Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
BIOCONTROL OF CANADA THISTLE (CIRSIUM ARVENSE): RELEASES AND EFFECTIVENESS OF CEUTORHYNCHUS LITURA (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE) IN CANADA

Abstract Ceutorhynchus litura (F.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is established since 1967 in Ontario, and is increasing slowly on nine release sites in five provinces. The weevil is not a good control agent because its reproductive capacity does not compensate for losses inflicted by cultivation and the stress resulting from larval mining is so light that it produces no noticeable reduction in the vigour of Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. ). In contrast to earlier findings, it is doubtful that C. litura aids in the spread of the rust Puccinia punctiformis (Str.) Rohl. Further stress factors from other insects or pathogens are needed to control this vigorous weed. Résumé Ceutorhynchus litura (F.) (Coléoptères : Curculionidae) est établi depuis 1967 en Ontario et se répand lentement dans neuf points de lâcher effectué dans cinq provinces. Le charançon n’est pas un bon agent de lutte du fait que ses capacités reproductrices ne compensent pas les pertes infligées par le travail du sol; le stress résultant des attaques par les larves est si faible qu’il ne produit aucune réduction apparente de la vigueur du chardon des champs (Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. ). À l’encontre des résultats précédents, on doute que C. litura puisse contribuer à la propagation de la rouille Puccinia punctiformis (Str.) Rohl. D’autres facteurs de stress déclenché par d’autres insectes ou agents pathogènes sont donc nécessaires pour venir à bout de cette mauvaise herbe envahissante.
Local Intergenerational Mobility

Using NLSY data we investigate whether the observed patterns of economic mobility (as measured by income and educational attainment) exhibit heterogeneity across socioeconomic groups and whether the nature of the heterogeneity can be explained by different levels of persistence in the intergenerational transmission of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities across these groups. In doing so we employ the varying coefficient model (VCM) to estimate nonparametric (local) measures of intergenerational mobility of those outcome variables. By local we mean that the persistence coefficients are modeled as smooth functions of log parental permanent income. Our findings show that intergenerational mobility exhibits nonlinear patterns. Individuals with different parental income are characterized by different degrees of intergenerational mobility. Moreover, we find evidence that suggests cognitive abilities play a role in explaining intergenerational mobility. These findings provide some support for a new class of family investment models that emphasize the role of such abilities in economic mobility.
Empowering leadership, work group cohesiveness, individual learning orientation and individual innovative behaviour in the public sector: empirical evidence from Norway

PurposeThis study clarifies the factors that foster individual innovative behaviour in the public sector by examining the effects and roles of empowering leadership, work group cohesiveness and individual learning orientation. This study also explores the direct effect of empowering leadership on work group cohesiveness and individual learning orientation, the influence of work group cohesiveness on individual learning orientation and the mediating roles of work group cohesiveness and individual learning orientation.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from an online survey of respondents working in a public sector organization. Partial least squares structural equation modelling and mediation analysis by the bootstrap method were used for the data analysis.FindingsEmpowering leadership and individual learning orientation had significant direct effects on individual innovative behaviour. Both empowering leadership and work group cohesiveness have significant direct effects on individual learning orientation. Empowering leadership was positively related to work group cohesiveness. The mediation analysis revealed that individual learning orientation mediates the relationships between empowering leadership and individual innovative behaviour and between work group cohesiveness and individual innovative behaviour.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focuses on three factors that foster individual innovative behaviour in a public sector organization.Originality/valueThis study offers new insights into the factors that foster individual innovative behaviour in the public sector. The findings reveal the importance of using a balanced leadership style and encourage learning in the workplace for individual innovativeness by public leaders.
Examining the pollution haven, and environmental kuznets hypothesis for ecological footprints: an econometric analysis of China, India, and Pakistan

Abstract This paper estimates the short and long-run impact of foreign direct investment, electricity consumption, and real GDP on ecological footprints in the context of environmental Kuznets and Pollution haven hypothesis for China, India, and Pakistan over 1970–2016. Panel and time series models have been adopted in this research. Results of the cointegration test revealed the long-run association among the considered variables. Furthermore, Fully-Modified and Dynamic Ordinary Least Square validated the pollution haven and environmental Kuznets hypothesis for the study area. On the other hand, the linkages between income and ecological footprints have identified U-shaped EKC in the case of China and India. The empirical results of the Dumitrescu and Hurlin panel causality test indicated a unidirectional causality from income to ecological footprints. In contrast, bidirectional causality found between ecological footprints and foreign direct investment and between ecological footprints and electricity consumption.
Research on the Calibration of Binocular Camera Based on BP Neural Network Optimized by Improved Genetic Simulated Annealing Algorithm

The Back Propagation (BP) neural network has the problems of low accuracy and poor convergence in the process of binocular camera calibration. A method based on BP neural network optimized by improved genetic simulated annealing algorithm (IGSAA-BP) is proposed to solve these problems to complete the binocular camera calibration. The method of combining Gaussian scale space and Harris corner detection operator is used for corner detection. A matched algorithm of homonymous corner is proposed by combining point-to-point spatial mapping and grid motion statistics. The pixel values of the homonymous corner and three-dimensional coordinate values are taken as the input and output of BP neural network respectively. The crossover and mutation probability of genetic simulated annealing algorithm and the annealing criterion are improved, the IGSAA-BP neural network is used to calibrate the binocular camera. The average calibration accuracy of BP neural network and IGSAA-BP neural network is 0.71mm and 0.03mm, respectively. The average calibration accuracy of binocular camera is improved by 96%. The iteration speed is increased by 20 times and global optimization ability is improved. It can be seen that the IGSAA-BP neural network can improve the calibration accuracy of binocular camera and accelerate convergence speed.
Factors affecting liveweight gain in red deer calves from birth to weaning

Abstract The pre-weaning growth of two groups of red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) calves born at Invermay in the 1984 and 1985 seasons was studied to examine factors influencing gain and to provide estimates of correction values for estimating calf breeding values. Growth patterns were similar for both years. Male calves were on average 0.9 (SED ±0.2) kg (10%) heavier than female calves at birth and 4.8 (±0.8) kg (130/0) heavier at weaning, with average growth rates of 384 g per day and 336 g per day, respectively. The growth rate from birth to mid lactation was 63 g per day greater than that from mid lactation to weaning. Birth weight was positively related to dam mating weight with a 0.33 kg increase in birth weight corresponding to a 10 kg increase in dam weight. The square of the metatarsus length at birth and birth weight were strongly related (R2 (adj) = 63%). Least squares models are given between early, later, and overall growth rates to weaning adjusted for sex and dam weight, and either metatarsus l.
HORMONAL REGULATION OF FLOWERING IN A SYMPODIAL ORCHID HYBRID DENDROBIUM LOUISAE

Summary The growth habit, axillary bud differentiation and flowering behaviour in a sympodial orchid hybrid, Dendrobium Louisae cv. ‘Dark’ were studied. Flowering occurred only after termination of vegetative growth in the pseudobulb. Intermediate shoots with both vegetative and reproductive growth were produced when plants were placed in the shade. Decapitation did not stimulate floral initiation. In mature pseudobulbs, Cytokinin (benzyladenine) stimulated flowering. Gibberellic acid enhanced the cytokinin effect but was itself not effective. It is suggested that flowering in this orchid hybrid is regulated by growth substances, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Integrating Survivorship Care Into a Radiation Medicine Program

Introduction An important but often overlooked component of caring for cancer patients is survivorship care, provided after the completion of active treatment in order to facilitate transition into the next surveillance phase. A survivorship program was developed to deliver a one-on-one education session on healthy lifestyle behaviours and available resources to help patients transition to their post-treatment life. This study reports the outcome of this pilot survivorship care program provided to breast cancer patients completing radiation therapy. Program delivery format and content were evaluated for effectiveness, applicability, and feasibility. Methods and materials Between March 2017 and August 2018, 124 breast cancer patients, nearing completion of their curative intent radiation treatments, participated in this centre-specific survivorship program. The survivorship program entailed a one on one education session delivered to breast cancer patients within the last two weeks of their radiation treatment. Participants were provided a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, information pamphlet, and evaluation form to provide feedback on materials and presentation. Survivorship education sessions were delivered by study staff or staff scheduled in the Pre-Radiotherapy Patient Assessment role. Follow-up phone calls were conducted post-session delivery to determine the ongoing applicability of survivorship material. Staff was also given an evaluation form upon completion of the trial to measure the session feasibility. Results Of the 124 participants in the study, 69 (56%) provided feedback. Results showed that 98% of participants felt the information provided either confirmed what they were already doing (44%) or encouraged them to consider a lifestyle change (54%). Additionally, 70% reported feeling more confident after completing the session. Staff survey results reported that 87.5% agreed or strongly agreed that these sessions were beneficial and valuable to patients Conclusions Delivering one-on-one education sessions to individual participants focusing on healthy lifestyle measures garnered a positive response from participants, increasing their confidence and knowledge for making lifestyle changes. While staff survey results pointed strongly in favour of continuing with the survivorship sessions, it was shown that the methods of delivery trialed in this study were not feasible to be implemented on a larger scale. With some workflow modification, implementing a survivorship care program in our cancer centre is a possible and important aspect of a patient’s treatment journey.
Effect of Row Spacing, Sowing Density, and Harvest Time on Floret Yield and Yield Components of Two Safflower Cultivars Grown in Southwestern Germany

The current demand for safflower florets (Carthamus tinctorius L.) in the food-coloring industry, especially in Europe, is rising. The present production, mainly located in China, is not sufficient. Unlike for the production of seeds, there are currently no recommendations for the cultivation of safflower for floret production in Germany. Therefore, field experiments were conducted at the experimental station Ihinger Hof, Southwestern Germany, in 2017 and 2018. The aim was to evaluate yield and yield parameters, such as number of capitula, floret yield, and carthamidin content for (i) two cultivars grown with (ii) two row spacing (12 and 33 cm) using (iii) two sowing densities (40 and 75 plants m−2), and (iv) five harvest dates. Results showed that lower sowing densities resulted in a significantly larger number of branches and capitula per plant and higher yields of florets and carthamidin. Harvesting two to three weeks after flowering resulted in the significantly highest floret and carthamidin yields. More capitula per plant, higher carthamidin contents, and higher floret and carthamidin yields were obtained with the Chinese cultivar. In general, yields of flowering florets (2.30–468.96 kg ha−1), carthamidin contents (2.53–8.29%), and carthamidin yields (0.04–37.86 kg ha−1) were comparable to or higher than in other studies. In conclusion, this study showed that safflower has great potential for the production of florets in Southwest Germany, for the food-color industry.
Lateral plate morph differentiation of freshwater and marine populations of the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, in Poland

The distribution of three main lateral plate morphs of the three–spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, in the Polish zone of the Baltic Sea and inland waters is surveyed. Most sites are characterized by predominance of the completely plated morph, although it is only in the Vistula River drainage basin where monomorphic complete populations prevail. Polymorphic populations with a high proportion of the non–complete morphs are found in Puck Bay (the Baltic) and in south–west Poland, Possible causes of this pattern are discussed.
Ionizing radiation quarantine treatments

A irradiacao e um tratamento de desinfestacao em quarentena viavel que tem sido estudado nos ultimos 40 anos, embora tenha tido pouco uso comercial. Ha dois obstaculos principais a aplicacao comercial da irradiacao: 1) o fato que os insetos nao sao mortos imediatamente; e 2) a oposicao de consumidores a irradiacao, a qual tem sido aceita de certa forma, mas permanecendo o impedimento ao uso comercial em grande escala em funcao de protocolos de aprovacao por agencias regulamentadoras de paises importadores. O Departamento de Agricultura dos Estados Unidos tem tomado os primeiros passos em permitir o movimento de frutas do Havai ao resto do pais que passaram por tratamento de irradiacao. As medidas da eficacia dos tratamentos de desinfestacao por irradiacao devem incluir prevencao da emergencia de adultos, quando apenas ovos e larvas estao presentes, ou esterilidade quando as pupas ou adultos estao presentes. Isto pode ser conseguido pelo uso de doses baixas as quais sao toleradas por muitas frutas para pragas como moscas tefritideas, besouros curculionideos, e alguns Homoptera. Lepidoptera necessitam de doses moderadamente altas. O estagio mais tolerante a radiacao e usualmente o mais avancado em seu desenvolvimento. As femeas de insetos sao mais suscetiveis a radiacao que induz esterilidade; alguns acaros femeas (Tetranychidae) sao mais tolerantes que os machos. Pesquisas futuras devem se concentrar em confirmar as doses dos tratamentos quarentenarios para outras especies de insetos (isto so tem sido feito para varios tefritideos); determinar doses para alguns grupos importantes de organismos para os quais pesquisas insuficientes foram conduzidas (Mollusca, Coccoidea, Thysanoptera, Eriophyidae), e identificar e quantificar fatores de radiacao modificantes.
Seroprevalence of Major Transfusion-Transmissible Infections among Foreign
Departing Employees from Itahari, Nepal.

Transfusion-Transmissible Infections (TTIs) include human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and syphilis that are transmitted from person to person through parenteral, administration of blood or blood products leading to serious health problems. The present study was lab based cross-sectional study conducted from February 2018 to August 2019 to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis B, HIV, hepatitis C, and syphilis among the foreign departing employees from Itahari, Sunsari, Nepal. The samples were screened for the presence of anti-HIV IgG, HBsAg, anti-syphilis and anti-HCV IgG using commercial rapid test kits following standard protocols. A total of 4260 samples processed, the overall seroprevalence of TTIs was found to be 1.22% (52/4260). Seroprevalence of HIV was found to be 0.05% (2/4260), HBV was found to be 0.53% (23/4260), HCV was found to be 0.18% (8/4260) and syphilis was found to be 0.45% (19/4260). Among the transfusion transmissible infections in individuals going for foreign employment, the most prevalent was found to be hepatitis B (0.53%). In overall, the TTIs infection was most prevalent in the age group of 24-29 (0.35%) and 30-35 (0.35%) years. Further investigation including studying the prevalence of TTIs in general population is required to address the issue and to formulate proper preventive, diagnosis and treatment procedures of these infections.
Phenotypic diversity in Argentinian populations of Bromus catharticus (Poaceae). Genetic and environmental components of quantitative traits

Abstract Genetic and environmental components were analysed in 32 Argentinian populations of Bromus catharticus. The research was based on 39 vegetative and reproductive characters. Constancy (rc) and heritability (h2) ratios were calculated. ANOVAS showed differences between populations for 14 traits, most of them reproductive. Total phenotypic variation was mostly due to the environmental component. Microfloral attributes showed the highest values of rc and h2. The traits average length of the spikelets (LS), average number of florets per spikelet (NFS), and lemma length (LL), which simultaneously reach rc values higher than 1 and h2 values higher than 0.60, could be considered useful in systematic studies. Leaf, stem, and some reproductive characters, linked to propagule production, had plastic responses. However, traits associated with size and shape of propagules and spikelets remained constant. Results suggest that a double strategy is operating: plasticity in some traits (to give greater adaptability), and constancy in other traits related to species stability that are of systematic significance.
Modelling the effects of recreational boating on self-purification activity provided by bivalve mollusks in a lowland river

Abstract. Self-purification is a key ecosystem service provided by riverine biota that is particularly important in polluted water bodies serving multiple societal uses, but the extent to which self-purification may be influenced by human uses is unknown. We studied a eutrophic lowland river used for drinking water and recreation to identify the maximal sustainable extent of human use. We recorded filtration by mussels and modeled the disturbance to mussels caused by wave action induced from recreational boating. Filtration was significantly affected by shear stress produced from boats down to a depth of 2.7 m. Threshold values for the intensity of wave disturbance ranged from 0.21 N/m2 (Unio tumidus) to 0.43 N/m2 (Anodonta anatina) for moderate effects and from 0.02 N/m2 (U. tumidus) to 0.13 N/m2 (Dreissena polymorpha) for no effects on filtration. Anodonta anatina and D. polymorpha showed a significantly lower degree of shell closing and a higher predicted medium-effect shear stress (the shear stress associated with 50% of the maximum shell closing duration) than U. tumidus and Unio pictorum, which probably results from differences in the species position in and above the sediment. Coupled hydraulic–ecological modeling showed that typical boating activity may reduce self-purification activity by mussels, with the extent of disturbance depending on mussel species, river depth, boating frequency, and cruising speed. Single passages of boats reduced daily mussel filtration rates by 0.02% for muscle-driven boats, 0.45% for yachts, 0.68% for motor boats, and 0.69% for motorized rafting and rowing boats. Depending on total daily boat traffic and hydrological conditions, a reduction in the daily filtration rate by mussel populations within the studied river section was estimated at 6.9%. We conclude that self-purification activity of this lowland river section is not significantly affected by recreational boating, but might be affected by more intense recreational boating under altered river flow conditions.
The host-plant relationships of apterous virginoparae of the grass aphid Metopolophiurn festucae cerealium

SUMMARY Metopolophium festucae cerealium has at various times caused damage to both grass and cereal crops. Despite this, little work has been done on the relative susceptibility of different grass and cereal cultivars to this aphid. The present work showed that for the cultivars examined the most common ley pasture species (Lolium perenne and Lolium multiflorum) exhibited relatively low levels of antibiotic resistance to M. f. cerealium and that wheat is more susceptible than any of the grass species tested. This enigma, in view of the aphid's low pest status on wheat, is discussed. The resistance in the grasses was greater at the stem elongation stages than at the seedling stage but the ranking was consistent between growth stages. M. f. cerealium exhibited a preference for feeding on emerging and senescing leaves of 10-wk-old grass but on wheat it distributed itself evenly between all available green leaves.
Performance of Eight Varieties of Onion ( Allium cepa L.) Cultivated under Open Field in Tunisia

A field experiment was conducted from September 2010 to July 2011 at Research Station Farm of Higher Institute of Agronomy, Chott Mariem, Sousse (Tunisia) in order to evaluate the performance of seven onion varieties: ‘GIZA 6’, ‘Red Amposta’, ‘Z6’, ‘Morada de Amposta’, ‘Yellow Dessex’, ‘Early Yellow Texas Grano 502’ and ‘Keep Red’ against the commonly grown variety ‘Blanc Hâtif de Paris’ under field conditions. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Results obtained showed that onion varieties were significantly different when it comes to the plant and bulb morphological characteristics. Variety ‘Morada de Amposta’ recorded the highest leaf length (68.06 cm), pseudostem diameter (8.63 cm), number of leaves (8.71), plant height (76.95 cm), in addition to the greatest yields (32.88 t/ha) which were significantly (p≤0.05) increased by respectively 66.2, 88.8, 2.1, 61.2, 63, 27.9 and 28.4% compared to those obtained from the regular variety ‘Blanc Hâtif de Paris’. Variety ‘Blanc Hâtif de Paris’ was the earliest to maturity and recorded the most preferment bulb weight (155.02 g) and diameter (8.21 cm). ‘Keep Red’ variety had the highest height of the bulb (7.19 cm). Variety ‘Z6’ recorded the minimum data in all measured parameters.