Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of the Relationship Between Trade Openness and Economic Growth in the Caribbean: A Case Study of the 3B2GD Countries

In recent times, small island countries in the Caribbean region have been fully devoted to the consolidation and development of both regional and international investments and trade corporations. Likewise, tremendous economic growth has also been witnessed in some of these trade collaborating countries. Thus, it is essential that the effect of the recent boost of economy in the region is empirically analyzed in order to ascertain if this is a product of the recent openness to trade in the region. Therefore, in this study, we applied the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds test of cointegration and the Granger causality tests in order to empirically investigate the dynamic relationship between trade openness and economic growth in the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Grenada and Dominica (3B2GD) for the period from 2000 to 2019. The empirical results show that trade openness has significant effect on economic growth as there exist a long run relationship between trade openness and economic growth. Also, the results of the bounds test of cointegration confirms that in the 3B2GB economies, there is an existence of a bi-directional causality from trade openness to economic growth. Similarly, an evidence of uni-directional causality between trade openness and output growth is observed from the investigation, mostly with regards to Guyana. To further examine the long- and short-run coefficients, we analyzed the cumulative sum of recursive residuals (CUSUM) and the cumulative sum of squared residuals (CUSUMQ) plots for the respective 3B2GD economies. The results of the residual plots show that the parameters of the estimated ARDL models are stable. Keywords - Trade openness, ARDL, economic growth, cointegration, CUSUM, Granger causality. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-10-02 Publication date: May 31 st 2020
Seedling establishment characteristics of alternative legume species in tussock grassland environments

Four alternative legume species, Caucasian clover (Trifolium ambiguum), zigzag clover (T. medium), crown vetch (Coronilla varia), and birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), were compared with white clover (T. repens) on four tussock grassland sites. Seed was inoculated and pelleted, and then oversown at a rate equivalent to 5 kg/ha viable seed. Germination, nodulation and survival of white clover, Monaro Caucasian clover, and zigzag clover were similar on the two lowest sites (600 and 830 m). However, low rates of zigzag clover germination occurred on the two higher sites (1090 and 1100 m). Germination of crown vetch appeared to be prevented or delayed by the low temperatures, and no plants established on any site. Low nodulation occurred in Treeline Caucasian clover and birdsfoot trefoil. Further research is required to select more suitable strains of rhizobia for both these legumes. The results provide information for estimating likely plant densities of these new cultivars when oversown in tussock grassland environments.
The Extent of Inbreeding Depression in Seven Cultivars of Onion (Allium cepa L.)

To assess the potential of breeding onion for hybrid seed production, mother bulbs of seven onion cultivars namely, Desi Red, Red Imposta, PK 10321, Rubina, Phulkara, Faisal Red and Dark Red were planted in the field. Seeds obtained from selfed and open-pollinated umbels were used to estimate the inbreeding depression at the seedling stage. There were significant differences among the cultivars for different characteristics. A considerable and varying degree of inbreeding has been found in different parameters among the onion cultivars.
Elusive Relationships Within Order Fabales: Phylogenetic Analyses Using matK and rbcL Sequence Data1

Abstract The order Fabales, including Leguminosae, Polygalaceae, Quillajaceae and Surianaceae, represents a novel hypothesis emerging from angiosperm molecular phylogenies. Despite good support for the order, molecular studies to date have suggested contradictory poorly supported interfamilial relationships. Our reappraisal of relationships within Fabales addresses past taxon sampling deficiencies, and employs parsimony and Bayesian approaches using sequences from the plastid regions rbcL (166 spp.) and matK (78 spp.). Five alternative hypotheses for interfamilial relationships within Fabales were recovered. The Shimodaira-Hasegawa test found the likelihood of a resolved topology significantly higher than the one calculated for a polytomy but did not favour any of the alternative hypotheses of relationship within Fabales. In the light of the morphological evidence available and the comparative behavior of rbcL and matK, the topology recovering Polygalaceae as sister to the rest of the order Fabales with Leguminosae more closely related to Quillajaceae + Surianaceae, is considered the most likely hypothesis of interfamilial relationships of the order. Dating of selected crown clades in the Fabales phylogeny using penalized likelihood suggests rapid radiation of the Leguminosae, Polygalaceae, and (Quillajaceae + Surianaceae) crown clades.
Espaçamentos e densidades de milho com diferentes ciclos no oeste de Santa Catarina, Brazil

To determine the ideal plant population and row spacing for corn, two trials were carried out (one with earlier hybrid and other with normal cycle hybrid) during the growing seasons of 1995/96, 1996/97 and 1997/98, in Chapeco, in the West of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The experimental design of both trials was complete randomized blocks arranged in split-plots, with main plot composed of four row spacings (70, 85, 100 and 115cm) and subplot composed of four stands (30000, 50000, 70000 and 90000 plants ha-1). Both hybrids had quadratic response to the increase in plant population with maximum technical efficiency around 74000 plants ha-1. Populations of 50000, 70000 and 90000 plants ha-1 of both hybrids had similar grain yields and superior to 30000 plants ha-1. The earlier hybrid had grain yields at 70 and 85cm superior to 115cm, while normal cycle hybrid did not present differences among spacings. The increase in plant population reduced significantly the weight of one thousand grains, the number of grains per ear and the number of ears per plant.
Effects of copper sulphate and cobalt chloride on in vitro performances of traditional indica rice ( Oryza sativa L.) varieties in Sri Lanka

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of copper sulphate and cobalt chloride on the rate of callus proliferation and the in vitro regeneration in nine indica rice varieties and a Japonica variety. The disinfected seeds were inoculated in callus initiation medium composed of N6 basal elements, 1000 mg/l proline, 2 mg/l 2,4-D and 3% (w/v) sucrose to screen high responsive varieties. Calli of screened varieties were used to determine the effects of additives on in vitro responses in proliferation and regeneration media. Taipei 309, Pachcha Perumal, Heenati Vee and Suvandel were screened as high responsive varieties at P ≤ 0.05. The rate of callus proliferation in the screened varieties was significantly higher in the medium supplemented with 5 mg/l copper sulphate and 5-10 mg/l cobalt chloride together (P Key words: Rice; copper sulphate; cobalt chloride; Indica; Japonica DOI: 10.4038/jas.v4i3. 1652 The Journal of Agricultural Sciences , 2009, vol. 4, no. 3 pp.132-141
Corticosterone Level Changes throughout Larval Development in the Amphibians Rana sylvatica and Ambystoma jeffersonianum Reared under Laboratory, Mesocosm, or Free-living Conditions

Abstract Studies of a few “model” amphibians continue to advance our mechanistic understanding of the endocrine control of larval amphibian development and metamorphosis, but there are few studies examining steroid profiles across species during larval amphibian development. We used censored regression analysis to address our primary objective, which was to examine baseline corticosterone level changes and responses to a standardized stressor throughout larval development in two amphibian species: one anuran (Wood Frogs, Rana sylvatica) and one caudate (Jefferson Salamanders, Ambystoma jeffersonianum). In addition, we looked at two additional factors that could influence the study of corticosterone during larval development, namely the rearing location of the animals (free-living, mesocosm-held, or laboratory-held) and for A. jeffersonianum, the method of induction of the stress response (ACTH injection or a confinement-agitation [CA] protocol). As has been documented for other anurans, baseline corticosterone content of R. sylvatica increased close to metamorphic climax in all rearing locations, although the absolute level varied with rearing location. Baseline corticosterone content of A. jeffersonianum increased gradually over development, and the increase in corticosterone content following CA mirrored the increase in baseline levels, although the absolute magnitude of the increase with CA varied based on rearing location. In larvae of A. jeffersonianum, both the CA method and ACTH injection significantly increased corticosterone content, with 30 min eliciting the maximum hormonal response level. Our results suggest that rearing location can influence corticosterone levels and the response to a standardized CA protocol, and that care should be taken in extrapolating results from laboratory studies to free-living amphibian populations.
When every sperm counts: factors affecting male fertility in the honeybee Apis mellifera

Eusocial hymenopteran males have exceptionally high levels of ejaculate quality, which are assumed to result from extreme selection pressures for pre- and postcopulatory male–male competition and the necessity to retain viable sperm after years of storage in female (queen) spermathecae. We hypothesized that the production of high-quality sperm carries substantial costs so that fertility of males may be compromised by stress factors when they are operating at their physiological limits. To test this, we performed a series of experiments using honeybees as our model system, to establish possible effects of male age on sperm quality and to evaluate effects of elevated temperatures, food deprivation during sexual maturation, and immune challenges. We found that sperm viability decreases with male age but that males of some colonies were better able to delay ejaculate senescence than others. Exposure to elevated temperatures and wounding both significantly decreased male fecundity, but protein deficiency after hatching did not. This suggests that investment in drones is completed at pupation and that sexual maturation does not require additional protein feeding. The sensitivity of drone fitness to stress factors related to temperature and immune system activation illustrates that hygienic monitoring and active thermoregulation by workers are essential for colony-level reproductive success. These results underline that honeybee drones have been under strong selection for extreme specialization on reproductive performance and that this precludes any exposure to the stressful conditions that foraging workers normally experience.
Evaluation of genotype×environment interaction and stability of corn hybrids and relationship among univariate parametric methods

Changizi, M. , Choukan, R. , Heravan, E. M. , Bihamta, M. R. and Darvish, F. 2014. Evaluation of genotype×environment interaction and stability of corn hybrids and relationship among univariate parametric methods. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 1255-1267. There have been many approaches available in multi-location crop variety trial. However, the relationship among these approaches is not understood. In this study, therefore, grain yields of 16 corn hybrids were measured in 12 locations in Iran in 2011 and 2012 in order to compare the 23 parametric methods and to assess stability and adaptability of the hybrids. The combined ANOVA indicated that variances due to the genotypes, environments and genotype×environment interaction were substantially significant, which represents great variation among them. Principal component analysis based on rank correlation matrix indicated that stability methods can be classified into four groups. The group related to the dynamic concept and strongly associated with mean grain yield consisted of the measures, superiority index (Pi), desirability index (DI), geometric adaptability index (GAI) and genotypic stability (Di2). This group was more useful in agronomic goals in comparison with other methods. The second group also indicated the dynamic concept contained slope of regression models. The third group reflected the static concept included, the environmental variance (EV), the variance in regression deviation (S2di) and type IV stability concept (). The fourth group impressed concurrently by grain yield and stability included the measures coefficient of variability (CV), Wrick's ecovalence (W2), Shukla's stability variance (SH), Plaisted and Peterson's parameter (pp59), Plaisted's parameter (p60), yield reliability index (Ii), residual MS of regression models and coefficient of determination (R2). Based on both concepts of stability (dynamic and static), hybrids (KLM76002/3×MO17), (KLM77002/10-5-1×K19/1) and (K47/2×MO17) were the most stable and (KSC704), (KSC720 (K74/1×K19)) and (K48/3×K18) were found to be the most adaptable to favorable environments. The methods of Pi, Di2, DI and GAI were more useful and more convenient than other methods. and showed an acceptable static concept of stability methods whereas study was more efficient than .
Competition and Facilitation in Hairy Vetch-Barley Intercrops

Intercrops between legumes and non-legumes are widely used for fodder production and as cover crops, but little quantitative data are available on competition between species in the mixture. The objective of the present study was to assess the interaction between hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grown as pure crops or intercrops with different proportions of seed rates at sowing. A 4-year field study was conducted using hairy vetch and barley as pure stands at full sowing density and as intercrops at different proportions of their own full seed rate according to the replacement principle. Interaction between species was evaluated on the basis of Land Equivalent Ratio (LER), Relative Neighbour Effect (RNE) and Aggressivity (A) calculated on biomass and nitrogen (N) accumulation. The N accumulation of the mixed crops increased linearly with the legume proportion in the mixture. The mixtures were more efficient than the pure crops in terms of N use (LER > 1). Partial LER values indicated that the barley component benefited from the presence of the legume, while the hairy vetch partial LER decreased with increasing barley proportion in the mixture. The competitive response in terms of biomass accumulation was high for both species when their density in the mixture was high. Concerning N accumulation, barley benefited from an asymmetric interspecific facilitation while the vetch behaviour was similar to that observed for biomass accumulation. Barley dominance progressively increased reaching a maximum just before the last sampling date. At the last sampling date the competitive ability of hairy vetch showed a considerable increase in all mixtures (A ≈ 0). These findings indicate that the use of mixtures between hairy vetch and barley allows an increase in the use efficiency of N resource with respect to pure crops. Barley is the dominant component of the mixture and the hairy vetch is able to cope with the cereal competitive effect only at the end of the shooting phase of barley. Moreover when the soil N supply is high, the recovering ability of the vetch in the mixture could be strongly reduced. In such conditions, the proportion of legumes at sowing should be increased in order to counteract barley dominance and allow a late recovery of the legume component.
CENTRIFUGACIÓN COLOIDAL DEL SEMEN CRIOCONSERVADO DE PERRO PARA LA SELECCIÓN DE ESPERMATOZOIDES

5 Introducción . 7 Objetivos . 11 Material y Métodos . 13 1. Animales . 13 2. Obtención y valoración de las muestras seminales . 13 3. Protocolo de congelación y descongelación del esperma canino. 14 4. Selección de espermatozoides . 14 4.1. Centrifugación en gradiente discontinuo de densidad (PureSperm ® 40/80) . 15 4.2. Centrifugación coloidal en una sola capa de PureSperm ® 80 . 15 5. Evaluación de los parámetros de calidad seminal . 16 5.1. Morfología espermática . 16 5.2. Movimiento espermático . 16 5.3. Vitalidad espermática . 17 6. Identificación de las subpoblaciones cinéticas . 18 7. Análisis estadístico . 19 Resultados y Discusión . 21 Primera Publicación: Centrifugation on PureSperm density-gradient improved quality of spermatozoa from frozen-thawed dog semen. J. Dorado, L. Alcaraz, N. Duarte, J.M. Portero, D. Acha, S. Demyda, A. Muñoz-Serrano, M. Hidalgo. Theriogenology 2011, 76: 381-385. 21 Segunda Publicación: Changes in the structures of motile sperm subpopulations in dog spermatozoa after both cryopreservation and centrifugation on PureSperm gradient. J. Dorado, L. Alcaraz, N. Duarte, J.M. Portero, D. Acha, M. Hidalgo. Animal Reproduction Science 2011, 125: 211-218. 25 Tercera Publicación: Single-layer centrifugation through PureSperm 80 selects improved quality spermatozoa from frozen-thawed dog semen. J. Dorado, L. Alcaraz, M.J. Gálvez, D. Acha, I. Ortiz, M. Urbano, M. Hidalgo. Animal Reproduction Science 2013, 140: 232-240. 33
Coral reef mantis shrimps from the vicinity of Sodwana Bay, South Africa (Crustacea: Stomatopoda)

ABSTRACT Coral reef stomatopods from the vicinity of Sodwana Bay, South Africa, are reported. Ten species of Gonodactyloidea from seven genera and four families are represented. All species are new records for Sodwana Bay. Eight species represent new records for South Africa of which one, Pseudosquillisma kensleyi, is new to science. Pseudosquillisma kensleyi is the fourth species in the genus to be recognised, differing from all known congeners in having an inflated and globular, instead of a flattened and subtrapezoid cornea.
COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF NOVEL ACARICIDES AGAINST TWO SPOTTED SPIDER MITE. TETRANYCHUS URTICAE KOCH. INFESTING CUCUMBER (CUCUMIS SATIVUS) UNDER LABORATORY AND GREEN HOUSE CONDITIONS

Five commercially available new acaricides viz., Abamectin, Fenazaquin, Spiromesifen, Fenpyroximate and Hexythiazox were compared to a standard acaricide, Dicofol and Propargite for efficacy against the two spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (koch) under laboratory and green house field conditions. In laboratory trials, all the acaricides resulted in 31.13 to 100 percent mortality with highest in Fenazaquin and Abamectin treatments during I season and 46.32 to 100 percent in II season with lowest percent mortality in Hexythiazox @ 0.75 mL/ L. No mite were found to be alive after 48h of treatment in Fenazaquin and Abamectin treatment compared to other acaricides and control, however in the treatments of Propargite, Hexythiazox, and Dicofol, lower mortality (<70 percent) was observed even 48 hrs after treatment during both the seasons. During first crop season, Fenazaquin 10EC @ 1.7mL/L and Abamectin 1.9EC @1.0 ml/L caused mortality in the range of 92.39–100 percent compared to Spiromesifen (88.87%), Fenpyroximate (70.03%), Hexythiazox (37.40-60.80%), Propargite (45.06%) and Dicofol (26.30%) where the efficacy declined on 14th day observation. During II season observation, lower mortality of mites was recorded in standard acaricides viz., Dicofol (74.00%; 22.30%) and Propargite (81.30%; 39.24%) on 1 and 14th day, respectively indicating that at initial period though the mortality was higher but these acaricides lost their efficacy over a period of time and may be failure in control of spider mites. Abamectin @ 0.5ml/L (89.29%; 94.55%) and 1.0ml/L (93.85%; 98.71%), Fenazaquin (97.68%; 94.33%), Spiromesifen (93.90%; 87.30%), Fenproximate (79.20%; 59.74%), Hexythiazox @ 1.25 ml/L (83.87%; 55.73%) showed higher mortality on 1 st and 14 th day, respectively and efficacy in terms of mortality was prolonged till last day observation. All the acaricides tested in both laboratory and green house conditions were proved superior over control and Abamactin and Fenazaquin were superior over other acarcides tested.
Epidemiological Study on the Colonization of Chickens with Campylobacter in Broiler Farms in Malaysia : Possible Risk and Management Factors

Nineteen chicken flocks from ten broiler farms were studied for the colonization of Campylobacter. A variety of factors such as farm location and chicken house structure, water source, rearing practice and hygiene management were investigated. Each flock was sampled weekly, from day-old-chicks to slaughter- age chickens and environmental samples which include water, feed, wood shavings, flies and chicken house environment were collected to examine for the presence of Campylobacter. In all farms, Campylobacter was not detected in one- and seven-day-old chicks. Campylobacter was first detected in 38.2% of 14-day-old-chicks and 45.3% of 21-day-old chickens. Samples of feed, wood shavings, flies and chicken house environment were all negative while only 1.5% of untreated water supplies were found positive for campylobacters. Prevalence of campylobacter s' colonization was possibly associated with untreated water, presence of other animals and unhygienic management practices; also flying birds could be a source as they were found to harbour campylobacters; in one farm where 'fishing net' was placed over the chicken house to prevent birds from entering, Campylobacter was not isolated in the chickens up t o slaughter age.
Physiology-Informed Real-Time Mean Arterial Blood Pressure Learning and Prediction for Septic Patients Receiving Norepinephrine

Objective: Septic shock is a life-threatening manifestation of infection with a mortality of 20–50% [1]. A catecholamine vasopressor, norepinephrine (NE), is widely used to treat septic shock primarily by increasing blood pressure. For this reason, future blood pressure knowledge is invaluable for properly controlling NE infusion rates in septic patients. However, recent machine learning and data-driven methods often treat the physiological effects of NE as a black box. In this paper, a real-time, physiology-informed human mean arterial blood pressure model for septic shock patients undergoing NE infusion is studied. Methods: Our methods combine learning theory, adaptive filter theory, and physiology. We learn least mean square adaptive filters to predict three physiological parameters (heart rate, pulse pressure, and the product of total arterial compliance and arterial resistance) from previous data and previous NE infusion rate. These predictions are combined according to a physiology model to predict future mean arterial blood pressure. Results: Our model successfully forecasts mean arterial blood pressure on 30 septic patients from two databases. Specifically, we predict mean arterial blood pressure 3.33 minutes to 20 minutes into the future with a root mean square error from 3.56 mmHg to 6.22 mmHg. Additionally, we compare the computational cost of different models and discover a correlation between learned NE response models and a patient's SOFA score. Conclusion: Our approach advances our capability to predict the effects of changing NE infusion rates in septic patients. Significance: More accurately predicted MAP can lessen clinicians’ workload and reduce error in NE titration.