Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the effects of stomata development and senescence on the seasonal variation in stomatal conductance

We examined the influence of phenological changes in stomata on the seasonal variation of stomatal conductance using a Jarvis-type conductance model that included functions representing the active stomatal density and chlorophyll concentration of leaves. We studied the leaves of three 12-year-old oak trees (Quercus serrata). Stomatal conductance was measured under controlled ambient conditions (i.e., photosynthetic photon flux density, leaf temperature, and specific humidity deficit) in a chamber. Our analyses showed that low stomatal conductance could not be explained by environmental variables alone. Stomatal conductance decreased with increasing stomatal density, where the number of stomata included guard mother cells (GMC), in spring. On the other hand, time series of stomatal conductance showed a correlation with the increases in active stomatal density. Chlorophyll concentration was a good index of the low conductance in autumn, and the active stomata density was a good index of the leaf-unfolding period. These results implied that phenological progress of stomata must be included in land surface models for the accurate prediction of seasonal variations in water, energy, and CO2 cycles.
Reconciling historical processes and population structure in the sooty tern Sterna fuscata

To test the influence of past vicariant events on population genetic structure of the sooty tern Sterna fuscata, we examined sequence variation in the mitochondrial control region of individuals from the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Our analyses indicate a rapid population expansion at a global scale during the last 100 000 years, consistent with global recolonisation during the interstade following the Pleistocene glacial maxima (125 000–175 000 years bp). We estimate islands of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea were colonised no more than 16 000 years ago, most likely in association with the appearance of new breeding habitat following the final Pleistocene glacial retreat (19 000–22 000 years bp). Our results suggest that ice sheets linked to major glacial events not only impact genetic structuring in temperate seabirds, but that sea level changes in the tropics associated with these same events have also significantly impacted contemporary genetic structuring in tropical seabird species.
Improved subsoil macroporosity following perennial pastures

Biopores left in the soil by perennial and annual pastures and their effects on macroporosity, water infiltration and the water use and productivity of subsequent wheat and canola crops were investigated in a field experiment on a Sodosol in southern New South Wales. Phases of both lucerne (4 years) and phalaris (10 years) improved the macroporosity and water infiltration into the dense B horizon compared with continuous annual crops and pastures. After removal of lucerne and phalaris, the subsoil (> 12 cm depth) contained similar numbers of pores > 2 mm diameter (228 and 190/m2, respectively) compared with a mean of 68/m2 after annual crops. However water infiltration rate after lucerne was greater than after phalaris, apparently because of more numerous pores > 4 mm, rather than a change in total porosity. The subsoil after phalaris on the other hand contained more pores 0.3 mm in diameter and a higher total porosity, possibly because of more roots around this diameter, and a longer period without traffic or cultivation. The number of lucerne biopores in the subsoil remained unchanged (170–180/m2) for at least 2 crops after the lucerne was removed although the average size decreased. The volume of water extracted from the subsoil by crops following lucerne was similar to that following annual crop/pasture for 10 of the 12 crop comparisons made. For 2 of the crops, more subsoil water (22 and 24 mm) was used after lucerne than after annuals, and in 1 season this was associated with higher yield of canola. During the 3-year study there was no winter waterlogging or post-anthesis water stress, so there was little opportunity for yield responses to improved subsoil structure. The results confirm speculation that the unfavourable structure of dense subsoils can be improved by the biological action of perennial pasture roots, although reduced wheel traffic and cultivation during the pasture phases may also play a role. Further studies will be necessary to demonstrate associated yield improvements.
Multiple Pivots in Statistical Machine Translation for Low Resource Languages

We investigate many combinations of multiple pivots of four phrase tables on a low resource language pair, i.e., Japanese to Indonesia, in phrase-based Statistical Machine Translation. English, Myanmar, Malay, and Filipino from Asian Language Treebank (ALT) were used as pivot languages. A combination of four phrase tables was examined with and without a source to target phrase table. Linear and Fillup Interpolation approaches were employed with two measurement parameters, namely, data types and phrase table orders. The dataset was divided into two data types, i.e., sequential and random. Furthermore, phrase table orders comprise of two, viz., descending and ascending. Experimental results show that the combination of multiple pivots outperformed the baseline. More-over, the random type signiﬁcantly improved BLEU scores, with the highest improvement by +0.23 and +1.02 for Japanese to Indonesia (Ja-Id) and Indonesia to Japanese (Id-Ja), respectively. Phrase tables order experiments show a different result for Ja-Id and Id-Ja. The descending order has a higher percentage as much as 87.5% compared to the ascending order in Ja-Id. Meanwhile, the ascending order obtained more than 90% in Id-Ja. Finally, the combination of multiple pivots attempt shows a signiﬁcant effect to reduce perplexity score in Ja-Id and Id-Ja.
Engaging families around museum exhibits: comparing tangible and multi-touch interfaces

Over the last decade, large multitouch displays have become commonplace in museums and other public spaces. While there is preliminary evidence that exhibits based on tangible technologies can be more attractive and engaging for visitors than displays alone, very little empirical research has directly compared tangible to large multitouch displays in museums. In this paper, we present a study comparing the use of a tangible and a multitouch tabletop interface in an exhibit designed to explore musical rhythms. From an observation pool of 791 museum visitors, a total of 227 people in 82 groups interacted with one of the two versions of our exhibit. We share the exhibit design, experimental setup, and methods and measures. Our findings highlight advantages of tangible interaction in terms of attracting and engaging children and families. However, the two exhibits were equally effective at supporting collaborative interaction within visitor groups. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for museum exhibit design vis-à-vis visitor engagement and learning.
Compressive and Flexural Strengths of Concrete Containing Ground Palm Kernel Shells as Partial Replacement of Cement

This study explore the possibility of using waste ground palm kernel (GPK) shells as partial replacement of cement in concrete using mechanical destructive method has been studied. The palm kernel shells were in two forms: the GPK ordinary shells and shells subjected to incomplete combustion (i.e. the GPK “fuel” shells. In the preparation of the concrete specimens the mix ratio was 1: 2: 4 (cement: sand: stone) by weight and The replacement percentage was 0%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% and 60% respectively. Concrete specimen were molded in both cubic and cylindrical form and its impact on the mechanical properties such as workability, compressive strength and flexural strength using destructive test method were studied. The cubic specimen were tested at 7, 28 and 60 days whiles the cylindrical specimen were tested at 7 and 28 days. Results of physical and chemical analyses suggest that GPK “fuel” shells have acceptable cementitious properties whiles GPK ordinary shells does not. Generally, the compressive and flexural strengths of concrete containing GPK shells decrease as the replacement percentage increases. However, the values of these properties increase as the period of curing increases. The optimum level of GPK shells replacement is 20% for the ordinary shells and 30% for the “fuel” shells considering compressive strength at 28 days for the cubic samples. For the flexural strength on the cylindrical specimen, up to 60% replacement of cement by GPK shells cured for 28 days has acceptable flexural strength. In spite of the findings that the GPK ordinary shells do not have cementitious properties, the mechanical properties on such concretes can be used in low strength constructions as pavements, walk ways and non structural domestic work at a lower cost than using cement.
Estimation of biophysical and biochemical variables of winter wheat through Sentinel-2 vegetation indices

Dimitrov, P., Kamenova, I. , Roumenina, E. , Filchev, L. , Ilieva, I. , Jelev, G. , Gikov, A. , Banov, M. , Krasteva, V. , Kolchakov, V. , Kercheva, M. , Dimitrov. E. , & Miteva. N. (2019) Estimation of biophysical and biochemical variables of winter wheat through Sentinel-2 vegetation indices. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 25(5), 819–832 Traditionally, the growth and physiological status of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is monitored in the fi eld by measuring different biophysical and biochemical variables such as Above Ground Biomass (AGB), Nitrogen content (N), N uptake, Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction of vegetation Cover (fCover), Canopy Chlorophyll Content (CCC), and fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fAPAR). The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of estimating these crop variables through statistical regression modelling and spectral vegetation indices derived by the Sentinel-2 satellites. Field data were collected over two growing seasons, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018, in test fi elds around Knezha, northern Bulgaria. A combination of spectral data from Sentinel-2 images and fi eld spectroscopy obtained through the fi rst growing season was used for model calibration and cross-validation. The models were further validated with Sentinel-2 image data from the second growing season. The accuracy of the models varied widely across crop variables. According to the cross-validation, the relative RMSE was below 25% for fAPAR, fCover, and fresh AGB, with particularly good result for fAPAR (13%). For N content and dry AGB the error was between 25% and 30%. The accuracy was low for CCC, LAI, and N uptake (error between 30% and 43%). The models’ performance was worse when they were applied to the data from the second growing season, resulting in relative RMSE which were 3-8% higher in the general case. The cross-validation results suggested that the variety-specifi c models are more accurate than the generally calibrated models for most crop variables. The accuracy obtained in this study for the prediction of fAPAR, fCover and AGBf through VIs is promising. Future studies and incorporation of new fi eld data will be needed to better account for variety, season, and site variations in the modelled relationships and to improve their generalisation potential.
COVID-19 and the 5G Conspiracy Theory: Social Network Analysis of Twitter Data

Background Since the beginning of December 2019, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread rapidly around the world, which has led to increased discussions across online platforms. These conversations have also included various conspiracies shared by social media users. Amongst them, a popular theory has linked 5G to the spread of COVID-19, leading to misinformation and the burning of 5G towers in the United Kingdom. The understanding of the drivers of fake news and quick policies oriented to isolate and rebate misinformation are keys to combating it. Objective The aim of this study is to develop an understanding of the drivers of the 5G COVID-19 conspiracy theory and strategies to deal with such misinformation. Methods This paper performs a social network analysis and content analysis of Twitter data from a 7-day period (Friday, March 27, 2020, to Saturday, April 4, 2020) in which the #5GCoronavirus hashtag was trending on Twitter in the United Kingdom. Influential users were analyzed through social network graph clusters. The size of the nodes were ranked by their betweenness centrality score, and the graph’s vertices were grouped by cluster using the Clauset-Newman-Moore algorithm. The topics and web sources used were also examined. Results Social network analysis identified that the two largest network structures consisted of an isolates group and a broadcast group. The analysis also revealed that there was a lack of an authority figure who was actively combating such misinformation. Content analysis revealed that, of 233 sample tweets, 34.8% (n=81) contained views that 5G and COVID-19 were linked, 32.2% (n=75) denounced the conspiracy theory, and 33.0% (n=77) were general tweets not expressing any personal views or opinions. Thus, 65.2% (n=152) of tweets derived from nonconspiracy theory supporters, which suggests that, although the topic attracted high volume, only a handful of users genuinely believed the conspiracy. This paper also shows that fake news websites were the most popular web source shared by users; although, YouTube videos were also shared. The study also identified an account whose sole aim was to spread the conspiracy theory on Twitter. Conclusions The combination of quick and targeted interventions oriented to delegitimize the sources of fake information is key to reducing their impact. Those users voicing their views against the conspiracy theory, link baiting, or sharing humorous tweets inadvertently raised the profile of the topic, suggesting that policymakers should insist in the efforts of isolating opinions that are based on fake news. Many social media platforms provide users with the ability to report inappropriate content, which should be used. This study is the first to analyze the 5G conspiracy theory in the context of COVID-19 on Twitter offering practical guidance to health authorities in how, in the context of a pandemic, rumors may be combated in the future.
Indirect Effect of Agar Concentration on the Embryogenic Response of Coffea canephora

Coffea leaf explants can present curvature of their edges after inoculation on solid culture medium, decreasing contact with the medium and leading to a less efficient embryogenic process. In the present study greater contact was shown between cv. ‘Robusta’ explants and the culture medium surface when an agar concentration of 3 g L was used instead of 6 g L, a concentration widely used for the majority of species inoculated in vitro. In addition, the treatment with 3 g of agar also resulted in greater efficiency of direct somatic embryogenesis of this species, verified by an increase in the number of sides of the explants showing the formation of embryogenic structures, and also from their size and the number of embryos formed. Thus the reduction in agar concentration allowed for greater physical contact between the edge of the explants and the surface of the culture medium, and also favoured the efficiency of somatic embryogenesis in leaf explants of C. canephora cv. ‘Robusta 2264 Mar’. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Toxicity of a Boric Acid-Sucrose Water Bait to Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Boric acid-sucrose water baits were evaluated in the laboratory for toxicity, consumption, and efficacy against the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren. Over the dosage range from 0.02 to 1.0% boric acid, LC50s (95% CL) ranged from 1.27% (1.05- 3.88%) at 3 d to 0.11% (0.09-0.13%) at 8 d. Amount of bait consumed was related inversely to the concentration of active ingredient. High concentrations of boric acid bait (5%) were consumed at a lower rate than the control (10% sucrose water). In large fire ant colonies exposed continuously to 4 concentrations (0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0%) of boric acid bait, workers and brood were reduced by 90% at 6 wk. Therefore, low concentrations of boric acid are necessary for delayed toxicity and reduced repellency.
Particle-based method for investigation of the physical processes in the complex industrial tasks

The main task of this paper is improved of modeling accuracy and understanding of the physical process which arises in complex industrial tasks using Euler-Lagrange approach. There were two cases under the study. The first one was aimed to study the dynamics of selforganized turbulent structures. A first qualitative insight into the entrainment process in wind farm is obtained through particle tracking. The second case is focusing on developing the EulerLagrange approach for the understanding of the physical processes occurring the water droplets injection into a jet. The water droplets, coming out of the special sockets, are simulated by packages (parcels) of particles of a certain mass and size according to the specified flow rate. Parcels moving in the flow, breakup at high speeds, heating and evaporation are investigated.
SEXUAL CONFLICT AND SEXUAL SELECTION: MEASURING ANTAGONISTIC COEVOLUTION

Abstract Arnqvist (2004) raises some concerns with several of the points made by Pizzari and Snook (2003) on the study of sexually antagonistic coevolution (SAC) generated by sexual conflict, arguing that: (1) sexual conflict cannot be expressed in terms of average male and female fitness; (2) our criticism of current experimental approaches, particularly interpopulation crosses, is unjustified; and (3) the alternative experimental approach we proposed is problematic. Here we discuss and respond to these criticisms by: (1) clarifying that we can distinguish between SAC and mutualistic sexual coevolution by measuring changes in the average fitness of the reproducing subsamples of males and females of a population across generations, (2) maintaining that testing SAC using interpopulation crosses is undermined by the lack of a priori knowledge of what traits mediate SAC across isolated populations, and (3) reinforcing the advantages of our experimental approach to distinguish between sexually mutualistic and antagonistic selection.
Exploring Bilingual Word Embeddings for Hiligaynon, a Low-Resource Language

This paper investigates the use of bilingual word embeddings for mining Hiligaynon translations of English words. There is very little research on Hiligaynon, an extremely low-resource language of Malayo-Polynesian origin with over 9 million speakers in the Philippines (we found just one paper). We use a publicly available Hiligaynon corpus with only 300K words, and match it with a comparable corpus in English. As there are no bilingual resources available, we manually develop a English-Hiligaynon lexicon and use this to train bilingual word embeddings. But we fail to mine accurate translations due to the small amount of data. To find out if the same holds true for a related language pair, we simulate the same low-resource setup on English to German and arrive at similar results. We then vary the size of the comparable English and German corpora to determine the minimum corpus size necessary to achieve competitive results. Further, we investigate the role of the seed lexicon. We show that with the same corpus size but with a smaller seed lexicon, performance can surpass results of previous studies. We release the lexicon of 1,200 English-Hiligaynon word pairs we created to encourage further investigation.
A peculiar climbing Megalonychidae from the Pleistocene of Peru and its implication for sloth history

The Xenarthra, particularly the Tardigrada, are with the Notoungulata and Marsupialia among the most diversified South American mammals. Lujanian South American Land Mammal Age localities from the coastal Piedra Escrita site and Andean Casa del Diablo Cave, Peru, have yielded three specimens of the Megalonychidae Diabolotherium nordenskioldi gen. nov. This singular fossil sloth exhibits a peculiar mosaic of cranial and postcranial characters. Some are considered convergent with those of other sloths (e.g. 5/4 quadrangular teeth, characteristic of Megatheriidae), whereas others clearly indicate climbing capabilities distinct from the suspensory mode of extant sloths. The arboreal mode of life of D. nordenskioldi is suggested by considerable mobility of the elbow, hip, and ankle joints, a posteriorly convex ulna with an olecranon shorter than in fossorial taxa, a radial notch that faces more anteriorly than in other fossil sloths and forms an obtuse angle with the coronoid process (which increases the range of pronation–supination), a proximodistally compressed scaphoid, and a wide range of digital flexion. D. nordenskioldi underscores the great adaptability of Tardigrada: an arboreally adapted form is now added to the already known terrestrial, subarboreal, and aquatic (marine and freshwater) fossil sloths. A preliminary phylogenetic analysis of the Tardigrada confirmed the monophyly of Megatherioidea, Nothrotheriidae, Megatheriidae, and Megalonychidae, in which Diabolotherium is strongly nested. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, 149, 179–235.
Estimation of plant species richness from systematically placed plots in a managed forest ecosystem

A Danish managed forest of 325 hectares was sampled for plant species richness in a regular 100 × 100 m grid using four nested quadrates of 2, 4, 25, and 200 m2, respectively, at each sample point. The survey resulted in total counts of 161, 171, 224, and 289 species depending on size of quadrates. A list of more than 370 species, however, was accumulated for the forest based on the present study, the literature, and additional personal observations. It was shown that species richness estimators and especially the log-log estimator resulted in improved estimates of species richness. It was also shown that a search strategy in which plots with high habitat diversity in the immediate neighbourhood or plots close to forest roads were chosen first was more effective than a random search strategy. The random strategy, on the other hand, was more efficient than emphasising core areas of major habitat types in the beginning of the search. The study has clearly demonstrated that a managed forest ecosystem with its mixture of open areas and different stands can harbour a very high plant species diversity (in this case ca. 25% of the total Danish flora in only 325 hectare). It is also shown, however, how difficult and time consuming it is to count all species in a heterogeneous ecosystem.
Fatty acid composition and nutraceutical perspectives of brown seaweeds from the Atlantic coast of Morocco

Seaweeds are currently considered to be a promising source of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). However, PUFA content and their composition can vary greatly depending on species and environmental conditions. In this study fatty acid (FA) profiles have been investigated in eight brown seaweeds collected from the Atlantic coast of Morocco, namely Bifurcariabi furcata, Cystoseira humilis, Cystoseira tamariscifolia, Fucus guiryi, Fucus vesiculosus var. volubilis, Laminaria ochroleuca, Sacchorhiza polyschides and Sargassum muticum. The results show that all studied seaweeds are rich in PUFA. The highest content (47.67% of total FA) was observed in C. humilis and the lowest (26.12%) in S. polyschides. Linoleic acid (C18:2) and arachidonic acid (C20:4) were the PUFA detected in higher abundance. The results of total FA content showed that the species collected from the lower intertidal zone (L. ochroleuca, S. polyschides) contain less FA compared to those harvested from the middle and upper intertidal zone (C. humilis, C. tamariscifolia, F. guiryi and S. muticum). The appropriate n-6/n-3 ratio with a high degree of unsaturation as well as low values of atherogenicity andthrombogenicity indices suggests possible utilization for nutraceutical purposes, especially for Fucus and Cystoseira species.