Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vegetation succession on reclaimed coal wastes in Spain: the influence of soil and environmental factors

Question: How is vegetation succession on coal mine wastes under a Mediterranean climate affected by the restoration method used (topsoil addition or not)? How are plant successional processes influenced by local landscape and soil factors? Location: Reclaimed coal mines in the north of Palencia province, northern Spain (42147 0 -42150 0 N, 4132 0 -4153 0 W). Methods: In Jun‐Jul 2008, vascular plant species cover was monitored in 31 coal mines. The mines, which had been restored using two restoration methods (topsoil addition or not), comprised a chronosequence of different ages from 1 to 40 yr since restoration started. Soil and environmental factors at each mine were monitored and related to species cover using a combination of ordination methods and Huisman‐Olff‐Fresco modeling. Results: Plant succession was affected by restoration method . Where topsoil was added, succession was influenced by age since restoration and soil pH. Where no topsoil was added, soil factors seem to arrest succession. Vegetation composition on topsoiled sites showed a gradient with age, from the youngest, with early colonizing species, to oldest, with an increase in woody species. Vegetation on non-topsoiled sites comprised mainly early-successional species. Response to age and pH of 37 species found on topsoiled mines is described. Conclusions: Restoration of coal mines under this Mediterranean climate can be relatively fast if topsoil is added, with a native shrub community developing after 15 yr. However, if topsoil is not used, it takes more than 40 yr. For topsoiled mines, the species found in the different successional stages were identified, and their tolerance to soil pH was derived. This information will assist future restoration projects in the area.
No evidence of extra‐pair paternity in a colonial seabird, the common tern (Sterna hirundo)

Abstract The incidence of extra‐pair paternity and egg dumping was investigated in a colony of common terns (Sterna hirundo), a colonial seabird, in the Venetian lagoon. Ten families were sampled and multilocus DNA fingerprinting analysis was performed. No indication of extra‐pair paternity or egg dumping was found in any of the families. The results are discussed in the light of life‐history strategies, the benefits of coloniality and the evolution of adoption behaviour in the species.
Cuckoos, Cowbirds and Other Cheats

Acknowledgements ix 1. A monstrous outrage on maternal affection 1 2. One hundred brood parasites and some puzzles 11 3. The Common Cuckoo and its hosts 26 4. Co-evolution of host defences and Common Cuckoo trickery 43 5. How to spot a cuckoo egg 59 6. Driving parents cuckoo 70 7. Bronze-cuckoos in Africa and Australia 82 8. The non-evicting cuckoos: manipulative nestlings and Mafia tactics 98 9. Cuckoos versus hosts: who wins? 117 10. The Brown-headed Cowbird and its conquest of North America 141 11. Old and new hosts of the Brown-headed Cowbird and conservation problems 159 12. 'Shot-gun' Shiny and specialist Screaming Cowbirds, with cowbirds and cuckoos compared 177 13. The parasitic finches of Africa: mimicry of host chicks and host songs 194 14. Cheating on your own kind 211 15. Origins 241 Notes on the chapters 257 Appendix 1: The one hundred species of brood parasitic birds 263 Appendix 2: Scientific names of birds and other animals mentioned in the text 271 References 276 Index 299 Other books in the series 311 The colour plate section can be found between pages 150 and 151.
Competence value emersion: a key to sound practices in entrepreneurial finance. From 'Q' to 'T' ratios in the North–Eastern Italian experience

The determinants of the value of the entrepreneurial competences and behaviour are examined. The study reveals that time is the link between marginal productivities of the capital assets and that of the human competences. The successful entrepreneur behaves in order to give marketability to skills, riding a cycle that transforms them into a corporate hallmark. We provide a detailed description of a methodology to measure the 'competence value' and to compare it against standard goodwill estimations. Results of empirical analysis over a sample made of more than 3,000 Italian companies show that the proposed Intato-T-ratio is a stronger estimator than the widely diffused Tobin-Q-ratio. Allocating investments according to the competence value can exploit immediately 51% of hidden values and allow higher growth rates during an entrepreneurial cycle lasting 13 years on average. Aborting competence value in credit allowances procedures will impact dramatically on SMEs after the adoption of Basel-3 agreements.
LARVAL REARING AND SPAT PRODUCTION OF THE GREAT CLAM, MERETRIX MERETBJX (LINNAEUS)

The venerid clam Meretrix meretrix (Linnaeus) was spawned in the laboratory and for the first time the eggs were reared successfully through various stages to spat. Setting was observed on day 7 and day 10 after fertilization and was mostly completed by day 9 and 12 respectively in the two experiments. The clam seed attained an average length of 2.895 mm and height of 2.475 mm on day 75. During the rearing experiments the haptophycean flagellate, hochrysis galbana was given as food. In the light of the results obtained here the thrust areas for standardising the procedures in the hatchery production of the seed of M. meretrix are discussed.
Breeding behaviour of Nuthatch Sitta europaea in relation to natural hole attributes in a primeval forest

Capsule Nuthatches used holes with strong walls, typically in live trees with entrances reduced by plastering, and ‘oversized’ interiors filled with bark flakes. Aims To describe patterns of nest-site utilization by Nuthatches in primeval conditions, to examine the influence of various hole attributes on nesting success and to consider the adaptive value of nest-site choice. Methods Observations of birds living in undisturbed conditions in a strictly protected part of the Białowieża National Park (Poland) during 27 breeding seasons coupled with measurements of hole attributes and observations of nests' fate. Results Tree species used for breeding differed among habitats. Holes were on average 14.0 m above the ground, in trees with girth at breast height 206 cm; both parameters varied strongly among tree species. They were situated mainly in tree trunks (76%), in living trees (89%), in conical knotholes (51%); woodpecker-made holes constituted 32%. Nuthatches bred in very large (mean bottom area: 325 cm2) holes, the preferred tree species (Maple Acer platanoides, Ash Fraxinus excelsior) had larger holes than other tree species. Nuthatches reduced entrances by ‘plastering’ to a mean size of 2.9 × 3.3 cm. They made the holes substantially shallower by filling them with bark flakes (mean depth to nest level: 10 cm), eggs were laid in depressions among flakes, far from the entrance (mean distance: 21 cm), their ‘nests’ occupied only a fraction of the hole area. Broods in holes with smaller entrances were the most successful. Eggs and small young were covered with bark during the absence of the female. Larger nestlings, when endangered, moved to the rear wall of the hole, where they stayed tightly pressed. These behaviour patterns reduced the risk of predation. Conclusion The features of holes used by Nuthatches (combination of strong walls, small entrances and large bottoms with copious filling) are probably an evolutionary solution to the need to evade predators while keeping contents of the nest dry.
Differential Innate Immune Stimulation Elicited by Adenovirus and Poxvirus Vaccine Vectors

Vaccines are one of the most effective advances in medical science and continue to be developed for applications against infectious diseases, cancers, and autoimmunity. A common strategy for vaccine construction is the use of viral vectors derived from various virus families, with Adenoviruses (Ad) and Poxviruses (Pox) being extensively used. Studies utilizing viral vectors have shown a broad variety of vaccine-elicited immune response phenotypes. However, innate immune stimulation elicited by viral vectors and its possible role in shaping these vaccine-elicited adaptive immune responses remains unclear. Here we show that Ad and Pox vectors display profound intraand inter-group differences in innate immune cytokine and chemokine elicitation. The CD46-utilizing vectors Ad35, Ad26, and Ad48 induced greater anti-viral and proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines relative to Ad5 in vaccinated rhesus monkeys and stimulated human PBMC. Ad fiber protein, as well as other capsid components, influenced resultant Ad vector innate stimulatory phenotypes. Analysis of human sera from Ad26-vaccinated volunteers showed similar anti-viral and proinflammatory cytokine and chemokine elicitation. Mechanistic analysis of Ad innate immune stimulation showed greater amounts Ad35 and Ad26, and small amounts of Ad5, traffic to the late endosome following infection. Innate immune stimulation by all three was reduced by inhibition of endosomal acidification, Cathepsin B, and Caspase-1, suggesting a common set of innate immune sensors triggered by Ads between 0-6 hours post-infection, in agreement with trafficking data showing Ad vector colocalization in the late endosome at similar time points. These data suggest a model mechanism explaining differences in observed Ad vector innate immune stimulation phenotypes. Similar to results obtained with Ad vectors, analysis of iv innate cytokine and chemokine responses elicited by Pox vectors ALVAC, MVA, and NYVAC showed that all three were distinct, with the canarypox-based vector ALVAC eliciting a unique potent proinflammatory response. Together these results reveal surprising and pronounced differences in innate immune stimulatory properties of viral vectors. Furthermore, these results could lead to possible strategies for targeted construction of vaccines for desired innate immune phenotypes, and have profound implications on vaccine design against infectious diseases and cancers, as well as gene therapy.
Endoparasites of European Brown Hare (Lepus Europaeus) from Southern Poland Based on Necropsy

Abstract The population of the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) has been declining for the last decades in many European countries, including Poland. The goal of this study was to determine the level of endoparasite infection among hares. In 2007-2010, 83 animals were examined postmortem. The animals were weighed and analysed according to age and sex. During the dissection only the following nematodes were noticed: Trichostrongylus retortaeformis, Strongyloides papillosus, Trichuris leporis and Passalurus ambiguus in the intestinal tract and Protostrongylus pulmonalis in lungs. Body mass of hares was analysed with a general linear model (GLM) with age, sex, and presence/ absence of nematode infection as factors. The proportion of infected and uninfected hares with protozoan coccidia was compared with Fisher exact test for 2×2 contingency tables, whereas the proportion of nematode infection was compared by χ2 test. There was a significant difference in the proportion of hares infected and not infected by coccidia with the higher proportion of infected juvenile individuals (P=0.010), whereas there was no difference between males and females (P=0.41). The frequencies of hares infected vs. not infected by nematodes did not differ between sex (χ2=1.89, P=0.168) and age (χ2=0.0007, P=0.97). The mean body mass of all hares was 4.15 kg±0.40 kg. GLM model conducted for body mass of hares showed that there was a significant difference only between juvenile and adult hares (F=24.225, P=0.000005) and no significant association between the level of endoparasite infection and sex
Calcium pump of the plasma membrane

Article de synthese sur les pompes calciques de la membrane plasmique proprietes generales de ces pompes, stimulation par la calmoduline ou par d'autres traitements, inhibiteur. Synthese sur la structure primaire de ces ATPases, sur leur regulation hormonale et sur les alterations pathologiques affectant leur integrite chez les mammiferes. Methodes de purification et proteolyse
International Journal of Behavioral Development-2010-Denissen-564-75

Recent years have seen an impressive increase in web-based research, of which we review and discuss two main types. First, researchers can create online versions of traditional questionnaires. Using the internet in this way usually does not compromise the psychometric properties of such measures, and participants are typically not less representative of the general population than those of traditional studies. Technical guidelines are provided to set up such studies, and thorny issues such as participants’ anonymity are discussed. We will also discuss issues regarding the assessment of minors and the repeated assessment of participants to assess developmental changes via the web. Second, the internet has changed the way people interact with each other. The study of the psychosocial consequences of this development is called cyberpsychology. We review emerging findings from this young discipline, with a focus on developmentally-relevant implications such as the use of the internet by adolescents to disclose personal information.
Scaling local abundance determinants in mediterranean dung beetles

Abstract. 1. We study the factors that contribute to the variation in the local abundance of dung beetle species inhabiting Cabañeros National Park, a Mediterranean reserve in Central Spain. The relative roles of five different groups of explanatory variables (climatic, local‐scale vegetation, landscape‐scale vegetation, landscape connectivity and trophic resources) were assessed for 27 sampling sites established by a nested hierarchical sampling design that considered three regional landscapes (woodland, scrubland, grassland) and three local habitat types (forest, scrub, pasture) within each landscape.
Methyl Jasmonate Treatment as a Trigger of Resveratrol Synthesis in Cultivated Grapevine

The effect of an exogenous grape berry application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) on the enhancement of the in vivo resveratrol production was tested. MeJA is a plant volatile that acts as an important intracellular regulator mediating diverse developmental processes and defense responses. A treatment with MeJA spray solution was performed on clusters of Vitis vinifera cv. Barbera grafted onto 3309 C rootstock under drought stress condition and regular water supply and at fruit set, veraison, and ripening. Cumulative MeJA treatments significantly increased berry resveratrol and e-viniferin production at ripening. Water stress did not affect stilbene synthesis.
The functioning of the CO2 concentrating mechanism in several cyanobacterial strains: a review of general physiological characteristics, genes, proteins, and recent advances

Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) possess an environmental adaptation for survival at low CO2 concentrations. The adaptation is known as a CO2 concentrating mechanism (CCM), and it functions to actively transport and accumulate inorganic carbon ( and CO2; Ci) within the cell and then uses this Ci pool to provide elevated CO2 concentrations around the primary CO2-fixing enzyme, ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (Rubisco). It appears that the site of CO2 elevation is within a unique microcompartment known as the carboxysome, which is a proteinaceous polyhedral body that contains most, if not all, of the Rubisco within the cell. This review covers comparative aspects of physiology, genetics, and proteins involved in the cyanobacterial CCM with particular focus on recent advances. This review highlights information on three strains of unicellular cyanobacteria, namely Synechocystis PCC6803 (freshwater strain; for which a full genome database is now available), Synechococcus PCC7002 (coastal marine st.
Variation in sex determination in natural populations of a shrimp

Strategies of sex determination were studied in Gammarus duebeni, a brackish water shrimp (Crustacea, Amphipoda). Animals from Budle Bay, northern England, have environmental sex determination (e. s. d.), in accord with a population studied in Germany. Males are produced in long day photoperiods and females in short days. By contrast, animals from southern England show no significant sex ratio variation with daylength. This is the first report of such variation in sex determination for an invertebrate. Detailed studies of Budle Bay animals show that sex is determined several weeks after young are released by the mother; that the critical daylength is longer at Budle Bay than in Germany; and that the critical response is cued at the onset of a photophase. The nature of sex determination in G. duebeni may be associated with population dynamics. Males gain greater relative fitness by large size than females. E. s. d. is then adaptive where the breeding season produces significant growth differences between early and late animals, but where generations do not overlap. Comparisons are drawn with the flexible sex determining system in Menidia menidia (Pisces).
Dietary zinc requirement of juvenile grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) based on growth and mineralization

A growth trial was conducted to estimate the optimum requirement of dietary zinc (Zn) for grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). Triplicate groups of grass carp (3.97 ± 0.05 g) were fed diets containing graded levels (13, 25, 34, 53, 89 and 135 mg kg−1) of Zn for 8 weeks. Grass carp fed with dietary Zn levels higher than 34 mg kg−1 significantly increased final body weight, weight gain and specific growth rate (P < 0.05). For body composition, fish fed with dietary Zn levels higher than 53 mg kg−1 significantly decreased the moisture contents but increased the lipid contents of whole body and liver. Whole body, scales, vertebrae and liver mineralization were all affected significantly (P < 0.05) by dietary Zn levels. Zn contents in whole body, scales, vertebrae and plasma were linearly increased up to the 53 mg kg−1 dietary Zn and then remained stable beyond this level. Grass carp fed with dietary Zn levels higher than 53 mg kg−1 significantly increased triacyglyceride and total cholesterol contents and plasma alkaline phosphatase activity in plasma (P < 0.05). Broken-line analysis indicated that 55.1 mg kg−1 dietary Zn was required for maximal tissue storage and mineralization as well as optimal growth of grass carp.
Macrosiphum on ferns: taxonomy, biology and evolution, including the description of three new species (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

The phytophagous insect fauna of ferns has often been described as depauperate, and some have pointed to the paucity of evidence for adaptive radiation of insect groups feeding specifically on ferns. This paper examines the world's species of fern‐specific Macrosiphum aphids and attempts to determine whether fern‐feeding is a monophyletically derived trait in Macrosiphum. All sixteen species reported to feed on ferns, including three new species, were included in a cladistic analysis, along with fifteen other Macrosiphum species selected to represent the diversity of the genus, Papulaphis sleesmani (Pepper), because of its similarity to fern‐feeding Macrosiphum, and Sitobion avenae (Fabricius), which was used as outgroup. The results gave good support for the monophyly of fifteen of the sixteen fern‐feeders, and also supported a clade consisting of these fifteen fern‐feeders plus Macrosiphum equiseti (Holman), an Equisetum‐specific aphid. One species, Macrosiphum lapponicum Shaposhnikov, from northern Russia, was concluded to be unrelated to other fern‐feeding Macrosiphum. Whether this species truly feeds on a fern requires confirmation. Taxonomic and biological notes are provided for all fern‐feeding Macrosiphum of the world. These include one new combination, Macrosiphum cyatheae (Holman) comb.n. , and three new species: Macrosiphum longirostratum sp.n. on Woodsia mollis and Woodsia sp. from Mexico (Michoacán), Macrosiphum miho sp.n. on ‘Aspidium’ sp. from the U.S.A. (Illinois) and Macrosiphum rebecae sp.n. on Adiantum sp. from Mexico (Michoacán). Keys to apterous and alate viviparae of Macrosiphum living on ferns are given.
A comparative study of Compensation & Benefits packages satisfaction of Indian public versus private banks employees

Every job has an employment contract between employer and employee. The employment contract acts as the basis of the relationship of employer and employee. The various entitlements of the employee are clearly defined in the contract. As per the employment contracts, the employer pays its employees in the form of monetary and nonmonetary benefits in return to the services rendered by the employee. Compensation may be said as a vital reason to work, people work to earn and have better living standards. Hiring the right talent requires an understanding of the labour market and providing competitive packages to attract the right talent. The current study targets the public and private banks employees. An attempt has been made to compare the compensation and benefits packages of public and private bank employees and understand the relative importance of the various factors of compensation and benefits package. The Indian banking sector is the preferred choice as, on one end has public sector banks which have bipartite settlements for salary negotiations and on the other hand are the new generation private banks and foreign banks which independently offer lucrative packages to hire the talent. The study is based on primary data collected from selected Indian Public and Private Banks. This study reveals that both public and private sector bank employees have different offerings for their employees and employees working for different ownership have relatively different reasons to be in their current jobs.
Changes in composition and quality characteristics of ovine meat and fat from castrates and rams aged to 2 years

Abstract A comprehensive set of quality parameters has been recorded for meat and fat from groups of castrate and ram lambs raised on pasture and slaughtered in groups of six at 91‐day intervals from 122 to 668 days of age. These include mechanical evaluation of meat tenderness, sensory evaluations of meat flavour and fat odour, and measurements of fat colour, fatty acid composition, vitamins C and E, free glucose and iron in the meat, and of the concentrations of the flavour compounds indoles, phenols, and branched chain fatty acids in the fat. There was significant variation in many parameters between slaughter days, including markedly lower meat tenderness in one slaughter group, probably in response to unfavourable pasture conditions. Older ram lambs tended to be less tender than castrates of the same age. However, no longer‐term age‐related trends were observed in tenderness or flavour quality. Concentrations of free glucose in rigor muscle and vitamin C showed a declining trend with age. Concentrations of the branched chain fatty acids 4‐methyloctanoic and 4‐methylnonanoic acids in fat increased with age. Sex category effects were observed for the branched chain fatty acids and for indole and skatole. Higher concentrations were observed in ram lambs. The data indicate there is only a limited decline in lamb meat quality characteristics up to nearly 2 years of age, but that pasture feeding conditions may affect quality significantly.