Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correspondence between stream macroinvertebrate assemblages and 4 ecoregions of the southeastern USA

Benthic invertebrates were quantified at summer baseflow from 30 streams draining largely forested watersheds within 7 river catchments (Coosa, Tallapoosa, Tennessee, Black Warrior, Conecuh, Altamaha, Chattahoochee) of 4 Level III ecoregions (Blue Ridge, Southwestern [SW] Appalachians, Piedmont, Southeastern [SE] Plains) of the southeastern USA. The study 1) compared invertebrate distributions classified by large-scale ecoregions against those of small-scale river catchments, and 2) assessed if taxonomic resolution of invertebrate identification (family vs genus/morphospecies) influenced relative classification strength of ecoregions and catchments. Principal components analysis indicated that environmental differences across catchments and ecoregions were associated more with variation in baseflow water chemistry (e.g., total alkalinity, conductivity) than with geomorphic or geographic variables. Using simple community presence/absence measures, richness of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT richness) followed the pattern Blue Ridge > SW Appalachians = Piedmont = SE Plains. When grouped by catchment, total and EPT richness tended to be lower in lowland than in upland regions. However, Bray–Curtis presence/absence similarities coupled with flexible UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages) analyses revealed that invertebrate assemblages were distinctive among ecoregions both at the genus/morphospecies and family levels. Differences in overall similarity among ecoregions were highly significant, with upland Blue Ridge and lowland SE Plains streams displaying the lowest interecoregional similarity, and Piedmont and SW Appalachians streams displaying the highest similarity. Faunal similarity within a given ecoregion approximated that observed within individual catchments. Family-level groupings were almost as robust at discriminating catchments and ecoregions as were classifications derived from genus/morphospecies. The ecoregion concept appears to be as useful a classification scheme as that derived from smaller river catchments in the delineation of stream invertebrate distributions in the southeastern USA.
Survival of American Black Ducks radiomarked in Quebec, Nova Scotia and Vermont

We monitored survival of 397 radiomarked juvenile American black ducks (Anas rubripes) distributed among Les Escoumins (n = 75) and Kamouraska, Quebec (n = 84). Amherst Point, Nova Scotia (n = 89), and a site on the Vermont-Queber border (n = 149) during autumn 1990 and 1991. Eighty-six percent (215 of 250) of all confirmed mortalities during the study was from hunting: 72% of marked ducks were shot and retrieved and 14% were shot and unretrieved. We tested for differences in survival in relation to sex, body mass, year (1990-91, 1991-92), and among the 4 locations for each of 2 monitoring periods (early, EMP: late. LMP). With data from the EMP for Vermont-Quebec in 1990 and 1991, Les Escoumins in 1990, and Amherst Point in 1991, survival of hatching-year (HY) males and females did not differ (P = 0.357). For sexes combined for the EMP, survival of ducks was greater in 1991 than 1990 (P = 0.086), and differed among locations (P = 0.013). Survival (years combined was greater al Amherst Point than at Kamouraska (P = 0.003) and Vermont Quebec (P = 0.002) during the EMP. The highest survival rate at Amherst Point (0.545 ± 0.056 [SE]) was associated with the latest date (S Oct) of season opening: the lowest survival rate (0.395 ± 0.043) was at the Vermont-Quebec border, where hunter numbers and activity were greatest. For the LMP. no interaction between years and locations was detected (P = 0.942), and no differences in survival existed between vears (P = 0.102) and among locations (P = 0.349). No association was detected between body mass at capture and survival of combined males and females during the EMP (P = 0.572) or during the LMP (P = 0.965). When we censored hunting losses for combined years for each period. EMP or LMP, all survival estimates exceeded 0.800 (0.809-0.965). These data emphasize need for an improved harvest strategy for American black ducks in North America to allow for increases in breeding populations to achieve population goals.
Corn growth with foliar nitrogen, soil-applied nitrogen, and legume intercrops

Corn (L.) production under current N fertilizer recommendations can result in soil degradation and N pollution of groundwater. Sources of N such as intercropped legumes or foliar spray might reduce fertilizer N requirements while improving soil quality through legume growth. The objective of this study was to compare corn growth using combinations of foliar and soil urea applications, as well as legume intercrops in combination with soil fertilizer N. Field experiments were conducted for 3 yr on two Typic Humaquepts, a Ste. Rosalie clay and an Ormstown silty clay. Foliar applications of 20 kg N ha applied in late July or late August, or both, were compared at 0 and 140 kg N ha of soil-applied urea. The effects of a legume intercrop on corn yield were determined by planting legumes at the same time as corn, at three rates of added N (0, 70, and 140 kg N ha). Treatments were placed on the same plots each year, providing an assessment of cumulative effects. Plant dry-matter yields and soil mineral N were determined. Plots were fall-plowed each year and planted after conventional soil preparation. Foliar N increased yields only in one site-year. Intercropping lowered corn yields by about 2 tonnes ha in five site-years, except for one wet year on the Ormstown site when intercrops did not affect corn yields. Added N increased corn yields independently of intercropping, indicating little cumulative effect of legumes on soil N supply. Legume intercropping and foliar-applied urea were not effective alternatives to the use of soil-applied urea N as far as grain corn yield is concerned.
Influence of reproductive ecology on feasibility of mass trapping Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

(1) The degree of protandry, the average age at which females mated and the effects of size and adult nutrition on the reproductive performance of male western corn rootworms, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, were evaluated to assess the potential of male removal as a management tactic for this pest. (2) Although some males emerged earlier, most males emerged at the same time as females. Dissections of teneral and young non-teneral females, as well as observations of newly emerged females in cornfields, showed that most females mate during the first 24 h after emergence. The synchrony between bimodal temporal distributions of mating and adult emergence, which reached peaks in the morning and the late afternoon/early evening, supported this conclusion. (3) When supplied an excess of virgin females in field cages, large males usually initiated mating at an earlier age and mated more often than small ones. However, neither longevity nor the mass of spermatophores were related to male size. Thus, small males, which sometimes mate twice daily, transfer a greater proportion of their resources at each mating. (4) Males which were provided young silks, ears of corn, leaves and tassles for the first week after emergence, after which they were only given leaves (i.e. poor food) died sooner and mated less often than similar sized males given continuous access to young silks, ears of corn, leaves and tassles (i.e. best food). The mass of spermatophores produced by males in the best food treatment was larger than those produced by males fed poor food. Spermatophore mass was positively correlated with age, especially during the first 10 days after emergence. (5) The reproductive potential of populations of D. virgifera virgifera males far exceeds the number of available virgin females in cornfields. Thus, intraspecific competition between males for mates should be considerable in this system. (6) The results of this study indicate that tactics relying exclusively on male removal do not have a large potential to manage D. virgifera virgifera populations.
Promoting physical activity for children with autism spectrum disorders during Coronavirus outbreak: benefits, strategies, and examples

Described as a global outbreak (pandemic) by the World Health Organization, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) raises great concern with more than 2 million infected patients worldwide. A series of measures are taken by governments worldwide to prevent the spread of the outbreak. As new cases increase, people are asked to stay at home. Active living areas such as sports centers, parks and schools are closed in most countries. In this process, staying at home for a long time makes it difficult for individuals with special needs such as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to stay physically active as well as typically developing individuals. The education process of children with ASD is disrupted, especially due to closed special education schools and rehabilitation centers. Online learning environments are often not suitable for children with ASD. It is predicted that excessive weight, obesity and sedentary life, which are high in children with ASD, may increase even more due to COVID-19. This article outlines the benefits of physical activity for children with ASD and provides strategies and examples of physical activity for children with ASD during the COVID-19 outbreak. The article is thought to be a guide for encouraging children with ASD in the home environment to physical activity.
Green leaf chemistry of various turfgrasses: differentiation and resistance to fall armyworm

Six grass species (zoysiagrass, bermudagrass, centipedegrass, tall fescue, St. Augustinegrass, and Kentucky bluegrass) were analyzed for polyphenols and flavonoids by high performance liquid chromatography. Each gave a characteristic leaf chemistry profile that allowed it to be differentiated from the other grasses. 'Emerald' zoysiagrass was characterized by the presence of chlorogenic acid and a group of luteolin-glycosides containing glucose and/or arabinose. 'Tifgreen' bermudagrass contained no chlorogenic acid, and at least two of the flavonoids were apigenin-glycosides in addition to several luteolin-glycosides. Common centipedegrass and Ky 31 tall fescue both contained high levels of chlorogenic acid, but their flavonoid composition was different. Centipedegrass contained luteolin-type flavonoid-glycosides and maysin, an unusual luteolin-diglycoside that possesses a unique keto-sugar. Tall fescue contained quercetin-type flavonoids rather than luteolin. Rutin was found as a major constituent of tall fescue. 'Kenblue' Kentucky bluegrass and 'Raleigh' St. Augustinegrass contained no chlorogenic acid. These two grasses contained several luteolin-glycosides but not the broad, multiple flavonoid profiles of zoysiagrass and bermudagrass. Fall armyworm [FAW; Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith)] larval growth was significantly affected by the type of grass they fed upon in laboratory no-choice tests. Fall armyworm larval weight reductions (as a percentage of the bermudagrasses) at 7 d after infestation were 90, 79, and 29% for zoysiagrass, centipedegrass, and St. Augustinegrass, respectively. Chlorogenic acid, luteolin, and the flavonoid-glycosides rutin, maysin, and isoorientin were highly active in a laboratory bioassay in reducing FAW larval weights; however, no correlations could be made between FAW resistance and the levels of chlorogenic acid, flavonoids, or total phenolics extractable from the grasses evaluated.
Effect of High Hydrostatic Pressure on the Secondary Structures of BSA and Apo- and Holo-α-Lactalbumin Employing Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

Conformational changes in bovine serum albumin (BSA), Ca++-free α-lactalbumin(apo-α-lac), and Ca++-saturated α-lactalbumin(holo-ct-lac) were examined via Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy after pressure treatment up to 1270 MPa. BSA showed minimal irreversible secondary structural changes with pressurization, showing a slight loss of β-sheet structure in favor of α-helix. Apo-α-lac underwent major irreversible changes and exhibited infrared bands characteristic of aggregation upon decompression. Holo-α-lac showed extensive resistance to high pressure with no major structural changes. The rich disulfide content in BSA and the presence of Ca++ in holo-α-lac may play important roles in stabilizing these proteins against pressure denaturation.
Correlation Regimes in International Equity and Bond Returns

We propose the threshold conditional correlation (TCC) model that allows for regime changes in the correlations between financial assets. According to this methodolody the dynamics of the correlations change from one state (or regime) to another as a function of observable transition variable(s). The TCC is similar in spirit to a smooth transition conditional correlation but with the appealing feature that it is easier to estimate, even in a high dimensional setting. In particular, estimation of the parameters of the TCC involves a grid search-QMLE method in which the correlation matrix is positive definite by construction. Furthermore, Monte Carlo experiments show the proposed model generally does not suffer from a serious bias even for very large cross-sections (N=100). The methodology is illustrated by evaluating the behaviour of international equities and government bonds, first separately and then jointly. We further generalize our approach by allowing for different parts in the correlation matrix to have their own transition mechanism, while at the same time guaranteeing that the resulting correlation matrix is positive definite. Finally, we evaluate the out-of-sample economic performance of the TCC model against the popular dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) model by using the Engle-Colacito (2006) test and in terms of density forecasts. The results show that threshold model with four regimes outperforms the DCC, mainly in the recent global financial crisis a period with significant shifts in the level of correlations.
Marker‐assisted increase of genetic diversity in a double‐low seed quality winter oilseed rape genetic background

Generation of novel genetic diversity for maximization of heterosis in hybrid production is a significant goal in winter oilseed rape breeding. Here, we demonstrate that doubled haploid (DH) production using microspore cultivation can simultaneously introgress favourable alleles for double-low seed quality (low erucic acid and low-glucosinolate content) into a genetically diverse Brassica napus genetic background. The DH lines were derived from a cross between a double-low quality winter rapeseed variety and a genetically diverse semisynthetic B. napus line with high erucic acid and high glucosinolates (+ + quality). Twenty-three low-glucosinolate lines were identified with a genome component of 50-67% derived from the + + parent. Four of these lines, with a genome component of 50-55% derived from the + + parent, also contained low erucic acid. Heterosis for seed yield was confirmed in test-crosses using these genetically diverse lines as pollinator. The results demonstrate the potential of marker-assisted identification of novel genetic pools for breeding of double-low quality winter oilseed rape hybrids.
Sustainable Causal Interpretation with Board Characteristics: Caveat Emptor

The study of a causal interpretation of board and firm characteristics, that is, a hidden dependence relationship on the causal inference among board and firm characteristics, is an important but unaddressed issue in the corporate governance literature. Using diverse advanced statistical methods and focusing on Tobin’s Q, we find that (i) not all board variables previously found to be significant are “robust” to latent variable data analysis, and (ii) those variables that are consistently significant differ markedly in latent structural equation analysis. Our analyses provide researchers interested in board issues with an important caveat: Focusing on the dependence structure of available board variables affected by latent factors may introduce a new horizon in corporate finance.
Quality attributes of Cookies Fortified with Date Powder

Date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L.) are important traditional crop, vital component of human diet in the Arab world. It has essential nutrients i.e. (vitamins, minerals, dietary fibers and carbohydrates) and potential health benefits. Date fruit was oven dried and milled. This study aims to evaluate the effect of date powder as a natural sweetener instead of sugar on the proximate chemical composition, physical properties and sensory characterizations of cookies. However, levels of replacement of samany date powder which used in the cookies formula were 5, 10, 20 and 40%. Proximate chemical composition of date Samany date were determined . It was noticed that the moisture percentage was of 54.74%, while the protein and fat contents were found at low levels being 1.61 and 0.77%, respectively. The ash and crude fiber were they constituted 2.36 and 6.51%, respectively. Total sugars were obtained at 47.27%, however, reducing and non – reducing sugar were given at 35.40 and 11.87%, respectively. The obtained results showed that increasing the date powder ratio led to increase total carbohydrates, crude fibers, ash, crude fat, moisture and protein contents. However, physical characteristics of cookies, i.e. thickness, diameter and speed factor of the prepared cookies decreased. The results of organoleptic criteria indicated that color had low score with increasing substitution ratio, on the other hand, both crispiness and texture were affected at 20% and 40% of date powder level. Our findings ascertained that the cookies obtained from 40% date powder had the lowest acceptability. Meanwhile, at substitution ratio of 10%, the quality of cookies was not adversely affected by the color, taste, crispiness, texture, odor and overall acceptability (p ≥0.05), so, it could be suggesting that date palm powder can be used and incorporated in bakery products up to 10% . Finally, it can be concluded that it is highly recommended to use dates powder in the manufacturing of cookies at a commercial scale where the nutritional value of the samples increased by increasing the replacement of date powder.
Efficacy of various endoscopic modalities in detecting dysplasia in ulcerative colitis: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Longstanding ulcerative colitis (UC) is associated with an increased risk of colonic neoplasia. Various endoscopic modalities, such as chromoendoscopy (CE), narrow band imaging (NBI) and random biopsy have been introduced for surveillance, however, there exists a paucity of direct comparisons between them. We aimed to conduct a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) performed for surveillance of neoplasia in UC. AIM To provide a comparative evaluation of the efficacy of the above-mentioned various modalities. METHODS We searched MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Google Scholar and Cochrane Central Registry through May 2016 for RCTs evaluating the efficacy of endoscopic modalities for surveillance of neoplasia in UC. The primary outcomes of interest were dysplasia (low- or high-grade) detection rates per biopsy and per patient, and dysplasia numbers per patient. Studies were simultaneously analyzed using a random-effects network meta-analysis under the Bayesian framework to identify the modality with the highest dysplasia detection rate. The best ranking probability for the dysplasia detection rate was analyzed by surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) technique. RESULTS Six prospective RCTs of a total 1038 patients were identified. We identified 4 different modalities; white light (WL) high definition (HD) or standard definition (SD), CE HD, and NBI HD. For dysplasia per biopsy, direct meta-analysis showed superiority of NBI HD over WL HD and CE HD over WL SD. Network meta-analysis demonstrated the rank order of best modality as NBI HD, CE HD, WL HD and WL SD with close SUCRA scores of the first two. For dysplasia per patient, direct meta-analyses showed equivocal results between each modality. Network meta-analysis demonstrated the rank order of best modality as WL HD, NBI HD, CE HD and WL SD with small differences of the SUCRA score among the first two. For dysplasia numbers per patient, direct meta-analysis showed superiority of CE HD over WL SD. Network meta-analysis demonstrated the rank order of best modality as WL HD, NBI HD, CE HD, and WL SD with small differences of the SUCRA score among the first three. CONCLUSION We demonstrated that there were small differences among WL HD, NBI HD, and CE HD, while WL SD was inferior, in detecting dysplasia in UC.
Expression and protease characterization of a conserved protein YgjD in Vibrio harveyi

The glycopeptidase GCP and its homologue proteins are conserved and essential for survival of bacteria. The ygjD gene (Glycopeptidase homologue) was cloned from Vibrio harveyi strain SF-1. The gene consisted of 1,017 bp, which encodes a 338 amino acid polypeptide. The nucleotide sequence similarity of the ygjD gene with that of V. harveyi FDAARGOS 107 was 95%. The ygjD gene also showed similarities of 68%, 67% and 50% with those of Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus. The ygjD gene was expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3) and the recombinant YgjD was purified by Ni2+ affinity chromatography column. The purified YgjD showed a specific 37 kDa band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and exhibited protease activities of 59,000 units/mg, 53,700 units/mg and 8,100 units/mg, respectively, on N-Acetyl-L-tyrosine ethyl ester monohydrate (ATEE), N-Benzoyl-L-tyrosine ethyl ester (BTEE) and N-Benzoyl-DL-arginine-4-nitroanilide hydrochloride (BAPNA) substrates. When the conserved amino acids of His111, Glu113 and His115 in the YgjD were replaced with alanine, respectively, the protease activities of the mutants were partly decreased. The two conserved His111 and His115 of YgjD were mutated and the protein lost the protease activity, which implied that the two amino acid played very important roles in maintaining its protease activity. The addition of the purified YgjD to the culture medium of V. harveyi strain SF-1 can effectively promote the bacteria growth. These results indicated that the protease activities may be involved in the survival of bacteria.