Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of intercropping and nitrogen levels on biometric growth parameters and yield of forage sweet sorghum

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of intercropping and nitrogen levels on biometric growth parameters and yield of forage sweet sorghum at AICRP on Sorghum, Main Agricultural Research Station, Dharwad during kharif season of 2015. The experiment was laid out on medium black soil in randomized complete block design with fifteen treatments and three replications. The results of the experiment indicated that intercropping of sweet sorghum + horsegram (2:1) with 100 % RDN recorded significantly higher total dry matter production (71.23 g/plant), LAI (7.72), LAD (106.3 days) and NAR (0.0737 g/dm2 /day1) as compared to others. The same treatment produced significantly higher total green and dry forage yield (49.08 and 12.81 t/ha respectively) and LER (1.36) followed by sweet sorghum + horsegram (2:2) with 100 % RDN due to higher growth and yield attributes.
Larval Rearing of Three Amphidromous Shrimp Species (Atyidae) under Different Feeding and Salinity Conditions

The optimum rearing conditions of two species of amphidromous atyd shrimp Caridina typos and Caridina leucosticta collected from Koegawa River, Nagasaki, Japan, were examined by assessing the effects of different live feed species, food density, and salinity on survival and developmental rate. In the initial experiment, survival and growth of shrimps fed Tetraselmis tetrathele at 1•~105 cells/ml, Chaetoceros gracilis at 1•~105 cells/ml and Nannochloropsis oculata at 1•~106 cells/ml were assessed. Results showed that T tetrathele at a density of 1•~105 cells/ml was found optimum for both species. To determine the optimum feeding density of T tetrathele, 5 feeding densities (0, 1•~103, 1•~104, 1•~105 and 1•~106 cells/ml) were tested. Results showed that the density of 1•~105 cells/ml was optimum. Using this density, the optimum salinity for rearing was determined using 5 salinities (0, 8.5, 17.0, 25.5 and 34.0). It was found that at a density of 1•~105 cells/ml, 25.5 was the most suitable salinity for rearing C. typus resulting to a 37.8% metamorphosis, while salinity 17 for C. leucosticta with a 94.4% metamorphosis. In another experiment, the optimum conditions (1•~105 cells/ml T tetrathele and salinity 25.5) found suitable for rearing C. typos was used in rearing Caridina serratirostris (due to their close geographical distribution), which resulted to 53.1% metamorphosis. Overall result of this study showed that the suitable rearing conditions vary among atyd shrimp species. Adults of these species have slightly different geographical distribution, thus, may explain the difference in their optimum rearing
Combined phylogenetic analysis of two new Afrotropical genera of Onthophagini (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae)

To reveal the relationships of the Afrotropical Onthophagus 32nd group, a combined phylogenetic analysis was used on a matrix of both discrete and continuous morphological characters. The species of the 32nd group do not constitute a homogeneous group, but two distinct and well-isolated clades of generic rank: Hamonthophagus gen. nov. with five species and Morettius gen. nov. with two species, one of which was identified as a new taxon and is described here (i.e. Morettius utete sp. nov.). The Hamonthophagus species were characterized by a wide distribution covering the entire geographical range of Afrotropical grasslands, while the Morettius species were restricted to two distinct areas in central Africa and east Africa. Geographical data were integrated with the phylogenetic results and processed by dispersal-vicariance analysis, which confirmed for both genera an evolutionary and biogeographical history in which the ancestral range was located in the central eastern African region.
Growth Rate and % N of Field Grown Crops: Theory and Experiments

Mechanistic equations were developed to link the % N in plant dry matter to plant mass per unit area and to various expressions of growth rate. They were tested against the results of multi-harvest, multi-N-level fertilizer field experiments on French beans, potatoes, tall fescue and winter wheat. Sub-critical values of % N measured at different times during the growing period were for each crop almost linearly related to relative growth rate, but the values of the regression coefficients varied from experiment to experiment. A single equation was developed that denned the % N in the dry matter at any time with any sub-optimal level of fertilizer-N, in terms of the plant d.wt per unit area of N-sufficient plants measured at that time, and the ratio of the growth rate coefficient (see below) of the N-deficient crop to that of the N-sufficient crop. Even though there were no other variables, the equation removed 86.5% of the variance of all the measured sub-optimal and critical values of % N for the different crops. The growth rate coefficient Kx(F) was defined by the eqn: (Formula) where W(F, t) is plant d.wt per unit area, t is time, x is a coefficient that is strongly correlated with Kx and F,t in parentheses indicates that the variable varies with the level of fertilizer and with time. Kx(F) was always almost constant for long periods of time at each level of fertilizer. This coefficient corrects for the effects of mass per se on growth rate. The apparent similarity in growth/% N relationships for different species was explained in terms of the high N-requirement for the photosynthetic apparatus, the similarity in photosynthetic rates and the low % N in storage and structural tissues.
Amino Acid, Amino Acid Metabolite, and GABA Content of Three Domestic Tomato Varieties

To determine the nutritional value of domestic tomatoes, the levels of amino acids, amino acid metabolites, and the bioactive compound γ-aminobutyric-acid (GABA) were analyzed in three domestic tomato varieties (Rafito, Momotaro, and Medison). Eighteen free amino acids were found, and total free amino acid content was 3,810.21～4,594.56 mg/100 g (dry weight). L-glutamic acid (L-Glu) was the most abundant amino acid, ranging from 1,866.60 mg/100 g for Momotaro to 2,417.45 mg/100 g for Medison. The next most abundant amino acids were L-glutamine (L-Gln) and L-aspartic acid (L-Asp). The three tomato varieties had a good balance of all the essential amino acids except tryptophan. Total essential amino acid content was 274.26～472.71 mg/100 g (dry weight). The following amino acid metabolites were found: L-carnitine (L-Car), hydroxylysine (Hyl), o-phosphoethanolamine (o-Pea), phosphoserine (p-Ser), β-alanine (β-Ala), N-methyl-histidine (Me-His), ethanolamine (EtNH2),and L-citrulline(L-Cit). Large quantities of GABA were found in all three varieties: 666.95-868.48 mg/100g (dry weight). These results support the use of these tomato varieties as nutritious food materials.
Selection of the spatial habitat of Coprophagous beetles in the Kaiserstuhl area near Freiburg (SW-Germany)

1. Au cours d'une etude d'un an sur les coleopteres coprophages d'un pâturage dans la region de Kaiserstuhl (sud-ouest de l'Allemagne), des bouses de vaches et des crottes de moutons ont ete ramassees dans deux champs et un bois deux fois par mois. On a recense 40.298 coleopteres appartenant a 40 especes de Scarabaeoidea et 14 d'Hydrophilidae. Le petit site de Kaiserstuhl offre la plus grande diversite specifique de Scarabaeoidea de toutes les biocenoses locales de bousiers decrites en Europe a ce jour. 2. A toutes les saisons, la densite de population et la biomasse des bousiers sont plus elevees dans les champs que dans le bois. En ete et pendant les jours les plus froids de l'hiver seulement, les valeurs sont approximativement les memes pour les deux macro-habitats, ce qui peut etre du au climat modere des habitats boises pendant ces periodes. 3. 11 sur 29 especes abondantes presentent une preference nette pour les macrohabitats ouverts, et quatre preferent le macrohabitat boise. Toutes les autres especes sont eurytopiques. La similarite faunistique est faible entre les trois macrohabitats et ne presente pas de relation plus etroite entre les deux pâturages ouverts qu'entre ces deux derniers et le pâturage boise. 4. Les crottes de moutons sont plus densement peuplees que les bouses de vaches, mais ces dernieres contiennent une biomasse de bousiers plus elevee. La communaute des bouses de vaches est plus importante en nombre d'especes ainsi qu'en diversite. La similarite faunistique entre les deux communautes de bousiers est minimale. 5. 13 sur 32 especes de bousiers abondantes ont une preference pour chaque type de dejection. La taille moyenne des Scarabaeoidea preferant les crottes de moutons est significativement plus petite que celle des bousiers preferant les bouses de vaches. Quelles que soient leurs differences de taille, toutes les especes d'Hydrophilidae sauf une ont une preference marquee pour les bouses de vaches. 6. La selection de l'habitat spatial joue un role mineur dans la compartimentation de l'espace total de la niche des communautes de bousiers par comparaison avec les dimensions temporelles de la niche telles que les saisons. Comme dans le cas des saisons, Aphodius est la mieux separee dans le genre.
Make-It-3D: High-Fidelity 3D Creation from A Single Image with Diffusion Prior

In this work, we investigate the problem of creating high-fidelity 3D content from only a single image. This is inherently challenging: it essentially involves estimating the underlying 3D geometry while simultaneously hallucinating unseen textures. To address this challenge, we leverage prior knowledge from a well-trained 2D diffusion model to act as 3D-aware supervision for 3D creation. Our approach, Make-It-3D, employs a two-stage optimization pipeline: the first stage optimizes a neural radiance field by incorporating constraints from the reference image at the frontal view and diffusion prior at novel views; the second stage transforms the coarse model into textured point clouds and further elevates the realism with diffusion prior while leveraging the high-quality textures from the reference image. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our method outperforms prior works by a large margin, resulting in faithful reconstructions and impressive visual quality. Our method presents the first attempt to achieve high-quality 3D creation from a single image for general objects and enables various applications such as text-to-3D creation and texture editing.
Multi-Antenna Dual-Blind Deconvolution for Joint Radar-Communications via SoMAN Minimization

In joint radar-communications (JRC) applications such as secure military receivers, often the radar and communications signals are overlaid in the received signal. In these passive listening outposts, the signals and channels of both radar and communications are unknown to the receiver. The ill-posed problem of recovering all signal and channel parameters from the overlaid signal is termed as \textit{dual-blind deconvolution} (DBD). In this work, we investigate DBD for a multi-antenna receiver. We model the radar and communications channels with a few (sparse) \textit{continuous-valued} parameters such as time delays, Doppler velocities, and directions-of-arrival (DoAs). To solve this highly ill-posed DBD, we propose to minimize the sum of multivariate atomic norms (SoMAN) that depend on unknown parameters. To this end, we devise an exact semidefinite program using theories of positive hyperoctant trigonometric polynomials (PhTP). Our theoretical analyses show that the minimum number of samples and antennas required for perfect recovery is logarithmically dependent on the maximum of the number of radar targets and communications paths rather than their sum. We show that our approach is easily generalized to include several practical issues such as gain/phase errors and additive noise. Numerical experiments show the exact parameter recovery for different JRC scenarios.
Effects of controlled-release urea combined with conventional urea on nitrogen uptake, root yield, and quality of Platycodon grandiflorum

ABSTRACT Field experiments were conducted with four nitrogen fertilizer treatments to study the effects of controlled-release urea combined with conventional urea on the nitrogen uptake, root yield, and contents of protein, soluble sugar, saponin, zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), and copper (Cu) in Platycodon grandiflorum. Field experiments were conducted with four nitrogen (N) fertilizer treatments: no N fertilization; conventional urea with N rate of 175 kg N ha−1; conventional urea with N rate of 160 kg N ha−1; controlled-release urea combined with conventional urea with N rate of 160 kg N ha−1; controlled-release urea combined with conventional urea with N rate of 135 kg N ha−1. The results showed that nitrogen application significantly increased the yield of P. grandiflorum compared with the control. Treatment with controlled-release urea combined with conventional urea at 160 kg N ha−1 provided the highest yield of 7329.58 kg ha−1. Nitrogen application also increased the contents of soluble sugar, total saponin, protein, Zn, Fe, and Mg but decreased Cu content. Protein, saponin, and Zn contents were significantly higher, but Cu content was lower in P. grandiflorum fertilized with controlled-release urea combined with conventional urea than those fertilized with conventional urea alone. The combination of controlled-release urea with conventional urea at 160 kg N ha−1 was the optimal treatment under the experimental condition investigated in this study.
Effect of Weaning Management on Carcass Characteristics of T&D Pigs

The present study was carried out on 24 growing finishing T &D (Tamworth x Desi) pigs maintained at All India Coordinated Research Project on Pig (Mega Seed Project), College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati-781022, Assam, which were weaned at 28, 35, 42 and 56 days. After the end of growing finishing period (14 to 34 weeks) all the pigs were slaughter to study some of the important quantitative and qualitative carcass traits. Pigs under 28 days weaning group weigh significantly (P<0.05) higher carcass weight compared to 35, 42 or 56 days weaning group. Whereas no differences were observed in dressing percentage (%), head weight, weight of alimentary tract with contents including urinary bladder, genitalia, spleen, kidney and pancreas and weight of shank among the carcasses of pigs under different weaning groups. Apart from loin and bacon, no differences were observed in ham, picnic, butt and jowl weight in the carcasses of pigs weaned at different ages in the present study. It was observed that there were only numerical superiority of carcass length and loin eye area, but significantly (P<0.05) higher back fat thickness in early weaned pigs compared to lately weaned pigs.
Utilization of Seaweed Sargassum liebmannii Extract as a Stimulant of Germination of Pachyrhizus erosus

Seaweeds are an integral part of the coastal ecosystem and they are known to aid and stimulate growth of vegetables, fruits and other crops. They contain all major and minor plant nutrients including bio-control properties; they also contain organic compounds such as auxins, gibberellins and precursors of ethylene and betaine that impact plant growth. A crude extract was prepared with 30 g dry weight of S. liebmannii. The solution was considered as 100% concentration and three different concentrations (2%, 5% and 10%) were prepared by dilution with distilled water. Four treatments were used (0%, 2%, 5% and 10%), with three replicates for treatment, and one hundred seeds for each replicate. Prior to germination, seeds were soaked in seaweed extract at treatment concentration for 24 h at room temperature (24  2 °C), and then placed on Petri dishes with filter paper. Seaweed extract had a significant effect on germination of Pachyrhizus erosus seeds (p<0.05). All concentrations promoted a higher germination percentage when compared to control treatment. Seeds exposed to the 2% concentration exhibited a 25% increase in seed germination in comparison with control treatment. There was a significant effect of S. liebmannii extract on germination time (p=0.0013). The results presented in this study clearly show the efficacy of Sargassum liebmannii extract promoting jicama seed germination percentage.
Variability in Rhizoctonia solani (AG-1 IA) isolates causing sheath blight of rice in India

Variability in 35 isolates of Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn (Teleomorph: Thanatephorus cucumeris (Frank) Donk) causing sheath blight of rice and weeds, was examined by polymerase chain reaction-random amplified polymorphic DNA (PCR-RAPD) analysis in conjunction with morphology and pathogenicity studies. Studies on morphological characterization of R. solani isolates showed that isolates were highly variable both in mycelial and sclerotial parameters, with no consistent characters related to virulence, origin, production system or geographic origin. Pathogenicity of R. solani was also evaluated and based on their virulence, isolates were classified into different virulent groups. The similarity values of RAPD profiles ranged from 0.37 to 0.85 with an average of 0.61 among all the isolates. The percentage polymorphism detected per primer varied from 76.9 to 100% which suggested their utility in DNA finger printing of the sheath blight isolates. Relation between cultural/morphological characteristics, aggressiveness and genetic variation based on RAPD markers, and possible reasons for high intra-group variability are discussed.
Satellite telemetry of humpback whales off Madagascar reveals insights on breeding behavior and long-range movements within the southwest Indian Ocean

: Humpback whales breeding in the southwest Indian Ocean are thought to exhibit population substructure between Madagascar and east Africa. To investigate regional movements, breeding behavior and habitat utilization, 23 whales were satellite-tagged off Madagascar during peak breeding season off the northeast and southwest coasts. Mean tag duration was 24.2 d (3 to 58 d), during which time no individual remained near the immediate tagging sites and several displayed extensive long-range movements. We applied a switching state-space model to estimate behavioral modes of ‘transiting’ (b-mode approaching 1.0) vs. ‘localized’ (b-mode approaching 2.0) movement. A general linear mixed-effects model indicated females were more likely to display transiting behavior than males (mean b-mode females = 1.27, males = 1.65; p = 0.031). Whales tagged in the northeast displayed localized movements off the central east coast of Madagascar, whereas whales tagged in the southwest displayed localized movements on the southern coasts, with little overlap. Long-distance movements included north-westerly trajectories to eastern Africa and southerly transits to Walters Shoals and the Crozet Islands. Despite these long-range movements in short periods, no whale travelled to the northwest coast of Madagascar, nor to Mozambique or the Mascarene Islands. These results suggest there may be more interchange between Madagascar and central-east Africa than previously thought, and whales off east and west Madagascar may not use the same habitat within breeding seasons; important findings for defining sub-population structure and conservation management strategy. Furthermore, male mating strategy may involve more localized searching or dis -playing, whereas females travel more extensively during the breeding season, observations that are consistent with a large-scale lek mating system.
Presence of Escherichia coli O157, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes in Raw Ovine Milk Destined for Cheese Production and Evaluation of the Equivalence Between the Analytical Methods Applied.

Abstract Italy is one of the main producers and exporters of cheese made from unpasteurized sheep milk. Since raw milk and its derived products are known sources of human infections, cheese produced from raw sheep milk could pose a microbiological threat to public health. Hence, the objectives of the study were: to characterize the potential risk of the presence of pathogens Escherichia coli O157, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella in raw ovine milk destined for cheese production obtained from all the sheep farms (n = 24) in the Marches region (Central Italy) that directly transform raw milk into cheeses and to evaluate the equivalence between the analytical methods applied. A three-step molecular method (simultaneous culture enrichment, species-specific DNA magnetic isolation, and multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction) was used for milk (n = 143) and cheese (n = 5) analysis over a 3-year period. L. monocytogenes was not detected on any of the farms, while E. coli O157 was found on three farms.
Integrated effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on nearshore ecosystems

The interconnected nearshore habitats of the northern Gulf of Mexico provide refuge and feeding opportunities for fish and wildlife, including open water, shoreline, and terrestrial species. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill natural resource damage assessment documented injury as a result of the oiling of over 2113 km (1300 miles) of shoreline over an 87 d release from the wellhead. Field and laboratory studies indicate that oil degraded the health of coastal marsh vegetation and associated fauna, resulted in the loss of nearshore oyster cover, and increased erosion of oiled marsh edge habitat over approximately 174 km (108 miles) of shoreline. Sand beach habitat, submersed aquatic vegetation, and subtidal oysters were injured by a combination of oiling and response actions. The loss of billions of oysters resulted in failed recruitment over several years in the most severely affected areas (Barataria Bay, Black Bay/Breton Sound, and Mississippi Sound). Affected ecosystem services include supporting services (e.g. primary production) and provisioning services (e.g. fish and invertebrate abundance). Loss of vegetation and nearshore oysters and increased shoreline erosion may have disrupted regulating services associated with stable marsh (e.g. coastal storm and flood protection). The loss of marsh vegetation and oysters likely reduced nutrient cycling and water filtration services. Recovery of natural resources may take more than 20 yr in some areas. To prepare for future spills, we recommend that natural resource trustees develop generic conceptual models and prepare integrated injury assessment approaches for nearshore habitats to facilitate future injury quantification. Additional exploration of the trade-offs between response options could minimize or shift natural resource injury for future spills.
Transformational Principles for NEON Sampling of Mammalian Parasites and Pathogens: A Response to Springer and Colleagues

Author(s): Cook, JA; Greiman, SE; Agosta, SJ; Anderson, RP; Arbogast, BS; Baker, RJ; Boeger, W; Bradley, RD; Brooks, DR; Cole, R; Demboski, JR; Dobson, AP; Dunnum, JL; Eckerlin, RP; Esselstyn, J; Galbreath, KE; Hawdon, J; Hoekstra, HE; Kutz, SJ; Light, JE; Olson, LE; Patterson, BD; Patton, JL; Phillips, AJ; Rickart, E; Rogers, DS; Siddall, ME; Tkach, VV; Hoberg, EP