Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Composição da avifauna em duas matas ciliares na bacia do rio Jacaré-Pepira, São Paulo, Brasil

A quali-quantitative survey was carried out in two riparian forests fragmente (approximately 40 ha each) at Jacare-Pepira river. Our intention was to characterize its bird community conceming richness, abundance and species occurrence in these areas. The qualitative survey showed 130 species at Santa Elisa (Brotas, Sao Paulo) and 151 at Morro Chato (Dourado, Sao Paulo), whereas the quantitative survey revealed the presence of 69 and 75 species at Santa Elisa and Morro Chato, respectively. The small size and the isolation might be responsible for the low number of species found. Observing the abundance index values (IPA) we realize that there are a few number of species with a high IPA on the one hand, while on the other there is a large number of species with intermediate and low IPA rates. A high detection coefficient (vocalization), low predatoiy rates and competition might have contributed for the higher abundance values found among these species. Furthermore, we have also registered species which are abundant in a fragment, but absent in the other, which might be explained by initial exclusion or local extinction. In spite of the riparian forests being protected by law, its clearing process has not stopped yet. Therefore, the study of this bird community is of uppermost impoitance for the elaboration of both conservation and management projects regarding these areas.
The Effects of Adult Contingent Responsiveness on Increasing Conversational Responses Through Picture Book Reading Setting in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show difficulty in sustained social interaction such as conversation with others. In particular, they often have difficulty responding to conversational initiations. Children with ASD can continue to speak one's favorite things themselves, but it is difficult to keep talking about the same topic or keyword alternately according to the content of others talking. Therefore, teaching conversational responding is important for promoting verbal interaction in children with ASD. Adult contingent response to the child’s verbal utterance may function as a reinforcer increasing child’s conversational responding. However, it is not known what type of adult contingent responsiveness is effective in promoting child’s conversational responding. The purpose of this study is to examine whether adult contingent imitation will increase conversational responding of children with ASD compared with adult contingent response through picture book reading setting. We used a single-subject ABAB design compose of the condition of contingent imitation and contingent response for two preschool children with ASD. For contingent imitation, adult. For contingent response, adult did not repeat but gave a vocal phrase to the child’s utterances through conversation immediately, such as “that’s good! ” or “great! ” For contingent imitation, adult immediately repeated all or part of the child’s previous utterances. The results demonstrated that adult contingent imitation increased the rate of the child’s conversational responding. These findings suggest that contingent imitation increased reciprocal vocal interaction in children with ASD compared with contingent response. These findings also suggest that contingent imitation is a useful early intervention method for children with ASD that can be practiced in a picture book reading setting. Keywords:
Paleoecology of Boring Barnacles

The morphology of acrothoracican boreholes primarily expresses a mechanical mode of boring. Paleozoic representatives rasped only in the vertical plane, while Mesozoic forms developed an additional horizontal rasp to carve out the cavity for the ovaries. Boring barnacles strongly prefer shells of live hosts to inorganic and dead substrates, and epibenthonic shells to other ones, but otherwise show little host specificity. Only a few species seem to have developed close commensal relationships with specific hosts, such as burrowing echinoids, nectonic belemnites, and hermit crabs.
Natural Herbicide Potential of Alfalfa Residue on Selected Weed Species

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) contains water-soluble substances that are toxic to itself (autotoxicity) and to other species (allelopathy). Experiments were conducted to determine the potential of using alfalfa residue as a natural herbicide for inhibition of weed seed germination, seedling growth, and development. Various weed species were germinated in aqueous extracts from dried alfalfa using cold (5°C), warm (24°C), and hot (80°C) treatments. Results indicated that inhibition of weed seed germination was dependent on the aqueous extraction method, residue application rate (w/v or w/w), and weed species. The greatest inhibition of germination was 44%, when 60% (w/v) warm aqueous extract was applied to lambsquarters (Chenopodium album L.). Seedling growth was also inhibited by residue application at various rates. Root length was more inhibited than increase in shoot length. In terms of total seedling length, giant foxtail (Setaria faberii Herrm.) was the most resistant species and lambsquarters was the most susceptible among the weed species studied to alfalfa aqueous extracts. Weed seed germination percentage decreased as incubation time increased from 8, 16, 24, and 48 h. An alfalfa aqueous extract incubated for 48 h caused the greatest inhibition of velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic.) seed germination (25%). When alfalfa residue was incorporated with silica sand, the growth and development of lambsquarters, pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.), velvetleaf, and crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. ], as measured by plant height, leaf area, and total, shoot, leaf, and root dry weight, were significantly inhibited as the rate increased from 0.0 to 2.0 g kg -1 . Dried alfalfa residue significantly stimulated plant height, leaf area, and total dry weight including shoot, leaf, and root of giant foxtail and cheatgrass (Bromus secalinus L.). Results suggest that alfalfa residue has a contrasting effect on weed growth and development due to water-soluble allelochemicals present in the residue.
Response of Bt cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) to varied nitrogen levels in Southern Telangana

Field experiments were conducted during kharif 2014 and 2015 at Agricultural Research Institute, Rajendranagar to determine the optimum nitrogen level for Bt cotton in alfisols in Southern Telangana. Significantly more number of days (31, 47 and 94) was taken to attain square initiation, flowering and boll development stage, respectively and higher drymatter production (9.2, 129, 182 and 239 g plant-1) was registered at square initiation stage, flowering, boll development and first picking stages, respectively with application of nitrogen at 225 kg ha-1. Higher earliness index (0.78) was registered when no nitrogen applied over 150 and 225 kg ha-1 with earliness index values of 0.75 and 0.74, respectively. Significantly higher seed cotton yield (1714 kg ha-1) was obtained with 225 kg N ha-1 and was followed by 150 kg N ha-1 (1704 kg ha-1). However, which were comparable with each other and significantly superior over no nitrogen and 75 kg N ha-1 application. The rate of increase in seed cotton yield with application of 75, 150 and 225 kg ha-1 over no nitrogen application was 54%, 74% and 75%, respectively. It can be concluded that, higher seed cotton yield with higher B:C ratio can be obtained with application of nitrogen at 150 kg ha-1 in Bt cotton in alfisols of South Telangana Zone.
The Association between Board of Directors Characteristics and the Level of Voluntary Disclosure: Evidence from Listed Banks in Borsa Istanbul

The main aim of this study is to investigate the association between some board of directors characteristics (board independence, board size, board meetings and role duality) and the level of voluntary disclosure in annual reports of listed banks in Borsa Istanbul The deductive approach was adopted by developing hypotheses based on the relevant theories and findings of previous studies. Also, the panel data strategy was applied to analyze the collected data from annual reports across five years (2013-2017). The univariate statistical analysis and the multivariate Feasible Generalized Least Squares regression model are used in this study. The results showed that board independence, board size and board meetings were positively and significantly associated with the level of voluntary disclosure, whilst role duality was negatively but no significantly associated with the level of voluntary disclosure. The results also indicated that all bank characteristics were positively and significantly associated with the level of voluntary disclosure. Most prior studies on voluntary disclosure practices have been undertaken in the developed countries and a few of them have focused on voluntary disclosure practices in the banking sector during a number of years (longitudinally). There is a requirement for more empirical studies in this area to confirm or disprove the previous results. This study will add value to the knowledge in the disclosure literature by clarifying the relationship between the board of directors' characteristics and voluntary disclosure in the banking sector of developing countries.
Influence of foliar application of nutrients on yield and economics of chickpea

The present study has been conducted in different agro-climatic regions of Uttarakhand, to explore the perception of Bhabhar region farmers regarding impact of climate change on their livelihood. A total of 60 Bhabhar farm households from Nainital and Dehradun district of Uttarakhand were drawn as sample with the help of multistage stratified random sampling technique. A farmer’s perception tool- impact of climate change on livelihood was constructed to achieve research objectives. Percentage was applied as statistical tool to derive the result. Almost all the farm households in the Bhabar region accepted that population growth, emissions and rising deforestation are among the key causes of climate change. It has been found that farm households are well aware of the causes and consequences of changing causes and effects of the weather. Majority of the farmers across the Bhabhar regions were agreed on the facts that climate is changing more dramatically now, temperatures are rising, rainfall is increasingly uneven every year and floods are becoming more frequent now.
Pengaruh NPM, EPS, DER dan PBV Terhadap Harga Saham pada Perusahaan Terdaftar IDX HIDIV20 Dengan DPR sebagai Variabel Intervening

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh Net Profit Margin, Earning Per Share, Debt Equity Ratio dan Price Book Value Terhadap Harga Saham Melalui Dividend Payout Ratio Sebagai Variabel Intervening. Penelitian ini dilakukan pada perusahaan yang terdaftar pada Indeks High Dividend 20 yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI) Tahun 2014-2018. Jumlah sampel yang diambil sebanyak 18 perusahaan dengan teknik purposive sampling. Teknik analisis yang digunakan adalah analisis jalur. Hasil pembuktian hipotesis terhadap DPR menunjukkan bahwa variabel EPS dan DER tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap variabel DPR, variabel NPM dan PBV berpengaruh signifikan terhadap DPR. Hasil pembuktian hipotesis terhadap Harga Saham menunjukkan bahwa variabel NPM tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap Harga Saham, variabel EPS, PBV, DER, dan DPR berpengaruh signifikan terhadap Harga Saham. Hasil analisis dengan menggunakan analisis jalur menunjukkan bahwa variabel NPM tidak memiliki hubungan langsung terhadap Harga Saham melainkan harus melalui variabel DPR. Variabel EPS tidak terdapat pengaruh tidak langsung terhadap Harga Saham melalui variabel DPR. Variabel DER tidak memiliki hubungan langsung terhadap Harga Saham melainkan harus melalui variabel DPR. Variabel PBV tidak terdapat pengaruh tidak langsung terhadap Harga Saham melalui variabel DPR. Berdasarkan nilai R2 menunjukkan bahwa kontribusi antar variabel terhadap variabel DPR sebesar 20.2% dan sisanya sebesar 79.80% dipengaruhi oleh variabel lain di luar model, nilai R2 antar variabel terhadap variabel Harga Saham sebesar 80.3% dan sisanya sebesar 19.70% dipengaruhi oleh variabel lain di luar model.
Evaluation of growth parameters and physiological basis of yield in summer soybean genotypes.

Pod and seed number are the most important yield components of soybean. Leaf area index (LAI), leaf area duration (LAD) during the reproductive period strongly influence yield components. The study was undertaken with objectives to investigate the significant differences in yield components, physiological traits and growth parameters among genotypes and to examine the dynamics of LAI and LAD during the reproductive period for the high-yielding genotypes. Significant variations were found for LAI, LAD, leaf area, number of branches, plant height and physiological traits. Photosynthetic rate was closely related to stomatal conductance, transpiration and PAR.The rate of photosynthesis is an important physiological parameter which governs the dry matter production and consequently the yield.The genotype KDS-347 (63.60 μmol m -2 s -1 ) showed higher photosynthesis rate reflected in high grain yield (2708.33 kg/ha) in these genotypes during summer season. The efficiency of converting biological yield in to economic yield and explained the cause of high grain yield in KDS-347 due to a higher harvest index (46.78%). The high yielding genotypes possessed higher rate of photosynthesis indicating the importance of the parameter in determining the productivity.
The Cyclical Behaviour of the Small-Cap Premium: A Regime-Switching Approach

While the average annual small-cap premia for the US and Canada are substantial over long horizons, there is considerable time variation of this premium within and across these countries. For the US, during expansions, the average annualized premium is a sizable 5.44%, while during recessions, there is a small-cap discount of 6.23%. The differentials are less pronounced in Canada. This paper investigates the hypothesis that the variation of the small-cap premium is related to macroeconomic and financial variables that can be captured by a nonlinear time series econometric model, i.e., the smooth transition autoregressive model (STAR model), with different factor sets across regimes between and countries. The regimes reflect expansionary vs. contractionary phases of the business cycle. For the Canadian small-cap premium, an augmented factor model that includes US factors dominates a purely domestic factor model, which is consistent with integrated markets.
Intervention Study to Upgrade Patient Safety Practices in Pediatric Intensive Care Units of Cairo University Children Hospital

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization calls patient safety â€œan endemic concern. â€ Keeping patients safe is viewed as a global public health problem and a human rights issue. An environment where safety culture prevails is considered the biggest obstacle to improve patient safety. Proactive efforts to identify, prevent, and eliminate errors have the potential to significantly improve safety. Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is high-hazard and -risk environments. AIM: The aim of this study is to enhance compliance to patient safety practices within the general PICUs in Cairo University Childrenâ€™s Hospital. METHODS: This is a pretest-posttest interventional study. A tailored intervention after the baseline assessment was designed and implemented followed by reassessment. All physicians and nurses present in the general PICUs who were available and consented participated in the study. A questionnaire for knowledge and attitude and a checklist for practice assessment of the participants were used. RESULTS: The median age of the participants was 30 years and interquartile range (28â€“40). There was a statistically significant difference between those who received patient safety training and those who did not in patient safety knowledge. The median knowledge score increased significantly after the intervention. Regarding the attitude of the studied personnel toward their perception of patient safety cultureâ€™s dimensions before and after the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference in some dimensions and a statistically significant improvement in some others. CONCLUSION: The strategies based on patient safety awareness-raising among health-care providers together with commitment and enthusiasm among senior leadership in the hospital can potentially improve compliance with practice and consequently lead to better patient safety.
Enzyme activities of Lyme disease and relapsing fever borreliae

Activities of glycosidases (n= 8), esterases (n= 10), arylamidases (n= 63), acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase and phosphoamidase were tested in 47 Borrelia strains. Forty‐four were B. burgdorferi strains; 22 of which were isolated from human specimens (skin 13, cerebrospinal fluid six, and one each from blood, heart muscle and synovia), 13 were isolated from various organs of laboratory animals infected via tick bite or with human isolates, and nine from ticks. The remaining three were the relapsing fever strains B. coriaceae, B. hermsii, and B. turicatae. Strains were of low and high passage but the number of subcultures did not influence the enzyme patterns obtained by utilization of chromogenic substrates of constitutive enzymes. Glycosidase activity was absent in almost all strains tested. Esterase activity was high on molecules of chain length 9 carbons. 2‐Naphthylamide derivatives were utilized by strains of human, rodent or tick origin in a range of 66.6 to 83.1%. Almost all strains utilized substrates for acid and alkaline phosphatase and phosphoamidase. Chymotrypsin activity was only found in three and two strains from specimens of human and rodent origin, respectively; and γ‐glutamyltransferase activity only in three human skin isolates. No strain tested displayed trypsin activity. Overall, the specific activities of constitutive enzymes of the Borrelia strains tested are widely similar. Thus, the enzyme profiles did not discriminate between human, animal and tick isolates, or between human isolates of Borrelia whether cultivated from cerebrospinal fluid or from skin biopsy of Lyme borreliosis patients.
Social Entrainment of Circadian Activity Rhythms in Common Marmosets, Callithrix j. jacchus (Primates)1

Long-term recordings of the locomotor activity of 9 common marmosets, Callithrix j. jacchus, show that under certain preconditions, social entrainment of the free-running circadian rhythm can occur in these non-human primates. However, there exist considerable interindividual differences in the Zeitgeber effect of the various forms of social contact. Findings indicate that both the level of acquaintance and the individual differences in spontaneous period of individuals involved are important, and that daily, or circadian, social cues have a cumulative effect. Because of the low Zeitgeber strength of social stimuli, however, desynchronization of different individual rhythms can arise spontaneously among animals kept as a pair in the same cage, even after months of harmonized free-running rhythms. It is discussed that social entrainment in primates and other mammals is more likely to be a coincidental, rather than an essential, characteristic of the circadian system. Arousal triggered by social stimuli is thereby ascribed a key role.
Psocidae (Psocoptera) from Malaysia and Singapore

Abstract Eleven species of Psocidae arc recorded from Malaysia or Singapore, seven of these beins described as new. These are Blasle nana, B. longivalva, Psoeoeerastis parasinensis, Scaphopsoeus orientalis, Psoeldus (S. str.) murphyl, P. (s. I) hirsutus, and TriehadenOleenum malayense. Oenitalia of two previously described species (Podopteroeus longicornis Banks and Psoeldus hermosus Banks) are figured. and additional informatiori on these species given.
Ecological cross-effects of induced plant responses towards herbivores and phytopathogenic fungi

Abstract Plants are under continuous threat of being challenged by herbivorous insects and pathogenic micro-organisms. How plants respond to multiple antagonists that may co-occur has been investigated by researchers on the ecological, pharmacological, and genetic level. In this review we focus on recent studies of ecological cross-effects between phyllophagous herbivores and phytopathogenic fungi. Interactions between the two types of plant antagonists may be direct, plant-mediated or both. We present studies which describe a) potentially plant-mediated cross-effects but where direct effects cannot be excluded (‘direct/plant-mediated effects’), b) plant-mediated cross-effects that are confined to the attacked plant part (‘locally plant-mediated effects’) and c) plant-mediated cross-effects on a systemic scale (‘systemic effects’). Also, studies are addressed which attempted to directly link plant physiological changes induced by the herbivore and fungal attack with effects on the antagonists. Special attention will be given to spatial and temporal aspects of plant fungal infection and herbivore infestation. Pflanzen werden oft gleichzeitig von herbivoren Insekten und phytopathogenen Mikroorgansimen bedroht. Die Reaktion der Pflanze auf verschiedene, gleichzeitig auftretende Antagonisten wurde schon vielfach unter okologischen, chemischen und molekularen Aspekten untersucht. Diese Ubersicht konzentriert sich auf okologische Wechselwirkungen zwischen phyllophagen Herbivoren und phytopathogenen Pilzen. Wechselwirkungen zwischen diesen beiden Antagonistentypen konnen ganz direkt sein, oder durch die Pflanze vermittelt werden, oder beides. Es werden Studien berucksichtigt, die folgende Formen der Wechselwirkungen analysieren: (a) potentiell pflanzenvermittelte Effekte, wobei aber direkte Interaktionen nicht ausgeschlossen werden konnen (“direkte/pflanzenvermittelte Wechselwirkung”), (b) pflanzenvermittelte Effekte, die auf den unmittelbar angegriffenen Pflanzenteil beschrankt sind (“lokale pflanzenvermittelte Wechselwirkung”), (c) pflanzenvermittelte systemische Wechselwirkungen (“systemische Effekte”). Weiterhin werden solche Studien in den Uberblick einbezogen, die einen Zusammenhang suchen zwischen induzierten physiologischen Veranderungen der Pflanze nach Angriff durch Herbivore oder Pilze und den Auswirkungen dieser Veranderungen auf die Antagonisten. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wird den raumlichen und zeitlichen Aspekten der Induktion von Abwehrmasnahmen durch Herbivorenfras und Pilzbefall an einer Pflanze gewidmet.
Is Pornography Consumption a Risk Factor for Condomless Sex?

This paper presents meta-analytic findings on the association between pornography consumption and condomless sex. Results were based on 45 reports spanning two decades. Data from 18 countries, with a participant total of over 35,000, were located. Higher levels of pornography consumption were associated with an elevated likelihood of engaging in condomless sex. A model-based meta-analysis did not support the viewpoint that the pornography use–condomless sex association is spurious and confounded by sensation seeking. Instead, a path analysis suggested that pornography use energizes consumers' sensation seeking desires, in turn making them more likely to engage in condomless sex. Although the results indicated homogeneity of effect sizes across most contexts tested, the type of pornography content consumed moderated the pornography use–condomless sex relationship. Viewing pornography that does not show condoms was associated with an increased risk for having sex without condoms, whereas consuming pornography showing condoms was unrelated to sexual risk.