Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic consequences of subtropical rainforest fragmentation on Macadamia tetraphylla (Proteaceae)

Abstract Habitat fragmentation can bring about a variety of gene-flow alterations in plant populations, potentially threatening adaptive potential and local persistence. It is expected that following habitat fragmentation an increased level of inbreeding will be evident. In addition, a reduction in genetic diversity and increased genetic differentiation is expected following severe or long term population bottlenecks. We examined population genetic parameters for the subtropical rainforest tree Macadamia tetraphylla (Proteaceae) at six field sites throughout its recently fragmented range, using four microsatellite loci. Genetic diversity (HE) of the juvenile cohort was significantly correlated with estimated population size. No significant difference was observed for genetic diversity between adult and juvenile cohorts, but juveniles, and not adults, exhibited significant population differentiation (θ =0.061; P<0.0001 and θ =0.016; P=0.23, respectively). A second, standardised measure of differentiation, ×′, yielded similarly large differences between the two cohorts, though higher estimates of differentiation overall (adults – θ′=0.034, juveniles – θ′=0.116). The coefficient of population inbreeding (f) was significant and positive in all juvenile, and four out of six adult, populations, and was significantly positively correlated with adult tree density, but not adult population size. Since fragmentation is relatively recent for this species, the population bottleneck must have been quite severe to have produced the observed patterns of population differentiation and genetic diversity. Fragmentation of forest across the study area over the last 100+ years has led to the genetic isolation of M. tetraphylla populations resulting in increased population divergence and likely eventual loss of genetic variation in future generations.
Stability of Whey Proteins during Thermal Processing: A Review

Whey proteins have many benefits due to their high nutritional value and their various applications in food products. A drawback of whey proteins is their instability to thermal processing, which leads to their denaturation, aggregation, and, under some conditions, gelation. As thermal processing is a major treatment in the processing of milk and milk products, its influence on whey proteins has been extensively studied. Understanding the mechanisms involved during each stage of denaturation and aggregation of whey proteins is critical to devising ways of improving their stability. These aspects are reviewed in this paper. Also covered are approaches to preventing or reducing heat-induced aggregation of whey proteins. Inhibition of aggregate formation has considerable potential for alleviating the problems that arise from the instability of whey proteins.
Rotation and Continuous use of Dietholate, Fonofos, and SC-0058 on EPTC Persistence in Soil

Field and laboratory studies were conducted to examine the influence of continuous use and rotation of extenders on EPTC persistence in soils from Clay Center and Scottsbluff, NE. Rotation of EPTC + dietholate and EPTC + fonofos in soils with three prior annual treatments of each combination did not improve weed control compared to continuous use. SC-0058 was generally effective in slowing EPTC biodegradation in soils previously treated with EPTC, EPTC + dietholate, EPTC + fonofos, or EPTC + SC-0058. Dietholate was effective in slowing EPTC biodegradation in soil previously treated with EPTC or EPTC + SC-0058. SC-0058 appeared to have an inhibitory influence on the initial development of soil-enhanced EPTC biodegradation. Any enhanced biodegradation of dietholate or SC-0058 that may occur after repeated use was not a factor in enhanced EPTC degradation in EPTC + extender history soils.
Habitat invasion risk assessment based on Landsat 5 data, exemplified by the shrub Rosa rubiginosa in southern Argentina

Prediction of invasive species spread helps to plan management actions.We performed a risk assessment by quantifying habitat invasibility, predicted the potential distribution of an invasive species using the Maxent modelling program and confirmed patterns using detailed field studies. Our study was conducted in southern Argentina, Patagonia, where large areas are already invaded by the European shrub Rosa rubiginosa. A total of 163 R. rubiginosa locations served as ground truth data, and predictors were obtained from the spaceborne sensor Landsat 5. Based on the Maxent Method (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.8), the habitat invasibility map covered about 5000 km 2 . Our model revealed that R. rubiginosa has the potential to invade 36% of the area along a steep precipitation gradient (target region 600-1400 mm per year). The Tasseled Cap brightness index and the normalized vegetation index explained most of the variance in our model, followed by the Tasseled Cap greenness and wetness indices, which can be interpreted as indicators of disturbance. Highest levels of invasibility were predicted for urban areas, along roads and rivers, on pastures, in Austrocedrus chilensis forests and inside Nothofagus dombeyi forest gaps. Detailed field assessments of rose cover performed in seven habitat types supported these results: rose cover significantly decreased with increasing tree cover (P < 0.01). Our data revealed that the occurrence of R. rubiginosa is not connected to a certain habitat type, but that it thrives in open patches following habitat disturbance. Our approach is a widely applicable, cost-free remote sensing method that can serve as a risk assessment tool for alien plant species invasion of habitats.
ANALISIS KUALITAS AITEM INTELLIGENCE STRUCTURE TEST (IST) MELALUI METODE ITEM RESPONSE THEORY (IRT)

Intelligence Structure Test (IST) merupakan salah satu tes psikologi untuk mengukur kemampuan intelegensi seseorang. Di Universitas “X” penggunaan IST dijadikan sebagai acuan untuk seleksi masuk mahasiswa. Sebagai salah satu prediktor keberhasilan mahasiswa dalam menempuh pendidikan sarjana, penting untuk memastikan apakah kualitas dari tes IST masih baik untuk saat ini. Mengingat bahwa alat tes IST yang ada di Indonesia pada saat ini masih hasil adaptasi dari IST-70 dan belum ada revisi hingga saat ini. Seiring dengan berkembangnya ilmu pengetahuan maka berkembang pula salah satu metode yaitu item respon theory (IRT). IRT merupakan teori tentang bagaimana variabel kemampuan seseorang dan variabel aitem menentukan data respons ketika seseorang menjawab aitem tersebut. Kualitas tes IST apakah baik atau tidak ditentukan oleh ketepatan alat tes tersebut dalam mengukur kecerdasan individu (validitas), konsistensi dari alat tes tersebut (reliabilitas), derajat kesukaran aitem yang bergerak dari mudah ke sulit, daya pembeda aitem yang mampu membedakan individu yang mempunyai kemampuan tinggi dan rendah, serta index guessing agar aitem tidak mudah untuk ditebak jawabannya. Atas dasar tersebut peneliti ingin melakukan penelitan mengenai analisis kualitas aitem IST melalui metode IRT pada proses seleksi penerimaan mahasiswa baru Universitas “X” pada periode 2017- 2018. Dari hasil penelitian di dapat bahwa secara keseluruhan IST masih layak digunakan sebagai alat test yang mengukur kecerdasan seseorang dan dipakai sebagai prediktor keberhasilan calon mahasiswa baru dalam menempuh pembelajaran di universitas, hanya saja perlu adanya perbaikan dalam penempatan aitem yang disesuaikan dengan index facility nya. Selain itu terdapat delapan aitem tes yang tidak layak digunakan sehingga perlu diganti.
Molecular mechanisms of human thyroid tumorigenesis

Thyroid cancer is the commonest endocrine malignancy. Several of the initiating genetic events in thyroid tumorigenesis have been identified, although the exact molecular mechanisms are unclear. Our thyrocyte model has demonstrated that p16INK4A is up-regulated in RAS-induced colonies which resemble follicular adenomas. Affymetrix microarrays revealed that many interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) are also up-regulated in these colonies. I hypothesised that p16 expression would be induced in follicular adenomas and lost in follicular cancers, consistent with their escape from growth control, and that ISG expression (HLA-DR, PKR, MxA) would be induced in follicular adenomas. I tested these hypotheses using immunohistochemistry, and correlated p16 expression with cyclin D1 and p21 expression to further investigate growth control. My original research demonstrates that p16 is expressed in adenomas, and surprisingly up-regulated in well-differentiated cancers. Loss of expression was only seen in poorly-differentiated carcinomas. Cyclin D1 expression increased during the transition from a benign to a malignant tumour, whereas p21 protein was expressed at a lower level in both adenomas and carcinomas. Unexpectedly, ISGS were not up-regulated in either the adenomas or carcinomas, but were expressed in some papillary carcinomas. PKR expression was positively correlated with p16 expression. I speculate that there must be two or more growth inhibitory pathways involved in thyroid tumorigenesis, one of which involves p16, and both must be inactivated for progression to a more aggressive phenotype. The cyclin D1 result is explained as a result of growth stimulation during tumorigenesis, whereas the basis and implication of p21 expression is uncertain. Thyroid cancers are unusual because the majority are slow-growing yet potentially fatal despite continued p16 expression. Further work is needed to elucidate the nature of the additional pathways controlling tumour growth, which will improve our understanding of thyroid tumorigenesis, and may potentially lead to the development of novel treatment strategies.
Phylogenetic relationship among cockroach families inferred from mitochondrial12S rRNA gene sequence

A number of phylogenies exist for cockroaches that differ in the postulated relationships among families and genera. The relationship of the wood‐feeding genus, Cryptocercus, to other cockroach families and to termites, has generated considerable debate. Grandcolas (1994), based on morphological analysis, synonymized the family Cryptocercidae with Polyphagidae and placed the genus Cryptocercus in the subfamily Polyphaginae. To determine if an independent set of characters supports the placement of Cryptocercus in Polyphaginae, a phylogenetic analysis of relationships among representative genera of the five cockroach families was undertaken. DNA sequence of a ‐430 base pair portion of the mitochondrial small ribosomal subunit gene from representatives of Blattidae, Blattellidae, Blaberidae and Cryptocercus, previously published by Kambhampati (1995) and Kambhampati et al. (1996), and the homologous sequence from representatives of Polyphagidae were used in the analysis. A total of twenty cockroach taxa and three termite genera were included in the study. Because a recent study showed that Cryptocercus punctulatus consists of a species complex, DNA sequence from four individuals collected in different parts of the U.S.A. was included in the study. The trees estimated from parsimony and neighbour‐joining analyses indicated that Cryptocercus is a monophyletic clade which is most closely related to members of Blattidae. Polyphagidae is indicated as a sister group to the Blattidae + Cryptocercus complex, suggesting that Polyphagidae may belong to the superfamily Blattoidea rather than to Blaberoidea as proposed by McKittrick (1964). Blaberidae and Blattellidae were sister groups as previously proposed. Based on the present analysis, I propose that the genus Cryptocercus be retained in the family Cryptocercidae. Cockroaches
Quantitative inheritance in pumpkin - a combining ability analysis

Evaluation of 28 non-reciprocal F1 hybrids of pumpkin revealed the involvement of both additive and non-additive gene action regulating the inheritance of yield and its components except fruit weight, number of branches and female flowers/plant. Additive genetic variance alone controlled number of branches/plant, whereas non-additive gene action exclusively governed fruit weight and number of female flowers/plant. Non-additive gene effect was predominant with pronounced epistasis and over-dominance for all the traits except number of branches/plant. Prediction of progeny performance for all the characters excepet number of branches/plant would be based on sca (non-additive) component which was corroborated by low estimate of heritability in narrow sense. Reciprocal recurrent selection, biparental mating and/or diallel selective mating is suggested for genetic improvement of yield and its attributing characters in pumpkin.
Does rearing an aphid parasitoid on one host affect its ability to parasitize another species?

Generalist parasitoids are commonly used for the biological control of insect pests; however, they are often reared on a single host species because this is more practical for commercial production. Few studies have investigated the consequences of rearing a generalist parasitoid on a single host species in terms of performance on other target pests. We investigated the impact of rearing the generalist parasitoid Praon unicum Smith (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Aphidiinae) on an alternative aphid host Myzus persicae Sulzer (Hemiptera: Aphididae) with respect to its ability to perform on Ericaphis fimbriata Richards (Hemiptera: Aphididae), a pest of highbush blueberries. Parasitoids reared on the two aphid hosts did not differ in physical size measurements. Praon unicum reared on M. persicae had a lower oviposition success over 6 days compared with insects reared on E. fimbriata, mainly as a result of differences early in life. There was no difference in parasitoid egg size, lifetime fertility, age‐specific fertility, female offspring ratio, development time or calculated intrinsic rate of increase from the two aphid hosts. We conclude that there were no negative consequences of rearing P. unicum on M. persicae on its ability to parasitize E. fimbriata, although further field studies would need to be performed to investigate whether natal host influences parasitoid preference.
Does Electricity Supply Matter for Economic Growth in Russia: A Vector Error Correction Approach

In this article we investigate the relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth in Russia. According to the production function of economic growth models, energy supply must be a catalyst of great importance for the economic growth. We investigate this nexus on the example of the Russian data for the period 1990-2017. Using vector error correction approach and granger causality test we aim to detect presence or absence of cointegration in the long run between electricity supply, economic growth and employment rate. Results show that the sampled variables are cointegrated and there exists a long-run relationship between them. Short-run effects analysis show that electricity supply does not significantly affects economic growth. Granger causality test shows that there exist a unidirectional causality running from electricity supply to economic growth and from economic growth to employment. The results show that electricity supply is essential for boosting economic growth in Russia in the long run.
Estimation of Seed Bank and Seed Viability of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence Aster, Symphyotrichum laurentianum , (Fernald) Nesom

The Gulf of St. Lawrence Aster, Symphyotrichum laurentianum , is a member of the family Asteraceae and is listed as “threatened” by COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada). This rare and vulnerable halophyte grows in only a few locations in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and the Magdalen Islands, Quebec. As an annual, S. laurentianum relies exclusively on its seeds to survive to the next generation. The goal of this study was to estimate the quantity of viable S. laurentianum seeds in the persistent and transient seed banks at selected sites in Prince Edward Island. Overall, the number of seeds in the transient and persistent seed banks is low. The greatest concentration of seeds was found near the surface of the soil. In addition, only a small proportion of those seeds tested positive for viability based on Tetrazolium staining. Of the seeds in the persistent and transient seed banks combined, 53% were viable whereas only 2% of the seeds in the persistent seed bank were viable. Population surveys were also completed at the five known sites (both extinct and extant) in Prince Edward Island National Park. All sites showed signs of decline based on population estimates dating back to 1993. The Covehead Pond site showed the greatest decline: from 250-300 individuals in 1993 to only 10 individuals in 2002. The population at Dune Slack also showed a dramatic decrease from approximately 65 000 in 1999, to 2 200 individuals in 2002. Monitoring of this plant and the development of a management plan for the species are critical to its survival.
Bacteria Community Analysis by Quantitative Real-Time PCR of Fermenting Wax Gourd and its Changes of Organic Acids

The bacterial communities and predominating species during the fermentation of wax gourd were investigated by using 16S rDNA clone library technology combined with a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) method. At the beginning of wax gourd pickling, Acinetobacter spp. were the predominant bacteria (∼107 cells/mL). During the next 5–20 days of fermentation, the predominating bacteria were Weissella spp. (∼107–108 cells/mL). Lactobacillus spp. were a significant portion (∼106 cells/mL) of the bacterial flora only at day 10 of the fermentation. At days 15 and 20 of fermentation, W. paramesenteroides was the main species (∼107 cells/mL), identified by using qRT-PCR. Lactic, citric and acetic acids levels were low at the beginning of fermentation and increased significantly (P < 0.05). The increase in lactic acid to 0.33 g/L at day 20 was likely to have occurred because of the sudden increase in W. paramesenteroides and Weissella spp. 5 days earlier. Practical Applications The microorganisms play an important role in the processing and preservation of pickled vegetable foods. The predominant species and its organic acids concentration in the fermentation process of pickled wax gourd were investigated using the 16S rDNA clone library technology combined with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. This method can provide quicker information about the bacterial communities involved in traditional wax gourd fermentation and data regarding flavor formation of pickled vegetables. The formation of organic acids and antimicrobial activity by specific types of lactic acid bacteria may facilitate linking the microbial ecosystem of pickled wax gourd to quality control. It can also provide the microbial and theory identification for quality control of pickled wax gourd processing.
Bridging the Gap between Ethical Climate and Nurses’ Service Behaviors: the Critical Role of Professional Well-Being

: Although the importance of nurses’ service behaviors has been increasingly emphasized, few studies accounted for how organizational or individual antecedents affect nurses’ psychological processes to implement service behaviors. Additionally, they mainly focused on the one side of role-prescribed service behavior and ignored the effect on extra-role service behavior. This study seeks to explore the relationship between ethical climate and nurses’ service behaviors from a comparative view, of the role-prescribed and extra-role service behavior and examine the mediating effect of nurses’ professional well-being (as characterized by positive attitudes toward work, specifically harmonious work passion and obsessive work passion). Survey data from 378 nurses in China indicate that nurses’ harmonious work passion mediated the effects of ethical climate on both their role-prescribed and extra-role service behavior; however, obsessive work passion only mediated the effect of ethical climate on role-prescribed service behavior. Managerial implications and future research directions are discussed in this study.
Review: Under Southern Seas: The Ecology of Australia's Rocky Reefs

Review: Under Southern Seas: The Ecology of Australia's Rocky Reefs By Neil Andrew (Ed.) Andrew, Neil (Ed). Under Southern Seas: The Ecology of Australia's Rocky Reefs. Malabar, FL: Krieger, 2000. 238 pp. ISBN: 1-57524-141-2 (hardbound). US$49.50 A colourful and refreshing publication about marine life of the Australian rocky reefs, this hardcover, oversize volume provides readers with comprehensive materials on the ecology of Australia's rocky reefs and their fisheries. Divided into three parts and containing 26 chapters, Under Southern Seas is a pleasure to the eye. Richly illustrated with around 200 colour photographs, and contributions of 32 marine biologists, Neil Andrew's work maintains a good balance between text and photos. The six chapters of the first part (and not seven as the editor indicates in the introduction) focus on oceanography. Readers discover Australian's underwater landscapes, the major currents around Australia and their effects on marine species. Authors provide an understanding of species interaction and introduce the diversity of rocky reefs plant and animal communities. Although the underwater Australian landscape is covered in its entirety, "little is known of the processes that operate on reefs to determine where species occur and how abundant individual animals and algae are" (write Edyvane and Shepherd in chapter 5). The next two parts describe the ecology of sea animals. The book progresses logically from 'Algae & Invertebrates' (part 2) to animals and large mammals such as 'Sharks, Fishes & Seals' (part 3). For example, Steinberg and Kendrick describe the ecology of a kelp community in chapter seven. Next, one can learn about blacklip abalone (the most abundant marine snails on rocky reefs). Chapters 10 and 11 deal respectively with the "hidden inhabitants of the rocky reefs" (i.e. octopuses and their relatives) and jellyfish. Pitt and Kingsford from the University of Sydney explain how these fragile and beautiful species move, feed and breed. Chapters 12 to 14 concentrate on lobsters from South, East and West rocky reefs, while chapter 15 reports on the ecological role of Australia's twenty species of sea urchins. Reef sharks and rays open the third part of Under Southern Seas. From the well-known grey nurse shark to the mysterious "banded wobbegong" (also known as carpet shark) and its underwater camouflage; chapter 17 is a valuable source of information for those interested in these creatures. …