Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficient Placement of Nest Boxes for the Little Owl (Athene noctua)

Abstract The use of artificial nest boxes to bolster populations of endangered cavity-nesting birds has increased significantly, but spatial variation of nest-box occupancy rates and breeding success within a nest-box population has been little studied. In a case study with 798 Little Owl (Athene noctua) nest boxes established in central Germany, we analyzed the dependence of occupancy rate and breeding success on the characteristics of the surrounding habitat. The analysis focused on two aspects of general concern for nest-box management: (1) whether nest boxes were occupied for breeding or were left unoccupied, and (2) whether Little Owls had different reproductive rates, depending on the location of nest boxes. A high resolution (1 × 1 m) land-use map was used to analyze species-habitat relationships, and Generalized Linear Mixed Models were used to predict suitable nest-box locations. During the period from 2004 to 2006, 544 (68%) of the nest boxes were never occupied, 144 (18%) housed birds with low breeding success and only 108 (14%) housed pairs that produced more than 2.35 nestlings annually, a reproductive rate thought necessary for population stability. Nest boxes were more likely to be occupied if they were located near orchards, at lower altitude, and in areas of higher densities of fields and less forest. Higher breeding success was associated with fallow fields and field margins, and with greater distance to roads and forests. Our results suggested that the efficiency of this nest-box program could be substantially increased if unoccupied nest boxes were relocated to sites where occupancy is more likely, and if unproductive nest boxes were relocated to locations that would enhance breeding success.
Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) Practices and Millennial Employees’ Turnover Intentions in Tourism Industry in Malaysia: Moderating Role of Work Environment

This study examines the role of green human resource management (GHRM) practices, such as green recruitment and selection, green training, green performance management, green involvement and green rewards, and pays attention on the turnover intention of the millennial employees working in the hotels (3-, 4- and 5-star). Moreover, the study examines the moderating role of work environment on the relationship between those GHRM practices and turnover intention. Researchers collected 162 useful survey questionnaires from 200 distributed questionnaire among the millennial employees, who work in hotels. Analysis of the data through partial least squares structural equation modelling reveals that the green involvement and green pay and reward only impact on reducing turnover intention of millennials while other GHRM practices do not have direct impact on turnover intention of millennials. Interestingly, this study does not find any moderating effect of work environment on the relationship between GHRM practices and turnover intention of millennials working in hotels in Malaysia. This study extends the literature relating to GHRM and work environment and turnover intention of millennials. Furthermore, this is the first empirical research ever done so far relating to GHRM practices and turnover intention of millennials in hotel industry literature. Implications of the findings, as well as research limitations and directions for future scholars, have been discussed.
Seed Health Studies and Crop Production in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh only 5% of seeds used for crop production are produced by the government or semigovernment organizations. The rest (95%) of total requirements of the country are met by the farmers' seed of unknown quality with respect to health standard. As many as 490 seed-borne diseases affecting the seed health of 76 different important crops are established in the country and these cause yield losses amounting Taka 9500 million worth ($250 million) annually. Role of seed health on crop production; research on the seed health of cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables and fibre crops; teaching and training on seed health; and status of seed certification and quarantine in Bangladesh have been reviewed. Development of quick and cheap Earthern dish-newsprint technique, formation of seed health standards for major seed-borne diseases of important crops, detection methods, chemical and biological control of seed-borne pathogens by using chemicals and plant extracts have been described. Measures to overcome the.
Effects of C02 enrichment on the rates of photosynthesis and translocation of tomato leaves

SUMMARY Effects of C02 enrichment on the rates of net photosynthesis (carbon fixation) and translocation (carbon transport) of tomato leaves were examined on a single mature leaf (seventh basal leaf) of plants grown initially under a light flux density of 40 W m-2 with 350 (control) or 1000 vpm (enriched) CO2, and then exposed for 6 h to various light flux densities (7, 20, 40 and 130 W m-2) or CO2 concentrations (350, 500, 700 and 1000 vpm). When measurements were made in the conditions in which plants were grown, the rates of carbon fixation and carbon transport were 20 and 40% respectively higher in enriched plants than in the control ones. Under conditions different from the growing conditions, the rates of carbon transport in the enriched plants were generally higher than those of the controls with a similar rate of carbon fixation. Leaves grown under a C02 enriched environment have a greater constant supply of mobile leaf assimilate than those under atmospheric C02. The higher efficiency of carbon transport in enriched plants was apparently retained even when the leaf was temporarily exposed to lower levels of light or CO2.
Sensitivity Analysis of Adaptive Holographic Fiber-Optic Acoustic Emission Sensors during the Registration of Acoustic Waves In a Plate

Paper presents the results of studying the features of recording acoustic emission waves by fiber-optic sensors. Fiber-optic sensors are used as an elastic medium that receives acoustic emission waves. Optical fibers were built between the layers of the polymer composite material during the manufacturing process. The measuring system is constructed on the basis of an adaptive interferometer. Optical fibers are part of the interferometer optical scheme. The elastic wave acting on an optical fiber changes its optical density, changing the interference pattern of the optical beam. The work of the holographic interferometer based on the fact that the interference pattern, formed by the object and reference light beams, is a dynamic hologram that is constantly recorded in the photorefractive crystal during the elastic action on the fiber. Sensitivity of fiber-optic sensors based on an adaptive interferometer allows recording acoustic emission waves. The acoustic emission waves were generated by the Hsu-Nielsen source. A significant difference in the speed of sound is explained by the anisotropy of the properties of the composite material. The structure and density of the material’s fibers in different directions are different. The wavelet transformation was used to form the signal front.
Song structure of the golden-billed saltator (Saltator aurantiirostris) in the middle Parana river floodplain

Bird communication is a growing field of study in ethology and evolutionary biology; however, most known studies were conducted only in the northern hemisphere. We measured six temporal and structural features of golden-billed saltator (Saltator aurantiirostris) song and recorded 57 vocalizations at Parque San Martín reserve (Argentina). Results indicated that the prelude represented between two and four syllables, while the trill was composed of one to three. The complete song always contained six syllables. Maximum and minimum frequencies were higher in the trill. The duration of prelude and trill did not differ between vocalizations. Modifications and differences observed in vocalizations may be explained by the acoustic adaptation hypothesis, which predicts higher frequencies in open habitats. Our results broaden and supplement the data available for this species in Argentina, representing useful information for studies intended to assess the effect of different habitats on bird's vocalizations in southern South America.
Molecular and Morphological Identification of the Soybean Aphid and Other Aphis Species on the Primary Host Rhamnus davurica in Asia

ABSTRACT The soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, was recently introduced into North America where it has become a serious pest of soybean, Glyine max (L.) Merr. In its native range of northeastern Asia, A. glycines undergoes host alternation between the soybean (summer host) and Dahurian buckthorn, Rhamnus davurica Pallas (winter host). On the primary host, it is difficult to discriminate A. glycines from coexisting, morphologically similar Aphis species, including seasonal polymorphisms of each species (e.g., gynopara, ovipara, and male). Two widely used molecular markers, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) “barcode” region (658 bp) and the partial tRNA-leucine + cytochrome c oxidase II (tRNA/COII, 702 bp), were used to analyze 31 individuals of Aphis from R. davurica in Asia and compared with 26 closely related Aphis species. We found that three different species, Aphis gossypii Glover and two new and undescribed putative Aphis species, occur together with A. glycines on R. davurica. All these species were genetically close within the gossypii group. A study of 28 quantitative morphological characters showed that A. glycines, A. gossypii, and one of the new species were quite similar with only a few characters differing significantly between species.
The composition of African lion (Panthera leo) milk collected a few days postpartum

Summary There is very little information on the composition of lion milk. Milk was obtained from all four teats of two African lionesses (Panthera leo) while they were temporarily immobilized; the first lioness was 40 hours postpartum and the second lioness was 10 days postpartum. The lion's milk obtained from the two lionesses in this study contained less solids than reported in literature. The milk of the two females contained, respectively, 192.2 and 166.9 g dry matter/kg milk; 60.2 and 84.6 g protein/kg milk; 113.6 and 136.9 g fat/kg milk; and 68.6 and 77.9 g fat free dry matter/kg milk. Carbohydrate content, analysed only for the first lioness, was 26.5 g lactose/kg milk. These values are much lower than those cited in literature. Electrophoresis and identification of protein bands showed a similar pattern of proteins as seen in cow's milk, but with caseins of less negative charge and whey proteins of smaller molecular size. The milk fat content of the second lioness was higher and varied considerably more among teats. The lipid fraction of lion's milk is characterized by a high content of saturated (palmitic and stearic) and mono-unsaturated (palmitoleic and oleic) fatty acids. Regarding fatty acid composition, lion milk closely resembles human milk. Animal fat plays an important role in the nutrition of African lions. The high fat content of lion milk suggests that the dependency by large predators such as lions on dietary fat is present from birth.
Not enough niches: non‐equilibrial processes promoting species coexistence in diverse ant communities

Explanations for species coexistence in ant communities have traditionally focused on niche partitioning, particularly relating to differences in diet, foraging times and nesting requirements. Although niche separation is undoubtedly important, it seems insufficient to account for the high levels of local species richness that are commonly observed. This paper explores alternative explanations for ant species coexistence, focusing on factors that prevent competitive exclusion in diverse ant communities experiencing high levels of behavioural dominance, such as characteristically occurs in Australia. Very high species densities require two conditions to be met: first, a large number of species must successfully establish; and second, there must be a high rate of species persistence once established. In this context I advance five propositions based around three sets of arguments. First, ant sociality and modularity confers a high level of persistence once colonies are established, so that species coexistence is determined to a significant extent by processes operating at the establishment phase, rather than just by interactions between established colonies. Second, competitive outcomes are highly conditioned by environmental variation, which severely limits competitive exclusion. Finally, dominant species are highly patchy in space, and cannot comprehensively monopolize resources, such that there will usually be room for low densities of subordinate species. These propositions have relevance to neutral theories of community ecology, and to understanding intercontinental differences in local species richness.
Response of Stream Invertebrates to a Global‐Warming Thermal Regime: An Ecosystem‐Level Manipulation

We manipulated, in accord with global-warming predictions, the thermal regime of a permanent first-order stream near Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We examined the effects of a 2-3.5{degrees}C water-temperature increase on densities, biomass, species composition, and life histories of resident stream invertebrates. The stream was divided longitudinally at the source into two channels, one control and one experimental, and a before and after (BACI) design was employed such that one pre-manipulation year was followed by 2 yr of the temperature manipulation. Changes in the experimental channel following commencement of the manipulation included: (1) decreased total animal densities, particularly Chironomidae (Diptera); (2) earlier onset of adult insect emergence; (3) increased growth rates and precocious breeding in Hyallella azteca (Amphipoda); (4) smaller size at maturity for Nemoura trispinosa (Plecoptera) and H. , azteca and (5) altered sex ratios for Lepidostoma vernale (Trichoptera). These results partially corroborate previous laboratory and field studies. However, variation in the responses of individual target species to the manipulation was unexpected and may have been influenced by the genetic structure of local populations. We conclude that levels of gene flow among habitats may be critical to the degree of impact seen as a result of large-scale thermal perturbation (e.g., global warming). more » 60 refs., 13 figs., 1 tab. « less
Adaptation à la sécheresse et notion d'idéotype chez le blé dur. I. Caractères morphologiques d'enracinement

Des varietes locales de ble dur bien adaptees aux conditions de l'Algerie et du Moyen-Orient, et des varietes ameliorees, ont ete comparees pour differents caracteres morphologiques racinaires (profondeur, masse et volume des racines, repartition sur le profil); ces etudes ont ete conduites sur sol reconstitue d'une part, et en culture aeroponique d'autre part. Les caracteristiques d'etat de l'eau (teneur en eau, potentiel hydrique), en partie liees a la capacite d'extraction par les racines, ont egalement ete mesurees au niveau des feuilles. Les resultats obtenus permettent de distinguer plusieurs ideotypes racinaires (.)
Flavor Control in Baked Cereal Products

Baked cereal products represent one of the most consumed foodstuffs in the world. Extensive scientific research has been focused on the volatile composition of these types of products. It has been shown that in spite of the great number of compounds identified, only a small number of them are responsible for the aroma. Many factors can affect the aroma composition of baked cereal products and different strategies have been proposed to improve the endogenous aroma. Furthermore, the addition of exogenous aroma compounds is extensively employed when baked cereal products with special traits are required. This article reviews the different ways in which the aroma is generated in baked cereal products and the methods that can be used to control or modify their flavor, as well as the problems related to the flavoring and the different approaches that flavor technologists have proposed to solve these problems. Some important issues and directions for future research in the flavor of baked cereal products are listed.
Changes in Selected Food Quality Components after Exceeding the Date of Minimum Durability—Contribution to Food Waste Reduction

Reducing food waste throughout the agri-food chain, as well as sustainable food choices by consumers, can contribute to more efficient resource management. In addition, food insecurity (FI), a socio-economic inability to obtain appropriate quality food in sufficient amounts, still exists. To provide scientific data related to FI, i.e., by reducing food waste, the aim of this pioneering study was to evaluate selected food quality components of food at the end of the date of minimum durability and during the following 6 months of storage. Food safety and sensory attractiveness of the products were taken into consideration. Food safety measurements included microbiological quality, water activity and pH analysis. Sensory attractiveness was evaluated by the quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) and instrumental analysis. The evaluated foodstuffs were characterised by good sensory quality and safety on the last day of minimum durability. This condition was maintained for up to 3 months of storage. However, after 6 months, significant sensory changes were found, which disqualified the products. The obtained results provide the basis for establishing guidelines that will facilitate the organisation of traders and food banks as well as consumers to make a decision not to throw food but eat or transfer it for social purposes.
Concentrated biogas slurry enhanced soil fertility and tomato quality

Abstract Biogas slurry is a cheap source of plant nutrients and can offer extra benefits to soil fertility and fruit quality. However, its current utilization mode and low content of active ingredients limit its further development. In this paper, a one-growing-season field study was conducted to assess the effects of concentrated biogas slurry on soil property, tomato fruit quality, and composition of microflora in both nonrhizosphere and rhizosphere soils. The results showed that application of concentrated slurry could bring significant changes to tomato cultivation, including increases in organic matter, available N, P, and K, total N and P, electrical conductivity, and fruit contents of amino acids, protein, soluble sugar, β-carotene, tannins, and vitamin C, together with the R/S ratios and the culturable counts of bacteria, actinomycetes, and fungi in soils. It was concluded that the application is a practicable means in tomato production and will better service the-is area of sustainable agriculture.
Modelling and prediction of dominant height and site index of Eucalyptus globulus plantations using a nonlinear mixed-effects model approach

A nonlinear mixed-effects model approach was used to model dominant height and site index for Eucalyptus globulus Labill. plantations in southeastern Australia. Mixed effects were considered initially for all three parameters of a modified Chapman–Richards model. Inclusion of random effects improved fitting and accounted for the within-plot heteroscedasticity. To correct for within-plot autocorrelation, a power autocorrelation model allowing for irregular intervals for remeasurements was found to be most appropriate. Additional fertilizer application at age 1 year and a number of environmental variables were related to the fixed-effects parameters, but these were not statistically significant, whereas mean annual rainfall and average daily maximum temperature in July (winter) greatly reduced the residual variability among plots. The resulting nonlinear mixed-effects model combines dominant height and site index prediction into a single model and predicts polymorphic height growth rates on different sites.
Habitat Segregation and Nymphal Life History of Two Nesameletus Species (Ephemeroptera: Nesameletidae) in a Mountain Stream

The longitudinal distribution and nymphal life history of two congeneric mayflies, Nesameletus ornatus and Nesameletus sp. A, were investigated in a New Zealand mountain stream over a period of one year. Drift and benthic samples were taken at five sites along a 380 m stretch of stream that flowed through southern beech forest upstream and tussock-grassland lower down. The two species had similar nymphal life histories with small nymphs predominating in autumn-early winter and emergence in spring and summer. The two mayflies had strikingly different distributions with little longitudinal overlap. N. ornatus was confined to the three lowermost grassland sites, whereas 83% of Nesameletus sp. A nymphs were found in and immediately below the forest. The finding of such sharp, longitudinal habitat segregation of congeneric species over such a short distance contrasts with the observation that many New Zealand stream insects are widely-distributed habitat generalists. It is proposed that the selection of oviposition sites by females is the primary mechanism determining the distribution of nymphs within and outside forest.
Causes of Juniper Invasion in Southwestern Idaho

Invasion of western juniper into vegetation dominated by mountain big sage- brush and perennial bunchgrass on the Owyhee Plateau of southwest Idaho appears to be directly related to cessation of periodic fires. Evidence from adjacent climax juniper stands indicates that fires were frequent for at least several hundred years preceding white settlement. Fires have been much less frequent during the past century due to active fire control, develop- ment of roads and other fire barriers, and reduced fuel because of heavy grazing and a shift towards decreased precipitation. Physical and biotic factors affecting the establishment of juniper, seed dispersal mechanisms, and the fire history of the study area were investigated. Results indicated that range condition as such had a negligible effect on juniper establishment. Juniper seedlings became established most readily on areas supporting well-developed herba- ceous and shrubby vegetation. Seed dispersal was primarily localized, and accomplished by gravity and disturbance by animal trampling. Abundant evidence of fire in the form of charred stumps and fire scars on living trees was found throughout the study area. Old juniper stands are confined to rocky ridges where understory vegetation is sparse and fires less intense. Juniper was apparently kept out of the denser vegetation of deeper soils by more intense fires. Most herbaceous and shrubby species survived this treatment due to greater tolerance to fire, or rapid reproduction from seed.