Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diet and trophic level of scaldfish Arnoglossus laterna in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (western Mediterranean): contrasting trawled versus untrawled areas

This study assesses the effects of bottom trawling on the feeding ecology of the scaldfish Arnoglossus laterna, by contrasting diets in an untrawled area and in two trawled areas off northern Sicily (western Mediterranean): the Gulf of Castellammare (which hosts a 200 km2 no-trawl area) and the gulfs of Termini Imerese and Sant'Agata. Scaldfish were collected in May–June 2005 using a commercial otter trawler between 40 and 80 m on muddy bottoms. Our data show that scaldfish is a selective feeder and consumes similar prey items in the three gulfs, although between-site differences in the relative prey abundance in the stomachs were detected. In the three gulfs scaldfish fed mainly on the crab Goneplax rhomboides and on the fish Lesueurigobius suerii, but there was an increase in the consumption of L. suerii and the shrimp Alpheus glaber in the trawled areas. Ontogenetic changes were evident in the diet of scaldfish, with juveniles preying mainly upon suprabenthic species, e.g. mysids and small decapods. While significant differences occurred in the diet of juveniles among all areas due to natural spatial variability, variations in the diet of adults, which feed on benthic prey, occurred between untrawled and trawled areas. These variations were clearly due to trawling disturbance, and no significant difference was detected in the diet of adults between the two trawled areas. On the contrary, the trophic level (δ15N values) of scaldfish did not vary between trawled and untrawled areas and between juveniles and adults. Changes in the source of carbon, as detected by δ13C values, were evident between juveniles and adults, evidencing a shift from a suprabenthic (juveniles) to a benthic (adults) diet.
THE DIETS OF THE DROMOMERYCIDAE (MAMMALIA: ARTIODACTYLA) AND THEIR RESPONSE TO MIOCENE VEGETATIONAL CHANGE

Abstract The probable diets of members of the extinct ruminant family Dromomerycidae were determined via an assessment of gross anatomical correlates of feeding strategy, mesowear analysis, and microscopic scar topography of enamel surfaces of cheek teeth. Discriminant models derived from 108 extant ruminants of known diet were applied to fossil taxa to ascertain probable trophic habits in dromomerycids. Microwear and mesowear analyses of molar tooth wear supplemented this gross skull and tooth morphological assessment as a means of providing more direct and independent sources of evidence for the nature and potential shifts in diet within dromomerycid lineages. In general, estimations of diets obtained from the study of gross morphology correlated well with those obtained from wear patterns. However, this was not always the case, suggesting that independent means of dietary analysis are critical when attempting to reconstruct paleodiets. In addition, hypsodonty (relative molar crown height) proved to be problematic as a variable in determining the diet of these extinct taxa. Information obtained from gross morphology, microwear, and mesowear support the hypothesis that later species of the Dromomerycidae within the tribe Cranioceratini had a shift in diet toward coarser food materials as a response to a trend toward increasing aridity and a shift in vegetational structure in the late Miocene–early Pliocene of North America.
Testing adaptation with phylogeny: how to account for phylogenetic pattern and selective value together

If most agree with the dual pattern/process definition of adaptation, an apomorphy promoted by natural selection, few indeed identify an adaptation using the same methodological procedure. Most differences between procedures rest with the way the role of natural selection is analysed in a phylogenetic perspective. We argue that the selective value of a character cannot be phylogenetically reconstructed, but must be considered independently from the phylogenetic analysis in the framework of population biology. The phylogenetic pattern for the character of interest can only be used to refute or corroborate circumstantially the macro‐evolutionary predictions issuing from population studies.
FEEDING VALUE OF AZOLLA (AZOLLA PINNATA) IN BUFFALO CALVES

The study was conducted to evaluate the potential feeding value of Azolla by its chemical composition, amino acid profile, IVDMD, Insacco D M and Crude protein degradability. Azolla a potential protein replacement in concentrate mixture of ruminants, chemical composition of Azolla pinnata DM, CP, CF, EE, NFE, TA and AIA of A. pinnata were 4.23, 28.24, 22.25, 4.00, 30.71, 14.80 and 4.13, cell wall constituents NDF, ADF values were 72.05, 66.18. Amino acid composition Arginine, Cystine, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Tyrosine, valine were 6.82, 2.06, 5.42, 2.31, 5.78, 9.04, 6.41, 1.68, 4.60, 2.11, 4.10, 6.65, IVDMD % was 60.20, Insacco DM degradability % was 51.56, in sacco CP degradability (%) of A. pinnata was 47.15. Based on the results Azolla is rich protein source and has rich Amino acid profile and the result of percent of dry matter disappearance, degradability in vivo and in vitro studies showed the best performance of A. pinnata in terms of dry matter utilization in buffalo cows. In sacco crude protein degradability 55 to 60 %. Hence A. pinnata was recommended as a good unconventional protein supplement in the rations of ruminants and non ruminants.
Predicting the Direction of US Stock Prices Using Effective Transfer Entropy and Machine Learning Techniques

This study aims to predict the direction of US stock prices by integrating time-varying effective transfer entropy (ETE) and various machine learning algorithms. At first, we explore that the ETE based on 3 and 6 months moving windows can be regarded as the market explanatory variable by analyzing the association between the financial crises and Granger-causal relationships among the stocks. Then, we discover that the prediction performance on the stock price direction can be improved when the ETE driven variable is integrated as a new feature in the logistic regression, multilayer perceptron, random forest, XGBoost, and long short-term memory network. Meanwhile, we suggest utilizing the adjusted accuracy derived from the risk-adjusted return in finance as a prediction performance measure. Lastly, we confirm that the multilayer perceptron and long short-term memory network are more suitable for stock price prediction. This study is the first attempt to predict the stock price direction using ETE, which can be conveniently applied to the practical field.
Nitrate, phosphate, and potassium leaching from container-grown plants fertilized by several methods

Spathiphyllum Schott. «Mauna Loa Supreme» and areca palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens H. Wendl.) were grown for 6 months in 3.5-liter containers using a pine bark-sedge peat-sand container medium or a native sand soil. Plants were fertilized with equivalent amounts of a 21N-3P-12K fertilizer applied weekly as a liquid, monthly as a soluble granular, bimonthly as a lightly coated controlled-release, or every 6 months as a heavily coated controlled-release fertilizer. All leachates were collected and analyzed weekly for NO 3 -N, PO 4 -P, and K. Amounts of all three nutrients leached per week varied considerably in response to fertilizer reapplications or high rainfall. Nitrate leaching generally decreased over time, PO 4 -P leaching increased, and K remained relatively constant. Shoot dry weights of spathiphyllum were equivalent for all fertilization methods, but areca palm shoot dry weights were highest with liquid fertilization and lowest with the soluble granular fertilizer. Nutrient leaching for all three ions was highest for the soluble granules and lowest for the two controlled-release formulations
Clonality and genetic variation in Amylostereum areolatum and A. chailletii from northern Europe

Genetic variation within and between vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) of Amylostereum areolatum (Fr.) Boid. and Amylostereum chailletii (Pers.: Fr.) Boid. isolates was investigated. DNA fingerprints were made using the M13 core sequence as a primer. A total of 53 isolates of A. areolatum and 57 isolates of A. chailletii from Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark and Great Britain were studied. In all cases isolates belonging to the same VCG showed identical DNA banding patterns, suggesting that VCGs correspond to clones. In A. areolatum the vast majority of the isolates (spread by Sirex juvencus L.) were assigned to dispersive clones, that have wide geographical distribution (i.e. the same genotypes were detected in Lithuania, Sweden and Denmark), with low genetic variation between the different clones. By contrast, A. chailletii population structure was consistent with the spread of airborne basidiospores produced by outcrossing. Only a small fraction of A. chailletii isolates studied, could be assigned to dispersal clones with a local distribution, spread by Urocerus gigas L. Overall, M13 fingerprinting detected low genetic differentiation in both species in the samples we studied.
Elevated CO2 decreases seed germination in Arabidopsis thaliana

The impact of elevated [CO2] on seed germination was studied in different genotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana from natural populations. Two generations of seeds were studied: the maternal generation was produced in the greenhouse (present-day conditions), the offspring generation was produced in two chambers where the CO2 concentration was either the present atmospheric concentration (about 350 ppm) or elevated (700 ppm). The seeds were tested for proportion of germinated seeds and mean germination time in both chambers to study the impact of elevated [CO2] during seed production and germination. Elevated [CO2] during maturation of seeds on the mother-plants decreased the proportion of germinated seeds, while elevated [CO2] during germination had no effect on the proportion of germinated seeds. However, when seeds were both produced and germinated under elevated [CO2] (situation expected by the end of next century), germination was slow and low. Moreover, the effect of the [CO2] treatment differs among genotypes of Arabidopsis: there is a strong treatment × genotype interaction. This means that there is ample genetic variance for a selective response modiying the effects of high levels of [CO2] in natural populations of Arabidopsis thaliana. The outcome at the community level will depend on what seeds are available, when they germinate and the resulting competition following germination.
Key Periods in the Evolution of the Cenozoic Vegetation and Flora in Western Tasmania: the Late Pliocene

Fossil pollen and spores in organic-rich sediments in a side gully in the Linda Valley, western Tasmania, preserve one of the most detailed records of a Late Pliocene flora and vegetation available to date in Australia. This includes Araucariaceae, Beauprea Brongn. & Gris. and a number of sub-canopy broadleaf trees now confined to warm temperate-tropical habitats. Changes in community dominance are interpreted in terms of alluvial events and point to the existence of altitudinally zoned plant communities in western Tasmania-Microstrobos J. Garden & L. Johnson heathland on the higher slopes and Nothofagus (Brassospora) Hill & Read-Lagarostrobos franklinii (J.D.Hook.) Quinn evergreen rainforest with or without Dacrydium Sol. ex Lamb. emmend. de Laub. at lower elevations. The evidence demonstrates the survival of Nothofagus (Brassospora) spp in western Tasmania at a time when other published data imply the taxon was virtually eliminated from the south-eastern mainland. It is proposed that increasingly seasonal climates drove an 'ecological wedge' into a former continuum of wet forest types along the east coast of Australia, with Plio-Pleistocene glaciation being ultimately responsible for the demise, of what had become relict populations, of Brassospora spp. in western Tasmania.
Correlation among network centrality metrics in complex networks

Complex networks represent one of the corner stones and play a central role in several Computer Science domains. Research in these networks represents a multidisciplinary approach due to the requirements to implement the statistical mechanics with graph theory and other techniques. The key property in the complex networks are their centrality measures. Network centrality is having a high impact on the network behaviors, dynamicity, and information spreading can deliver significant information about its organizations. Several metrics are developed to estimate the node centrality in complex networks. Each node centrality measure reflects its topological importance in the network among others. Adjacency matrix is used to derive and perform all the centrality measures based on several mathematical computations. Most of these measures may behave similarly in their statistical analyses. So some of these measures can be considered as redundant due to these and their complexity. This study tries to investigate the correlation between any pair of six selected centrality measures. This approach may advise to use the strongly correlated low-complexity metric as an approximation instead of the high complexity one. To perform this study a correlation analysis study is implemented on 6 estimated centrality measures for three different datasets. The alternate measures are selected according to their correlation coefficients strengths.
Withdrawal of Life-Supporting Treatment in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

Importance There are limited data on which factors affect the critical and complex decision to withdraw life-supporting treatment (LST) in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI). Objective To determine demographic and clinical factors associated with the decision to withdraw LST in patients with sTBI. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective analysis of inpatient data from more than 825 trauma centers across the US in the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program database from January 2013 to December 2015 included adult patients with sTBI and documentation of a decision regarding withdrawal of LST (WLST). Data analysis was conducted in September 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures Factors associated with WLST in sTBI. Results A total of 37931 patients (9817 women [25.9%]) were included in the multivariable analysis; 7864 (20.7%) had WLST. Black patients (4806 [13.2%]; odds ratio [OR], 0.66; 95% CI, 0.59-0.72; P < .001) and patients of other race (4798 [13.2%]; OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.76-0.91; P < .001) were less likely than white patients (26 864 [73.7%]) to have WLST. Patients from hospitals in the Midwest (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.04-1.20; P = .002) or Northeast (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.13-1.34; P < .001) were more likely to have WLST than patients from hospitals in the South. Patients with Medicare (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.43-1.69; P < .001) and self-pay patients (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.25-1.47; P < .001) were more likely to have WLST than patients with private insurance. Older patients and those with lower Glasgow Coma Scale scores, higher Injury Severity Scores, or craniotomy were generally more likely to have WLST. Withdrawal of LST was more likely for patients with functionally dependent health status (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.08-1.58; P = .01), hematoma (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.12-1.27; P < .001), dementia (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.08-1.53; P = .004), and disseminated cancer (OR, 2.82; 95% CI, 2.07-3.82; P < .001) than for patients without these conditions. Conclusions and Relevance Withdrawal of LST is common in sTBI and socioeconomic factors are associated with the decision to withdraw LST. These results highlight the many factors that contribute to decision-making in sTBI and demonstrate that in a complex and variable disease process, variation based on race, payment, and region presents as a potential challenge.
Genetic and Phenotypic Trends of Productive and Reproductive Traits in Iranian Holstein Dairy Cattle of Isfahan Province

Productive and reproductive traits have great importance in international dairy cattle breeding objectives. Production, reproduction (days open and calving interval) and pedigree data of Iranian Holstein dairy cattles were collected between 2002 and 2012 from 47 herds in Isfahan province. The data set consisted of 30179 records from 18837 registered IranianHolstein dairy cattles. Single trait repeatability animal model was used to estimate genetic parameters by restricted maximum likelihood procedures. Estimates of heritability of milk, fat and protein yields were 0.30 ± 0.014, 0.065 ± 0.0089 and 0.083 ± 0.0098 respectively and also these value for calving interval (CI) and days open (DO) were 0.074 ± 0.0094 and 0.023 ± 0.0057 respectively. Low heritability for reproductive traits indicates the importance of using available relatives’ information for selection of these traits. Average increase in breeding value for milk, fat and protein over the 11 years period were 130, 0.22 and 0.09 kg/year, respectively. The means of breeding value of DO increased by 0.08 d/year from -0.17 d in 2002 to 0.58 d in 2012 and for CI decreased irregularly by -0.01 d/year from 0.05 d in 2002 to -0.03 d in 2012. In general, all traits showed negative phenotypic trends for the studied period.
The Demographic Representativeness and Health Outcomes of Digital Health Station Users: Longitudinal Study

Background Digital health stations offer an affordable and accessible platform for people to monitor their health; however, there is limited information regarding the demographic profile of users and the health benefits of this technology. Objective This study aimed to assess the demographic representativeness of health station users, identify the factors associated with repeat utilization of stations, and determine if the health status of repeat users changed between baseline and final health check. Methods Data from 180,442 health station users in Australia, including 8441 repeat users, were compared with 2014-2015 Australian National Health Survey (NHS) participants on key demographic and health characteristics. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to compare demographic and health characteristics of repeat and one-time users. Baseline and final health checks of repeat users were compared using McNemar tests and Wilcoxon signed rank tests. The relationship between the number of checks and final health scores was investigated using generalized linear models. Results The demographic profile of SiSU health station users differs from that of the general population. A larger proportion of SiSU users were female (100,814/180,442, 55.87% vs 7807/15,393, 50.72%), younger (86,387/180,442, 47.88% vs 5309/15,393, 34.49% aged less than 35 years), and socioeconomically advantaged (64,388/180,442, 35.68% vs 3117/15,393, 20.25%). Compared with NHS participants, a smaller proportion of SiSU health station users were overweight or obese, were smokers, had high blood pressure (BP), or had diabetes. When data were weighted for demographic differences, only rates of high BP were found to be lower for SiSU users compared with the NHS participants (odds ratio [OR] 1.26; P<.001). Repeat users were more likely to be female (OR 1.37; P<.001), younger (OR 0.99; P<.001), and from high socioeconomic status areas—those residing in socioeconomic index for areas quintiles 4 and 5 were significantly more likely to be repeat users compared with those residing in quintile 1 (OR 1.243; P<.001 and OR 1.151; P<.001, respectively). Repeat users were more likely to have a higher BMI (OR 1.02; P<.001), high BP (OR 1.15; P<.001), and less likely to be smokers (OR 0.77; P<.001). Significant improvements in health status were observed for repeat users. Mean BMI decreased by 0.97 kg/m2 from baseline to final check (z=−14.24; P<.001), whereas the proportion of people with high BP decreased from 15.77% (1080/6848) to 12.90% (885/6860; χ21=38.2; P<.001). The proportion of smokers decreased from 11.91% (1005/8438) to 10.13% (853/8421; χ21=48.4; P<.001). Number of repeat health checks was significantly associated with smoking status (OR 0.96; P<.048) but not with higher BP (P=.14) or BMI (P=.23). Conclusions These findings provide valuable insight into the benefits of health stations for self-monitoring and partially support previous research regarding the effect of demographics and health status on self-management of health.
Quantitative evaluation of genetic diversity in Iranian modern cultivars of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) using morphological and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important food staples in Iran. Understanding genetic variability among the assortment of Iranian wheat is important for breeding. The aim of this work was to characterize the twenty three wheat cultivars using morphological and AFLP-based molecular data that recommended for various regions of Iran. All morphological traits were statistically significant among different genotypes and Cluster analysis based on ward's method, categorized the cultivars into four groups. Of the approximately 445 detected AFLP markers, only 28.53% were polymorphic. Polymorphic information content (PIC value) calculated to assess the informativeness of each marker ranged from 0.29 to 0.71. Genetic distances among the 23 cultivars ranged from 0.21 to 0.77, the mean distance being 0.48. Three groups were obtained by using the cluster analysis based on ward's method. Both methods (Morphology and AFLP) found a wide range in genetic diversity. In general, the diversity estimates from AFLP analysis was positively correlated with the diversity estimated by morphologic traits. These results indicate that genetic variability in Iranian bread wheat cultivar seems to have been maintained quite constant throughout the breeding process over the last decade. The results indicate that these tools may be used to protect intellectual property and for breeding and selection programs.
Long-term study of the Phytophthora infestans population from the Moscow region of Russia (2000-2011).

The study presents results of a long-term monitoring of the P. infestans population in the Moscow region (2000-2011). A total of 1586 isolates were assessed using such phenotypic and genotypic markers as the mating type, metalaxyl resistance, two allozyme loci of peptidase, and a mitochondrial DNA haplotype. In addition, virulence patterns were determined. During all examined period, the total population diversity level remained high and both A1 and A2 mating types were observed. The population was presented mainly by complex races and included all 11 virulence genes. The diversity of „tomato“ subpopulation was lower than that of the „potato“ one concerning the most part of the used markers.