paddocks can also provide habitat in grazing landscapes. In my third paper, I found that frogs were influenced by both land use and the environmental conditions, and often responded to interactions between these variables. Frog abundance decreased with distance to water more strongly in remnants than paddocks, and rare frog richness and the abundance of Limnodynastes tasmaniensis increased with taller ground cover in remnants but not adjacent paddocks. Retaining remnant vegetation, maintaining water bodies such as farm dams, and maintaining taller ground cover within remnant vegetation may therefore benefit frog assemblages.
The Ontogeny of Blood Oxygen Transport and the Hypoxia Response in Early Life Stages of the Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

THE ONTOGENY OF BLOOD OXYGEN TRANSPORT AND THE HYPOXIA RESPONSE IN EARLY LIFE STAGES OF THE RAINBOW TROUT, ONCORHYNCHUS MYKISS Kristin Bianchini Advisor: University of Guelph, 2012 Dr. P.A. Wright In early rainbow trout development, a switch from high-affinity embryonic hemoglobin to lower-affinity adult hemoglobin occurs along with a turnover of round, embryonic erythrocytes to oval, adult erythrocytes. The objective of my thesis was to determine how the ontogeny of blood oxygen transport was affected by chronic hypoxia (30% of saturation) in rainbow trout. Hemoglobin-oxygen affinity, cooperativity, and the Bohr and Root effects were unaffected by hypoxia treatments, whereas hemoglobin content, erythrocyte counts, and hematocrit were significantly reduced. In hypoxia, larvae had higher concentrations of embryonic hemoglobin mRNA and embryonic erythrocytes than stage-matched normoxia-reared larvae. Overall, these results indicate that chronic hypoxia suppresses erythrocyte development prior to complete yolk absorption. Ultimately, this suggests that in early ontogeny rainbow trout conform to low oxygen conditions, rather than mounting the hypoxia response observed in oxygen-regulating adult trout.
Uncovering environmental, land-use and fire effects on the distribution of a low-dispersal species, the Hermann’s tortoise Testudo hermanni

Habitat destruction has resulted in the fragmented distribution of numerous terrestrial species, which poses a challenge for conservationists. Furthermore, species management can be further compounded by life history constraints such as low dispersal, hindering the ability of species to recolonize areas they formerly occupied. For these species, a thorough understanding of the local threats and factors that limit their distribution is crucial for effective management. We used occupancy models to examine which factors at landscape and habitat scales (i.e. land uses, fire history, and vegetation structure) explain the presence of terrestrial tortoises within the range of the westernmost isolated population of the endangered Testudo hermanni hermanni in the Albera Range (NE of the Iberian Peninsula). We randomly surveyed 25 sites (75% of the area known with presence of tortoises) of natural woodlands with 5 to 8 replicates per site in spring 2012-2014. From a sampling effort of 148 hours, we only detected 52 tortoises in 12 of 25 transects. These low numbers are evidence of low population densities. Sites with presence of tortoises were spatially aggregated although the species was absent from apparently adequate sites on the edges of its distribution range. Current and historic land-use primarily explained the presence of tortoises. Besides, wildfires and reduction of habitat complexity also participate to explain the distribution of Hermann’s tortoises. We also discuss some aspects of the conservation of Testudo hermanni in relation to our results.
Central Role of Vasotocin in the Neuroendocrine Regulation of Stress Responses and Food Intake in Chickens, Gallus gallus

It is well known that arginine vasotocin (AVT) in birds is involved in physiological homeostasis such as cardiovascular, osmotic regulation as well as reproductive functions. Pertinent to these physiological functions, AVT immunoreactive (-ir) neurons in the hypothalamus have been found associated with hemorrhage, dehydration, oviposition and other physiological regulation. Evidence, however, suggests that AVT also plays significant roles in modulating behavior, memory, stress, and food intake. This dissertation research addresses the latter two neuroendocrine functions of AVT in detail within the chicken brain. First, the functional role of AVT-ir neurons in conjunction with corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH)-ir neurons in the neuroendocrine regulation of stress is elucidated in meat type chickens. The results from research showed that a distinct type of AVT neurons (parvocellular small sized) in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus is activated in response to acute and chronic stress. Furthermore, in order to facilitate the neuroendocrine regulation of stress in chickens, expression of AVT in the PVN occurs in the latter phase of the stress period compared to earlier activity of CRH when birds are exposed to a stressor. Second, the neuromodulatory role of AVT to activate CRH neurons via vasotocin receptors (V1aR) within the avian brain is addressed. The results suggests that AVT could augment stress response by modulating CRH neuronal activity in a septal nucleus called the nucleus of the hippocampal commissure (NHpC). Third, the functional role of AVT via the V1aR in food intake regulation is characterized. Results show the association of AVT neurons (magnocellular – large sized), in the preoptic and hypothalamic brain structures, and CRH neurons, in the NHpC, following food intake in chickens. Hence, neuroendocrine regulations of AVT neurons in distinct brain structures in the stress response and food intake in chickens are characterized by this dissertation research. ©2017 by Gurueswar Nagarajan All Rights Reserved
The role of trait and emotion in cruise customers’ impulsive buying behavior: an empirical study

ABSTRACT The concept of impulsive buying is important because it offers an opportunity to enhance profits. Despite the effect of impulsive purchase in the service environment, limited research has been conducted to understand customers’ impulsive buying behavior. Given the unique characteristic of cruise experience, this study aims to investigate the relationship between individuals’ traits, emotions, and impulsive buying behavior. PLS–SEM tests the hypotheses using a sample of 143 cruise customers. Based on trait activation theory, results reveal that impulsive buying tendency has an impact on positive and negative affects and impulsive buying behavior. Furthermore, customers’ emotion mediates the relationship between impulsive buying tendency and behavior. Findings improve the understanding regarding the psychological mechanism of cruise customers’ impulsive buying behavior.