Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of range enrichment on performance, behavior, and forage intake of free-range chickens

SUMMARY The aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of range enrichment (trees or tall grass stand) on the performance and herbage intake of free-range chicken. This trial was conducted in 2 different seasons (winter and summer) comparing a standard free-range system with 2 kinds of range enrichment: a stand of sorghum (a tall grass) and olive trees. Two hundred fifty male naked neck chickens were used in each season and system; performance, behavior, forage intake, and body lesions were recorded. Productive performance was not affected by range enrichment. However, in the presence of trees or tall grass stand, no predation losses were experienced; whereas, in the standard paddock, cases of predation by raptors or crows were registered, mainly during the first period of rearing. Consequently, mortality rate was significantly lower in the enriched environment. Control chickens stayed indoors more rather than forage in the pasture, whereas, in enriched environments, birds spent more time outdoors and widely exploited the available pasture. Forage intake was significantly influenced by rearing system and season; chickens reared under olive trees had higher herbage ingestion, exploring the available area up to almost 50 m from the hut. With the olive trees, chickens also showed the lowest frequency of foot and breast damage.
An assessment of convergence in the feeding morphology of Xiphactinus audax and Megalops atlanticus using landmark-based geometric morphometrics

Convergence is an evolutionary phenomenon wherein distantly related organisms independently develop features or functional adaptations to overcome similar environmental constraints. Historically, convergence among organisms has been speculated or asserted with little rigorous or quantitative investigation. More recent advancements in systematics has allowed for the detection and study of convergence in a phylogenetic context, but this does little to elucidate convergent anatomical features in extinct taxa with poorly understood evolutionary histories. The purpose of this study is to investigate one potentially convergent system—the feeding structure of Xiphactinus audax (Teleostei: Ichthyodectiformes) and Megalops atlanticus (Teleostei: Elopiformes)—using a comparative anatomical approach to assess the degree of shared morphospace occupation. X. audax was a large, predatory fish that inhabited the Western Interior Seaway (WIS) during the Late Cretaceous and went extinct 66 mya. M. atlanticus—the Atlantic tarpon—is a large elopiform fish that inhabits the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Because of structural similarities in their crania and post-crania, M. atlanticus is often used formally and informally as a modern analog for X. audax. Landmark-based geometric morphometrics (GM) was applied to determine the structural similarity in the feeding morphology of these two fish species. Six X. audax and six M. atlanticus specimens were 3D scanned and reconstructed as 3D models, and the GM procedure was conducted on in both 2D and 3D treatments. Principal components analysis (PCA), discriminant function analysis (DFA), sequential agglomerative hierarchical non-overlapping (SAHN) cluster analysis, and a multiiv response permutation procedure (MRPP) were all performed to quantify the shape difference between the 12 specimens. All analyses produce comparable results. X. audax and M. atlanticus differ significantly in the structure of their feeding morphology and do not overlap considerably in morphospace, casting doubt on the idea that X. audax and M. atlanticus are structurally convergent in their feeding morphology. Most notably, there are substantial differences in the size and shape of the premaxilla, the length of the maxilla, and the inflection of the anterior dentary. The differences in these structures likely relate to the preferred feeding habits of each fish, with X. audax preferring large individual prey, and M. atlanticus relying on suction feeding to consume smaller schooling prey. These results suggest M. atlanticus is a poor modern analog for X. audax with respect to feeding morphology.
Weed Management with S-Metolachlor and Glyphosate Mixtures in Glyphosate-Resistant Strip- and Conventional-Tillage Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)1

Five studies were conducted at Clayton, Rocky Mount, and Lewiston-Woodville, NC, in 2001 and 2002, to evaluate weed management, crop tolerance, and yield in strip- and conventional-tillage glyphosate-resistant cotton. Cotton was treated with two glyphosate formulations; glyphosate-IP (isopropylamine salt) or glyphosate-TM (trimethylsulfonium salt), early postemergence (EPOST) alone or in a mixture with S-metolachlor. Early season cotton injury was minimal (3%) with either glyphosate formulation alone or in mixture with S-metolachlor. Weed control and cotton yields were similar for both glyphosate formulations. The addition of S-metolachlor to either glyphosate formulation increased control of broadleaf signalgrass, goosegrass, large crabgrass, and yellow foxtail 14 to 43 percentage points compared with control by glyphosate alone. S-metolachlor was not beneficial for late-season control of entireleaf morningglory, jimsonweed, pitted morningglory, or yellow nutsedge. The addition of S-metolachlor to either glyphosate formulation increased control of common lambsquarters, common ragweed, Palmer amaranth, smooth pigweed, and velvetleaf 6 to 46 percentage points. The addition of a late postemergence-directed (LAYBY) treatment of prometryn plus MSMA increased control to greater than 95% for all weed species regardless of EPOST treatment, and control was similar with or without S-metolachlor EPOST. Cotton lint yield was increased 220 kg/ha with the addition of S-metolachlor to either glyphosate formulation compared with yield from glyphosate alone. The addition of the LAYBY treatment increased yields 250 and 380 kg/ha for glyphosate plus S-metolachlor and glyphosate systems, respectively. S-metolachlor residual activity allowed for an extended window for more effective LAYBY application to smaller weed seedlings instead of weeds that were possibly larger and harder to control. Nomenclature: Glyphosate-IP (isopropylamine salt); glyphosate-TM (trimethylsulfonium salt); S-metolachlor; MSMA; prometryn; broadleaf signalgrass, Brachiaria platyphylla (Griseb.) Nash. #3 BRAPP; common lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. # CHEAL; common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. # AMBEL; entireleaf morningglory, Ipomoea hederacea var. integriuscula Gray. # IPOHG; goosegrass, Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn. # ELEIN; jimsonweed, Datura stramonium L. # DATST; large crabgrass, Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. # DIGSA; Palmer amaranth, Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats. # AMAPA; pitted morningglory, Ipomoea lacunosa L. # IPOLA; smooth pigweed, Amaranthus hybridus L. # AMACH; velvetleaf, Abutilon theophrasti Medicus # ABUTH; yellow foxtail, Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv. # SETLU; yellow nutsedge, Cyperus esculentus L. # CYPES; cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L. Additional index words: Economic returns, herbicide-resistant crops, tillage systems. Abbreviations: fb, followed by; PDS, postemergence-directed; PREBAN, pre-emergence-banded.
What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Sluggish: How Sublethal Pesticides Alter Predator–Prey Interactions

Abstract Pesticides commonly occur in ecological communities at relatively low concentrations, leading to growing interest in determining the sublethal effects of pesticides. Such effects should affect individuals and, in turn, alter interspecific interactions. We sought to determine how sublethal concentrations (0.1 and 1.0 mg/L) of two common pesticides (carbaryl and malathion) affected predator and prey behavior as well as subsequent predation rates. We conducted a series of experiments using three species of larval amphibians (Gray Treefrogs, Hyla versicolor; Green Frogs, Rana clamitans; and American Bullfrogs, R. catesbeiana) and three species of their predators (larval dragonflies, Anax junius; adult water bugs, Belostoma flumineum; and adult Red-spotted Newts, Notophthalmus viridescens). We found that the pesticides frequently reduced the activity of all three tadpole species. For the two invertebrate predators (Anax and Belostoma), the pesticides were lethal, precluding us from examining sublethal effects on predator–prey interactions. However, newt survival was high and the addition of the pesticides reduced the predation rates of newts in one of the three tadpole species. There were no effects of the pesticides on the striking frequency of the newts or on their prey capture efficiency. Thus, the mechanism underlying the pesticide-induced reduction in predation rates remains unclear. What is clear is that sublethal concentrations of pesticides have the potential to alter prey behavior and species interactions and thereby alter the composition of ecological communities.
Persistence of benthic communities: a case study from the Valli di Comacchio, a Northern Adriatic lagoonal ecosystem (Italy)

Data collected from a three-year continuing sampling program were used to study the persistence of the macrofaunal communities living in the Valli di Comacchio (4441N, 1210E), a complex of shallow-water brackish lagoons located in the southernmost part of the Po River deltaic area (Italy). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the variability and persistence of the community at each of the four sites investigated. A total of 46 benthic taxa were identified from bottom grab samples: Annelida was the most abundant group, followed by Crustacea and Mollusca. The abundance of some species exhibited marked temporal fluctuations. At three out of four sites, abundance fluctuation were unpredictable in terms of both timing and magnitude. There was little evidence that factors operating at lagoon-wide scale contributed to variability in community structure. The balance of taxa within each community was probably most affected by forcing factors acting on a local scale. The perception of macrofaunal communities as being persistent through time decreased as the analysis moved from coarser (presence/absence) to finer (absolute abundance) levels of numerical resolution. Analyses showed that macrobenthic assemblages at some sites were both persistent and variable: this paradox reflected viewpoints of different analytical scales. Because of this, a multi-level approach is probably more useful in gaining insight into community persistence and variability. 2002 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Calicivirus—An Emerging Contaminant in Water: State of the Art

There has been a noteworthy surge of interest with regard to the viruses known as human Caliciviruses (HuCVs) and their impact on water-borne disease. Recent epidemiologic studies in Europe combined with an active waterborne disease surveillance system in the United States has identified the Norovirus, a member of the HuCVs, as a prominent agent of waterborne disease. Current estimates suggest that upwards of 95–96% of nonbacterial gastroenteritis outbreaks of unidentified etiology may be due to HuCV. Moreover, there have been a number of documented waterborne outbreaks of Norovirus both in the United States as well as abroad. It is with the advent of advanced molecular techniques that we have begun to develop a strategy for the detection of this organism in various water matrices. However, because HuCV have not yet been cultured in the laboratory, it is difficult to conduct research on their fate in the environment and their removal or inactivation during water and wastewater treatment processes. Therefo.
The effects of short and long term medroxy progesterone acetate (MAP) sponge treatments on reproductive performance during the non-breeding season of Arabian ewes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproductive efficiency of short and long term treatment with progestagens in addition to pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) in Arabian ewes during the non-breeding season. A total of 56 ewes were divided into three groups: in group I vaginal sponges (60 mg medroxy progesterone acetate; MAP) were applied and removed after 6 days; in group II, vaginal MAP sponges were removed 14 days following insertion while group III served as control group. The first two groups were intramuscularly injected with of 600 IU PMSG, following sponge removal. Parameters such as estrus response rate, duration of estrus, pregnancy rate and fecundity were evaluated. There were no significant differences in estrus response rate and fecundity rate between groups I and II (P>0.05). However, differences were significant when these two treatment groups were coMAPred with control group. In group I, duration of estrus was significantly higher than group II (P<0.05). In addition, pregnancy rate in group I was significantly higher than group II (P<0.05). It was concluded that short-term sponge treatment (6 days) had better performance when coMAPred with long-term sponge treatment (14 days) in Arabian ewes.
Estimation of Shoot Development for a Single-stemmed Rose ‘Vital’ Based on Thermal Units in a Plant Factory System

This study was conducted to predict number and fresh weight of leaves, and total leaf area of a single-stemmed rose ‘Vital’ based on the accumulated thermal units, and to develop a model of shoot development for the prediction of the time when the flowering shoot reaches a phenological stage in a plant factory system. The base temperature (T b ), optimum temperature (T opt ), and maximum temperature (T max ) were estimated by regressing the rate of shoot development against the temperature gradient. The rate of shoot development (R, d? ¹) for the phase from cutting to bud break (CT-BB) was best described by a linear model R b (d? ¹) = -0.0089 + 0. 0016ㆍtemp. The rate of shoot development for the phase from bud break to harvest (BB-HV) was fitted to the parabolic model R h (d? ¹) = -0. 0001ㆍtemp² + 0. 0054ㆍtemp - 0.0484. The T b , T opt , and T max values were 5.56, 27.0, and 42.7℃, respectively. The T b value was used in the thermal unit computations for the shoot development. Number of leaves, leaf area (LA), and leaf fresh weight showed sigmoidal curves regardless of the cut time. The shoot development and leaf area model was described as a sigmoidal function using thermal units. Leaf area was described as LA = 578.7 [1 + (thermal units/956.1) -8.54 ]? ¹. Estimated and observed shoot length and leaf fresh weight showed a reasonably good fit with 1.060 (R² = 0.976***) and 1.043 (R² = 0.955***), respectively. The average thermal units required from cutting to transplant and from transplant to harvest stages were 426 ± 42℃ㆍd and 783 ± 24℃ㆍd, respectively.
QTLs CONTROLLING SEED WEIGHT AND DAYS TO FLOWERING IN MUNGBEAN (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek), THEIR CONSERVATION IN AZUKI BEAN (V. angularis (Ohwi) Ohwi & Ohashi) AND RICE BEAN (V. umbellata (Thunb.) Ohwi & Ohashi)

Mungbean ( Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) is a socio-economically important legume crop of Asia. Varieties with large seed size and early maturity are preferred in commercial production. In this study, we identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling seed weight and days to flowering in mungbean. The mapping population comprises 155 F 2 -derived lines from a cross between Kamphaeng Saen 1 (large-seeded and early flowering) and V4718 (small-seeded and late flowering). The F 2 population was analyzed with 67 simple sequence repeat markers. The F2:3 families were evaluated for 100-seed weigh and days to flowering in two years, 2008 (one season) and 2011 (two seasons). Composite interval mapping identified six QTLs for 100-seed weight and 5 QTLs for days to flowering. Three genomic regions harbored QTLs for both seed weight and days to flowering, revealing association between the two traits. Comparison of QTLs for both traits found in this study with those reported in azuki bean ( Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & Ohashi) and rice bean ( Vigna umbellata (Thunb.) Ohwi & Ohashi) revealed that several QTLs are conserved among the three Vigna species.
A Rasch Analysis of Rater Behaviour in Speaking Assessment.

The assessment of speaking skills in foreign language testing has always had some pros (testing learners’ speaking skills doubles the validity of any language test) and cons (many test-relevant/irrelevant variables interfere) since it is a multi-dimensional process. In the meantime, exploring grader behaviours while scoring learners’ speaking skills is necessary not only for inter/intra-rater reliability estimations but also for identifying the potential stringent and lenient graders in the rater-group to act accordingly to settle the best matches for graders when paired-rater-scorings or cross-marking-gradings are preferred for increasing the objectivity. In this exploratory study, which was implemented in 2019, 6 expert speaking graders scored 24 English language learners’ speaking interviews from their video recordings including an individual and a pair discussion task for each student. A Rasch model in which MFRM (Many Faceted Rasch Measurement) was utilised to explore the scoring behaviours of the expert graders in terms of stringency and find out if their grading habits significantly affect language learners’ overall speaking performances. The results of the present research showed that graders had significant score differences among each other and some of them scored too leniently or too stringently that might affect learners’ speaking grades significantly.
Understory influence of the invasive Norway maple (Acer platanoides).

WYCKOFF, PETER H. AND SARA L. WEBB (Biology Department, Drew University, Madison NJ 07940). Understory influence of the invasive Norway maple (Acer platanoides). Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 123:197-205. 1996.Norway maple (Acer platanoides) is invasive within a Fagus grandifolia-Acer saccharum-Quercus spp. forest preserve in New Jersey. To assess the community-level consequences of this invasion, we compared understory composition, richness, and structure beneath canopies of invasive Acer platanoides and of native Acer saccharum and Fagus grandifolia. Understory species richness was significantly lower beneath Acer platanoides and highest beneath Fagus grandifolia. Stem densities were high beneath Acer platanoides but consisted primarily of its own seedlings and saplings. When these Acer platanoides stems were removed from the analysis, there was a trend toward lower stem densities beneath the exotic tree compared with the native canopies. Individual shrub and forb species were too patchy for any canopy affinities to demonstrate significance within this small forest preserve, with two exceptions: Epifagus virginiana, a beech (Fagus) root parasite, was less abundant under Acer platanoides than under either Fagus grandifolia or Acer saccharum; and the shrub Lindera benzoin was less abundant under Acer platanoides and Fagus grandifolia than under Acer saccharum. Among tree seedlings, the exotic Acer platanoides far outnumbered all others, beneath its own canopy and also beneath the two native trees. A surprising paucity of Fagus grandifolia reproduction seems unrelated to the biological invasion. Acer saccharum has some prospects for self-replacement judging from sapling distributions but has sparse reproduction under the other canopy species relative to its exotic congener.
Genotypic Stability Analysis and Its Application to Potato Regional Trials

This paper presents a method of genotypic stability analysis for regional variety trials. Based on the principle of structural relationship analysis, the genotype-environment interaction effect of a variety is partitioned into two components. They are the linear response to environmental effects, which is measured by a statistic α, and the deviation from the linear response, which is measured by another statistic λ A perfectly stable variety has (α, λ)=(-1, 1) and a variety with average stability has (α, λ) = (0, 1). Seedlings in three series of potato maincrop regional trials were analyzed for the genotypic stability of their marketable tuber yields. The results showed that the highest yielders were unstable, while the seedlings with average stability had about the same yielding ability as the check varieties.
Effects of Rainfall on Yield of Grain Sorghum in the Sudan

SUMMARY The effects of rainfall on yield of rainfed grain sorghum in a rotation experiment have been investigated over six years. There was a positive association between yield and rainfall during May and from the beginning of July to the first half of September, but a negative association at other times of the year. Total rainfall in August and September, and the annual total, were positively related to yield, while the totals of June and July were inversely related. Variation in monthly rainfall accounted for up to 86 per cent of the variation in yield, while the total rainfall in August and September accounted for up to 96 per cent.
A Comparison of the Emotional Intelligence in Two Groups of Deaf and Non-Deaf Students in Isfahan

The purpose of this study is to study and to compare the emotional intelligence between the two groups of the deaf and non-deaf students at in Isfahan. All the students were boys. These groups include 60 students (30 ones were deaf and 30 ones were non-deaf). They were all selected randomly from among the third grade students, and the emotional intelligence questionnaire was performed for them. The data were studied and compared through the independent T method. The results showed that there is a significant difference between the emotional intelligence of the two groups, the emotional intelligence of the non-deaf and the deaf students. In fact, the emotional intelligence of the non-deaf students was more than the deaf group.
Comparison Among Three Quail (Coturnix coturnix spp) Lines in Their Productive Performance

A total of 600 quail chicks from 3 lines (White-W, Light Brown-Lb and Dark brown-Db) were brought from Department of Animal production, Faculty of Agriculture, Sallah-Aldein University, Erbil, KR-Iraq. This work was conducted at the Poultry Farm of Animal Production Department, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Duhok, Kurdistan region, Iraq. The aim of experiment was to investigate the productive performance of three quail lines under Duhok region environment during 2016. The birds were reared in cages and the feed was supplied manually and submitted ad libitum. The following characters were studied during growth and egg production stages: Live body weight (BW), body weight gain (WG), feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), sexual maturity, egg weight (EW), egg number (EN), egg mass (EM), mortality rate, fertility and hatchability. The main results from the present study could be summarized as follow: BW trait was highly significant differed (p<0.01) among the studied lines at 1, 2 and 3 weeks old; and was differed significantly (p<0.05) at 4 weeks old, where brown lines surpassed white ones. Other traits (WG, FI, FCR, EW, EN, EM, fertility and hatchability) didn't differ significantly (p>0.05) among the studied lines at all studied ages. The lowest mortality rate was recorded to Lb line (0 %). As conclusion, the Lb line had the best productive performance.